bells – enLIGHTened Tours

2 Spots Left!

October 26, 2019 Roxanna Smith

friendsConfetti

We keep pulling the 2 of Cups! Every time we sit down and meditate on this trip to call in participants, the 2 of Cups shows up.

We have 2 spots left for our trip next month to India. We know you’re out there – you just haven’t been able to find us!

This is an amazing trip to experience with a dear friend, family member or partner. The memories you will make and share are lifelong. Traveling provides opportunities to dive deep and experience situations that will fill you with amazement, awe and joy.

Traveling to India is easier than ever before. You can get a Visa in less than 24 hours now on the internet. Flights are still available. We are saving your spot!

Roxanna & Govind

Julia & Govind

India, Tours

Spacious

March 25, 2019 Roxanna Smith

How to describe Enlightened India 2019?

This isn’t your typical “group” tour; rolling up to sacred sites in a giant bus, and hustling on to the next destination to get the obligatory photo.

One word to describe our trip is Spacious. It’s 10 days of exploration: of a culture, of a city and of oneself. Each day there is free time built in for deeper diving; an invitation to drop-in and spend time with yourself and others.

We purposely spend our entire time in one location so that you can experience life in India, in this very special place, and begin to unwind and slow down.

Meditate each morning as the wind comes down from the Himalayas, sweeping the day clean.

Discover your favorite cafe and sip tea and watch the Ganges undulate in the sun. Walk along ancient forested paths amidst hundreds of butterflies. Journal by a waterfall. Kiss your favorite cow!

Be present. So far away from everything familiar. Listen to the air, filled with prayer bells from all the ashrams dotting the river. Discover yourself.

Roxanna & Julia are truly incredible women and leaders. I enjoyed India but more importantly, I felt the love, support and freedom to be completely vulnerable and to learn what I was here to learn about myself. I am going home a changed woman and I see the world through new eyes. Thank you. Deb O.

Beatles, India, Tours

The Beatles Ashram

March 23, 2019 Roxanna Smith

BeatlesGroup

One of the places we explore in Rishikesh is the ashram of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of Transcendental Meditation (TM), and the place where the Beatles came to meditate in the late 60’s.

The place is a magical, mystical experience! You can feel the energy and spirit of the once bustling ashram and its devotees. There are meditation huts dotting the land, including the famous hut #9, that can be traced back to John Lennon’s voice on the White Album repeating the phrase: “number 9, number 9”.

As you walk along the paths, filled with hundreds of butterflies of all shapes and colors, you can imagine hearing mantra being chanted in the now defunct meditation hall, or hear some bird sound that George Harrison may have heard.

Lynnette

With an incredible view of the Ganges river, the ashram sits atop a bluff, steeped in an atmosphere of peace and stillness. It’s a wonderful place to explore and lose yourself in the past as well as find yourself in the present.

Truly a favorite outing of our group!

India, Tours

We had such a great time!

January 16, 2019January 16, 2019 Roxanna Smith

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Last November, 21 Enlightened Travelers came together for 10 days in Rishikesh, India. The particular “masala” (blend) that was created with this unique and amazing group was the perfect mix of personalities. Ranging from 22 to 62 years old, everyone was able to find common ground and create a strong, supportive tribe. Together, we practiced yoga, meditated, dipped in the Ganges, honored our ancestors, explored, swam in waterfalls, went “glamping”, swapped stories, shared tears, laughed, discovered temples, hiked, biked, shopped, and ate delicious Indian food. On our last day, all agreed that it had been an experience of a lifetime; lives had been changed and hearts opened. Julia Myers Patterson and I could not be more thrilled.

What participants shared about their experience last year:

Through great planning and constant vigilance, Roxanna & Julia blended the right amount of cultural sightseeing and Indian experiences, with deeply spiritual opportunities and free time for solo exploration. They established group cohesion that promoted the opportunity for personal connections which will clearly last a lifetime. Joe R.

Enlightened Tours was a spectacular adventure. Roxanna & Julia created a well orchestrated tour in which I felt completely safe and enriched with experiences. I highly recommend this tour and will cherish this opportunity forever more. Lynnette S.

A spiritual journey and adventure of a lifetime. Roxanna & Julia have opened my heart to India and all it has to offer and held a safe place for the entire group. Bill A.

Traveling to India is a powerful experience. Roxanna & Julia show up, hold space and love fiercely. They have created a trip to experience ALL that Mother India has to offer. Logan M.

Thank you for a thoughtful, well-held experience. You provided a wonderful taste of India, the culture and brought together an amazing group of people. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am a changed/transformed person! Kimball L.

I had an amazing time on my trip to India with Roxanna & Julia. It was above and beyond anything I expected. Everything was well planned and I felt safe the entire time. Kristine E.

Had a life-changing experience with wonderful people who support the journey! Nai S.

Join us this November for Enlightened India 2019!

India, Tours

the Bells of India

June 13, 2018 Roxanna Smith

It’s the sound of the bells that I remember most. The ring ring ringing. The tone true and pure. Even today, thousands of miles away at Amma’s Ashram in California, tucked back into a small valley with foothills surrounding it, I recognize the sound. It immediately reminds me of the stillness within.

India is a land of contrasts and an indescribable tapestry of life. I remember seeing Gandhi’s peaceful tomb surrounded by a vast park and outside that a great conflux of cars and people. Stillness and traffic jams juxtaposed.

Heading North, leaving the city with its historical significance, my face pressed against the train window, I watch the buildings become homes and shacks and the shacks become trees and the trees become meadows. The air clears and I listen for more bells. Religion (as I call it being from the West) is different here. It’s incorporated into daily life. It isn’t just a Sunday thing. The bells ring every morning. The prayers are prayed, meditation a cornerstone of prayer, and chants takes place before daily life begins. Bright red string wrapped around wrists and sandalwood paste in white and the red Tilak announce to the world that you have participated in a ritual or ceremony. I wore mine with pride. I left them on for months until the string turned white and they started to fray.

Rishikesh in its glory, a beautiful place, two parts each on one side of the Ganga. It is a place for spiritual renewal. A place where people travel on pilgrimage. Seekers and Sadhus abound. And again the bells. Every morning around 5:00, the call for prayer announces itself. Even the monkeys are sleeping as I wrap myself in a blanket and find my sandals in the dark. I wander the closed streets and just follow the bells. I don’t know where I’m going and it doesn’t matter, really. The bells announce my path for me.

Going home I stop at a beautiful site outside Delhi and in front of me is a bell. I pick it up gently and hear the sound that is now like my heartbeat. It’s never far from my altar now that I’m back in Northern California. I ring it often to remind me of the pieces of my heart that I left in India.

-Julia Myers Patterson