Open Centre Newsletter Christmas 2009
Heartfelt warmth from Gopi-ji and Kellie-ji to fill your stockings with. Solstice Blessings and sincere wishes for peace and happiness to all beings everywhere in 2010 from the OC newsletter team. Namaste x
Dear Friends,
May you be safe and peaceful in this holiday season.
When I was a child I loved the holidays, especially the food. For Christmas my Italian grandmother spent days making homemade ravioli, minestrone, meatballs, ricotta pie, anise cookies and pizzelle. Her greatest pleasure was seeing everyone enjoy around the table.
We all sit at the table of Open Dharma with great gratitude and enjoyment of deep rest. This table is set to help each person in their own unique transformation towards freedom.
Open Dharma reminds me of a special friend in a small, dusty village in North India.
He is a 105-year-old yogi. His small ashram has a goshala (a shelter for cows) with over 30 cows. Little Maharaji has named them all and lovingly cares for them. Every evening he makes a fire and cooks a large pot of chai. All the villagers arrive with their stainless steel containers to get chai from
Maharaji’s pot. Small children,old Nepali widows, the local tailor and the village dacoits (bandits) all come to his kitchen. He pours from the endless pot his special ingredient: love.
This is how I see Open Dharma; their chai pot supports all of us in dedicating our whole lives to what is most important.
This holiday season is an ideal time to show our gratitude to Open Dharma by taking the opportunity to give a gift. We can give in someone’s honor or on our own behalf.
Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche says, “Somebody has to plant the seed so that sanity
can happen on this earth.”
Open Dharma is planting the seeds of sanity and we are fortunate to be part of this family. Remember to water the seeds of your own sanity by making a
commitment to your spiritual practice.
You can visit our website,
www.opendharma.org to make your gift and keep
in touch with us. Your support will allow Open Dharma to flourish and others to
benefit from the teachings.
With love,
Gopi
And now for Kellie-ji's exciting news:
Happy Holidays Family and Friends,
I have exciting news! Myself and a group of friends from the international meditation Sanga, Open Dharma, have made a commitment to meditate daily from now until Christmas time (40 DAYS) as our gift back to the world at large during the holidays. In this way I feel like we are really doing the work of the heart, the work of love, and sharing in the true meaning of the holiday season. This is my gift to each one of you. This seems like a better way to direct my energy as opposed to getting caught in the consumption frenzy. In this way I can genuinely send each one of you love, calmness, rest and bring more peace to earth.
Open Dharma has deeply affected my life at large. My meditation practice is one of the most important corner stones of my life, for it has transformed me on many levels. It has opened my heart, made me more present, empowered, centered, calm, and the list could continue on on. For all of these gifts I wish to give back to this organization so they can continue to travel and offer retreats solely on a donation basis...I believe that it is every one's personal birth right to contact truth through stillness and rest if they so wish.
So here is my idea! If you want to give me a gift these holidays, and more importantly, a gift to the world, you can support my 40 day meditation commitment. It is sort of like sponsoring a walk or a run for a certain cause, but instead it is a meditation marathon. Any amount is more than welcome! You can donate by going to
www.opendharma.org and clicking on the link for donations.
It is not required by any means, but if you wish to email me the amount you are posting to Open Dharma I will be keeping a tally of the amount I raise this year. If this is a success, I might make this an annual event, each year trying to raise a little bit more money than the last for one of my main Loves...meditation!
I love you all,
Kel
Upcoming Events:
7 – 12 January 2010
Silent Retreat near Arunachala, Tiruvannamalai, South India
For info and registration: opendharmainfo (AT) yahoo.com
17 – 27 January 2010
As above
Friends of Open Dharma, Brighton, UK
Gathering in the spirit of connection and support.
Sunday 17th January 2010
Contact Beka: 07960 520128 beka (AT) beingnature.co.uk
“When you make a difference with what you have it expands.” Lynn Twist
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Nature - Interaction - Silence
http://www.opencentre.es
If you are organizing a fund-raising event/activity, please email the fund-raising info coordinator (Benoit) at: fundraising (AT) opencentre.es with details of your event, so that we can happily share it with others.
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