Tag: Swami Kriyananda

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Celebrating Swamiji’s birthday AND my blog anniversary

I started writing this blog on Swami Kriyananda’s birthday in 2019, largely as a way to combat my tendency to doubt. I doubted not only myself, but also whether I had anything worthwhile to share.

On the day after Swamiji’s birthday that year — my second blog post — I shared how I had been inspired by what famous blogger Seth Godin had to say about the benefits of writing a daily blog, and how “The first 1,000 are the most difficult”.

Well, today I realized that four years of daily blogs means I’ve reached 1,460 posts! Not only am I well past my first 1,000 but I am, in fact, having a lot of fun doing it.

So, that’s the background to today’s post. But what I really want to share is how this is the first time in almost twenty years that Ramesha and I haven’t been in an Ananda community or center, celebrating Swami’s birthday with our spiritual family.

It definitely feels rather strange.

We thought about trying to perform somewhere, but we don’t even have a guitar with us here in Lugano. But then I thought about a recent (and very impromptu) “performance” that we gave during a family luncheon couple of Sundays ago.

The primary entertainment was the duo Tacalà, a lovely couple who’ve been specializing in the traditional popular music of Ticino for the past twenty years. A number of extended family and friends were in attendance, with everyone singing along with a lot of joy and great gusto.

But someone had told the duo that we were musicians, and at a certain point they invited us to sing. We were rather hesitant about making the switch from the fairly boisterous sing-along mood to our more “spiritual” music, but they wouldn’t take no for an answer.

So we sang. First we did a couple of perky, upbeat songs (“I Will Always Think of Thee” and “Life Is Beautiful”); but when they asked for a third one we figured, “Oh, what the heck!” and sang “O Signore mio altissimo/Make Us Channels of Thy Peace.”

There was actually quite a bit of talking going on in the restaurant as we began but then things settled down and people absolutely loved it.

It feels appropriate to share this on Swamiji’s birthday because it represents our ongoing gift to him.

Swami gave us so much — the music, of course, but also spiritual family, community, divine friendship, guidance, unconditional love, and so much more – and in return, we can keep singing and playing his music anywhere and everywhere the opportunity arises.

You see, Swamiji wanted his music to help people, mainly by raising consciousness. And every time we sing — especially in the extremely unlikely places! — we experience yet again the tremendous power of our music to change people for the better.

Thank you, Swamiji. And happy birthday!

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Hotel Dante: then and now

With Swami Kriyananda at Hotel Dante in Lugano (2012)

One of the things we planned to do in Lugano today was visit the spots where we had spent time with Swamiji — especially Hotel Dante, where the above photo was taken.

Swami loved coming to Lugano on vacation and always stayed at Hotel Dante. We have a number of precious memories with him there; we even got to have breakfast with him on my birthday in 2005.

We had thought it would be nice to take a picture by the chair where Swamiji had sat, as a way of remembering our time with him. You can imagine our dismay when we arrived and discovered the room had been remodeled and is completely different!

It’s still Hotel Dante, but the lobby where Swami would sit and receive visitors is now a very modern looking restaurant. It wasn’t just disappointing, it actually felt like a loss.

But then I remembered that I can feel Swamiji close to me by tuning into him inwardly. An important and reassuring reminder.

The traditional lobby is now “FLAMEL Bistrot & Mixology”

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The Ananda Music App is launched again!

The previous launch was mostly for Ananda devotees in India, which meant it happened at the rather inconvenient hour of 6:30am Pacific time.

But this launch was for the US audience, and what’s fun is that an entirely different group of music people* shared stories about Swami Kriyananda, the inspiration behind the music, and how it has impacted our lives.

We all had a great time. And now, if you’d like to learn more about the app, click HERE.

* Including Dharmadas, Nirmala, Dambara, Ramesha, and yours truly

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The Festival of Light come to life

Most weeks since 1999 I’ve listened to the Festival of Light as part of Ananda’s Sunday service.

In the Festival Swami Kriyananda condensed the central message of Ananda into ceremonial form, expressed in way that is moving and inspiring.

Over the years I’ve known a few fellow devotees who don’t enjoy the Festival, finding it boring and repetitive. I’ve always loved it, actually, but today the Festival came alive for me in a way that I would never have anticipated. And now I appreciate it on a deeper level than ever before.

Basically, it was one of those mornings when the to-do list seemed so overwhelming that I was tempted to skip meditation and just start “getting things done!” And although I successfully resisted that temptation, I had a hard time keeping my mind from treating my meditation as a planning session.

But then, it happened! I had a huge “aha” moment of getting it that none of what I ever do or have ever done is by my own power — everything is done through God’s infinite power acting through me.

And these words from the Festival of Light came to my mind:

Hours passed, and night fell. The little bird grew afraid. “How,” it cried, “can I fly in this darkness?” And the night whispered, “Fear not. For lo! peace awaits you in the unknown. Surrender to me, and your strength will be renewed.” And after a time the tiny rebel surrendered, and found the night’s counsel true.

And rain, and sky, and grassy fields all sang: “Behold, your very strength to fly has never been your own. Look to the source of all power, if you would conquer fear and weakness.”

And the bird asked, “Where can I find that source?”

And they answered, “Seek it in the farthest depths of Being, in your own Self.”

And I realized in the core of my being that the only way to truly resolve the issues I struggle with is through looking to the “source of all power” in order to conquer the fears that keep me bound to attitudes and behaviors that don’t serve me.

All in all, it was an emotional but remarkably freeing meditation.

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Saying good-bye to David Miller

Contact photo

Day before yesterday I wrote about recording “Secrets of Love” at Crystal Hermitage, which had me thinking about David Miller.

This afternoon I was reflecting that I hadn’t been in touch with him for a while and I wondered how he was doing.

And tonight I learned that he had passed away.

David was a big part of the music of Ananda for a long time, from way before I came on the scene. He worked closely with Swami Kriyananda on arranging the music. In fact, some of our most beautiful choir songs are his arrangements.

David was a gifted pianist, a quirky jokester, and a deep devotee. He will be missed.

Go with love, dear David. 💗

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Deepening my connection to Swamiji – 2

Photo of Crystal Hermitage Upper Gardens by Kent Williams

I’m not sure whether I mentioned it in a previous blog post, but one of my first big spiritual lessons after arriving at Ananda Palo Alto was that no one seemed particularly interested in the fact that I was a professional flutist.

For starters, there was already a woman in the community who played flute. And at my first meeting with Asha Praver — basically a “getting-to-know-you” chat — I described some of the musical activities I had offered at my previous church homes, including benefit concerts and the like. Her response? Pretty much no response. I mean, she might have said something like, “Oh, that’s interesting,” but I received no energy from her at all regarding my flute playing.

It took me back a bit, but it was also rather refreshing not being primarily identified as a flutist.

However, within a few months a friend in the community somehow learned more about my musical background and convinced me to give her a copy of my resume, which she then shared with the music people up at Ananda Village.

What I had no way of knowing was that they had been slowly working on a recording of Swami Kriyananda’s music using mostly synthesized sounds for the various instruments. They had a live harpist (the late Donnelle Page) and professional cellist, David Eby, had come to Ananda Portland a year or two before I arrived in Palo Alto. So, now they invited me to provide live flute to the album.

And that is how it came about that in late October 1999 I was blessed to come up to Ananda Village for a long weekend at Crystal Hermitage, recording “Secrets of Love” with music arranger, David Miller, and recording engineer, Agni Ferraro.

What a blessed experience it was! Crystal Hermitage was Swamiji’s home whenever he was in residence at the Village (although this was during the time that I still hadn’t met him because he was living in Italy). I got to stay in a small apartment at Crystal Hermitage, doing my Energization Exercises in the beautiful upper gardens and meditating in the dome.

Of course I spent hours and hours in the studio, with photos of Yogananda and Swami to keep me focused on the goal of allowing their vibration to flow through my playing. Although recording is always intense, there was also plenty of joy and laughter in working with my fellow devotees.

I was transported by the melodies I was playing, especially “Love Is the Aspiration toward Perfection” (click here to listen) and felt Swamiji close to me throughout the entire process. By the end, I understood that this was the raison d’être for all my years of training and experience as a flutist.

Thank you, God. 🙏

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Deepening my connection to Swamiji – 1

My first opportunity for feeling closer to Swamiji came when the Ananda Palo Alto Lay Members group spent a weekend at what was then called the Ananda Seclusion Retreat (now called the Ananda Meditation Retreat). This is the first property Swami Kriyananda purchased and where he first started Ananda in 1968.

I drove up with my friend, Marilyn (now known as Manisha). It was my first time visiting the Seclusion Retreat and I’m pretty sure it was her first time as well.

To a city girl like me, Ananda Village already felt pretty much like traveling to the boonies, and the Seclusion Retreat was even farther into the wilderness. We had gotten a little lost on the way and ended up arriving after dark. As we made our way along the dark paths, I remember being startled by a small herd of deer running right by us. We definitely were outside of civilization as I knew it!

That first night there was some kerfuffle around accommodations. One of our group members was in a wheelchair, but the door of the house to which she had been assigned was too narrow for her chair. Things got switched around in such a way that another woman and I ended up in that house instead.

Now, I heard people calling the house “Swami’s Dome,” but I assumed that was just its name. Similar to being at Ananda Assisi, where they have rooms called “St Francis” and so forth. It wasn’t until the end of the retreat that I discovered I had literally spent the weekend in Swami’s dome, where he had lived for years.

Furthermore, it was usually only available for ministers who wanted to take seclusion. So, it was only due to a completely unusual combination of circumstances that I ended up staying there, sleeping in the loft area where Swamiji slept.

It truly felt like a gift from Divine Mother. 🙏

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Setting the stage

Free Curtain Stars illustration and picture

My involvement with Ananda accelerated and deepened throughout 1999. I received Kriya initiation at Ananda Village in May; returned for the Kriya retreat in June; and moved into the Ananda Palo Alto community in August.

Early that fall I learned that there would be an Ananda choir performing Swami Kriyananda’s Oratorio in Italy in May 2000. Although I was not a singer (my only choir experience had been in Mrs. Hall’s fourth grade class!) and had never heard the Oratorio, I absolutely knew that I had to be part of that tour.

However, since there was already a flutist, I had to sing. And although I had more of a low voice, the alto spots were filled, so I was going to have to sing soprano.

And to top it all off, I was hearing about it rather late in the game, with a good portion of the $5000 cost already due as a deposit. I hadn’t even had a chance to meet the tour organizer, but I sent her a check for $125 with the assurance that more would follow (there’ll be further details about this when I write about the creation of my Illuminating Grace CD).

Indeed, the pace of life was speeding up as a result of my increasing commitment to Ananda. And it was at this point that I received two more opportunities to deepen my inner connection with Swami Kriyananda.

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How I first “met” Swamiji

Swami Kriyananda

Let’s see, it must have been sometime early in 1999 that I first “met” Swami Kriyananda.

My very time at an Ananda event was Shivaratri in February 1998, after which I attended a few Sunday services, then started taking a meditation class in May. Within a few months I knew Yogananda was my guru, and I took discipleship in November 1998.

However, Swami Kriyananda was a mystery person to me. Given his Indian name, I was surprised to learn that he was an American. Everyone spoke of him with great love and respect but living in Italy at the time, he wasn’t around for me to gain my own impression.

Not surprisingly, the music of Ananda made a real impression on me right from the start; as I was getting more involved I felt to tune into it more deeply. I had picked up a free “sampler” cassette tape with a selection of musical pieces on it and decided to listen to it while working on an art project.

There was quite a variety — in style, instrumentation, size of group — but then there were a number of solos in a male voice that I guessed must be this Swami Kriyananda guy. It’s a little embarrassing to confess that my professional musician ears were in critique mode as I listened, wondering if his being the founder was the reason he got to sing the solos (boy, was I clueless!).

Then the song “Love Is a Magician” started. It has a slightly jazzy electric piano intro, to which I had a rather cynical and condescending response, but once Swami began singing the words I immediately burst into tears and sobbed throughout the entire song.

It was as though the loving power of his consciousness was an arrow that bypassed my mental processes to directly pierce me right in the center of my heart. In that moment I knew Swami Kriyananda was the truest and deepest of friends, and that I could trust him with my life.

Which was, and still is, the truth.

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The first time I sang for Swamiji

I believe this was also the first time I met Swami Kriyananda in person (I met him “in consciousness” the first time I heard him sing “Love Is a Magician,” but that’s another story).

This was March 4, 2000 and Swamiji was visiting from Assisi; the first time he’d come to the USA in a few years. I was part of the small singing ensemble that was invited to sing for him that morning in Asha and David’s apartment in the Palo Alto community.

I wish I could remember more details (what did we sing? when did he first arrive? was that really my first time meeting him?), but I didn’t understand at the time just how precious these experiences were.

I wish I had taken notes of everything.