Psychology of Consciousness & Alchemy of the Heart
In November 2024, we will start a new meditation training in Heartland, focusing on the holistic understanding and healing of the human psyche from a spiritual perspective and methods of consciousness. Our goal is to support participants through a rich, comprehensive and experientially acquired knowledge and safe, guided meditative practices on their journey towards a spiritually mature conscious humanity, where a person rests firmly within themselves as both a spiritual and psycho-physical being. The training is for those who want to take deeper steps in both meditation and in the experiential understanding of different aspects of their own humanity and spiritual foundation. The training is not intended to cure serious mental health problems.
As meditation practitioners and students of meditation traditions, our goal is both to understand the processes and layers involved in the awakening of consciousness (the so-called kundalini) and to become aware of the harmonious whole of the different aspects of being and levels of consciousness within us, where spiritual identity and humanness are not separate parts but support each other.
Both our starting point and our method is non-dualistic Heart Consciousness, which springs from the spiritual archetype of the Universal Heart, where the experiential unconditional love and seeing reality as it is (without judgement) from within us reveals the root cause of the fragmented emotion-thought energy mechanisms of our psyche, integrating them into a harmonious whole in a process that can be called the alchemy of the Heart.
Psychology of Consciousness & Alchemy of the Heart
Our Psychology of Consciousness & Alchemy of the Heart training is based on our long-standing and devotional meditation practice, therapeutic group and individual work, and the study and experiential internalisation of spiritual traditions. At the heart of our spiritual path has always been the goal of understanding the human mind and humanity as a platform for the awakening of consciousness and an instrument for soul expression. We are interested in the alchemical process guided and brought about by the Heart, where the “imprint of the hand of God” (the spiritual heart) within us comes alive through ordinary-looking human life, as we commit ourselves to opening our hearts and letting go of resistance and desires about what life should look like externally. We find the meaning of life when we surrender to living for and of the Heart, in service of life. This requires that we allow all parts of our psyche to heal in the infinite compassionate love of non-dualistic Heart Consciousness. The Universal Heart is hidden within our own heart, which is gradually revealed through an alchemical process.
Today, science, especially holistic quantum physics, is also helping us to understand that the whole universe is built into every part of it, which is why our human natures are not static but mutable. In the light of new research (including the HeartMath institute), positive emotional states such as gratitude and compassion have radically healing effects on our overall health and well-being. It is about the so-called coherence between heart and mind and the strength of our electromagnetic field, which can be measured by scientific methods and strengthened by meditative and breathing exercises, which can also be seen as part of the alchemy of non-dualistic Heart Consciousness.
The Psychology of Consciousness & Alchemy of the Heart training programme consists of both theoretical and experiential knowledge and a wide range of meditations and healing exercises. Alongside our own inner experiences, our training programme draws inspiration from a number of different orientations, including Sri Aurobindo’s (1872-1950) Integral Yoga, Ken Wilber’s Integral Psychology, Buddhist Psychology and the Seven Rays of Theosophy. One broader concept, particularly in the Samkhya yoga tradition, is the central elements (energies) of the universe, the so-called gunas (tamas, rajas, sattva), of which our psyche is composed and which very much determine the basic features of our nature and behaviour and help us to understand the workings of our own mind and behaviour.
We meet on six weekends (Saturday-Sunday). The training dates take into account the other trainings in the Heartland, so that the dates do not overlap. You can attend the training either physically on site or via the internet. The training will also be video-recorded for you to study at home, so you can attend even if you can’t make it every time. If you wish, you can also spend one day in the heartland and another from home. You can also stay overnight in the heartland, or go home for the night. For those coming from far away, we will try to arrange free accommodation in Rovaniemi also for the night between Friday and Saturday. Although the training is intended to be a six-week course, it can be interrupted with a separate notification.
Place: Heartland – The Place of Silence, Illintie 51, Rovaniemi, Finland.
Dates and times: in 2024: 9-10 November; 2025: 1-2 February; 7-8 June; 13-14 September; 8-9 November; 2026: 17-18 January. on Saturday 10-19; Sunday 9.30-16.
Price EUR 125 per session (incl. 25,5 % VAT). Absence does not affect the price, which is the same whether you come or not. Payment always before each session or in full at once to Heartland-Sydland FI40 8954 0710 1011 62 (please put Psychology of Consciousness in the message). Payment times can also be flexible, but this must be agreed separately by email. If you are coming from far away and travel costs are considerable, we can agree on a lower fee if necessary. If you do not understand English at all, the price can be slightly reduced and you can only attend the Finnish part (English part always at the end of the day).
The teachers are Leena and Hans Christian Hansen, both of whom are trained as Spiritual Therapy Instructors (Asger Lorentsen, Denmark) and have extensive experience in practicing and guiding meditation traditions and therapeutic awareness exercises on an individual and group level. Their interest and related study and practice for over twenty years has been focused on how to integrate spirituality into human life in such a way that awareness practices are reflected through humanity in everyday life as spiritual qualities such as compassion and lovingkindness. Through their own practice, which they have shared with other people for more than a decade, they have discovered that the so-called ‘mindfulness’ is a way of being in touch with the human condition, and that it is a way of being in touch with the human spirit. Instead of putting aside the ego self (which many meditation traditions teach, directly or indirectly), a far more effective way is to love the personality as a whole, freeing us from our self-created shackles to our true authentic self, to be conscious beings whose existence is not limited to the physical body and mind, but whose core is the Spiritual Heart – our deepest being, where we rest in awareness and love. Currently Leena and Hans Christian are students of the American spiritual teacher Mark Sullivan and the Indian teacher Sri M. (Sri M is a student of the legendary Himalayan Sri Guru Babaji). Both teachers support Heartland trainings. The languages of the training are Finnish and English.
Who can participate: our retreats are open to anyone without a previous retreat background. However, you should have some understanding and experience of meditation so that you know what it is all about. However, everyone can deepen their own practice from the situation in which they find themselves. If you have acute mental health problems, please let us know when you register so that we can discuss together whether the retreat can support your situation or, in some cases, the opposite.
