Post-Christmas Roundup

The final lap of our annual Christmas marathon began with our all-day meditation on Saturday the 21st. Some additions to the altar this year were some items of Swamiji’s — a shirt and a pair of slippers that he wore in the last days of his life. These were in the right-hand niche, where they will later have a more permanent installation, and they were the source of much inspiration and devotion for everyone gathered there. More photos of the day are here.

Our caroling expedition around the neighborhood the following evening was a delight, as usual. This year we even absorbed a few neighbors into the group as we made our way around the Monroe loop. These included three small children with plastic trumpets, who provided an enthusiastic fanfare for the end of each carol.

Our Christmas Eve service came next in the ever-alternating Christmas dance of inward and outward energies. This beautifully devotional evening comes across well in the photos, but to fully appreciate them requires a vivid imagining of the exquisite music by a small ensemble and several soloists.

And then finally, Christmas Day. The family service was a glorious pageant full of angels, shepherds and kings of all sizes, and we got it filmed this year, so you can watch the entire thing here. And if you enjoy the photos, you can even peek backstage for the costuming and some outtakes.

The Christmas banquet had more tables full of people than we had days of Christmas, so we had to double up on the seven swans a-swimming and a few others just to get through the song. The entertainment also included a brand-new play, written by Marilyn and involving 12 actors, a director, a pianist, a sound technician, and the baby Jesus. It was quite a production! (Cliff's notes version: Santa and baby Jesus do indeed manage to share some Christmas cheer with a number of folks who very much needed it. Two thumbs up!) And, as a final number inspiring us all to help clean up, the three wise men were paid a return visit by a king of a different sort. (Okay, so we didn’t look remotely like Elvis, but we did our best.)

Merry Christmas to all!

Pre-Christmas Roundup

Ah, December... that magical month when there’s just too much fun to keep up with. In case you’ve managed to miss any of the recent goings-on, we’ll catch you up here before we get started again this weekend.

A couple of Sundays ago we enjoyed a post-service lunch of our traditional veggie chili and cornbread, and then a post-lunch choir concert. In addition to many of our Ananda Christmas standards, we also had a rousing medieval Alle Psallite (in Latin and German both), and an Ave Maria (in Russian) by Rachmaninoff. There are a few photos here, lots of mp3 recordings here, and we even managed to get a fun video of the men’s ensemble singing Riu Riu Chiu.

Last week we enjoyed the Bay Area theater premiere of our Finding Happiness movie. We rented the Aquarius Theater in Palo Alto for a Wednesday night and a Saturday morning showing, and had about 400 people total come see it. (Photos here.) Some of the crowd was “us,” of course, but there were also many new people, as well as many friends and family who didn’t really know much about Ananda. And many positive reactions from people as they left the theatre, from smiles to tears (the good kind). Tons of people bought DVDs for Christmas gifts, and one new person walked out and registered for 3 classes, including the 12-week Raja Yoga class. A very successful debut all around!

And finally (for the moment) we had our Members’ Christmas Parties over the weekend. Two potluck evenings at Chela Bhavan enjoying the three S’s of the spiritual path: sweets, savories, and songs. (Did I get that right?) Photos are here.

All caught up? Ready for the next week? See you soon at the all-day meditation, the caroling party, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day!

Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving festivities last Thursday had a number of fun new elements to them this time around. Shanti led the service, but shared mic time with Brahmacharis Vinny and yours truly, and so we got to look at the topic of gratitude from a few different angles. (Videos of our respective talks are here, here and here.)

We got some audience participation going as well, when Rita and friends led the congregation in some simple dance movements to the chant “Door of My Heart.” And at the end of service, we each got to take an autumn leaf, inscribed with one of the 8 aspects of God, and offer it at the altar. Later these leaves were taken to Ananda Valley Farm to be added into the soil. That should result in some pretty tasty veggies by next harvest season.

In between courses of our fabulously scrumptious Thanksgiving banquet (thanks to Robert and a host of volunteer cooks and helpers), we had another opportunity for creative expression. We all got paper and pens and did the “vertical poem” exercise (from one of Bharat’s famous Sharing Nature activities). One holiday-related word written vertically down the side of the page provides the starting letters for each line of a poem, which then comes to life almost magically, no poetry experience required. Several people shared their poems at the microphone, and we posted them on boards for everyone to read, as well. I have to say, I’m dying to know what Thanksgiving is like in the home of whoever chose the word “warthogs” to base their poem on.

Want to see some more poems, and more pictures? Check out all the photos of the day here.

And finally, I’ll leave you with a couple videos of amusing songs from the banquet entertainment. First, a list of things, some of which we are more thankful for than others:

And second, an amoeba love song. No, that has nothing to do with Thanksgiving. Yes, you should definitely watch it anyway:

More Updates from Ananda Valley Farm

We had another community workday up at Ananda Valley Farm this past Saturday, with about 30 folks coming to pitch in. Some of the notable accomplishments include transplanting 250 calla lilies and weeding in the hoop house, clearing a hiking path to the top of the ridge (with a beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean), designing and installing a much needed drainage ditch behind Seva House, measuring and installing metal fence posts around the orchard, and most important of all, preparing the orchard for planting. Check out this fun time-lapse video of the day's work:

And have you seen the new farm website yet? Give it a visit, see some more photos, and subscribe to the newsletter if you want to keep up-to-date on all the happenings there!

Farm Brainstorming

[Guest post courtesy of Trisha. See all the photos here.]

What do rotating seed banks, chickens, and Ananda-brand teas have in common? They were just some of the many ideas generated on Saturday at our Palo Alto temple when a group of over 50 devotees joined creative forces to brainstorm ideas for our new farm. Karen G. and Robert Z. creatively led the group into coming up with ideas in six major areas including: our vision for its use, how to market products, farming and what to grow, the buildings and equipment, security and a safe haven, and communication. Ideas were shared on what we would like to see happen on our farm, and every person that added an idea sparked more ideas from others. At the end of the day, presentations were given on the ones generated. There were too many to list here (they will be published soon), but some included raising bees for honey, sustainable farming and permaculture, having seasonal celebrations, sharing farm news on the web, what emergency supplies to have, and how to brand our name.

What we may lack in farm experience was made up in life experience and enthusiasm. Asha ended the day with beautiful words on how this farm has reconnected us to nature and to each other. How perfect our farm is, not just having everything we need it to, but also being so beautiful, and if we were all there camping out with no power but we had a harmonium with us, how much fun it would be.

We felt Divine Mother there on this most uplifting and inspiring day, moving her children along lovingly to help us get our farm going. At Ananda, when we are attuned to what is trying to happen, the possibilities are endless and as much creativity that had occurred on this day, the amount of joy coming out of our temple far exceeded even that.

Ananda Valley Farm Dedication

Saturday was a momentous day for Ananda in the Bay Area. Yes, we’d already bought ourselves a farm, through no small financial miracle. Yes, a number of us have already been spending a great deal of time there, even beyond the two recent community workdays. But Saturday was the day we officially gave it to God and our gurus. And Saturday was the day they gave it back to us with their blessings. And that makes all the difference.

Over a hundred people from around the Bay Area, and even from the  Village, gathered at our new farm on a gorgeously sunny afternoon. We assembled in one of the greenhouses, with a large altar set up along one wall, folding chairs brought in for everyone, a sound system, recording setup — the works.

David and Asha spoke, sharing the story of our farm up to the current moment, and we also heard from our official farm staff members Biraj, Lahari, and Warren. James, our realtor, shared how he’d felt Swamiji’s presence “whispering from the trees” to him, all throughout the process of buying the property. And we were honored to meet Caín, the foreman who has lived and worked on this land for 39 years, and is now taking on the new challenge of teaching us all how to be farmers. A potentially daunting task, but one he’s facing with admirably good humor.

To bless the land, everyone received an envelope containing small items to distribute or bury around the property as we roamed and chanted for half an hour. We had pictures of Swamiji and the Masters, small ziplocs of Ganges water, tiny stones from Babaji’s cave in the Himalayas, and packets of soil from Crystal Hermitage. Asha had kept a large container of the finely sifted Crystal Hermitage soil for a long time, ever since someone gave it to Swamiji many years ago, and had just been waiting to see what its ultimate purpose would be. This was perfect.

To end, we gathered in a central area for a fire ceremony, and then closed by singing “Channels,” Swamiji’s song of gratitude to Divine Mother and to Her presence as expressed through all the infinite, joyful variety of creation. And a song of opening ourselves, as well, to be Her channels. It was  beautifully uplifted occasion, and the feeling of the day was that Ananda Valley Farm had clearly and unmistakably been launched on its Divine mission. Appropriately, Asha commented that the day’s photos are the first we’ve had that truly do justice to the land.

Mother, we thank you,
Your joy shines in ev’rything!
Open these channels
That the world once more may sing.

Seva in Spades

Few people probably spend as much of their free time hard at work as Ananda folks do. But then, few people have nearly as much fun at it as we do, so it’s hardly surprising.

The Saturday before last, we had our second workday out at Ananda Valley Farm (photos here, including a few from the previous week, showing the walk up to the Babaji Grotto). We had pouring rain most of the time, which apparently comes along with our valley’s nifty little microclimate, and is the envy of the other farmers in the area. So we appreciated that and moved ourselves off to more indoor projects.

The bunkhouse team cleaned and spackled walls, in the first of many stages towards making it a more inviting habitation. We also had a lot of folks working in one of the greenhouses (where the sound of the rain on the roof was deafening). They got some more seeds planted, and transplanted all the calla lilies that were growing in the ground into pots. We set aside the very first one, to do something historical with at some point.

Then this past Saturday we had a workday at the church (and those photos are here). The much sunnier weather was a boon for all the landscaping work. Team Shiva had a big day, taking out giant pampas grasses and other overgrown or otherwise unneeded plants, but the green thumbs came along behind and made sure we left things looking nice.

The un-sunburned team cleaned and organized the flower pantry and the ministers’s room, including a closet full of vases and many drawers full of decorative cloths. We even polished the candlesticks and ironed the candles. (Apparently this is a thing they need. Who knew?)

So the next time you’re at the farm or the church, take a look around at some of the shiny new energy. And get in on the fun next time!