Volunteering at Bina Cita Utama School in Rungan Sari has been a really wonderful experience so far. I arrived here at the end of January and have successfully made it past the first month. Unlike most people suggested, I haven't been through some kind of phase where I felt completely out of place and didn't know why I had come. It was quite the opposite. Coming here was the first thing that I've been sure of in a long time: I've been experiencing a great feeling of purpose. I had something to offer that the school could use, so I'm now teaching Biology and Social Studies at the high school level.

 

What was even more important was how I was welcomed with open arms the moment I got here. I was invited for dinner all over the place – especially during my first week. Maia Jones, who has taken up the new job as volunteer coordinator, did a great job with picking me up and introducing me to the community and school. Karim and Rashidah MacDonald have supported me very much, as well as many other people in Rungan Sari. The community may not be what most people are used to in size, but it makes up for that in great diversity and heart. Everyone is willing to help one another. Daniela Bustillo always offers me a place to hang out if I want to retreat and rest from the busy life at the boarding house.

 

To read Rosella's full and entertaining report, please

I have just arrived in Santiago and I would like to update you about the situation here in Chile.

 

The press has shown that the damage caused by the earthquake and the tsunami has affected not only big cities like Santiago and Concepción, but also many towns and villages in the centre-south region of the country, that were highly devastated. So far, the government has reported 500 deaths and thousands of people who have lost everything – and these numbers are increasing.

 

Santiago is returning to normal and, though we are having frequent aftershocks, people are trying to return to normal life. In the south the situation is more critical: many areas, including Concepción, are under military control and a curfew was imposed from 6pm till 12 noon to restore order.

 

All the Subud members are safe but, unfortunately, we were notified that some houses were damaged and some cases are critical.

 

Subud Chile has already started the following activities to support those affected by the catastrophe:

 

* Subud Member are gathering first need items to send them to the official institutions supporting earthquake victims. We feel that any individual or collective help will allow us to overcome this situation. Subud House of Providencia is being used to gather the items.

* Some young Subud members together with friends are also gathering first need items to send them directly to Pumanque, one of the towns severely damaged by the earthquake.

* The members whose houses were affected by the earthquake are being visited and their houses being checked. We are trying to get professional support in the construction area in order to make a serious evaluation of the damages.  

 

If you would like to help support relief efforts in Chile, please contact SDIA at info@susiladharma.org

 

(Photo: from Twitter by Perez Jaime)

Solihin and Sofiah Garrard in the UK have long held plans for an art gallery, and Green Chair Gallery is about putting those plans into action. The on-line gallery was set up and launched on December 19, 2010.

 

To quote Solihin and Sofiah:

 

"Our purpose is simple: to bring you quality artworks to lighten, enlighten and raise the human spirit. Art objects that arise from an inner inspiration and create harmony with the experience of you, the perceiver.

 

Green Chair Gallery is solely an online gallery because we want to bring you art of this quality from wherever we find it, not just from one location. And we don't want to limit your experience to seeing it at a high street venue or require you to travel great distances.

 

Though we are more gallery than shop all of the work we show at Green Chair is for sale."

 

Check out the site at www.greenchair-gallery.co.uk

Luciana Aristizabal, Subud Youth representative for Colombia, participated in the YES QUEST at the World Congress in Christchurch, January 2010. What came out of this experience for her was a decision to organize 3 youth camps or events per year in her country.

 

The first camp, titled Union for Life, will take place from the 1st to the 4th of April, at the beautiful Amanecer Centre in the Quindio region of Colombia. The event will involve youth, susila dharma, culture, the Amanecer community, the national helpers and committee, and is aiming to support members initiatives, carry out activities for young and old, and refresh Subud with love and submission.

 

Luciana also informs that this summer, on July 20th, there will be the 20 year anniversary celebration of Amanecer, surrounded by a major event. Look out for more details.

Hannah Dennison is the author of the Vicky Hill Mysteries featuring an obituary reporter desperate for a front-page scoop.

 

Hannah began her writing career doing just that—writing obits for the local newspaper deep in the English countryside. Eager to live a more "adventurous" life, she spent a decade working as a flight attendant on private jets before moving to Los Angeles as a single mother with her daughter and two cats. After several years as a story analyst in the entertainment industry, Hannah switched to long form narrative and enrolled in the UCLA Writer’s Program.

 

Her third book, Expose! has recently appeared (Berkley Prime Crime/Penguin USA), following Vicky Hill Exclusive! and Scoop!

For summaries of the stories please check the PEOPLE/Books page of this site. You'll also find more information about Hannah and her work at www.hannahdennison.com

Update from Mauricio 03.03.2010:

 

...I was checking on the internet, and an 8.8 is one of the strongest earthquakes recorded ever (since 1900); but in Santiago it was more like 8.3. As we know (because the information given by the government is not 100% clear), the tsunamis after the earthquake caused more damage and deaths that the earthquake itself...

 

01.03.2010:

 

We have been receving more information about the Chilean earthquake, one of the largest ever recorded. Mauricio Castillo, Zone 9 Representative from Santiago but currently on business in the Middle East, confirms that "so far everybody is ok, but I cannot assure this 100% yet. We are still  contacting more members and getting more details about the situation of some of them."  Pedro Delano, Chair of Subud Chile, also writes "Thank God Almighty, All-Merciful, we have no reports of problems of Subud brothers; the two Subud houses had no damage, and on Saturday the 27.02.10 we did latihan with few members, but the Providencia house was open."

Sabrina Castillo from the Netherlands sent a letter from her brother, Denis, in Santiago, who vividly describes: "...the situation in Santiago is good compared with the situation in the south; there are houses and buildings that are in a very bad shape, but it is not so terrible; the construction in Chile is built against seismic activity; some highways are cut … I was moving together with the house; I went to the main door entrance, staying under the door, ... the sound of the ground was terrifying, without stopping; I felt that I was standing on a water mattress and that in any moment the earth/ground will open; seconds later, the light was cut, the illumination was coming from the reflection from the moon…"

 

(Photo: Santiago by Emmanuel Aronie, former international helper)

 

To read Denis' complete letter

It has been hard to get news out of Chile since the 8.8 earthquake that hit off shore last Saturday morning, but Elisa Sanchez Caballero managed to connect with Mauricio Castillo, the new Zone 9 Rep from Chile, who is currently on business in Jordan.

 

Elisa writes:

 

"...Mauricio says that his brother told him the house moved like paper and some crockery fell down but, thanks to God, no one was hurt. The Subud houses are both okay and the members of Santiago and La Florida alive and well. They still do not have news of the isolated members or of the group in Temuco [located considerably closer to the earthquake's epicentre]..."

 

(photo: Temuco group)

Sharifin Gardiner (photo) joined other Subud members in the WSA presentation at the Parliament of World Religions (POWR) in Melbourne in December, and spoke about Susila Dharma International (SDIA) supporting Subud members’ humanitarian and development work. As a result of a contact made at the POWR, he has been invited to attend the Global Humanitarian Forum annual meeting in Geneva at the end of June under the chairmanship of former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. This two-day event will be entitled: "Overcoming Chronic Vulnerability Together: Climate - Energy - Human - Security". Its aim is to boost efforts to tackle the converging crises that are rapidly emerging around climate change, energy and security issues. These combined challenges carry unprecedented risks for humanity, but an effective response to them could provide an equally unprecedented opportunity for advancing socio-economic progress worldwide."

 

Later at the Subud World Congress in Christchurch, Sharifin joined the WSA Forum discussion on Sustainability, and has agreed to take over from Victor Margolin in heading up preparations for a possible involvement of Subud members in the UN Earth Summit planned in 2012.

 

To read Sharifin's impressions on the Parliament, please

Subud Greater Seattle (photo) is located near downtown Seattle in the State of Washington in the United States of America. Renovations started in 2004. After undergoing many renovations the building has been transformed into a refreshed and renewed home for Subud in the area.

 

As part of the process, the property was professionally inspected to identify what needed to be done. The list was long. With a loan of $40,000 from the Subud USA House Fund, the group started renovations on the outside and were able to fully paint and patch siding, and install new energy-efficient windows, doors and roof. An MSF grant, matched by local donations has enabled the group to proceed with more renovations, especially the replacement of old and unsafe “knob and tube” wiring with new wiring and electrical service panels.

 

The women’s meeting hall was completed In January, 2008. It now has ecologically “green” fixtures: lights that brighten the room, doubling the wattage, ceiling fans that increase ventilation and sconces that can be dimmed. This transformed space should now attract many different uses, including weddings and workshops to generate revenue to support the remodeling.

 

To read the full MSF newsletter please

Ronald (original name James) Leask (photo), one of the pioneers of Subud Britain and one of the early chairmen of Susila Dharma Britain, passed away on February 12th, 2010.

 

Luke Penseney shares a few thoughts about his erstwhile Godfather:

 

...a true Renaissance man... husband to Helen... father to Brindley, Helena, Simon & Rosie... architect... craftsman... social-worker... raconteur/poet... helper... past chairman of SD Britain... cabinet-maker... sculptor... one-of-a-kind... compassionate/passionate man.. . much loved & an inspiration to many...

 

Harry Norman and David Barker write:

  

Ronald James Leask died peacefully at home on 12th February. He had been confined to bed for some time and was lovingly nursed by Helen and their children. Friends and helpers from near and far visited to sit with him or do latihan over many months.

 

As an architect, Ronald served the function and beauty of the buildings and spaces he designed, often enlivening them with a loving nod to the Arts and Crafts movement, and as a craftsman he favoured wood and glass. Ronald’s design for Wisma Mulia, the retirement community in Gloucestershire, has brought endless pleasure to residents and visitors alike.

 

Ronald was opened at Coombe Springs in 1957 and helped to construct the Djamee, a nine sided building initially intended for performing Gurdjieff'’s movements and dances, which became the first dedicated latihan hall in the Westen world. He served on all of Subud Britain’s national bodies as a helper or chairman, and some years ago organised a workshop on death and dying. He served as a helper in the Bristol and Bath groups until the end.

 

Ronald had enormous energy and was strongly committed to whatever he undertook. He was loving and generous and will be greatly missed by all who knew him. It seems likely that his only regret would be that he didn’t die with a wood-carver’s chisel in his hand. May God’s blessing always be with him.

During the World Congress in Christchurch, Fashionation 2010 presented young designers and their creations in a colourful show interspersed with music and dance.

 

Fardiyah Dickie - who put on the show during the Innsbruck World Congress - was, once again, the driving force behind Fashionation 2010. With energy and commitment she brought together designers from around the world, producing a delightful evening that was thoroughly enjoyed by the enthusiastic audience.

 

A video of the Fashion Show is now on line for viewing at subud.tv

 

Enjoy!

The Zone 4 meeting this year will be held from 25-31 July - a week earlier than the provisional dates published - in the historic city of Trakai in Lithuania. Trakai is within easy reach of Vilnius airport and bus station. It is an ancient capital of Lithuania (first mentioned in Teutonic Knights chronicles in 1337) with many lakes and ancient castle nearby (photo).

 

The venue is the Trasalis (http://www.trasalis.lt/en) conference centre and 3-star hotel, which offers great facilities. Apart from a variety of halls and meeting rooms, it offers:

 

A SPA centre with many different therapeutic and relaxation programmes. Water entertainment complex with twisting waterslides, whirlpool baths, Finnish, Russian and Turkish steam baths, Arabic Hamam treatments and more, a beauty salon, bowling, billiards, and aerobic training.

 

As usual for Zone 4, we have a gathering and business meeting combined, but this year we also have a pan-European youth gathering and, of course, those from other countries will be more than welcome. The young folk do not recognise borders and have a strong wish to get together regularly. A cultural programme is being planned and a Spirit of Enterprise meeting may also take place.

 

Despite all of this, it will cost about as much per person as other zonal meetings. Final figures are being calculated right now so look for the booking form, which will appear soon,as a link from the Events list.

WSA is exploring a potential involvement in the UN Earth Summit 2012 conference and invites anyone interested to contact: wsa@subud.org. The Youth Supplement to UNFPA's (United Nationas Population Fund) State of the World Population Report will certainly be of interest to many Subud members and is also available in full on request.

 

This Youth Supplement addresses climate change and young people, through the lens of what impact climate change is predicted to have, and what that will mean for young people's lives, livelihoods, health, rights and development. The Youth Supplement explores these issues because the young people of today will be standing in the front line in the coming decades, meeting the challenges posed by climate change.

 

To read the preface to this report, please go to UNFPA

The statistics say it all: Congress TV was accessed from 68 locations, totalling (during the month of January) 25.000 visits to the site, with 90.000 hits (i.e. pages seen within the site).

 

Hardly surprising, the top users were the USA (17%) and Great Britain (12%), followed by New Zealand, Australia, Canada and Germany.

 

Here some comments:

 

Simone: ...I look forward to Congress TV each day – it warms my heart and makes me feel that I am not separated from everyone who is physically there. Deep appreciation, once again to all who are responsible for putting this out for us. Many blessings...

 

Marlena Knill: ...Through the tears, I’m so grateful for your gift of helping us to experience this Subud event...

 

Shyam Wadhera: ...This is superb! Keep up the good work, guys. You are doing a great job in capturing the events, the people and the spirit of the Congress. Thank you and thank you ever so much!

 

The episodes can still be seen at subud.tv and further material is being processed for a Congress 2010 film.

 

For those who like charts, more stats can be found if you

I learned a couple of things while at the World Congress and I think this one is worth talking about. It's about the value of members who have been around and involved a while sharing their experiences with the organizational, material, enterprise side of Subud. Members like myself who have lived through and participated in all or some of The Bank, Widjojo, Anugraha, Sunrise, The Hotel, The Mining Project, Park Hotel, Premier, Dharma Mercantile, Dharma Trading, Lewes School, Wisma Subud, Usaha Mulia, a zillion enterprise meetings, even more Bylaws meetings and on and on...

 

Our experiences are valuable to newer members. Maybe we can't bring ourselves to attend yet another enterprise meeting, or talk about the Bylaws again, but we must try to find a way to share our experience. What really happened and maybe why. For newer members the origins and history of these projects is vague and often riddled with misconceptions. It is only those of us who were involved that can relate the reality of these projects.

 

If not, each new generation of members is doomed to travel the same ground making the same mistakes. I attended a few workshops at the Congress and was surprised by how interested and how valuable members found my sharing of my experiences in some of the projects above. For some members, the idea of many Subud members working together on large projects is only something they have heard or read Bapak encourage and something they aspire to.

 

We who have had that opportunity have a responsibility to pass on the history of the worldly material side of Subud to future Subud generations. Maybe we need a book based upon interviews or perhaps a documentary. Maybe just members sharing their understanding of what they experienced. Whatever! But soon! Before we old geezers forget everything.

 

Napak Tilas "A Long March To Remember Y.M. Bapak’s Journey" from June 23 - 29 is an event organized by Subud Youth Indonesia and has an objective to enhance brotherhood amongst Subud members in the world, especially for youth.

 

This event is also an opportunity to promote Indonesian art and cultural heritage. Apart from this journey visiting places important in Bapak's life, all participants will have opportunities to visit and enjoy Indonesian cultural heritage such as the Javanese Royal Palace in Jogjakarta and the Borobudur temple. You may watch this video of some of the places that could be visited along this journey. More to come!

 

Contact Aryanadi Cahyono, Coordinator of Subud Youth Indonesia mynovemberrain@yahoo.com and to see the flyer

 

Care Support positions are open.

 

The World Subud Association's Care Support Program assists members in emergency situations and with education scholarships world wide. Rayner Sutherland in Canada has been serving as the Care Support Administrator and Emergency Fund Coordinator since the 2005 congress and is now the Executive Director for MSF. Kumari Beck is the Education Fund Coordinator and was elected SDIA Chair at World Congress. And so we are looking for someone who enjoys helping others.

 

The needs of members continue and the services of this program provide valuable support during critical times. We urge anyone with an interest to consider the possibilites. Kumari is willing to continue assisting with the education fund and there is a group of care support helpers in Canada that is willing to continue.

 

Contact wsa@subud.org and visit the Care Support page at www.subud.org to learn more about the program in general.

 

 

To read more about the positions

 

The Lithuanian Subud enterprise "Sculptors Guild", in cooperation with the Jewish Centre of Culture and Information, opened a new Art gallery called "Shofar" in Vilnius (Lithuania) just before last Christmas.

 

Its main direction is to exhibit and sell sculpture, paintings, graphics and other works of art in different styles, and to organise exhibitions for artists from Lithuania and other countries.

 

We have many plans and ideas for cultural events in this area, and we would like to invite any Subud members who are interested to enter into a mutually advantageous cooperation with us. Please contact us at mail@skulptoriai.lt and check out the website: www.skulptoriai.lt

Viktoras and Anna (in the photo at the Gallery)