SUBUDVOICE. Five finger exercise. In this issue F R E E & O N L I N E. Number 4 May 2011

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1 In this issue Five Finger Exercise... Luke Penseney WSA Chair... P1-3 Christchurch Earthquake... Liliana MacDonald... P3 Japanese Tsunami... First hand reports... P4-5 It all comes back to the latihan... WSA Exec Team P6 ADI PURI web site... P7 A Dream Realised... Benjamin Drazen CD... P7 WSA and the World... Osanna Vaughn... P8 SUBUDVOICE F R E E & O N L I N E Promise.. Hamish Baker... P10 Wisma Subud International Gathering... P10 Favourite Photo Rosanne Hille... P11 Change is Grace Wilbert Verhayen... P12 Letters to the editor... P15 A Family's Wish Fulfilled... P16 WSA Finances... P19 Call for MSF Trustees... P19 WSA visit to Puebla... P20 Thanks to Rashid Butte... P20 Youth Events Update... P21 Information About Subud... P21 Sponsoring Subud Voice... P21 The passing of Murray Clapham... P22 Changes at Subud Voice... P23 Advertisements... P24/25 SUBUD VOICE ONLINE CONTACT DETAILS: editor@subudvoice.net Number 4 May 2011 Luke Penseney, Chair of the World Subud Association Five finger exercise Luke Penseney, Chairman of the World Subud Association (WSA), writes... Following the Christchurch World Congress, I was able to make a three-day visit to Kalimantan. When I returned, a Subud member asked me, Well, what did you learn in Rungan Sari? Without thinking, I stuck out my hand, with the five fingers splayed. I realised that what I was trying to convey was that in Kalimantan there are a number of excellent projects, and they all come from the same root, the same wrist and arm. Those fingers are gradually coming closer together.. At this point, in my role as the WSA chair, I am naturally focused on the WSC (World Subud Council) meeting that will happen in Rungan Sari in June, and once again the image of five fingers has come to my mind. There seem to me to be perhaps five main issues that we are focusing on. At the first post-congress WSC meeting that we held in England in 2010, it seemed that we had issues that we had to deal with. We made a good start then in building on the inheritance we had received from the previous WSC. This time, we can look more deeply into some areas arising out of the commitments and promises we made at World Congress. Archives. It is extremely important that we revisit and rejuvenate this area. We have a team(s) headed by Amalijah Thompson DISCLAIMER NOTICE The opinions expressed in the various articles are the sole responsibility of their authors and cannot be seen as representing the opinion of the World Subud Association or of Subud Voice. The name Subud and the Seven Circles Symbol are registered marks of the World Subud Association.

2 We don't want a hierarchical structure, but a flexible, inclusive network. The centre of which is in each one of us which is looking into developing an even more professional approach and also the best environmental and operational conditions for the storage and development of the archives. This is our heritage, our patrimony, especially what has come down to us from Bapak in terms of his talks, and writings. So we must ensure that the archives are cared for in the best and safest way. An aspect of this will be special fundraising for a specific ongoing Archive fund in the period up to We have budgeted US$180,000 in the period for Archives with a large component to be raised from fundraising, which in terms of finance makes this the largest single project before us. Communications. In recent years communications within Subud particularly via and Internet has vastly improved over what it was before. We want to carry this further, both communications within Subud and communications with the outside world. This is very much a "work in progress" and has not only to do with what we say about ourselves, but also what we actually do. In order to get more effective communications I believe that we need to take a holistic approach. So the challenge here is not only more and better communication but also the integration of our communication efforts. We need to build on what we have in publications, audio-visual media. Also encouraging the evolution of the External Relations/WSA Forum groups encouraging the use of widespread web-based and audio-visual inputs, including new media and social networking. This could include sponsoring A Day in the Life of multi-media perspective on what we are doing in the world... Enterprises and International Projects. In recent talks, Ibu Rahayu has placed a great deal of emphasis on the need to reawaken the enterprise vision: to put aside past hurts and traumas and focus with new energy on this aspect of Subud life. It is clear, as Bapak always said, that we need enterprises to help fund the work of the Subud organization in all its many aspects. To put into practise what we have received. Related to this is the need to take care of our major international centres, particularly Rungan Sari, Wisma Subud and Amanecer. It is not the wish of WSA to meddle with these projects, or to intrude, but to make sure that everyone knows we are there for support. We have set up a new International Projects & Centres team to work with SESI to provide support where needed. After Congress we formed a WSA Subud Communities team headed by Osanna Vaughn to look into the realities of Subud Community, and obviously the major international centres are an important part of this. WSA has already in 2011 supported initiatives within Amanacer, Wisma Subud and the Kalimantan mining shareholders group. Governance. We need to continue with the improvement we have committed to in terms of the way that we manage ourselves. At Congress, this was one of the promises that I made on behalf of the WSC. We face an international environment with new demands and standards of transparency and accountability that we must be prepared to meet and where possible exceed. None of us want the Subud organisation to grow for its own sake. But there is much that we want to do, and in order to complete this task we must manage ourselves in the very best possible way. Of course, we don't want a hierarchical pyramid-type structure, but a flexible, inclusive network of activities. Finance & Fundraising. Related to this, is the need to improve our fundraising to enlarge the cake that we need to draw on. Our previous approach might be compared to a church which sends out donation envelopes with occasional bursts of funding from enterprises/major donors. This will no longer suffice. As Bapak always said, enterprise will be the way to fund the Subud organization. We now have a new expanded financial team in place and new bank accounts, the details of which are provided elsewhere in this issue of Subud Voice. We are also going to set up a special international coordinated fund raising team including professional fundraisers from within Subud. This would not preclude new international enterprises but in effect become part of these initiatives. There is so much we need to do and we have to increase the money available to us. Well, these are five main areas of interest we will be working on ahead of and at the June WSC meeting. Of course, there is also much detail to be considered and agenda and focus will develop in the course of the meeting. I very much feel that although Bapak passed away 24 years ago, we still report to him. Bapak bequeathed his mandate in this world to the Subud World Congress and of course between Congresses, it is the WSC which carries that responsibility. SUBUD VOICE PAGE 2 MAY 2011

3 At the time of the meeting, we will be celebrating Bapak's 110th birthday and it is a great opportunity for us to check to what extent we are fulfilling Bapak's vision. This is a vision which evolved in his own lifetime and which will continue to evolve with the changing circumstances of the world. But I believe that the essence of that vision is what must always be our inspiration and our measurement of how well we are doing. As always, we have invited Ibu Rahayu to attend the World Subud Council meeting. Increasingly, we face a world which is changing faster and more dramatically than ever before. I'm sure that the recent events including earthquakes in Christchurch and Japan and the turmoil in N.Africa and the Middle East have called us all to re-examine our commitment to Subud in a time when crises and dramatic events seem to be occurring with more and more frequency. We are apparently on the cusp of great change in the world, with huge forces at work under God s power. We must do everything in our power to have the best managed and most responsive, creative and inspired organization supporting the work of Subud that we possibly can. Love and blessings to you all. Christchurch earthquake There is much Liliana MacDonald writes an inspiring message from Christchurch... room for I did one of those testings one does now and then for oneself, yesterday, and asked what I should be feeling about being alive in change in the this world at this time. (Since I ve been finding the whole thing difficult). world and in I felt I was standing in front of a huge sunrise. And I received that we ourselves (latihan oriented people) were here to bear witness to God's power and his working in the world, and that we had ringside seats to watch from, and that ringside seats were expensive, so count ourselves lucky! Then I asked what is it in me that keeps me from feeling glad to be here? It was feeling the world falling on my head like buildings in an earthquake and people crying. Then I asked what to do about that and received to be calm and let the rain fall on me, not to keep trying to put on a raincoat, to let myself get wet if need be. That the rain is a blessing too, this whole human experience is a blessing. And for me to just carry on and take care of my family, but if something happened and I couldn t take care of them that didn't mean I'd failed. I know I do that and feel fear because I can sense the limits to my own strength. And I can t do everything that, as a wife and mother, I would like to be able to do! I guess we are all in transition. Things are changing. The paper today said that the planet has shifted enough off its axis since the Japan quake that it is spinning faster. Therefore, each day is a fraction shorter! How much more of a demo do we need for a picture that things do not stay the same!!! Much as we would like them to, the fact is they are changing all the time. The impact of the tsunami on the north-east coast of Japan on March 11 And if we really looked into ourselves, we would admit there is much room for change. In the world and in ourselves. SUBUD VOICE PAGE 3 MAY 2011

4 Japanese tsunami Arisa Ooi, Vice Committee Councillor of Subud Japan, writes that no Subud members had serious trouble... First of all, we would like to express our thanks for your prayers, warm comments and messages, and concern for us all and the Japanese people. Thanks to God, no Subud members had serious trouble. But as a nation, we are facing the most difficult time that we have ever experienced in recent years. Each one of us living far away from the epicenter is having some inconvenience in daily life, depending on the different conditions such as place, work, life style and so on. When the earthquake struck, I was working in a clinic in the Tokyo area, and we had to go out of the building. The ground, several hundred meters away from the place, was sort of floating back and forth, in a way that I had never experienced even in this earthquake prone country. Many people couldn t get home as most trains stopped running. I came home the next day and found my room covered with hundreds of books and scattered piles of papers and fallen bookcases. I found that the water supply had stopped, and I could not buy any food in the small store, but finally I managed to get two bottles of drinking water after waiting 30 minutes in a queue. The next day, we had a big traffic jam and some people had to stay somewhere on the way. The most seriously affected are the casualties who were in the 200~300 km seaside area attacked by both the earthquake and the tsunami, and also those people who were living near a nuclear power plant. As Ichiro Nakamura, our Susila Dharma Chair, reported, all Subud members, including two families living near the epicenters, are safe, in spite of material damages..alhamdulillah.alhamdulillah. However, we, also, are very shocked as we learn the effects of this disaster as reported by the media. We have not yet fully discussed how we can support people in the devastated areas, as we are still in an uncertain situation. We hope we will be able to do something good for them, even though it may be just a small deed. Thank you again for your sincere prayers, we are very touched. No one was prepared for an earthquake of this magnitude For anyone interested in what is going on *right now*, NHK (the Japan Broadcasting Corporation, roughly equivalent to the BBC in England and PBS in America) has a live feed in English available at : SUBUD VOICE PAGE 4 MAY 2011

5 I feel almost guilty From Edward Wright... March 17th, Tokyo: I am personally so unaffected by the recent disasters here that I feel almost guilty admitting it, when so many around me are experiencing so much difficulty. On a personal note, I was living in the San Fernando Valley, in California, near the epicenter, when the magnitude 6.7 Northridge quake struck. It was unbelievably strong and did a great deal of damage. I hope never to experience such a thing again. This earthquake, however, was more than 100 times more powerful... utterly inconceivable to my mind. The magnitude of the quake is being attributed to a fault line about 500 km (300 miles) long slipping in at least three places simultaneously. Japan is a highly developed and earthquake-prone country which has an extensive infrastructure in place to deal with such disasters. That said, no one was prepared for an earthquake of this magnitude. (It was assumed that the largest earthquake likely to strike Japan was magnitude 8.0, 1/10th the power of this quake.) we are still in an uncertain situation... For people in most of the quake stricken areas the situation is bad. Supplies have in many cases not yet arrived. There are food, water, heating and clothing shortages with night time temperatures dropping below freezing. The main problem seems to be that many areas are isolated due to infrastructure damage, and The impact of the tsunami on the north-east coast of Japan on March 11 further there is a fuel (gasoline) shortage making it difficult for emergency and relief vehicles to reach the areas. It is an ongoing situation at this time, but it seems that progress is being made in bringing it under control. Although watching the news closely, I feel no sense of imminent danger. One additional note is that the prevailing winds are such that should there be any substantial release of radiation, it would be blown out to sea, rather than towards populated areas. Here in Tokyo, the earthquake was felt strongly, but there was very little damage and very few casualties. I would say the experience was roughly equivalent to what I felt in LA when we had a quake of around magnitude 5.0. On Friday, the day of the quake, all trains and subways stopped in Tokyo. Traffic was at a standstill. Taxis were unavailable, and the buses were jam-packed and not moving anyway. The cell network was also totally jammed and mobile phones were basically unusable. Land-lines were better, but still hit and miss. But by Saturday, many (if not most) of the trains were running again. Sunday, mobile phone service was partially restored. It seemed as if things were pretty much back to normal. In spite of the above, for me at least, life seems pretty normal. I have gas, power and water (and have experienced no interruptions. My area, considered to be "central Tokyo" has been exempted from the power blackouts, at least so far, as it is deemed critical to the national economy that business is not disrupted here.) Shops are open and operating as normal. I haven't had to go anywhere that I couldn't get to by bicycle, so the transportation situation has not affected me. Indeed, I have much to be grateful for. Note: Edward has been living in Japan nearly ten years and is now the assistant of Arisa Ooi, vice committee councillor for Subud Japan. SUBUD VOICE PAGE 5 MAY 2011

6 Five days after A report written by Japan s Chair, Dr. Masayuki Nagamine, five days after the mega-earthquake and ensuing Tsunami on Friday March 11. Even in the Chiba suburb, next to Tokyo, where he lives, the infrastructure is still disrupted... March 11th: I was working at a hospital when the earthquake occurred. It was the biggest quake I ever experienced. That evening, as the transport network was not working, I was stuck there overnight. In Urayasu-city, where I live, there are problems related to too much water in the soil, as a result of Friday s massive quake. We have seen unusual sights like partly swollen land or the settling of houses etc. My 10th-floor flat has turned into something like a jungle, littered with books and so on, my bookshelves having fallen. I can hardly walk in it. As the water supply has been cut off in our building, I have to spend time carrying water from another place, and can t even take a bath. I am also without a flushing toilet, of course. Further, as a result of the explosion of gas tanks in Chiba, the petrol shortage has become serious. On Tuesday, I got only ten litres of fuel after waiting in line for two hours. Due to shortage of power, TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company) has instituted blackouts. Following this, Tokyo and its surrounding suburbs, divided into five groups, are subject to rolling power cuts for periods of up to three hours. I m wondering how we can or could (I experienced it yesterday) manage to drive without accident, in heavy traffic jams, even though there are no traffic signals (due to power cuts) and no police officers to direct traffic at intersections. As train services have been also reduced as part of the power-saving efforts, it took me two and a half hours to reach my hospital instead of forty minutes in normal times. That is what I can tell you about my daily life, affected as it is by the earthquake and tsunami even in a city far away from the epicenter. I think that the situation in the directly stricken areas, as well as the ongoing nuclear crisis, is beyond anyone s imagination. The difficulty I m facing now is nothing comparing to what people in devastated areas have experienced. In this time of ordeal, I can t say what we can do to overcome this national crisis. But I believe that the most essential thing is that we, all Japanese, without complaining of our daily inconvenience, provide relief to the victims as much as possible and do our best to restore the regions severely damaged. For more information about Christchurch and Japan, first hand reports and how you can help, see articles in Subud Voice Extra on the home page It all comes back to the latihan The WSA Executive Team sends a message for all those working for Subud at all committee levels Whilst speaking about her own role and explaining how it had come about... and then about how the international helpers at the time after Bapak s passing had decided that Ibu would be called our Spiritual Advisor... the following came up in Ibu s talk in Semarang in March In fact at one time Bapak said...the one who will replace me will be congress, so whatever the International Subud Congress decides, when all the members come together, that is what will replace Bapak This does not mean WSC or the WSA Executive, but rather the whole WSA, all member countries as represented at World Congress, with the WSC and the executive simply carrying out the tasks in between... What a daunting responsibility, it means that whenever we are all Maya Korzybska, WSA Executive Vice-chair SUBUD VOICE PAGE 6 MAY 2011

7 together discussing things and making decisions we are replacing making Bapak... a space If that was Bapak s idea and intention then our responsibility is enormous and we have to fulfil our roles to our best capacity in a way for grace where we try to put aside our own personal ideas and agendas, even those which we believe in strongly and with the best intentions, by Opening a space for the grace to come in... Some people say that the latihan and the kejiwaan are not central enough to the work that we all do... but we need to remember that even nitty gritty details all in fact work towards our aims which are centred around the latihan... International Helper Travel, support to translation and publications of talks, support for buying or building spaces for latihan, website and paper communications, how to use our premises in ways that can on the one hand be safe creative spaces for the members, but also be outreaching towards those not in Subud. How we represent Subud to the world through our annual reports and our brochures, and our presence at international fora, how we support our members in distress or financial need as well as supporting the members need to express the latihan through their daily work and activities...even tedious details like copyright protection and name registration and protection of the Subud symbol...all these things can seem far removed from the latihan, but at the end of the day, they are in fact actually helping us to: Make the latihan available for those searching for it, make the spaces available for those already practising to be able to do the latihan in good conditions, help those of us already doing the latihan to better understand the process going on within us, as well as how to use it in our daily lives, protect the writings of Bapak and Ibu, so that the explanations will not be distorted... So in fact it does all come back to the latihan. All these things need to be taken care of and that is our role...as Gandalf said to Frodo, for the time that is allotted to us... ADI PURI web site In 2008, Bapak Muhammad Subuh's former home at Wisma Subud in Cilandak, Jakarta, was given a complete make-over. The result was ADI PURI - meaning a house that is beautiful -, a light-filled seminar and event centre, which has since been used for business presentations and meetings, weddings, concerts and other cultural events. Now a beautiful new website with plenty of background information and pictures has been created to promote ADI PURI. Please check it out at A dream realised A music project supported by SICA... For many years Subud members have been asking me, Do you have a record we can get? or When are you going to make a record, Benjamin? Well the time has come! And thanks to the incredible support of Subud members around the world and SICA, I am very happy to announce that my new recording will be available March 1st! This jazz record features myself on saxophone and some incredible New York musicians who have played the world over with some of the greatest names in jazz. Seven of the compositions are original and we included two standards from the great songbook. For those of you interested you can buy the CD at or download it on i-tunes. You can also visit my website for all up-to-date information at Each CD purchased puts me closer to a second record with my label, Positone Records. Again thank you all for making this dream of mine a reality after 30 years of playing the saxophone! Benjamin Drazen, Subud New York SUBUD VOICE PAGE 7 MAY 2011

8 WSA and the world Osanna Vaughn, former chairlady of WSA, writes about WSA interfacing with the world community... I was first led into the External Relations aspect of our Subud life when invited, as WSA chairlady, to attend the World Conference of Religions for Peace in Kyoto in This was not the first time a WSA chairperson had attended, but this time I spoke about it in advance with members, to get a sense of the interest. Apart from announcing my intention to attend about 5 months before the event, I organized working groups/listservers on the subject. I was surprised and delighted by the participation and interest. After I had attended the Kyoto event (along with about a dozen other Subud members, including a Zone Rep and an International Helper), I wrote a report which also received positive feed-back from many members around the world. Osanna Vaughn, former Chair of the World Subud Association When I was in Kyoto, I asked one of the event organizers why I had been invited, as Subud is not a religion. His response was, because we see a need to include more 'spiritually' focused associations ones that are not tied to one particular religion. As far as I could tell, the WSA was the only such association present at that time. Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela When asked to speak about Subud at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in 2009, I had no concern in doing so. About 200 Subud members were present among the 1500 or so people filling the pews. I cannot begin to express the feeling of 'appropriateness' (in the sense of place and time) of speaking openly there about Subud. I felt a strong sense of community among us all the Subud members, the pilgrims, the tourists, and the clergy (including bishops and priests from as far away as the Philippines and Argentina). The priest's sermon immediately afterwards, picked up on aspects of what I had read out about Subud. This was a beautiful moment. Even Subud members who had formerly been sceptical about our interface with the world were moved with an added sense of confidence to be more open about Subud themselves. After I wrote about it, I got much positive feed-back and requests for copies of what I had read out. During my whole term I frequently wrote open letters, and the theme of our presence in the world came up more than once. I received hundreds (no exaggeration) of replies and, in the whole 5 years, only one member ever expressed vehement opposition to our being involved in interfaith and intercultural events. Interestingly enough, in the videoed message Ibu Rahayu sent to the Thank You event soon afterwards. She also said it was quite right for us to participate in such and other international forums. In 2009, when I attended a meeting in Melbourne with the Coalition in support of a UN Decade for Peace and Understanding, I was amazed to meet friendly, open people, some of whom knew about Subud through working with Katherine Carré at UN NGO meetings in Geneva. It was a relief to be with non-subud people who were positively predisposed towards us and just as open to our input as to anyone else's. The same was evident in a follow up meeting in Geneva in The Parliament of World Religions The Parliament of World Religions was held in Melbourne just before World Congress. Around 20 Subud members attended, of which about 3 4 did not hold 'official' positions. The WSA (after discussion with the council and in collaboration with the GHFP) had submitted three themes for presentations one on Subud itself, one on education, and one on peace. The Parliament asked us to talk about Subud. Again, we informed the membership in advance of all this, and got much support and interest. Members, from various countries, including France, USA, Israel, New Zealand and of course Australia were inspired to participate. Apart from the enormous benefit personally felt of being at the Parliament, the interaction with other people SUBUD VOICE PAGE 8 MAY 2011

9 from all over the world was positive across the board as was the feedback to our presentation. When I arrived in Christchurch, one of the first questions many members asked me was how did the Parliament go? Before the British congress in Great Malvern, in 2010, the Subud Britain youth rep, Dahliani Dixon, asked us if we would do a presentation on ER at the congress. The very first comment was: We would like to know what the WSA is doing to interface with the broader world community. Our younger generation has no problem connecting with all kinds of people, it's part of who they are, yet they often feel unsure about how to present the association and speak about Subud. My impression is that they would like to see us take the lead in a kind of interaction that establishes the WSA as part of the human community. Something they can feel proud of. Subud members at the Parliament of World Religions in Melbourne individuals, already do so, but they felt that Subud officially also needs to. We need to create spaces of respectful dialogue among ourselves A member who has worked in Tunisia and Algeria spoke at the zone 3 meeting last year with an appeal to improve WSA s status in the world community for the sake of those countries where the freedom of religious and spiritual practice cannot be taken for granted. We have had similar appeals from members of other such countries, whose names we cannot mention for obvious reasons. Recently I happened to be at a well attended discussion on the environment in Lewes, organized by Sharifin Gardiner (one of our pioneers) and Sophia Campbell. In the conversation that ensued in my group, virtually every person voiced the comment that WSA needs to interact more with other NGOs and associations. These were people who, as Just the other day, a Subud member who had spoken recently with Sharifin about sustainable agriculture and the possibility of creating a forum for discussion on the subject, told me that he had also spoken to a non-subud person about the idea. This person had asked to be able to participate if it were to get established. This is, bottom line, the fundamental idea behind the WSA Forum: creating spaces for dialogue on issues of common interest to humanity. We have a basic understanding, and are developing a policy to ensure that the WSA does not take any particular political stand, that we do not proselytize and so on; but, the WSA can surely facilitate and participate in dialogue and share information back and forth between members? Sharing Diverse Opinions It is true that there are some individuals who feel hesitant about the WSA interfacing as an association with the broader human community or they don't see the point; yet, we need to take an honest look at the motivations and causes of this hesitance. Ultimately, we need to create spaces of respectful dialogue among ourselves spaces where all members can share their diverse opinions openly. It is clear that for many Subud members their primary concern is the latihan and their personal lives and processes. They are grateful for an organization that provides basic services, but do not necessarily concern themselves with the broader aspects of the global organization which we are. The World Subud Association, however, bases its activities on the involvement of those inspired and bringing resolutions and recommendations to pass at World Congress. External Relations activities are one such area, and I hope that through them Subud can become known as an association that is open to its fellow human beings, that is, involved in the human dialogue, that cares about humanity as a whole, and that, as a result, members may become increasingly open to sharing about Subud with their families, colleagues and friends. I believe that the Subud association that Bapak set up is an entity that exists in the world, and needs to discover a sense of its own role in this world. This is where the combination of being representative and being 'inspired and SUBUD VOICE PAGE 9 MAY 2011

10 guided by the latihan' comes into play. While democratic representation is central, we need to be careful not to close the door on the possibility of the unexpected the guidance that comes from beyond our hearts and mind, which is, after all, what we are fundamentally about. The word Budhi, in the name of our association, Susila Budhi Dharma, refers to the acknowledgement of a higher, divine force present in all of creation. We need to be careful to remain open to the guidance we may receive from that force. In one of Ibu Rahayu's talks in Christchurch, I understood her to say that we should act with our best intention and trust that God will nudge us as need arises. So I would hope that as an association we can begin to trust this process. Ultimately, when do we start acting with courage (as Bapak reiterated many times just before he died) and then trust that God will give us the necessary nudges as we go along? During my term as WSA chair, our external relations activities got many positive 'nudges'. I very much hope that we can continue to build on this into the future. I welcome questions and thoughts on this theme. You are always welcome to write to me at osanna@osannavaughn.com Promise PROMISE is a new, remastered collection of relaxing, atmospheric instrumental pieces, written, played, produced and recorded by Hamish Barker in his studio in North Norfolk, U.K. It is mostly a retrospective album covering the best of the last 15 years, with the addition of some brand new tracks, and is available for Digital download from CDbaby, itunes and Amazon, where you can also hear samples. Hamish is currently an International Helper for Area 2. Hamish writes about his creative process... "My approach to all the tracks on the CD was similar: I actually had no idea how each would end up! As an ex-recording engineer I tend initially to experiment with a 'feel' and 'sonic texture' until I have a bar or two of guitar or keyboard that actually conjures up some feeling or place, imaginary or actual as in those tracks that evoke a cultural musical style. From thereon, I just try and feel and hear inside me 'what should happen next? It may take several tries as I record something, then listen back and judge whether or not it takes the feeling forward or diverts it. Also as I play a number of different instruments I have to decide which one is appropriate to the particular piece. Overall, improvisation is central to the process. I rarely write anything down, everything is recorded, checked and re-recorded over and over until I am satisfied; or at least happy that I have done the best I can at this time. As with all creativity I think you can always imagine something being better! Wisma Subud International Gathering JUNE 18-23/ Wisma Subud is hosting a kejiwaan gathering to coincide with Bapak s birthday. The gathering is open to all Subud members and their families. If you have been lucky enough to visit or live in Wisma Subud you probably understand how important this small plot of land in Indonesia is. If you have never been, then this may be the opportunity you have been waiting for. The gathering will include latihan, testing and sharing, a selamatan on Bapak s Birthday and a trip to Bapak s grave in the mountains outside Jakarta. The event coincides with the WSC meeting in Kalimantan and Zone1&2 meetings. An optional trip to Semarang, Central Java, where Bapak received the Latihan and Kedungjati where he was born in also being arranged. For more information about the gathering log on to: If you would like to share your expertise at the gathering contact: WismaSubud@gmail.com or share your ideas on Facebook (Wisma Subud International Gathering 2011). SUBUD VOICE PAGE 10 MAY 2011

11 FAVOURITE PHOTOS Brighton Beach Rosanna Hille writes In 2007 I attended one of the many Susila Dharma meeting I have gone to over the years I have been associated with the humanitarian work of Subud members. This meeting was held in Lewes UK and the purpose was to network, build our capacity and consult with our members on the direction of the international organization. Hamida Virginia Thomas was newly appointed Executive Director of Susila Dharma International and we were in a hand-over, transition phase. The meeting was hosted by Pelham House and SD Britain and it was early February with the earth still sleeping. For me the winter is a quiet time for reflection and regeneration and the light snow on the hills seen from the Gardiner's home, the stone damsel waiting patiently for the blossoms in a nook by Pelham House, and the grey skies all set a peaceful, introspective tone. After the meeting, I went to Brighton and met with Garrett Thompson, who was then the ISC chairman. We spent a lovely day wandering around the famous British seaside town discussing Subud and its world organizations where we had been, where we were going, what might be possible... Our wandering took us to Brighton Pier, which was almost deserted, and I took this shot of Garrett looking pensively over Brighton with a still carousel on one side and a Princess on a rearing horse frozen in time on the other. It reminds me of the still balance I need to maintain when considering what is and what is possible. Readers are invited to submit a favourite photograph taken by themselves. Include a text of no more than 400 words explaining why the photograph is important to you and what connection it has with Subud. SUBUD VOICE PAGE 11 MAY 2011

12 I N N E R V O I C E Change is grace Inner Voice welcomes stories and letters. Please send to Ilaina Lennard, NEW ilaine.l@blueyonder.co.uk Ilaina (Ilaine for the ) can be contacted at her NEW ADDRESS: 8 Sissinghurst Grove, Up Hatherley, Cheltenham, Glos. GL51 3FA UK NEW TEL NO: (+44) (0) Extracts from Patricia Lacey s interview with Wilbert Verheyen. Wilbert was a Franciscan priest who joined Subud and later became Chairman of Susila Dharma International (SDIA),which co-ordinates Subud's humanitarian activities. He died several years ago. He was a remarkable man, as his story shows... Patricia: May I ask, were you always with the Franciscan order? Wilbert: I was very interested in St. Francis of Assisi when I was young, and I got a picture of him standing on the globe. I thought he was kicking a ball, and I became a fanatic soccer player, because of the connection with my name! So when I felt I should like to become a priest it had to be the Franciscan order. To become a priest, after six years of studying you had to become a novitiate. After two years of studying philosophy and four years of theology, then came the ordination as a priest. One year after the ordination we studied the science of how to do missionary work, missiology and after that we were called by our boss, the provincial of the Franciscan order, as we called him. I felt deep in my heart that I would like to go to New Guinea, but you can never tell where you will be assigned. You have promised to be obedient. Patricia: What attracted you to New Guinea? Wilbert: Adventure! Yah. That was a remote unknown part of the globe. Patricia: Was New Guinea fairly wild? Wilbert: Yes, cannibalism and headhunting. We knew that from the Dutch who had been there before and were told of the cannibalism and murdering of other people. Patricia: How many whites were there? What about your work there as a Franciscan? What were you doing? Wilbert: One day the bishop asked me We Franciscans are not yet in the Highlands of New Guinea. Are you willing to go there? I answered, Oh, yes! that was in 1958, and there we had to more or less bring peace. We also tried to put everything on the map. There was not at the time a good complete map. Our main work was to bring peace between the tribes. Patricia: Did you also try to teach them religion? What attracted me to New Guinea?... Adventure! It was a remote, unknown part of the globe... Wilbert: No. These people were totally different from the other groups. They had a very strong culture. I know I am going against conventional religious thinking, but I was convinced they were monotheists, not animists. Monotheism is a deep, deep secret there; strictly forbidden. I had people around me asking, Why are you coming here? The first man who was interested in me was the man who adopted me there. He was a chief of one of the tribes. As long as you are good with the chiefs, as I was, everything is fine! I was always protected by the big chief. At my new centre where I built my first real house, one day the chief came to me with two other big chiefs. He walked all around the house to make sure no one was listening. Then we four stood shoulder to shoulder, and he slowly opened a package wrapped in banana leaves. It took a long time to open it. I saw that it was a piece of bamboo and it had a mysterious sign on it! I said Yes, I saw it! I saw it! The chief said excitedly He saw it. He saw it! meaningfully to the others. I don t know exactly what it meant, SUBUD VOICE PAGE 12 MAY 2011

13 but it was a kind of initiation. Afterwards I started a clinic and school. All the children came to the school. The clinic was fine! Patricia: Did you have a nurse for the clinic? Wilbert: Yes. I educated and trained one of the boys. He was very good. Training was always the first thing I did in trying to help without weapons I carried no weapons. Normally when I tried to help I used instead of weapons my books and first aid materials, syringes, help for wounds and such. We used a medicine that at the time was comparable to penicillin for this kind of thing. When I arrived at a new village even before reaching it, you could smell the wounds already. I would give an injection to the wounded, and after three days the rotten pus would be gone and a nice layer of skin would have begun to form. My boy he was my nurse - had a house next to my clinic. We worked together and had an average of 125 people a day at the clinic. Even though Finding Subud I was successful, Patricia: How long did you stay in New Guinea? I came to feel Wilbert: I arrived in July 1958 and left in Thirteen years. that inwardly Patricia: What was the next stage in your life? I was so very empty! Wilbert: I was very successful in the work. The Bishop was very pleased with me. But even though I was successful, I came to feel that inwardly I was so very empty! So empty! I had not known it. I had not been really aware of it, then one day I imagined myself 80 years old and felt afraid. What if I had been eighty and doing only this work all of those years? Then I realised how truly empty I felt! At that moment I read a booklet by Dietrich Bonhoffer, a Protestant minister who died in a concentration camp in Germany. There was a memorable sentence in it. Change is grace. Stagnation is sin. It became clear to me that I had to change. But how and what? There was no one to talk to about my loneliness, my emptiness. Wilbert went as a missionary to Irian Jaya, a remote and unknown place The same month the Superior of the Franciscans came from Indonesia. He asked, who will come back with me? I was the first one. I said I m going with you! The people and my colleagues said You can t do that. But I was determined and so I went back with him. So I came to Jakarta with the Franciscan Superior. We arrived at 11.0clock in Jakarta. It was coffee time! I got my coffee, and then I saw the national newspaper of Indonesia, distributed by the Franciscans. I opened it and saw a small article stating that yesterday the President of Indonesia had opened the Subud World Congress. I immediately felt, that is it. That is why I am here. I didn t talk with my colleagues, I went instead straight to the two houseboys and asked them where Cilandak was, as Cilandak was mentioned in the newspaper article. They said it was in the south. I had no rest anymore. I went directly out and asked someone, Where is the south? And was told At the end of this road. It was a big road to Bandung. SUBUD VOICE PAGE 13 MAY 2011

14 So I travelled all day, trying to go south. It got to be six o clock in the evening. I finally got to the end of Jakarta and asked someone Where is Cilandak? she told me it was at the wrong end of the south. I had to go to the west side! The next day I started from there. Again all day I travelled. At last I arrived at Cilandak and then I saw a military camp. I went to the guards and asked, is this Cilandak? Is this the Subud World Congress? They answered yes, this is Cilandak, but the Subud World Congress is really far away! So I went back again. On the Third Day On the third day I arrived at Wisma Subud. The little guard post was there, where the guards were sitting. I said I should like to have information about Subud. They said there are 2000 people here! We are too busy for a man coming to ask for information! Then I really became angry, after three days of searching! I said I ve come all the way from New Guinea! It made a little bit of an impression. Someone went away and when he came back he said come back tomorrow morning at 10 o clock and there will be someone here then, who will give you information about Subud. Wilbert Verheyen So the next morning I was met by a young man. I got the impression he was studying economics at the University of Bandung. He asked me where I heard about Subud. I felt a little awkward having to tell him it was only out of the newspaper. He said at once that Subud is very good for a type of person who is making certain kinds of mistakes. This and this and this He mentioned five things that were like my moral fingerprints! I asked him when I could start. He told me that at a Protestant secondary school not far from my convent they had a Monday and Thursday latihan and also that I was welcome there at Wisma Subud on Sunday mornings as an applicant. So I immediately went as an applicant to the next meeting on Monday it was very interesting. You got special cake and nice ginger tea The waiting room for applicants was at the end of the corridor. There was a staircase I could see, from where I was sitting and waiting. I saw a very old lady being taken upstairs by a Japanese woman and for some reason I began to cry. It was such a heavy crying that my shirt became wet. So I finally asked someone who is that old lady going up the stairs? and he said that is Bapak s mother. Wilbert found out about Subud just as the 1971 World Congress was being held in Jakarta. The Wisma Subud residential compound had been transformed to provide accommodation for 2000 people in bamboo longhouses designed by the architect Ramzi Winkler I think Bapak s mother died in 1971 or so. I think it was after my opening. There was a big reception after the funeral for us to tell Bapak we were sorry about the death of his mother. Patricia: You hadn t met Bapak yet? Wilbert: I think that was the time when I felt I hated Bapak! That s another story. It was very interesting though. When we came to the reception in front of Bapak's house, there was a big queue SUBUD VOICE PAGE 14 MAY 2011

15 of people. It was my first contact with western Subud members and the Indonesian ones were so close to Bapak. While we were in the queue waiting to tell Bapak we were sorry, I suddenly realised I wasn t sorry at all, I was sad but not grieving at all! I felt so happy! So I thought, What can I say, for I will not lie? Then it was my turn and I was in front of Bapak. Bapak had a big smile. I was almost congratulating Bapak. He was standing there beaming, as if he knew his mother was still living quite happily. After Bapak went upstairs, I began weeping again not just a few tears but a huge weeping so that my shirt was wet again. I went to Rukmiwati Branting, a woman who lived in Wisma Subud, and asked what could this weeping be? Rukmiwati felt I was moved not by the mother but by the son.! I came first to Subud during the World Congress in August, and I was opened in November. Taken from Patricia Lacey s book Conversations with Friends Part 2. The book is currently out of print. LETTERS TO THE E D I T O R She likes it! Lynnelle Stewart writes from the USA... Thank you very much for the Subud Voice, which I read without stopping. It is great! And I particularly identified with something in the story about Simon Guerrand... how he went through a period after his accident when the world just seemed incredibly beautiful to him...and that is how it is for me now... No accident, but the world just suddenly seems sooooo beautiful. I had an inner message a couple months back that I was "to go out and look at my beautiful world and since then, every little detail seems so lovely. Thanks for the info on how to sign up for current talks... contacting Julia Hurd...the new Voice is gonna be great. I was especially moved by the story on Rashidah's daughter and the story on the young girl who is now the BCU school librarian and wants to be a Subud applicant. FANTASTIC!!!! Keep up the great work, as you always do... You really amaze me! I felt SOOOOO reconnected after reading Voice and the latest Susila Dharma newsletter, focusing on how Susila Dharma is working to meet the UN Millenium Goals what a great idea on their part! The work of the helpers Rauni Hemsen responds to Rachmadi Fiedorowicz's article in our March issue about the role of helpers... Dear Rachmadi Fiedorowicz Times change. Most of us are really very old members. But instead of two latihan times we have now 5 times in order to meet the needs of the new generation, new members. The most popular times are on Wednesdays and Sundays. The old time is mostly visited by the old members on Tuesdays and Fridays. In addition there is one latihan on Fridays for young people, new members. So all this takes time. It was very difficult to reserve one more night as helpers night. So the miracle solution is to have helpers latihan either before or after the group latihan. It is a very different latihan indeed, and we feel much more guidance in the group latihan because of the helpers latihan. And the members feel and come to the latihans! We feel we have little to talk about. So the extra travel, a whole evening is not necessary but we feel the difference doing the helpers latihan. It certainly has a very different quality from the ordinary latihan. It is a heavy task to open new members but it is also rewarding. Being a helper without having helpers latihan is very heavy. It is fantastic to feel guidance in the latihan with the group when we helpers are guided by God. SUBUD VOICE PAGE 15 MAY 2011

16 A family s wish fulfilled Rashidah MacDonald has sent us this story about the family of Faustina, a Subud member originally from Bali, now living near Rungan Sari in Central Kalimantan. The story illustrates the extraordinary difficulties of life that some people must face and overcome. It also draws attention to the difference the Subud Education Fund can make in people's lives. The Subud Education Fund is a project of the Muhammad Subud Foundation. Rashidah writes... In July 2009 Alvira, a young Subud member from Kalimantan, was awarded a grant from The Subud Education Fund to help pay her university fees. In January 2011, The Subud Education Fund approved a further grant to make it possible for Alvira to complete her final year of nursing studies. Thank you to all those who support this fund. When I asked Faustina to tell me a little about her life and her own educational background for the application for a scholarship for her daughter Alvira, she went home that night and wrote many pages about her life. She said it all came out like that, and she cried many times as she remembered what her life was like when her daughter was still a small baby before they joined Subud. She is extremely grateful for how much their lives have improved since they joined Subud. This is her story. Dear Subud Education Fund, My name is Faustina and I was born on the 21st of June I come from a poor family with limited education. I am the seventh child of a family of eight children. My six older siblings only were able to attend school until the second grade and my parents didn t go to school whatsoever. Because we had not enough money to live and no land, my parents joined the government transmigration program and we left Bali to our new life in Kalimantan on 22/2/1982. We were helped by the transmigration program and during that time I was able to study up to the end of 9th Grade. When the government program ended, I also was no longer able to go to school, and my younger sister finished her schooling in the 8th Grade. I really wanted to continue my education but my parents couldn t afford it, but despite this, I felt very grateful to have studied that much, as I had achieved the highest education in my family, including my own parents. At the time I had many dreams to continue my studies and have a career as a nurse or something like that, but my parents were already elderly and poor, and there was no possibility of any further studies. Faustina and Alvira When the government support ended, we were living in desperate times because our crops were destroyed by mice and wild pigs. We had no rice, and only had cassava roots and leaves to eat each day. I worked hard to help my parents in the fields in any way I could. In order to help my heart feel lighter, I was active in social organizations like Posyandu (child clinic) and Ibu PKK, (Family wellbeing/women s discussion group), hansip (village security) and other community events. I was strongly motivated to help the development of our new community in this new land. Marriage When I was 23, I met my husband, and we were married on the 24th of August He took me from South Kalimantan where my family was, to where his parents lived, 35 km north of Palangkaraya in Central Kalimantan. He was also from a poor Balinese family and was brought by his parents to Kalimantan in search of a better life. A year after we married, I gave birth to my daughter, Niluh. When she was 8 months old, my husband found work and we had the opportunity to learn to live independently for the first time. We lived in a small hut that measured 4 x 3 meters and we had no bed, no mattress or any furniture. It was only 5 kilometers from the Subud land, but at SUBUD VOICE PAGE 16 MAY 2011

17 that time it was still very remote and isolated and the nearest house was 500 meters away. My husband s job was to find grass for 7 cows and 6 deer which were owned by a farmer nearby. Each day he would go out to the forest and fields to get enough feed for the animals. He was paid US$ 4 per month and it was paid every three months. Maybe you can imagine how hard we struggled to survive especially since we had a young baby. Because of this I begged my husband s employer to allow him to find another job on the side and I promised we would continue to fulfill our responsibility to find the feed for the animals. I told my husband I would find the feed for the animals while he could look for other work. With a heavy heart my husband accepted my suggestion because he could see that there was no other way for us to survive. My husband worked in any job he could find. Each morning he left at 5 am and would come home at 8 pm or later. This left me and Niluh in charge of finding the feed for the animals. I carried her on my back strapped on with a cloth and each day we would go to the jungle to cut grass and find bark and leaves. I carried the feed back in a large cart that was 1.5 meters wide x 2 meters long and when it was full, it weighed 200kg. When people saw a woman (me) pushing such a big and heavy cart plus carrying a baby, they were quite shocked and couldn t believe that I could do it. Sometimes people were kind and would help push it for me for some of the distance. I Had a Happy Heart Maybe for some people they would have felt burdened by this job, but instead I had a happy heart to carry out my work because I believed in the greatness of God that is most generous and all caring, and merciful and I felt that we were always protected by God. With enthusiasm and trust in God as my working capital, my daughter and I each day would go alone into the jungle to work. While I was cutting grass I would lay my baby in the cart to sleep. I did this job every day for two years and only occasionally was my husband able to help me. As a woman I also had my duties as a wife, carrying water from the well, cooking and washing clothes etc. My daughter Niluh rarely saw her father during this time as she was still asleep when he left the house and already asleep when he returned from work. The wages I earned increased from US$4 a month to $7.50 and I was grateful for the extra money. During these two We were looking for peace and harmony in our household, but what could we do? The family. At the back: Ibu Faustina and Alvira. In front: Zarina, Sulfiati,and Pak Umaryadi years, we were able to save some money, and our life improved when we were able to buy a bed, a mattress, a cupboard and food. When my daughter was 4 years old my husband and I had the wish to join an insurance fund for the education of our daughter, as we didn t want her to have a similar life to ours and we were willing to sacrifice other things to make sure she could be educated. We knew that by putting the money aside this way, we would not be able to be tempted to use it for other things. It was only because of this fund, that she was able to finish high school; otherwise we couldn t have afforded it. For this insurance we paid US $ 3 per month, which may not seem like a lot, but it was still a struggle for us to pay it. When our daughter was 5 we returned to live with my in-laws because they were sick and needed us to look after them. My husband is the oldest of 5 children and he was the only one that was married while his younger siblings were still at school. We cared for his parents and during this time, we were given another child and her name was Laksmi. Later, my husband got a job as a caretaker at a primary school which was 10 km from our house. We had no form of transport whatsoever, so we had to move closer to the school when Niluh was in grade 3, and Laksmi was 8 months. At that time the wages my husband received was US$ 2 per month which was paid every two months. He was willing to accept this salary because it meant that later there was a possibility of becoming a civil servant. (Note: this is the hope of most people here. Even though wages are low as a civil servant, it means that there is job security.) SUBUD VOICE PAGE 17 MAY 2011

18 So once again, we repeated the struggles we had been through earlier. After 1 year my husband became a civil servant and he received $14 per month and later it was increased to $30 a month. Faced with Another Test We journey our life with much gladness because we were used to living with prihatin or sacrifices. When our second daughter was 1 and a half we were faced with another test, when we returned to live with my in-laws. My father-in-law died and his mother was alone because the younger siblings were no longer at home they were either off working or at school. With a heavy heart we returned to live with my mother-in-law. My husband had to travel 10 km each way to get to his work and so his brothers helped my husband buy a second hand motorbike. (To this day, we have never owned or bought a new motorbike!) At this time I was working farming vegetables to feed our household and to get some extra income for our family. From day to day we both felt a new meaning in life My kids were still young and there were many problems in the family. We were confused and often stressed especially my husband because of difficulties with his mother. Many people offered solutions but no one could help solve the family problems and issues we were facing. We were looking for peace and harmony in our household but what could we do? Finding Subud One day we remembered that when we were at the transmigration settlement at km 38 (near Rungan Sari) where my husband was working, we had heard the Alvira and her sister Zarina word Subud from Hari Susilo and his wife Murtiana. We needed some peace in our lives and so we were attracted to find out more about Subud. Pak Susilo recommended we came to the hall in Rungan Sari. We went there on Sundays and Thursdays and we got information about Subud. There was a peace and coolness about the place, which was what we were searching for. In 2000 we became applicants and I was opened on 27/7/2000 my husband was opened one week before me. After I was opened, I experienced something that I had never before experienced. From this feeling I was able to be truly convinced and sure of the greatness of God. I always asked for God s guidance and protection and also from Bapak. From day to day we both felt a new meaning in life and were able to learn many things. A year after we got opened, I became pregnant and had another daughter who was given the name Zarina by Ibu Rahayu. At this time we all received new names from Ibu Rahayu. My husband became Umaryadi, my name Faustina, Niluh became Alvira, and Laksmi became Sulfiati. After joining Subud we still faced many difficulties and went through many processes but we were able to face them with more patience and optimism than we had in the past, and we were always hopeful about being able to educate our children despite our weak financial situation. Our Subud brothers and sisters in Rungan Sari understand and know our situation and they know that we have the strong conviction for Alvira to study nursing at the Academy of Nursing in Palangkaraya. She has completed one semester of her course, and even though it has been a very large financial burden for us, we ask our other children to do prihatin and live simply on less money in order that she can continue her studies. I work now as a cleaner at the YUM office. I also sometimes help with the malaria program. I m very grateful to have work at YUM because I feel that it s very important for the people of this area. Alvira is the first person in our extended families to attend higher education, and we are extremely proud of her and grateful to Almighty God and to all our Subud brothers and sisters who have helped make this possible. Faustina's story, written in 2009, was translated by Rashidah MacDonald. Alvira is now completing her studies to become a nurse. SUBUD VOICE PAGE 18 MAY 2011

19 New WSA accountant and bank account As previously announced, it is now official. The World Subud Association's bank accounts have been transferred from Holland to the United Kingdom. Accounts in the Netherlands are closed. We thank Leonard van Willenswaard for his unfailing and ongoing assistance and are grateful to Elwyn Waugh, WSA's new accountant, for taking over for Leonard. New WSA banking details are attached and are available online. If you have any questions, please write to Elwyn at or WSA at In addition, we would like to recognize Hussein Dickie in the UK for temporarily assisting Hammond Peek as WSA Treasurer while Hammond is dealing with the aftermath of the earthquake in Christchurch, where he lives. Thank you Hussein. We send ongoing prayers to Christchurch (and Japan). Elwyn Waugh MUHAMMAD SUBUH FOUNDATION ACCOUNTS: Please be advised that the Muhammad Subuh Foundation accounts are likewise being transferred to the UK, but this is not yet complete. Check the MSF website for details, How to donate to WSA Contributions to the World Subud Association are most welcome and may be made by wire transfer, cheque, or online. Please notify Elwyn Waugh, WSA Accountant, of the donation at We thank you in advance. (1) WIRE TRANSFER Account name: World Subud Association Bank: National Westminster Bank Location: Axminster. United Kingdom SWIFT/BIC: NWBKGB2L Account numbers: USD: 140/00/ Euro: 550/00/ GBP: ; Sterling Sort Code: IBAN numbers: USD account: GB50 NWBK Euro account: GB36 NWBK GBP account: GB58NWBK (2) CHEQUE Write cheques to World Subud Association and mail to: Elwyn Waugh Springs, Stockland Honiton EX14 9DB United Kingdom Tel: Please include a note with the check, especially regarding earmarked funds. ((3) ONLINE At the moment we are using the MSF facility for online donations until a separate service for WSA is functional. Visit the Muhammad Subuh Foundation website From the donation page click on Contributing. Select ISC and follow the prompts. Please include remarks or mention if funds are earmarked in the area provided. Muhammad Subuh Foundation Call for Trustee Nominees... In June 2011, the terms of three Foundation trustees will come up for renewal or replacement: Hannah Baerveldt, Ismana Haryono and Shyam Wadhera. Trustees may stand for re-election and nominations are also open for new trustees. If the thought of working towards strengthening Subud in the world appeals to you, consider contacting your National Committee or any MSF trustee or World Subud Council member to put your name forward. Nominees should have an understanding of the Subud organization and proven experience of working effectively, harmoniously and reliably in a team environment. The term of office is four years and a minimum average of 10 hours of work per week is expected, without compensation. We ask nominees to provide a copy of his/her Curriculum Vitae or Resume and two references from Subud members. SUBUD VOICE PAGE 19 MAY 2011

20 The Foundation is especially needing and seeking Subud members with experience in: (1) fundraising; (2) communications/pr/graphics; and (3) in South America and/or Africa with fluency in Spanish and/or French. National committees and World Subud Council members may send their nominations, accompanied with CV and references, to the MSF Administrator, Lillian Shulman: The deadline for nominations is 31 March Please refer to the Foundation website for a description of the role, responsibilities and qualifications expected of a trustee at and visit the 'news' section. WSA visit to Puebla Mexico Maya Korzybska writes... Luke Penseney (WSA chair ) and Maya Korzybska (WSA Executive team) travelled to Puebla Mexico in April, to participate in their national congress and zone 7 meeting, as well as to meet and work for the first time with the World Congress Organizing Team. The next Subud World Congress will take place during the northern hemisphere summer of 2014, in the beautiful city of Puebla, Mexico. The exact dates will probably be fixed during the upcoming Subud World Council meeting, 23rd June to July 1st in Rungan Sari, Kalimantan. This first meeting was to establish a project schedule and retro-planning right up to the World Congress, as well a communications process between the WSA Executive and COT. The immediate priorities are related to the legal structure that needs to be set up to host the World Congress, negotiations with local authorities and finalizing agreements for the booking of the main congress venues, as well as meetings with the federal authorities to ensure that we do not have the visa problems for certain countries that we had in New Zealand. Building the on-line registration program and website are another of the immediate priorities. During the Zone 7 meeting, were established some of the areas that other countries of the zone will take on specifically to support the Congress Organizing Team in Mexico. For reports and news from these meetings check out Thanks to Rashid From the WSA Executive... Thanks to Rashid Butte, the former webmaster for who has retired. We are grateful to Rashid for his many years of dedication and service. Rashid reminisces about creating the site: I started working on [the website] right around the time the 'world wide web' began, around I was creating one of the early intranets for the company I worked for, and realized Subud needed to get a show on the road -- er -- on the information highway. Harun Murray, then ISC Chair, wanted to have a good face on the web...and having developed expertise, I guess he thought I was the logical one to run with it officially. I remember getting the Subud symbol done right thanks to the help of members in Portland and Vancouver. There was discussion regarding the exact geometry of the Subud symbol [this being the first time the symbol was on the web] -- but we went with the existing format. Then it was a matter of getting the domain. Originally, my vision was to have basic introductions to Subud in as Rashid Butte many languages as possible, in as simple [read fast over slow dial-up] a format as possible, for as many people around the world who might be searching for something. I really wanted the presentation to be like the latihan -- clean, light, simple, not a lot of jazz or 'stuff' -- just pure clean content. That's why it stayed the same for so long. [NOTE: WSA s public website was originally subud.org and became subud.com in 2009, allowing the.org domain to become a resource site for members. The site is now maintained by the Web Services Shop.] SUBUD VOICE PAGE 20 MAY 2011

21 Youth update on two events Hello again from the International Subud Youth Team. This is to update you on the two exciting events coming up this July in Indonesia. The Human Force camp is in Cipanas this July and the deadline for applications was March 15th. That is next Tuesday, and places are limited - if you're planning on coming to this life changing experience we really need to know now! The YES Quest deadline for applications is May 31st. The Yes Quest team have a video to give you a little taste of what is in store for you if you are planning on coming, check it out here: If you want to come but can't quite cover all your travel costs, you can apply to the International Youth Travel Fund for assistance. Please send an to sya-international@subudyouth.net and we will send you an application form. The flyer attached is different from last time, check it out! Print it out, put it up in your local Subud hall, give it to your teacher, your neighbour or even your bus driver; just be sure that you let people know about these amazing opportunities in Indonesia this year. Also Yes Quest International is now on Facebook, join the group or like the fan page to see pictures and regular updates. As always, if you have any questions (or answers for that matter!) don t you dare hesitate to contact us friendly folks here at the International Subud Youth Team. With love, Alex, Lucinda, Miguel, Roland, Steven and Theresa sya-international@subudyouth.net INFORMATION ABOUT SUBUD This magazine is produced by members of the spiritual movement known as Subud, but it is not an official publication of the Subud organisation. It is just an enterprise of some members. Recently the magazine became available free and online to the general public as well as to Subud members. In each issue we try to include some articles which will give information about Subud to people who are unfamiliar with the movement. Interested people could also look at the article What is Subud? in the February 2011 issue of this magazine. This is a very brief sketch of Subud. Those wishing for a more detailed explanation should go to There is a link to it on the left hand side of our home page. There are also links to the web sites of the various organisations which also include explanations of Subud. See for example the official web site of WSA, If you would like to make contact with a Subud group near them, you should check the telephone directory to see if there is a group in your locality. Or you can go to the web site where you will find contact information for the WSA and the various national bodies who may be able to direct you to a group near you. S U B U D E V E N T S & W O R L D L A T I H A N For news of forthcoming Subud events and World Latihan times go to and click on Events. SPONSORSHIP Our thanks to the World Subud Association (WSA) for their generous sponsorship of this issue. As Subud Voice has now become a free online independent journal, we depend on your support to keep us going. We welcome individual or group sponsorship for Subud Voice. We only need twelve individuals or groups to sponsor one on line issue to keep Subud Voice going for a year. Thanks to the many individuals and Subud groups who have forgone their right to have unused parts of their subscription refunded to them when we closed down the subscriber-based magazine. We have been heartened and encouraged by your support for the new Subud Voice. Thank you especially to those very, very special people who have said they will continue to subscribe to Subud Voice. Will continue to send us their subscription money even though they don t need to subscribe any more. You are very special, kind, generous and supportive people. Contact the editor at editor@subudvoice.net for sponsorship information. SUBUD VOICE PAGE 21 MAY 2011

22 The passing of Murray Clapham Murray (Steven) Hallen Clapham passed away in Jakarta on Monday the 4th of April at 12:45 pm. Steven is a Subud name that Murray took not long before his death. Murray was a greatly loved and highly respected Subud member who served Subud in many capacities in the organisation, in enterprises and in social welfare. He also pursued successful careers as a diplomat and businessman. His generosity was legendary. Our sympathy goes out to his wife, Youry, and daughters Vera, Grace and Kartini, and to all others who knew and loved him. May our prayers help him in his journey and may Almighty God give him a good and rightful place in the hereafter. We publish this tribute from his daughter Kartini and many other tributes will be found in the Subud Voice Extra section on our home page... Kartini writes... We would like to thank everyone for all their love and thoughts during this difficult time. Dad was someone very special. He led an amazing life and touched so many. Dad taught many to open their hearts and love. He accepted all as equals and treat all like family from business partners to maids and drivers. We will miss him dearly and miss his incredibly unique humour and stories. Mum, Vera, Grace and I were so grateful to have spent so much time with Dad these past few months and we were able to tell Dad everything we needed to. We all know Dad chose his path. Many may have not agreed on his health choices but it was right choice for dad and we thank everyone for all the support. Dad's healing process was not one to stay with us: he was trying to purify himself for something else. We only realised his subtle hints after his passing. Vera, Grace and I were with Dad at the time of his death and he was peaceful. It was only the last couple of days before when Dad was bed-ridden, but these days there was some sort of energy going on in his room, some sort of spiritual process was happening which we could not exactly pinpoint. The night before Dad's death, Grace and I were with him. He was dreaming all night and continued to talk in his sleep. Repetitive words were said which showed us a sign. Dad said in his sleep, "I think this is a new paradigm," and then said, "Remember tomorrow" not knowing what this meant until the next day at the time of his death. We all lay beside Dad's body to be as a family one last time. He was ready but we were not. We don't see Dad's passing as as a failure to beat his cancer, but as a victory to finally love himself and care for himself as his whole life was dedicated to others. Dad's body stayed at home with us until yesterday. Yesterday we had Dad's service and cremation. The service was held at home. It was a service which incorporated all religions, languages and status. Dad's songs were played and very personal speeches were said. It was relaxed allowing everyone to express and feel what they wanted. There were plenty of laughs and I have never seen so many grown men cry. Adri stood up and sang. Bobby who spent a lot of time treating Dad spoke for the Balur clinic. There were visions of Dad during his service, and many signs that Dad was around us during his cremation. It was a day of shocking, surprising, spiritual experiences, which many have not experienced before. Everyone has asked about a service in Australia. This will most definitely happen. Dad was just as Indonesian as he was Australian, if not more, and because Dad passed away in Jakarta, we are following the Javanese tradition. This belief is that Dad's spirit is still around here for 40 days. This means that Mum is unable to leave Indonesia up until the 40th day. An Australian service will be held in May after the 40th day. Our minds are unable to make many decisions at the moment so we ask for your patience until we make an exact date for his service. The Jalan Junaedi House is full of friends, family, godsons from around the globe all camping on the floor. It s been a while since we all gathered together. We are all now collecting our thoughts and telling Dad's stories. Dad had many great stories, jokes, experiences with so many and we are asking everybody if they could share something they found special. This could be a story he told, an experience you had with him, a description of Dad, a joke he told. Please write as openly as possible, we know some things may be quite out there, but this was Dad. This will be collected and made into a book for all to remember as there were many aspects to his life which would be wonderful to share. Throughout Dad's life so many have asked him to write a book and in the last year Dad was collecting his information to finally do one. So this is our gift to him and all those who knew him. Please could you forward this to all who know Dad. With Love Youry, Vera, Grace and Kartini Contact Kartini Clapham katclapham@gmail.com Murray Clapham Other tributes to Murray can be found on our web page inside Subud Voice Extra SUBUD VOICE PAGE 22 MAY 2011

23 Changes at Subud Voice Harris Smart and Marcus Bolt write... You'll notice that there are a number of changes in the format of this issue of Subud Voice. We are extremely responsive to consumer feedback and so a number of these changes have been made in response to suggestions that people have made to us. They also reflect out transition from a magazine that was originally in print to a magazine that is now online only. We are learning all the time and doing our best to make Subud Voice as good as we can. 1. LESS COLOR. Some people have said to us that there is too much colour in Subud Voice and that when they print it out, it chews up too much of a colour cartridge. Therefore, with the exception of the front page, we have decided to make all pages, in black-and-white. Except of course for the colour photos which people like. But we are no longer printing text in colour. In this way we are responding to consumer feedback and also following the almost universal practice of e-zines on the Internet. 2. ONE COLUMN. We are no longer doing a magazine in two columns. Several people quite rightly said that it is extremely difficult to read two columns on the Internet. Again, we are following the almost universal practice of e-zines. 3. LINKS. As we go along we are increasingly endeavouring to exploit the resources of the Internet for interconnectivity and so on. So now, if you click on the list of stories on the front page, you will go directly to that particular story. Web and addresses are now also LIVE, so that if you click on them you will go directly to that web page or address. 4. CLEARER STRUCTURE. Some people have said that they do not like the way stories are not always contained with pages. They would like a clearer structure and demarcation between stories. So now we are always going to make sure that major stories begin on a new page. This also makes it clearer to find stories by clicking on the story LINKS mentioned above. 5. PRINTING OUT A PARTICULAR STORY. Some people have said that often they do not want to print out the whole magazine but just a particular story. We are not yet quite ready to build this feature into the magazine, but you can easily do it yourself, using the standard capacity which is in your printer instructions. Every printer gives you the opportunity to just indicate that you only want to print out certain pages in a document rather than the whole thing. As we go on we will be continually endeavouring to improve the magazine, in response to your feedback and also implementing our vision of everything that an e-zine can be. Here is some further information for people who have complained about the "chewing up the colour cartridge" problem. Printing Subud Voice on a home printer 1. The Subud Voice Online team envisaged the new magazine as being eventually an e-zine for the public as well as our members and in particular, our younger members and would contain more stories about Subud members out there, 'in the world', with more interviews, more photos, more graphics etc., and to be read online. 2. We do not have the resources to prepare and post a black and white version of the magazine. 3. However, for those of us who cannot make the shift to on-screen reading, and have to print out, all is not lost! There are more economic options as follows: a) Most printers have a 'mono' print facility. If you go into your on-screen control panel, it should give you a list of adjustable options on print quality, print speed, print size, paper quality and print colour (either full colour or RGB, or mono or greyscale). If you choose 'mono', the printer will then interpret the colour values into black/grey and only bring the black cartridge into play. b) If your printer doesn't have this flexibility, your computer might, particularly if you have Adobe Reader or a similar 'pdf' opening program. If you download the pdf document as normal, then open it in Adobe Reader, or similar program, you should be able to re-save it as a 'greyscale' pdf, which again translates the colour values SUBUD VOICE PAGE 23 MAY 2011

24 into grey scale. Then, when sent to the printer, it will print in 'greyscale' or 'black and white' only. c) Like you, I am horrified at the price of cartridges, particularly for my Epson A3 plus printer. Black cartridges are 20 each and colour 32. But then my wife discovered a company that sells, online, cartridges (called compatible cartridges ) for 2.99 (black) and 3.99 (colour) with bulk (2 or more) discounts and free delivery on orders over 15. Deliveries are virtually next day, and there's a 'no quibble' replacement service if anything goes wrong (occasionally, but rarely, when the printer decides it doesn't like the chip on the new cartridges, for example). They can supply virtually any cartridge (including Inkjet and Laser) at the cheaper price quoted above and the quality of these replacements is at least 98% for high quality work (300dpi and above) and 100% for day to day stuff such as printing out Subud Voice Online (72dpi). The name of the company is Internet Inks (Abitech Ltd, Nottingham) and their contact details are: website: (I'm certain there are similar companies all over the world google 'cheap printing inks' or similar to find a store near you.) We really hope this is helpful. Please note that we do not accept any responsibility for problems which may arise in transactions on E-bay or with suppliers. We can only say that we have found the company mentioned reliable. Consult the internet or local traders for suppliers in your area. MAKING SUBUD VOICE EVEN BETTER We very much need to have feedback about the new on-line SV, and with this in mind would greatly welcome your response to the following short questionnaire. Are you a Subud member? What is your age? Which articles did you like best? Where are you from? Do you intend to read SV regularly from now on? Respond to the Editor, Harris Smart, subudvoice@gmail.com A D V E R T I S E M E N T S!!"##$ $%#$#$ &'!$$"" #(%""! SUBUD VOICE PAGE 24 MAY 2011

25 A D V E R T I S E M E N T S BAPAK S TALKS VOLUME N O W 22 A V A I L A B L E PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW FOR BEST DELIVERY PRICES (Incl p&p) UK Europe Rest of World Pay by UK bank cheque or Credit Card Subud Publications International Loudwater Farm, Loudwater Lane Rickmansworth Herts WD3 4HG tel: +44 (0) S P I Subud Publications International spi@subudbooks.co.uk TRANSLATOR NEEDED Following the passing of my long time Subud brother and translator Muhtar Holland late last year I am in need of an Arabic translator, capable of translating Arabic Islamic texts originally composed around the11th century CE by luminaries such as Imam al- Ghazali, Shaikh 'Abd al-qadir al-jilani and so on into English. Al-Baz Publishing, Inc. is at this point a well known and respected publisher of religious works for the Muslim community, scholars and the interested layman. To review the list of titles published during the last 20 years, please feel free to visit the web site at: and click on the link 'Our Books' and if that sparks any interest then visit and click the link 'List of books from which excerpts...' to read some of the content. From this you should get an idea of what I am looking for. It is my great hope that I can find someone from within Subud to fill this position, since in my estimation there is a need for the translator to be alive inwardly it is not enough to merely be competent in rendering from Arabic into English something like, say, a technical manual. Furthermore a good command of the English language is a necessity. Interested parties may contact me by at albaz@bellsouth.net in the first instance and we will take it from there. Qualifying steps will involve completing a page or two of a sample text. Ruslan Moore Al-Baz Publishing, Inc. SPANISH CONGRESS VIDEO Lucita Sendin writes from Spain... There is a video taken at the last National Congress in Spain (Barcelona) last October. It was made by a Subud member of Alicante. GpSOJg&feature=channel_video_title MUSIC BY SUBUD ARTISTS Music By Subud Artists available from: Recording, mastering & CD production: DJC Records 104 Constitution Hill Norwich NR3 4BB UK clague@paston.co.uk LOOKING FOR WORK Ilaine Lennard offers proof reading/ editing/typing. Fees to match those in your own country. Excellent references. ilaine.l@blueyonder.co.uk TEL: +44(0) Sissinghurst Grove, Cheltenham, GL51 3FA, UK SAVING GRACE Marcus Bolt now in its 3rd edition with new cover & extended to 256 pages Available from Price 11 plus postage This is by far the best book written about Subud. Perfect for friends, family, enquirers... Dahlan Johnson Entertaining and instructive by turns, Marcus writes in an easy, flowing conversational style that gives the reader the feeling of being personally addressed. Unpretentious and refreshingly free of sanctimony, there is a generosity and a warmth of spirit about his narration that quickly befriends the reader and invites positive participation... It s well written, too... Laurence Clark SUBUDVOICE MONTHLY ONLINE DEADLINE FOR NEXT ISSUE: 3 1 M a y Subud Voice is published monthly and the English edition is issued on the 1st of each month at A Spanish facsimile edition usually appears a little later on the same web site. SUBMISSIONS Send articles, photos, cartoons etc. to Harris Smart, Editor Subud Voice, editor@subudvoice.net Tel: Submissions are invited which relate to Subud life or are from Subud members. We cannot guarantee when or if a submission may be published. Preference will be given to articles of about 2000 words or less accompanied by a photograph, wellwritten in English and dealing with the activities of Subud members, or expressing a Subud member's perspective on a subject. Articles should be written in such a way that they are intelligible and interesting to both Subud members and the general public. Sometimes this may mean providing an explanatory introduction or notes for the non-subud reader There is no payment for submissions. Correspondence about articles will generally not be entered into. Submissions to Subud Voice may be edited for a variety of reasons including the need to shorten them or improve expression. If you do not want your submission to be edited in any way, please mark it clearly NOT TO BE EDITED. The opinions expressed in the various articles are the sole responsibility of their authors and cannot be seen as representing the opinion of either the editor or the World Subud Association. ADVERTISEMENTS Classifieds: 50 cents a word. Minimum charge AUD$ Display rates on request. (Developing countries no charge). To make payments by credit card to Subud Voice for any purpose including sponsorship. Go our website Click on the CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS button on the left hand side of the screen. Click on SUBUD VOICE CREDIT CARD PAY- MENTS. Fill in the form which comes up and in the comments box put SPONSORSHIP or whatever is relevant. Or contact us for bank details for bank transfers. Do not forget to indicate if you would like your sponsorship to be publicly acknowledged. SUBUD VOICE TEAM Harris Smart: Editor and Business Manager Ilaina Lennard: Founder & Contributing Editor Marcus Bolt: Design and Layout Kitka Hiltula: Webmaster The opinions expressed in the various articles are the sole responsibility of their authors and can not be seen as representing the opinion of the World Subud Association. The name Subud and the Seven Circles Symbol are registered marks of the World Subud Association. SUBUD VOICE PAGE 25 MAY 2011