Abode Village View – Month of May

Dear Friends,

May flowers are blooming and so is the Abode.

As I write this, we are busily moving forward on a number of the projects and initiatives we have discussed in the past, including the café, campus clean up/beautification, building repairs and deferred maintenance needs.

• Our first external program kicked off on May 4: the Emerald Earth retreat led by Felicia Kainat Norton and Charles Muinaddin Smith attuned participants in the “sacred manuscript of nature.” With the flowering of the grounds, the timing could not have been better!
• At the same time, we welcomed more than a score of volunteers to help clean and open the Mountain Camp. This was truly a community project, steered by SaMoon Pal, Megan Galeucia, and Mathew Pellegrino, and supported by a host of staff, residents, volunteers and friends.
• We named, blessed and opened Rumi’s Café, our new gathering spot for community, guests and new friends to come. The month of May will be one of testing what works, and building upon that.  Come for cappuccino, or just conviviality.
• Clean up and beautification projects continue to move forward. On earth day we celebrated not only by planting a new Orchard of the Prophets, but by also ridding ourselves of much scrap and debris.  This will continue throughout the Spring.
• Our Earth Day Open House/Village Visit was a rousing success. We welcomed many newcomers,and held them as a community through a variety of activities that showcased the best of the Abode.  We have received new residential and volunteer applications as a direct result.  Additional open houses are planned for July and August.
• We expect to close on the purchase of Wali McIlvaine’s house by the end of May, providing more housing options for residents. We will also begin rehabilitating Jamil, with the intention of returning that to the rental pool.

And not least, May brings a welcome (back?) to Yaqin Aubert, who has agreed to help lead and develop the Pir Vilayat Center as its initial Director.  There is no one better suited to this task, and we are thrilled to have him back at the Abode in an official capacity.

With gratitude and in appreciation,

Al

Your Abode Inayati Center has been working very actively on your behalf, meeting regularly and planning for events.  Our gifted teachers, Nur Gale, Winfrid Fuchshofen, Yaqin Aubert and Shakur Johnson, have continued to offer Message classes all winter and continuing into the spring.

We hosted a wonderful, meaningful Seder dinner led by Aziz Kommel and the profits will go to the Center.  Aimee Johnson has been leading monthly Tara Dance Circles and those of us who have been attending regularly are finding the practice of dedication and heart connection deepens with each gathering.

Our launch of the Sunday morning Meditation class has been successful, diverse and meaningful.  We hope more and more of you will want to join in.  Leaders on the rotation are Nur Gale, Peter Schein, Yaqin Aubert, Atayna Austen, Salima McCall, Rehan Morey, and Shakur Johnson.  Peter has also begun a 9 o’clock Qi Gong class to precede the Meditation Class when he is on campus.  Watch your weekly listings for that.

We will hold a traditional Abode House Blessing on May 20th.  All spaces get blessed with light, water and love. This will be part of the Sunday Universal Worship.  Shakur will organize a fundraising bakesale for this day, as well.  Be sure to come for the blessings of light and culinary delights.  We always, always appreciate your generosity.  In fact, we recently found three generous checks in our donation basket.  Special thanks to all of you who share what you are able as often as you do.

We are looking forward to celebrating and honoring Pir Vilayat, both for his Urs and his birthday June 17 and 19 respectively.  Yaqin, Maria  Cristina, Aziza and Akbar Scott will lead a special Universal Worship on June 17th and Nur will organize a video with Pir Vilayat for the evening of the 19th.  Hopefully there will be some birthday treats, as well.

I am hoping to lead the Reception into the Universal Worship the last Sunday in June.  Stay tuned for more about that ceremony and how you can participate.

Come, come whoever you are.  Bring the brightness of your love and light.  We are here to serve you.

Wahida, on behalf of the Center

Hi Friends. The guest services department is pleased to announce we have moved our front desk and bookstore to the red barn, Jami, where we now enjoy a spacious Welcome Center. Across from us is the new Rumi Cafe, a recently transformed space. If you are in the area, please come in to visit us. We would be happy to see you! We have kicked off our 2018 program season, greeting old friends and welcoming new ones to the Abode campus and mountain. Here is to a blessed renewal of our tranquil, sacred land. Hope to see you soon. With light, — Cherish Marie Church, Guest Services Department Manager

Internationally known spiritual teacher, scholar and author, Andrew Harvey will lead a week of retreats at The Abode of the Message in New Lebanon from June 11-17. These programs are Harvey’s sole programs scheduled in the northeast in 2018.

Sacred Activism Intensive with Andrew Harvey, June 11-15

Please join Andrew Harvey for this profound and powerful interactive intensive as he presents his vision of Sacred Activism, the holy and transforming force that is born when the profound peace, passion, stamina and joy of deep spirituality is combined with radical action.

These chaotic and dangerous times are challenging all of us to put love and wisdom into clear, wise action urgently. Andrew will draw on his books: The Hope – A Guide to Sacred Activism and Savage Grace the five sacred passions and the nine laws of sacred activism, along with the fundamental practices that can ground you in divine peace, joy, strength and give you the energy to persist and thrive even in difficult circumstances. Guidance will also be given into inner and outer shadow work that is essential for the success of sacred action. You will leave this retreat with renewed hope, purpose and meaning and have simple essential tools with which to confront with grace the challenges our contemporary crisis inevitable poses.

Please follow this link for more information and registration.

An Embodied Path to Divine Love with Andrew Harvey and Robin Becker, June 15-17

Join us for a weekend of life through the body and explore how movement, artistic expression, spirituality in action can inspire us to be agents of systemic change. We will learn how the body is a teacher of life’s unfolding mystery to serve as a wakeup call for compassion to transmute into a holy force of focused action. Andrew Harvey and Robin Becker will present their vision of Rumi, wisdom in action, a sanctified and embodied path to divine love. A return to a heart centered way of the divine feminine requires everyone to unite psychological self-awareness rooted in truth with conscious practical drive to affect radical change in the world. Andrew and Robin will share personal transformative Sufi practices, movement education on the study of the body as a fluid system, and lessons that will serve as indispensable force of illumination, peace, passion, and radiant energy for humanity and our time.

During the weekend Andrew Harvey will present his vision of Rumi, not only as the world’s greatest mystical poet but as an indispensable force of illumination, peace, passion, and radiant divine energy for our time. He will celebrate and explore the sacred mystical love affair between Rumi and his divine beloved Shams and the new kind of love; embodied divine love that they discovered for humanity. He will relate this love to his vision of Sacred Activism. Andrew Harvey will offer transformative Sufi practices, a comprehensive overview of the Sufi vision and path to the Beloved, as well as a map of how to embody divine passion in the midst of our world crisis and in daily life.

Please follow this link for more information and registration.

Crops, seeds, and hands are in the ground! Our new orchard planting was an amazing day, with a 25 fruit trees and 14 currant bushes planted along the beautiful hillside between the pond and the farm. Thank you to all the volunteers who helped us! The fiddleheads, ramps, greens, and mushrooms are emerging throughout the land and the lush of green is on the horizon. Darrow School students and Roots Rising Youth from Pittsfield have been joining us weekly on the farm helping with various tasks and projects. Fresh vegetables are almost here!

We look forward to opening a new range of projects around the Abode this Spring including new work on village beautification, the re-purposing of old structures and improving our systems for the day to day upkeep of our facilities. We still have a wish list including another fine truck for hauling, digging machines of a medium size and/or even another 25 horsepower tractor. We are excited for Spring and all it brings. Thanks for all your good thoughts and prayers and we’ll keep the parking lot open for you.

Upcoming Week’s Events

Tuesday, May 8
– 6:00pm Community Dinner – Razzaq Dining Room
– 7:00pm Philosophy of Spirituality Discussion Group – Razzaq Library

Thursday, May 10
– 6:00pm Community Dinner – Razzaq Dining Room
– 7:00pm Message Class – Razzaq Library

Sunday, May 13
– 10:00am Meditation Class – Razzaq Library
– 11:00am Universal Worship – Razzaq Library
– 12:30pm Sunday Brunch – Razzaq Dining Room

Upcoming Programs

Sacred Activism Intensive, June 11 – 15
With Andrew Harvey
Register here.
The economic, political, spiritual world crisis that we currently find ourselves in is a call to action. It is an opportunity for us to understand the realities around us and to rally together to do something different. We now have before us the possibility of using this current crisis to empower ourselves, and others, to actually get the planet to work. Embracing an uncertain future, we need to support leaders, who are inspired, courageous and effective to rise up. We need to renew the energy of people who are burnt out and apathetic in institutions and corporations. If we point individuals to an inner compass that renews their passion, there is hope for real solutions and inspired creativity. All that we need is already there, in the currency of people, and it only needs to be tapped into.

An Embodied Path to Divine Love, June 15 – 17
With Andrew Harvey and Robin Becker
Register here.
Join us for a weekend of life through the body and explore how movement, artistic expression, spirituality in action can inspire us to be agents of systemic change. We will learn how the body is a teacher of life’s unfolding mystery to serve as a wakeup call for compassion to transmute into a holy force of focused action. Andrew Harvey and Robin Becker will present their vision of Rumi, wisdom in action, a sanctified and embodied path to divine love. A return to a heart centered way of the divine feminine requires everyone to unite psychological self-awareness rooted in truth with conscious practical drive to affect radical change in the world. Andrew and Robin will share personal transformative Sufi practices, movement education on the study of the body as a fluid system, and lessons that will serve as indispensable force of illumination, peace, passion, and radiant energy for humanity and our time.

Please check our calendar and programs pages for an extended look at upcoming events and happenings. We look forward to being with you soon at the Abode!