I do believe this is my all-time favorite kind of meeting — bar none!
Ananda Village housing meetings happen maybe once a year, when there’s either a lot of people moving and houses opening up, or when there’s a lot of need and no apparent openings.
Of course, housing can be a sensitive issue, but I’m always inspired by the way it’s handled at the Village — an intentional (and cooperative) spiritual community.
Tonight’s meeting was as uplifting to me as the very first one I attended way back in 2008. There were probably 40 people in attendance, but many of us were there simply to enjoy the process and offer support.
We started, as usual, with some chanting and a prayer. The current available housing was listed, then we all shared why we were there, with those who are actively looking to move explaining what they need and the kind of situation they’re looking for.
Nothing got decided in the moment, but you could feel everyone opening their mind and heart in order to tune into “what’s trying to happen” for the highest good of all concerned.
It’s been a full week of dramatic shifts and turmoil — both inner and outer. I think as a country we’ve crossed a line from which there is no turning back — for better or for worse; while for myself, I feel like I’m coming back to center, but with increased awareness….and increased visibility as well!
It feels good to have opened myself up to being part of the dialogue; it will be interesting to see just what exactly that means going forward.
Which brings me to the question of race at Ananda, which a number of friends have asked about.
Speaking only for myself, I have never once felt any sort of discrimination or prejudice in my twenty years as a member of Ananda. On the contrary, I have felt a level of feeling “at home” and a sense of belonging beyond anything I had ever felt before.
In order to explain this a little better, I’d like to explore the idea of being “colorblind.” I remember one time many years ago, when I was in college, being part of a conversation where a friend was trying to describe me to someone who was going to be meeting me for some reason.
The adjectives included “short”, “dark hair”, what I was wearing, etc…and I finally broke in to say, “tell them I’m black!” I mean, it seemed ridiculous to me to ignore what — in that particular setting — would have been the quickest and simplest identifier. To me, that’s a false colorblindness that actually draws more attention to the differences.
At Ananda I’ve experienced what feels to me like true colorblindness, when someone’s attention is drawn to the color of my skin and they’re surprised, because they had never really noticed it.
Hmmm…that explanation seems a little lame, and yet…that’s how it has felt! Why? Because as devotees living in spiritual community, we are committed to shedding our egoic self-definitions in order to fully realize the truth that — in essence — we are all one in God.
The more we believe that and live that, the more we can look at everyone around us and all we see is the light in their eyes and the joy in their smiles. And we will feel the love in their hearts and know that we’re all expressions of the one light and joy and love of God.
Of course, most of us aren’t entirely there yet, but we’re committed to trying and we’re getting closer all the time.
The topic for today’s Inner Renewal Week class was “The Social Path to Self-Realization: World Brotherhood Colonies”, which ended up being the theme for my entire day!
First of all, I happened upon this recent photo of Ananda Assisi community members and was struck by how deeply connected I still feel to these souls even though it’s been over fifteen years since I lived there. Time and distance don’t matter; they’re family!
Then we ate lunch with Deodan, who just arrived from Assisi last night and will be here for two months learning about managing a community. Our lunch table included devotees from Italy (Deodan), Switzerland (Ramesha ), and Sweden (Anna), showing yet another beautiful aspect of Ananda — people from different countries, cultures, backgrounds, and lifestyles coming together to live, work, and serve in a harmonious unity.
To cap it all off, we led a sing-along tonight in the Temple of Light. Village residents, visitors from other communities, and Expanding Light guests joined together in blissing out to Swamiji’s music; personally, I felt totally uplifted! And I found myself reflecting yet again on how important Swamiji considered music to be in building strong communities. He addresses it in this quote (one of my favorites, no surprise!):
“I can best express through music the feeling of holy upliftment that possessed me. Therefore I tell people, “If you want to know me, listen to my music.” It is through this that people have come to understand what Ananda is truly all about. Without its influence, Ananda would not be what it is today. Books and lectures are only the outer form of the teachings. Music is its coursing blood.“ (from A Place Called Ananda, Chapter 13)
