Serenity Ridge Will Miss You!

Special Thanks to Longtime Resident Jana Kolarikova

Jana with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche in the Bön Jour CaféAt the end of July, Serenity Ridge paused its residency program and said good-bye to our residents, including longtime resident Jana Kolarikova. Serenity Ridge and Ligmincha International extend our deepest gratitude to Jana for her enthusiastic service.

As a resident, Jana dedicated herself to practice and deepening her knowledge of Bön as well as providing five hours of service each day. Jana is best known as the person working in the Ligmincha bookstore. Jana also was instrumental in managing and facilitating the Serenity Ridge and Ligmincha International live and online auctions and an online store. Most recently, she helped create and worked in the Serenity Ridge Bön Jour Café, a comfortable gathering place for retreatants.

We miss her presence but look forward to seeing her back at the center for our onsite retreats once the center is open again.

Jana shared these sentiments before leaving. "When I came to Serenity Ridge I thought it was for three months. I even tried to leave but always found myself pulled back to the center by some kind of karmic boomerang. My heart and soul received a 'callback' every time. 

“I knew little about Bön when I came to Serenity Ridge. I only knew of Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche from his books and online teachings. From my first online encounter, I was struck by his warmth. Not long afterward, I was filled with joy by discovering and experiencing an indescribable feeling — the existence of dzogchen. 

“To sit in the gompa at my first summer retreat and watch Rinpoche live was like having a superstar in front of my eyes since I knew him just from the screen. Three years later and many retreats, months of study, dozens of books read and countless new connections (human and divine as well), I am a very different person. I had found my precious Bön home, both literally and metaphorically. I live Bön, like indestructible truth. And Rinpoche is still a superstar for me but, first of all, he became my precious spiritual father. I feel blessed. 

“Being in service at Serenity Ridge was a beautiful and adventurous journey. I never imagined that I had a capacity for and would get an opportunity to manifest what I did during my three years there. And my deep appreciation belongs to Sue, Shelly and Rob, who made it all possible. I look forward to seeing all of you who I have met at Serenity Ridge in one form or another again soon. My spiritual Serenity home and all its family left the Ridge with me in my heart.”

Serenity Ridge offers a residency program for those wanting to deepen their practice through living in community at the center and engaging in service as spiritual practice. At this time of the pandemic, the center is not open for residencies or to the public. Residencies will resume when the center reopens. You can learn more on the Serenity Ridge website.