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Ananda Sangha of Portland
February 306 Dwapara (2006)
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PDF February Calendar, 44K
In This Newsletter
Articles & Letters
Lead Article: Open House, Open Hearts
The Art & Science of Raja YogaThe Purpose of Yoga Postures (by Kriyananda)
News, Events and Schedules
Dear
Friends,
Greetings. On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (Feb 3, 4, 5) we celebrate the completion of our Mandir remodel, and all the growth this process has made possible.
Bob Ausbeck and I were reviewing the several thousand pictures taken over the last year (in preparation for the slide show portion of the entertainment Saturday evening the 4th between 7 and 9), and were quite taken at the amount of joy reflected in the eyes and faces of those involved. In the midst of all the chaos and effort of the remodel, something precious was growing—the spirit that is Ananda.
It seems odd perhaps, that an event that is so very physical and outward can be a vehicle for inner growth and freedom, especially when we are encouraged to go inward in meditation to find our connection with Spirit, discover who we are, and discover the source of joy.
And yet it has been one of the most profound experiences in our many years in Ananda.
Yogananda said that each person should make an effort each day to grow physically, mentally, emotionally as well as spiritually. He said that true happiness, that true union with God is reflected in every part of our nature.
If we could but meditate with great focus and concentration for many hours each day, these other aspects would take care of themselves. Alas, most of us are still drawn to spend most of our daily hours engaged in the world. The trick then is to use our hours of worldly involvement to support our meditation efforts (instead of diffusing them).
Ananda was created, and exists, to make our daily life alive with Spirit, full of opportunities to realize that God is not only with us all the time, but that God in fact is us. These realizations come through being fully engaged in life and watching for God’s hand in the midst of that engagement.
Yogananda encouraged us to challenge ourselves, to daily step outside our little self-definitions and discover that we are indeed bigger than we ever thought. “Bite off more than you can chew, and then chew it,” he would say. A project as demanding and creative as the Mandir remodel provides fertile ground for each of us to discover a larger version of ourselves. Its very scope means that we share the process with others who are likewise growing realization. What fun!
Membership in Ananda Sangha worldwide is a way of sharing a fellowship with others of all races and nations who are also engaged in this great adventure of discovery.
Participation in your local Ananda Mandir (if you are lucky enough to have one nearby) provides many opportunities for rapid growth, like what has just occurred through the remodel.
We send our thanks to all of you who participated—in every way. Thank you for your friendship, for the kindness and selflessness and creativity, for the inspiration of sharing time and God’s joy together. Thanks go to all of you who have held us and this project close in your hearts.
And our gratitude also goes to Swami Kriyananda for the courage of his discipleship, for the founding of Ananda, and for the friendship and guidance he offers each of us along the way.
May this Mandir and Sangha grow ever brighter as a beacon for God’s light into this world.
In His Love,
eric and ingrid
The Art & Science of Raja Yoga
What is your problem?
I love that question, in all its varied forms. Life is full of problems to be solved, and each of us has a unique set of particular puzzles that we have to find answers to. It is one of the common bonds we all share.
There are an infinite number of answers to all of life’s different questions and perplexities. Some answers complicate life even more (I knew of a woman who tried to drive a bear out of her RV by throwing things at it—unfortunately all she had nearby was bananas), some answers leave us almost where we were before, and some answers lighten our load and increase our enthusiasm for life itself.
Yoga, the science of union between our personal perceptions and God, is designed to provide answers that increase our well-being, lighten our load and bring us into harmony with the flow of life. If this is our goal (and who deliberately desires to live with the pain of disharmony?), yoga provides the tools and understandings that we need. Different yogic branches cover different aspects of human life: Hatha yoga works with the body’s need for strength, energy, balance; Ayurveda works with diet, nutrition, environmental influences; Vedic astrology covers personal psychology; Karma yoga addresses the need for creating a meaningful relationship to the world...
There are many different approaches to yoga that have been developed over thousands of years, and each approach emphasizes some particular aspect of life. If a person is trying to get their whole life to integrate, and pulls solutions from various paths, it is like trying to build a car by buying pieces from different manufacturers—a BMW engine, a Chevy frame, truck tires…
Yogananda brought an integrated and comprehensive approach to solving all of life’s perplexities, drawing on yogic understanding, and integrating all the pieces so that each solution works in harmony with every other solution. That comprehensive approach to life is Raja (royal) Yoga.
Swami Kriyananda, a direct disciple of Yogananda, has brought those teachings together in this 14 part course. The course covers Philosophy, Meditation, Breathing, Hatha Yoga, Health, Diet, deep understandings of anatomy, and how all these aspects integrate to develop a life that is supremely fulfilling.
We invite you to join us in this course and discover for yourself the delight of solving life’s problems in this way. Joy, eric and ingrid
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Congratulations to Ken & Veronica Lausmann who tied the knot on January 15 (See pictures in the PDF versions, links at the top of this page). We wish them many blessings in their life together!
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Meditation Training—Our next Meditation for Starters class is Feb 7 & Mar 2, 7:30-9pm; $40 (including materials). Our next Developing an Inner Life: Learn to Meditate (4 Tuesdays) class will begin Feb 21, 7-9pm; $150 (including materials).
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Thank you to everyone who participated in the workdays in January and the final push to complete the endless details in preparation for the open house. Many Hands Make a Miracle!
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Visit
Swami Kriyananda at Ananda Village for his birthday in May! There are
still a few seats left on the bus trip to the Village (May 18-May 22). If you
would like to be part of the group bus trip (which includes devotees from
Ananda Seattle as well) please contact the mandir right away! Cost for the
transportation on the bus is $125. Lodging and event costs are separate. -
Education for Life Intensive: Parents are invited to attend the Saturday session (February 25) of the Intensive for a reduced rate. Classes on Saturday include: Basics of Raising Spiritual Children, Motivating Children, and Games to Help Children Learn Concentration. Talk with Usha for details.
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Attention all singers! At the end of March a group of Ananda singers and musicians from California will be joining us to perform
Kriyananda’s Christ Lives! Oratorio. If you would like to participate in
this performance, we will be starting practices on Tuesday nights in late
January. Please talk with Satyaki right away to get a parts tape!
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Do It Now! Radio shows now available. Swami Kriyananda recorded 260 radio shows some years ago entitled New Dawn.
Based on Swami Kriyananda's book of daily inspirations "Do It Now," each of the 260 talks addresses the topic of the day. The talks are alive with wisdom, practical advice, and deep relevance to the challenges of modern life. Five new talks are available every week in MP3 format.
These shows are available now for the first time in MP3 audio format. They can be downloaded from www.ananda.org or as a Podcast from the Apple iTunes store. The shows are free and are about 13 minutes each. -
New items from Ananda Healing Ministry. Watch for these new CD’s arriving soon:
Thou Art With Me CD—Experience a healing session in your own home. Mary Kretzmann has guided many people through this visualization of Psalm 23 in the spine in private healing sessions. People have experienced relief from suffering, by allowing God's presence to be felt in their heart and soul.
Healing Affirmations in AUM—Swami Kriyananda's voice is deeply resonant in this recording of AUM. We have often recommended it as a background sound for healing visualizations. Now it includes healing affirmations. This recording is designed to be inspiring as well as comforting. Iit is suited for use before sleep, or as you wake up. It is also very helpful for those facing surgery, as well as for recovery. -
Dedication of Ananda Sacramento’s New Mandir—February 11 & 12 Eric & Ingrid ill be traveling to California to participate in Ananda Sacramento’s will dedication of their new mandir.
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Treasures Along the Path! For February, the “gem” will be: “How to Know and Do God’s Will.” In this talk, Swamiji clarifies how to tune in and receive the guidance we are all seeking. For information or to join, call Melody at Ananda Village (530) 478-7656 or email treasures@ananda.org.
also from The Art & Science of Raja Yoga by Swami Kriyananda
The principle of magnetism, and of energization itself, will be more deeply understood if you consider what it is that magnetizes a bar of iron. Every iron molecule possesses a magnetic polarity of its own. The reason, then, that a bar of iron may manifest no overall magnetism is that its molecules may be turned every which way, in effect canceling one another out. The more these molecules can be oriented in a north-south direction, the more magnetism the bar of iron will manifest.
This simple fact opens up important doors onto the yoga teachings, some of which we shall explore in lessons to come: the need for a guru, and the similarity between a bar magnet and the spine, with its positive-negative polarity in the brain and at the lowest spinal center.
A bar of metal becomes magnetized when it is placed next to an already-magnetized piece of iron. Similarly, to acquire strong magnetism oneself it is important to mix with people who already have the kind of magnetism that one wants to develop. To develop success-magnetism, mix with successful people, not with failures. Mix with artists to develop an artistic magnetism; with devotees, to develop spiritual magnetism.
I remember my guru asking me, on the occasion of our first meeting, how I had liked his autobiography. This book had changed my whole life. Because of it I had crossed America to offer my life to his guidance as a disciple. Autobiography of a Yogi was, in fact, the greatest book I had ever read, and still is. I tried lamely to say how deeply it had affected me. “That,” Master remarked, simply, “is because it has my vibrations.” A new thought to me at that time! It left me fairly bewildered. But over the years I have realized its truth. For words convey more than ideas. They are channels of actual magnetic power by which a writer’s soul can touch the souls of his readers. That, especially, is why it is good to read the writings of true saints: Their words convey some of the power of a direct, physical blessing.
…
In this way it will be seen that certain attitudes are automatically more magnetic than others. Willingness, cheerfulness, kindness—all wholesome, spiritual attitudes are magnetic. Unwillingness, discouragement, and similar negative attitudes, on the other hand, are like iron molecules turned conflictingly—or like toxins in the nervous system; they impair the free flow of energy. And while hatred and other strong negative emotions can develop a magnetic power of their own, if they are one-pointedly directed, in the end the inner heaviness they produce impairs the free flow of one’s energy, and thereby destroys that kind of magnetism.
Finally, it must be remembered that everything originates in the Infinite Spirit. Magnetism of every kind is born of the magnetic power of God’s love. Like the light emanating from an electric bulb, this power is strongest at its source. Like an object held up to a light, and reflecting the light more brightly (even at a distance) the closer it is held to the light, divine power is greatest, even on low levels of manifestation, when its point of origin is closest to the Divine Source.
The Art & Science of Raja Yoga Intensive: A Course in Self-Realization
Twice a year we offer a 14 class in-depth course in The Art & Science of Raja Yoga—A Course in Self-Realization. This class is a combination of study and personal application. Through the practice of meditation, yoga postures, pranayam and the eight-fold path as described by Patanjali you will explore the Art & Science of “Knowing God”. The class is an important component of preparing for Kriya Yoga initiation. The next course starts Tuesday February 7 and meets weekly through April 25 (including 2 special Saturday sessions).
Tuesdays
Feb 7—Apr 25 (plus 2 Saturdays), $575 (materials extra)
Taught by Eric & Ingrid Glazzard
from Ananda Yoga for Higher Awareness by Swami Kriyananda
In the main stream of life two currents, especially, may be observed. One is toward an expansion of awareness. The other is a sinking back into sleep and unawareness, a shutting out of reality, a longing for death. Positive and negative—in all of us, both of these trends may be observed.
To the extent that we draw the world to us, by an attitude of willingness, appreciation, kindness, joy, we express the positive current. When, by unwillingness, a critical attitude, selfishness, unkindness, grief, we push the world away from us, excluding it from our circle of awareness, we express the negative current. Man, unlike the lower animals, has the freedom greatly to quicken his evolutional climb toward perfect awareness—or, if he prefers, to fall back into the mires of unknowing from which he emerged. It is for him to rejoice in his existence, or merely to wallow in it.
Every growth in awareness is, in the last analysis, a growth in Self-awareness. What we observe in the world depends on our own capacity for observation. An anguished spirit will find in everything justification for its anguish. A joyous spirit will see reasons for gladness everywhere. No amount of pious maxims or lofty philosophy can bring light into man’s world beyond what already exists in his own consciousness.
The true purpose of yoga is to facilitate the development of this Self-awareness—not as a self-enclosure, but as a doorway to an expanded awareness of the surrounding universe, of truth, of very life.
Usually, hatha yoga (the science of yoga asanas, or postures) is taught only from a standpoint of its benefits to the body. And from this standpoint it might well be said that the yoga postures, as a system for achieving longevity and radiant health, stand supreme. We have personally seen old men, practitioners of this science, who might have passed for young men in their thirties. At Allahabad we met an ancient yogi, named Deohara Baba, who was reputed to be 140 years old. His hair was black, his body muscular. He could easily have been taken for a man of about 50.
Old age and sickness settle first in the joints and in the spinal discs. Anatomical studies reveal that these spinal discs often begin to show signs of degeneration as early as man’s third decade, which is to say, in his twenties. The yoga postures loosen the joints; they stretch and irrigate the vertebrae, keeping them youthful even late into old age. They promote the free flow of energy throughout the nervous system and assist in the elimination of toxins and poisons from the joints and other body parts where these foreign elements tend otherwise to settle, sometimes permanently. The postures exert a beneficial pressure on various glands and internal organs, flushing and stimulating them. Even a little bit of this practice can produce astonishing improvements in one’s general health.
It is small wonder, then, that hatha yoga should be growing in popularity in the West as rapidly as it is. A few years ago an article in California’s Palo Alto Times (now the Peninsula Times Tribune) listed the grievances of high school students in a neighboring community. Among the “rights” demanded by those youngsters was instruction in the yoga postures.
Yes, whether for good or ill, the asanas are well on their way to becoming a fad. But the aim of these postures, so far, has generally been recognized to be only the promotion of physical health. Much more is involved.
For by the yoga postures one can improve his mental outlook. He can achieve a richer, more harmonious emotional life. The postures are a definite aid to spiritual development. Particularly, from a standpoint of the approach of this book, they help one to develop a more vital awareness. The hatha yogi (a yogi is one who practices the yoga science) learns to include his body in the general circle of his awareness, to live in his body instead of merely existing in it. By increasing his physical awareness he can free his mind from the imperatives to commonly imposed upon man by his body: weakness, fatigue, physical sluggishness and resistance, discomfort, pain. He is thus able to make the body the servant of his will. Health, as it is usually conceived, is negative: a mere absence of disease. But the yoga postures help to create a joyous sense of vitality and well-being. They make the body an ally, not a neutral neighbor or even a foe, of the soul in its search for expanding awareness.
Open House
You are invited to a special open house weekend. We have many guests coming for this weekend of special events, including Jyotish & Devi (Spiritual Directors of Ananda Worldwide), Vidura and Durga Smallen who have been instrumental in Ananda Worldwide, communities, and our remodel, David Praver, co-director of Ananda Palo Alto, Terry & Padma McGilloway, directors of Ananda Seattle, and JT Heater (and Colleen) the architect of our remodel, and many other friends! The weekend schedule is listed at right.
Do join us! Come for the whole weekend, volunteer to help at the open house, or attend one of the evening gatherings. We look forward to seeing you.
Schedule:
Friday Feb 3
7-9pm "God is for Everyone" Talk (Mandir)
Saturday Feb 4
6:30-8am Meditation Community Temple
10:30-11:30am Mandir Blessing (Mandir)
1-4pm Open House (Mandir)
5:30-6:30pm Dinner ($10 RSVP) (Community Dining Room)
7-9pm Dessert & Entertainment (Mandir)
Sunday Feb 5
9-9:45am Purification (Mandir)
10:00-11:30am Service (Mandir)
12:00on Lunch (Restaurant)
Bold items are open to the public
Others are open to you—our Sangha members, friends & family!
free
seminar: creativity on demand
Inspiration, insight, and fresh ideas--considered by many to be more or less random phenomena--can actually be summoned at will and directly applied to one's immediate tasks. And solutions born of clear concentration, an expansive vision, and mental receptivity are not only practical, but often exceed all expectations of success.
Join Satyaki Brockschmidt for a look at how you can attract creativity and inspiration on demand! Thursday February 2, 7:30-8:45pm, Free.
Therapeutic Yoga and a course in pranayama
Join David Ramsden for either or both of these special yoga series. Therapeutic Yoga will explore all the different ways that the pracitce of yoga can heal the body of many maladies. After that class (on the same evening), he's again offering the popular Course in Pranayama, taking you deeper into the various yogic energy-control methods.
Wednesdays, February 1, 8, 15, 22. Therapeutic Yoga starts 5:45pm, $40 for the series. A Course in Pranayama starts 7:30pm, also $40 for the series.
Spiritualizing Relationships
“The secret of friendship is...to see in friendship a window to infinity.” — Swami Kriyananda. Relationships are some of the most fulfilling or most painful experiences in life. Understanding relationships properly can allow them to be a deeply satisfying part of life. These informal classes will explore this topic and provide insight and appreciation for relationships of all types.
Wednesdays February 8 & 15, 7;30-9pm, $35, taught by Ingrid and Eric Glazzard
Men's and Women's Retreats
Refresh your body and mind, and uplift your spirit. Join us this winter for a weekend retreat at Manzanita on the coast. You’ll enjoy friendship, inspiring group sadhanas, and quiet time amidst the backdrop of the ocean. Please Register early!! We only have 10 spaces available at each retreat which will fill quickly! (View from retreat house shown here.)
Men’s Retreat: February 17-19 (led by Eric & Satyaki)
Women’s Retreat: March 10-12 (led by Ingrid & Iswari)
$250 for a bed in a shared room; $200 for floor space in a shared room
Other Friday Night Events (7-9pm, donations welcome)
February 10, kirtan and meditation
February 17, women's satsang
Febryary 23, guided meditation
A Breathing Exercise: The next time you feel moody, depressed, worried, or simply scattered, instead of brooding over why you feel so moody, or worrying over the fact that you worry too much, try breathing your way to better spirits. Inhale very slowly and deeply. Feel that you are inhaling, not merely air, but joy, peace, strength, or courage—whatever positive quality you want especially to affirm. Sit very straight as you practice this exercise. Imagine the breath to be filling not only your lungs, but your whole body, starting at the feet, and culminating at a point midway between the eyebrows. Focus the breath at that point, and hold it there as long as you can do so comfortably; feel that you are burning up all negative thoughts in the blaze of divine light. As you exhale, do so forcibly, expelling forever from your body and mind the last vestiges of weakness and negativity.
Repeat this exercise six or twelve times, or as often as you need to put the forces of darkness to full flight.
Weekly Postures Schedule at the Mandir
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Monday |
10:00-11:15am |
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Tuesday |
5:45-7:00pm |
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Wednesday |
Specialty Classes (see above) |
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Thursday |
5:45-7:00pm |
9 Surina Hankins (child)
18 Karen Busch
27 Sue Mann
Blessings to all these great souls! If you’re missing from our list, please let us know.
"The secret of friendship is showing appreciation and not taking it for granted that your friends always know how you feel about them." --Swami Kriyananda, from Secrets of Friendship
Mar 2
Free Seminar: Healing the Body of Pain and Tension
Mar 3
Yogananda Mahasamadhi Commemoration
Mar 8
Yoga for Relaxation begins (3 Wednesdays)
Mar 10
Men's Satsang
Mar 10-12
Women's Retreat
Mar 17
Kirtan and Meditation
Mar 22
Mystical Teachings of Chriist series (2 Wednesdays)
Mar 24
Christ Lives! Oratorio Concert
April 6
Meditation for Starters
April 7
Guided Meditation
April 8
Palm Sunday
April 14
Kirtan and Meditation
April 16
Easter Sunday
April 31
Silent Meditation
Watch for details on these events in upcoming newsletters.
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