Merasa Origins: Four Days With The Caretaker of Javanese Ancestral Wisdom

Desa Potato Head Bali
Desa Potato Head Bali

Merasa - Indonesian for “to feel” is Potato Head's series tracing the roots of the wellbeing wisdom practised across Asia. Merasa Origins: Java is a four-day immersion built around one teacher: Pak Sugeng, caretaker of Candi Sukuh, a 15th-century temple on the slopes of Mount Lawu, built in the last years of the Majapahit era.

For centuries, Javanese spiritual knowledge stayed close to home. Wisdom passed by voice from teacher to student, rarely written down and rarely shared beyond the island. This knowledge retreat opens the door.

Pak Sugeng holds the Jawadwipa lineage: Hindu-Buddhist-Tantra layered with Javanese Kebatinan. It is wisdom usually kept in the temple of Candi Sukuh and rarely taught outside of it. This September, though, he is bringing it to the Desa.

Alongside spiritual anthropologist Serj Hunt, you will explore Java's three pillars of practice: Tattwa and Tutur (direct knowing versus lineage-carried wisdom), Susila (right relationship and the discipline of Broto: vows of body, speech, and mind), and Upacara (ceremony as lived architecture). A rare opportunity to learn from wisdom’s living source through story, sound and practice - the way this wisdom has always been taught.

All meals, sessions, and workshops are included for every participant. Join as a full-stay guest with accommodation included, or by daily pass.

Itinerary

Sep

10

Day 1 | Arrival & Opening

Opening connection circle

17:00 - 18:45

Katamama Suite, Lv. 5 AM House

We gather around the tumpeng, a symbol for the journey ahead. Each person names their origins and the calling that set them on their current path.

Opening dinner

19:00 - end

Rooftop Katamama Suite, Lv. 5 AM House

A relaxed first meal, with the tumpeng at its centre.

Sep

11

Day 2 | Tattwa & Tutur

Returning to the Body: A Javanese Dance Meditation with Rad and Neneng

07.00 - 08.00

Grassfield @ Beach Club

Start the day in motion with a movement practice on the grass, a gentle way to wake the body before the day ahead.

Breakfast, rest, and integration

08.00 - 10.00

Tanaman & Beachfront

Knowledge session

10.00 - 12.00

GTGS Bay 5

Lunch

12.00 - 13.00

Lounge @ Beach Club

Rest & Integration

13.00 - 16.00

Karsa Room, Lv. 1 AM House

Workshop session

16.00 - 18.00

Klymax

Pak Sugeng leads a hands-on session on the practice of offering, and on three kinds of personal discipline: of the body, of speech, and of the mind.

Dinner

18.00 - end

Kaum Bali

Sep

12

Day 3 | Susila

Mantra Practice led by Pak Sugeng

06.30 - 08.00

Merasa Space, Lv. 1 AM House

An early morning mantra practice with Pak Sugeng, picking up yesterday's thread through sound and repetition.

Breakfast, rest, and integration

08.00 - 10.30

Tanaman & Beachfront

Knowledge session

10.30 - 12.00

GTGS Bay 5

A session built on Javanese Syncretism (Kejawen) by Serj on what we learn through direct experience, and what gets passed down to us through stories, voices, and tradition.

Lunch

12.00 - 13.00

Beach Club

Rest & Integration

13.00 - 16.30

Karsa Room, Lv. 1 AM House

Workshop session 1

16.30 - 17.30

Klymax

Learn verses from the Wedhatama, Wulangreh, and Dewaruci, repeating them until they feel natural rather than memorised, and prepare shared intention for tonight's ceremony.

Communal dining

17.30 - 19.30

Tanaman

Sep

13

Day 4 | Upacara

Morning Activation - Social noting meditation by Serj

07.00 - 08.00

AM House Pool, Lv. 1 AM House

A gentle group meditation with Serj where we speak aloud what surfaced overnight with no need to explain it or judge it.

Breakfast, rest, and integration

08.00 - 09.30

Tanaman

Closing knowledge session: Upacara led by Serj & Pak Sugeng

09.30 - 11.00

GTGS Bay 5

Serj and Pak Sugeng closes with the story of Bima, who searched everywhere for wisdom only to find it within himself, and begin designing our closing ceremony together.

Closing ritual - Collaborative upacara

11.00 - 12.00

GTGS Bay 5

The ceremony we've designed together, performed as a group: a closing circle to name what you're releasing and what you'll carry forward.

Packing & rest time

12:00 - 13:00

Karsa Room, Lv. 1 AM House

Closing lunch - Community table

13:00 - 14:00

Dome

A closing meal, shared with the group.

Merasa Origins: Four Days With The Caretaker of Javanese Ancestral Wisdom

, Desa Potato Head Bali

Practitioners Profile

Pak Sugeng.jpg
Sugeng

Pak Sugeng is a Javanese spiritual practitioner of the ancient Jawadwipa lineage and a recognised Tantric priest. Rooted in Hindu-Buddhist Tantra and Javanese Kebatinan, he serves as caretaker of Candi Sukuh and guides sacred rites, pilgrimages, and spiritual cleansing around Mount Lawu.

Pak Sugeng will be the lead practitioner and knowledge keeper for Merasa Origins: Java.

Serj Hunt.png
Serj Hunt

Serj is an Asian spiritual anthropologist, artist & AI technologist. He shares essays and field research on Jhana meditation, mysticism and flourishing.

Serj will be the lead practitioner and knowledge keeper for Merasa Origins: Java.

Address

Desa Potato Head Bali
Jl. Petitenget No.51B, Seminyak, Kec. Kuta Utara, Kabupaten Badung, Bali 80361