Greetings everyone. Yesterday was a beautiful and inspiring Sunday Service. The new amphitheater at The Expanding Light was packed! I don’t know how to estimate the size of the group gathered but a guess would be 300 people.

Swami Kriyananda sat on the stage as the World Brotherhood Choir sang lovely songs. Then Swamiji spoke for at least an hour on many different subjects. Swamiji sat for the talk which was humorous, and deep, and encouraging.

Then he stood to read the Festival of Light. I have always loved the Festival and the story of the little bird. It sounded like he was telling the story rather than reading it. Swamiji meditated during the blessing as 8 Lightbearers shared the “touch of light”. At the end, Swamiji stood as we all shared these blessings with the world by chanting Aum. I saw a lot of radiant faces yesterday!

This talk went out “live” and the video will go out a bit later in the week. Dave, my husband, said that the service he is using to upload the videos to the web is so busy on the weekend that the video files can’t go up till about Tuesday or Wednesday. It is like big city traffic. But, he is committed sharing these talks with everyone and will get them out to you as soon as possible.

I took many photos this weekend, too many to post on this blog. I will try to post them on a gallery for you to see. I will update you on that.

Doing the photography for these events is a special treat for me. I try not to be distracted by composing photos, but rather try to feel what is happening so that I can share (and remember for myself) the beauty of the event that I am at. So, I am blessed twice… during the event and after, as I process the photos.

Here is a little odd news: The electrical storm the other day touched off some fires in the area. I can smell smoke in the air today and the sky is hazy. But, we are not threatened (that I know of).

Bless you all!!

What a fantastic weekend. I hardly have words to describe the joyful gatherings at The Expanding Light and at the Crystal Hermitage.






On Saturday morning there was a panel of speakers: Jyotish from the village, Dhyana from India, Hriman from Seattle, Asha from Palo Alto and Devi from the village. The insights about and experiences with Swami Kriyananda that were shared were inspiring indeed. I realized again that Swami has not only given his life to God he gave it to us.



Listening to the stories about his dedication to spreading Yoganada’s light throughout the world and to his dedication to establishing world brotherhood colonies filled me with awe. He is our divine friend.



The video will be up for you to listen to soon.

The afternoon was also very special. Hundreds of people filled the Crystal Hermitage lower gardens. Swamiji spoke briefly in the Crystal Hermitage dome and then came outside (in the heat) to deliver a very beautiful talk.

Just before Swami came outside there was a brief little thunderstorm, we didn’t really get any rain but the electricity was knocked out. He had to speak without a microphone. He spoke strongly and everyone there was able to hear him. The choir and orchestra provided beautiful music and Swamiji sang 3 songs! There was yummy cake and great satsang. Swamiji for a brief time blessed people who came up to him.

I hope you enjoy the photos from this beautiful day. (I will post photos from Sunday Service separately.)

What a beautiful day! The newly refurbished amphitheater was all decked out with flowers, flags and a new and larger shade cloth. The seats were filled to capacity. Swami’s talk was deep and inspiring. Who could ask for more?

Wow. Friday (yesterday) was a big day at Ananda and The Expanding Light. It was beautiful to see friends, new and old, from all over the world here to celebrate Swami Kriyananda’s birthday. Actually, his birthday was last month (May 19th), but we wanted to celebrate with him here. The choir, composed of singers from all the colonies, sang for us all so wonderfully.

I won’t say much in this post. I want to share photos from yesterday. Be sure to check out the streaming video and the live feed schedule and see these events for yourself. Swamiji’s talk in the morning was so inspiring and his play, Jewel in the Lotus, performed in the evening, in my opinion, is perfectly written. I love the humor and how it portrays our longing for God, at all levels.

Today, will be a class with a panel of speakers, this afternoon we will be at Crystal Hermitage for an open house. Dave, my husband, will video both these events, so if you can’t watch the live feed you can stream the video later. I love knowing that we are all connected (in spirit and technology) and can share in the blessings of this special weekend.

Blessings to you all, from Ananda Village!
In Joy, Barbara

In one of my previous posts, I had mentioned that Ananda Velo (Ananda Village’s Bicycle Club) is organizing a bicycle ride for Ananda’s 40th anniversary and Swami Kriyananda’s 60th anniversary of discipleship. The date of this ride has been finalized as August 9th (the Saturday before Spiritual Renewal Week).

Yesterday, we sent out an email to prospective riders to further plan this event. Here are some details.

We are offering several rides to suit all abilities. The route starts at Ananda Village, goes down Tyler Foote Road and makes a right on Oak Tree Road for a short climb and descent to North San Juan. The right turn on Route 49 begins with a 2.5 mile descent to Oregon Creek. This is followed by a beautiful, relatively easy 10 mile climb. Next we descend for 4 miles into the North Yuba River valley. The run along the river in this valley is cycling at it’s best.

In the map shown above, A is Ananda Village and D is Downieville.

If you would like to participate in this event, and/or if you would like to have your very own Ananda Velo hat and/or Ananda Velo jersey, please contact me and I will send you further details.

First live broadcast today of Swami Kriyananda talk from our new amphitheater. Last night, crews were still laying cables to bring power, lighting, sound and AnandaBell DSL. That on top of a new shade tarp. Truly amazing feat considering this is all our own system.

We set up and tested the connection on Thursday then again first thing Friday morninge while the choir rehearsed.

We are capturing the feed off of a High Definition camera which is used for recording Swami’s talks during his summer visit. The feed gets encoded on a little laptop sitting next to the camera and uploaded via DSL line to our streaming servers in Canada for rebroadcast. You can tune in here to view during live broadcasts or watch them later on our website.

We hope to broadcast Sunday services this summer when conducted by Swami Kriyananda. This Sunday (June 23) will be the first.

Schedule of future live telecasts may be found here. We hope you will join us.–Om

My son is away at camp this week and my daughter is taking swimming lessons. We finished our homeschooling for the year and it seems summer is under way – but my mind is leaping ahead to September and the start of the new school year.

It will be a year of changes for us, because I will be leaving my job as Homeschool mom to be a full-time teacher for the intermediate class at the Living Wisdom School here. My husband will be taking on the teaching at home, and trying to continue his computer work as well.

Such a big change for the whole family was approached with a great deal of prayer and consideration – and the inward guidance I feel is that it is the right direction for us to go.
But what is it about change that grabs our hearts and minds so – even when we feel it is positive?

I think part of the answer is that we crave change, and daily existence in this world grows quickly monotonous. We look for new stimulation and new ways to expand our experiences, because then we feel like we are growing. But yogic teachings, and all great religions, tell us that all we need is within. Yogananda describes the soul’s experience as “ever-new joy”, when we discover our eternal connection with God.

As my mind leaps from one detail to another and I make lists and plans for a job that is 3 months away, I’m finding it difficult to focus on the inward reality of ever-new joy.

An opportunity to pause and contemplate the deeper reality that is always present came, ironically, while teaching – this time in Sunday School. The affirmation for the lesson was “I am like the ocean deep, untouched by storm or change.” (We often use affirmations adapted from Swami Kriyananda’s Affirmations for Self-Healing.)

The children and I repeated the words of the affirmation many times throughout the morning, starting loudly and playfully as we ran and crashed on the beach (pillows and blankets) as restless waves. Then we were underwater and moved around the room like fish and slow moving kelp. We darkened the room and got quiet and still, as if we were in the deep ocean, far below the surface storms.

With each repeat of the affirmation I tried to let go of my concerns for the future and the changes that life brings, and tried to feel the inner calmness of God’s presence that never changes.

Swami Kriyananda teaches that affirmations, when rightly applied with concentration and will-power, have the power to change our consciousness. I have kept repeating that affirmation as I make all the preparations for the year ahead, reminding myself that the truth of God’s love and joy never changes, regardless of what life looks like on the surface.

I’ll let you know how the teaching goes.

I am like the ocean deep, untouched by storm or change…

In joyful friendship,
Lorna Knox

Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) was Paramhansa Yogananda’s boyhood home. It is the backdrop for many of the stories in his Autobiography of a Yogi. When Swami Kriyananda moved to India in 2003, it was natural to expect that the people of Kolkata would be hungry for his presentation of Yogananda’s teachings. Surprisingly, however, Ananda had only moderate success there.

This April, our four monks decided to change that.

left to right: Devendra, Jemal, Steve, Jaidhara

One of the challenges we have teaching meditation classes in other cities is the cost of travel. Airfares are high, a fact keenly felt when traveling in a group of four. The monks solved this by taking the overnight train from Delhi to Kolkata.

Upon arriving, they took the city by storm! Having already advertised in several newspapers, they spent two days postering the city–two long, hot, days!

Their efforts were rewarded with an excellent turnout: 150 people came to the free lecture, and 70 came to the meditation workshop the next day.

The conclusion of the classes was hardly the end of their work. They next began the equally vital task of spending time with the Ananda members in Kolkata. Part of Ananda’s foundation is divine friendship and spiritual community. The monks spent time chanting, meditating, and dining with Ananda members.

They also led pilgrimage groups to various places connected with Yogananda’s life, including his boyhood home, his guru’s ashram, and the famous Dakshineshwar temple. They also spent time with members of Yogananda’s family, including Sarita Ghosh (pictured above), who is married to the son of Yogananda’s nephew.

With fond farewells they boarded the train back to Delhi. They had hardly arrived home when they began putting in place plans for the next visit.

They completed a second tour of Kolkata at the end of May. Again they had large turnouts for the public classes. This time they added a new element of service.

Yogananda emphasized the importance of daily meditation, and the monks decided to help the Kolkata Ananda members strengthen their practice. They spent a week meditating with different groups five times a day–a first in Ananda’s history.

The people of Kolkata now have the opportunity to drink deeply of Yogananda’s teachings, thanks to the efforts of these four young men. In their example we see how a small group of focused and energetic people can bring positive change to a city, and indeed, the world.

Mangoes for breakfast on the boat, before heading home