December 20-26

It was both a quiet and busy week at Indralaya as we had a lot to get done before leaving on the 23rd to catch up with family for the Christmas weekend. A central focus was the 2011 program catalog, which we anticipate will be in your mailbox sometime towards the end of January.

It’s great to be working with Tina Rose again on the catalog. Tina is an Orcas resident and friend who has been involved in the design and production of the catalog for over a decade. This is the time when we are rounding up the last of the program descriptions and beginning the layout process. As in every year, there is a lot of effort put into finding just the right pictures to include, so if you have a good picture that you think should be considered send it soon! (indralaya (at) indralaya.com). Pictures need to have a minimum resolution of 300dpi to be usable.

Work is also underway on setting up the Indralaya web site for next year. We’ll be offering early registration for the March 3-6 Sea Temple Retreat with R.J. Stewart beginning January 3, and other 2011 programs will be available for on-line registration in mid-January.

On Wednesday, Leonie and I attended Susan Osborn’s concert at the chapel in Victorian Valley, an annual Christmas event that we’ve missed in our years away from Orcas. It was a lovely evening in the small candle-lit chapel. One of the traditions for Susan’s concert is to have everyone take different parts and join in the singing of The Twelve Days of Christmas. Leonie and I took on the part of the two turtle doves this year!

We caught an early boat off of Orcas on Thursday and headed for Twisp and the Methow Valley, located in north central Washington, where we have a family cabin. While we were there, we had a chance to visit with our friend (and Indralaya Yoga Week leader) Melanie Whittaker, who lives up the valley in the town of Winthrop. Thanks to Lars Erickson for taking care of the camp in our absence.

Outside the Rocking Horse Bakery

While we were in the Methow, we received news of the passing of Jenny Vonckx. Jenny was an artist and courageous woman and she will be missed by her many Indralaya friends. We met Jenny back in 1997, when she showed up on the right weekend for the wrong program (there’s a story there!). This was the beginning of Jenny’s relationship with Indralaya, which became a valued part of her life. At the time, she was struggling to come to terms with a brain tumor that was then threatening to and eventually did take her life.

Jenny at Indralaya - 1998

2011 Fall Programs

This week, the conclusion of our three week survey of next year’s program. Last week’s entry provides a summary of what’s in store for next Summer and the week of December 6-12 offers a glimpse at the Spring line-up.

The Fall Season will be begin with the Labor Day weekend work party, September 2-5. There will be two other fall work parties - the apple harvest weekend October 7-10 and the end of season work party November 11-13.

On September 9-11, we are going to offer Indralaya’s first Theosofest. The weekend will combine an open house with exploration of the theosophical ideas that lie behind the way of life that is found here. We’re planning to offer music, art, lectures, discussion, good food and companionship.

Tim Boyd will be visiting from Olcott, the headquarters of the Theosophical Society in America, on September 15-18. Tim is a candidate for the Presidency of the TSA and current head of the Theosophical Order of Service. Tim is an engaging speaker and he’ll be exploring the question of what the wisdom tradition can offer a world that is undergoing great stress and change.

Nawang Khechog, the world-renowned musician and former Tibetan monk, will return to Indralaya for a program on Awakening Kindness, September 22-25. The program will include a free public concert on Saturday evening.

The 2011 program season will conclude with a Silent Meditation Retreat, October 13-16, led by Linda Jo Pym and Leonie Van Gelder.

Santa & Stockings - HO HO HO

December 13-19

As this is being writing in the late afternoon at Indralaya, under a darkening sky at a northern latitude of 48.7°, somewhere beyond the light cloud cover the near full moon is beginning to rise in the Eastern sky. Tis the brink of the winter solstice and all is well.

Looking ahead one day beyond the current week, to December 21, there is an alignment of the full moon at 1:13 am, PST, and then the moment of winter solstice at 3:38 in the afternoon. The winter solstice marks the time when, from our earthbound perspective, the sun seems to stand still as it arrives at southernmost point of its journey, the line demarcated by the Tropic of Cancer, at 23.4° S.

This combination of a full moon and the winter solstice doesn’t happen all that often - throw in the total lunar eclipse that will also occur and one has to go back nearly 400 years - to 1638 - to find the last time such an alignment occurred. Interestingly, it will happen again relatively soon, 84 years from now, in 2094.

The solstice has been a moment of significance to humanity since time immemorial and its arrival continues to be celebrated in festivals and gatherings all over the world.

In her booklet, The Christmas of the Angels, Indralaya elder Dora Van Gelder Kunz writes,

We must remember that the whole earth is thronged with host of super-physical beings, angels and archangels and all the Company of Heaven, who … are responsible for the guidance and control of the manifold processes of Nature. It is their thoughts and feelings and activities which play so important a part in the creation of that peculiar atmosphere of good will so noticeable at Christmas; and at this time of the year the whole earth thrills with the wonderful forces outpoured by the angels….
(T)he angels see Christmas from the life side, as a turning-point of all the forces of Nature on every plane and at every level, and as a time in which (there is) a direct and mighty outpouring of creative power and spiritual energy…It marks a point of deep significance in the hidden life of Nature.

And so we note this moment in the passing of the year.

Yew Tree #3

The story continues to unfold. As discussed in earlier entries (see Nov. 1 and Nov. 15 below) there are Yew trees located above the steps to both Near East and Far East beaches. Now a third yew has revealed itself, near Madrona point. These trees certainly know how to pick a prominent spot to reside. This particular Yew provides a good representation of the aerial roots that are a distinctive aspect of the species.

Comings and Goings

Our friends Jeremy Berg and Freya Secrest came up for an overnight visit last Tuesday. They both work closely with David Spangler and are instrumental in the activities of the Lorian Association. Jeremy is the publisher for the Lorian Press, while Freya is a spiritual director and on the faculty of the Lorian Center for Incarnational Spirituality.

Freya & Jeremy

Herlwyn Lutz is an Orcas Island resident and arborist who has taken a prominent role in tending to Indralaya’s trees for many years. This past week he did a beautiful job cutting back a cedar tree that was growing into the side of Cedar cabin down on the waterfront.

Herlwyn

On Wednesday, Phoebe Bee hosted the annual study group potluck and gift exchange. This was the last meeting of the Study group until the new year.

Phoebe

Summer Program Preview

Last week’s entry provided a look at our 2011 Spring programs. As promised, here’s a quick look at next summer’s line-up.

As has been the practice for many years, there will be two Therapeutic Touch camps in the latter half of June. The mentorship week will begin on Saturday, June 11 and continue until Friday, June 17. The second healer’s camp: Continuing Explorations into TT Theory and Practice, is scheduled for June 19-25.

The summer season ‘officially’ begins with Family Week One, June 30th to July 5, followed by Family Week Two from July 8-14. Family Week One will again be coordinated by Elliot and Ondine Toler-Scott, Viola Marx, and Victoria Bennett. Coordinator’s for Family Week Two will be Michael Sky, Penny Sharp-Sky, Hugh O’Neill and Annie McManus.

Deep Singing comes next, led by Barbara Bellamy and Helen Bee. The dates are July 16-21. All voices welcome!

Yoga Week, with Melanie Whittaker, will be July 23-28. All body types welcome!

A new incarnation of Indralaya’s traditional Creativity Week will begin on July 30 and continue to August 4. David Spangler and Deborah Koff-Chapin, will collaborate on an exploration of “Creativity, Manifestation and the Subtle Worlds”. David is a teacher, mystic, and author of numerous books. Deborah is the founder of The Center for Touch Drawing. She is a teacher and practitioner of what she has recently been calling “Sacred Expressive Arts”, incorporating sound, movement, drawing, and other creative modalities to help call forth that which is within us and wanting to be expressed.

Connections is next, from August 6-14. Ed Abdill, a well known and well regarded teacher in theosophical circles, will be participating and leading morning discussions.

From August 16-19, Arun Gandhi, the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, will lead a three day program on ahimsa and the practice of peace, including elements involving stories of his grandfather. This special program has been arranged with the help of Chris Farmer, a friend of Arun’s who attended many t.t. programs at Indralaya in the 1980’s and early 90’s. Learn more about Arun and his work at www.arungandhi.org.

Joel and Michelle Levey will return on July 20-25 for the final program of the 2011 summer season. The theme for their program will be “The Dance of Change: Wisdom Teachings for Turbulent Times”.

It is going to be a busy and wonderful summer at Indralaya. We look forward to seeing many of you here. Next week, a glimpse at what is scheduled for Fall 2011.

December 6-12

Wetness

There were a couple of heavy rainfalls on Orcas this past week, with close to an inch of rain on Wednesday and another downpour of just over an inch on Saturday night. A blocked drain line at the dining room resulted in a 2” flood of water in the basement. With the help of Crystal Mossman and Chappy’s Septic Service, we were able to get the water flowing again on Sunday. It turned out that the blocked line was caused by tree roots that had broken through the drain tile and grown to the point where the water could no longer flow around them.

The following videos will give some idea of what things looked like both in the basement and in the meadow, where there was a large pool of standing water on Sunday. Please excuse the amateur production values - I’m still learning how to use my new Flip video camera - editing is next!

Comings and Goings

Pia Van Gelder, our niece from Sydney, Australia, was on the island for several days just after Thanksgiving and stayed over at camp for a couple nights at the beginning of the week. It had been over four years since Pia’s last visit to camp. In our previous stint at Indralaya, her visits to see her dad (Arthur Van Gelder) had been more frequent and she was able to visit camp almost every year.

Pia, Leonie & Minor

On Wednesday we headed to Seattle for a couple nights. I returned to Orcas on Friday, while Leonie headed to Bainbridge Island for another Sound and Healing workshop with Pat Moffit-Cook. Pat developed a close following at Indralaya through the six Fall workshops she led here from 2000-2005.

Many Indralaya folk continue to participate in Pat’s Open Ear Center workshops, including Lin Bauer, Liba Stafl, Greg and Janie Reboulet, Frances Krygier, Bev Forster, Rifaat and David Fay, Jeannie Chamberlain, Kathy Wilmering, Cordy Anderson, Linda Shockey, Robert Glasner, Nancy Frey, Dianna Blom, Anna Thelen, Carol Krasel, Janet McCully, Marsha McEwan, Claire Van Bloem, Tim Hulley, Deb Seidel, and Anne Walker - apologies to anyone I missed.

While we were gone, Brian Davies, a chief volunteer in the library, arrived and spent several days both by himself and with Phoebe Bee working on their current project to re-label the book collection.

On Sunday, I took another niece, Ian and Kari Van Gelder’s daughter Margot, to the annual Christmas concert of the Orcas Choral Society. It was a wonderful performance. Margot told me afterwards that the hours flew by like minutes. Two highlights were a performance of “The Lamb”, a Sir John Taverner piece with lyrics by William Blake, and “Lux Aurumque”, words by Edward Esch and music by Eric Whitacre. Indralaya friends Helen Bee, Antoinette Botsford, Herlwyn Lutz, Penny Sharp Sky, and Tina Rose all performed with the 58 member choir.

2011 Program Preview

Over the next few weeks, check back for a sneak preview of next year’s programs. It’s looking like a great line-up and we are really excited about the way things have come together. This week, a quick look at programs for the Spring.

The program season will begin early with a Sea Temple Retreat with R.J. Stewart, March 3-6. R.J. is a fairly well known teacher of western esoteric traditions. The Sea Temple is the hidden temple of the West. It is said to be rooted in love and compassion and to hold the gateways for planetary change from within the deepest heart of our world.

Enrollment for this program is limited to 35 participants and there is already a great deal of interest. Early registration will be available through the Indralaya website in the next couple weeks. Please notify us if you are interested and we will let you know when registration opens up.

April 28-May 1 will see the return of Grace Crowley, leading her fifth mindfulness meditation retreat at Indralaya. Past program participants have often expressed appreciation for Grace’s insight, clarity and capacity to set an appropriate tone for the meditation weekend.

Carl Calleman will lead a program on “2012 and the Tree of Life” on the weekend of May 5-8. Carl has authored several books on the Mayan Calendar and 2012. He was a good friend of John Roberts and initially became interested in these themes, which have become very much his life work, when he attended a 1991 workshop at Indralaya that was led by Peter Balin.

May 19-22 will offer Basic and Intermediate Therapeutic Touch with Jane Cornman, Cathy Fanslow-Brunjes, and Cedrun Sterling.

On June 2-5, Robyn Finseth will offer an invitational workshop on self-healing. Robyn is a chiropractor and healer in the Portland area. Robyn is married to Gary Finseth, and is the daughter of Ken and Bea Lawrence. She worked closely with Harry Van Gelder and has been coming to Indralaya for her entire life.

There will also be at least three work parties: President’s Day Feb 18-21, Easter April 22-24, and Memorial Day, May 27-30. In addition to these traditional gatherings, we are considering a Spring Cleaning work party as well as the possibility of a work party to finish up work on Pear cabin.

Next week a glimpse at what’s in store for next summer.

November 29-December 5

They Came, They Met, They Concurred

The Indralaya (Orcas Island Foundation) Board of Directors met in the camp library on Saturday and Sunday. This was the initial meeting of the new Board. Meg Sather and Lin Bauer were welcomed to their first meeting (see the week of Oct. 25-31 for some background on Meg and Lin), and in the wake of her six months as kitchen manager, Crystal Mossman was welcomed back and reappointed to the Board.

Laurie, Kim, Lin, Meg, Jeannie, Crystal, John

After these and other formalities, the meeting continued with a morning retreat. The retreat was intended as a time for Board members, along with Leonie and me, to establish a foundation for working together in the coming year by setting aside the usual business of a board meeting to spend some time collectively attuning to the deeper rhythms of camp.

The first order of business after the retreat was the election of officers. For the coming year, Jeannie Chamberlain will serve as Chair, Kim Erickson was elected to be Vice Chair, Laurie Rotecki, Secretary, and John Levey, Treasurer.

A key agenda item for this meeting was the adoption of an operating budget for 2011. The approved budget estimates operating income of $226,000 for next year. Operating income is composed of program income (estimated at $151,000 for 2011), donations ($35,000), member dues ($8,500), bookstore sales ($5,500), and investment income ($26,000).

There are six operating expense categories: program, outreach, hospitality, facilities, management, and administration. The 2011 budget estimates operating expenses of $254,222, which would result in a projected net operating deficit for the year of $28,222. Major expense line items are food (budgeted at $30,000), building, grounds and equipment maintenance ($26,500), part-time maintenance staff ($22,500), depreciation ($33,200), manager stipends ($28,800), and insurance ($17,000). $5,000 has also been allocated for the acquisition of new bed mattresses, as we begin to establish a regular schedule for mattress rotation.

Going once, going twice ...

Friends of Indralaya member dues will be increasing in 2011. The dues for membership were last changed in 2004. Dues for an annual membership will be $40, a family membership will be $80, and life memberships will be $400. These changes will become effective on January 1, so now is the time to consider renewing your annual membership or becoming a life member at the current level.

Kitchen Manager & Garden Coordinator

If you or someone you know is interested in living and working at Indralaya for several months as either the kitchen manager or garden coordinator, please contact us for more information about these core staff positions.

It’s back!

The blue dinghy that washed up at Near East Beach several weeks ago (see Oct. 25-31), and was last seen heading north, has returned to Indralaya’s shores. It is now set upon the rocks south of Near East, perhaps on its way back to wherever its journey began.

Two roads diverged ...

In the aftermath of last week’s winter weather, we’ve learned that driving over snow on the Indralaya meadow leaves tell-tale evidence of the Gator's presence ... and as Robert Frost might have added, ‘though as for that the passing there had worn them both about the same...’