by Raphaela Riparetti

After an applicant period of well over a year, I was opened at a UK national Congress in Bideford during the summer of 2000. Never during this time of waiting did I have any doubt that Subud was for me and that has remained the case these last 19 years. My parents were in Subud a number of years before I joined but never told me anything about it nor did they bring my siblings and me to any Subud events. This seems to be related to the fact that as children and young adults they both were forced by their families into pretty tight religious straight jackets.

Therefore, they decided to give their kids utter religious/spiritual freedom, to the point that this part of life was hardly mentioned (but the content of their spirituality expressed in loving parenting!). It’s interesting to note here that my most astonishing and life-changing experiences in Latihan have been very directly Christ related which, despite the different form, has given me a real sense of closeness to my strict protestant lineage. Life is very comical that way.

I’ve been a part of the Amsterdam, Lewes, Brighton, Central London, Rungan Sari, Utrecht, and now Santa Barbara groups. I met my husband, Owen Riparetti, at the Innsbruck World Congress and we now have 2 daughters, Alexandra (6) and Halima (very nearly 5). I served as group chair in Utrecht, and have been a helper in Santa Barbara the last few years.

Soon after moving to CA in 2009, I once organized a Subud CA congress at Joshua Tree together with Harlan Gleeson and a number of others, which was a blast. By the time the congress came around, I remember experiencing such a feeling of bliss, and when I looked off into the desert sky through the wall of the Latihan hall, I saw Bapak and his party approaching. It was an incredible blessing to have those experiences.

I thank God for everything I have been allowed to receive on my journey through life with the help of the Latihan. These gifts are extraordinary and it is hard to paraphrase what exactly I am grateful for because it is so endless and multifaceted. Because of all of this, it is easy to find the willingness to serve the Subud CA community in my newly accepted role as vice-chair. I am asking for all the Divine help that will be needed to do a good job at the tasks that will come on my path!