Spiritual Renewal Week 2010

This past week saw hundreds of devotees gather at Ananda Village to recharge their connections with God at Spiritual Renewal Week. The talks and classes were broadcast live for members of the Ananda Virtual Community, and are now also available to download from Ananda.org. There are a number of photos from the week posted here and here, and also another blog post about it, so there are lots of ways you can share in the experience if you weren't able to be there in person.

But still, there's nothing like being there in person, and that comes from newbies and folks who have been attending SRW for decades. The theme this year was "The Age of Energy — Accelerating Planetary and Personal Evolution," and we could certainly feel the energy flowing joyfully the entire week.

Swamiji at his talk on Monday, accompanied by Mukunda the cat.

We had a concert on Monday night which started off with a few songs from Swami, who decided at the last minute to sing for us. We were also treated to a number of Swamiji's instrumental compositions, performed by a talented orchestra made up of Ananda members of all ages, who also accompanied the choir on a couple pieces. [UPDATE: David Eby posted recordings of the concert here.]

Performing "To Death I'm a Stranger," with choir and orchestra.

On Wednesday evening, we enjoyed a performance The Peace Treaty, Swami's play that embodies spiritual ideals and teachings through the reuniting of warring clans. There's a lovely write-up here, as well as lots of photos.

Ponder, Robin, Baltan, Merry, and the Hermit.

One topic that was on everyone's mind this week was L.A. Swamiji is heading down there for an event this weekend, and a group of devotees is moving down there to help him energize the work in that area. We called them up on stage before Sunday service on the last day, to send them on their way with blessings.



Were you at SRW? Have a story or experience to share? Leave a comment!