AUM 2019

A collection of photos & other materials from AUM 2019 are available on the Post-AUM 2019 page.

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Evolving through Challenges into Oneness Consciousness

June 20-23, 2019 at Seabeck Conference Center, Seabeck, WA, USA
For information, contact Bill Leon (billleon@geoeducation.org / 206-914-6663)
or Edith Stadig (service@rayapublishing.com / 808-635-5908)

Registration deadline is June 15, 2019!
Click here to register.

The All USA Meeting (AUM) is an annual conference for people interested in: consciousness, evolution, and the future of humanity; the practice of Integral Yoga; the vision of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother; and the sustainable international community of Auroville, India (www.auroville.org). People come to AUM to network with others on the evolutionary path, to experience a deeper reality, and to widen their understanding of Integral Yoga. Many feel a spiritual atmosphere at AUM that is helpful for individual and collective progress. For a brief description of Integral Yoga as defined by Sri Aurobindo, click here.

Overview

We hear it every day and it affects us on many levels—objectively and subjectively. The world is in crisis and challenged in many ways (e.g., climate changes and species die off as human impacts on the planet have ushered in a new geologic epoch called the Anthropocene). Challenges and crises of a personal nature are also common, and some are related to the changes taking place at larger scales. But, still, there is the dilemma of what to do or not do? Maybe if the crisis is at root a problem of consciousness, then the challenge would call us to move toward an auspicious outcome by adjusting our consciousness.

Sri Aurobindo and Mother offer insights and suggestions for addressing our individual and collective responses to challenges and crises on personal, community, and global levels. Part of the breakthrough they envision is realizing all is connected and part of the Divine play, and, if we can act in harmony with the Divine’s intention, we can help bring about a better self and a better world. Thus, realizing and learning to live in oneness on all levels may lead us to deeper understandings and paths forward. But even if we reach some understanding of a Divine reality, we still have to learn how to live in the material world. In the Synthesis of Yoga, Sri Aurobindo explains:

Our first imperative aim when we draw back from mind, life, body and all else that is not our eternal being, is to get rid of the false idea of self by which we identify ourselves with the lower existence and can realize only our apparent being as perishable or mutable creatures in a perishable or ever mutable world. We have to know ourselves as the self, the spirit, the eternal; we have to exist consciously in our true being. Therefore, this must be our primary, if not our first one and all-absorbing idea and effort in the path of knowledge. But when we have realised the eternal self that we are, when we have become that inalienably, we have still a secondary aim, to establish the true relation between this eternal self that we are and the mutable existence and mutable world which till now we had falsely taken for our real being and our sole possible status. . . . In order that there should be any real relation, it must be a relation between two realities.

Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis of Yoga, p. 368

So, please come and join us for an exploration of how wisdom teachings from Integral Yoga and other perspectives can encourage new insights into our situation and perhaps new ideas for personal or collective action. As unique individuals, we have different ways of learning, understanding, planning, acting, and communicating. This gathering is not about finding one way to address crises or fashioning a consensus of any kind. Rather, through our individual and collective practices and explorations, we hope to discover ways to work more effectively toward solutions that emanate from our depths and our heights while engaging our whole beings.

Themes

We will discuss and participate in collective experiences to address these important questions:

• How can we support and learn from one another in these turbulent times?
• What is the spiritual significance of the unfolding socio-ecological challenges? How can we align our personal aspirations with a higher vision?
• How can we experience the deeper realities of Truth? What can they show us?
• What can the yoga of Sri Aurobindo and Mother and the wisdom of others teach us about how to develop and use higher levels of consciousness to foster personal, social, political and ecological change?
• How can we exert more control over our waking, external consciousness so that our mental state is more attuned to our inner being, allowing us to see and act in the world with greater clarity and more effective energy?
• How can we connect with our inner Divinity, discern and trust its guidance, and yoke it to the evolutionary project of individual and collective transformation?
• How can we connect with the psychic being in us, trust in its guidance, and express its harmony in our daily lives?

This AUM will bring an inspiring set of gatherings to allow us to explore these themes and questions together. The events will include presentations, discussions, activities, music, movement, meditation, time in Nature, pranayama, poetry, feasting, conversation, and volleyball. Much of it will be interactive. In addition to serving the Integral Yoga community, we hope to attract others in the region who might want to explore with us and add their own perspectives.

Program

AUM 2019 Tentative Program

Location

The setting at the Seabeck Conference Center (seabeck.org) is a beautiful one: surrounded by forest, meadows, and water on Hood Canal, 40 miles west of Seattle, Washington with beautiful views of the majestic Olympic Mountains.

If you have time, plan a trip to the nearby Olympic Peninsula before or after the conference. The Beaches near La Push are some of the most scenic in the world. You can day-hike through rain forest to isolated beaches with big rocks (stacks) nearby and eagles above. You can sleep on the beach or in cabins and motels at La Push Ocean Park. Eat fresh salmon in the Tribe’s restaurant and watch the eagles out the window. The Ho Rainforest (which gets 140-170 inches of rain per year) offers several easy and long hiking options among big trees and lots of moss. Hurricane Ridge and the Dungeness Spit are 1.5 hours north and west. Several interesting Native museums are in the area. Or find waterfalls, hot springs, giant cedar trees, sea kayaking, old growth forests, snowy peaks, rivers to hike along, and historic towns with good restaurants. And then, Seattle and surrounding areas have other offerings. Canada (ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria on Vancouver Is. or drive 3 hours north from Seattle to Vancouver) and Oregon are also not too far away.

Weather Guarantee: Lots of daylight on the solstice (sunset at 9:13PM and twilight till midnight); Sunshine? Good odds; but bring a raincoat. Avg. high is 71 degrees F, avg. low is 52 degrees F. Learn more at https://weatherspark.com/y/912/Average-Weather-in-Seabeck-Washington-United-States-Year-Round.

Topics & Presenters

Tentative program/schedule (added on April 9, 2019)

Read more on the AUM 2019 Presenters page →

Costs

Accommodations are varied and range from $360/person to $475/person depending on type of room and number of people per room. The fees cover a bed for 3 nights, all meals, and a full agenda of events. The daily program commuter rate is $100 (which includes meals and site fee).

There may be a separate Sunday afternoon program on Awareness Through the Body at a nearby venue, so keep that in mind when you book your return flight. If you would like to stay Sunday night, you will need to book a room somewhere else. There are three motels in Silverdale and many more in the area nearby.

Tenting, RVs or sleeping in vehicles are not possible at Seabeck Conference Center. Around 50 tent sites are available at Scenic Beach State Park, 2 miles away. See https://washington.goingtocamp.com/scenicbeachstatepark for reservations. They will likely be heavily booked in the summer.

Partial or full scholarships will likely be available for some attendees in need of financial assistance. Contact us to learn more before you register.

See registration for details on the accommodations and to select your choices. See other details below.

Accommodations

Accommodations are available in 5 different houses, with a variety of options: single, double, triple occupancy per room, private or shared bathrooms. We will assign rooms on a first come first serve basis.

Check-in: Thursday, June 20th, 2019, 4:00 PM or later. Host team members will be on site earlier. Let Edith know when you plan to arrive.

Check-out: Sunday, June 23rd, 2019, 1:00 PM or earlier. All sleeping rooms must be vacated by 9:00 AM on Sunday. Early arrivals and/or late departures are subject to an additional $2.00 charge.

With the exception of service animals, pets are not allowed. Nearby kennels are listed on the Seabeck website.

Meals

Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included, starting with dinner on Thursday, and ending with lunch on Sunday. Seabeck Conference Center tries to meet the needs of all guests, and will provide vegetarian meals throughout the conference. Guests with a variety of food issues are encouraged to bring supplemental food that may be stored in the dining room refrigerator and warmed in the microwave. There are also many options on the salad bar at every lunch and dinner. Seabeck offers the following alternative diet requests: Vegan, Non-Celiac Gluten Free, Dairy Free or any combination of these. Please mark your choice on the sign-up sheet. Seabeck is a nut-free facility, but does not guarantee that processed foods have been produced in a nut-free environment.

Transportation

Costs and arrangements for transportation are not included in the conference fees. Please arrange your own transportation.

If you fly in, Sea-Tac Airport (SEA) will be the closest airport.

There is a shuttle service https://www.kitsapairporter.com/ to and from Sea-Tac (Bremerton/Kitsap Airporter) which takes about 2 hours each way between the airport and Silverdale. The cost is $26/adult and $15/child 2-11 years. Their phone is 360-876-1737. The shuttle runs every hour from 5:30AM to midnight.

From Silverdale, you will need a taxi to Seabeck Conference Center. Taxi and Tours (open 24/7; 206-842-7660; http://www.taxiandtourskitsap.com/) can drive you between Seabeck Conference Center and the Best Western Motel in Silverdale (15 minute drive; around $22 per van; holds 6 with luggage). Have someone on the shuttle call Taxi and Tours to let them know when you (and how many of you) will be arriving in Silverdale so they can arrange to pick you up.

Carpooling

To save time and money for all, we can try to pool rides to and from the airport. If you would like to share or offer a ride with your car or a rental car, please contact us and we will be happy to coordinate.

Registration

Registration deadline for lodging and meals: June 15, 2019

To register online, click the button below. Each person must register separately, so please add a note if you wish to be roomed with another person.

You can also register offline by printing and filling out this form. Details for submission are included in the second page of the document.

For questions about accommodations, contact Edith Stadig at 808-635-5908 or service@rayapublishing.com

We look forward to seeing you in Washington. It will be like coming AUM again.
— AUManagement