Simple Happiness

What will your experience of staying at Simply Happy be? Will it be merely a beautiful place in which to rest and unwind? A place to float in the pool or stretch out on a sun lounger, soaking up the sun and clean air? You can certainly do that. Opening shuttered windows on your first morning to mountain views, spaciousness, clear air, sunlight and the sound of birdsong and cow bells will make it obvious that this a good place for that. But that's on offer at any quiet holiday destination. At Simply Happy, the invitation is to become part of a community of friends. It's a place that is just as much about what you bring and share of yourself as it is about what you get from being here.

What we all share in common here is a grounding (or at least an active interest in) non-dual spiritual truth. Whether you have come via buddhism, zen, advaita/vedanta, Christian mysticism or you have simply followed one or more of the spiritual teachers around the world, such as Rupert Spira, you will find yourself among other people who are at various stages along the spiritual path. We are all looking towards the truth of who we are. What that tends to mean is that conversations can be richer and deeper, and there are fewer barriers to a sense of connection with others. Maybe you'll simply enjoy the company of others while you're here and maybe you'll create lasting friendships that flourish beyond the village itself. Maybe you enjoy the shared silence in the 8.30 meditation each weekday morning, or take pleasure in the fellowship and laughter over good food at lunchtime. You may have a fascinating and lively conversation about Donald Hoffman's 'graphical user interface' explanation of spiritual reality or take a walk with someone and get to know something of them and their life that goes beyond the usual small talk. Perhaps you find a fellow musician, a fellow athlete, a fellow book lover. You may have fun helping Sabina prepare food in the kitchen or using your skills and talents to help with a project in the village. However it unfolds for you, it's not just the beauty of the place, it's the people you meet here who make Simply Happy the unique and extraordinary place it is.

It's perhaps no exaggeration to say that you are more likely to experience a sense of shared being here than is common anywhere else. That is a great gift when, for many of us, the spiritual path can feel lonely. There are often times when you can feel out of step with family, friends, work colleagues and society at large. J Krishnamurti said, 'It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.' True as that may be, it can also be lonely, especially in the 'transcendant' stage, on your way up the mountain (metaphorically speaking}. Simply Happy embodies a saner way of life. It's a way of life that is deeply engaged in reality; while the transcendent is always part of the process, Simply Happy is very much about coming down the mountain. It's not just that we grow and eat our own vegetables (unless Senhor Alfredo's sheep get into the vegetable garden, that is), and eat locally sourced meat, or that the only televisions are the big screens in the room used for livestreaming retreats and other similar events. It's more that instead of being a resort or a retreat centre, it's a real community with grounding in reality, shared work, shared friendship. It has an evolving membership, many of whom like to stay in touch and be part of the community wherever they are in the world. There is a natural sangha here that happens without the necessity of a visiting teacher coming to speak, although we do welcome those. Sangha means 'association with truth'. The word usually refers to formal spiritual teaching in person. But there's also something of sangha in hanging out with people who live from true nature and who express that in everything they do. It can be an eye-opener to see how someone handles a problem with calm, creative resourcefulness, and it can be a heart-opener to feel safe in sharing more of yourself and feeling truly seen and heard.

The place itself can also bring a sense of lives lived more in alignment with truth or reality (which are the same thing). Of course, the mountains themselves can do this. Hermits, sages and yogis have historically sought isolation in the mountains, seeking the silence and wisdom such places can bring. But there are also echoes of an older, more authentic way of life in the village itself. The espiguieros, for instance; small stone and timber food storage sheds elevated on staddles to keep out vermin, speak of a self-sufficient independence and a naturally sustainable way of life. The way the dry stone walls and stone animal shelters were built without mortar yet are strong and simple enough to have survived many years of mountain weather. There's none of the ugliness that some modern functional buildings can have. These walls and buildings look like they grew out of the ground. The narrow roadway up the mountain behind the village is paved with granite slabs, which in places are deeply grooved by cart wheels. How many years does it take for deep ruts to be worn into granite? In 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance', Robert Pirsig describes an ancient wall in Korea that seemed to shine somehow with the quality of the wisdom of Source with which it was built, and there's a sense of that in our village.

While you are here, you'll find that Simply Happy lives up to its name, in that it's easy to let go of whatever preoccupations you brought in, and just be in the simple peace and happiness of true nature, whatever that looks like for you and whatever you happen to be doing. Maybe the greatest gift of Simply Happy only becomes apparent after you return home. You may discover that your perspective has shifted slightly and you see your life and your self as you show up in it, differently. In a subtle way, certain old habits or thought patterns start to jar or feel confined and restrictive, while new possibilities open up and expand and become reality where there formerly didn't seem to be any room for anything new. What's on offer here is the shared creation of a place where truth is expressed and made manifest in the real world, in a way that guests can take with them and continue to share, wherever they go.