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Photo: Self-Realization Fellowship – Lake Shrine, Windmill Chapel
| “Those who deeply meditate feel a wonderful inner quiet. This stillness
within should be maintained even when in the company of other people.
What you learn in meditation, practice in activity; let no one dislodge
you from that calm state. Hold on to your peace.” Paramahansa Yogananda |
Fall 2009
Issue 62
|
SUNDAY MEDITATIONS 8:00 - 8:45 AM 9:00 - 9:45 AM MAIN SERVICE: SUNDAY READING SERVICE 10:00 - 11:00 AM CHILDREN’S SUNDAY SCHOOL 10:00 - 11:00 AM Tuesday Evening: SRF Lesson Study, Call for location. ENERGIZATION EXERCISES 7:00 - 7:15 PM Meditation SERVICE 7:15 - 9:00 PM |
October
4 The Light of Truth Eternal
11 How to Overcome Fear.
18 Your True Self: the Immortal Soul
25 The Art of Devotional Singing
November
1 Ways to Overcome Nervousness
8 Practicing Yoga in World Affairs
15 Freedom from Habit Slavery
22 Giving Thanks for Life's Blessings
29 The Universality of Religion
December
6 Finding the Joy in Life
13 The Nature of a Master
19 Christmas Meditation
20 Celebrating Christmas in the Silence
of the Soul
27 Controlling Your New Year's Destiny
Silent Retreat Weekend
Our annual fall silent retreat weekend will be held at the Heartland Retreat Center in Parkville Missouri, October 23-25. These weekends are a wonderful opportunity to take time from your busy life to think only of God. The retreat consists of time for group meditation, chanting, inspirational readings, video and individual time to study or walk the trails.
Please be sure to return your registration form as soon as possible since space is limited. For more information or to volunteer to serve please speak with Beth Hanna or Dwayne Savoy.
Please note that there will be no Sunday School held the weekend of the silent retreat, and regular service will be held at the Heartland Retreat Center, not the Pilgrim Chapel.
Upcoming “Guru’s Day” Thursday Night Services
Thursday is considered Guru’s Day in India, and for this reason SRF meditations around the world are held on this day. Kansas City also holds meditations on Thursdays. This fall we have two very special Thursday nights planned which you won’t want to miss. On Thursday, November 12 and Thursday, December 10, the evening will be totally led by the Guru as we will play recordings including chants of the Guru’s voice. We hope you’ll join us for these special evenings.
| “Through the voice of silence and peace God tries to speak to all
His children in response to their prayers. But His voice is usually
drowned out by rowdy sensations of touch, smell, taste, hearing, and
sight, and by the tumult of sensation- and memory-roused thoughts.
Finding the devotee’s attention entangled in restlessness and engrossed
with the incoming ‘calls’ at the switchboard of sensation, God’s voice
recedes into the depths of silence.” Paramahansa Yogananda |
Annual Picnic
Our annual picnic will be held at the Heartland Retreat Center on Saturday November 7. We hope you'll plan to join us for a vegetarian barbeque, campfire, hiking and outdoor fun. This event is a highlight of the year for many children and adults in the group and we look forward to enjoying divine friendship in the cooler weather. If you would like to help with the retreat please contact Michelle Wolf.
Children’s Sunday School Play
This year the children’s Sunday School play will be a Christmas play and will be held on December 13 immediately following Service.
New SRF Web Site
SRF has announced the upcoming launch of a new Web site. The new site has been in development for some time and will serve as a "virtual ambassador" of the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda and the worldwide organization he founded. It will offer a rich multimedia audio/video experience, with inspirational material from Paramahansaji and a number of his direct disciples. Also featured are kirtan chanting with SRF monastics, guided meditations, and virtual tours of some of the beautiful shrines where our Guru lived and taught -- as well as many other new and exciting features.
If you would like to receive an e-mail when the new site launches, as well as ongoing e-mail newsletters from SRF, please visit www.yogananda-srf.org to sign up.
Photo: Day Retreat – May 2009 Unity Village
Long Meditations
If your spiritual progress is at a standstill, or is ebbing, the practice of meditation on God or on any of the Great Ones, in the company of other devotees, will uplift you from your precarious state. The proximity of others’ spiritual vibrations has the power of raising your own. Meditating with other devotees thus helps you to quicken your evolution. They inspire you on your climb up the ladder of Self-realization; and you, by your example, can also be helpful to them.
4 hour meditations will be held on the following dates. Meditations begin at 10:30 am. You are welcome to stay for the full four hours or leave during a period of chanting.
Saturday, October 17, at the Leach residence
Saturday, November 21, at the Savoy residence
For more information please speak to Brenda Leach or Wendy MacDonald Savoy.
Teen Lesson Study
We are pleased to announce a teen and young adult lesson study group will be beginning in mid-October. We invite all those in their teens and 20’s to join us two Sunday’s per month during the Reading Service to study the lessons together in the parsonage next to the Pilgrim Chapel. All attending must be lesson students and have received the lesson being studied. For more information, please speak to Randy Wolf or Michele O’Kelley.
Prison Donation
Recently the group was informed that there are a group of inmates at a Federal Correction Facility in Otisville NY who have been practicing meditation and that they would appreciate receiving materials from SRF. We were able to obtain permission to donate several books, CDs and a DVD for their use, which they very much appreciated.
| “Before the baby sky was born as the blue, out of the dark breast
of Eternity, who existed? The Lord God. With an omnipresent brush it
was He who spread blue all over the celestial ceiling. Who was it that
peopled the hall of space with the family of planets? God Himself.
Naught could breathe without His first breath. That is why God is
always first.” Paramahansa Yogananda |
Relocation Committee Update
The relocation committee is continuing its search for a new location. Please keep your eyes open and speak to a member of the committee if you see an appropriate location. While we all very much appreciate the blessing of meeting at the Pilgrim Chapel, we recognize that the group is outgrowing the space and would like to have our own location—whether rented or purchased. For this reason we are putting increasing importance on our building fund which will allow us to save funds to lease, purchase or to build a building for the group. To make a donation to the building fund, simply mark your donation check “building fund” and your funds will be placed in a separate account for this purpose.
Through the generosity of a donor, donations will be matched 50 cents on every dollar to a maximum of $10,000 over three years. For more information please speak with group Treasurer Michelle Wolf.
A meeting will be held on October 18 for all who are interested in brainstorming and visioning our new space. Please speak to Wendy MacDonald Savoy or Dwayne Savoy if you are interested in attending.
Upcoming Special Services
We have two upcoming Commemoration Services to be held at the Pilgrim Chapel. On Sunday, September 27 from 8:30 to 9:30 am we will hold a Commemoration Service in honor of the Mahasamadhi of Lahiri Mahasaya. On Wednesday, September 30 from 7 to 9 pm we will hold a Commemoration Service in honor of the birthday of Lahiri Mahasaya.
Anyone who is well enough acquainted with the SRF teachings to understand the significance of the Guru-disciple relationship is welcome to attend. These are great spiritual occasions on which the blessings of an illumined master are stronger than on other days of the year. Devotees who attend these ceremonies with the right attitude will reap spiritual benefits and find their high resolutions strengthened.
| “Until you have built a temple of silence within yourself, until you have broken down the ramparts of habits with which environment has surrounded you, you will never see the glory of God, you will never have real and lasting joy.” Paramahansa Yogananda |
All-Day Christmas Meditation
A special all-day meditation (8 hours) to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ is held each year by Self-Realization Fellowship temples, centers, meditation groups, and ashrams. KCMG’s event for this year will be held on Saturday, December 19, 2009 at the Unity Village Clubhouse. Further information will be mailed and available on the Web site in early November.
All-Day Guru’s Birthday Meditation
A special 6-hour meditation to commemorate the birth of our Guru, Paramahansa Yogananda, will be held on Saturday, January 9, 2010 at the Unity Village Clubhouse. Further information will be mailed and available on the Web site in early November.
Harmonium Workshop
We are pleased to announce that a harmonium workshop will be held on Saturday, November 21 from 3-5 pm--final details and location to be confirmed. The workshop is intended for those who have some experience playing the harmonium, but is open to all. Please RSVP to Wendy MacDonald Savoy if you are interested in attending.
Interested in Playing Tablas?
Have you ever considered playing tablas? A group of devotees would like to start a Kirtan group in Kansas City but we are short a tabla player. If you have a sincere interest in playing and are willing to commit significant time to learning this difficult instrument, a devotee teacher in Lawrence, KS would be willing to provide lessons. Please contact Nancy Blackman for more information.
Rajarsi’s Crypt
It has come to our attention that the Crypt is no longer open on Sundays. The new hours are Monday-Friday 9 am - 5 pm and Saturday 9 am - 4 pm.
Scholarship Program
A big thanks to all who helped with our children’s scholarship program fundraising events to raise money to send our children to the SRF Youth Camp in California this summer. Five Kansas City children attended camp this year and we heard about their experiences at a social event which was held in August.
|
| We are affiliated with Self-Realization Fellowship in Los Angeles, California. Our Guru is Paramahansa Yogananda. The purpose of Self-Realization Fellowship is to disseminate a knowledge of definite scientific techniques for attaining direct personal experience of God. The Fellowship is dedicated to promoting a greater understanding and harmony among the world's various religions by teaching the fundamental principle of religion: how to commune personally with God. |
| Paramahansa Yogananda has defined Self-realization as follows: "Self-realization is the knowing—in body, mind, and soul—that we are one with the omnipresence of God; that we do not have to pray that it come to us, that we are not merely near it at all times, but that God’s omnipresence is our omnipresence; that we are just as much a part of Him now as we ever will be. All we have to do is improve our knowing. |
Meditations and services are at Pilgrim
Chapel.
3801 Gillham Rd., Kansas City, Missouri
3801 Gillham Rd., Kansas City, Missouri
Email at coordinator@kcmeditation.com
KC Meditation Group 816.799.5544
Mailing Address: PO Box 7053, Kansas City MO 64113
http://kcmeditation.com
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