Here at our lovely retreat centre we are enjoying an Indian Summer. It’s the 22nd of October and the temperature is 30 degrees celcius. Eat your hearts out or better still come join us!!!!
So much has happened since my last blog post. Most importantly the fabulous Om Dome has happened!!!!
So much more than we expected went into the construction and perfecting of this space, but now it is very REAL and yet again I am in absolute awe at my manifesting skills. I practically willed it into existence. What is so magnificent about this Dome is that it is even better than my wildest dreams. I feel awed when I walk into it. It has a real cathedral like feeling to it. My heart sings when I open the door.
A small devoted group of people worked their butts off to make this happen, including Harry, our dear retreat manager, and Richard my dear old friend and then a team of staff and volunteers who worked really hard, first on the Indiegogo campaign and then on the actual Dome construction. I am so grateful to have had this awesome help. I bow down to all of you heros and heroines!
Our Indiegogo campaign raised 40,000 Euros towards the project and this was a big achievement. This is about a quarter of what it actually cost. Without it we wouldn’t have been able to build it, so I am extremely grateful to everyone who donated. It was such a cool experience to run a campaign and it involved a lot of work for all of us! The last part of the Dome project in early September was the most fun as we had a few different artists flown in from London, to help Thea, my PA, to paint murals on the walls. Watching the murals slowly appear was really exciting!!! What great talented and dedicated artists we had. There is still more to go with the mural painting-we are not finished yet-so stay posted!
I taught part of my September Yoga Teachers’ Training in the Dome, namely the morning classes. It was so beautiful to see the sunrise every morning from the huge bay window. As soon as it came up we had to draw the curtains so no-one got overheated by the late summer sun. During this time we watched the murals grow, the electricity go live, and little improvements every day.
After the training we polished and stained the concrete floor terracotta with black streaks. In the end we were not so happy with the results of the floor, as it looks kind of patchy. The patches came from little holes made by condensation dripping onto the concrete floor, which then needed to get filled with filler. The stain didn’t really cover the patches so well. I am sitting with the results right now and contemplating an alternative floor covering as I really want the space to be perfect and don’t want to settle for less. Since it has underfloor radiant heating we need the right kind of floor that will conduct heat. So that part is a work in progress.
We also have not yet finished the outside of the Dome, where we plan to paint Buddha eyes, put a golden cupola on top and drape the Dome with prayer flags. I am waiting for the shipment to arrive from Bali with the cupola, which I made there from fiber glass. Any day it should be here :))
Artists Impression of the Om Dome at Suryalila
On October 11th we held the Grand Opening of the Om Dome. About sixty local people came, which was awesome, as well as our dear friend the actor, Jerome Flynn, who was filming Game of Thrones in Seville. Most of our Spanish friends were as excited to see Jerome as we were but for different reasons!
The opening was perfect, even though it took place during a large thunderstorm and deluge of rain! I taught a Yoga class in the Dome with about sixty participants accompanied by live music form the very talented Saheed, on all kinds of Indian instruments, including his beautiful voice. We also had Jessica Brookes playing singing bowls during savasana. Aaah heavenly!!! It was perfect and everyone loved it! After that we had an amazing healthy-style Spanish dinner cooked by our chef, the amazing Gemma and team. The tables in the dining room looked really swanky as we set them with wine glasses and wine on every table, as well as flowers and candles. The dining room was buzzing!
After dinner we had a flamenco concert with our dear friend Tino. Tino is a Dutch guy who has lived many years in Seville and has mastered flamenco guitar. He plays professionally in Seville and is an uber-talented virtuoso. We are very lucky to know him! He loves Suryalila and we love him, so he comes any time we invite him and wows us and our guests with his extraordinary talent.
Finally DJ Ali and Saheed played music to dance to and we got down on the dance floor. The music they played was electro Indian and really funky and we loved it! We realized what a great discotheque the Dome makes, with our versatile lighting, awesome sound system and a great vibe. We will definitely have them back!!!!
After all the Dome excitement it was back to work big time to get the new website finished. We have been working on a new website for Suryalila for the last three months. Jorin Hawley and Paddy O’Hanlon designed and created the skeleton and then Jessi, Lydia and myself put the meat on the bones. We have been putting in a lot of hours the last few weeks to finish it. We are really excited about it as it is much more professional and looks much better than the old one and is SEO optimized, so hopefully we will start to come up organically in Search engines, very soon. Today is the day we launch our new website. Yeah!!!!! So exciting!!!
I love the Dome! I love Suryalila! I love the new website! I love my life! I am profoundly grateful to life and to all of my friends! Hope you come visit us soon. Please tell me how you like the new website http://www.suryalilaretreatcentre.com going live 5pm October 22nd Spanish time. Drink some champagne with us! Cheers!