Tag: inspiration

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More Easter joy

As happens every year, it takes some time after the Oratorio to get caught up on things. So, though some friends sent me a beautiful e-card for Easter, I didn’t actually see it until almost a week later.

That ended up being kind of a blessing, because now that I wasn’t in the midst of so much busyness, I was able to really take in the inspiration. Also, the music used in the e-card is a hymn that I grew up with, which was used in such a sensitive and uplifted manner that it deeply touched me and opened up my heart.

I wanted to embed the e-card in order to share with you as a video, but it wasn’t possible on my blog platform. However, you can click here to view the card instead.

As it was an instrumental version of the hymn, I wanted to be reminded of how the lyrics went, so I did a quick Google search.

Well, I was delighted to discover that the hymn “All creatures of our God and King”, is an adaption of St. Francis of Assisi’s poem “Canticle of the Sun” — also known as “Canticle of the Creatures”. The words of the poem were translated to English by William Draper, who then paraphrased the poem and set it to music in the early 1900’s.

No wonder I’ve always loved it so much!

Here’s a beautiful choir rendition of the hymn, although they sing only four of the seven verses. Check out the lyrics below to see the verses about flowing water, mother earth, and gentle death. So powerful.

LYRICS:

  1. All creatures of our God and king
    Lift up your voice and with us sing,
    Alleluia! Alleluia!
    Thou burning sun with golden beam,
    Thou silver moon with softer gleam!

Refrain
O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

  1. Thou rushing wind that art so strong
    Ye clouds that sail in Heaven along,
    O praise Him! Alleluia!
    Thou rising morn, in praise rejoice,
    Ye lights of evening, find a voice! [Refrain]
  2. Thou flowing water, pure and clear,
    Make music for thy Lord to hear,
    O praise Him! Alleluia!
    Thou fire so masterful and bright,
    That givest man both warmth and light. [Refrain]
  3. Dear mother earth, who day by day
    Unfoldest blessings on our way,
    O praise Him! Alleluia!
    The flowers and fruits that in thee grow,
    Let them His glory also show. [Refrain]
  4. And all ye men of tender heart,
    Forgiving others, take your part,
    O sing ye! Alleluia!
    Ye who long pain and sorrow bear,
    Praise God and on Him cast your care! [Refrain]
  5. And thou most kind and gentle death,
    Waiting to hush our latest breath,
    O praise Him! Alleluia!
    Thou leadest home the child of God,
    And Christ our Lord the way hath trod. [Refrain]
  6. Let all things their creator bless,
    And worship Him in humbleness,
    O praise Him! Alleluia!
    Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,
    And praise the Spirit, Three in One! [Refrain]

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The pieces are all in place

We just had our final run-through for tomorrow night’s Oratorio performance and all the pieces are officially in place and ready to go.

Choir, soloists, instrumentals. Sound, lights, song lists. Knowing who goes where and when — and what color they’re wearing. 😊🌈

A myriad of details, but tomorrow we’ll do our best to set them all aside and simply let the inspiration flow.

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A long and wonderful day

Ananda LA’s Yogananda Fest was tremendously successful on every level, filled with inspiration, creativity, service, and satsang.

We reconnected with old friends and met strangers who felt like we’d known them forever.

There’s more I could say but I’m too tired. And tomorrow is Sunday service, followed by the long drive home.

So…good night!

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Four days of inspiration and joy

Yay! Inner Renewal Retreat 2024 starts tomorrow morning and goes through Thursday, February 22nd.

Featuring Jyotish and Devi, it’s one of the highlights of the year throughout the world of Ananda.

And for the first time ever, it’s being offered completely free of charge. So, check it out and register to attend online (that way you’ll have access to all the recordings even if you can’t make it in real time).

Of course, there’s music at the beginning of every class, so we’ll be there for sure. 😊🎶

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Ananda’s global outreach

Ananda’s outreach touches people in 105 countries (and this is above and beyond our communities, centers and meditation groups)! 

All the staff of Ananda’s Outreach Ministries gathered for two mornings this week to share what our departments did in 2023 and what our intentions are for 2024.

It’s always a bit of a stress to pull the music ministry’s presentation together each year, as we barely recover from the holiday season and suddenly it’s “that time” again.

But I wouldn’t miss these meetings for the world, because I’m always so deeply inspired by everything that my friends and colleagues are doing to share the teachings and bring light to the world.

I absolutely LOVE my work. What a blessing.

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Celebrating Yogananda’s birth

Tonight’s celebration of Master’s birthday was perfect.

It was an incredibly beautiful altar; the choir songs and Jitendra’s chanting were filled with devotion.; the meditation was deep; and Jyotish and Devi gave inspiring talks.

What more could one wish for?

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Feeling inspired

No matter how much I struggle to stick with my day-to-day routines (including meditation), I’m always grateful for the boost of bliss and inspiration I feel after a Kriya initiation!

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My deepest why for practicing

In the courtyard of the Ananda Palo Alto community, back in the day.

I’ve been receiving an increasing number of out-of-the-blue comments from people hoping to hear me play flute more often.

I’m also getting a lot of encouraging feedback about my recent, more regular practice sessions.

Then — to top it all off — I just “happened” to stumble on an old blog post from August 2019, in which I shared something I wrote way back in the early 2000’s, when I was new to Ananda:

“What I want more than anything is to be able to simply be the vehicle for music to course through. I want to be the pipeline and the music the water. And I want to be a wide-open, pure, smooth, silvery pipeline for the sacred water to flow through, not a rusty, corroded, constricted, obstructed pipeline that blocks the flow.”

I can still remember that the inspiration behind writing those thoughts was to more deeply understand (and communicate to others) WHY we need to practice and improve and aspire toward perfection.

Not to impress or to compete or to gratify our ego. But to be an ever more pure channel (or vehicle) for the Divine Flow and, through our ever-deepening attunement, to eventually merge into oneness with that flow of the Divine.

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Full to overflowing

At a certain point I find myself wondering, “Just how much inspiration can a person take in, anyway?!?”

Because come Friday afternoon of SRW I often feel like I can’t absorb even one more insight, one more bit of wise guidance, one more heartwarming story.

But the truth is that — somehow! — there’s always room for more, especially when it’s so filled with joy. 🤸‍♀️

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A much-needed pause

I’m always grateful for Thursday evening of SRW.

Saturday was Sevaka retreat. Sunday morning was service, while Sunday evening all the singers, instrumentalists, and dancers came together for our one full rehearsal. Every weekday starts off with music before the morning class. Monday evening was kirtan. Tuesday evening was the concert. Wednesday evening was an inspiring Q&A session with Jyotish and Devi. Thursday afternoon is music and inspiration for donors at the Gratitude Tea.

But tonight…there’s blessed nothing.

Ahhhh…. a chance to catch our breath and clear some mental and psychic space for three more days of inspiration still to come.