Many thanks to Kenneth and Fatijah Clark for forwarding these photos from Ibu Rahayu’s 95th birthday celebration on March 13. This event was held at her home. (L) Ibu Rahayu at home with family and the Chair of Subud Indonesia
She did not go to the Subud compound in Jakarta, where in the past she has given talks on her birthday. Kenneth and Fatijah heard nice reports of merriment and fine food served in both celebration locales.
(R) Yellow cone rice as a symbol of gratitude
by Henrietta Haines
Many of you will recall an initiative begun within Subud California in 2017, which raised funds to purchase and ship food directly to Subud members in Venezuela. It has been a great hope of mine that the funds left over after the program could no long send food to our sisters and brothers in Venezuela would be used for survival needs in Ukraine.
For those who may not know the background, these donations came about when many of us heard and were touched by the story of a Venezuelan Subud Sister’s experience of seeing the life she had grown up with disappear. She shared with us the sadness of cultural loss and the sorrow of watching as people grew physically unable to find food.
When I first heard her story, I was in the lovely Northern California church where our group did latihan. The contrast was inconceivable. Within a mile I could have secured enough food in an hour to fill every square inch of my car, feed us all and give away the rest so that everyone there would have had enough to feed their families too. It was an overwhelming feeling that we must do something to ease the suffering.
Our group agreed that we would donate money and use it to send food. As more members across Subud California learned about it, and as we learned how to ship directly to Subud members in Venezuela for distribution, the project grew. In the end we sent tons of staples such as rice, beans and dried milk, and at Christmas, chocolates to allay the sadness and loss they were feeling.
Unfortunately, when a society loses its structure, so many things that were taken for granted get lost. Over time the roads we used for delivery became dangerous and eventually we were no longer able to send truckloads of food through the streets of Caracas. Also, many of our members left Venezuela to become refugees in other South American counties. Fortunately, all funds not used for food and shipping have been kept safe.
Now, a pathway for them to reach the Ukraine has been created through SDIA (Susila Dharma International Association), which has been supporting the needs of Ukrainians members and their families. We are so grateful to be able to redirect these funds to their efforts.
Thank you to all the members who made donations to the Special Fund for Venezuela. That generosity now continues to have a humanitarian impact as part of a committed community supporting our sisters and brothers in another war zone, in another part of the world.
Those who attended the 2022 CA Regional Congress will recall the wonderful Subud symbol cookies made by Haryanti Jones, Chair of the Los Angeles Subud Center. The cookies were both beautiful and challenging to make! However, Haryanti’s special joy is making cakes – and now she has founded her own company based on this passion. Here’s her story.
After graduating with a degree in pharmacy from University of Indonesia, Haryanti realized that her interest and talent was in marketing. She enjoys marketing’s dynamic quality, which arises from understanding the psychology of people to achieve persuasion. And, she loves that it involves both art and business acumen.
When she and Luke Jones were married in 2019 and she moved with him to the US, Haryanti joined Luke’s business, Advocate Travel Marketing, which serves global customers such as the Kenya National Tourism Board and the Hilton Moorea Resort in French Polynesia (aka Tahiti). Although the Covid pandemic reduced demand for travel services in 2020, they picked up clients in Africa and the Middle East.
Haryanti got intrigued by videos of cakes posted, and was inspired to try her hand at cake decorating. When she made her first holiday cake, friends and family who saw her photos on social media were amazed that she could do this creative work. Haryanti realized that she had discovered a talent that both she and others could enjoy. By mid-2021, she
began developing a business. She started thinking about how to build a brand and find the right name. In Indonesian, the word “lezat” means “delicious” which perfectly describes her cakes. She built a portfolio of cakes for special occasions: anniversaries, birthdays, and all kinds of holidays.
In October 2021, she procured her license to sell cakes as a Cottage Food Corporation in the County of Los Angeles which permits her to bake and sell from home. She developed her website to showcase her creations and manage online sales, baking to order for pick-up or delivery.
Although she offers cakes, cupcakes and cookies, most orders are for cakes, which offer the biggest canvas for creating something unique and customized. Customers may have an idea for a cake format or design, or they may ask her to create one. A key selling point is that all products are made using more than 90% organic ingredients. With a focus on customers aged 30-50, being visible on the internet is crucial to growing the business. Customers find her via Google search, as well as on Instagram and Facebook.
Haryanti uses what she has learned about building an image and reaching a target market to communicate based on the customer’s “side of the table”. Her “brand house” (above) is an important baseline tool, which encompasses the key messages and goals of the enterprise.
While she is currently able to meet most challenges and opportunities, Haryanti anticipates needing to hire staff to expand in future. At that point, she will need to figure out what can be delegated vs. what she must do personally.
Haryanti recalled that Ibu Rahayu has talked about understanding your talents, and that to know your talent takes time for the soul to progress. She provided reference to Ibu’s talk 99 NWH 01 (excerpt below):
With her skills, focus and talent, it will surely be an exciting and satisfying journey!
A Message from Suyono Sumohadiwijojo, WSA Executive Director and Hamida Thomas, SDIA Executive Director
As the invasion of Ukraine has unfolded, so too has a growing humanitarian situation throughout the country. Many of Subud members have written to see how we can help. SDIA is designated by the WSA to take action in humanitarian crises where Subud members are ready to become involved in the response. At this time, the Subud Ukraine Chairman has requested to receive assistance such as QuikClot gauze and mats, and other needs will become apparent with time. SDIA is sending an advance of $5000 USD to allow the Subud members in Poland to purchase needed supplies to be distributed by Subud members in Ukraine on the ground.
If you feel to support this cause, please earmark your contribution to the SDIA Emergency Response Fund – Ukraine crisis at susiladharma.org/donate/. Or, to benefit from a tax deductible receipt, send the donation with same earmark to Susila Dharma USA, as outlined at susiladharmausa.org/donate/
Our Regional Helpers, when testing about the 2022 Congress a few weeks ago, had a strong receiving of the theme “Deepening our Surrender Together.” This offers wonderful guidance for planning the event, which is scheduled for the weekend of August 5-8, 2022. Information about venue, registration, schedule and more will be available when the Congress website is completed in the coming weeks.
A parable by Hani’a Abrams
Old Mr. Bell was very Poor. He was also very Good. What is it that makes a person truly Good? Depends on who we ask. Not many know what it is to be truly Good;
—there are some who understand what it means to be Poor. Although many lay claim…to want to be truly Good; only a few wish to be Poor.
~
Young Mr. Sand was not a nice man. He too was very poor. He hated being poor, so he was envious of the rich. Not many know what it is to be rich. Fewer still that there are two kinds of rich…
…one is what can be measured by hand and by eye; the other is what can only be measured by purity of heart. Although neither Mr. Sand, nor Mr. Bell, had riches that could be measured by hand or by eye… …it could be said of Mr. Bell: His was a heart truly pure!
~
Mr. Bell and Mr. Sand and the rest of the poorest of the poor, lived in a shanty town outside the great city of Ors. The shanty town was near these humongous piles of refuse that were the discards from those of the great city who were materially fortunate.
Desperate the lives of the poorest of the poor! —having to rummage through these piles of refuse for their food, clothing, and shelter! Constant the ache of their bellies —not only from finding little food to eat, but also because the little food found was often turning rotten!
The clothing found was usually torn, threadbare and ill-fitting, and their shanty homes, built of what could be salvaged from the refuse, rattled in the wind and leaked in the rain, were too hot in summer, and in winter much too cold.
~
Whatever little good he managed to find rummaging through the refuse, Mr. Bell was always willing to share: if he found something good to eat and a child were hungrier than he, Mr. Bell would sing and give; …if he found something warm to wear and an elder were colder than he, Mr. Bell would sing and give; …if he found construction material and a family had a home that rattled in the wind, leaked in the rain more than his, Mr. Bell would sing and give; …as such was his way, naturally, he was loved and appreciated by all.
As no one ever heard him sing, Mr. Sand, he was not loved or appreciated by all; rather, he only spoke harshly to people; nor did Mr. Sand ever give or share; rather, whenever the opportunity arose for him to take what was not given or shared, take he would! He even stole from kind Mr. Bell! —but even so, unlike everyone else …Mr. Bell never complained!
Because he was not nice, and took what was not given, none of the poorest of the poor would talk to Mr. Sand, would not even let him near …except Old Mr. Bell. He talked to Mr. Sand and he let him near, and often they could be seen together rummaging through the piles of refuse in hope of something useful.
…Whatever Young Mr. Sand found, he would always hide for himself.
…And whatever Old Mr. Bell found, he was always willing to share.
~
One day, from the great city, a big truck arrived at the place of refuse. Hoping for something useful a crowd of the poorest of poor gathered to see. The truck had come from the home of a rich man whose daughter was to be wed, and the garden where the wedding was to take place had been landscaped anew; many trees and plants had been cut down and dug up. This truck was full of those discarded plants and trees and dumped it all in a big pile. The poorest of the poor gathered there sighed and began walking away, thinking to themselves,
“That has no use! Nothing there for us to eat or wear.”
But Mr. Bell did not walk away, he walked right up and began rummaging through the discarded plants and trees; guided by an Inner-feeling …which made him think,
“Something of use might be found even amongst that what seems to have no use.”
Mr. Sand decided to stay with Mr. Bell, because he knew Mr. Bell was good at finding useful things. Maybe Old Mr. Bell would find some useful thing Mr. Sand could take for himself! …And, sure enough, Mr. Bell did find something useful! …Something that one day would be useful for all!
It was a plum tree sapling!
Old Mr. Bell was very happy to have found the sapling. Young Mr. Sand did not understand Mr. Bell’s joy, but when saw how happy Mr. Bell was with the sapling, he wanted to take it for himself! —just because he did not like for others to have and him not to have! But Mr. Bell sternly said,
“No!”
Mr. Bell did not let Mr. Sand take the sapling. He did not give; he did not share; he tucked the sapling underneath his shirt and straightway took it home. Why did Mr. Bell not give or share? The question was burning Mr. Sand, it made him angry; he did not like for others to have and him not to have! —so with eyes narrow and his heart aflame, he followed Mr. Bell…
From a distance, Mr. Sand hid and watched Mr. Bell go unto his shanty home. He saw him go inside and come right back out with a gourd of water and a rusty soup spoon. Mr. Sand watched Mr. Bell count twelve or so paces from his shanty home, then Mr. Bell knelt upon the ground and made himself quiet… Mr. Sand saw Old Mr. Bell begin to slowly sway …as if to a Music none could hear …but which Old Mr. Bell could feel.
Mr. Sand saw Old Mr. Bell take up the rusty soup spoon and with it begin to dig. He heard Mr. Bell sing as he dug, …singing to the One Origin of the Earth and the Sun and of the Clouds that bring Rain. He sang to the plum tree sapling, bringing it forth from his shirt and gently planting it, tapping the softened earth firmly about its young root. He finished singing as he watered it from the gourd, and glowing with joy, Old Mr. Bell went back into his shanty home to rest.
After a while, Mr. Sand went sneakily toward the plum tree sapling. He was meaning to take it! But, descending from the sky came a little bird! Noble was the name of this little bird, and She was Mr. Bell’s Friend. Noble did not let Mr. Sand come near! She kept diving and fiercely chirping at Mr. Sand! He waved his hands and tried to shoo Noble away, but She would not be daunted! Noble kept on diving and chirping at Mr. Sand until he finally huffed in exasperation, “You stupid bird!”
—and stomped away full of frustration. Noble followed a ways to make sure he was gone, then returned to the plum tree sapling; She ascended into the sky, circled the sapling seven times, before alighting on the roof of Mr. Bell’s shanty home …to quietly keep watch.
~
Time went by and by and by… and everyday Mr. Bell sang and sang and sang to the plum tree sapling …even until it was no longer a sapling but had become a full plum tree! Yet, although the tree had grown large with the passing of many Winters and Springs and Summers and Falls …it never once showed any sign of blossoming. No blossoms of course meant no fruit; yet, as if it one day would blossom and bear fruit, Old Mr. Bell would sing and sing and sing to the tree; so much so, the poorest of the poor, though they knew him to be very kind, began to consider he might be going ‘out of his right mind’.
The Poorest of the poor, understandably because of their desperation, had become weak in faith and, also, weak in hope; so they naturally could not help feeling the plum tree good for nothing; and in judgement of Mr. Bell singing to it, they would often say unto him, “Why do you sing so to this tree, Mr. Bell?”
and he would cheerfully answer, “Because one day this tree will bring nourishment to us all!”
and the poorest of the poor would then say, “Mr. Bell! —this tree has never even blossomed, of course, it will never bear any fruit!”
and Old Mr. Bell would smile and softly reply, “Yea, yea, we will see, we will see…”
~
One morning, in late Winter, one of the poorest of the poor, an elder woman, was returning from the river… (Now, before first light, a Voice bade this woman to go bathe in the river. It was hard for her to follow this Voice as she knew the water would be so cold …but she found she could not refuse this Voice, so she journeyed through the still dark unto the river and shivering to her bones, bathed therein. She thought she might die, but steadily she braved the cold water and was astonished when a warmth enveloped her from without even as it filled her from within. She felt herself strengthened in body and in Faith, and she was very glad to have obeyed the Voice! …She obeyed the Voice again when It told her to return home, and feeling blessed and much refreshed, so she did.) …as she was passing Mr. Bell’s shanty home, the Sun was just beginning to brighten the world. Noble forthrightly took wing into the sky and began to chirp and sing like unto a voice from heaven, and the elder woman looked over and was astonished again; this time to witness the plum tree that was naught but bare branches the night before …was now in full bloom! The beauty of the blossoming plum tree moved her such she could not help but call out,
“Everyone! Wake up! Wake up! Come see, come see! A miracle has happened this night!
Come see everyone! …Come see Mr. Bell’s plum tree!”
Roused from their slumber those of the poorest of the poor who could hear the elder woman’s voice wondered at her words. (Now some were already awake …because of unusual dreams …which in some cases were comforting …yet because of dearth of understanding …in other cases were felt strange and disturbing). …Wrapped in their tatters to protect from the cold, those who heard came out of their shanty homes. Amazed they were to find the elder woman pointing to the plum tree full of pristine blossoms! Enraptured by the beauty thereof, they could not help but gather around the tree; each one remembering their witness of Mr. Bell singing to the tree everyday throughout the seasons, and now this day: finally, they were witness to why Old Mr. Bell faithfully sang so. The beauty of the blossoming plum tree was herald of a Promise Sublime …and the poorest of the poor felt in that moment relief from the constant despair of their desperate lives, and each felt their heart fill with joy, and with happiness, and with faith and with hope.
From the doorway of his shanty home Mr. Sand was watching. Wrought he was from the night’s fitful dreams. Now, as he witnessed the reason of the elder woman’s call to awake, and indeed felt the Beauty of the blossoming plum tree entering him, a new, yet somehow familiar, feeling, stirred within. His limbs began to tremble …and this trembling grew until it touched his heart …resulting first in a sharp pain …then soon enough followed by a rushing coolness …then dawned within Mr. Sand a poignant remembering followed by a keen understanding concerning Mr. Bell:
That what made Mr. Bell most happy …was a Treasure in his old heart, and because of this Treasure,
…Old Mr. Bell felt the happiness (and the suffering) of others as his own!
From this enlightening awareness, a soft smile began to grow on Mr. Sand’s smiling face, even as tears of remorse streamed down his smarting cheeks. (For his had been a face not given to smiling!)
Young Mr. Sand felt himself much contrite, but also most glad, and thankful unto speechlessness. How thankful he was Noble did not let him take the tree when it was a sapling …he would not have known how to take care of it; he could not have known its value; he would not have had the patience and faith to sing and sing and sing and sing through the passing seasons. Young Mr. Sand became aware of something Alive and growing within him …something that cannot be measured by hand or by eye, but indeed was making him feel very, very Rich! …Seemingly of its own natural accord, Mr. Sand’s body began to carry him to the plum tree…
Young Mr. Sand made his way, quietly, humbly, through the gathering of those awakened by the elder woman’s call, and who were milling about in collective awe and bewilderment at the Beauty of the blossoming plum tree. When Mr. Sand’s presence became known to them, there was a murmuring of disapproval, and one of them did not hesitate to speak aloud his feelings,
“Why come you here Mr. Sand? Have you come to pay us back for what you took from us?
…Or do you intend to steal even this beauty from us?”
Mr. Sand stopped and stood still; not yet able to meet anyone’s eyes. The elder woman whose awakening call roused them, stood before Young Mr. Sand. …After a quiet, she was moved to say to everyone,
“Let us be mindful of our speech before this Beauty which none can take from us!
Do you not see? Just like us, it is this Beauty that has brought him here!”
She reached up and took Mr. Sand’s face in her aged knotty hands, …she witnessed his tears and read into his awakening but long tired eyes …she was then moved to say, “It is finally time to speak your true heart Mr. Sand. I, for one, am listening.”
Mr. Sand turned to face everyone, yet was he still unable to meet their chastising gaze, but with voice trembling with sincerity he asked of them, “Forgive me. There is not any among you who I have not hurt. I do not deserve it …and I cannot undo what hurt I have done…but please …forgive me.”
The poorest of the poor gathered there found themselves speechless. Young Mr. Sand softly sat at the trunk of the plum tree. He was quiet and without expectation. Some, in witness of his sincerity, felt wont to speak, but a powerful quiet held them all hostage. Descending from the cold and bright and blue sky, Noble alighted to the plum tree. The powerful quiet seemingly vanished into sublime Space as Old Mr. Bell, throwing his worn and torn canvas bag over his shoulder, stepped noisily out from his shanty home. His sandaled feet struck the ground with intent as he walked right pass the crowd, on his way to rummage through the refuse for something useful. They called excitedly to him,
“Mr. Bell, Mr. Bell! The tree! Do you not see the tree?!”
His simply reply was, “Yea, yea, but, even still, I mustn’t neglect my daily needs!”
…And with those words, as if awakened from a spell, the gathered became keenly aware of their own ever pertinent daily needs. Lightly they all dispersed. Young Mr. Sand remained at the trunk of the plum tree however, quietly wishing within himself for something to different.
~
When Old Mr. Bell returned from his rounds of rummaging, of searching and finding, of singing and sharing and giving, it was evening. He saw Young Mr. Sand sitting beneath the plum tree and who seemingly had not moved since morning. With stern compassion Old Mr. Bell spoke to him so, “What are you doing there? …Do you not feel Winter is still with us?! Get up from there! Come! —come into my home with me!”
Cold and stiff, Young Mr. Sand arose to humbly follow Old Mr. Bell into his shanty home. They shared a meager meal and spent the rest of that night together …And through of all that night neither Old Mr. Bell, nor Young Mr. Sand could sleep! …It was all Mr. Bell could to sing and sing and sing …and it was all Mr. Sand could do clap and laugh and cry and dance! —to a Music that none could hear …but the both of them could feel.
~
Everyday thence, Young Mr. Sand began helping Mr. Bell take care of the plum tree; he carried water from the river and brought dung from the fields to nourish and fertilize its roots; he learned well how and in what season to best prune the tree, and enthusiastically memorized the song Mr. Bell sang to the plum tree, and without fail, each morning and evening Young Mr. Sand would sing this song. Surprisingly beautiful was his singing! —to his own ears as well as everyone else. …And now that he felt himself to be Rich, of course Young Mr. Sand stopped speaking harshly to people, and of course he no longer took what was not shared or given, but rather, like Old Mr. Bell, he did not hesitate to sing and share what little he had with any who had greater need. Willingly, the poorest of the poor all began talking to Mr. Sand, and with genuine smiles they all let him near, as they were all witness to his true transformation
…and he was known by them as the Caretaker of the Tree.
~
As Spring turned to Summer, the plum tree was full of promised fruit and the fruit upon the topmost branch already ripe! One of the poorest of the poor, a boy-child, whose belly was stinging from hunger, keenly noticed that ripe fruit, and right away he climbed the tree and shook the ripened fruit down from the branch. When Mr. Sand came to the tree and saw the boy picking up the fallen fruit, he began to sorely chastise him. Fruit in hand, the boy turned to run away, but the Caretaker of the Tree called to him, “Wait! —do not run …Please, forgive my harshness.”
The boy stopped, desperately clutching the fruit he warily turned to face Mr. Sand, who took a breath before thoughtfully speaking such, “Listen, I too, am very hungry, and I too saw that fruit upon the branch, and I too thought to shake it down for myself.
…But as Mr. Bell is napping, I was waiting for him to awake, for, stronger than my hunger, is a feeling that Mr. Bell ought be the one to have the first fruit of this plum tree. Now that you have the fruit in hand however,
Please, …tell me how you feel.”
The boy looked at the fruit in his hands. Sore was his hunger, but he did reflect upon the incredible kindness of Old Mr. Bell, …and despite his hunger the child felt himself in full agreement with Mr. Sand. Indeed! —the boy duly chose to forgo his hunger and offer to Old Mr. Bell the fruit he had got for himself! Patiently sat he and Mr. Sand under the plum tree, waiting for Mr. Bell to awake…
When Noble descended from the sky, through the branches of the plum tree to land upon his shoulder, Mr. Sand suddenly felt to get up and go into Mr. Bell’s shanty home. He finds Old Mr. Bell on his mat …staring into space …a smile on his peaceful face …but he does not answer Mr. Sand’s call …nor does he move from Mr. Sand’s touch. Brimming with concern, Mr. Sand kneels at Mr. Bell’s side. Ever smiling, Old Mr. Bell turns his head to gaze upon Young Mr. Sand …he nods his head as if a bow before slowly closing his eyes. Mr. Sand is bewildered by a sweet fragrance that suddenly fills the entire room! …Understanding strikes Mr. Sand with grief! He lowers his head and begins to weep.
Gathering himself, Mr. Sand goes out and tells the boy to help himself to the first fruits …then, solemnly, he walks through the shanty town to let every one of the poorest of the poor know, “…Old Mr. Bell, …has just died.”
All who hear …feel heart-stabbed, dropping whatever object was in hand. All who hear …cannot help but break down in tears of great sorrow. All who hear …are overwhelmed with the loss of kind, and generous, and noble Mr. Bell.
~
Days later, at the humble funeral for Mr. Bell, each and every one of the poorest of the poor are gathered …except Mr. Sand. Everyone wonders where he is, feeling in themselves that perhaps Mr. Sand’s sadness was too great to for him to attend. After the burial of Mr. Bell’s body, the poorest of the poor, solemn and mourning, all feel to gather to the plum tree, …and there is Mr. Sand!
—who has picked much fruit! —and is shining at them! —shining at them all with the smile of someone who understands a Great and Beautiful Secret!
He warmly beckons and greets and passes ripe fruit to each and every one of the poorest of the poor, enjoining them all to nourish themselves; and as everyone grateful yet still solemn partakes of the fruit, Mr. Sand brightly speaks so,“Let us all rejoice for Mr. Bell! —as he lived his life so very, very well!
Verily, was he not Guided by the Good?! …And did not his living of such a life give unto all of us the fruit of happiness?! Yes! —the evidence is in all of our hearts that this was so! Therefore, because of the life he lived, and as I bore witness:upon his final breath,
Mr. Bell was truly Happy, and truly Content, and truly at Peace.”
Mr. Sand went on to say that they all ought to try, as best they might, to turn their sadness into a commitment to continue in Old Mr. Bell’s way …the daily work of searching and finding, of singing and sharing and taking care of one another; ever remembering how Mr. Bell was always willing to help others before helping himself; and ever remembering that the Good, which truly guided Mr. Bell in his life, was also Present to guide each and every one of them in their lives. Finishing his speech, Young Mr. Sand offered this:
“…from now on, my beloveds, every year at this time, let us gather together here, in remembrance of the Good within us, and share with one another the fruit of this tree, in remembrance and commitment to the excellent way of living shown us by Mr. Bell! —for truly, I believe this was Mr. Bell’s wish and intent and hopeful prayer when he found and planted, for us, …this plum tree!”
Each one of the poorest of the poor felt the remnant of their mourning replaced by a wondrous and joyful lightness! They look upon one another only to witness a reflection of their own surprise and amazement! Collectively do the poorest of the poor bring their palms together and bow their heads to one another in silent Agreement.
…Then do the Poorest of the Poor continue partaking of the ripe and rich fruit of the Plum Tree, gracing one another with gentle smiles, each knowing within, …indeed Old Mr. Bell’s kindness and love was ever with them!
a message from the regional helpers
Dear Sisters and Brothers
We regional helpers are planning two kejiwaan events, the first as a Zoom meeting and the second together in-person (the latter as soon as the COVID situation makes it possible for us to come together safely).
In our role as regional helpers, we have been asked several times to help resolve difficulties in our local centers and between members. Subud is no different from the world at large in our challenges with relationships, working together, and understanding each other. The difference is that we can ask for guidance through our latihan.
The first meeting via Zoom is for our center helpers. Along with other issues, we plan to do testing on the subject of harmony where test questions can be suggested, and we can receive together and have dialogue. We will keep you posted as to when this will happen.
The second, in-person kejiwaan event is for all our members. We want to include the same issue, harmony, as we test together for guidance. We hope this might happen in the early springtime.
Meanwhile, we are continuing with our regional latihans on Saturday mornings. We open the call at 10:15, quiet time is at 10:30, latihan begins at 10:45 and another quiet after the latihan from 11:15 to 11:30, if you wish to stay on. On the first Saturday of each month we offer testing after the latihan.
The conference call number for women is 1-605-313-4415, meeting id 529243#. The conference call number for men is 1-515-604-9515, meeting id 194341#
Love to you all; may you stay safe and be well,
Hani’a, Rasjidah, Leanna, Harlan and Helena
In the last 3 weeks. members of the San Joaquin Subud Center have been under fire evacuation warnings due to the KNP complex fire. On October 8th, Sulfiati Harris sent the photo and a more hopeful update as below:
“It is raining right now, a good strong soaking. Here is a photo of our deck today.
Also, I want to share this beautiful message sent to a friend of mine from a man in Idaho who has experienced this kind of event and has words about what is to come: It is so hard, but there is
beauty in the terrible action. There will be morels & other edible mushrooms, in abundance that will be inspiring. The new grasses & shrubs, that have been void under the canopy of the thick forest, will bring all of the grazing animals, & the fungi & insects will come quickly, bringing the scavengers & the birds. Most sad will be the Styrofoam charcoal remnants of the noblest guardians of your previous forest, but then you will witness new trees rising from the stumps. We know that scars are not ugly &, like everything in life, they are not permanent, but they are the most interesting part of the story. You will find that unique beauty, that can only be derived from the flames & it will inspire you.”
For prior reports of about the fire evaluation warning and their impact in the area, go HERE.
Leanna Harrison recently became one of our regional helpers, taking on the role so capably handled by Renata Reid for the last 3 years. Leanna shares some details about her life in Subud here:
Thank you for this opportunity to work as your new regional helper. I have known many Subud members for years, but feel a short intro would be helpful.
I was opened in Arcata, CA at the age of 24 and chose to be quickly and deeply involved in Subud soon after, living in the central London Subud house followed by a year in Cilandak. It was at a magic time when Bapak would give spontaneous talks and meet us on the veranda for Selamatans.
In Cilandak at 26, I gained my new Subud name of Leanna (from Sandy). Each day I’d ask to be shown my “right work,” while Halimah Polk and then Fatifah Clark would knock at my door and ask me to please substitute teach for them. Finally, I realized I WAS being shown my right work and later I returned to America to pursue a 26 year ESL teaching career!
I’ve been an active Subud member ever since, attending four World Congresses and doing latihan in many countries throughout my travels, with the most unique being in Calabar, Nigeria.
I currently live in central California near Yosemite National Park, and enjoy creating one-of-a-kind art objects using my ceramic wheel and kiln. I have been hosting CalChat Zoom sessions for the past year and a half and look forward to getting to know many members more deeply through my new Regional Helper position. Again, thank you for allowing me to serve as your R.H.
Love to you,
Leanna Harrison
by Hani’a Abrams
Before he had flesh, Adam Wept
He cried because he remembered
Because he did not wish to forget
his Love for God
Adam did not want to become subject to Time
He did not want a body
Nor a heart
Nor a mind
Who would wish to become unreal?
Perhaps Adam intuited that upon the Earth:
Suffering would lay wait
In Happiness;
Pain would masquerade
As Pleasure
Perhaps Adam knew
Pleasure and Happiness
And Suffering and Pain
To be most unreal,
Unless…
You are burdened with a body-heart-mind.
Adam cried for fear of forgetting
Perhaps he intuited he would become fond of being Earth-bound
like happiness too much
And would come to love pleasure
And comfort of body
Over the subtle Truth of his Soul
Yes, Adam wept.
And so too, do I weep:
Because under the ruthless dominion of the Material
we all indeed forget
…Our Love of God
…And how should we not cry, seeing we are helpless in the forgetting thereof?
Hani’a says: “Adam Wept” is a poem resultant from Muhammad Subuh Sumohodiwijojo’s “Adam and his Children”, …and is a serious expression of my inner’s ‘awareness of earthly circumstance.’
by Luqman Katz, August 2021
Fresh off our all-encompassing Congress, we hope you are all doing well. We traveled to our local centers, to the nation, and on to Indonesia, all from the comfort of our home. Now, post Congress, things are beginning to unfurl…
Raina Snyder has become our regional SIHA (Subud International Health Association) representative. She hopes to contact all of us to share the work that SIHA does, and how we can get involved with the Subud health and medical community. As a starting point, she recommends viewing the SIHA website and you can reach her at rainasnotaryservices@yahoo.com.
We thank Ralph Davila, Sanderson Morgan, and Paul Nelson for bringing SICA to California. SICA will have a larger presence in our region, as the SICA board hopes to bring latihan, testing, and conversation on the topic of culture and you, as well as cultural entertainment evenings. Stay tuned for an event coming near you.
Below, we present to you some members of your sweet, sincere and hard-at-it executive committee:
What adorable people they are! I know that I would definitely trust them with my donations to Subud CA, and I am sure you all feel the same way. Please visit our website and click on the donate button. You will make these little guys very happy and will make their jobs a lot easier. Thank you all!
Love, Your Committee
by Gareth Loy, Subud California at Marin
I was in the last semester of my senior year at San Francisco State, preparing to travel that summer to India in the Peace Corps, when a girl I had met at a Methodist summer camp in high school unexpectedly showed up in a college course on world religions I’d signed up for.We were both so struck by the synchronicity of finding ourselves in the same class years after having completely lost touch that we stopped after class to catch up.
We’d had a brief adolescent romantic fling, but she explained that she was presently living with her boyfriend while she finished college. We agreed that I’d come to their apartment that Friday evening to meet him and renew our acquaintance.
I was born a Methodist preacher’s kid, yet despite this unpromising beginning I had demonstrated an early and earnest interest in religion and spirituality — which I suppose explains the Methodist summer camp studying theology and the above-mentioned class in world religions. She was the daughter of a mathematics professor — also not so promising a beginning, but her clever, energetic, and quixotic free spirit had attracted me. Yet this latest phase of our relationship would turn out even wilder and more interesting than the first.
I will skip over most of it, except to note that the era was the mid 1960’s, and the location was the Haight-Ashbury… need I say more? But the most enduring outcome of that renewed friendship came when she disclosed to me that she’d joined an Indonesian spiritual organization that she thought I might be interested in. She said they met two evenings a week in an upstairs room they rented at California Hall on Polk Street, and I could come along with her, sit outside in the adjoining cloakroom, and listen to their goings-on if I were interested. Captivated by this exotic mystery, I quickly agreed.
Of course you probably have a good idea of what I heard at California Hall the night I went. To me, the sounds coming through the walls testified to a deep, intimate expression of intense spiritual devotion moving freely and directly among the participants. It lit me on fire: I realized that here at last was a way I might break through the thick crust that seemed to cover over and block access to my deepest self. Of course I’d had glimpses — weeks at a time of spiritually elevated states in adolescence that would come and then steal away as mysteriously as they’d arrived. And of course the Haight-Ashbury had taught me the hard way what we all now know about getting high: it’s like a tourist visa to paradise — but it expires, and when you inevitably come down again you are not necessarily better off. But I’d just been introduced to a practice that could seemingly invoke those same depths at will! I had to join.
My three months applicant period flew effortlessly by and I was then ushered into the room with the rest in order to be “opened”. But opening up was not easy. When I eventually began to feel movement I questioned it wondering, “Am I just making this up?” Fortunately, the answer came immediately: “Yes, you are just making this up. And what you uncover in the process is your true Self. And this action is called worship.” So I surrendered to what moved in me, and, for my diligence, was eventually ushered into an inner sanctum of serenity and insight.
I was shell-shocked and culture-shocked when I returned home from the Peace Corps. I was physically and emotionally demolished by what I’d lived through, yet I still faced the prospect of the Draft and Vietnam. I had no vision for my life beyond surviving. So I threw myself into the Latihan with a kind of fevered desperation, looking for healing and a sense of direction. Eventually, I found I had everything I needed to face and overcome these obstacles and find my true purpose.
I continued practicing the Latihan faithfully, lived in a Subud house near the Panhandle, studied Subud literature, and diligently attended all events where Bapak spoke in California. In fact, when he came to San Francisco I recorded his talks on tape and mailed them to Indonesia. I remember touring the building Marin Subud eventually bought, and I remember testing with them the prospect of assuming the administration of a Nature Conservancy property somewhere near Sears Point. Sometime after Marin Subud split off from San Francisco, I moved to Fairfax and practiced for a while in Marin.
Later I practiced Latihan in Palo Alto while I pursued a doctorate in music at Stanford. But I stopped when the university where I’d been hired to teach had no Subud center nearby, and the demands of family and career took over.
That was about 40 years ago. Countless times I’ve driven past the Marin Subud sign and felt a familiar tug. I promised myself I would find my way back in retirement — which I achieved only just last month. Of course there is much more to tell. If you would like to hear some of my music, below is a recent commission piece I wrote for viola and ‘cello.
Note: this post was originally published in the Marin Center newsletter from May 2021.
Subud Indonesia celebrated its 74th anniversary on February 1, 2021. At this event, Ibu Rahayu spoke and offered comments “to prepare the resources that Subud will need in the future.”
Ibu Rahayu opened by saying “When we compare ourselves to other people, everyone is different. To give an example: How can we help Bapak in developing Subud? We do not need to think, ‘Oh no, I’m not one of Bapak’s descendants. Is it only Bapak’s descendants who are able to do that?’
No.
We are all learning on this spiritual path. That is why the latihan is called latihan kejiwaan, which means spiritual training and that is a process of learning.”
Read Ibu Rahayu’s complete comments at this anniversary event HERE.
Many thanks to Haryanti Jones, who received this text both in the original Indonesian and in this English translation (recently completely by Raymond Lee), for making this message available to us.
By Luqman Katz
What a year we have all had! We baked you a cake to “celebrate.” As most of California enters the orange tier, more centers are reopening for worship for some rentals. All we ask is for each of you to conform to local and county guidelines, now, and as they are modified. We, the Executive Committee, thank you all for so diligently adhering to the health protocols that are recommended by health professionals.
Can you hear the turning of gears? That’s the sound of our Congress and Community Teams preparing for our next annual Congress, via Zoom. The Council has approved August 6-8 as the dates, so mark your calendar now. Rifka Several, God bless her, has agreed to act as this year’s Congress Chair, and has been unanimously approved by the Council.
The venue for next year has been reserved at UC Santa Barbara. So, God willing and the virus don’t spike, we are headed for an in-person congress in 2022!!
We are required by our bylaws to have a Congress Chair and, at this year’s 2021 event we need to vote for a candidate. This is where we ask all of you to consider being that person. It is a fun job (just ask Rifka) as well as a legal requirement. The rewards are boundless AND you get to attend the Congress for free. If there were a penthouse suite, you’d get that as well.
That’s it for now. Please take care, everyone, and we’ll see you very soon.
Regards, Luqman and the Gang
This article was first published in the Marin Subud Center Newsletter and is reprinted here with permission.
How fortunate we are that we knew Isaac, that he was a part of and cared deeply for our Subud group.
I hope you will enjoy the below tributes to Isaac as much as I have. Isaac not only touched the lives of people all around the world–a few of who write below–he worked directly to help save the lives of 300 (and counting) young children in Bolivia in need of heart surgery. A remarkable thing.
—Meldan Heaslip
Renee Goff said: In all the years we were together, Isaac always tried to follow the tenets of SUBUD and Bapak’s advice. He wasn’t perfect, but he was a good man, husband, father, friend and employer. And he had a really good sense of humor which made up for any minor shortcomings. And I miss him.”
From Peter Filippelli ~ Isaac! A mountain of a man. A man with a sense of the future. A man with the knack of how to make ten cents into a dollar. A successful business man. Not only was he successful but he used this talent to advance Subud and particularly Subud Marin.
Aside from this unique talent, he was my warm and loyal brother. A man who, despite an occasional doubt about Subud, stayed faithful to Subud and Bapak. To his end, he professed a deep commitment to the latihan.
He accepted his coming death with grace and surrender. He told me during recent phone calls that he thanked God for his success and family. He knew he was dying but accepted this with surrender. I remember telling him that he was an example as to how to face death. I confessed to him that when it was my time I would probably break down in tears and act like a spoilt child: I don’t want to go. He laughed and actually comforted me despite his angst.
God bless my dear brother. I will miss you deeply.
From Miftah Leath ~ I first met Isaac when I was 19, cleaning house for Vivana Brodey, who introduced us. I was not yet in Subud, but Vivana made sure I got invited to all the social gatherings, and at that time I could sit outside the latihan before being opened. Subud Berkeley rented the Val Bovie ballet studio for sequential latihans. The women went first. I loved the image of all these big men loitering outside a ballet studio, hanging by the curb smoking cigarettes, waiting to go in for latihan.
Isaac had just opened his yarn shop on University Avenue and I started buying yarn from him. He and I had a compatible sense of humor–a comfortable wise-guy way of talking to each other. He was a kind of indulgent older brother and I was a sassy little sister. He was always patient and seemed very wise to me, and his business succeeded and grew. Vivana was into astrology at one time and told me Isaac had many planets in Taurus, and that his chart had a large influence on his business acumen. He told me once, not that he particularly loved business, but that he was good at it and he may as well do that as anything else. Later in life he would share the other things he was good at, like his beautiful photography.
It seemed to me that if God wanted to make something happen on earth, God would just have to grab onto Isaac and pull to make things in the material world move. He was a monumental presence in my Subud life, one I thought would always be around. He was my big brother, and I will miss him.
From Reynold Weissinger ~ I moved with my family to Marin from San Francisco in 1969, a year after the Marin Subud group was started. I think Isaac moved from Berkeley a few months later, perhaps just after we bought the Subud house.
He was a happy addition to the group, energetic with a great sense of humor. Soon after, he moved his business, Dharma Trading, to San Rafael. Marin was a close group at that time, and we did everything together. A number of us who lived in Fairfax, including Isaac, would meet at the bakery after work for coffee. There were frequent activities to raise funds, like dinners, rummage sales, a successful film series and a music festival.
After purchasing the Subud House in San Anselmo we had many work parties. Isaac was a fixture at these events. When we decided to remove some pavement for a planter, Isaac was on the jackhammer. A very unpleasant job that took hours. He also became a helper. And married Renee! A beautiful wedding.
About 1973, Isaac, Yohannan Kalisher and Juan Lorenzo Hinojosa started an enterprise called Dharma Mercantile, to manufacture jewelry. The business took off and eventually employed about 50 Subud members. It attracted many new people to our group, which grew to two hundred members. One of the largest Subud groups in the world, and we had many international visitors, including Bapak and his family.
The last time I saw Isaac we met at the Marin Subud house to discuss major remodeling and repairs. I knew he was having health problems. This was one more thing he wanted to take care of, facing an uncertain future. We both loved that place, filled with so much history and so many happy memories. We were friends for 50 years. He will be missed.
From Rachman Cantrell ~ I thought of Isaac as eternal in this physical realm and never suspected he could actually leave it. Isaac was an impressive presence and had a huge impact on the material development of Subud. He started a number of Subud enterprises over the years involving many members along with his main business Dharma Trading Company, which is still going strong.
Isaac is kind of an unsung hero. He did not put himself forward but worked quietly in the background to make the world a better place with his charitable projects helping kids in South America. His efforts saved lives and improved the lives of many others. He is an example of what it means to put the benefits of the latihan into practice in the world. Some details on his charitable enterprise can be found here.
Isaac loved riding his motorcycles and photographing amazing sights on his travels. His photos were truly beautiful (find them on Facebook).
He will truly be missed by those left behind, but I have no doubt he will be active in his next big adventure in the world beyond this one!
From Raymond Lee – “Here’s the thing…” or The Lessons I Learned from Isaac
The geese glowed in the dark.* Forced to migrate from California, they stood silently glaring on the lawn of their new home, livening up an otherwise drab corner of Wisma Subud – Isaac’s container had arrived.
Isaac had brought his geese, his family – Renee, Sampson, and David – and familiar belongings to an unfamiliar land. Hired to help the hotel and Kalimantan projects that Bapak had initiated, his down-to-earth California-chill approach would be tested by the frustrations of Jakarta life, and the cantankerous community of Wisma Subud residents.
“I just wanted a swimming pool,” sighed Isaac, “but the powers that be think that kids in bathing costumes will bring moral turpitude to the compound.” Isaac had proposed a pool, but what he called the “morality committee” vehemently resisted his plan. He sighed; his hang-dog expression even droopier than usual. I could see his frustration. But then, being Isaac, he shrugged and let go of his dream of swimming in the compound. That was Isaac: he didn’t get hung up on things.
After a meeting in Bapak’s office in the S Widjojo Centre, he turned to me, “Here’s the thing… Bapak sees people the way they are, he doesn’t expect them to change or be something else, but just what they are.” That was a revelation to Isaac. Yet, he was like that himself, taking people as they were – most of the time – not trying to change them.
But most of all, as his plastic geese proclaimed, Isaac was Isaac. He made no attempt to adopt Javanese customs as many foreigners in Wisma Subud did in a quest for spirituality. Always the pragmatist, spirituality was a turn off. Isaac never talked about life forces or angels, no. He was far more interested in importing gym equipment from Nautilus than nattering about the nafsu. So, I was curious to see Isaac on one of the high points of the Wisma Subud calendar, the end of Ramadhan, when hundreds of Indonesian members, dressed to the nines, brought their families to pay their respects to the man they regarded as their father, Bapak. I saw Isaac and family sweltering in the humid horde, inching forward to where Bapak and family sat. For Indonesians, this was a deeply moving moment: touching someone of Bapak’s stature would bring them good fortune. That was not the case for Isaac. After more than an hour or perspiring, Isaac finally got to lower his great bulk on to his knees and greet Bapak. Bapak smiled graciously. Isaac struggled to his feet, moved down the line until he saw me, “Raymond, I don’t know what that was, but it certainly wasn’t spiritual!”
Though Isaac stuck to his ways, Indonesians warmed to him. They were noticeably friendlier to Isaac than they were to me. What did he have that I didn’t? Was it the plastic lawn geese that glowed in the dark? I was trying hard to fit in, through language, gesture, and behavior, yet Isaac was accepted effortlessly. Finally, it dawned on me, Isaac was himself, what you saw was what you got, there was no hidden agenda. People felt safe with him. A big lesson for me.
As one of the most practical and straight forward people I ever met, he asked down-to-earth questions that had me scratching my head. “Here’s the thing, Raymond. Why are we struggling to raise all this money for this hotel? We could buy storage facilities in downtown LA yielding 12%.” I looked at him, couldn’t he see the vision for what we were doing? Why would we buy something as mundane as a storage facility?
Isaac was frustrated with the way things were going on the projects, many things did not make sense to him. Then, when PT S Widjojo, the hotel project, and the bank sank into the Anugraha vortex of spiraling debt, Isaac packed up his geese, and took his family back home. I never saw the geese again, but I would see Isaac, this time in California.
After I had given a presentation about PT S Widjojo to a Subud group, Isaac offered to put me up at his home, promising me a tour of California on the way. And that is what I got – a five-hundred-mile drive from San Diego to Fairfax, during which Isaac gleefully pointed out various landmarks, none of which were visible. We were driving at night.
The next morning, we sat down in his office cum den. “That’s me when I was a cab driver in New York City”, he said, pointing to a photo on the wall. Isaac somehow always looked like a biker – minus the tattoos. He got out his mail-order catalogue, a thick publication printed in black and white on cheap paper. “I prepare this every year and send it to schools who order t-shirts and dyes. I do it all myself,” he said proudly. Dharma Trading was a simple business and Isaac was a master of cost control. “How do you keep costs down?” I asked, as he showed me his warehouse in Fairfax. “I never use lawyers”, he whispered. I was puzzled: How could Isaac survive without one? Then I realized, when he got into a dispute, he would simply sit down and work it out with the other guy. That was who he was.
When next we met, it was in Innsbruck at the World Congress. “Still selling t-shirts and tie-dye materials?” I asked. “Yes, and I am buying my competitor.”
I’ll admit, his business seemed boring. It did not have the daring and dash of the great Subud enterprises, which by now had all collapsed. Where was his vision. Where was his burning desire to change the world? All he wants to do is make money, I thought.
“I’ll double my turnover to more than two million dollars a year,” he went on. I nodded, thinking to myself, that’s nothing, the Subud mining venture will generate billions.
Then he told me that he was spending time in South America. “Doing what?” I asked. “Funding cataract operations for poor families.” I was startled.
In Christchurch, New Zealand, I caught up again with a very different Isaac. He was trimmer and slimmer. Gone was the California-casual look, he was dressed in stylish black.
“What happened? You are not your usual casual self.” “You won’t believe what I’m doing now?” grinned Isaac. “I’m designing women’s clothes!” He was amazed at himself, and so was I. Even his charitable activities in South America had expanded to funding open-heart surgery for poor families.
That was the last time we met, but a few years later, he shared with me photographs he had taken as he toured on his bike – living the biker dream. They were stunning, moving meditations of the California countryside.
Then it struck me. Isaac had transformed. From proud owner of tacky plastic lawn geese, he was now a master photographer making wonderful images. Without spiritual claims, or crisis, or visions, Isaac had evolved from purely making money through enterprise, to doing significant charitable work, to being an incredible artist. And all the while his business kept growing until the turnover was in seven figures. He wasn’t an enterprise guy, a Susila Dharma guy, or a SICA guy, but all of them rolled into one. He was a living reality that the latihan, which he had done diligently for so many decades, transforms us. He had become a complete human being.
I will miss the big guy as he sets off on the next stage of his journey. I can only imagine that when he meets the angels tasked with interrogating him about his deeds and misdeeds, he will pull them aside, and with a wink of his gentle brown eyes, he will grin and say, “Here’s the thing…”
In memory of Isaac Goff: Keep it simple, keep it real, and keep at it.
With deep affection, your brother, Raymond
*Editor’s note: Renee loved what Raymond wrote above, but noted that there were no plastic geese (or flamingos, or plastic anything) 😊
One of Isaac’s talents was writing. The story he wrote about why he got into business is worth reading and can be found HERE.
by Diego Salgada, Regional Councilor for Subud CA at San Diego
COVID-19 has impacted our lives in more ways than we could have originally imagined including Thanksgiving, Black Friday shopping, Christmas and New Year’s celebrations. I happen to be in Tijuana, Mexico – just over the border from San Diego. In fact, from where I live, I can see part of the border gate, the shopping outlet that’s right on the gate’s northern edge, and the hills of San Ysidro which is where San Diego County, California meets the USA’s neighbor to the south.
On this side of the demarcation line, which runs east and west, all things seemed to run normally. I would have traveled somewhere – anywhere – had it not been for all of the advice against doing so and the increase of hospitalization rates. On Thanksgiving, I swapped turkey for some yummy Mexican seafood instead. I also window-shopped virtually on Black Friday, opting to hold off on the newest iPhone and other trinkets for the moment.
More impactful has been the privilege and opportunity to teach ESL to a group of lovely and very keen on learning six to twelve-year-old kids. They live in a working-class neighborhood of Tijuana, Mexico. This was definitely one of the best gifts I could have received for the holidays, as I have never taught anything, much less to a group of such smart and adept kids. It is funny and curious to see the younger ones of the bunch be just as bright as their older counterparts.
Our meetings took place in-person one day during the week and the other over Zoom. We went over the basics and singing to the chorus of songs from Tears for Fears, The Cure and Lana Del Rey. We wrapped things up a couple of weeks before the school holiday break. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to continue working with the kids as it all depends on my future work schedule and whatnot. Regardless, I’m hopeful of having planted the seed of English language in these wonderful kids’ minds with the intention that it someday blossoms into something of practicality and use in their lives.
I leave you for now with this excerpt from one of our favorite sing-along songs: “I don’t care if Monday’s blue. Tuesday’s grey and Wednesday too. Thursday, I don’t care about you. It’s Friday, I’m in love”.
by Laura Paterson
Follow the yellow brick road…Follow the rainbow over the stream…Follow the people who follow a dream…
As with Dorothy in ‘The Wizard of Oz’, our world is upended by a global tornado. A global disaster has transformed it into a new and strange place, into a world where nothing is as it had been or as it had appeared to be.
And as with Dorothy, everyone has been challenged to discover new and innovative ways of navigating this unprecedented and previously unimaginable environment.
One happy result of this has been that creativity and innovation have abounded. Zoom has entered the room. And the great island continent of Australia beckoned us to her with her 2021 Subud Australia National Congress.
Subud Australia made the bold decision to hold its 2021 National Congress by making full use of the new social paradigm and new technologies, in an innovative blend of zoom virtual reality and pre-recorded, beautifully curated content.
For the first time in the history of Subud Australia, their National Congress became a truly international event, easily accessible to Subud members around the world at the click of a link.
And so, without the cost of travel or accommodation or meals or services, Subud members everywhere had the most up-close and personal contact imaginable with our very warm and loving Australian brothers and sisters.
They extended to all of us the warmest possible welcome into their vibrant and immensely fulfilling group lives. I could not wait to take full advantage of this opportunity, so with the greatest excitement, I sent off for my access link.
I was immediately immersed in the warm bath of Subud love and harmony. As with any momentous Subud occasion, Subud Australia’s 2021 National Congress existed outside of time, showering everyone in the uniquely Subud glow of latihan love and harmony that we all are so blessed to receive.
Beginning Saturday, January 2nd, Subud Australia gave Subud members around the world a full week of an incredibly immersive Subud congress experience. Every day the Congress website overflowed with live virtual meetings and brilliantly curated recorded content.
Subud Australia National Chair, David Ohri, conducted the Opening Ceremony, which was simple, humble, and sincere. He was followed with moving performances by Audrey Longerhan, Frances Madden and Emmanuel Cahill. By the end of the ceremony, I was totally in love with all of my Australian brothers and sisters.
I felt total gratitude for their dedicated, loving and deeply harmonious spirit. For their total warmth and sincerity. For being always so gracious, with such generosity of spirit. For always proceeding with the utmost harmony, and total love and respect for each other.
The abundant offerings of pre-recorded content were presented with the greatest care, skill and competence. Every day, Subud members were treated to a rich smorgasbord of deeply satisfying experiences:
There were informative and inspiring presentations from MSF, Dharma Care, and the WSA Archives project. There was a delightful entertainment from the Northern New South Wales Group Men’s Choir. All of this content was presented on the brand new, gorgeous, shiny Subud Australia website.
The live closing event was on Saturday, January 9th. “A real highlight of recent in-person Australia Congresses has been ‘Culture Couch’, with dynamic duo Harris Smart and Roland Fraval.”
Some huge takeaways from this Congress…
Subud Australia is astonishingly multi-generational! The membership ranges from dedicated youth, to young working families, to mid-life experienced and dedicated members, to true wisdom-keepers, lifetime Subud members. They are our Subud sages. Very often, they also are the parents and grandparents of our young up-and-coming generations.
It was a special joy to witness the warmth and closeness and genuineness of these inter-generational bonds. To see babes-in-arms, with delightful toddlers and energetic children, all intermingling with the adults in their lives, who are at all of the varying life stages.
It also was very exciting to see how live and recorded events were interfaced into one seamless whole experience. What a great model, what a great prototype, for national and zonal and international congresses in the future.
For indeed, the future will be a very different place. Subud will be adapting to that, as will everything else that is going to survive and move into the new paradigm. Virtuality will be a huge underpinning of that new paradigm.
Subud Australia clearly is deeply committed to the emerging values of the new global social paradigm, most notably in the conduct of their outer, material lives. I take these values to be those that we always have cherished and espoused in Subud. That is the values of transparency and accountability, with emphasis always on clear, open, honest and harmonious communication.
The technologies of our new age will drive the necessity for the survival of any organization to be the manifestation of these values. Internet tools and platforms like email, Instagram, Facebook, Zoom, and WhatsApp will ensure that transactions and communications will be subject to awareness, understanding, and evaluation by the public. Increasingly, these technologies will ensure that leaders must adhere to the highest ethical standards.
For seven hours I witnessed Subud Australia’s National Council meeting being conducted with the utmost fiscal and organizational transparency and integrity. Every aspect of Subud Australia’s financial and administrative dealings was on the table.
Every item was examined, considered, and debated upon. Full resolution was achieved with the utmost harmony and respect. All this took place in real time and in full view and witness by every member who wished to attend.
One member who was present for every Council session was Nahum Harlap, Chairman of the World Subud Association. Nahum brought great vision and clarity to the meetings. This provided a very effective illustration of the great importance of there being continuous and ongoing communication and collaboration between the various entities and ‘levels’ of the Subud organization.
These societal and organizational values are being well absorbed into the entire Subud organization, up to and including the Muhammad Subuh Foundation. Subud members can follow the direction of their leadership with the utmost confidence. They can know that at all times the highest values of honesty, integrity, transparency, and accountability are being observed and maintained.
I followed the people who followed a dream. In doing so, I experienced the greatest possible satisfaction and happiness.
THANK YOU, SUBUD AUSTRALIA FOR YOUR 2021 VIRTUAL NATIONAL CONGRESS!!!
by Halimah Collingwood, Councilor for Subud California at Arcata
As we have become used to a distanced life, seldom meeting with friends and family, we recognize a hole in our lives. You may be using Zoom for work, for school or to speak with family and are really tired of that platform. You have Zoom fatigue! Enough is enough.
But you have missed those special moments when an inner spark is felt and transmitted from one person to the next during deep communication. You have missed the belly laugh that arises from a casual comical comment.
Subud Sisters Zoom
To remedy the situation, in April 2020 some Subud East Coast women started a weekly ‘Subud Sisters’ Zoom chat group. Gradually, as the news got around, they were joined by others from the Midwest and the West Coast. After nine months it is still a regular meeting place to talk about our lives, our feelings and share experiences. If you or another Subud Sister would like to request to be placed on the list of women who receive the zoom invitation to the zoom gathering, please send an email to Alexandra ter Horst at info(at)subudusa.org (editors note: Subud Sisters is on hiatus as of September 20201)
CalChat
In California, we began a similar conversation group called CalChat. Since June, we have met bi-monthly every first and third Sunday in the early evening. Most of the 16-20 members are from California but there are some from Oregon, Washington, Subud South and one brother from Cyprus. Many of the same people come each time with occasional new attendees. But there are no rules for attendance and members can come whenever they want.
Each month we advertise CalChat on our regional Facebook page and in a California email blast along with other announcements. Our content differs from the Sisters group as we usually have a theme, a question, or a suggested topic to begin our conversation. Over time, as we have come to know each other better and our discussions have deepened.
We encourage people to be considerate, not to monopolize the session, to be attentive and listen to others. It’s challenging, especially remembering to Mute and Raise our Hands, but it is working well, providing a space for us to see each other and become closer. Many feel it is one thing that has been missing in our local Subud groups.
For most of us, CalChat provides a service. It’s fulfilling, nourishing and wonderful to learn from each other. Want to check it out? Just send an email to the Cal Chat hosts at zoom.subudCA<at>gmail.com to request an invitation to the Zoom meeting.
In these days of the pandemic and social isolation, it seems more important than ever that we reach out to each other, albeit remotely, to build and solidify our inner community. Each Saturday we have a regional latihan and testing which is a chance to share our inward connection to God. Please join us for that and know that there are other opportunities to connect with each other as well, such as CalChats and various call in and zoom latihans hosted by local groups.
As Bapak often reminded us, we Subud members are one, a great family, and we will know each other in the next life. Our shared latihans, including those shared remotely and virtually, are both a help in this life and a preparation for the life to come. Through the latihan, we come to know each other in a new and deeper way, an inner way. Let us look upon this time as an opportunity for this deeper, inner connection with Almighty God and one another.
With gratitude in our hearts, we give thanks for the gift of the latihan and pray that Almighty God guides us throughout this life so that we may each find our right place in the next life. We wish each of you and all of your family a happy and safe holiday season and look forward to being together again soon.
Rasjidah, Renata, Helena, Hani’a, Owen, Harlan