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Family and memories

​We celebrated my Dad’s 85th birthday today at a park in Sunnyvale. All five of his children were there, plus a couple of spouses, several grandchildren and one great-grandchild. 

It was a lovely afternoon…and it brought up things to think about. 

For example, the whole crazy thing about time. For something that’s an illusion, it sure looks and feels very real. And because I’m fully caught up in the dream reality that time is a part of, I have to make my peace with the “reality” that sooner or later every single person I love (and even the ones I don’t) are going to go away. Including my Dad. 

With time comes change. My brother has a neurological disease that–with time–is taking away more and more of his functionality, independence, and future. 

I grew up in the Bay Area, but as I drive around there are so many changes–wrought by time–that even when I recall a memory there’s very little sense of connection with the environment that triggered it. 

I think this is why we “can’t go home again.” Maybe we can locate the physical place or rejoin the people (the “house” or its equivalent), but the sense of “home”, of “belonging” has vanished. Sigh.

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The next 50

I’ve been reflecting a lot on the “aftershocks” of the 50th anniversary. I think our friend, Arudra, from Ananda Assisi found the words to express what many us have been feeling…

He said in a Facebook post:
“Being in that magnetism together seemed like being at the center of a nuclear explosion of divine energy the effects of which will be felt for years to come. It was like Master and Swami were celebrating the first 50 years and at the same time setting up the next 50 within each one of us.“

Are you beginning to have a sense of what’s been “set up” for the next 50 years within you? I am! 🙂

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Two months

The truth is, I was drawing a blank about what to say tonight. It happens.

Then I realized I started this blog on Swamiji’s birthday–May 19. Which means that I’ve completed two months worth of daily blog posts.

Yay for me!

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Into the truth that we’re all one

Tonight’s session with the Living Discipleship participants was “beyond imagination of expectancy”!

They’re all so experienced and so committed, with most of them already serving as powerful leaders in their home communities. The majority already sing in (or direct!) Ananda choirs, and the ones who don’t (yet) are open and eager to sing with the group.

For a variety of reasons we went up with only a very loose idea of how the evening would unfold. So how did it unfold?

We sang a lot and laughed almost more than we sang! We had given them a handout titled “Music as a Spiritual Tool” and the group ended up spontaneously experiencing how humorous music raises energy in the spine and lifts us high above life’s challenges, where we’re able to see things from a positive perspective.

But the absolute high point of the evening for me came towards the end, after we sang Brothers. According to our outline the next song would have been Many Hands Make a Miracle. But we felt guided to sing O Master instead. Words are inadequate to describe the feeling as we sang the words: “…into the light, the inner sun, into the truth that we’re all one.” The sense of unity, of oneness, was palpable.

That was the end of the session, but no one wanted to be the first to break the circle. Finally, someone suggested we end by standing up to sing Thy Light Within Us Shining. So we did…it was wonderful…and we all stood there not wanting to break the circle!

Then someone suggested we really end with Peace and–my oh my!–the bliss level just went through the roof! I’ve had a lot of powerful experiences with Ananda Music in twenty years, but this was right up there in the top five. Unbelievable.

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Stepping up

Seems pretty clear to me that we’re experiencing stepped up energy levels as a result of Ananda’s amazing 50th anniversary event; I know we’re feeling it here at the Village and I’m willing to bet it’s happening at Ananda everywhere in the world.

So now we’re stepping up to match those stepped up energies. In fact, Ramesha and I have moved through a lot of intense activity in the past few days. Exciting but somewhat exhausting as well.

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I love my work!

Just spent an amazing evening with the participants of the Living Discipleship program.

We took our “Sing and the Battle Is Won” workshop a step further, adding in brief meditations after each song, getting up and dancing to Lightly I Fly, and doing the movements to Move All You Mountains. The joy level was through the roof and there were many, many insightful comments from the great souls who are in the program.

Ramesha and I were both tired (even a little bit cranky) on the drive up, but coming home we were floating on waves of bliss. We’re scheduled to go back day after tomorrow and can’t wait!

I love my work. 🙂

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Following up

My energy’s back and three weeks worth of laundry is done, so a big part of this coming week is about following up all the wonderful musical connections made during the 50th.

The many, many singers who made up the Global Choir.
The music leaders who participated in our “Meet & Greet”.
The “Sing & the Battle Is Won” workshop attendees.
The new friendships, especially with my spiritual brothers and sisters from India.

I’m excited to see what’s next in all these areas.

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The new normal

The cool thing about tomorrow’s Sunday service is….it’s just a regular Sunday service! Well, except that it’s in the Temple of Light. 😉

Last Sunday we ended the amazing 50th anniversary week with our first Sunday service in the new Temple. This Sunday is another first: our first plain old regular service there!

It’s going to take a little while to acclimate ourselves, but the fact is that our “new normal” just happens to include the Temple of Light.

How cool is that?!?

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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! 🙂