AMG History

AMG History

Decades of Seeking God Together

Beginnings

In the summer of 1994, our beloved Asheville Meditation Group was formed. As would be expected, it began as a circle (AMC), or more aptly, a triangle of three dedicated meditators. Meetings were initially held in the basement of Grace Episcopal Church on Merrimon Avenue, and then the Circle became divine gypsies…roam, roam and roam. Early locations included rooms provided by members and friends, rented spaces and even an art studio, all over the Asheville map.

In spite of our transiency in those early years, there was always plenty of devotion. We steadily added services such as long meditations, special services and kirtans. We also began offering free literature and a few other SRF publications. Members occasionally attended SRF Regional Retreats in Atlanta, D.C. and Front Royal VA. Periodic socials took place anywhere from Max Patch to Hendersonville.

In the spring of 2018, because of steadily increasing attendance, SRF Center Department recommended that our status as a Circle be changed to a Group. We had long been very faithful to the stated guidelines for SRF Circles and Groups, so the change caused hardly a ripple.

As attendance at services continued to increase, we began keeping our collective eyes open for a larger space. Late in 2018 the ideal space became available in the same office complex. Being twice the size, the rent seemed beyond our means, but with encouragement from Center Department we took the leap! We were given a short time for the transition, but with the help of over 30 devotees, we completed renovations and the move with minimal disruption to services. Our first service was held on February 3rd, 2019.

The peace of our chapel continued to deepen with each of our many meditations. In March of 2020 we had to suspend all services at our chapel for the duration of the pandemic. We resumed meeting together in September of 2022, and you would never have known we hadn’t been there for 2 ½ years! Everyone came in, sat down, and went deep into silent meditation…no sound, no movement, just deep stillness and devotion. We had kept our practices alive at home and lovingly checked on and tended to our chapel throughout.

The Altar

Our altar began as a travel altar and later became 8x10” portraits in black and white, supported by a makeshift stand of crates, boards and sheets. At times, we had to set this up and take it down again for each service! We were using folding chairs and plastic lawn chairs for meditation. In 2002 some beautifully framed color portraits were gifted to us and we built a proper support for them to everyone’s delight. We also started a fund for better chairs and soon graduated to seats more conducive to forgetting about the body!

At long last, in 2024 (our 30th anniversary), our dream of having a permanent altar professionally crafted and installed was realized. A committee of skilled members perfected the design, and all members were very generous with donations. Our altar was consecrated in a ceremony by Brother Keshavananda who showered our Gurus with rose petals. We pray that all who meditate at this altar be deeply blessed.