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Choir by the numbers

All week I’ve been wondering just how many singers we had in the Monday morning and Thursday night “global” choir. Tonight–with the help of some photos–I was able to figure it out.

105 singers RSVP’d “yes” for singing before the Monday morning class and there were a 100 singers who actually sang that morning.

For the concert we had RSVP’s from 128 singers, but “only” 111 singers participated. It’s probably just as well, because I don’t see how we could possibly have fit another seventeen singers on the dais!

Singers ranged in age from high school to octogenarians, and came from the United States, India, Croatia, Italy, Germany, Japan, Israel, Hong Kong, Jamaica, and England. As I looked at the photos I was once again inspired and touched to see people of all races, ages, nationalities, and religions singing side by side with such joyful enthusiasm. We truly are a World Brotherhood Choir!

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All aboard!

There have been moments this week when I’ve wondered if I was overdoing the “recovery mode” thing and whether I shouldn’t be a little quicker in getting back to “normal”.

Thankfully, I’ve pretty much got my energy back, but my thinking is still rather fuzzy. It feels good to sort through my 50th anniversary planning materials, throwing out old notes and deleting emails. And I’m happy to be slowly catching up on tasks that were pushed aside amidst 50th anniversary busyness.

But lurking right below the surface is a subtle sense of urgency. I’ve got a feeling that last week’s event served as a catalyst for new projects and undertakings, which have somehow gotten well underway without us knowing exactly what they are (of course, Master and Swamiji know!). And now we’ve got to figure out what those projects and undertakings are and get caught up to them; like being the engineer on a train that’s left the station without us! 🙂

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Still here

All last week we all practically lived at the Temple of Light, being there every single morning, plus most afternoons and evenings as well. So it felt really good to have a couple of mostly stay-at-home days where I didn’t set foot in the Temple even once.

But this afternoon I needed to go back into it. True, I had to pick up some forgotten items, but mostly it was a necessary part of my integration process.

It was all very quiet, with only a few other people around; a great contrast to all the commotion of last week! I went into the Sanctuary and sat for a little while in meditation, marveling at the profound stillness and the uplifting beauty…

…and was struck yet again by the realization that it’s ours! It’s still here and right here is where it’s going to stay for basically forever. And we are blessed with the opportunity to use it Every Single Day!

I know all of life is only a part of God’s dream, but I have to admit to very much enjoying the dream, and our part in it, right about now!

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Life Mantra (part 2)

Here’s the way the opening event unfolded: Jyotish and Devi greeted the hundreds of devotees from all corners of the globe and shared a few words about the week and about the Temple. Then Devi led everyone into a meditation. The lights dimmed and the choir from Ananda Village silently filed up onto the dais in the dark. We stood quietly for the short meditation, then out of the silence came the sound of a harmonium softly playing our opening notes and Life Mantra began.

Some comments from choir members…
“I will never forget the feeling of powerful and palpable bliss that filled me in that final chord of Life Mantra. Wow.”
“I thought maybe it was just me but apparently not. This was one of the most uplifting performances I have ever been part of. The vibration was so high I felt like levitating. I sang the Life Mantra twice more as I was driving home, still filled with joyful energy.”
“While we were singing, at some point I distinctly felt a change in the sound of the choir. My first thought was ‘The angels just joined us!'”

Personally, I believe the angels did join us! A friend who was at home with her children on the complete other side of our 900-acre community reported that they could hear the singing from their house. My theory is that the angels were all over the Village, celebrating with us, and singing the good news that “God is life! God is joy! Life is God’s! Life is joy!”

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Life Mantra (part 1)

During last August’s Spiritual Renewal Week, we were in the still under-construction Temple of Light for an event which included some spontaneous singing. Afterwards, a choir friend commented that she felt the inspiration that Life Mantra should be the first piece of music performed in the completed Temple.

Swami Kriyananda said about Life Mantra: “I was inspired to write this music while musing on the topic of choirs of angels. Suddenly, words and music came pouring over me like a waterfall of sound.” Also known as Chant of the Angels, Life Mantra is eleven-minutes long; an a cappella choral piece that presents our Ananda choir(s) with many challenges of intonation and stamina. It was a beautiful idea, but those of us planning the music for the 50th anniversary and Temple dedication events couldn’t really see where it would fit in or how we could pull it off.

So we just let the idea go, but as time went by things shifted and changed and shifted again. And, all of a sudden, Life Mantra was the absolute perfect choice of music for the “Welcoming the Light” opening event–the very first event in the brand new Temple of Light!

(to be continued…)

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My cup overfloweth…

I have loved and appreciated Ananda–the teachings, the people, the communities, the culture, the music–for two full decades. But this past week saw my love and appreciation for all things Ananda soar to new heights!

The 50th anniversary/Temple of Light dedication week was awe-inspiring, transformational, life changing, intense, moving, profound, fun, high energy, and exhausting. Now I’m looking forward to catching up on rest and finding time to integrate the experience.

Jai Guru! Jai Swamiji! Jai Ananda!

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Almost there…

Six months of preparation followed by one super intense week of activity. Now all that’s left is our first Sunday service in the (thoroughly dedicated) Temple of Light!

Whew!

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More and more

Today was yet another 50th anniversary mega-watt day. We went from the super-powerful morning class to lunch with some of our special overseas guests to giving a music workshop to singing for a Temple fundraising dinner. Whew!

I’m looking forward to next week when I can (hopefully) sort through and process some of this inspiration into a form I can share!

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Mega-wow

My friend, Kent, had the best description of tonight’s concert in the Temple of Light.

Mega-wow.

Mega-choir. Mega-instrumentals. Mega-dance. Mega-light. Mega-temple.

Mega-wow.

Good night!

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Happy Birthday, Ananda!

Early mornings, late nights, and lots of intense activity in-between!

Tomorrow is the concert as well as the actual “birthdate” of Ananda Village. So, now it’s off to bed in order to have plenty of energy for our big day tomorrow.