Its hard to believe how quickly time has past. It is already Spiritual Renewal Week 2010, one of the highlights of the year at Ananda. The Village is bursting at the seams with guests, the hustle and bustle of event planning and the high energy that happens when spiritual friends from the world over gather together to recommit their lives to finding God. Some people will tune in via the internet, others are here in body, but all of us are together in spirit.
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Swami Kriyananda spoke yesterday which is uploaded and should be on ananda.org very soon. I couldn’t help but to share this photo of Mukunda, the cat, on stage with Swamiji during his talk.
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Swamiji sang three songs this evening, to open the concert, but wasn’t able to stay for the whole evening. However, I think everyone there was deeply grateful for his blissful presence.
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He sang a humorous song accompanied by a group of talented singers, who made us laugh with their antics. He also sang Life Flows on Like a River, and Love is a Magician, both with deep feeling. The remainder of the concert was also blissful.
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The youth orchestra played Life is the Quest for Joy.
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It was absolutely beautiful. Such talent and devotion was channeled through them that I am sure everyone, like me, was in awe.
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Thank you to all the singers, too.
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Swamiji will also be speaking Friday and giving Sunday Service. While his body is often weak, his spirit is strong and it seems every time he speaks a great power moves through him. He will be attending some of our other favorite events: The Peace Treaty performance, and the Indian banquet. Lets all pray that his health allows him to participate fully, he has said on many occasions that he can feel the loving prayers we offer to him.
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This week will be jammed packed with activities! And I will try to keep the photos coming! SRW began for some of us with either planning, hosting or cooking for the Crystal Clarity Publisher fundraiser dinner held at Crystal Hermitage.
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I was there to record the event and was again so impressed with the creativity of my fellow gurubhais. The delicious and beautiful food, well-tended and well-loved gardens, the gorgeous table settings, the beautiful music, and the joyful helpers created an evening of enchantment to thank the generous supporters of Crystal Clarity. Swamiji spoke at two different points in the evening once sharing what it was like to live with Yogananda.
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At the end of the evening he shared with delight, his new book, The Time Tunnel. Which is a charming, but deep and instructive book he wrote for children of all ages. I am sure we all will be hearing about it during this week.
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This is the tent set up at the amphitheater for Spanish translation!
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There is a lovely group of spanish speaking pilgrims visiting for the week. It is wonderful to visit with all our new and old friends and to share with all of you!
Bless you all! There will be more to come! Love, Barbara

Editor’s note: Please also see “The Peace Treaty” blog by Barbara about the play performed during the Spiritual Renewal Week.

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