January 21-27

2014 registration is underway!

Shortly after our return flight from Sydney landed, the 2014 program catalog began arriving in US mail boxes.  On Wednesday we traveled to Vancouver to send the catalog to the 500+ Canadian households on our mail list. And on Sunday we went live with a new and considerably improved online registration system. In the first 24 hours of availability, over 40 registrations have already been received for our upcoming programs and work parties.

The new registration program was designed in collaboration with a local business (SmallDogNet Solutions) and with the generous financial support of Helen Bee & Carl de Boor.

We are very happy with the new system, but also recognize that as it becomes operational there are likely to be a few bumps along the way to full implementation. Your feedback on how well the online registration process works for you is welcome. So hurry on over to the Indralaya website and give it a try!

Winter can be Harsh

While we were away, one of the resident deer died under a small madrona tree near the stone table below the dining hall. It is not unusual for one or more deer to succumb during the winter months. The body has now been moved to a quiet place in the woods.

the old skylight provides some rain shelter

The December cold snap seems to have killed a number of worker bees too, though the hive as a whole seems to be doing fine. 

the piece of wood to the right reduces the size of the hive opening

Every morning there are a few dead bees that have been pushed out of the hive onto the front stoop. Honey stores seem sufficient to see the bees through to Spring, which must not be so far away as the crocuses are already beginning to poke up through the earth.

Signs of Spring

January 20, 2014

Yes, It’s Good to be Back Home Again!

We are home at Indralaya after five weeks of traveling down under. It was a wonderful trip. We spent about half of the time in and around Sydney, with stops around the country in Alice Springs, Melbourne, and Tasmania. It was a fine mix of new sights, family, friends old and new, as well as time for ourselves.

Many thanks to those who helped care for camp while we were gone, especially John, Cindy, Kathy, Nancy, Darrell, Maddy, Lilly, Thea, Frank, Kari & Crystal.

the famous Sydney Opera House

Uluru

Sue, Uncle Frank, Leonie, Minor

While in Alice Springs, we stayed with Sue Gregory Birmingham, a therapeutic touch practitioner and TS member who works with the aboriginal people in the area, including Uncle Frank, with whom we spent a day on the land learning stories of the caterpillar dreaming.

Leonie & Emlyn along Lake St. Clair

We were in Tasmania for 12 days, where we felt fortunate to spend the Christmas holiday with Emlyn Walter-Cruickshank and his family. Then it was back to Sydney in time for the New Year festivities and a two week stay at the Manor, a legendary theosophical center that Leonie’s family has had connections with since its origins in the 1920’s.

the red roofed Manor, with downtown Sydney in the distance

The Van Gelders visit the Manor, circa 1965

(from l to r, Michael, Melanie, Harry, Leonie, Arthur, Mary & Ian)

We arrived back in Seattle on the 14th and drove back up to Orcas the next day. On Friday, the 2014 program catalog went to the post office and it began showing up in mail boxes the next day. We will be delivering the catalog to the Canadian postal service on Wednesday. Online registration for all of our upcoming programs and work parties will be available beginning at noon, PST, on Sunday, January 26.

teepee and solarium

fruit trees & fir trees, grass & sky

November 26 - December 3

A New Initiative

This week saw the roll out of the Indralaya Gap Year Mentorship program. This new ten week program for young people between the ages of 18 and 26 will be offered twice in 2014, once in the Spring and once in the Fall.

For those who are not familiar with the term, a gap year is often defined as a break in the course of one’s formal education, or between completing one’s education and entering the work world. Over the last decade or so, taking a gap year has become an increasingly common practice for young people.

A central aim of the program is to provide an opportunity for participants to consider and clarify the meaning and purpose of their lives. The program curriculum will be rooted in the premise that a balanced theosophical life is composed of three elements: study, meditation and service. While the curriculum will be embedded in the theosophical tradition, membership in the Theosophical Society is not a requirement.

In addition to participating in the regular programs and activities of Indralaya, participants will be provided with a course of study incorporating theosophical concepts, have the opportunity to experience various contemplative practices, develop practical life skills, and engage with the natural world at a deep level. They will also have the opportunity for small group meetings with program leaders and the wide array of interesting people doing meaningful work in the world who regularly pass through Indralaya.

By offering an enriching course of study for young people at a significant transition point in their lives, this program takes a big step towards more fully realizing the vision that Indralaya’s founders held when the camp was founded nearly 90 years ago.

The application period for both the Spring and the Fall programs begins in December 2013. The ten week Spring session will begins on March 31 and continues through June 8. The Fall session will run from September 2-November 11. A minimum of four and a maximum of ten participants will be accepted in each class. Tuition for the program is $1,350, which includes all program related costs, as well as housing and meals.

Perhaps you or someone you know would benefit from this offering. 

For more information or an application form, please see the Gap Year Program area on the Indralaya website.

Until We Meet Again
We’re taking a winter break and this will be the last post until mid-January. If you are looking for information on next year’s program calendar, please see last week’s post for a summary. Registration for all of 2014 will begin in the second half of January. We’re looking forward to seeing you in the new year!  

November 25

It’s time for our annual look forward to programs for the coming year. We’ve got a great mix of both traditional and new offerings and invite you to begin your planning now. Registration for all of our 2014 programs and work parties will open in mid to late January.

Let’s begin with the Spring and Fall Work parties: The first work weekend will be President’s Day weekend, February 14-17, which this year includes Valentine’s Day. The Easter work weekend (April 18-20) includes the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox. The last Spring work party will be over Memorial Day, May 23-26. There are also three Fall work parties: Labor Day, August 29-September 1; Fall Harvest, October 10-13, and the End of the Season work party, November 7-9.

The Spring schedule will offer three ‘first time at Indralaya’ programs. Jason Siff, a highly regarded meditation teacher, will be here April 24-27 to lead a Recollective Awareness Meditation weekend. Kim Ivy, the founder of the Embrace the Moon School of Taijiquan and Qigong, will be here to lead a QiGong weekend May 15-18, and Christine Downing, an Orcas Island resident and Professor of Mythological Studies at the Pacifica Graduate Institute, will offer a program (May 29-June 1) exploring the mythology surrounding journeys to the underworld.

Spring will also see the return of Pablo Sender, one of the Theosophical Society’s most compelling contemporary speakers, who will be here June 5-8 for a program exploring the Theosophical Path of Meditation.

The last half of June will be devoted to Therapeutic Touch, as it has been for over thirty years. Basic Therapeutic Touch (June 14-17) is for those beginning their practice, while Mentorship (June 14-20) is for those who are looking to deepen their practice. Those attending the following week (June 22-28) will explore Therapeutic Touch as a Path of Service. This program is intended for intermediate and advanced level practitioners.

We have a great line-up for summer beginning with the two traditional family weeks (July 2-8 and July 10-16), followed by Deep Singing (July 19-24), and Yoga (July 26-31). Joel and Michelle Levey will return for the week of August 2-7, followed by Connections (August 9-15). There will be two complementary programs in the final week of the summer season. First up is a three day drumming workshop with Patty Hatfield (August 18-21), followed immediately by Sacred Sound and Music (August 21-24) with Pat Moffitt-Cook.

Fall will begin with our second Deep Singing Weekend (September 4-7), led by Barbara Bellamy and Helen Bee, continue with the 4th autumnal equinox weekend with R.J. Stewart and Anastacia Nutt, this year exploring The Seven Aptitudes of Faery Healing (September 18-21), and conclude with the annual silent meditation retreat (October 2-5) with Minor Lile and Leonie Van Gelder.

November 13-21

This week we learned of the recent passing of Dee Dee Rainbow. Dee Dee and her sister Marsha were the granddaughters of Ray and Heloise Wardall, who were prominent in the early years of Indralaya. Cedar cabin was built by the Wardalls and was one of the first cabins constructed at camp.

The ‘donation dragon’ that lives at the registration desk in the dining hall was crafted by Dee Dee in honor of her grandparents. In recent years, it has become the repository for limericks during the summer family weeks. As you can see by reading the dedication below, the glaze includes ash from Mt. St. Helens.

Dee Dee attended several of the interfaith programs that were held here in the late 90’s and early 00’s. 

For those who knew her, a celebration of Dee Dee’s life is scheduled for 1:00 pm on Saturday, January 4, at University Unitarian Church in Seattle.

November 4-12

Stonehenge

Yes, it's true. While Leonie was at camp managing the End of the Season work party, I was away in southern England visiting ancient monuments and attending a weekend workshop in Glastonbury.

Glastonbury Abbey grounds

to the top of the tor

Meanwhile, back at home there were about 25 people on hand for the work party. A big job for the weekend was pouring the concrete at Kunz cabin. Other projects included completing the siding for the now closed in area under the lounge, adding a door to the greenhouse, and putting many areas of camp to bed for the winter.

foundation pour at Kunz

red greenhouse door

new siding under the lounge

With the completion of the work weekend on Sunday, the 2013 program season that began back in February is now at an end. It’s been a great 86th year for Indralaya and we are already looking forward to starting up again in the Spring.

Three Years Later

This is the 150th posting to the This Week at Indralaya blog since it began back in October 2010. In that time, there have been over 30,000 visits to the site. The highest monthly readership was in May of this year, with 1,320 hits. Over 80% of those who visit the site are from the US and Canada. There is a high readership across Europe and a generous sprinkling of interest throughout the rest of the world.

October 28 - November 3

the 2013 board: Kim, Victoria, Crystal, Megan, Lin, Meg, Kelly

The Indralaya board of directors met over the weekend in the camp library for their annual meeting. A key agenda item was to review and approve a new gap year program for young people between the age of 18 and 26 that will begin in the Spring of 2014. The 10 week program will be offered twice in 2014, once in the Spring and once in the Fall. 

A central aim of the program is to provide an opportunity for participants to set aside a time in their lives to gain some fuller awareness of the meaning and purpose of their lives while also being of service at Indralaya. The program curriculum will be rooted in the premise that a balanced spiritual life includes the core elements of study, meditation and service.

The Board and camp managers feel that offering an enriching course of study for young people at a significant transition point in their lives takes a big step towards more fully realizing the vision that Indralaya's founders put forward when the camp began nearly 90 years ago.

The application period for the Spring session will begin in early December and more information will be posted on the camp website soon.

In other action, the Board voted to maintain the current fee structure for a third consecutive year. Other agenda items included a tour of building and maintenance projects that are underway, a review of the 2013 program year and consideration of the program calendar for 2014. The Board selected May 24 as the date for  the annual meeting of the Friends of Indralaya.

The fall meeting is also a time of transition, as the Board reconstitutes itself for the coming year. Mark Ray was welcomed to the Board as the winner of this year's elections, and Lin Bauer was reappointed to the Board for a second term. The new Board also elected its officers. Meg  Sather will continue as Board chair. Other officers are Lin Bauer (vice-chair), Kelly Bachman (treasurer) and Crystal Mossman (secretary).  The first act of the new Board was to express appreciation to outgoing Board member Kim Erickson.