Toronto Meditation Guide

Mostly in our part of the world we know about initiation from its absence. I’m often asked, “What would our culture be like if we didn’t have initiation?” The answer can only be: Look around. This is what it’s like.

Initiation coalesces the initiate’s kinship with humanity, with creation, with the other world, and gives initiated people a place and a way to make life live. Well understood, well lived and well done, initiation happens half a dozen times anyway in someone’s life, deepening their humanity as it has its way with them. All of this happens on the heels of knowing more and more how you and I won’t, bless us, last. If initiation is the making of a human being - and it is - what is a people who have no initiation? What is to become of us?

These are the things we’ll give ourselves to wondering about, as a beginning. Read more »

In Sanskrit, “sat-sang” translates to “reality-being” or being in the presence of the Master. Satsang frees one from all delusion, the plays and doubts of the mind, and is thus praised by the ancient sages as granting ultimate liberation.

Out of his boundless compassion, the Master extends the divine communion which he always enjoys to an external manifestation for all to revel in; he creates the fertile environment for all to access the peace, joy, and bliss within. During Swamiji’s satsangs, group singers lead devotees in ecstatic singing and chanting dedicated to God. Swamiji shares precious truths which ignite the awareness of listeners and grant them the courage, inspiration, and solace to advance in the inward journey.

We welcome all to come and join in these vibrant, purifying, and healing gatherings in the presence of Guru Maharaj Swami Sai Premananda. Read more »

Join us for this one-day meditation retreat with Buddhist monk and meditation teacher, Bhante Saranapala.

Please bring your own lunch and meditation cushion/mat. Tea & refreshments will be provided. Read more »

Each day we breathe, eat, work, love. Yet during most of these moments we are preoccupied with the future or habitually re-living the conflicts of the past. We need not be perpetually lost in the mind’s labyrinth. It is possible to be fully alive in every moment, to wake up into life, and to come into direct experience of who you are.

In six sessions you will be introduced to a variety of practices leading to the development of presence, a state of wide-awake, ongoing awareness. You will be provided with tools to establish a basic meditation sitting practice, and also learn how to integrate presence into your daily life, including ways of dealing with inner and outer blocks to full awareness. Read more »

In Sanskrit, “sat-sang” translates to “reality-being” or being in the presence of the Master. Satsang frees one from all delusion, the plays and doubts of the mind, and is thus praised by the ancient sages as granting ultimate liberation.
Out of his boundless compassion, the Master extends the divine communion which he always enjoys to an external manifestation for all to revel in; he creates the fertile environment for all to access the peace, joy, and bliss within.
During Swamiji’s satsangs, group singers lead devotees in ecstatic singing and chanting dedicated to God. Swamiji shares precious truths which ignite the awareness of listeners and grant them the courage, inspiration, and solace to advance in the inward journey.

We welcome all to come and join in these vibrant, purifying, and healing gatherings in the presence of Guru Maharaj Swami Sai Premananda. Read more »

Integrating Yoga Posture practice and Sitting Meditation with Michael Stone. A non-residential retreat.

Over two days, primarily in silence, we will integrate sitting meditation and yoga postures. Practice will be supported by instruction, talks and time for discussion. Michael will present key teachings from the Yoga & Buddhist traditions as they relate to calming and investigating the mind-body process.

Each day will inlude vegetarian lunch. We will eat in silence. Read more »

Metta Bhavana is an ancient Buddhist meditation leading to the development of unconditional loving-kindness and friendliness. Although it was first developed by the Buddha, it can be practiced within any denomination, and is suitable for all ages. Metta helps in developing a positive emotional state, brings harmony into our lives, and assists us to remove feelings of conflict and guilt. Through Metta we develop and deepen a feeling of connection with all beings.

The course is a series of six evening sessions conducted over seven weeks, and includes weekly course materials, lectures by the teacher, meditation instruction, group practice, and discussion.

Please Note: Our Loving Kindness Course to be held on Wednesdays, beginning March 26, is NOW FULL.

We are offering a second, identical course on Monday evenings, beginning March 24. Registration in advance is required. Please call or e-mail for more information. Read more »

Sadhana alone is the inward path, be you a Muslim, a Christian, a Hindu, or a Jew. The ones who have sat down and done the internal work come to the same truth. The only reality is within you all.

- Swami Sai Premananda

Sadhana is the effort exerted or sacrifice made to realize the divinity within us and around us. Swamiji often emphasizes mantra repetition as a simple but powerful means for removing past impressions from our psyche, imbibing the divine qualities of our object of contemplation, and granting ultimate peace by stilling the mind and basking in the beauty of the holy name.

It is only God and Guru who facilitate the process of spiritual striving and sacrifice selflessly of themselves so that the process can culminate in union with the Absolute for the aspirant.

The upcoming Sadhana Satsang includes chanting of the Sai Gayatri Mantra. All are welcome to attend. Read more »

In Sanskrit, sat-sang translates to reality-being or being in the presence of the Master. Satsang frees one from all delusion, the plays and doubts of the mind, and is thus praised by the ancient sages as granting ultimate liberation.

Out of his boundless compassion, the Master extends the divine communion which he always enjoys to an external manifestation for all to revel in; he creates the fertile environment for all to access the peace, joy, and bliss within.

During Swamijis satsangs, group singers lead devotees in ecstatic singing and chanting dedicated to God. Swamiji shares precious truths which ignite the awareness of listeners and grant them the courage, inspiration, and solace to advance in the inward journey.

We welcome all to come and join in these vibrant, purifying, and healing gatherings in the presence of Guru Maharaj Swami Sai Premananda. Read more »

Phone: 416-951-8782
Email: info@swamplandflowers.ca
Website: www.swamplandflowers.ca
Address: 25 Gradwell Drive, Scarborough, ON M1M 2N1

Meditation is training for the possibility of being fully alive, of being immersed in the wonder of presence, of living free. It is an ongoing investigation of who we really are.

Why do so few people take up spiritual work? Because we don’t want to pay the price of giving up our usual patterns of living and thinking and relating, no matter what suffering they cause. And because we don’t want to experience the raw and painful truth about how things really are for us, and for this whole upside down world. There is a price to pay with spiritual practice. But it is less than what we pay to stay mired in the habit patterns of our lives.

Meditation is not about escape, or silence, or leaving home. It does not require a monastery or endless retreats. Ordinary people, living ordinary lives, can blossom right where they are. As Vimilakirti (a contemporary of the Buddha) noted, it is the mud of the low lying marshlands that produces the lotus flower. Read more »