News from the Centre – September 2019
When real love is understood, the heart will open like a lotus when the sun rises. Let love develop inside your heart. The purer the heart becomes, the more love will come out, and one day you and love will become one. ~ Baba Hari Dass
Dear friends,
What a summer it’s been! I hope you’ve all had a wonderful summer. The days are still (mostly) sunny, but there’s a nip in the air in the mornings. Fall is around the corner – harvest time.
It was wonderful seeing so many of you here during ACYR in early August. This year’s Annual Community Yoga Retreat was the biggest one in years, with more children than ever. A big thank you to everyone who came, whether you’ve been coming for years or this was your first retreat. If you couldn’t make it this year, there will be another one next August!
group of folks sitting on the mound: Amita, Maheshwar, Sri Kant, Radha, Kalpana, Paramita, Jyoti children in the middle of the circle: Laurel with Audrey, & Orion Arati at the Hanuman Temple Arati at the Hanuman Temple
Children’s Ramayana at Latte Da Stage – written and rehearsed during ACYR. Amazing performance! Thanks to Priya and all the children.
Congratulations to the 21 people who graduated from this year’s Yoga Teacher Training. YTT was another big highlight of the summer. Thank you to all the amazing teachers and to the awesome students. Congratulations!
On another note I’m sad to report that our dear Racquel, Senior Manager at the Centre, has decided that she needs some time to integrate all she’s learned here. She is heading back to India to visit her family, then see what adventures await her. She hasn’t ruled out coming back to the Centre at some point in the future, and we would happily welcome her back into the community. We held a lovely farewell dinner for her before she left.
For the remainder of the program season, Courtenay has taken the reins as Centre Manager, with support from Anuradha in the Karma Yoga program, Janell as Office Coordinator, Hannah as Programs Coordinator, and Moss who has just joined the office team as Operations Coordinator.
We have been blessed this summer with wonderful karma yogis and volunteers. A big thank you for your dedicated service to the centre and for belonging to this community, and we hope to see you all again. Now as we begin the fall season we are happy to welcome a new group of karma yogis for the fall session of the Residential Karma Yoga Program.
The centre continues to offer retreats and workshops through the end of November. See our website for more information about upcoming programs. Also, Kathryn Kusyszn, one of our Victoria satsang community members is offering classes & workshops on yoga for scoliosis for students and yoga teachers. For information, check www.yogakat.ca
Kirtan, satsang, Bhagavad Gita study and Yogasutra study continue, and you’re welcome to join anytime.
Coming up in September
Ganesh, the cheerful elephant-headed deity, the symbol of both placing and removing obstacles on our spiritual path, is being celebrated on the morning of September 2, beginning at 8:30 am, ending with a community lunch by donation. Please join us for Ganesh Chaturthi if you can make it. If you want to stay for the community lunch, please notify the office.
On the morning of Sept. 25, on the one year anniversary of Babaji’s passing, the centre will hold a shraddha in honour of Babaji. It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since Babaji left his body. At the same time, his presence is very strong here, so in one way, he hasn’t gone anywhere. As Babaji has written, You will know me through sadhana.
For your reading pleasure
Here’s another community story, this one by Carolyn McBain who’s been coming to the Centre for the past 23 years, for the past 15 years with her daughter Sierra. Carolyn comes here when she can, usually 3 or 4 times a year to contribute to the community as a karma yogi. Every summer she and Sierra come to ACYR to practice, to learn, and to play (and in Sierra’s case, to help run Latte Da). Thank you to both of them! Please enjoy her story – Gratitude.
I hope your life is flowing smoothly these days. As we know, sometimes it does, and sometimes it’s a bit rocky. Here’s a little reminder to pay attention, and to come back to the wisdom we already have but sometimes forget. In searching the archives I came across this article, Staying Centred in the Midst of Life’s Turmoil, and decided to repost it because it remains relevant and useful.
Life is not a burden. We create burdens by our desires, attachment, and ego. If we accept life in the world, it creates contentment and all conflicts fall away. ~ Baba Hari Dass
Love,
Sharada