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Menucha Spiritual Retreat
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2375
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Posted by
rachmanc
Tuesday, November 12, 2002
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l just got back from the Menucha retreat in Oregon. What an experience! I am astounded that it still packs such a wallop after all these years! This time I stayed in the 'Barn', which is not actually a barn, but a lower priced option where one may stay without having the food program. I did not want the food since I am fasting and have somewhat odd eating habits anyway. I shared the barn space with a group of young people, and was pleased for the opportunity to get to know them better. I am hopeful for our future! They are amazing, talented, energetic, and full of new ideas. We stayed awake together late into the night, and had long discussions about Subud life and other topics. My feeling is that they would like to participate more in Subud, other than just doing latihan, but are lacking the opportunities. I hope we can make space for that. I came to the conclusion that we older members need to be more active in inviting and encouraging them to participate in all aspects of the Subud association.
The latihans were strong and powerful, and there was much testing(receiving) about many subjects. The regional helpers seemed near burn-out at times, but kept rallying to the cause! Ruth Gullixson was back at the Subud Gift Shop, and did a superhuman job,working all hours of the night, and bringing in a good bit of cash to the artists and to Subud. Thanks, Ruth! Sebastion Tedrow and his crew did a great job making the early Ramadan breakfast at 3:00 A.M. It was quite a sight to see all the fasting people drifting in to the 'Barn' from the dark corners of Menucha around four in the morning!
The entertainment was great as usual, and the dancing afterwards allowed an emotional outlet for the more serious work that was done in the various workshops. There were many workshops that I missed,but the ones I attended were harmonious, and effective. The one on 'Fear' was quite meaningful, and most everyone felt something positive was gained in attending it. Another workshop that was very significant to me was called 'Growing Subud', and related to trying to make Subud more accessible and open to new people. There were ideas about how to do that, and also the parallel to that idea, which is how to make new people who are already opened feel welcome, included, and part of the group. Some of the ideas along this line were to make the applicant process more open and inclusive, having welcoming meetings with the whole group (rather than just helpers) so new people can have a broader base of members to connect with, allowing young people to talk with applicants along with the helpers (especially with young applicants), and in general making the whole process more inclusive and fun. These may seem like radical ideas, but most of this was in effect when I was a new person in Subud, in addition to sitting outside the latihan during the applicant period! By the time I was opened, I was fully integrated into the Subud group life, and knew members who had become close friends. We need to again make that a part of our Subud experience. Some of the ideas for making Subud more accessible were to have open meetings for the general public, advertising those meetings in newspapers and fliers, adding Subud web sites as links to Subud enterprise web sites (and vise-versa), and even adding Subud web sites to the signature function on our emails! Can you imagine what that would do to make Subud known to our relatives, friends, and acquaintances?I think it would be great if there were a Subud Enterprise page on most Subud web sites, and if those enterprises in return had Subud web sites as a link on their sites, and if that was not appropriate for some reason, at least having a Susila Dharma web site as a link.
Many people were very concerned about the world situation, and quite often the testing and workshops centered around that issue.Our material world is in a state of near chaos. War and all the horror that goes with that loomed large in the background of the meetings. Some of us have received that if more people in the world were actively receiving the latihan, it would have
a tremendous effect in cooling the situation and bringing about a state of peace. I felt strongly that I needed to do what I can to make that a reality. At the closing circle, all who were there held hands and prayed for peace, and then sang a verse of 'Amazing Grace'. It was a wonderful moment, and as I left for home I was feeling hopeful for Subud, and for the world!
Rachman Cantrell
Subud Seattle - Eastside
http://www.tias.com/stores/bothellj/
http://subudseattle.org/
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Re: Menucha Spiritual Retreat
(Score: 1)
by BriannaH on Dec 19, 2002 - 07:45 PM
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Thank you for sharing your experience. It gives me hope.
Warm regards,
Brianna
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