After getting off to a rather late start, this season on Ananda Farm is showering us with abundance.
Ananda farm and “unpredictable weather” are one and the same. During the years 1976 – 1986 we had a frost every month of the year except for July!
Ananda Farm
This year, May 26th, we had a”killer frost” which threatened all 500 tomato plants we had just removed from the greenhouse, where they began as seedlings. In the late afternoon of that day we tried our best to anticipate Mother Nature.
Rainbow over Ananda Village
Despite a dense cloud cover, rain, and high winds, any of which could have protected us from a frost, the unthinkable happened. The rain stopped, the clouds parted, and the wind altogether stopped. Awakened at 1:00 in the morning to a beautiful, cold, crisp, starry sky, joyfully we left the warm confines of comfortable sleep, “suited up,” and headed off down the hill with flashlights.
An hour and half later all the tomato plants were covered, except for 25, which, between the two of us, we skipped. Indeed this little effort saved the tomatos and this year’s crop but the 23 uncovered plants were totally frozen. Ready to discard them, Ananta held out that we should save them and see if they would come back. It seemed absurd at the time. But, amazingly enough, they did come back and are thriving!
Veggies!
The abundance of this year has no clinical answers. Of course, we can attribute it to more compost, a longer rainy season, and things of this order, but it is Divine Mother who reminds us daily that She is in charge, and that there is nothing we can control on the farm or otherwise. It is the greatest gift of working the land.
Maria with a helper
This year, too, Ananda Farm has had an abundance of enthusiastic help. Young people from all over the country have added their efforts, setting aside whatever “romantic” notions they may have had about farming, and embracing hard work, long days, and the strong, unrelenting sun of the Sierra foothills. This has been the greatest gift of abundance thus far, for in truth, the seeds sown on Ananda Farm are the seeds of souls aspiring to know God through loving, selfless service balanced with a rich inner life of seeking God in meditation.
If you have visited Ananda’s Expanding Light as a guest this year, bought produce at Master’s Market, or shared a meal with friends here at the Village who are members of the Prana Gardens/Ananda Farm CSA, chances are you have enjoyed some of this bounty.
Hi Everyone, It has been an amazing Spring here at Ananda Village. It was very long and wet, but the result was a very vivid wildflower season, a very long tulip season and some great clouds and luscious flowers and skies.
I have been pretty busy with all kinds of stuff, just like everyone else I know, but also have been able to get outside and photograph Ananda Village in all kinds of light.
I have also been soaking up the colors of Spring: purples, yellows, peach, pink and infinite shades of green. Summer time will bring a very different palette to enjoy. The more color I look for, the more I find.
One morning started out very gray and overcast (the first photo) and then while I was in the garden taking pictures of some of the young people in the Living with Spirit program (see Maria’s post) the clouds began to part and we were treated to this spectacular scene. The Expanding Light has been one of my favorite destination spots lately. The morning and evening light on our beautiful gardens have given me lots of opportunity to try and capture the magical feeling of being at the retreat.
A lot of energy has been going into the gardens at The Expanding Light, and it really shows. They are very lush, and new sitting areas are being creating to allow quiet enjoyment of this peaceful place.
To get the best light I have been trying shoot first thing in the morning and then later in the evening. With the summer solstice near that means getting up early. In the mornings, the land and the air seem to be meditating.
We are also preparing for Swami Kriyananda’s visit. He is scheduled to arrive July 1 and participate in the July 4th festivities. I am hoping that his arrival also means that I will be seeing lots of my friends (you) from all over, here at the village. Bless you all!! And happy summer - which is just around the corner. Love, Barbara
A view of the sunset from Rajarshi Ridge.
Delighted, no end is actually the punch line to a joke in the Peace Treaty (Swamiji Kriyananda’s 3-act play). But it describes this weekend perfectly. People were delighted with the gardens at Crystal Hermitage.
Hi everyone, last week I shared with you photos of the first weekend of Springtime at Ananda. It was cloudy and very cold. But, many hardy souls made the trek to see Crystal Hermitage Gardens. This weekend was sunny and warm! At least 1000 people took advantage of the beautiful sunshine and came to see the Gardens this week. The tulips and cherry trees were in full glory and drinking up the sun.
People of all ages enjoyed the warmth, the amazing colors and garden artistry. I think most of Ananda was involved in helping to host this special weekend. We enjoyed each others company and especially enjoyed seeing and hearing the delightful responses to the garden.
We noticed that our visitors seemed very relaxed, they explored the nooks and crannies of the gardens and were enchanted with the small patches of color and the planting combinations.
They took time to sit and enjoy the views.
Today also was special for the students who just graduated from the month long Ananda Yoga Teacher Training course held at The Expanding Light. Several of these dedicated people came over to enjoy the garden experience before heading home. I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with these new yoga teachers and feel good that they will be sharing the light in their new roles as hatha yoga instructors. Congratulations, everyone!
There were first class treats available, beautiful music, and well attended concerts throughout the day.
The pool and trees in the lower garden inspired relaxation and quiet conversations. All-in-all a very lovely event. A huge thank you to everyone involved and to all our beautiful guests.
Pictured below are Jivada and Netri Mair the head planners and gardeners. They posed for me at the end of the weekend. They look great don’t they?
Swami Kriyananda’s vision for the garden, Divine Mother’s grace, and many willing and joyful souls are responsible for the enchanting, uplifting place known as Crystal Hermitage. From this place of beauty many prayers are sent out into the world. And especially now with all that is happening on our planet we pray that you feel God’s joy deep within. Bless you all.
The past two days were the first weekend of the long-awaited-for Springtime at Ananda Open House. After many, many months of preparation the doors were thrown open and the public was invited to share in the glorious colors of the Crystal Hermitage Gardens.
As you can see, the weather was not spring-like. In fact, it was quite winter-like and for most of the two days it threatened to rain. (And it snowed last evening!) The members of Ananda who were on hand to host this popular event dressed in parkas and hats.
Last year we greeted hundreds of people per weekend. This year the numbers have been far fewer. But those who braved the cold were greeted by warm and loving smiles and treated to dramatic skies and richly colored tulips, pansies, alysums, and green shrubs and trees. We also had a selection of fine teas donated by Teavana, and gourmet scones baked by Netri.
One good thing about the cold weather is that the tulips and other flowers may last longer. According to the weather service the rest of the week will continue to be cloudy and cool. At the moment, it appears that it will not rain next weekend - so we are hopeful that people will hop in their cars and visit.
The amount of planning and planting that went into the gardens, the planning that went into hosting potentially large crowds required a nearly heroic output of energy. But, no one complained that the turnout was smaller than expected and actually took the timeless advise to “not be attached to the fruits of our labors” to heart.
Major projects, like new stone paving near the standing Buddha, a french drain and new stone pavers around the retaining wall at the entrance to the dome were completed in the last hours before the doors opened. Railings were put up all along the stairs leading down to the gardens and the path to the upper entrance was rerouted to lessen the incline. The path now is not only easier, it is more beautiful in how it opens up in front of the gates at the shrine.
I wandered around the gardens these past few day, enjoying conversation with my friends and feasting my eyes on spectacular colors. I used a variety of lenses and tried angles to challenge myself to see new things.
The overcast skies create nice lighting conditions for flowers. Yesterday, after a light rain there were little rain drops on the tulips that looked like diamonds.
Every year, Netri, Jivada and the green team plant new color combinations so the waves of color this year were unique. And there is more to come. Because of the weather, the tulips on the lower terrace are slower than the upper terraces and have yet to bloom.
This morning begins a week of team teaching and evaluations of the yoga teacher trainees. The past three week students from the US, Switzerland, and Sweden have been studying Ananda Yoga at The Expanding Light. They are a delightful and dedicated group. I am going to head over to Hansa Temple to serve as one of the evaluators. So, I will end this post with photos of some of the flowers. Blessings to you all. Love, Barbara
This year I’ve been teaching a class at Ananda’s Living Wisdom Highshool entitled, “Sharing Nature Leadership Training.” The Sharing Nature with Children book series was written by Ananda Village member Joseph (Bharat) Cornell and is used in virtually every part of the world. Joseph wrote the Sharing Nature activities to give inspiring nature experiences and to bring participants (both young and old) to a place of stillness within themselves. For as Henry David Thoreau said, “one cannot perceive beauty but with a serene mind.”
The most challenging and ultimately most rewarding part of working with these students is learning how to work with their energy and enthusiasm, or lack thereof. No matter how well prepared I am going into a class, I almost always have to tweak or sometimes even completely let go of my personal goals and work with their level of energy at the moment.
To help in this process I use a technique developed by Joseph Cornell called Flow Learning.™ Flow Learning is a technique of working with energy to calm the mind so learning can take place much more effectively and peace be felt much more deeply. It has four stages:
Let me demonstrate the process of Flow Learning in pictures…
1. Flow Learning first starts with a lively activity to awaken their energy and enthusiasm by having fun. In this activity, “Animals! Animals!” the girls act out a Dragon Fly.
2. Next you take that newly awakened energy and bring it to a calm focus. In this activity, “Duplication,” students are given 15 seconds to memorize natural objects before they are covered up. They then go and search for those objects.
3. Now that their energy is focused and their mind is calm, it is easier for them to experience nature deeply. Here Mark is practicing “Still Hunting” in a tree!
4. Finally the students gather to share their experiences. Sharing helps to extract meaning more immediately from an experience.
So far the boys and girls have had a wonderful time working with and teaching Sharing Nature activities. They’ve taught to mostly all of the younger students at Living Wisdom School and the girls recently got back from their trip to Hawaii where they taught a class of 7th graders. In May we will be Traveling to Ashland, Portland and Seattle to do a series of workshops and next year we will be taking Sharing Nature into the schools in Nevada County. Maybe you’d like us to lead your family or group in Sharing Nature activities? You’ll be sure to have a joyful time!
Tulips sprouting at Crystal Hermitage.
If you read my last post you knew I would be writing to you next from India. However, shortly before we were to leave we got one of those phone calls nobody likes to get. A beloved family member passed away.
I went over to one of my favorite places: Crystal Hermitage and found solace in the springlike weather and vibrant greenery. I was completely alone and completely immersed in the stillness of the gardens.
The tulip sprouts were reaching for the sun and all kinds of birds were singing and hopping from tree to tree. The soil was rich and nurturing. I walked up to the Shrine and spent time listening to the wind chimes that seemed to want to remind me to pause and go deep in the sounds and the silence. I offered prayers for people who have written to Ananda for prayers and for friends I knew that were also dealing with loss and trying times. I felt connected to a calm joy. Even the Bhuddha statue seemed to radiate prayers and peace.
Here is a teeny little video (58 seconds) of a few of the sights and sounds in the garden. I hope that it conveys some of the peace I felt. Om Guru. And blessings to you all. Barbara
My inspiration in writing this was Swami Kriyananda’snew book on renunciation, A Renunciate Order for the New Age. Also my own desire to be a monk… but also to be married.
The old cloistered form of monasticism says you need to renounce and “get away from the world” to find God. One might say that monastics living a reclusive life are selfish in the sense they are not being a service to society. Others might say they are doing more for society since they are trying to live in accordance with the Divine, and that their prayers are doing more than social works could ever do.
On the opposite side of the spectrum you have the worldly person trying to live his life, primarily driven by what he or she can do to find happiness: good job, family, career, etc. But as we see, most worldly people aren’t truly happy in comparison to the saints who are immersed in the consciousness of God.
Now let’s say you have a non-monastic person who is religious in the sense that they attend Mass every Sunday, pray ever day, and do their best to live a God-Centered life. While this way of life is indeed admirable, unfortunatelythe “idols” of the world are able to pull us into delusion much too easily.
As Yogananda said, “environment is stronger than will power.” Thus, wouldn’t the practical solution be to bring both environments together, the monastic and non-monastic lives? At Ananda, instead of trying to run away from the delusions of the world to find God, we try to see God in every life experience.
And most importantly, as Yogananda advised, we try to make our hearts our “hermitage,” so that wherever we go, there is our church, there is our God. At Ananda we have cloistered our hearts and have tried to bring that light into our service to society. As St. Francis said, “Preach the Gospel, use words only if you must.”
From my own experience I have foundit truly is much easier to live in the presence of Godwhere everyone is trying to do the same.
I came to Ananda with a deep desire for God and to share his joy with everyone, a desire that “typical” life did not fulfill for me. Being here a year and a half I am able to see how Ananda’smodel of living can’t help but spread in time throughout society.
While things here aren’t perfect, there is an underlying spirit in the people, an underlying attitude of cooperation, harmony and peace, that is saturated all over the land. It is born not of pretense, butrather of the deeper inner joy found in the stillness of meditation, and in serving everyone as images of the Divine.
As I walk the forests and meadows, and see the houses and people that live here, I can’t help but imagining God speaking through every part of this community, every person, tree and building, this holy phrase: “Be still and know that I am God.”
