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LEAP OF FAITH - AUSTIN, TX
September 20, 2006
September Newsletter
In this issue:
Events: Kripalu / Hollyhock / Baltimore / Chicago
Extension to our pilgrimage in South India: 5-day mantra
retreat “Journey into Silence” + 5-day mini pilgrimage “Off
the Beaten Path”.
Article: Leap of Faith: Our move to Austin, TX
EVENTS: http://www.russillpaul.com/calendar.html
KRIPALU, LENNNOX, MA: I had a wonderful experience at
Kripalu last weekend with a great evening kirtan. Adrian
Bennett and several Kripalu drummers helped rock the
auditorium filled with several hundred chanting yogis.
SEP 29 - OCT 04, HOLLYHOCK, B.C., CANADA: Coming up next is
my retreat Gettin’ High on Mantra at Hollyhock, in British
Columbia, Canada. Here too, there will be an evening open
to the public. If you have friends in Victoria or
Vancouver, do pass on the word.
NOV 03 - 05, BALTIMORE, MD: This theme, of Gettin’ High on
Mantra, is a strong focus for me this fall. For the first
time in my ministry, I am offering a workshop for teens.
Katina la Fond, a licensed psychotherapist in the Baltimore
area, has been incorporating the use of mantra in her work
with teens over the past two years. This November, I do my
first workshop for teens, right after a weekend for a
general audience. Katina has organized an extraordinary
setting in the woods with a fantastic group of three Indian
musicians in the area accompanying me.
NOV 17 - 19, WARRENVILLE (NEAR CHICAGO), IL: Also coming up
in November is a retreat at the Cenacle in Warrenville, IL.
This is one of my favorite Catholic settings. It is a
gorgeous location on the du Page River and a very open
community of nuns.
OCTOBER MANTRA INITIATION RETREAT IN THE BAY AREA
CANCELLED: We are sorry that we have to cancel our mantra
initiation retreat in the Bay Area. This is essentially
because of our move to Austin, TX, which you will read
about in this newsletter. We regret any inconvenience if
you were planning or looking forward to this event and
deeply appreciate your support and understanding. We will
organize this next year, as I do intend to come out to
California regularly.
SPECIAL EXTENSION TO OUR PILGRIMAGE IN INDIA
We are very excited to offer a special extension to our
chanting pilgrimage and retreat, Journey to Find the Other
Half of the Soul, in South India. The 10-day extension
involves a 5-day mantra meditation program at the ashram,
titled Journey into Silence, followed by Off the Beaten
Path, a 5-day mini-pilgrimage to some powerful and historic
spiritual locations in South India. Please note that this
special extension is available only to registered
participants for our pilgrimage “Journey to Find the Other
Half of the Soul” and those who have traveled with us on
pilgrimage to India in previous.
NEWSLETTER ARTICLE: LEAP OF FAITH - OUR MOVE TO AUSTIN, TX
Dear friends,
We have just taken a great leap of faith in our lives:
relocating in Austin, TX. It is now two years since we
first began contemplating this move, essentially to locate
centrally in the U.S. and cut back significantly on the
time it takes to travel to presentations around the
country. Additionally, Austin is an extremely progressive
community, liberal in its thinking and one of the most
environmentally conscious cities in the United States. It
ranks among the five best cities to live in today and many
from California have moved here in the past five years.
Our good friend, the late Wayne Teasdale, first planted the
seed for Austin in our minds. He was emphatic that Austin
was a conscious spiritual community that was growing deeper
and stronger by the day, and that it would fast become an
important center for progressive spiritual thinking (and
living) in the near future. Last year, we came over for a
couple of weeks to get a sense of what life was like. There
is a strong emphasis on holistic health and lifestyle. Yoga
is strong and so is natural health. Whole Foods began here
in the 70’s and this is still their national headquarters.
It is beautiful too, especially out in the hill country,
and trendy -- a sort of Berkeley meets New Orleans -- like
on famous 5th Street. In addition, the music scene is hot,
Austin having earned the moniker: “live music capital of
the world”. The pace is more relaxed than California and
people are open and friendly, and, we have some good
friends in the area. As you can see, there were many
positive reasons to move here.
Just two things hit us on the down side: the heat and the
lack of public transportation. We knew that more driving
would be involved and neither of us like to drive very
much. Moreover, when we returned to California, we became
aware of our deep attachment to her gorgeous beauty,
favorable climate and the diverse culture. However, there
were repeated synchronicities: signs that pointed us toward
Austin in particular.
It was not that we felt pushed, prodded or even nudged.
Instead, it was more of a call, an invitation out of our
nest. Our thoughts were to move in April of 2007, after our
return from India; but quite unexpectedly, a window opened
up. A major project that I was working on this summer
completed several weeks ahead of schedule and a sudden
flash of inspiration guided us to make the move, now.
Things clicked into place with amazing speed and precision.
We just packed our bags and flew here; and, within a
reasonably short period found a temporary place that suits
our needs rather well. Yet, despite all the practical
things working out, it is an adjustment, and we are
implementing the teaching that a good friend of ours, Ed
Smith, once gave us through a house warming gift: a stone
cross engraved with the words, “we walk by faith, not by
sight”. Asha and I sense the pulse of Spirit in every
moment and feel deeply connected to God and Goddess. Time
will of course unravel the fullness of purpose for which we
are here; but for now, our practice is simply to embrace
the unfolding of it all, and the whole process is expanding
our minds and hearts immensely. We are learning a lot, and,
as you can imagine, it is a powerful growth experience
voluntarily embraced.
If you would like to offer us your comments on this
article, please visit our guest page and share your
thoughts. We would love to hear from you.
http://www.russillpaul.com/guestbook.html
May this fall season be one of depth and knowledge for you
and your loved ones. Om!
In One Spirit,
Russill Paul
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