Although there were only four of us in the Temple of Light this evening, we definitely felt united in singing with all the people (there were at least a hundred!) who joined us online.
In addition to Ananda Village residents and friends in Sacramento, we were joined by people in the states of New York, Ohio, Michigan, Maryland, Oregon, Maine, and Hawaii, as well as the country of Colombia.
This was different than our usual concerts because we wanted everyone online to feel they were active participants, so we had our friends Lisa and Dambara in the Temple with us. They helped so much by responding to the live chat and sharing people’s comments.
All in all, it was deeply inspiring and also a whole lot of fun.
P.S. Because the event was recorded (see the video below), you can join and sing along any time you wish. The lyrics to all the songs can found here.
We were so looking forward to once again having full choir for our Christmas concert this year, but — for the third year in a row — health considerations have made singing together in a large group too risky.
The concert is tomorrow — Saturday, December 17 — at 5:00pm. In order to still share the spirit of Christ through music, our small singing group will be in the Temple of Light, performing the program our choir had been rehearsing since October. And we’re inviting everyone — choir members, Village residents, our global Ananda community, and friends and family everywhere — to sing along with us via the live broadcast.
Our hope is to feel that we are all singing together, energetically connected through the music, no matter where we are in the world.
P.S. We’re hoping to make lyrics and some sheet music available. Of course, you’re also welcome to just enjoy the music. 😊
I had to wait until the end of the week to share this, because I didn’t want to jinx it!
For a number of years I’ve struggled with consistency in my meditation practices; spending six months focused on fitting cancer treatments into my schedule didn’t help.
But somehow the time had come — there must have been an inner shift of some sort — and this Monday I got up extra early, did my full energization exercises, then went to the Temple of Light to meditate.
Most importantly, I repeated those actions every single day this week, and it feels great.
I know this is my best way to prepare for the upcoming bone marrow transplant, so–
Swami Kriyananda singing for the Oratorio in Palo Alto (2008)
I’ve got to keep this short in order to get ready for our first Oratorio rehearsal in the Temple of Light since March of 2020!
Yep, we got the go-ahead to have an actual choir. True, it has to be a very small one of less than twenty singers, but we’re still thrilled. It’s been way too long since we did the Oratorio.
This red bud tree pretty much took my breath away the other day. Especially together with the contrasting Japanese Maple, the green pine trees, and deep blue sky, all framing the beautiful Temple of Light.
I’m so grateful for the beauty of this patch of the planet that I get to call home!
Plus, Ramesha and I finally made another fun video, also in honor of Earth Day. Enjoy!
An almost completely empty Temple of Light at Ananda Village, about halfway through the pandemic year, before we had to discontinue live worship services altogether.
There’s been a lot of reflecting these past few days on having reached the one year anniversary of the “official” start of the global pandemic. Many of the articles have to do with people remembering the moment when they finally “got it” that the virus was a game-changer and we were all headed into absolutely unknown territory.
For me it wasn’t one moment but a series of inexorable steps in the process of coming to terms with the unimaginable.
We were in full scale Oratorio preparations — our very first in the new Temple of Light! Rehearsals were going well and we were all so excited. We had a rehearsal on March 10, the day before the WHO announcement. Needless to say, we haven’t had a full choir rehearsal since.
At first I was scrambling to find a solution; I simply couldn’t wrap my mind around the possibility of not being able to present the Oratorio. Maybe we could reduce the size of the choir. Maybe we could spread out. Maybe we could do it with just eight singers and no further rehearsal. Of course, our Village management team and medical advisors weren’t taking any chances.
No Oratorio, period.
Then I read the article about the infamous choir in Washington state, where a full three-quarters of the singers became ill with COVID-19 after a rehearsal in which they sat farther apart than usual, didn’t share music, and really tried to be careful. Several choir members died.
I guess if there was a moment, that was it.
I certainly can’t complain about this past year. I live in a beautiful rural setting; in a loving and supportive spiritual community; with a husband that I actually enjoyed being “stuck” with day after week after month(!); and we’ve stayed completely healthy.
There’s also been incredible, expansive growth on so many levels, for which I am very grateful. But my heart isn’t completely whole and I’m not entirely myself without making music with fellow singers and musicians, then sharing it with the world.
