Haidakhandi Universal Ashram and Divine Mother Temple
Ramloti, Pujari (Temple Priest)

The Haidakhandi Universal Ashram is a spiritual community inspired by Haidakhan Babaji and dedicated to the Divine Mother. Established in 1986, the Ashram is located high on a mountainside overlooking the expansive San Luis Valley to the west. Life at the Ashram is guided by Babaji's teachings of truth, simplicity and love. Babaji taught devotees to repeat the name of God and to perform service to humanity. The daily schedule of the Ashram is built around this service (karma yoga), morning and evening devotional services (aarati), simple living, and repitition of the name of God. Babaji said to use the name of God that is in our hearts and that all religions lead to God. He also taught the ancient Sanskrit mantra or prayer, "Om Namah Shivaya." This prayer means "I bow to the God within." In keeping with simplicity, ashramites live and build in sustainable ways whenever possible. The 101-acre Ashram includes an organic garden, its own water system and photovoltaic derived electricity. The buildings are made of natural materials and most are heated by passive solar energy. Structures on the unique property include an Earthship, temple, dormitory, yurt and greenhouse.

Ramloti, aka Deborah Wood, first met Babaji in India in February 1981, while she was working on her master's degree in Psychology. After a brief one-month stay with Him, she returned to her home in Maui and organized trips in the summers of 1981 and 1982, with her two sons, back to India to be with Babaji at His Ashram in Haidakhan. Following these life-altering experiences, Ramloti, the name given to her by Babaji, has spent her life sharing His message and helping to establish Babaji centers and the Haidakhandi Universal Ashram in Colorado. She moved to Crestone in 1986 when the forested acreage was acquired where the Ashram now resides. She has lived at the Ashram since that time and has served as president or vice president of the Board of Directors for 14 years. She serves primarily as the pujari or priest of the temple. Her other duties include public relations, outreach and publications.

The auspicious timing of the Sacred Peaks Enlightenment Conference coincides with Fall Navratri - the Festival of the Divine Mother. This is one of the major Hindu festivals and honors the all-powerful sacred feminine creation energy as embodied by the Goddess Lakshmi. The Ashram will be celebrating with daily fire ceremony, teachings and puja from October 4-12. Our visits to Crestone's sacred sites will begin with a tour of the Ashram grounds on Saturday morning followed by Fire Ceremony and Discourse, then community lunch in the Earthship. Please dress for ceremony, women in dresses or skirts. Loose-fitting, comfortable clothing is perfect.

Web site: www.BabajiAshram.org

Shumei International Institute
Alan Imai, Executive Director

Shumei International Institute was created by Shinji Shumeikai to promote spiritual growth through interfaith activities. Their founder, Mokichi Okada (1882-1955), which means 'Master of Light', taught that a world free of sickness, poverty and strife can be achieved through an appreciation for art and beauty, a reverence for nature through natural agriculture, and by the healing art of Jyorei. In 2002, Shumei established the Shumei International Institute, headquartered in Crestone, to develop programs that promote Shumei's values on an international level. Two of the Institute's major concerns are fostering dialogues between religious groups and developing programs that will insure the health of our environment. The center serves as a retreat for Shumei members, which include people from many different faiths, cultures and nations, and also as an international venue for cultural, environmental, spiritual and interfaith activities.

Alan Imai joined Shinji Shumeikai, the parent organization of Shumei International Institute, in 1976. He received intensive training from 1982-83 before becoming a full-time staff member in 1983. He was stationed in Hong Kong for international training and then came to the United States in July 1985. Mr. Imai became an ordained Kyoshi (Minister) in 1986. From 1994-2004, he oversaw Shumei activities and operations for the Eastern United States and directed the establishment and construction of the Shumei International Institute in Crestone beginning in 1999. Currently Alan Imai serves as Executive Director and Spiritual leader at Shumei International Institute and serves as Director of International Planning for the Shumei Natural Agriculture Network. For the Sacred Peaks Conference, he will give a guided tour of the mountainside facility, which includes a conference center, temple, amphitheater, and sweeping views of the San Luis Valley, as well as an overview of Shumei's key teachings.

Web site: www.shumeicrestone.org

Pundarika Foundation

The Pundarika Foundation supports the work of Tsoknyi Rinpoche III, recognized by His Holiness the 16th Byalwang Karmapa as the reincarntation of Drubwang Tsoknyi I. He is a renowned master of the Drukpa Kagyu and Nyingma traditions and the lineage holder of the Ratna Lingpa lineage and the Tsoknyi lineage. Tsoknyi Rinpoche's teachers were Kamtrul Rinpoche, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, his father Tulku Urygen Rinpoche, Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche, as well as Adhi Rinpoche. Rinpoche is the abbot of Ngesden Osel Ling Monastery in the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal. He is the abbot of two nunneries in Nepal, Chimey Gyatsa Gorgon Nunnery and Institute and Cechak Nunnery, as well as the abbot of one of the largest nunneries in Tibet, Gechak Gompa. Rinpoche also heads 55 monasteries in the eastern Tibetan region which practice exclusively the Tsoknyi Lineage and the Ratna Linpa Lineage. Ngesdon Osel Ling Monastery is his seat in the East. Yeshe Ransal in Crestone, Colorado, is his seat in the West.

The Pundarika Foundation preserves and supports the lineage teachings of the Drukpa Kagyu Buddhist traditions. Represented by three lotus blossoms, "Pundarika" refers to the continuous activity of the Buddha for the benefit of all. The 60-acre Yeshe Rangsal Retreat will become a center for reflection and meditation available to Tsoknyi Rinpoche and his students. During the conference, we will visit the beautiful new stupa, which honors the great Dzogchen Master Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche.

Web site: www.pundarika.org

Humanity In Unity
Parameshwara Brahmachari, Spiritual Master of the Temple of Consciousness

Parameshwara Brahmachari is the Resident Spiritual Master at the Temple of Consciousness in Crestone. The Ashram is the creation of Her Holiness Sai Maa Lakshmi Devi who is Founder of Humanity In Unity (HIU), a non-profit educational and humanitarian organization dedicated to global enlightenment. The Temple was created for individual spiritual growth and to help facilitate unity, global enlightenment and ascension among all humankind. The nuns, monks and other permanent residents in the Ashram live in community focused on spiritual practice (sadhana) as individuals and as a group (sangha). Life in the ashram is dedicated to self-mastery, serving the community and serving the Light.

In addition to his seva (service) and spiritual leadership at the Ashram, and his consulting to the leadership and staff of HIU, Parameshwara is one of Sai Maa's Master Teachers, leading workshops and personal sessions in Crestone, across the U.S. and several times a year in Paris. He also travels to India to assist HH Sai Maa in various projects including the development of several Ashrams. Before moving to Crestone in 2004 with others in Sai Maa's community, Parameshwara lived for a year in India, focusing on his sadhana (spiritual practice) which included his initiation as Brahmacharya (monk). He lived prior to this for six years in the Bay Area where he was local coordinator of the Sai Maa Center while also working as an organization consultant. His independent consulting activities included executive and employee coaching, and organization and leadership development. During his consulting career, Parameshwara was also a partner with a major management consulting firm in New York. He received his Ph.D. in Organizational Psychology and M.S. in Psychology from New York University, and he was designated as Master Coach by a major professional coaching association.

The evening program on Saturday will include a visit and tour of the Ashram hosted by Parameshwara, followed by an overview of Sai Maa's key teachings.

Web site: www.humanityinunity.org

Spiritual Life Institute and Carmelite Monastery
Father Eric Haarer, Prior

The Spiritual Life Institute is a small monastic community, Roman Catholic in origin, Carmelite in Spirit, and universal in outreach. Founded for both men and women in 1960, Spiritual Life has created wilderness retreat centers where monks and guests toughen their bodies by manual labor and outdoor living, deepen their minds by exploring the spiritual roots of Western civilization, enliven their hearts by community virtue, and nourish their spirits in silence, solitude and communal worship. The central purpose is to foster the spirit of contemplation so that social, political and domestic existence is inspired by it. Aldous Huxley said that contemplation is the only proven way of changing human behavior radically and permanently. Contemplation is loving awareness and begins with a long, loving look at the real - an animal, a plant, the earth, the sky, another human being. It ends in the happy surprise of being in harmony with the universe, in the glory of God's presence and madly in love with all that is. The center at Crestone includes Nada Hermitage, a center for learning, leisure, and leadership, and the Carmelite Monastery. We will visit the monastery for Sunday morning Mass with Father Eric Haarer.

Web site: www.spirituallifeinstitute.org

Sacred Passage and the Way of Nature Fellowship
John P. Milton, Founder

John Milton is a pioneering ecologist, spiritual teacher, meditation master, vision quest leader and shaman. His vision quest and shamanic work began in the mid-1940s after experiencing his first vision quest at the age of seven. Since the 1950s, John has guided thousands of people into the wilderness, always sharing with them a profound connection with nature and a deep commitment to the realization of Source Awareness. Over the years, many have sought his profound teachings on the Clear Light of Source and on spiritual cultivation and meditation in nature. He has also been widely sought for his powerful yet gentle Qigong teachings, T'ai Chi Ch'uan training, and Sacred Passage programs.

John's teachings draw upon many decades of practice in various styles of meditation, T'ai Chi, Qiqong, and extensive personal vision questing. His training is also informed by direct teachings from many of the world's outstanding spiritual teachers and lineages. From this comprehensive background, John has created and essentialized a path of key principles and disciplines that flow from Universal Source. He calls this path "The Way of Nature." The lead process of this Way John has named, "Sacred Passage." The core of The Way of Nature Fellowship and Sacred Passage are Twelve Principles, distilled from his many years of solo time in the wilderness, and combined with deep training in some of the world's most profoundly enlightening, earth-connected lineages. Buddhist, Taoist, Dzogchen, Tantric, Vedantic and Shamanic traditions are mystically encapsulated in these Twelve Principles, the Heart of his Awareness Training.

John received his M.S. in Ecology and Environmental Conservation from the University of Michigan in 1962 and 1963. He also studied at Mexico City College and the OAS Inter-American Graduate School of Tropical Science in Costa Rica. John played an instrumental role in the birth of the environmental movement from the early 1960s, as well as the tropical forest protection movements of the 1970s and 1980s. He was the first ecologist to serve on staff at the White House, working with the President's Council of Economic Advisors.

Since the 1950s, John has conducted numerous expeditions and field projects in wilderness areas of the United States, Alaska and the Canadian Arctic, Central and South America, Asia and Africa. These have included rhino and tiger conservation in Nepal, protection of mountain ecosystems in both Nepal and Bhutan, preservation of Alaska's wilderness, and rainforest protection in Brazil, Cambodia, Central America, East Africa, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Laos, Mexico, Peru, Thailand and Venezuela.

John has authored numerous books, articles and audiotapes, as well as produced video/CD/DVD media on ecology, environmental conservation, meditation, cultivating life energy, inner development, discovering and protecting sacred places, preserving wilderness and the shamanic way.
Web site: www.sacredpassage.com

Vajra Vidya Retreat Center

Open to all sects, the Vajra Vidya Retreat Center was founded by the Venerable Thrangu Rinpoche, a Tibetan Buddhist master. The center offers individual retreat rooms for short and long-term retreats under the guidance of Lama Wangdu and Khenpo Jigme. Both lamas have completed the five-year monastic college (shedra) program and completed a three-year retreat. In 1980, the 16th Byalwa Karmapa, Rigpe Dorje (Vajra Vidya in Tibetan) visited Crestone. Visiting with His Holiness at that time were His Eminence Jamgon Kongrul and His Eminence Tai Situpa. Their party explored, sometimes on horseback, the mountains around the Baca Grande land grant. Traveling by car, they drove past the Stupa site and he requested that they go back. He pointed out mountain shapes that looked like elephants lying down and other auspicious forms. These, he explained, were signs of propitiousness of this particular location. He predicted that there would be more than 40 realized siddhas from this area. People who were with the party at that time tell of various predictions that His Holiness made during his visit. The Karmapa also foresaw that this special location would provide a safe haven for the teachings and for the Tibetan people. After the passing of the 16th Karmapa, his Eminence Jamgon Kontrul initiated the building of the Tashi Gomang Stupa. This style of stupa represents the 84,000 paths taught by the Buddha. He gave very specific instructions on how the Stupa was to be created. Khempo Karthar Rinpoche and Bardo Tulku along with a small but highly dedicated number of students spent the next decade completing what now reflects the blessings of the Kagyu Lineage. It was consecrated in July 1996. His Holiness suggested that great benefit would come if a monastery, retreat center, library to house the sacred teachings of ancient Buddhist wisdom, a Tibetan medical institute, and a lay community for Tibetans were built in Crestone. Construction of this facility is now underway.

www.VajraVidyaRetreatCenter.org.

Sacred Mountains Foundation
Paul Tohlakai, Founder

Paul was born naturally in a remote area of the Navajo Nation and spent his early years on the Navajo Reservation until he was processed by the government into the BIA boarding school system. He received subsequent formal education in non-Native foster homes and graduated from Prescott High School in Arizona. He received recognitions for his athletic and academic pursuits and received scholarships to major universities. Upon completing one year of college, he began what would be his lifelong passion of traveling, learning and educating himself. He is self-taught in most of his professions. Like his nomadic Dineh forebears, he now leads a more sedentary and pastoral way of life learning appropriate technology for a sustainable future. With this mission, he founded and serves as director of the grassroots organization Sacred Mountains Foundation Inc., based in Pinon, Arizona.

Paul holds a vision for his Dineh people and works toward it tirelessly. He has served as coordinator of the Youth Peace Journey in Crestone. His work is of such vital significance to his people that it has also involved him with global communities. Sacred Mountains Foundation Inc. recently received grants from the Seventh Generation Fund and is focusing now on start-up construction for a building in Pinon. His other activities in coming months include conducting his community Sundance, attending a gathering of Dineh Elders in New Mexico, lecturing at a Japanese university, and planning for a Pinon community cultural museum as a board member.

Paul's varied life's work has included supervisory capacity in housing, railroad, commercial construction, carpentry, welding, BIA-Tribal social services, substance abuse program counseling, medical social work, ranching, fishing, forest service, firefighting, iron work, horse training and logging. He is Founder-Director of Sacred Mountains Foundation, Sundance Ceremonial Leader, Spiritual Advisor, lecturer of Native American Philosophy, Northern traditional dancer, proud father and grandfather, a good husband and a good son of Louise Whitewater Begaye. All these experiences have contributed to his ability to relate to others and share his experiences in a down-to-Earth manner. He has lectured at universities and at schools in the U.S. regarding Navajo ways of thought and the significance of the Sundance to Navajo people. Paul is also a drum maker and tour guide, operating under Tohlakai Drums and Navajo Trails.

Web site: www.sacredmountainsfoundation.org

Academy of On - Steve Beard

Steven Beard is a 47-year-old student of mysticism and researcher of spiritual sciences. The name "Academy of On" is a link with the Celestial Academies of Light and their touch-points upon the earth grids - past, present and future.

Kaballah is the science of the many universes that serve the Godhead, spiritual truths given in every age. The Academy of On encourages faith active in wisdom, and direct experience through living codes of revelation and renewal. "Shema Yisrael - Hear oh Israel!" The consciousness raising program "Israel" is Divine Light instruction that restores our Image through the revealed Names of YHWH. In using the Divine Names and music, we re-awaken a precious gift; our sacred soul garments of Light from which we were "first born."

The Earth is a training station for soul advancement. Jesus, in revealing a mystery of Divine Sonship, manifests the anointing power of the Christ, opening us to higher levels of oversoul and chakra thresholds of the greater Tree of Life; the Light body template known as the Adam Kadmon. Christ conquered the death function, showing that we may also resurrect off the "cross" of space and time to enter the house of many mansion worlds within the Infinite Way.

The first commandment, one that opens us to the language of Light, is this holy prayer found in old and new testaments alike: "Hear oh Israel, God is one, love God with your whole heart, your whole soul, your whole mind, and your whole strength." From this loving wholeness comes understanding and deepening of communication between the Many and the One. With this in mind, we can love our neighbor as ourself, extending peace. Academy of On is located in downtown Crestone, 161 E. Galena. All are welcome to visit and view mandalas of creational codes, sacred artwork and templates.

Web site: www.academyofon.org

speakers and program subject to change without notice