September 12-18

It was a quiet and peaceful week at Indralaya as the program that had been scheduled for the weekend was cancelled. This offered the opportunity to catch up on various things around camp that had been waiting until the end of the busy summer season.

Some random statistics from the 2011 season as it begins to wind down:

Number of people registered for work parties & programs: 1,084
People on Daily Staff (3 hour workers): 261 (24%)
Fellowship staff & interns: 14
Wwoofers (garden staff): 5
Resident staff: 2
Program Presenters & Coordinators: 33 (thank you!)
Programs: 19
Sold-out programs: 7
Cancelled programs: 2
Work Parties: 6
Eggs consumed: approximately 15,840 (an estimated 1,320 cartons)
Emails sent since January 1: 2,715
Blog hits since January 1: 5,530
Website visits since January 1: 9,230
Evening gatherings in the Grove: 28
Morning meditations in the Library: 87
Beautiful memories: who can say?

August 25 - September 11

Painting Pictures with Words

It's a well known aphorism that one picture is worth a thousand words. This week's entry will attempt to turn that premise inside out and provide a written portrait of the activities of the past few weeks. This is driven somewhat by necessity, as we were away for some of the time and I somehow wasn't inclined to pick up the camera immediately upon our return.

A Musical Interlude

On August 26, Indralaya hosted a donor's appreciation picnic for the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival, with over 80 people attending. Indralaya was chosen for the setting in part because festival co-founders Aloysia Friedmann and Jon Kimura (Jackie) Parker have ties here that go back many years, to when Aloysia would visit for summer programs with her parents. The picnic featured a couple surprise musical performances, first by Aloysia and her father Martin, accompanied by Jackie, performing portions of a Bach Concerto for two violins and piano that Jackie had pulled off of the internet using the dining hall computer just a few minutes earlier. That was followed by a violin and piano duet featuring Jackie and Martin Chalifour.

It was a busy few days preparing for the picnic after the end of the Levey program on the 24th. In some ways, the effort seemed to take even more energy than is usually needed for the transition between programs. Fortunately, there were several volunteers on hand to help things flow smoothly. Thanks to Lin Bauer, Laurie Rotecki, Michael Short, Liz Speorri, Crystal Mossman, Helen Bee, Jake Doty, Marshall Peabody, Ian Van Gelder & Peter Van Gelder!

Work Party Weekend.

Just over 30 people participated in the annual Labor Day/Plum Pickin' work party. Leonie and I were away catching a breather after the busy summer. Several people stepped in to help lead the weekend and by all reports it was a fun, collaborative and productive weekend. Particular thanks to Kari Van Gelder, Jake, Crystal, Megan Barnes, Carol Bee, and Lars Erickson for taking on additional responsibility for the weekend!

As in many past years, the plums weren't actually quite ready for the pickin' that is promised in this late summer/early fall work weekend and we may have to consider changing its name for future years - any suggestions out there among the readership?

Theosofest

This past weekend over 125 people participated in Indralaya's first Theosofest. The weekend was an open house for both local folks and those staying at camp. There were several different elements woven together: an art exhibition in the dining hall featuring local artists opening with a Friday night reception; a Saturday morning open house, offering tours and seven different workshops and presentations; a Saturday evening Deep Singing session in the teepee; and a pancake breakfast Sunday morning benefiting the Orcas Island Food Bank. There was a lot of positive response to the weekend and the pancake breakfast raised nearly $400 for the food bank.

Thanks to all who participated, particularly Régent Pellerin and Sandora Hedrich for coordinating the art exhibition; Deep Singing leader Helen Bee; and presenters Stanton Stevens & Amelia Bare, Dave Rowley, Kim Fairbanks & Susan Slapin, Liz Francis, Minor Lile, Lynne Riley, Kathi Ciskowski & Polly Sanford.

August 18-24

This week brings with it an end to the 2011 summer program season. The program with Arun Gandhi ended last Friday. Since Saturday, Joel & Michelle Levey have been leading a “Dance of Change” workshop, offering teachings on mindful approaches to the inevitable changes that are woven into the fabric of life.

It has been a busy summer, with full programs and lots of activity. Eight programs, with average attendance in the mid-60’s. Which matches the average high temperatures that were a prominent feature of this cooler than usual summer.

Experiences have been shared, memories created. Many have expressed their deep appreciation for this place and what it provides for those who come here. New threads have been woven into the lattice work that continuously composes Indralaya and gives it sustenance as ‘an ongoing experiment in theosophical living...’

And after 44 consecutive weekly entries, it is now time for a short break.

This Week at Indralaya will resume on Monday, September 12.

August 11-17

There is only time for a short entry this week as we are in the midst of a program with Arun Gandhi, a lifelong advocate of non-violence and the grandson of Mohandas K. Gandhi. Arun has been offering insights into the ethical foundations necessary for building a non-violent world and sharing stories from his and his grandfather’s lives that offer examples of these qualities.

Chris & Arun, brewing chai in the coffee kitchen

Arun’s visit was arranged with the help of Chris Farmer. Chris attended therapeutic touch camps at Indralaya and Pumpkin Hollow Farm in the 1980’s. She was inspired to invite Arun to lead a program here because she felt that his teachings are in alignment with the peaceful energies of the place.

Peace to all Beings

August 4-10

The Connections program began on Saturday and continues through this coming Sunday, August 14. Over 70 people are attending all or part of the gathering. The program places significant emphasis on maintaining and rebuilding Indralaya’s physical plant.

Projects have included rebuilding Heather cabin, completing the siding and renovations to the resident manager's cabin (RMC) that began in 2010, building of a wood shed for the dining hall and construction of six new fire hose stations around camp.

Nick & Steve lay foundations for a new fire hose station

Marilynne and Petr at one of the new stations

the first wall of Heather cabin is raised

Michaela and Bryan working at Heather cabin

Mark & Ian work on the RMC siding project

new dining hall wood shed

Ed Abdill, the Vice President of the Theosophical Society in America,
and author of The Secret Gateway, is also here, leading morning discussion.

deep thinkers

young campers assemble cinnamon rolls

afternoon tea and cookies at the RMC

volleyball is an evening highlight

all for one and one for all!

July 28 - August 3

dining hall as art studio...

This week just over 50 participants gathered for an exploration of Creativity and the Subtle Realms with Deborah Koff-Chapin and David Spangler. It was a magical Indralaya week, weaving together art, music, exploration of inner realms and subtle experience, great food and open-hearted participation into a cohesive and joyful experience of community and emergence.

Minor, Julie, David, Deborah, Leonie

David shared his insights during morning presentations in the library, while Deborah taught and guided touch drawing sessions in the afternoons as the ideas shared by David were brought to life. Evenings included an August 1 celebration of Lammas around and over a fire in the grove. Lammas is the ancient Celtic harvest festival marking the halfway point between the summer solstice and the autumnal equinox. Many of those at the campfire observed the tradition of leaping over the fire three times!

teepee art alter

artistic impressions of the angel of Indralaya
(click on any image to see it full size)

ready for action

Captain Hook
One of the yoga week participants, Arthur Huebner, devoted some of his winter to preparing 108 salvaged hangers for use all around Indralaya. The hangers were installed while he was here for the program and they are turning up in all the right places: cabin walls, broom closets, rest rooms, shower stalls, and elsewhere. Thank you, Arthur!

sunlit canopy

July 21-27

The completion of the July 23-28 Yoga Week marked the halfway point of the 2011 summer season at Indralaya. The Yoga retreat was lead for the 9th consecutive year by Melanie Whittaker. Melanie is from the Methow Valley, which is east of the North Cascade mountains. This year the teepee was filled with approximately 50 participants for the twice daily hatha yoga sessions that are grounded in the Iyengar and Ashtanga Vinyasa traditions. In the above photo, Melanie exhibits trikonasana or triangle pose.

Spencer sautés breakfast mushrooms

The fellowship and wwoofer staff continue to play an important role in helping programs and activities at Indralaya run smoothly. One of those on fellowship is Spencer Corley (pictured above). Spencer has been here since late June and has been helpful in many ways, including breakfast prep (which begins at 6:30 every morning), daily mopping of the kitchen floor and transportation of food waste to the worm bins for vermiculture composting. Thanks to Spencer and the rest of the long-term staff who are currently here: Alise Nielson, Eric and Jackie Green, Amy Stolov, Terrence Zander, Jake Doty and Petr Senkerik for all your good work.

Aaron Clemons & Peter Van Gelder

Leonie’s brother Peter Van Gelder stayed with us for several days this past week, on a visit from his home in the Netherlands, where he lives in Rotterdam with his wife Lis-Britt. Sitting with Peter in this photo is Aaron Clemons, son of Art Clemons and grandson of Margie Clemons (the sister of Phoebe Bee, Barbara Michelle Berry and Arthur Lehwalder). Aaron and his wife, Ellen Pillow, have been consistent participants in the summer Yoga week with Melanie since its beginnings in 2003.

Swallows leave the nest

This week saw the next stage of development in the nesting box that two swallows moved into back in May (see the entry for May 23-29). A few weeks ago, the chirps of the recently hatched nestlings could be heard and this week they took flight and left the nest!

Far East Beach Art