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Happy June!Greetings Radiant Beings, Rededication week 2023 starts June 26, 2023, one week before Guru Purnima, and ends July 3, 2023. What is rededication week? It is where we rededicate ourselves to the practice. To rededicate, we must consider two things. First, what are we rededicating, and to what are we rededicating ourselves? What is Guru Purnima? Guru Purnima is when the teacher (all teachers) and the teachers of the lineage (all lineages) are honored and celebrated for their love and commitment to the well-being of all beings in all worlds. The guru's love is ceaseless for his students. The true guru is someone you can lean on that teaches you not to lean. The guru teaches the student how to become a better person, and the world becomes better because there is less hate and more love. During this week, consider and reconsider your practice, what it means to you, what you give to it, and what you want from it. Contemplating your practice should be done daily, but having a block of time (one week) on the calendar makes it more intentional and beneficial. Ask yourself every day if you are doing your practice with love, dedication, and sincerity. During this week, examine the hate, anger, sadness, jealousy, and depression in your heart; is there less hate, anger, sadness, jealousy, and depression in your than a year ago? Is it the same? Is there more? Then ask yourself why? We must refrain from frittering this human reality. We have received the greatest gift of human existence, which means we can continue the expedition back to the Self and make great strides in this lifetime. Below you will find some questions to ask yourself, and when you frame your answers, you will more fully understand rededication week. There are also practices you can do this week, or you pick one and start a forty-day practice with it and then another and another and another until you have completed them all, or you pick one and stick with it for a year. Practice must remain your constant companion and best friend as you maneuver and traverse life. If peace and harmony are your goals, then practice is the means. If to die gracefully and to live joyfully is your goal, practice is the means. Remember, when we first learn something, we need a trainer or teacher who can guide and teach us; this is where Swamiji and the tradition come in. They have maneuvered through the snares and pitfalls and have promised to rescue any sincere, dedicated aspirant that gets stuck. What a great promise, and their word is their bond as long as we keep our word. The questions below are to ascertain where your practice is and how or what you need to do to jumpstart it. Assess your practice, and on a 1-10, how would you rate your practice? Are you okay with this rating? If this rating is inadequate, what must you do to get a higher rating? How regularly are you attending your practice? How often do you skip it and make an excuse for missing it? What do you allow to get in the way of your practice? Perhaps you have created or deepened the samskaras of staying up late, eating the wrong foods, and keeping the bad company, to name a few. Patanjali says that we must practice for a long time (this means lifetimes), which means our dedication should be to the practice, not the world process; if you examine your life and practice, what are you more dedicated to your practice or the world process? How much love and sincerity do you show to your practice? How much love and sincerity do you display to the world? Are you dedicated to soul evolution or ego-stroking? Please list your biggest distractions and evaluate your relationship with them, then ask why they have such a hold on you. Please list your prominent habits and evaluate your relationship with them, then ask why they have such a hold on you.
The list below contains suggestions to renew or rededicate your practice. Read a book by HH Sri Swami Rama and take notes so you can refer back to them the next time you read it. Examine your self-discipline in but not limited to practice, food, exercise, sleep, thought patterns, and moods; what baby steps can you take to increase your self-discipline? Cultivating more self-discipline would involve a plan, a goal, and a routine to be successful. Feeling the effects of taking your shakti (will-power determination) back is marvelous. Daily Journal Questions: look at questions you journaled about previously, answer them again, and then compare the answers. Develop the ability to keep a secret, secrecy about acts of seva you have done. If you talk about it is no longer seva but bragging. The next step is to renounce the fruits of your actions; you can start to do this by feeling you are not doing the act but channeling Divine Mother; this takes the "you" out of the equation and gives it back to God, the doer of all things. Spend a day(s) in silence; in our tradition, silence is an essential practice that aids the student to purify the mind and emotions; only when the mind and emotions are purified can we hope to attain peace. Eat only food that you have prepared. Make time to journal about gratitude; remember, an attitude of gratitude keeps one in a space of grace. Spend time in solitude and learn to be alone but not lonely. Sacrifice, Say yes to others and no to yourself. By saying no to ourselves and yes to others, we begin to usurp power from the ego, making us more expansive and loving. Give things away, not old things that have no use (don't be like Nachiketas' father) but give away items you still enjoy. Set the intention every morning to maintain inner calmness and peace during every interaction and action throughout the day. Recommit to your practice! Make a sign and hang it where you can see it saying, I can do my practice, I will do my practice, and I must do my practice. Find an accountability buddy that will push you and hold you accountable for doing your practice; say you will not eat if you don't. Whatever it takes, please do it!
Rededication Week Schedule Friday, June 29, 2023, Asana and hour-long group meditation practice Saturday, July 1, 2023 Shakti & Bhakti at Hope Springs Institute Fundraising Gala Sunday, July 2, 2023 Video satsang with Swamiji Monday, July 3, 2023, Guru Purnima, Guru Kirtan, and vegan potluck at the ashram
Jai Gurudeva🕉️
In Loving Service, Ranjani
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Hello June!June 3: Vegan Lunch Pop-Up June 17: Summer Kirtan June 24: Satsang with Swamiji June 25: Silent Sunday with Karma and Reincarnation Study June 26: Rededication Week Begins Plan ahead for July July 1: Shakti & Bhakti at Hope Springs Institute July 2: Satstang with Swamiji July 3: Guru Purnima
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Shakti & Bhakti has Big News!Are you ready? They are returning to Hope Springs Institute, but this time as guests. HSI has invited Shakti & Bhakti to share their summer fundraising gala in an extraordinary evening that will include a gourmet meal, communion with like-minded souls, and kirtan. We love kirtan and consider it an honor that HSI wants us to be part of such a special event.
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Adopt-An-InmateAt TYS, we view giving as an essential part of our practice, akin to serving. With this in mind, we adopt an inmate from Madison Correctional Institution in London, Ohio, twice a year (June and December.) Yoga Sutra 1.33 explains the four attitudes we should cultivate to rid contaminants from our minds; we are particularly interested in the fourth one for our adopt-an-inmate program. The fourth is an uninvolved observation of the "wicked" or non-judging. All humans have the right to honor and dignity, but because our egos are in control, we constantly cut off another's head to make ourselves taller. Those who have received more have a greater responsibility to give more, and most of us reading this have received more therefore, have more obligation to our fellow beings. We would love to have you join us in giving and serving another human that deserves honor and dignity. We will collect money to buy sundries (anything from shower shoes to cough drops) for an inmate that does not have support from family or friends on the outside. We will get a wishlist from him and would love to fulfill it with your help. In the tradition of full transparency, we will share his wishlist, the funds raised, and all items purchased for him. You can access this information on our website and social media sites. We want you to be a part of this undertaking as much as we are. No amount is too small, and all monies raised will help us reach our target of 500.00 dollars. Please send your donation via Venmo (Traditional_Yoga_Society) using the QR code or follow the donation link below. If sending via Venmo, please write "Inmate Adoption Donation" in the memo. Let's use the next month as an occasion to give, allowing our hearts to expand and our judgments to soften. If you have not heard of the Harmony Project, please watch this video; one of the men in the video will receive a box of sundries from TYS. Thank you for helping to make this happen.
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Devi Ashram Weekly ScheduleMondays: Asana Class with Linda 6 pm -7:30 pm Tuesdays: Seva Yoga 6 pm Wednesdays: Asana Class & Kirtan with Ranjani & Riley 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm Thursdays: Asana Class with Kali 6 pm -7:30 pm followed by the Mahamrtunjaya Prayer Circle (Names are offered to the power of the Mahamrtunjaya Mantra not to change one's karma but to cultivate the strength to handle it gracefully) *If you want to add a name message Kali or write it on the paper by Ganesha. Saturdays: Kirtan Band Practice 10:00 am - 11:30 am Sundays: Sunday Celebration w/ Ranjani & Riley at Devi Ashram 11:00 am - 1:00 pm OR Silent Sunday ________________________________________________________ $54.00 for unlimited monthly classes at the Devi Ashram $10.00 individual drop-in class You can pay via PayPal, Venmo, CC, check, or cash. We are in the Kali Yuga, which means money is needed to keep TYS solvent. We must remember that what we spend our money on shows us what is essential to us, and spending our money on what we view as necessary creates a stronger relationship with it. For example, if I spend my money on entertainment, my relationship with entertainment becomes integral to my daily life. Shouldn't our spiritual growth be what is integral? TYS also takes donations. Remember, we are a non-profit! Visit tysdayton.com/offerings for more details
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Monthly Reflections with KaliOh, how much can change in a year? This time last year, TYS was in the process of moving. We packed up our previous space, The Mandir, and made sure it was clean and spiffy and the gardens beautiful for the next owner. The mandir held many wonderful memories for me and others; it was a bittersweet goodbye. Now TYS has the beautiful Devi Ashram. There have been many firsts that have been just as wonderful. The space has been completely renovated and perfectly suits our needs (thank you, Swamiji). We have transformed the grounds into a pollinator paradise and are growing vegetables and herbs to share with all, and we will have more next year! Our schedule is brimming with events to deepen our practice, be in satsanga, and gain more knowledge - the valuable kind, not the worldly kind. I have come to understand many things in life come and go. Places, people, objects, pets, experiences. The glory in them is to love them for what they are, learn from them, and not become attached to them. Reflecting on the past year and the changes that have occurred, are occurring, and will occur reminds me that yoga guides one to make every place better because we were there. The first place to make better is my mind; when I make my mind better then all other people, places and things are better too; the way I do this is my sadhana. Sometimes I have made things better, and sometimes I have not; this is part of the svadhaya and the beautiful, radical acceptance. To see myself as I am and love myself for who I am and where I am at any moment. The only thing constant is change, and while my mind can make change hard, I am learning that when significant changes come rolling in, it is better to flow with it and not get wrapped up in my emotions, especially when my goal is to make the world a better place. I have received the greatest gift of human existence; better not waste it. Our first anniversary and our Guru Purnima celebration is not only a time to celebrate, but it brings with it rededication week. This is the perfect time to allow me to reflect on what I need to work on so that when rededication week arrives next year, I can look back to see where I came from and better understand where I am going. I am grateful for our beautiful space and everyone that is a part of my spiritual family. Happy year Devi Ashram! “Life should be like a stream; it should flow without a break. The water that has gone by and that which has yet to come should be of no concern. Only the present should occupy us, filling our every moment until we expand into the consciousness of the whole stream which remains stable and ever-present despite the flux of what appears to be change.” HH Sri Swami Rama
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Opportunities for SevaHere are a few seva (selfless service) opportunities please let us know how and what you want to do! Please continue to tithe so we can continue our service to the Dayton, Ohio, community. ♥ ♥ ♥
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🌷 Spring at Devi Ashram 🌷
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⭐⭐⭐ We have many resources available on our website and we invite you to take advantage of them! There are guided meditations and practices, study sessions, chants, sanskrit prayers with their translations and more. We add new materials regularly so check back often!
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