February 27 - March 4

It was an enjoyable and fruitful visit to the national headquarters of the Theosophical Society (TS) in America in Wheaton, IL. We arrived on Monday evening and stayed until Saturday. Our hope in visiting was that we would have an opportunity to be helpful and supportive as the Presidency of Tim Boyd gathers steam.

Tim was elected President of the TS late last Spring. He is well acquainted with Indralaya and has helped lead several young theosophist programs at camp. He and his family (wife Lily and daughter Angelique) will also be at Indralaya this summer for the Connections program, where Tim will be leading morning discussion.

Minor & Leonie, Tim & Lily Boyd

Not surprisingly, there are a lot of people who have started working at Olcott (the national center, named after TS founder Henry Olcott) since our last visit in 2003. We enjoyed visiting with many of them, as well as with old friends from year’s past. We learned about some of the exciting things that are happening at Olcott (the national center), including the establishment of an elementary school. Olcott is a busy and active place, with a Quest bookshop, library and a wide array of program offerings, available both locally and via webcast. You can find out more by checking out their website: www.theosophical.org.

The national center, which was occupied in 1927 (the same year Indralaya began), is also a community, with over 20 people living in the residential section of the headquarters building and in various houses that are scattered around the 43 acre grounds. Most of the staff and community come together for lunch and afternoon tea, both of which are served in the dining hall on weekdays.

In addition to helping with various small tasks that needed doing over the course of the week, we were also able to meet with several department heads and explore ideas for future collaboration between Olcott and Indralaya. It remains to be seen what might come of these meetings, but we are convinced of the virtue of maintaining an ongoing connection and collaboration between Indralaya and other theosophical centers.

We flew back to Seattle on Saturday and then headed to Oregon for an overnight trip and visit with friends Robyn and Gary Finseth at their new home in Wilsonville.

Meanwhile, board member Crystal Mossman was staying at Indralaya while we were away. Over the weekend the Indralaya library was the setting for an OPAL Community Land Trust board retreat, and a tree pruning seminar tended to some of the meadow apple trees.