By Sylvia des Tombe
Along with eight other helpers from the Palo Alto Subud Center, I attended the weekend gathering of helpers in Sacramento on the weekend of March 6. There were so many noteworthy aspects to the retreat, and of course everyone had different experiences, but here is mine.
Saturday after our group latihan, the women were asked to receive “What was Bapak’s mission?” That was quite a powerful test. Then, the international helpers gave the message that Ibu had expressed to them when they were in Indonesia just recently: when helpers talk to applicants and when they are doing helper work such as testing, they need to really be feeling, acting and talking from their “budhi.” “It’s all about “budhi;” helpers need to be quiet and need to meet the “budhi” of others.” (NOTE: See related article for some of Bapak’s explanations of the term budhi)
Two people said memorable related things: “Living life to the fullest is how to be Bapak’s helper” and, from the Christian tradition: “Nothing makes God happier than for one to be an authentic human being.”
Then we broke up in groups, each with an international or national or regional helper. For each member of the group, we tested (to access the “budhi”): “Who is X?” and “Who is she when doing her helper’s work?” “What challenges does she face in her work as a helper?” “What is needed to overcome this/these challenge(s)?” “What gift does X have to give to Subud and the world?” The receiving was powerful for each person, and we each walked away with many lessons and gifts.
Saturday evening was rich with news from the IH’s (Suzanne Renna, Miriam Ramsey and Sjarifuddn Harris), who discussed the efforts being made to rectify Bapak’s Advice and Guidance for Helpers and give us a new one, with the goal of unifying procedures around the world and making sure that quotes are authentic and referenced. (Note: see article by Rosana Schutte for further commentary on this discussion). The evening ended with anecdotes shared by many members. Only when we were told we needed to break up and vacate the premises by 10:00 did the flow stop. We all went home quite full of memorable stories and reflections.
Sunday after group latihan, the helpers modeled a way of conducting awareness testing: One helper asks one person to receive, while another helper or helpers “witness,” staying as close to their own “budhis” as they can. The helper then takes the person who is receiving on the voyage, so to speak, of awareness testing. Every woman who wished to was able to experience both the testing and the receiving in this way.
At the end, small groups were formed to pursue questions raised earlier. The helpers took the time to make sure everyone was satisfied. Then, at my request, everyone was asked if they wanted to do a latihan for peace in the world, as our little group had tested as to what results could come of our individual latihans for that purpose and had received some pretty amazing outcomes. Sophia Nicoletti and a few of us decided to move forward to organize some regional simultaneous latihans for peace. We also thought the men’s participation would have great value.
Someone referenced this lyric from a song by Hamid Camp about the correct use of time: “Time is just a sacred loom on which we weave the fabric of our destiny.”
