| Dallas-Fort Worth Meditation Group eNewsletter October 2020 |
| | | | Spirituality
"God made you in His image, and in this image lie all the beautiful qualities of Spirit. You must discipline yourself to develop your sleeping spiritual powers and to find the kingdom of perpetual happiness within. If you consciously and continuously live on the spiritual plane, you will attract all things that will lift you up to final liberation. In the garden of your heart, cultivate the flower of devotion, praying, "O Flower of Unfading Fragrance! Send Thy breath of love to cheer me always, as I climb the spheres of realization on my way to full Enlightenment."
--Paramahansa Yogananda |
| | | Weekly Local Group Participation Events Encouraging Our Members to Stay Involved At This Time
During this unusual time of necessary social distancing, we want to ensure we are reaching all of the Dallas Fort Worth Self-Realization Fellowship devotees to make you aware of, and encourage you, to make use of the methods of fellowship that we do have available. Master considered divine friendship among devotees and friends very important, and we want to engender as much of a sense of support and fellowship as we are able during these times.
With the goal of maintaining divine fellowship while our Chapel remains closed, our group now has informal Zoom Fellowship meetings most Sundays at 11am. The meetings are well attended and have a focus on compassionate harmony among the participants, uplifting stories, or short readings from Self-Realization Fellowship publications, as well as offering support to those in need.
We also have Zoom meetings with Kirtan on Thursdays 8-9pm. If you would like to be included in these Zoom meetings, please email to: connect@srfdallasfortworth.org
You will be emailed a link to join us with Zoom.
And we have one more opportunity if you would like to join us. We have an informal WhatsApp group started by members of our Managing Council for our DFW-SRF Meditation Group. To join, please install WhatsApp on your device, and use the link: https://chat.whatsapp.com/ItsAFW1n7DZ1TIVe6GCFhJ. We hope you will join us in this fellowship.
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| | A Correspondence That Will Warm Your Heart
Most of you know that our lease term is up on December 31st of this year. We were quite concerned because previous talks with our landlord indicated that we were paying about 1/2 of the market for our space. Then came along the Covid Pandemic. We recently reached out again to Mr. Bill Blackshear about our concerns of not even being able to occupy our space for services since March and there presently is no time frame for re-opening.
The following response gave us great unexpected joy that we are surrounded and protected by our Gurus but also that we have a very decent and kind, and yogic, landlord! Prayers of thanks and well wishes to him would be wonderful. We are now just putting the wording on a formal agreement.
Email from our landlord...
I know the pandemic has been hard on everyone, especially houses of worship and retail clients. As we have communicated in the past our current rent rate is far below market. However, we are sympathetic and appreciative of our long history together. We will go one step further and extend the current rate through the end of 2021. Hopefully that will give everyone time to adjust or the vaccines to be fully available for everyone who needs / wants one.
I hope this will help you guys out. Let me know what questions you have or what you need from me.
Hope everything else is well with you guys and everyone has been able to escape any serious health issues.
Thanks,
Bill Blackshear
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| | Wonderful News About Our 2020 Building Fund Project
The “Chapel 2020” initial fundraising project that was begun eight years ago in 2012 is progressing wonderfully. With an outstanding donation total during the month of August of $9,195 we have reached a total of over $395,540. It is reasonable to assume that we have passed the $400,000 mark by this time in September.
With the silent help of the Great Ones, the seed of a beautiful new SRF worship and meditation center here in North Texas has been planted. By our daily meditations, prayers, loving donations, services, untold efforts of karma yoga (actions) by our members pouring love into this group, we are watering the future plant which is growing roots and will sprout and blossom either tomorrow, or next week, or next year. It is not if... but when. It is assured.
Practicing the principles personally given to us by our Guru is the ground work that is necessary. We are helping each other and many thousands to come.
A growing untold Joy within each of us will be our reward.
We are getting closer to our original financial goal established in 2012 of $450,000 by the end of this year. One of our members plans to make a large donation and enthusiastically hopes that this will encourage other devotees who have the means, and can do so comfortably, to make a contribution to the DFW Meditation Group Building Fund. Of course, a donation of any amount will be gratefully accepted!
This fund, held for us by SRF, will help us to establish a permanent home for SRF in the Dallas/Fort Worth area when the right circumstance manifests.
Thank you all for your continued generosity and sponsorship of the DFW Group’s Chapel 2020 Project.
Ways to Donate Can Be Found Here
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| | Our Long Term Planning Committee Taking Actions
The members of our LTPC are John Salih, Purnima Sarwal, Chandra McCormack, with our newest member Sarosh Nayar. Sarosh is bringing new energy and has agreed to look into other options of perhaps "building from scratch" with a prefab structure on undeveloped land. Many other churches have done this. They are pursuing all options because the current environment occasioned by Covid-19 is causing a large disturbance in business commercial real estate which experts say will be very favorable to our situation during the first quarter of next year.
The Managing Council, plus a few others that have always been advising us with this project, have agreed to lower minimum square footage requirements. Even a modest 4,500 square foot facility would be double the space we have been meeting in the last 17 years. The coming months could be a promising time for us.
If you have questions or comments please email to: connect@srfdallasfortworth.org
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| | 2021 Monastic Tour Canceled
Due to the pandemic, Self-Realization Fellowship made the decision to cancel the planned February 2021 Dallas Fort Worth monastic tour. Additionally, there are no other tours being scheduled for 2021 by SRF. Also, Temples remain closed for services at this time. We remain very grateful for the numerous online meditations and services offered by SRF.
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The Convocation Experience Continues
SRF wants you to know that this immersion in Yogananda’s teachings continues to be available to you — whether you are enjoying what Convocation offers again or are experiencing it for the first time.
How to View Convocation Events
If you have already registered for Convocation, you can continue to experience the full offering of all Convocation events, including four interactive pilgrimages, on our website. If you have not yet registered please do so here. (If you have already registered you will be taken to the Convocation page.)
Also, a playlist of 26 classes, meditations, and kirtans are available on our YouTube channel.
Please note that the Convocation classes on the SRF meditation techniques can only be viewed by students of the SRF Lessons. Learn more about the SRF Lessons here.
May this year’s Convocation be for you a source of continuing inspiration and lasting blessings.
In divine friendship,
Self-Realization Fellowship
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| | Yogananda Seva
In 2018, the President of SRF/YSS, Brother Chidananda, approached a small group of lay members with the idea of assembling a lay workgroup to explore how to help fulfill one of the high-priority goals he had set for the organization: to find ways to engage and motivate the vast pool of SRF/YSS lay members around the world in a variety of initiatives that would support and/or complement SRF’s own activities.
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| | Self-Realization Online Services
During this time while SRF services in Temples, Centers, Groups, and Circles are not able to gather together in person, the online services offered by SRF Mother Center are available several times a day . Those services consist of:
Online Meditation Groups Online Study Groups
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| | Self-Realization Fellowship Blog |
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Always get the latest information, inspiration, updates and communications from SRF delivered right to your email.
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| | DFW Chapel Services Update Currently All Of Our Services Are Closed
We continue to monitor updates and news from both local and SRF sources regarding the opening of our DFW Chapel for services. We are configuring the chapel and India hall for social distancing and going over health and safety procedures for the time when we will be able to meet there again.
As you are aware, the recommendation to adhere to social distancing guidelines remains for the purpose of maintaining safety for ourselves and others. We take your safety very seriously and know that the small size of our Chapel poses distinct challenges regarding adherence to social distance guidelines. We very much look forward to the time when our services can resume and at that time we will send out notifications and updates.
DFW Managing Council |
| | | DONATIONS
If you wish to donate to the DFW-SRF Meditation group of SRF
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| | Monthly Calendar Currently our Services are Cancelled
Visit our DFW-SRF Monthly Calendar often to view our latest activities. New events come up or change periodically and we will update the calendar and announce these at our services. |
| | Currently All Services are Cancelled
Dallas Fort Worth Meditation Group Services
Below are the usual service times when our chapel reopens:Wednesday evening Meditation Service at 7:00 - 8:00 pm
Saturday morning 3 hour Meditation Service at 9:00 -12:00 pm
(Please enter and leave on the hour while chants are playing.)
Sunday morning Meditation Service at 10:00 am -10:45 am
Sunday morning Reading Service at 11:00 am -12:00 pm
Sunday School for children ages 5 to 12 from 11:00 am-12:00 pm.
Sunday Service for Teens. The 1st Sunday of every month at 11:00 am.
When our chapel reopens, it is only open at the above times.
As the official branch of SRF in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, our meditation group has been meeting continuously since 1972. Our History.Email: connect@srfdallasfortworth.org
Phone: (972) 294-7161
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| | For those who are new to Self-Realization FellowshipSelf-Realization Fellowship (SRF) has more than 500 temples, retreats, ashrams and meditation centers around the world offering all interested seekers the opportunity to come together to experience the power of group meditations. Additional information about meditation with videos and the world wide work of SRF can be found on the international web site;Self-Realization Fellowship |
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