We spent the day at a retreat center called La Perfetta, which is in Arzo, near the border with Italy.
Something like forty or fifty devotees from Switzerland and Italy gathered there for Ananda’s traditional 8-hour Christmas meditation. It happens every year at all Ananda communities, but since we knew we would miss the one at Ananda Village, we reached out to see if one was scheduled for here in Ticino.
Of course, the powerhouse leaders of the Ticino meditation group (Triveni, Amrita, and Monica) quickly organized and magnetized this wonderful event.
Our last three visits to Lugano we stayed mostly on hillsides, up winding roads with some pretty stunning views.
Well, we have a view of the lake where we are now, but the getting here is completely different.
Basically, while the apartment is quite elegant and refined, as well as being in a beautiful area (not that we’ve had a chance to explore yet; more about that tomorrow), we have to drive a heavily traveled road past probably the largest shopping center in the Lugano region to get from here to Ramesha’s family home.
This list of shops gives you some idea. And we’re just days away from Christmas!
The Joy Singers started recording a new Christmas album last March and we’re returning to the studio soon to do the second half.
Crystal Clarity Publishers will be launching it sometime in November. Considering how much remains to be done after the recording process is complete — mastering, artwork, graphic design, marketing, promotions, etc. — time is already of the essence. ⌛
So, yes — we’re very much feeling the Spirit of Christmas even in the heat of July.
“Celebrate the birth of Christ in the cradle of your consciousness during the Christmas season. Let His vast perception in Nature, in space, and in love be felt within your heart, as well as in the hearts of men of all races and religions.” –Excerpt from “To Meditate on Christmas Morn,” from the 1952 Edition of Yogananda’s “Metaphysical Meditations.”
Yogananda started the tradition of the eight-hour Christmas meditation in order to honor “spiritual” Christmas as well as “social” Christmas. As Swami Kriyananda said, it’s a time for inviting the infinite Christ to be born anew in the ‘mangers’ of our hearts.
The idea of meditating for an entire day can feel a little (or a lot!) intimidating, but it’s actually an amazingly beautiful and powerful experience. In fact, some insights came to me this year that I’ve been wanting to find the time to explore further.
First of all, I found myself using a different method of categorizing the “types” of Christmas one finds in our society:
Material Christmas (or “Who’s even thinking about Jesus?!?”) Religious Christmas (or “Jesus is the reason for the season.”) Spiritual Christmas (or “Seeking to experience the inner Christ consciousness, born anew in the manger of our hearts.”)
Next I marveled at how we can all be so incredibly busy in the lead-up to Christmas — events, decorating, planning, buying gifts, etc. — only to arrive at the 23rd, two days before Christmas itself, and drop everything. And I do mean, everything. All of Ananda Village just stops. Literally.
But I’ll confess that on the evening of December 22, it did cross my mind that I could get a whole lot accomplished if I stayed home and worked on the 23rd. I didn’t give in to the temptation, but it was there.
So, I got to thinking about the need, even (or maybe especially?) at Ananda, to balance our Martha and Mary tendencies.
Not that we are necessarily “worried and bothered about so many things”; we truly do find great joy in service. However, during super busy times like the holiday season, we have to remember to stop serving long enough to sit at the feet of the Lord and just BE with God. And that’s what the all-day meditation allows us to do.
Finally, I have to say how moving it was, as the day drew to a close, to reflect that two days before Christmas close to two hundred people dropped everything for eight full hours in order to sit in silence and celebrate the birth of Christ in the cradle of their consciousness.
I was so grateful to be sharing that experience with my spiritual family.
My well of creativity is pretty much depleted after all the holiday events, but I hope you are blessed with the light and love that are the essence of Christmas.
Of course, the “it” I’m referring to is…Christmas!
Yes, we’re already in meetings for this year’s Christmas Play, and planning for the Christmas Concert isn’t far behind.
After all, it will be October in just a few more days and (as every church musician knows) once we’ve entered the time warp that is October, Christmas is just a couple of weeks away!
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.
Today was about getting music together for Mantrini, who’ll be directing the choir for our Christmas concert, as well as copying parts for the choir itself!
