Meditation
Sydney: A four-week course in Sahaja Yoga meditation will be held, free of charge, commencing on Wednesday 18 July 2007. It will be held on four Wednesdays, 18 July until 8 August, 7.30 pm – 8.45 pm. This course is a sequel to the highly successful meeting held at the Paddington Public School last Saturday evening. At this meeting, many people experienced for the first time the joy and peace of mind that comes from true meditation. You are welcome to join us.
The venue for this follow-up course will again be Hall Block C at the rear of the Paddington Public School, corner of Oxford and Elizabeth Streets, Paddington (Sydney, NSW). Parking is available via the Elizabeth Street entrance.
This four-week meditation course will provide information and simple, practical techniques for finding balance in life, meditating at home, keeping in balance and reducing stress. The course is suitable for beginners or experienced meditators, and you can join the course at any time. No postures or special clothing are required, and chairs are provided. The course is free of charge.
A specia
l evening of meditation and joyful music will be held in Paddington, Sydney on Saturday 14 July 2007. Come along and learn how to experience mental silence and peace through the simple Sahaja Yoga Meditation technique. You can also enjoy beautiful world music performed by “Music of Joy”. Listen to a song from Music of Joy: [audio:20 – 20 – Australian Bhajans Group _ Bolo Shiva Shiva Shambhu.mp3] Paddington Public School Saturday 14 July, 7.30pm – 9.00pm Corner of Oxford and Elizabeth Sts (where Paddington Markets are held). The meeting will be held in Hall Block C, at the rear of the school. Enter via the Elizabeth St driveway gate. A four week follow-up course will start on Wed 18 July at 7.30pm – 8.45pm. All events free of charge For more information about the evening, follow-up courses and programs, visit www.sahajayoga.com.au/paddington or phone 0415 289 420.
One lady had been to only two or three Sahaja Yoga programs, but she had been meditating and footsoaking and giving her eight-year-old son footsoaks for two weeks. Her son has always had poor behaviour at the Steiner School he attends, and she is in regular communication with his teacher.
The teacher spoke to her recently and said, “I can’t believe the change in your son. What are you doing to bring about such an enormous change?” From being an unruly, disruptive influence in the class he had become a positive influence, even saying to his classmates, “You don’t always want to do things, but sometimes you need to do it, anyway”.
She told the teacher that the only change was that her son was footsoaking, and that she herself was meditating and footsoaking. The teacher was very impressed and asked her to bring some Sahaja Yoga literature along so that she could find out more for herself and for her students.
Footsoaks can also be very positive for the elderly. Some time ago my mother (aged 87) went downhill in her mental capacity. She was so worried about forgetting what to do and who was coming and so on, that she spent most of her time standing in front of the calendar trying to work out what day it was and what she should be doing.
Footsoaking was only part of the changes we put in place for my Mum, but I am convinced that the biggest factor in getting Mum back to “Living in the Present” was the footsoaks. Mum is not a Sahaja Yogi and she doesn’t meditate, but she recognises the benefit of footsoaking. If several days have gone by without our doing a footsoak, she reminds me. It is an amazing and simple tool to get us back in the present, to suck out the negativity that builds up from everyday life and to keep us in balance.
Maxine Whitnell
Music of Joy is a unique, multicultural group of musicians in Australia who believe the purpose of music is to create and share joy. Exceptional joy – jubilant, relaxing, profound. Joy that reverberates with audiences, offering elation, bliss, solace.
Much of the group’s repertoire stems from Bhajans – songs of the spirit, songs of praise and adoration. To these ancient songs, Music of Joy has added Indian traditional village songs, music from Pakistan, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, England, Israel, Russia and Africa, as well as a number of home-grown compositions by members of the group.
The experience that can result from sharing this unique world music is thoughtless awareness, a relaxed meditative state which can be understood and developed through the Sahaja Yoga Meditation practised by these musicians. It’s an experience the musicians love to share.
The group is made up of about twenty male and female singers and instrumentalists who come from diverse cultural backgrounds. Core members of the group have been performing together for more than fifteen years. Under the direction of John Smiley, an experienced music teacher and choral instructor, Music of Joy’s repertoire is accompanied by a great mix of Eastern and Western instruments, such as harmonium, guitar, bass, flute, saxophone, clarinet, tabla, dholak, djembe, chimtar, tambourine and didgeridoo. As understood in many musical philosophies, the rhythm section of the group is the heartbeat of the music, without which there is no joy.
Music of Joy has toured extensively locally and overseas. They have performed at numerous festivals and special events around Sydney. Further afield, they have delighted audiences at the Ganesha Festival in Helensburg, the Winter Magic Festival at Katoomba, Canberra’s Floriade and the Woodford Folk Festival in Queensland, as well as many cultural events in Newcastle, Wollongong, Goulburn, Ulladulla, Bateman’s Bay, Coffs Harbour and Woolgoolga. In addition, they have performed dozens of joyful concerts in centres throughout New South Wales.
Music of Joy featured in the NSW Art Gallery exhibition, Dancing to the Flute. Their overseas performances include meditation seminars, with audiences ranging from 500 to 8,000 people, in New Zealand, India, Italy, and most recently in the United States, where they received the acclaim of visitors from all around the world.
To hear Music of Joy singing the Bhajan, “Namostute”, click the link below. Enjoy.
[audio:19 – 19 – Australian Bhajans Group _ Namostute.mp3]