Abode Village View – Month of September

Dear Friends,

As I prepare to compose this letter, we are at the cusp of our crowning event of the year, HeartFire Festival. There are a couple of smaller gatherings that follow later this month, and we are heading into the fall and the off-season at full-tilt.  Our team – staff, volunteers, partners and community members – have come together this summer season to hold our guests graciously, generously and genially.  We are together building something new, on the foundation of the old.

What is next? Our direction is set, as we have written and discussed over the last weeks and months. How will that play out? That question is firmly up to us to answer. Murshid has some wisdom that I find especially helpful:

“We live in this world of uncertainty, and we do not know in what condition we may be placed tomorrow; if we have no strength of resistance we may easily break down. Therefore, it is most necessary for the human race to develop patience in all conditions of life, in all walks of life, in all positions in life. Whether we are rich or poor, high or low, this is the one quality that must be developed. It is patience that gives endurance, it is patience that is all-powerful, and by lack of patience one loses so much. Very often the answer to one’s prayer is within one’s reach. The hand of Providence is not very far off – but one has lost one’s patience and so lost the opportunity.“

We are prospering, as we enter this 45^th anniversary year, by being ambitious in our vision of the Abode as a container for sacred hospitality, and in being patient while this takes its course.

We must trust in our guidance and the intention by which we have set our direction. We have been blessed with generosity that has given us the ability to be patient as our path to sustainability develops.  It is truly a blessing, the generosity of spirit and sustenance that we receive. We need the assistance of every lover of this land and place to join alongside us as we build our bridge to the future.

Please visit our 45^th Anniversary Renewal Initiative web page and join the team working — with passion, commitment and focus — on bringing the Abode through the uncertainly of our present world.  The Abode is our offering to a world that needs it more than ever to rejuvenate body, mind and soul.

With gratitude,

Al

All are invited to come share in our monthly Tara circle which usually meets on the last Sunday of the month from 2:00 to 3:00 in the Meditation Hall, Quddus, at the Abode. This month the date is September 29^th.

We celebrate the Divine Feminine which resides within us all by invoking the Great Mother Buddha Tara through dance, meditation and prayer. Here is something that Lama Thubten Yeshe wrote about Buddhist deity yoga practices:

“Tantric meditational deities should not be confused with what different mythologies and religions might mean when they speak of gods and goddesses. Here, the deity we choose to identify with represents the essential qualities of the fully awakened experience latent within us. To use the language of psychology, such a deity is an archetype of our own deepest nature, our most profound level of consciousness. In tantra we focus our attention on such an archetypal image and identify with it in order to arouse the deepest, most profound aspects of our being and bring them into our present reality.”

The gatherings are free and open to all; no prior experience or knowledge is necessary. If you have questions, please call/text me at 413-358-8203 or email me at [email protected]

A Prayer to the Tara of True Refuge

Beloved Tara, luminous and beautiful,

you adorn your heart

with the mudra of the Triple Gem.

Light from the wheels in your hands,

swirls and dances

to the darkest regions of the universe.

“I am True Refuge,” you say,

“offering all you need to be free.”

This light fills me, streams through me.

I, too, would be True Refuge,

heart huge, vast, limitless.

I offer my self

for the benefit of all beings.

OM TARE TUTARE TURE SO HA

Upcoming Week’s Events

Please Note: The Abode Campus will be closed through noon on September 16th to those not participating in or attending HeartFire Festival. There will be no brunch Sunday, September 15!

Monday, September 16

– Lunch – 12:30 pm – Razzaq Dining Hall

Tuesday, September 17

– Breakfast – 8:30 am – Razzaq Dining Hall

– Dinner – 6:00 pm – Razzaq Dining Hall

Wednesday,  September 18

– Lunch – Razzaq Dining Hall – 12:30 pm

Thursday,  September 19

– Lunch – Razzaq Dining Hall – 12:30 pm

– Dinner – Razzaq Dining Hall – 6:00 pm

– Rumi: The Way of the Heart – Quddus Meditation Hall – 7:00 pm – Join internationally renowned composer Yuval Ron and actress/poet TAMIR for an evening of ecstatic poetry, whirling, and the stories of Rumi accompanied by Middle Eastern music and song on the Oud, flute. and Daf performed by the Yuval Ron Ensemble.

Friday,  September 20

The Abode will be welcoming a private program rental to campus from Friday September 20th to Sunday September 22nd.

– Rumi’s Café Open 10:00 AM-5:00 PM

Sunday, September 22

– Rumi’s Café Open 10:00 AM-5:00 PM [Closed 12:30-1:30 PM]

– Universal Worship – Quddus Meditation Hall – 11:00 am

– Brunch – Razzaq Dining Hall – 12:30 pm

Upcoming Programs

Rumi: The Way of the Heart with Yuval Ron & TAMIR | September 19 | 7:30 PM | Quddus Meditation Hall | Join internationally renowned composer Yuval Ron and actress/poet TAMIR for an evening of ecstatic poetry, whirling, and the stories of Rumi accompanied by Middle Eastern music and song on the Oud, flute. and Daf performed by the Yuval Ron Ensemble.

Retreat-in-Life with Wahhab and Batina Sheets | October 18-26 | Spiritual retreat is one of the most powerful processes we have for spiritual growth and transformation; however, because we tend to have very busy lives, it is often difficult for many of us to leave work and family responsibilities behind for several days to go into seclusion for an individually guided retreat. In order to make the benefits of retreat more available for everyone, particularly for those who find it difficult to get away, Wahhab and Batina are offering a retreat process during their time at the Abode that can be integrated into one’s everyday life routines and responsibilities: a Retreat-in-Life. Online participation will also be available. The purposes are the same as the traditional retreat: awakening, renewal, and transformation; but instead of doing practices in seclusion, one uses the activities and experiences of one’s everyday life as teachers and guides for one’s journey of Self-discovery and transformation. Visit theabode.org/programs/750 for more details and registration.

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!