:. Rare Healing Chöd Chanting Ceremony

"This Healing Chod was one of the most beautiful, important things I have done for myself."
~ Sharon Salzberg

Sat-Sun, Oct 13-14 in Monroe, NY
Healing Chod Ceremony
with Tibetan Lama
Dungse Rigdzin Dorje Rinpoche
with Monks & Nuns from Zangdokpalri Temple, India


WHEN: Sat-Sun, Oct 13-14, 10:30am-12:30pm & 2:30-4:30pm
WHERE: Ananda Ashram, 13 Sapphire Rd., Monroe, NY 10950
#845.782.5575 ananda@anandaashram.org >> anandaashram.org
DONATION: $195 for all 4 sessions. Pre-registration is advised.

>> Click here for travel directions ~ only 1 hr. north of NYC & easily accessible by car, bus or train. Call for overnight guest rates. >> Click here to view the event flyer.

>> Dungse Rigdzin Dorje Rinpoche is the son and spiritual heir of the revered >> Kunzang Dechen Lingpa Rinpoche, with whom he had intensive training from childhood. He will lead an ancient Tibetan Buddhist healing ceremony using healing chant and musical sequences, called "Healing Chod." In this unique practice, which has been developed in Tibet for over a millennium, participants simply rest and receive healing. Each ritual addresses a different area of healing concern. The series of four consecutive sessions covers all areas of human need and is together considered one complete healing. Please arrive early.

Please help me to spread the word about this very special healing ceremony that I have the great honor of hosting this coming weekend at the blissful Ananda Ashram. There is nothing to do in this retreat but to simply lie down & receive healing while Rinpoche & his monks & nuns sing beautiful, sacred Tibetan chants to the very trance-like rhythms of their double-headed drums. This ancient ceremony is said to heal on all levels of life. I have experienced this healing several times now & have felt its effects to be tangible & magical. (Scroll down for more info.) As an added bonus, the fall colors are peaking at Ananda Ashram this weekend!

Please consider forwarding this information to your network, there are so many people who could benefit from this beautiful & sacred healing ceremony! Thank you in advance for your help, it is very much appreciated. For registration (highly recommended) call the Ashram office directly, details below. Hope to see you there!

:. The Case for Separated Bike Lanes in NYC

I am so inspired by this proposal, please take a few moments to view this really informative video, it's an eye opener & provides real solutions for the traffic problem in big cities.

Advocates from Transporation Alternatives, The Project for Public Spaces, & The Open Planning Project join "Gridlock Sam" Schwartz & Enrique Penalosa to call for New York City to consider experimenting with some physically separated bike lanes in the near future. To contact producer/editor, email trorb(at)earthlink.net. Directed by Clarence Eckerson Jr.



Please go to www.streetfilms.org to see this in a higher quality format, plus plenty of other great bike & transportation films. Also visit www.nycsr.org for many more videos.

.: George Harrison - Gopala Krishna

:. KIRTAN RETREAT with SHYAMDAS

August 17-19, '07

Don't miss this unique annual event with renowned chantmaster & bhakti scholar, SHYAMDAS!

LOCATION: Shyamdas' favorite Ashram in the West:
>> Ananda Ashram in Monroe, NY just 1 hr. north on NYC & easily accessible by car, bus or train.

SHYAMDAS blends songs, ecstatic kirtan, dynamic stories & teachings of the path of devotion. A recognized presenter both in the West & in India, he has written & translated more than 20 books on the Yoga of Devotion. Shyamdas combines traditional Vedic teachings with the fresh spirit of Bhakti Yoga. He has studied classical Dhrupada music & divides his time between the U.S. & India, where he has lived for over 30 years.

For details: Call Ananda Ashram 845.782.5575 or email ananda@anandaashram.org

Shyamdas' enewsletter: email shyamdasnewsletter@gmail.com.
Visit his new website: >> www.shyamdas.com

>> Click here to purchase Shyamdas' acclaimed CDs, including the dynamic double CD Cool Dual, recorded live at Shyamdas' summer 2006 Bhakti Immersion retreat at Ananda Ashram, featuring one disc of live kirtan & another of compelling discourse by Shyamdas.


>> Click here for details about the
JAI UTTAL kirtan weekend!

July 13-15, '07
"Passion & Grace ~
The Art of Devotional Singing".

:. Chat needs a new home! Can you help?

This sweetie need a new home ~ can you help?

Chat (French for 'cat' - pronounced Shah) is looking to be adopted as his mom (who he's been with for 10 years) is losing her lease & needs to find a more stable home for him (he was originally rescued from a deli). As you can see he's beautiful, & I have it on very good authority that he's very mellow & sweet. He's about 12 years old, healthy, & loves massages, broccoli, & to lie in the sun (inside). Thankfully he has not been declawed (which really means amputation, but that's another story), however he doesn't mess with anything, he only scratches his cardboard scratch pad.

Please call or email Prema at 646-797-3185 / premalkm@yahoo.com for more info or to meet Chat. Thank you for anything that you can do to help get the word out!

:. Kirtan with DAMARU & SHYAMA

I had the great pleasure & honor to co-lead kirtan with my old friend Damaru for several years before meeting Tommy Be, my music partner. Damaru & I shared many wonderful evenings together at Integral Yoga in NYC. He continues to lead kirtan each first Friday of the month at IYI, with a rotating selection of wonderful & devotional kirtan singers. Sign up for his newsletter to stay informed!

Fri 1 June 8pm
KIRTAN with DAMARU
& special guest
SHYAMA CHAPIN

At: Integral Yoga Institute
227 W 13 St (bet. 7/8 Avs) NYC | tel. 212.929.0586 >>www.iyiny.org

Enjoy this spirit-saturated evening of ECSTATIC KIRTAN and INTER- FAITH CHANTING! * doors close 8:30pm *

Damaru's next IYI Kirtan is on Fri July 6 with Sanchie & Nancy. Subscribe to Damaru's eNewsletter: email gepstudios@aol.com

Aside from being a gifted sculptor, puppet-maker, & performance artist, DAMARU is a deeply passionate spiritual musician. For Damaru, music is a path of devotional creativity that opens channels to the authentic self, the divine within. Singing - & playing his homemade ektaras, dholak, dhumbek, & other percussion instruments - Damaru is an all around intuitive artist. For many years now, he has been a very familiar percussionist in NYC's kirtan vommunity.

The damaru is the auspicious drum of Shiva, The Lord of Yoga, Supreme Consciousness, & Transformation. Chanting the sacred Sanskrit of 'The Name' as a path to the divine within, Damaru sings to the many beautiful names of our Cosmic Parents, to open himself & others to a purer experience of this indescribable Divine Self.

JULES SHYAMA CHAPIN started singing before she could talk & she hasn't stopped yet! After a NYC childhood & many years as a performing songwriter in New England & California, she stumbled into the practice of kirtan quite by grace, & is quite amazed & profoundly grateful to have done so.

Having spent much time in the past several years in her Guru's temples in N. India, as well as at the feet of several of the seasoned Western kirtan singers here in the U.S., & in her own personal chant practice, Shyama is now inviting friends known & unknown to come & sing the beautiful Names with her.

She has recently led kirtan at Open Secret Bookstore, San Rafael, CA; 4th St. Yoga, Berkeley, CA; Namaste Yoga, Oakland, CA; Dharma Yoga Ctr., NYC; Inspirit Common, Hadley, MA; and Kripalu, Lenox, MA.