Tag: joy

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A blast of Christmas joy!

If you’re ready for a blast of Christmas joy, please consider joining us for our annual Christmas Concert, THIS Saturday, December 16 at 5:30pm (PST) in the Temple of Light at Ananda Village.  

This year’s concert feels special on several levels. To start with, it’s the first time since 2019 that the full Ananda Village Choir gets to sing on the Christmas Concert.

Secondly, early this year we made the decision to experiment with having a smaller ensemble of dedicated singers who were able and willing to put in the time and effort to take their singing to another level. I believe that outpouring of additional energy is going to bear beautiful fruit in this concert.

Finally, it feels special…just because! I can’t even explain the feeling; maybe the stars are somehow aligned. Who knows? It just feels really, really good.

We start early (5:30pm PST) in order to make the concert accessible to families with small children; that’s also the reason the program only lasts about an hour.

And if you live too far away to join us in person, watch the concert LIVE using this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDCI8OPwO0g (or you can just click on the video above).

I hope you can join us in celebrating the love of Christ and the joy of this Holy Season.

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So much joy!

I love how this photo captures the joy shining in all the faces and how, if you look closely, you can feel the bonds of divine friendship flowing through the entire group.

And this was at the beginning of rehearsal, before we had sung a single note!

Our Christmas concert preparations are definitely off to a great start.

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Singing about joy with joy

There was lots of joy in the Temple of Light this morning as we sang “There’s Joy in the Heavens.”

I was particularly gratified to hear (and feel) how “tight” the ensemble is sounding. My favorite thing is being able to completely relax and simply enjoy singing with the group…and that most definitely happened today.

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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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It feels great to be back

My voice is a little out of shape — it’s been two months, after all! — and my lingering cough didn’t help matters.

But what a joy to be singing for Sunday service again!

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A mega-infusion of JOY

L-R: Jayadev, Arudra, Triveni, Ruby at Hotel Pestalozzi in Lugano

Saturday before last we learned that there was going to be an Ananda event here in Lugano. We knew that our Ananda friends Jayadev, Arudra, and Ruby would be there.

Well, tonight we attended that event and were thrilled to find a number of dear Ananda friends in attendance — starting with Peter, Aanadi, Triveni, Rita, and Monica; but including many new “old” friends that we were meeting for the first time.

It’s always a thrill for me to experience the joy of being with spiritual family no matter where I am in the world.

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A photo that says it all

This photo captures the essence of why we’re here: the joy of being together after almost four years.

I don’t know that I’ve ever seen Ramesha’s father, Silvio, quite this happy before; he’s absolutely radiant with joy.

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An experience beyond words

That’s what tonight’s performance of Christ Lives: An Oratorio was: an experience beyond words!

In fact, we had to invent some new ones to capture how we felt when it was over.

Instead of “shell-shocked”, we were “JOY-shocked”; and instead of gobsmacked, we were “GOD-smacked.”

It was such a powerful experience that I can’t even write about it yet.

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Feasting on pancakes and joy

Today we enjoyed a pancake feast to end all pancake feasts!

Not only were Pavani’s pumpkin pancakes beyond delicious, but we got to share them in company with some of our dearest friends.

What joy!

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Happy to be vaxxed, yet again!

Free illustrations of Nurse

I still find this to be the perfect image to accompany my sense of joy and relief at getting my 2nd dose of the COVID vaccine.

It’s certainly been an interesting process, having to repeatedly remind pharmacy employees that I’m getting the primary series, not a booster. Which sometimes means waiting longer; like today, when they thawed out the booster instead of the 2nd primary dose.

Oh well, bottom line is — I got the jab. Yay!