This afternoon I replenished my stock of microbiome mash. In the seven weeks since I made my first batch I had forgotten just how labor intensive the process is!
This time I used Brussels sprouts, yellow squash, zucchini, green beans, carrots, radishes, a golden beet, radicchio, little Japanese turnips, bok choy, kale, dandelion greens, and green onion.
Then we balanced out that healthy endeavor with a fondue dinner (followed by panettone and sparkling pumpkin cider) with dear friend Prashad as our special guest.
Yep, I’m going back to regular office hours starting next week and I can already feel the increase in energy and focus.
The music ministry has been in a bit of a holding pattern for a while now — completely understandable, of course! But we’re eager to rebuild the momentum and get back to tackling important projects.
This small but powerful card is one of my favorite Christmas gifts this year.
It was tucked inside a Christmas greeting card. When it fell out into my hands I did a double-take and then tears filled my eyes.
It’s a phrase that is particularly meaningful for those who follow my particular spiritual path. And the reason I found it to be so moving is that I’ve been rebuilding my meditation practice this winter after a frustratingly long dry spell.
It’s almost as if Divine Mother sent me this beautiful little card as her way of reassuring me and encouraging my efforts.
After almost three years of pandemic-related obstacles, our Ananda Village choir came roaring back on Christmas Day. It felt so wonderful as to be almost miraculous!
Lord knows, it’s been a long and rocky road, starting back in 2020 with a period of complete lockdown. Then following years were filled with repeated attempts to bring choir back only to be thwarted by repeated surges.
Recently we made the difficult decision to nix the choir’s participation in the Christmas concert, but — as infections decreased around the Village — we felt strongly that now was the time to give it another try. And what a glorious experience we had as a result!
Considering that choir hadn’t performed since before the pandemic and hadn’t had a rehearsal since December 1st, it was hard to believe how wonderfully both songs sounded.
I was reminded of my experience many years ago when severe tendinitis forced me to stop playing flute altogether for five months. I was getting my Masters degree at the San Franciscio Conservatory of Music at the time, and worried that my career as a professional musician was at an end before could really get started!
But the amazing thing was that, in a number of ways, there were things about my playing that were better than ever after that long break.
It’s almost as though, despite being deprived of our usual outlet of expression, there’s an inner growth and expansion that keeps happening on subtle levels. And of course, there’s also grace.
Regardless how you try to explain it, something marvelous took place. The video below is of the entire service (which is all well worth watching), but it starts right off with the first choir song: Christ Has Come (the second song starts HERE).
Today was about my usual post-Christmas ritual of catching up.
It involves sleeping a little later; having a chance to finally view the many Christmas e-cards, emails, and texts that accumulated during the past week; shopping for groceries; and attending to household matters.
Of course, there’s not a whole lot of time to focus on catching up because we have to start planning the music for the celebration of Yogananda’s birthday on January 5 — and that’s right around the corner!
We invite you to click HERE to view our Christmas card (or if you’d rather skip the beautiful imagery, you can simply read the message below). 😊
Our hearts are filled with gratitude for all the loving support we received from our family and friends throughout this past year.
Our prayer this Christmas is that you and yours may be filled to overflowing with the love, peace, and joy of this blessed season.
Here’s to a healthy and happy 2023!
Love,
Bhagavati (Sharon) & Ramesha (Fabio)
P.S. In 2020 we made a last minute recording of “O Holy Night” in our living room, intending to share it as a little Christmas gift. However, we just stumbled on the mp3 and it seems we didn’t share it after all. 🤦♀️ So here it is!
I can’t remember the last time we were in the country for the month of December and didn’t organize, rehearse, and participate in the music for the Christmas Eve pageant (well, other than the last couple of years when it was all online!).
This year it was initially a matter of choosing not to overdo things (considering I’m just a few months post-transplant), but then it also became about minimizing my exposure to viruses (since my immune system is still “immature”, as the doctor put it).
The end result is that Ramesha and I watched the beautiful Christmas Eve program from home via the live broadcast, then ate a delicious fondue dinner, opened our presents (since we’ll be at church first thing tomorrow morning), and simply enjoyed hanging out together.
Even though it wasn’t a totally strict seclusion, there was enough of a shift from my normal activity flow to allow me to open up and receive the blessings.
And blessings there were! One of the biggest is that I’m actually looking forward to tomorrow’s eight-hour Christmas meditation — for the first time in a while.
