(not necessarily in that order)
These days have been full to overflowing with teaching, sharing, singing, connecting, driving, laughing, meditating, and more.
Ramesha and I had been feeling sorry not to be able to sing “Little Kathy” for Sunday service at the Village, but we were extremely well compensated by singing it with the singers from Ananda LA. We rocked it!
Plus the Ananda Village group rocked it as well. All is truly well in my world. 😊
Our workshops last night and this afternoon had some pretty lofty titles: Friday’s was “Music to Awaken Superconsciousness,” while today’s was “Music for Deepening Your Attunement.”
Not surprisingly, in each instance the essence of what came through was joy, harmony, and divine friendship.
We’ve had so much fun sharing and interacting with all the great souls both at Ananda South Bay and Ananda East Los Angeles that I’m once again feeling pretty pooped — and tomorrow morning we give Sunday service!
So, the full report just might have to wait until we get home.
SO full and wonderful that telling you about it has to wait until tomorrow.
I got to bed way too late last night due to preparations for today’s trip to LA.
We had smooth travels, an uneventful flight, and a lovely dinner and satsang with our hosts. But the day is definitely catching up with me, as I keep nodding off over my laptop.
Good night.
As usual, a little delving into a topic led to a lot more delving.
One of the many things Hildegard of Bingen is known for is her music. While exploring these videos I was reminded that back in the late 90’s I had a CD of her compositions.
Funny how I had completely forgotten about it until now. Of course, I had to delve even deeper to find it, only to discover it was Hildegard’s music but adapted to a sort of pop/New Age sensibility, with electronic instruments and drums, etc. I must have liked it back in the day, but it doesn’t do anything for the current me.
I appreciate how the St. Stanislav Girls’ Choir (above) brings such calm purity to this heavenly music. Below is another gorgeous example. And if you want to read more about Hildegard as a composer and the part music played in how she expressed her spiritual experience, check out this article.
I wanted to post a quote in honor of St Hildegard‘s feast day, but there were too many wonderful quotes to choose from!
I finally narrowed it down to only three.
Hildegard was an amazing woman. I read a novel a few months ago that is based on her life; it was very interesting and even inspiring in spots. I enjoyed it very much.
Illuminations: A Novel of Hildegard von Bingen by Mary Sharratt
Early in July, Ramesha got to try on, then take home, his finished Lightbearer robe.
Today was finally my turn (getting robes custom-made is not a quick and easy kind of project!).
What I find interesting is that I feel somewhat distanced and a little detached from the whole idea right now — probably because the start-to-finish process of getting my robe took almost eight months (much of it spent just locating a good local seamstress!).
Of course, I have a hunch I’ll be experiencing a completely different range of feelings come Sunday morning when I get “robed up” for the first time to give service at Ananda Los Angeles. 🙏
There are a variety of ways of connecting with nature and one’s natural surroundings.
Some dear friends are doing it by establishing a bit of a farmstead at their home near Ananda Village. They’ve got eight chickens, three goats, and one miniature cow.
I had heard about their small cow, but I had no idea just how truly tiny it is. It’s not much bigger than the goats!
Another friend went out in nature to play her guitar. The wonderful thing about where we live is that the nature she’s in is right outside our apartment (she lives in the group house upstairs).
I consciously left today completely unscheduled.
Last weekend was chock-full of activity; it was followed by an extra busy week; tomorrow is Sunday service; then this coming week we head down to Los Angeles for a weekend of programs.
So, when I realized I had no commitments on today’s calendar I promised myself I would leave it empty…and I did! In fact, I’m enjoying not having much of anything to share about the day.
I watered the garden. I sat on the patio. I read my book. I did some gentle exercise. I sat on the patio. I chatted with Ramesha. I read my book some more. I ate some good meals. I did dishes. I sat on the patio. We watched a show in the evening. And I’m on track to be in bed by 11:00pm.
A nice relaxing day, indeed.
What I particularly love about the AUM Guru Chant Vigil is the way it both unites and expands our Ananda family all around the world, while sharing blessings with the world at the same time.
Devotees participated from literally around the globe — Serbia, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, and multiple locations in India and the USA.
Making things extra fun this year was the fact that a number Ananda members were visiting other communities when the time came to film the AUM Guru video.
So in one video there are Village residents chanting with the group from Ananda Chandigarh, while the Ananda Los Angeles group is supplemented by members of the Chandi Ashram house at Ananda Village who were in LA to visit Yogananda’s shrines.
Finally, I want to share my favorite comment that appeared in the Live Chat during the broadcast. A member of the Ananda Virtual Community wrote it. Basically she described the AUM Guru Chant Vigil as: “Ananda Sangha’s version of It’s a Small World after all” — and I think she’s absolutely right.
Each year when we do this, the world feels just a little bit smaller.