News and Happenings Archive

Welcome to the News and Happenings Archive section of the Synchronicity Foundation website.

In anticipation of Master Charles' return to Mumbai, India for a series of public programs, large banners were placed in key areas of this sprawling metropolis to inform the public. The first program is on Monday, November 17th.

WORLI NAKA

NEPEAN SEA ROAD

MARINE DRIVE

FLORA FOUNTAIN

Master Charles will be spending the second half of November, 2008 in Mumbai, India. Joining him will be several Synchronicity staff members along with an international group of Synchronicity Associates, many of whom are touring India for the first time. The tour will feature public programs with Master Charles that will be offered to the public as follows:

An Evening with Master Charles Cannon -
The High-Tech Guru
Monday, November 17, 2008 at 8:00pm
Y.B. Chavan Centre
Nariman Point, Mumbai
Inquiries (India): (011) 91 22 22155036, 7, 8 or via email: yogi@yogiimpressions.com
Inquiries (U.S.)  757-644-3400 or via email: retreats@synchronicity.org

Darshans with Master Charles Cannon
Nov. 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 and 28
Y.B. Chavan Centre
Nariman Point, Mumbai
Inquiries (India): (011) 91 22 22155036, 7, 8 or via email: yogi@yogiimpressions.com
Inquiries (U.S.)  757-644-3400 or via email: retreats@synchronicity.org

Weekend Empowerment Program with
Master Charles Cannon
Saturday and Sunday, November 29 and 30, 2008
10:00am - 12:30pm and 2:00pm - 5:30pm
Y.B. Chavan Centre
Nariman Point, Mumbai
Inquiries (India): (011) 91 22 22155036, 7, 8 or via email: yogi@yogiimpressions.com
Inquiries (U.S.)  757-644-3400 or via email:

Master Charles was also formally introduced to the assembly and acknowledged by Her Holiness Sai Maa Lakshmi Devi. Thereafter, Master Charles and Sai Maa spent many hours late into the night and early morning hours, discussing the ways and means in which they and their two organizations might collaborate and support each other in their common vision of a world restored to balance and spiritual value.

Also, Master Charles was invited to address an assembly of all the Australian participants along with Sai Maa’s “Master Teachers”, those who she has designated as primary representatives of her teachings to the world. The response was nothing less than heart-warming and deeply transformative. All were delighted to meet the Modern Mystic and enjoy his palpable energetic transmission.

After the conclusion of the Vail intensive, Master Charles traveled with Sai Maa through the Rocky Mountains to her ashram in Crestone, where their collaborative dialogue continued along with opportunities for Master Charles to meet with members of her monastic and secular communities. In the high desert of Colorado, with the Sangre de Cristo Mountain Range as a backdrop, the secluded and rugged beauty of the natural environment combined with the intoxicating energy of two Spiritual Masters to create a fulfilling and holistic experience.

Most impressive was the heart-felt welcoming, acknowledgment, and honoring that Master Charles received from all and everyone and the openness to his modern, technological approach to spirituality with Contemporary Meditation as the means. Looking ahead, ongoing collaborations are being planned as if to demonstrate to the world what it could mean to bring balance to the relative polarities… with the human representation of the Divine Masculine and Feminine… two Spiritual Masters… sharing their combined wisdom… as a unity in diversity.

After showing her the Blessed Mother painting, Master Charles then welcomed Sai Maa into the Environment, where the assembled were invited to come forward individually to greet them both. The mutual honoring and deep love that flowed between Mataji and Master Charles literally filled the hall with divine light and the assembled disciples were gifted with a most uplifting and empowering experience. Sai Maa then spoke to the group for a short time and led a beautiful Vedic chant joined by Master Charles.

After the two Spiritual Masters bid farewell to the assembly to spend time privately discussing plans for future collaborations, Her disciples were hosted by the Synchronicity Community for a sumptuous luncheon and tour of the Sanctuary Retreat Center. Many from both communities commented that the visit felt more like a “homecoming” than merely getting acquainted. Without a doubt, there was an immediate sense of heartfelt welcoming and the joyful recognition that all are brothers and sisters in the spiritual journey, sharing in the greatest fortune possible for a human being… a devoted and steadfast commitment to a true Spiritual Master.

As part of the tour, an overview of the Synchronicity Holistic Lifestyle Model, as created by Master Charles, was presented to the Sai Maa Community by Synchronicity teachers, including a short session of Synchronicity Contemporary HighTech Meditation. It was a blissful experience of meditative awareness in which many were reluctant to remove their headphones at the conclusion!

From there, the tour culminated with a visit to the Pavilion (Blessed Mother Apparition site), wherein the combined communities assembled together for a meditation in the sacred presence of the Blessed Mother, whose apparitional manifestation continues on a daily basis. Simultaneously, Sai Maa and Master Charles communed with the Blessed Mother in Her private apparition site, The Grotto, adjacent to the Pavilion. As the assembled disciples’ meditation was ending, all were gifted with the vision of the radiant Masters joyfully emerging from the Grotto… a most auspicious conclusion to an empowering communion of two great spiritual luminaries and their disciples.

Listen to an Audio clip of Master Charles Cannon’s recent Open House Evening Dialogue – August 2006

"As has been said by a very wise man, "the eye cannot see itself." And so when it comes to recognizing the precious nature of each day…the precious nature of each day is the truth that it embodies; it is alive. It is the expression of One Unified Consciousness. If you are wakeful to the truth of the Oneness of all and everything, it is a most blissful experience, for it is the experience of wholeness, and in wholeness there is ultimate fulfillment."

Each month at the Synchronicity Sanctuary in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of central Virginia, we offer an Open House Weekend. It features a Saturday evening dialogue with Master Charles Cannon and is a wonderful opportunity to meet and spend time with Master Charles and enjoy the contemplative environment of the Synchronicity Sanctuary. It is also an appropriate context for guests and all those who are new to the Synchronicity Experience.
We invite you to listen to this 11 minute excerpt from Master Charles’ discourse from our July 2006 Open House by clicking on the link below:

Click here to listen to an excerpt from Master Charles’ discourse

In his first ever visit, Master Charles will present public programs in Toronto, Canada in September, 2008. The first is a free introductory program on the evening of September 25th. On September 27th, Master Charles will present a full-day Empowerment Program that will include the Recognitions Program - Phase One for all participants at no additional charge.

This two day visit is a wonderful opportunity for those living in the Toronto area to meet and spend time with Master Charles as well as get started with his most advanced at-home Contemporary High-Tech Meditation correspondence course.

Guru Purnima is the day of the year on which one's Spiritual Master is celebrated and acknowledged, according to the Vedic / Tantric Tradition. In 2008, this most sacred occasion falls on July 18th, the day of the full moon. As it is truthfully expressed in the Shiva Sutras, among the most time-honored sources of spiritual wisdom, "The Master is the means." Thus, the role of the authentic Master in the spiritual journey of the disciple cannot be overestimated.

Traditionally, disciples gift the Master on Guru Purnima as a means of honoring and celebrating his / her empowering presence in their lives. This year, you are invited to honor your own mastery by participating in a Guru Purnima Raffle, a most auspicious way of celebrating this very special day. All proceeds from the Guru Purnima 2008 Raffle will be earmarked for the ongoing expansion and beautification of Shrine of the Heart, making this a most powerful investment in positive force.

Three prizes will be awarded to the winners of a drawing to be held on Guru Purnima day as follows:

First Prize - A Mastery or Stillpointe Retreat with Master Charles within the next year. Second Prize - Three months of Facilitated Mentoring with Master Charles. Third Prize - A Contemporary Empowerment with Master Charles (during a week-long retreat).

Tickets for the Guru Purnima 2008 Raffle are $100 each and you may purchase as many as you wish, thus increasing your chances of being chosen as a prize winner. To purchase your ticket(s) please email: finance@synchronicity.org; or call 757.644.3400.

Summer is a time for many to take a vacation for rest, recreation and rejuvenation. In July of 2008, under Master Charles' guidance, the Synchronicity Community participated in an annual beach retreat based upon a holistic lifestyle model. Compared to a typical "vacation", this yields a much more profound sense of rejuvenation that is also empowering. In a celebratory and playful atmosphere, Master Charles' enlightening presence delivered holistic awareness to all the participants, resulting in a truly fulfilling experience.

Sand and surf during the daytime alternated with evening darshans with Master Charles, providing the perfect interior / exterior balance. In all, the Synchronicity 2008 Beach Retreat was a memorable experience for all.

Synchronicity's Vice-President, Alan Scherr, is currently visiting India at Master Charles' request for the purpose of finalizing details for the India Tour in November, 2008. Alan is working closely with Yogi Impressions, Synchronicity's sponsoring organization located in Bombay, whose professional assistance contributed grreatly to the success of the last India tour in January / February, 2008.

Among the specifics to be finalized in India are the securing of high quality accommodations for the tour participants as well as suitable venues for the public programs and daily gatherings with Master Charles. Alan will return to the Sanctuary on July 7th.

The Masters Empowerment Retreat, Synchronicity Sanctuary’s final retreat for 2007, was held from December 29th - January 1st, 2008.  Guests from all over the world attended this retreat which featured Stillpointe Meditation Sessions every evening along with additional daytime meetings with Master Charles in which participants were given the opportunity to receive his Sourceful perspective on their challenges.  One of the highlights of the retreat was a Blessed Mother meditation and message with Master Charles on New Years Eve Day.  You can read the Blessed Mother’s New Years message by clicking here.   

Master Charles’ Birthday Stillpointe Retreat featured a week-long yagna is a comprehensive Vedic / Tantric ritual of invocation and empowerment.  This particular yagna was focused on the Divine Feminine in keeping with Master Charles’ life-long association with the Blessed Mother and Her apparitional manifestation within the Shrine of the Heart at Synchronicity Sanctuary.

Retreatants had several opportunities daily to sit at the specially constructed yagna site and enjoy the sacred energetic experience generated by the chanting of mantras and offering of specific materials into the yagna fire, which was kept burning 24 / 7 throughout the week.  Each day, Master Charles was in attendance, blessing and overseeing the ritual. 

The yagna’s conclusion at midday on Saturday, March 22nd was marked by great celebration and along with Master Charles, everyone shared in the miraculous collective empowerment created over the course of the week. 

Brahmin priests chanting mantras along with offerings into fire.		Master Charles plays cymbals along with Vedic chanting.
Master Charles receives a traditional flower garland from the Brahmin priests.		One of the Brahmin priests offers ghee (clarified butter) into the yagna fire.
A tray of fruit is blessed by Master Charles before offering by priest.		Guests are given a bindi (red dot) on the third eye to conclude each yagna session.
The yagna flames leap high after the priest pours a bowl of ghee into the fire.		Master Charles, the Brahmin priests and assembled retreatants at the yagna.

One of the most sacred expressions of the Vedic / Tantric Tradition is the yagna, a ritual of invocation and empowerment that accesses the subtle dimensions of Consciousness, creating balance and wholeness on a collective, environmental level.  Yagnas are highly specialized rituals that are precisely performed by those trained since early childhood in the orthodox traditions that are at their basis.  There are many forms of yagnas, including those that have the invocation of the Divine Feminine as their focus, but all share the primary intention in creating balance and wholeness. 

The upcoming Birthday Stillpointe Silent Retreat will feature the performance of yagnas throughout the week and participants will have time allotted each day in their schedule to sit at the yagna pavilion, witness the rituals and enjoy the holistic empowerment generated therein.  Because they generate such a magnitude of positive force, the opportunity to materially contribute to the yagnas is considered a most empowering way of connecting to their transformational power.  Whether physically present at the Sanctuary or not, all are strongly encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity to invest in positive force.  To contribute to the yagnas, please contact the Sanctuary 757.644.3400 or via email: alan@synchronicity.org.

On the evening of July 29th, 2007, the Synchronicity Community celebrated Guru Purnima with traditional ceremonies of acknowledgement and honoring of Master Charles.  Following the conclusion of the formal ceremonies, Master Charles was garlanded with flowers and a special mala (necklace), of rare Rudraksha beads from India that are traditionally worn by those whose primary focus is spiritual empowerment and human mastery. 

Master Charles then greeted each participant individually followed by an inspiring discourse in which he shared a number of intimate stories from his days with his Guru, Paramahansa Muktananda.  A beautiful chant of a Divine Feminine prayer and meditation concluded a memorable evening for all.    

A number of years ago, Master Charles expressed a wish to plant fruit trees on the Sanctuary property, so that subsequently, fresh fruit could be provided for the Synchronicity Community throughout the summer and fall.  Once a suitable location was determined and the land was prepared, peach, apple, cherry and pear trees were planted and began to mature.

In the last few years, we have begun to enjoy the fruits of our efforts, so to speak, and this year, we have had an especially abundant crop of peaches… so many, in fact, that we were not able to consume them as quickly as they were being harvested!  So, Master Charles directed the kitchen staff to create a healthy Zone-favorable (reduced carbohydrate), recipe for peach preserves and then, make jars of them available to our wider audience through our Peace of Mind Shop on retreats and Open House Weekends.

Preparing and bottling the preserves was quite an adventure that included members of the Synchronicity Monastic and Secular Communities along with Serve-Study staff.  We are delighted to share some photos of our peach preserves-making operation with you…

Peach harvest time in the orchard	Washing fruit before processing
Many hands peeling peaches	Creating the preserves with a special recipe
Bottling the preserves	After cooling… the finished product

We are pleased to announce the winners of the Guru Purnima 2007 Raffle:

First Prize - Shawn McMorrow (A Synchronicity Mastery or Stillpointe Silent Retreat).

Second Prize - Neil Cohen (Three months of Facilitated Mentoring with Master Charles).

Third Prize - Noeleen Shaw (A Recognitions / Core Dynamics Phase change).

We congratulate our winners and are most grateful to all who participated. 

In April, 2008 Master Charles will be returning to Nashville, TN to present a public program on the Synchronicity Experience - Modern Spirituality and Holistic Lifestyle, and also to attend the Nashville Film Festival in which the documentary film: The Spiritual Revolution, will be screened.  This full-length documentary by prominent Los Angeles filmmaker Alan Swyer features Master Charles and includes many other modern spiritual teachers as well as doctors and scientists who have studied meditation and its comprehensive impact on human consciousness.  The film has garnered rave reviews wherever it has been shown.

Synchronicity’s Spring Mastery Retreat was held May 20th – 27th, 2007 at the Sanctuary Retreat Center, featuring Master Charles dialoguing on the theme: Celebrating Divine Life. In attendance were many first-time retreat participants from all over the world. The beautiful spring weather combined with the Sanctuary’s ethereal vibration of holistic empowerment to create a heavenly environment in which to explore the subtlest dimensions of meditative experience and spiritual discourse.

Master Charles will present a series of public programs in London, UK in mid-February, 2008 on the Synchronicity Experience - Contemporary High-Tech Meditation and Holistic Lifestyle. The public programs in London will be presented in a two-part series starting with a free introductory evening dialogue in which Master Charles will present an overview of the Synchronicity Experience. The second part of the series is an intensive full-day seminar on Saturday that delves more deeply into the Synchronicity Experience. Ticket price for the full-day seminar: £60

To order tickets click here

For more information click here

To view the London tour ad click here

In January and February, 2008, Master Charles will travel to the east in an historic journey in which he will present the Synchronicity Experience - Contemporary High-Tech Meditation and Holistic Lifestyle to the technology oriented people of India. In returning to the land of his spiritual roots in which he spent many years with his illustrious teacher, Paramahansa Muktananda, Master Charles brings the system of Modern Spirituality he originated full circle. Synchronicity Programs will be presented in Mumbai, India’s commercial center and Bangalore, a south Indian city known for its natural beauty as well as being the “Silicon City” of India.

While in India, Master Charles has also been invited to spend time with a number of Spiritual Masters associated with the lineage of his teacher. The last leg of the tour will be a series of programs with Master Charles in London.

Master Charles recently visited Nashville, TN to deliver a series of programs to the public as well as the existing meditator community. An introductory program was held on Thursday, November 15th at the Belcourte Theatre, a unique venue in which avant-garde film and theatre productions are shown.

After being introduced by Rudrani Devi, a Synchronicity Certified Teacher who has shared the Synchronicity Experience with many in the Nashville area, Master Charles spoke to an enthusiastic audience for over two hours. Included was a group session of Synchronicity Contemporary High-Tech Meditation which was guided by Master Charles and delivered everyone to a most blissful state of being.

On the following Saturday, Master Charles presented an all-day seminar in which the level of discourse and holistic empowerment brought the participants to blissful and profound experiences of holistic awareness. Many who had never before spent time with Master Charles were deeply moved by his palpable presence.

To complete the journey, Master Charles then met privately with the Nashville area Synchronicity Community to speak directly to them and address their questions and experiences. In all, it was a most impactful experience, demonstrating yet again that even in the midst of a busy urban environment, mastery is directly available whenever we are wakeful and present.

Master Charles in the introductory program at the Belcourte Theatre.		Master Charles in the daylong seminar.
Master Charles and Recognitions Associates.		Farewell Greeting with Master Charles.

On April 18th, 2007, Master Charles welcomed Tibetan Buddhist Spiritual Master Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche for a visit to the Sanctuary. Tenzin Rinpoche is a lineage holder of the Bön Dzogchen Tradition and is a widely traveled and respected scholar and teacher.

A former Rockefeller Fellowship faculty member at Rice University in Houston, Texas, Rinpoche was awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities grant for research on the Bön Tradition and has published a number of books. Rinpoche currently resides in Charlottesville, Virginia, where he has established Ligmincha Institute and Serenity Ridge Retreat Center located within a short distance from Synchronicity Sanctuary.

In their nearly two hour meeting, Master Charles offered a concise overview of the Synchronicity Experience, the contemporization of the ancient wisdom of the Tantra and in particular, Kashmir Shaivism, the spiritual tradition of his illustrious teacher, Muktananda. He also gave Rinpoche an introduction to the Blessed Mother Apparition and how Her public manifestation has made the Sanctuary a place of pilgrimage.

In their ensuing discussion, many questions were addressed, connections acknowledged from both sides, and the sense of mutual respect and fellowship was pervasive. In all, the meeting of these two Spiritual Masters was a most auspicious and timely event as we continue to witness the unfolding miracle of the Blessed Mother Apparition and Her consistent emphasis on the One in the Many… unity in diversity… and the truth of our Oneness as a demonstration of a conscious humanity.

Synchronicity's monthly Open House Weekend was held during the first week of July and included Being the New God - The Weekend Retreat. Also included was the monthly meditation with Master Charles at the Shrine of the Heart in which the Blessed Mother conveyed Her monthly message.

The Open House Program on Saturday evening featured a teleconference which connected Synchronicity Associates world-wide with Master Charles and the Sanctuary. Everyone in attendance as well as those participating in the teleconference were blissfully inspired by Master Charles' empowering presence.

Master Charles and the Synchronicity Community gathered on December 25th to celebrate a most Sourceful Christmas, 2007.  Beginning with a sumptuous dinner prepared by the Synchronicity kitchen, the celebration continued with gift exchanges and Zone balanced desserts in the Fellowship Hall Lounge.  Master Charles graciously sat with small groups throughout the evening until everyone in attendance had an opportunity to interact with him.  In all, Christmas, 2007 was a delightful occasion for the Synchronicity Community.

Synchronicity Hosts Local Interfaith Event
May 14, 2007

It has been Master Charles’ intention to reach out to those in the local community and beyond in order to acknowledge and celebrate the common threads of unity that exist within the diversity of religious / spiritual perspectives. This outreach represents a demonstration of the more evolved possibility available to humanity in these times and stands in contrast to the current sectarian strife that threatens to plunge the world into global conflict.

In attendance at the conference were participants active in a number of ongoing local area interfaith initiatives from spiritual / religious traditions including the Bahai; Christian; Hindu / Vedic; Judaic; and others. Several of the guests arrived earlier that day and experienced the daily meditation at the Blessed Mother public apparition site followed by dinner. Joining the interfaith event were a number of Synchronicity Monastic and Secular Community Members who greeted the guests and participated in the discussion.

After Master Charles’ arrival, all were introduced to him and each participant was then invited to share their interfaith background and perspective on the current state of world spirituality and what they see as the greater possibility of such. There were many beautiful and personal sharings and as the discussion unfolded, a palpable sense of holistic collective consciousness was noticed in the room. The joy of an interfaith dialogue was supported and augmented by the truthful experience of unified consciousness experienced in Master Charles’ enlightening presence. Interestingly, a note of gratitude from one of the participants received several days following the event expressed it as follows:

“I thoroughly enjoyed Monday night's meeting and felt that something important was happening there, though I am not sure quite what!”

The event continued much longer than scheduled as the guests repeatedly commented on the fact that they did not wish to leave the peaceful and loving energy they felt radiating throughout the room. Finally, at the conclusion, several invitations were extended to Master Charles to partake in future events in the area and plans are also underway for the next meeting to be held at the Sanctuary.

In addition, for all those who still use audio tape cassettes, remaining Synchronicity cassette soundtracks are available at a special cost of three for $10.00.

A number of exciting new construction projects are underway at the Sanctuary.  Just below the Blessed Mother Public Apparition site, a Yagna pavilion is being created to accommodate traditional ceremonies of empowerment and acknowledgment, particularly of the Blessed Mother in Her various forms as the One in the Many.  The word “Yagna” means ritual or ceremonial performance and is associated with the Vedic / Tantric tradition of India. Yagna is a form of empowerment whose influence reaches far beyond the individual to include the environment and the collective consciousness that dwells within it.  When complete, there will be such ceremonies performed on an ongoing basis to maintain and evolve the holistic power of the Sanctuary and
all who are connected with us. 

We are also nearing completion of the construction of a gazebo at the end of a wooden pier extending onto our pond.  This simple and elegant structure will accommodate  those who wish to sit in contemplative / meditative silence surrounded by the water. 

Time For a New God Retreat

New Building Construction

If you've spent time around the Sanctuary lately, you may have noticed some heavy machinery rolling around, or heard some unusually loud construction noises in the distance (loud noises and heavy machinery are usually few and far between in this peaceful environment).

As always, the process of expansion - whether subtle or dense, is pretty hard to miss in our world. In this case, that expansion is taking the form of a “super-sized” new Maintenance building which we are in the process of constructing. This is a grand update whose time has come for the Maintenance Department, providing more than ample space for our ever-growing population of tools, machinery, and supplies. The building is starting to take shape, and we have been taking photos right from the beginning of the process.

Below you will find some of these images, and we will continue to update this page with more as things progress, so that you can watch the building come alive with us.

This begs the question: is there more construction lurking in the mists?... Stay tuned!