October Ready

October Ready refers to one of my favorite T-shirts, and as I’m fond of saying: don’t trust a spiritual guide without a cool T-shirt collection. Jokes aside, my ‘24 Detroit Tigers L’orange and navy blue rag cites last year’s historic turnaround, the Tigs making an improbable run to the playoffs after being ten games out of the wild-card race with a 0.2% chance in early August. The Blessed Boys finished with a 31–13 record down the stretch, clinching their first playoff berth since 2014 and winning season since 2016. The run included a Wild Card Series sweep of the Houston Astros followed by a five-game loss to the former Cleveland Indians in the Division Series. Like Wednesday’s game three win in Detroit in the American League Division Series against the Seattle Mariners, we were fortunate to attend and report on the third game in the battle against the Guardians, the best game at Comerica Park in a decade. And as to renowned turnarounds, 2025’s late-season contrarian collapse was equally labeled one of the most shocking in Major League Baseball, when the Tigers lost a 15.5 game lead in the AL Central, while the Guardians surged, making for one of the most blown leads in MLB history, and our recent wins all that much sweeter.

Knowing well our 1935, 1945, and 1968 Championship Wins, and having attended game three of the ‘84 World Series at Tiger Stadium (W - Tigers 5 Padres 2), I kid that 2025 is 1984 all over again: oppressive, authoritarian government control, mass surveillance, manipulation of truth, and suppression of individual freedoms. George Orwell's dystopian novel, the country’s funked up political situation and our final, historic, 15-inning dogfight considered, some things in this zany world simply transcend MLB as well as DJT, one being THH’s Omnipotent October schedule, kicked off with our Ceremonial overnight under the Harvest Full Moon.

October’s Ceremony was a watershed, a more familiar, family gathering, and likewise November’s Ceremonial Weekend is closed to public attendance. That leaves openings to join next weekend’s Fall Noble Silence Meditation Retreat Weekend, couple our final, signature Meditation + Mindfulness 101 class with an overnight weekend stay, and/or roll it all into our first, fabulous, FREE day of yoga practice with Kellie L. on Sunday afternoon, October 26th. Or join us for a potential Winter Lodge under December’s Cold Moon to close out the 2025 season, with 2026 offerings open for registration soon. Recalling the Mighty Mindy from the previous post, a synchronous series of events had her here for October’s Ceremony, and so we’ll close with Mindy Part 2: The Awakening., and hope to see you soon ~ Toksha

"Around the same time each Fall, I feel the welcome and familiar call to return to The Higher Haven. I’ve been attending ceremonies and retreats since my early twenties. These pilgrimages have become an integral part of my personal growth and spiritual development. When I first arrived all those years ago, I was a young person so utterly disconnected from my internal reservoir of spirit. With Paul as my Tteacher, I learned foundational practices of self-inquiry and interconnectedness that I brought into my everyday life in a serious and intentional way. Coming to practice in a consistent way over the past seven years has served to transmute painful life experiences into a profound reverence for life and a level of mental clarity that I only dreamed of achieving not too long ago. I’ve come to place where my practice is so solid, I’m now in a place of healing ancestral wounds carried down through my lineage. Ceremony serves that process incredibly well. The Higher Haven has been an anchor in my life, a place that I return to again and again and always leave feeling lighter than when I arrived. It is imbued with a very special sort of energy.  

As I was telling Paul and my new friend Kellie during my October ceremony visit this past weekend, I always felt a profound sense of relief upon my arrival up the gravel drive. I didn’t feel that old feeling hit this time; later, I realized it was simply because I was already abiding there. There are some things in life that are truly invaluable, and the ability to reside in an inner state of contentment is one of them. I give eternal thanks to the Higher Haven for helping me get there." One Heart! One Mind! One Voice! One Chanupa! Matakuye O’yasin!!!

Harvest Time

In the previous post we talked of the emerald green Cucumber Fields just to the north (wazia) of us, the stretch of fertile farmland between our land and John and Mary Alice Quinn’s corner homestead. As summer closes out in our rural community, the season for reaping and gathering the ripened arrives. Like the crucial time for farmers representing the culmination of their labor, it’s also a time that our students — many who have planted seeds of growth for months and even years — determine the yield of their efforts. We kidded about our calendar looking a little thin, and while we had a super standout group for September’s Ceremony, ample room in October, a Fall NSMR quickly filling, and new, upcoming 2026 retreat offerings, beyond our more public programs, lie in-between opportunities for our popular private visits. Receiving many requests from many people seeking retreat and respite from our modern world’s mounting difficulties, we do our level best to explain that we are not a hotel or a B & B, we’re a sanctified place of healing and a very special form of spiritual purification, ergo, we don’t offer private stays to non-tribal members, otherwise known as people with whom we don’t already share a relationship.

While we are not a sovereign nation with a unique political and cultural identity, we do have a 20-acre territory, and most assuredly share a common interest in our community’s well-being. And now claiming tribal membership aka joining our growing community is as easy as attending a Ceremony, a retreat, or a Saturday afternoon class, the next Meditation + Mindfulness 101 coming up Saturday, September 13th. In a short span of three hours, we’ll cover the whole sweep of what Meditation is truly about, and in that time pass on our toolkit for cultivating a sense of peace a little less reliant on our world’s worsening, external conditions. This way, when you visit solo, we know that you know precisely how to apply and benefit from our industrial strength mindfulness practices. Here’s Mindy to better explain:

"It was an honor and privilege to enjoy a private stay at The Higher Haven. As a longtime student of Paul's, I have carefully cultivated regular practices and rituals that support me in my daily life. This past weekend’s visit served to profoundly deepen my practice. Abiding in nature and the retreat house soothed and nourished me. I connected deeply with the energy of the river running through the property. Paul encouraged me to spend time and pray at the Altar outside the Lodge, within which I have had many meaningful encounters with Spirit over the years. It's difficult to put the overall experience into words, because the level of peace I often experience is beyond language. I am very grateful that The Higher Haven exists. It is a second home to me, and continues to be an instrumental part of my spiritual development. If you ever find yourself in the fortuitous position to schedule a private stay, I can assure you that it is an opportunity you would not want to miss." - MR

On Our Upcoming Ceremonies and Retreats or Apparent Lack Thereof

“All the people singin’ all down the line Mmmm…., Watch the men all workin’, workin’, yeah (All down the line)….”

If you’ve visited The Higher Haven, you’re familiar with that final turn south down dusty 63rd. street off of 106th Ave., as a bright green, half-mile farm field of soybeans — or this year’s cucumbers — spreads out wide to the Western horizon on your right. Every year, bees fan out across and pollinate that field, increasing the crop yield and improving the quality of the produce. Both honey bees and native bees buzz from flower to flower, pollinating not only the agricultural crops but many wild plants as well, contributing to the overall biodiversity of our neighborhood ecosystem.

This may be why we chose the blessed bee as the symbol for our signature retreat, our quarterly Noble Silence Meditation Retreat (NSMR), a weekend of energized, spiritual work that brings about fruitful growth. Just completed in mid-July, we’ll be offering the next NSMR again this Fall, from Friday, October 17th to Sunday, October 19th. Right now, as mentioned in our previous post, we’re riding out the retrograde by bowing to some of the greater forces at work in our world. Having recently consulted with our friend James Kelleher regarding our upcoming Fall schedule, here’s what James had to say about this very day — 08/08/2025:

“The upcoming Mars–Saturn opposition, active from July 28 to September 13, 2025, peaks on August 8, and in Vedic astrology, this alignment is like summer rush hour on the cosmic highway. It often produces delays, obstacles, and pressure, amplifying frustration for individuals and entire nations. For most of us, this transit simply means snags in communication, bottlenecks at work, or setbacks in everyday plans. It's the astrological equivalent of sitting in traffic when you’re late for a meeting. It’s annoying, but usually manageable. However, for countries and large organizations, this aspect can be far more visible, especially during periods of global instability. History shows that previous oppositions have coincided with moments of mounting strain: the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, the Korean War offensives in 1951, and even major turning points in World War II.

In today’s world, with a fragile ceasefire in the Middle East, the grinding war in Ukraine, and other geopolitical hotspots simmering, this opposition suggests the possibility of increased tension, military buildup, or even surges in violence. While it doesn’t guarantee conflict, it often marks periods when tempers flare and patience runs thin. The best remedy? Think of rush hour traffic—you can’t change it, but you can change your approach. Slow down, stay patient, and reframe the experience. Listen to your favorite music, a podcast, or an audiobook. Tension and delays  are part of life. Frustration & anger, however, are optional.”

The take-away? Rest, relax, organize, (for us) plan our Fall and 2026 schedule, and of course our favorite — go on retreat. We had hoped to have this post up by Wednesday, as it was the cut-off for August’s Shinzen Young Home Practice Program (HPP), a chance to meditate and practice more advanced techniques with people from around the world. We posted a chunk of Shin Speak an article or two back, and are looking forward to this weekend’s Shinzen led sessions on Focusing Out, Going Deeper into Equanimity, Working with the Auto Family, and Feeling Great! You can explore next month’s HPP or even consider a Virtual Home Retreat with Shinzen, both very economical ways to boost your personal practice.

Here, we’ll soon be posting our full Calendar of classes and retreats, information on solo visits, and be back in Ceremony next week with our August Way of The Contrary Weekend, circling up monthly through December. Although our tag line touts “Movement for the Body” and leads with Yoga, followed by Meditation, Ceremony, and Community, that was simply a pleasing rhythm of words to my old advertising copywriter ear. The truth is that we are a one-of-a-kind retreat center, more accurately offering Ceremony — powerful enough to heal a lifetime of unhealthy patterns and even mental illness, Meditation —in the Vipassana Tradition with techniques and teachings from a Master Teacher, Yoga — practiced in its original intent, to keep the body supple for long periods of sitting still, and a thriving Community — of which we’d love for you to be a part. All that said, we’re excited about a new standout yoga teacher, a yoga teacher’s yoga teacher, Ms. Kellie Lindsay, who will help lead upcoming Fall classes and 2026 retreats. We’ll close on the healing and uplift she recently received in Ceremony:

“As I was nearing the end of the first year of my PhD program—which followed a devastating break-up, completing my master's degree on fumes, working full-time, and moving myself and my teenage son to Ann Arbor—I was actively searching for a reset button. I've practiced and taught yoga for many years, so my initial instinct was to search for yoga retreats since those were familiar to me. However, I stumbled upon the Way of the Contrary at the Higher Haven and felt a strange calling to attend it instead. I will forever thank my intuition because this retreat experience was unlike anything I had ever encountered, and it was exactly what my body, mind, and soul needed. To be honest, I wish it had lasted much longer.

I had never participated in a ceremonial purification Lodge, so, I had no expectations or pre-conceived opinions on how things might go, which allowed me to "drop in" and embrace the newness of the practice in tandem with the newness I felt in my life. We were encouraged to bring photos of loved ones and/or "trinkets" for blessings, and that gesture alone helped me feel a deeper connection to my purpose for being there. Including photos of relatives alive and deceased as well as a friend who is struggling, I realized that I had inadvertently chosen people of a certain pattern. This realization happened moments before I entered the Lodge, and throughout the ceremony the feelings of forgiveness, relief, compassion, and closure washed over me. ‘Renewal’ is the best word I can use to describe it. An added bonus that I was completely taken aback by was that the chronic pain in my neck and shoulder was completely gone after the Ceremony. I am writing this nearly two weeks later, and I'm elated to report that the pain has not returned.

 Logistically, Paul and his team were amazing at making us all feel at home on the grounds and in the retreat center. The place was clean, comfortable, and the trails were lovely and very well marked. Getting to spend quiet time alone in nature is always a bonus, and it was especially sweet for spending time introspecting after the Ceremony. All-in-all, if you are even slightly on the fence or feel any apprehension about attending this retreat, please take it from me—GO. You will not regret it.” ~ KL