Musings from the Midwest

Transcription

1 Return to: Lucian Parshall 1117 Thomas L. Pry. W. Lansing, MI To: Musings from the Midwest The Subud Midwest Newsletter July Olaf (Regional Helper) & Margaret (MW Chairwoman) Doing the two step at the National Congress Inside... Midwest Regional Congress - Report National Congress - Reports Bapak talk from second Pewarta and a lot more

2 Begin News, News, News - We have soooo much news that an extra page was added to this issue. The membership elected Evan Padilla our new national chair (Evan used to live in the Detriot area) and Lucien McFaddan and Melanie Branchflower as co-vice chairs. They have three year terms which will bring the terms of office in SubudUSA in sync with Subud Canada. It will also assure that a seasoned chair represents us at the World Congress in Editor from our Midwest Chair Just a note to thank you for the opportunity to serve as chairperson of our region. I have grown up in Subud (my parents are Joe and Rochana Koach formerly from Subud Chicago). After spending several years living abroad and working in charitable projects, I returned to the U.S. last summer to go to graduate school with my mom - Rochana in Detroit. I went to our wonderful regional congress in the Chicago area last Memorial Day weekend and came home with the unexpected commission to serve as your chairperson. So far I have enjoyed serving our region tremendously. My first task as your new chairperson was to gather delegates to attend our National Congress over the fourth of July in Boston. Nine volunteers came forward to serve as delegates of our region including Paul Pilet (Chicago), Lydia Maurey (Indianapolis), Marianne Feldman (Twin Cities), Matthew Broadnax (Bloomington), Jerry Huhn (Cincinnati), Olaf Bowman (Detroit/Ann Arbor), Rochana Koach, Kim Johnson and Rochana McCormack (delegates at large). The delegates did a fine job and as a result, the work of the congress proceeded very smoothly. At many of the centers the delegates reported on the proceedings and their experiences of the national congress. For example, Olaf Bowman, was at the Chicago meeting when delegate Paul Pilet gave a very good and detailed account of the congress and delegate sessions. I am proud to announce that we were the only region in Subud USA who had 100% delegate representation! We may be small, but we are dedicated and on the ball! I am deeply grateful to God for the opportunity to serve our Subud community. As I take on a Subud job, I can feel the guidance of God more clearly in my latihan and life. Thank you so very much for the blessings you have shared with me in your commitment to Subud in our small (demographically speaking) and precious region. Sincerely, Margaret Koach 2 more Latihan Ibu Rahaju has requested that Subud members add one more latihan per week due to the precarious state of our world at this time. If you have been doing, for example, two latihans a week - consider adding a third. In addition to Ibu Rahayu s advice, at the regional congress the members tested on the importance of a day set aside for a latihan for the region especially to overcome isolation. The regional helpers suggest that we join in this latihan any time on Sunday and to state our intention before beginning that this latihan is a 'regional latihan' Some groups already meet on Sunday, and through the experience of this additional time for worship, a renewed harmony and resolution may prevail. Finish 11 National Helpers Here's a date to put on your calendar: August 3-17, At the recently concluded WSC meeting in Cilandak, various sites for the next World Congress were discussed and tested on (Palm Springs, Spokane, Montana and LosAngeles). After watching an excellent presentation of videos and overheads by Doug Card (vice chair for congress planning) the IHs received that Spokane would be the best choice for the congress. The planning committee has already began its work and has secured leaders for each subcommittee (communication, registration, member services, finance and program). Each subcommittee leader will be searching for volunteers to assist them. Plan to be their and contribute. Several months ago Subud Mexico was approached to join the other two countries (USA and Canada) in Zone 7. It was announced at the National Congress, by their national chair, that they have accepted our offer. Zone 7 now consists of all three countries in North America. Editor

3 Treasurer Report We thank Olaf Bowman, who has been acting as our temporary treasurer for the past year. Olaf will continue to serve as our new Regional Helper. He was confirmed by the national helpers in Boston. Fortunately, we do have a new treasurer, Jerry Huhn from Subud Cincinatti. You can send your contributions for Subud Midwest to Jerry (606/ ) at his address: P.O. Box Ft. Mitchell KY Thank you for your contributions. Because of your generosity, this month we were able to partially fund a few of the Midwest delegates who represented us at the National Congress. help wanted Feeling a little isolated in America s Subud heartland? Wish you were more connected to what s going on in the larger Subud world? Why not volunteer to be a representative for your center and/ or the Midwest Region for one of the Subud Wings? As a regional or center representative, you would serve as a liaison to the national chairpersons of the Subud Wings: SD (Susila Dharmacharitable projects) or SICA (Subud International Cultural Association-culture and the arts). Amanda and Sofya Rodgers have already volunteered to serve as regional representatives for our Subud Youth Association (SYA) which coordinates activities and communication among young people. If you have a particular interest in charity, culture, enterprises or youth please call Margaret for more information on how you can support the growth of Subud s efforts in these areas. What s that? Olaf and Jerry passing the books The National Congress Delegates brought home with them a newly designed information packet for prospective applicants to Subud. The packet contains some concise and informative definitions of Subud and the latihan as well as a talk to prospective applicants by Bapak. If you have a friend that you would like to introduce to Subud ask your congress delegate for a copy of this packet or call Margaret at 313/ to request a copy to be mailed to you. 10 around the region Subud Midwest is happy to announce the arrival of a new regional member in Bismark, North Dakota. Elisa Sunflower is moving to our neighborhood from Chico, California and can be reached at her new phone # 701/ Welcome Elisa! Subud Twin Cities has established the second Sunday of each month for latihan open to everyone from the midwest region and beyond. Regional members from Iowa, North Dakota, Wisconsin and Winnipeg, Canada will be coming to the Twin Cities to join in this monthly gathering. Call Reynold or Simone Felman at 612/ if you would like to join in for one of these Super Second Sundays! Congratulations to Myra Goodrich and Myra Margolin who both graduated from high school in June. Congratulations to Marianne Feldman, Chairperson of Subud Twin Cities on the occasion of her graduation. Marianne graduated cum laude from the University of Minnesota specializing in English literature. She will be moving to the Boston area and we wish her all the very best. Spontaneous gatherings happened all over the region in the month of July. Subud Twin Cities hosted visitors from North Dakota and Wisconsin. Subud Indianapolis hosted a spontaneous "mother daughter" reunion welcoming home Liliana Penaherra from Ecuador, mother of Megan Penaherra of Cleveland; Halimah Brugger from Indonesia, daughter of Lydia Maurey of Indianapolis; and Hamidah Dang from San Francisco, daughter of Rohana McCormick. Subud Detroit-Ann Arbor also held a small dewan-committee meeting gathering at Olaf Bowman's house to welcome our new committee treasurer Jerry Huhn from Subud Cincinatti. Also in July, regional helpers Rohana Broadnax and Rochana Koach joined the Subud St. Louis women's group to attend the opening of St. Louis' newest member: Hiroko Hasegawa. Welcome Hiroko! 3 Evan Padilla New National Chairperson

4 Midwest Congress Report With Subud members coming from as far away as St. Louis, Iowa City and a Canadian brother joining us from Winnipeg. Subud Midwest had a delightful congress over Memorial Day Weekend at Seaton Center, a Catholic boarding school and retreat center conveniently located just south of Chicago in South Holland. Forty three members turned out for this wonderful extended weekend filled with latihan, testing, entertainment, singing, good conversation and food, video of Bapak as well as the selection and testing of our regional committee. Some of the highlights of our weekend included group testing facilitated by our regional and national helpers, including general awareness questions and some special questions such as: How was my latihan when I was opened and how is my latihan now? How would God have me do my latihan? How is my latihan when I am truly surrendered to God? How is it when I do latihan on my own? as part of a group? How is it when God allows me to do a job for Subud? How do I contribute to the growth of Subud? 4 Margaret Koach New Midwest Chairwoman Entertainment night had us all enthralled with group songs, jokes and poetry, and an old fashioned Chinese auction which raised $47 for Subud Midwest! We have some beautiful voices, magical musicians, profound poets and hilarious comedians among us! Our youngest performer was Kara (13 year old), daughter of Kay Baumgarten, who came all the way from AuClaire, Wisconsin and graced us with her beautiful voice. Several more young people joined us for the weekend including, Levi and Ian Gibbs and Hilary Schurwanz. Youth and adults watched videos of Bapak, and shot some hoops once the gym was opened. Quite a few of us stayed up late into the night to see Forrest Gump, just one more time. Margaret Koach from Detroit and Amanda Rodgers from Bloomington, both second generation Subud members, tested and which have become rooted in our feelings, will be corrected and cleansed. In this way, it is possible for us to limit the influence of material forces, so that they will not constitute a hindrance any more in the development or our soul or spirit. As you already know, when our soul develops, that is to say when it commands our entire inner-feelings its development will bring to us a conviction about the existence of our life in the hereafter. The fact is that the latihans which we have received or practiced really constitute a lead given to us by the Great Force, God Almighty, towards perfection of our body and soul, and later when our body or course part stops serving us in this life, then our soul will still be able to continue to fulfil its duty in eternity or in the hereafter. We have experienced in our latihans, which we all receive, indications or marks of all this, such as movements, forces in our latihan, or shouting, weeping, talking, etc. etc. all kinds of actions which are ordinary actions and have been so since our childhood. This is a proof that there are movements or actions resulting from influences of heart and mind and that there are other activities which result from the soul. Therefore, we can distinguish the actions which result form influences of heart and mind from those influenced by our soul. Thus finally we can sense the difference between the two and further on we can limit the influences of matter so that it ceases to be a hindrance in the development of our soul. This is a result of the latihans kedjiwaan, which we have received, although material forces remain in us, their nature or functions are no more and no less, but an accompaniment, a link in our life. Accompaniment or link means that matter follows our will and is not master of its own. This is in accordance with its life s nature and together with heart and mind as its soul, so to speak, it has been created our servant, so that with it, we in our life in this world can live with perfection and in happiness. From Pewarta Kedjiwaan Subud Vol. II, No. 1-2 Jan., Feb Martin Almanzan (NH) & Hannah Parshall (RH) Signing up members for personal testing at the NatCong 9

5 acts are in order to get as big a profit as possible from the people he is helping. Such is the way heart and mind operate in man, influenced by the power of matter, so that as long as man still wants to live in this world, the relationship between matter and man cannot be broken off. It is possible for man to weaken the influence of matter over him by living a simple life, but the most he can achieve is a weakening or decreasing of the relationship, but the relationship itself will still be there. And now, because present day life has advanced so much since the days of the simple life of long ago, if man tries again to live the simple life of long ago, he will only create strain in his present way of life, which actually needs to go forward. It is the same with the development of matter in the form of tools to search for food. In the beginning man used his hands to gather food, later by instinct he used hard and solid matter such as stone. Further on man created tools made of iron or steel and other material to satisfy his needs of life. At the start, man wanted only to find a means of getting the food in a more perfect manner and in an easier way. But in the process of time, man had come to the idea to use matter not only as tools or accessories in life in order to get his food, but instead he made matter into instruments destructive for the peace and safety of his own life. To be brief, the more progress man makes in acquiring all the necessities or needs of life, the closer will be his relationship with matter, so much so that the influence of matter becomes a condition of the heart and mind and slowly but surely it will be absorbed in man s feelings. No wonder, therefore, that a person who has lost his money and belongings feels as if half his soul has parted from him and when he is not strong in heart, he will lose more than half his soul. And there are even people when a small part of their riches has been taken away to help the poor, feel so deeply in trouble that it is as if a part of their strength of life is withering away. These are the explanations of the causes and effects of the nature of matter, which seemingly has no strength or does not constitute a force, but does influence our life. But despite all this, we are convinced that in our life, besides the feelings of heart and mind we are provided with something of which now we can only say that it is an ability, a power to shut or stop the influences of the heart and mind and to arouse our soul or spirit into such great activity that it transcends all our other feelings. It is this of which we say that it gives a lead to our soul or spirit and purifies our feelings. We are convinced of it, we know how it works, how faults, mistakes and moral turpitude, villainy, improbity, etc. 8 were most willing and capable of serving as our MW Chairwoman and Vice Chairwoman/Youth Coordinator. A memorable time was had by all this past memorial weekend, and many of us plan to join together again in September, near Grand Rapids, Michigan (Camp T) over the Labor Day Weekend. We will see you there. Bring your latihan slippers as this will be a kedjiwaan gathering (i.e. lots of fun!). from the second Pewarta Continuation of Bapak s clarification Life Powers and Forces and Their Influences on Human Life On the basis of experiences which we have gathered during spiritual latihans in Subud, it can be stated that the life powers which possess several strengths or forces in our life are connected one to the other, forming a complete framework which we need for the full accomplishment of our life. What we have received so far, shows the reality that these forces are extremely useful in our life, because the coming and going one after the other of these powers enables us to feel the difference between them. As you already know, we have two ends or purposes in our life, one of this world and the other in the hereafter, when we have left this world. For the fulfillment of our life in this world, we have been created with a body and senses, with heart and mind. For the end in the hereafter when we have left this world, we are with something indescribable, with something of which can only be said: continence, chastity, purity in heart, pure feelings, feelings not influenced by the heart (passions) or mind. For this reason, we only feel in the latihan something beyond expectation, if and when our inner-feelings at that moment have become feelings not influenced by heart (passions) or mind (thoughts). To be clear: although our sense of feeling is one property, in reality it has two capacities of receiving feelings, one to receive all feelings influenced or caused by the heart (passions) and mind and another one which enables us to receive contact with the Life Force which contains all life-forces. With the feelings influenced or caused by the heart and mind, we can feel everything existing in this world, and we can use these for our worldly needs. This is what we have experienced and practiced since childhood, and for that reason, having become an adult, the way we feel, think of, 5

6 ponder, consider or imagine something will not be different from that which is influenced or filled by heart (passions) or mind. And if we with these feelings try to think of or imagine our life after death, we will see it again as our life in this world. Therefore, we use our feelings which are influenced by heart and mind, only to experience, to feel and to think of worldly problems, while for spiritual matters and the life in the hereafter we have just to receive what will come and happen to us, uninfluenced by heart or mind. With these latter feelings, we will recognize how useful and necessary the influences of life-powers are in our life. To render the state and the influences of the life-powers in our life more comprehensible, I will give some further explanations. Let us take matter first: although matter seems not to be alive, to be inanimate, such as plants with the capacity of growing, in reality they are alive also, life is in them and they are enveloped by elements of life. In the general set up of life, matter occupies an inferior place, therefore in man s view, matter is just a tool and man can change its quality and matter can be used according to man s will. Stone or iron can be changed in such a way that it really conforms to man s ideas and wishes. Its character is therefore that of a really good servant or an aid to man. And by using matter as a tool, man can do his work with perfection. The close relationship between man and matter can be compared with that of a bull and his horns or with that of a tiger and its claws. Therefore, in the relationship between man and matter, although the two occupy different places or positions in the general set up of life, it is very difficult to separate or disconnect one from the other. For example, a man working, let us say, with his whole body and mind in his office without the use or help of tools such as pencils or pens, paper, etc., will not be able to do his work with perfection. Similarly, the worker in the factory, although using practically all parts of his body, without tools will not be able to do his job. These simple examples already show how important matter is in man s life. It is therefore impossible for man easily to abandon matter, which has become one of his accompanying tools. Man can also get his food by using only his hands and other parts of his body, but then he has to live naked, he has to go back to nature, in the wilderness which can provide him with edible fruits. In such a way, he will not be influenced so much by matter, but do not forget that it will stop his desires and mental activities, it will cause a mental oblivion so that he will be living against the laws of nature, the laws of man s nature as a thinking animal with a will and character. 6 Really, it is difficult if you think of it, if one really wants to live in this world beyond the influences of matter, one has to live as a being, without mental activities, will and character, that means as an animal; on the other hand, if we live an ordinary life, as a thinking being with a will and a character, inevitably we attract the power or influences of matter to our desires and thinking. Another example is the influence or power of matter in the form of clothes or jewelry, it is created by man s desires and thinking and it is strongly tied up with our desires and thoughts. It is evident when a person behaves normally before he possesses these things, but as soon as he or she possesses these and particularly when the jewelry is really of great value and of great beauty, he or she will change their simple behavior, they will become proud, conceited and arrogant. Such will be the case of matter in the form of a house, furniture or means of transport or a weapon. With matter in the form of a house, or furniture, because a family need these things, it is only natural that the desires and thoughts should be filled with them, one begins to desire to have these things and the possession of them will make one happy and proud. Because mater in the form of transport can bring man to his place of work with comfort and speed, it also makes man think of it and desire to have it, and at the end when he has got it he will be glad and satisfied. In the case of matter in the form of weapons, in the possession of them man will feel himself strong in self-defence. Still more, if the weapon has supernatural powers or extra power and if he is not firm in his mind and heart (about the use of this weapon), influenced by the weapon he will become impertinent or arrogant and wrathful or quick tempered, endangering his own way of life. Apparently, the relationship between man and matter has become very close and linked together, because man s frame or embodiment is made of matter also, and his heart and mind are there to enable him to create for himself tools to satisfy his need in life. For instance, when man did not yet know of matter in the form of cloth and of matter in the form of tools to make something or to search for food, man had already the instinct or innate impulse to use something to cover his sex organs. Later compelled by conditions of life, ideas sprang up in his mind to invent or to make things to cover not only the sex organs, but his whole body, and now he creates clothes, shapely and colorful. But although man has made things in quantities far beyond his needs already, he is still unsatisfied, he still thinks of making more and more, far beyond his own needs. It is possible that he does so to help others who are not yet able to make things they need, but in fact such 7

7 Midwest Subud Gathering Labor Day Weekend (Saturday till Monday) Camp T Plan to arrive at the Camp by 2:00p on Saturday. We will take a count of the number of attendees, set the food menu, collect money and go into town to buy food. If you cannot make it by 2:00p than call Lucian (517/ ) so we can add you to the food count. You will need to bring sleeping bags, toiletries, towels, etc. The main cabin has a mens and a ladies shower. The secondary cabin only has one bathroom. We sleep on bunk beds, first come first serve. There is lots of room for tent camping. Camp T has been used all summer, so the trails are in good shape, the paddle and sail boats are all working, good fishing and relaxation. Midwest Subud Gathering Labor Day Weekend (Saturday till Monday) Camp T Plan to arrive at the Camp by 2:00p on Saturday. We will take a count of the number of attendees, set the food menu, collect money and go into town to buy food. If you cannot make it by 2:00p than call Lucian (517/ ) so we can add you to the food count. You will need to bring sleeping bags, toiletries, towels, etc. The main cabin has a mens and a ladies shower. The secondary cabin only has one bathroom. We sleep on bunk beds, first come first serve. There is lots of room for tent camping. Camp T has been used all summer, so the trails are in good shape, the paddle and sail boats are all working, good fishing and relaxation. M-57 M-57 M-44 Camp Tuhsmeheta M-44 Camp Tuhsmeheta North Not to Scale North Not to Scale M-21 M-21 Grand Rapids I-96 Lansing Grand Rapids I-96 Lansing I-196 exit I-69 I-196 exit I-69 Directions for Finding Camp Tuhsmeheta Lincoln Lake Avenue Travel on I-96 to the Exit (it's near Grand Rapids Michigan). Turn North and travel 21 miles to the Camp entrance, turn right into the Camp. (Do not follow M-50, M-21 or M-91 as you leave the road name changes to Lincoln Lake Ave.) If you cross M-57 (at the blinking light) you've gone too far north. Directions for Finding Camp Tuhsmeheta Lincoln Lake Avenue Travel on I-96 to the Exit (it's near Grand Rapids Michigan). Turn North and travel 21 miles to the Camp entrance, turn right into the Camp. (Do not follow M-50, M-21 or M-91 as you leave the road name changes to Lincoln Lake Ave.) If you cross M-57 (at the blinking light) you've gone too far north.