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These words are from last year's August newsletter, but revised:
I like the depiction of August as "the Sunday of Summer."
Sunday is the end of the week, and August is the end of summer (almost).
Sunday is a time for slowing down, for rest and recreation, for getting away, and for being with family, friends and nature. It is also a time for worship. And so is August.
Merriam Webster's dictionary defines "august" as:
"inspiring reverence or admiration; of supreme dignity or grandeur."
August inspires reverence for the last precious remaining days of summer. You don't want to let these days slip by unsavored. They slip by because you are not savoring each moment. It's not time that moves too fast. It's your mind that moves too fast. Your mind jumps back into the past or forward to the future. Neither past nor future is real; only the present moment is. Revere the present moment as sacred.
Reverence for the present moment is a spiritual practice. All the world's religions teach us to make the most of every moment, for the opportunity each moment brings may not come again.
In some spiritual practices, being fully aware in the moment is known as "practicing the presence of God." See the presence of the Divine in all activity, whether it's washing dishes, being stuck in traffic or conversing with someone. God is present in every moment, in every activity and in every being. Don't let your mind take you away from that presence.
To paraphrase Simon & Garfunkel, "Slow down, your mind moves too fast. You got to make the summer last." Take a slow, deep breath. Settle inward. Find your center — your Self. Based in Self, you see more clearly. The "supreme dignity and grandeur" is revealed, inside and outside, in every moment. That's waking up. That's how you live through August with no regrets and a ton of gratitude.
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- Announcements & Reminders
- Focus Practice for this Month
- Yoga and the Science of Happiness, a presentation by Megan McDonough
- Swami Program Here in September
- This Month's Fundraiser
- Opacum Land Trust Bike Tour in September
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- Class schedule & Fees
- Testimonials
- Health Notices
- Birthdays
- Freebies and Other Offerings from the Ashram
- Wisdom to Live By
- Video of the Month
- Enlighten Up
- Problems Receiving Newsletters?
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Announcements and Reminders | |
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From August 13 to October 8, Tuesday evening Yoga + Meditation classes will move to Thursday evenings. I will be taking a teacher training on Tuesdays during that span. The class will move back to Tuesdays again. after October 8.
- Wednesday, September 11, 7:15 to 8:30: Yoga and Positive Psychology, a presentation given by Megan McDonough, founder of Wholebeing Institute and a dedicated and inspiring student of ours for over 30 years. More information included below.
- Saturday September 21: Swami Day at The Centered Place. Yoga, meditation, and more. Save the date. You can register now. See below.
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Focus Practice of the Month | |
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Reflect on What You Are Doing
If it isn't serving you, make a better choice
Yoga describes the mind as a shapeshifter. It morphs into the form of whatever it focuses on. So, whatever you focus on affects how you think. How you think affects how you feel and act.
Reflect on your daily activities, especially what you do for leisure. Is what you are doing serving you? Do you feel more alive? Is your heart pulsing with enthusiasm? Are you happy doing what you are doing?
Whatever you do is a choice you make. You have many choices. Are your choices conscious choices or unconscious? Are your choices coming from what Fred Rogers refers to as "a deep sense of who you are?" Are they bringing you closer to who you really are?
This reflection can be very illuminating. You step back and examine the choices you have made and compare them with the choices you have. You choose more consciously.
Suggestion: listen to a chant such as the Universal Prayer, one of the chants on Swami Nirmalananda's Honored Guru Gita CD. It's a beautiful, heart-opening prayer. One of the verses translates to:
"May all be happy. May all be healthy. May all see only auspicious sights. May no one have a share in sorrow."
Or listen to the Om Namah Shivaya chant on Swami's Meditation Deep & Easy CD.
How does listening to either chant feel different from how other activities make you feel?
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Yoga and the Science of Happiness
Presented by Megan McDonough
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Wednesday, September 11
7:15 to 8:30 pm
At our studio and also via Zoom
What is it you really want in life? No matter if it’s more money, recognition, a relationship, better health, or a new job, the reason you want it is because you want the happiness, peace, or contentment you think it will bring. We are always striving to live this human life with less suffering and more joy.
Join Megan McDonough for an evening about happiness—and how you can experience more of it. Hear what yoga says about happiness.
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Megan is the founder of the Wholebing Institute (based in Hardwick, MA), a leading organization in the field of positive psychology. She has also worked with Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in the Berkshires, the largest yoga retreat center in North America. She has been a dedicated student of ours for over 30 years. We are honored that she is giving this program pro-bono. | |
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To register, contact us. If you want to participate from home, we will provide a Zoom link. For a flyer (PDF) with more information, click the button below.
Suggested optional donation: $20.
Proceeds go to the charity of the month or to any other charity you specify.
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Swami Programs Here in September | |
Heads Up: Registration is Open Now
Half-Day Program with Swami Prajñananda
Saturday, September 21
9:00 - 1:00 pm
Enjoy three hours of yoga poses plus an hour of chanting and meditation with Swami Prajñananda. Deepen your appreciation of yoga and of You! Experience the bliss of your own Beingness, your own Divine Essence.
You will receive compassionate guidance and leave feeling profoundly nourished and whole. Receive personal attention in your yoga poses for maximum benefit. Receive meditation instruction and dive deeper within. This four hours will go fast, but the benefits will last forever.
Location: The Centered Place (onsite only; no Zoom)
Early Bird Rate (on or before 9/14): $111 and includes 1 free online Swami Sunday @ $20 value
Standard Rate: $121 and includes 1 free online Swami Sunday @ $20 value
Registration: Register in one of three ways: go online at https://svaroopa.org/half-day-program-240921-warren-ma, or email programs@svaroopayoga.org, or send us a check made out to Svaroopa Vidya Ashram and we will register you.
Lunch will be available. You are invited to bring something to share (vegetarian). If you are taking the following program as well, you will have plenty of time to have lunch, socialize, take a walk, rest, or whatever you need to do.
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Free Meditation Satsang
Saturday, September 21
3:30 - 5:00 pm
Experience deep meditation made easily accessible by one who has devoted her life to spirituality. Swami Prajñananda is a monk in the ancient Saraswati order, who shares her incredible knowledge in a personal way through her humour as well as her caring presence.
Her satsang program includes a discourse as well as group chanting and meditation. If you are new to this approach, she makes it easy for you. Her programs are always wonderfully deep, supportive and life changing. Allow her to show you the truth of the highest teachings, as she guides you to the experience of your own Divine Essence.
Location: The Centered Place (onsite only; no Zoom)
Registration: RSVP with us email or call
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A local non-profit foundation based in Amherst, MA, headed by a doctor based in Springfield. Their mission is to measurably improve the health of marginalized people living in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories via community-based intervention. | | | |
Healing Across the Divides brings groups together, when possible, to exchange ideas and work together. Healing Across the Divide provides funding and technical health advice to both Palestinian and Israeli communities; and fosters cooperation between groups, a critical difference in these challenging times. To donate through our Facebook fundraiser, click the Donate button below. Or contribute directly on the non-profit's website at https://healingdivides.org/. | |
W. Brookfield Sharing Cupboard Food Pantry | |
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Special note: Now that some government support programs implemented during the pandemic have been discontinued, there are many more families who are food insecure. They are very appreciative of the service the pantry provides.
We continue collecting donations of money, food and other items weekly for the West Brookfield Sharing Cupboard Food Pantry. Top priority includes non-perishable food such as regular sized (not large) canned proteins (meats or beans), dried beans, grains, peanut butter or other nut butters, powdered milk and cheese that does not have to be refrigerated, cookies, crackers, coffee, condiments (mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, etc.), canned or packaged soups. Organic is appreciated by many. Also, toilet paper and paper towels. You can also bring cleaning supplies, hand cleaners, and can openers. There is a box in our mudroom where you can drop off your contributions. Thank you in advance!
Volunteers are needed.
Sharing Cupboard Food Pantry
The First Congregational Church
36 North Main Street West Brookfield (508) 867-7078
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Benefit for Opacum Land Trust
Join Opacum Land Trust on Sunday, September 15th, 2024 for a spectacular scenic bike ride through several of our conservation properties in Brimfield, Sturbridge, Monson, and surrounding towns.
You can choose from a variety of routes for all ages and abilities on beautiful country roads (all paved and well marked). Snacks and rest stops will be available throughout your tour. Don’t miss Rapscallion Brewery’s after-party at Brimfield Winery complete with wine, craft beer, food (must purchase a ticket separately), live music, games, and more! There are non-alcoholic and vegetarian options.
You’re going to have a great day while supporting a great cause- proceeds from the ride will help Opacum Land Trust protect critical land, water, and wildlife, and provide outdoor spaces for everyone to enjoy.
The Centered Place is one of several businesses helping sponsor the event.Link
| The following video provides an overview of the tour: | | |
Class Schedule: Onsite and Online | All classes are offered onsite and online except Thursday mornings, which are onsite only. You can join the Experienced class Friday mornings if you know the basic poses and need little assistance. If you are new or need assistance, start with Thursday or Saturday mornings if you can, or sign up for a private introductory session. | |
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Mondays
5:30 to 7 pm
Continuing Svaroopa® Yoga
Tuesdays
9:00 to 10:30 am
Continuing Svaroopa® Yoga
6:30 to 8:30 pm
Svaroopa® Yoga+Meditation
(August 6th only, then Thursdays through October 8)
Wednesdays
5:00 to 6:30 pm
Continuing Svaroopa® Yoga
Thursdays (On-site only)
9 to 10:30 am
Continuing Svaroopa® Yoga
6:30 to 8:30 pm
Svaroopa® Yoga+Meditation (beginning August 13 through October 8, then back to Tuesday evenings again)
Fridays
10:00 to 11:30 am
Experienced Svaroopa® Yoga
Saturdays
10:00 to 11:30 am
Continuing Svaroopa® Yoga
To ensure a space in the studio or to obtain Zoom join information, please contact us.
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Class Fees
For in-studio and online class fees, visit our website. Pay by cash, check, Venmo (@PhilMilgrom-TCP), Zelle (philmilgrom@comcast.net) or PayPal (paypal.me/TheCenteredPlace, which charges a fee).
Discounts are available for retired seniors. Scholarships are available for students with financial need.
Gift certificates are also available. Give a loved one a gift that keeps giving.
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Testimonials
“Coming to The Centered Place and practicing under your guidance has been a wonderful blessing in my life. Many, many thanks!”
~ Jean C., Artist, Hardwick, Massachusetts
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Masks Are Optional and Available at the Studio
We have plenty of air circulation and air filters.
If you feel ill, have a cough or runny nose, or might have been exposed to someone who tested positive, it's best to stay home, even if you tested negative. Feel free to join classes via Zoom until you feel better.
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Scent-Free Studio
Help us accommodate those who are chemically sensitive to fragrances and other scented products. Thank you!
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"There are two great days in a person's life: the day we are born and the day we discover why." ~ William Barclay
We wish the following students and friends a very happy birthday. Those whose names are in bold are students who are currently attending classes. Wish we could embolden the rest of you!
Karen Dusty (1st), Terry Hall, Susan Rowden, Teresa Simpson (6th), Jennifer Rawn (10th), Celese Guay, Leila Ortiz Fausto (11th), Jennifer Para (12th), Elizabeth Musnicki (15th), Ginnie Reed (16th), Paul Opalinski (19th), Dessie Fazzuoli (22nd), Claudia Broschart (25th), Christine Holbrook (30th)
The best things about birthdays? You get to celebrate another year of being awesome.
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Freebies and Other Offerings from Swami Nirmalananda and the Ashram | |
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Free audio recordings of Swami Nirmalananda discourses are available online. Listen from home or during your travels. Listen
from your cell phone or PC at https://svaroopa.org/audio-recording
You can also join Swami Nirmalananda online in meditation every morning, by subscription.
Swami's latest book is titled Living Mysticism 2024, A Calendar Journal. There's a page for each day of the year, each with a unique inspiring quote on the top. The rest of the page is blank for you to write or draw about your meditations or your life, or both. Or you can use the daily quote as a jumping off point, to contemplate the teaching more deeply.
Another recently published book is Yoga: Embodied Spirituality, subtitled Navigating the Inner Quest for Wholeness. We have several signed copies for sale in the studio.
For more information, see https://svaroopa.org/books
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From Swami Nirmalananda
You know what freedom is? That your sense of self doesn’t come from your past, nor your imagined future, and not even from the circumstances of your life. Your sense of self is an inner sense, an inner knowing, a wordless Knowingness… of your own Beingness.
In the Knowingness of your own Beingness, you have fulfilled life’s highest purpose – liberation! Freedom!
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"There is a deep relationship between the inner revolution of prayer and the transformation of social structures and social consciousness. Our hope lies in the fact that meditation is going to change the society that we live in, just as it has changed us."
~ Richard Rohr, Franciscan priest and writer on spirituality; founder of Center for Action and Contemplation
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"As Maine writer E. B. White famously wrote to a man who said he had lost faith in humanity: “Hang on to your hat. Hang on to your hope. And wind the clock, for tomorrow is another day.”
~ From Heather Cox Richardson's newsletter of July 13, 2024:
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Ever wondered where the expression "Dog Days of Summer" came from? Here's the answer and a few dogs to help explain. | |
An Enlightening Thought:
If God can make a bug's butt light up, think of what He can do for you!
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Age
(These were sent to me by my beloved younger sister Marilyn.)
"Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what happened." (Stevie Wonder)
“Old people shouldn’t eat Health foods. They need all the preservatives they can get.” (Bob Hope)
"At age 20, we worry about what others think of us… at age 40, we don’t care what they think of us… at age 60, we discover they haven’t been thinking of us at all." (Ann Landers)
"We don’t grow older, we grow riper." (Pablo Picasso)
"I was thinking about how people seem to read the Bible a lot more as they get older, and then it dawned on me — they’re cramming for their final exam." (George Carlin)
"There's an advantage to being over 100: there's little peer pressure." ~ Anonymous
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An Englishman, a Scotsman, an Irishman, a Welshman, a Russian, a Latvian, a Turk, an Aussie, Two Kiwis, a German, and American, an Egyptian, a Mexican, a Spaniard, a Pole, a Lithuanian, a Romanian, a Dane, an Israeli, a Bulgarian, a Serb, a Greek, a Norwegian, an Ethiopian, a Nigerian and a Chilean walk into a nightclub.
The bouncer steps in front of the group. “Sorry, I can’t let you in without a Thai.”
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"I asked an elderly woman once what it was like to be old and to know that the majority of her life was now behind her.
She told me that she has been the same age her entire life. She said the voice inside her head had never aged. She has always just been the same girl. Her mother's daughter. She had always wondered when she would grow up and be an old woman.
She said she looked at her body age and her faculties dull but the person she is inside never got tired. She never aged. She never changed.
Remember, our spirits are eternal. Our souls are forever. The next time you encounter an elderly person, look at them and know they are still a child, just as you are still a child and children will always need love, attention and purpose." ~ Author unknown
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Be happy. Be free. Make the best choice: Be your Self!
Love and peace,
Phil and Nancy
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