Newspaper Page Text
Mountain retreat centers offer spiritual, mental healing
blessing,” Cook said. “I can’t not share it
with people.”
Perhaps more than ever, people are
in need of healing. The World Health
Organization (WHO) in March released
a study that said the global prevalence of
anxiety and depression jumped 25% in the
first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is a wake-up call to all countries
to pay more attention to mental health
and do a better job of supporting their
populations’ mental health,” said Dr.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO
director-general.
While it’s well known that leisure travel
can promote well-being, vacations that
incorporate meditation or mindfulness
techniques can have long-lasting results.
“There are thousands of studies now
showing how meditation benefits the mind,
the nervous system,” said Ryan Strong,
senior minister at the Center for Spiritual
Awareness (CSA). “It slows aging,
decreases anxiety, decreases depression.”
The CSA is in Lakemont, Ga., just past
Tallulah Gorge, tucked away quietly on a
roughly 10-acre wooded site along Lake
Rabun.
“You are up in the mountains, near a
beautiful lake,” Strong said. “It’s very serene
... There is something special about the
land itself.”
Founded in 1972 by Roy Eugene Davis,
the CSA this April celebrates its 50th
anniversary. The Lake Rabun location is
the center’s international headquarters,
although it has teachers and other centers
across the globe.
The CSA is nondenominational and
teaches the principles of healthy living and
The Center for
Spiritual Aware
ness sits on about
10 acres near lake
Rabun. (Courtesy
of the Center for
Spiritual Aware-
meditation.
“Then beyond that, our main focus is to
teach Kriya Yoga ... the path of realizing,
or becoming aware, becoming awake of our
true nature, becoming more conscious of
the truth of our reality,” Strong said. “Kriya
Yoga is a path. It’s a path of awakening to
our ultimate consciousness.”
Davis taught Kriya Yoga for 68 years
before his death in 2019. He had directly
studied under Paramahansa Yogananda, an
Indian monk, yogi and guru who brought
meditation to the U.S. and introduced
millions to the teachings of Kriya Yoga.
Starting April 18, the CSA will offer
retreats every two weeks through early
December. People are invited to come, rest
and learn to meditate. Typically, a retreat
day would include a morning and an
afternoon mediation, along with optional
classes.
“Everything of course is optional, but
we have afternoon classes on Ayurveda or
Vedic astrology, or we will play a video of
Roy’s seminars and talks,” Strong said. “But
most people that come have a lot of time
to just be in silence, to rest, relax, walk the
grounds.”
The property includes a
library, learning center and
two meditation temples.
Cabins feature single beds
with small kitchens for
vegetarian cooking. It’s
$60 a night to stay at the
center.
Another respite to
consider is in Boone, N.C.
The Art of Living
Retreat Center is nestled
in the mountains on 380
acres. It consists of dozens
of buildings, including a
meditation hall that can
hold up to 3,700 guests.
There’s also a spa on the
property, offering Ayurveda
courses and treatments.
AtlantalntownPaper.com
By Amy Wenk
In 2009, Eve Cook was battling an
aggressive cancer.
“It wasn’t going away, and doctors were
telling me, ‘Get your affairs in order,”’
Cook said. “We really had to decide what
made us excited and motivated in the
world.”
The next year, her family would
purchase more than 200 acres of land in
the North Georgia mountains, not far
from Helen, Ga. There, Cook took time to
recover and heal, all the while dreaming of
starting a retreat center.
“I didn’t know if I was going to be alive
... but, we just went for it,” said Cook,
whose cancer has since gone into remission.
That was the beginning of Elohee
Retreat Center, which sits on roughly two
dozen acres and hosts 80 to 90 retreats a
year. A variety of facilitators and instructors
rent the center, offering retreats from
yoga to mediation and women’s self
empowerment getaways. The property
features a 100-foot waterfall, walking trails
and a reflection pond overlooking Yonah
Mountain.
“Being here on this land, surrounded by
this beautiful energy and having something
to live for by creating Elohee, is a huge
62 APRIL 2022 | IE]