TheGoldenrod August 2011
Paul BruntonArchival Project
As some of you may know, in the last few months, the Paul BruntonPhilosophic Foundation (PBPF), has been working on a project for thepreservation and digitization of Paul Brunton’s original unpublished writings(from which the Foundation published the 16 volume Notebooks with the work of WG volunteers) as well as researchbooks and papers. The two main goals of this project are:
* to develop access formatted digital files for future publications andopen entrance
* to preserve the originals along with archival digital files.
Archival scanning has begun under the guidance of DCAPS (DigitalConsulting and Production Services) at Cornell University. DCAPS is aconsulting service for archival and access oriented digital collections andwill help immensely in developing access strategies, criteria, and mechanismsfor the collection. They have been invaluable in this initial stage. Thearchival images are stunning and we welcome anyone who wishes to, to view themin a presentation, which can be arranged at WG or at Timothy Smith’s office.
With the help of volunteers, inventory assessment has also begun. Todate, over 75,000 pages have been assessed. The DCAPS team at Cornell expressedthat the collection of PB’s writings is the most interesting they haveencountered. Collaboration with Cornell’s professionals will continue to guideus throughout the project. Research and discussion will ensue as to the best host for thecollection.
The boards of PBPF and WG recently met to begin developing strategiesfor how the two organizations can work together to steer this project. A moredetailed and developed explanation is forthcoming.
We hope everyone who is interested will become involved. Please contactMartha Cohen (607- 427-7342 or marthapbpf@aol.com)or the project coordinator, Susan Lee-Meeder (leemeeders@earthlink.net or614-306-5699). There is much financial and volunteer support help needed and welook forward to working with everyone toward fulfilling our goal. We sincerelythank all the volunteers who have helped to date.
Ifyou wish to donate to this vital project, please send a check (earmarked PBArchival Project) to PBPF, 4936 Route 414, Burdett, NY 14818.
Star Wisdom
“The God in the Sun is the ‘I’ inme.”
Please join us for a wonderful Labor Day weekend workshop Fridayevening, Sept. 2through Monday morning, Sept. 5.
The title of Anthony’s main work, Astronoesis, means “star wisdom.” But what is astar? What is the “God in the Sun?” What was Anthony’s vision? And how dowe use these inspired ideas?
Through shared experience, discussion, readings and meditations weexplore a vision of the sun, the stars, the Solar Logos: as symbols and asliving presences. Readings provided.
FRIDAY EVENING (7:30) We invoke Anthony’s presence: reading from hisinvocation to Astronoesis; audio with transcripts of classes on inquiring more deeply. Joinus to talk about the legacy of his vision.
SATURDAY MORNING (10 am) Sun behind
the sun, Solar logos: applying the four “dignity” positions of theSun in Astronoesis-- with audio/transcripts of classes on cosmology.
SATURDAY EVENING (7:30) Anthony’s commentary on The Lamp ofTranscending Awareness, interpreting an esoteric Tibetan text
using the meanings of the Sun and logos.
SUNDAY MORNING (10 am) Continuing exploration of Solar logos. Natal Sundegree and star pictures relating degrees in 1-12 pointed stars.
SUNDAY AFTERNOON (3, 4, and 5 pm) Meditations to actualize stillness andvision.
SUNDAY EVENING (6-9:30 pm) Dinner, sunset, fire puja and chanting. ALLWELCOME.
MONDAY MORNING (10 am) Continued seminar: applying these ideas in ourlife.
MONDAY EVENING (7:30) You are welcome at the ongoing Astronoesis class.
Please let Avery know if you plan toattend, and if you need a place to stay over: aps5@cornell.edu orcall 607-546-7300.
Meditation 8 am and 5 pm, breakfast 9 am, lunch 1 pm, dinner 6 pm.DONATIONS WELCOME.
Seepage 3 for more upcoming events.
CURRENT CLASSES
Monday
Astronoesis class(8-10:15 pm, Main Building) This class begins with brief meditation. Currentlywe are focusing on the Orphic Gods through select chapters in Proclus’ Theologyof Plato. After that we hope to return tothe Intellectual-Principle chapter in Astronoesis. We also offer remote participation via Skype. Allare welcome, including occasional attendees. Contact David Gallagher at387-5863 or dgallagher@aol.com.
Monday School This program for children and their families meets once amonth. Contact Madhurima at ma24@cornell.edu or546-2094.
Tuesday
Emerging Teachers of the One (afternoons from 2-4:30,Main Building) We’re reading from I Am That by Nisargadatta Maharaj, going over videos of Nondualteachers (most recently Rupert Spira and Mooji), Adyashanti internet radiobroadcasts, and Eckhart Tolle’s monthly webcast. Contact Mark atmark.scorelle@gmail.com.
Gentle Svaroopa Yoga (5:30-7 pm, Main Building) These Svaroopa style Yoga classesare devoted to developing that inner knowing through poses that open andrelease your spine. Wear loose-fitting clothing. Contact Caroline at 379-1800.
Buddhism (7:30-9:30 pm, Library) We are currently working on GuyNewland’s Appearance and Reality: The Two Truths in Four Buddhist Systems. All are welcome. Contact Andrew at vectorart@aol.com or Louat desarno@htva.net.
Wednesday
Plotinus’ Enneads (7:45-10 pm,Library) After meditation, we read and discuss sections from The Enneads, currently VI.6, “On Numbers.” All are invited. ContactHerbert at 277-5685 or hjs@lightlink.com.
Thursday
Meditation with Raphael andDiscussions on the Quest (4:15-6:45 pm,Library) We start with a reading as a seed for meditation, and then discuss ourown journeys on the path. All are welcome. Contact Avery at 546-7300 oraps5@cornell.edu.
Also on Thursday
PB Class (5:30-9 pm, Main Building) We begin with meditation,followed by class using PB quotes from a book Sam Cohen is working on. We hopeto work together to deepen our understanding on many levels. This class is alsooffering remote participation via Skype. All are welcome. Contact Sam at582-6777 or samc582@aol.com.
Sunday
Egyptian Goddesses (meets twice a month – once in Ithaca, once at WG) We arestudying Egyptian Goddesses using Alison Roberts’ book My Heart My Mother:Death and Rebirth in Ancient Egypt as astarting point. Contact Barbara at 387-6303 or nowo@mail.clarityconnect.com.
ELSEWHERE
Mandukya Upanishad (Sunday evening, Tim and Karen Smith’s home in Burdett)This class is working on the Mandukya Upanishad and Guadapada’s Karika with Shankara’s commentary. This explores the four statesof consciousness. Our starting time alternates every other week, and thegathering includes meditation, plus a dish-to-pass supper every other week. Itis possible to participate via webinar. To confirm starting time and specificsof class, contact Kira at kiralallas@yahoo.com.
Plotinus (Friday, 8:30-10 pm) We are reading and discussingPlotinus’ Enneads, currently II.4“Matter.” Everyone involved participates online in this class, which is led byTim Smith. (The late start is to accommodate west coast people.) Contact Tim attimsmit@aol.com.
PB Class (Tuesday at7:30, Herb Shapiro’s house in Ithaca) We are working through Paul Brunton’s TheHidden Teaching Beyond Yoga. We are on “The Downfall ofMaterialism.” All are welcome. We have a nice working group, but are alwaysbeginning. Contact Herbert at 277-5685 or hjs@lightlink.com.
On Wednesday: A group meets for meditation and class at LaurieConrad’s home in Ithaca on Wednesday evenings. Beginners welcome. You can emailLaurie at figaro@clarityconnect.com.
Embodied Imagination
“When you pay attention to your dreams, you inhabit amuch larger part of your soul.” --Robert Bosnak
Jungian dreamworker Robert Bosnakreturns for a workshop in EmbodiedImagination from Friday evening Sept. 16 through Sunday Sept. 18. Bosnak’smethod of working with dreams is based loosely on the work of C.G. Jung,especially his techniques of active imagination and his studies of Alchemy.
Using a variety of body centered techniques, this methodallows the dreamer, through careful concentration, to re-enter the dreamambience and return to a state as close as possible to the dreamstate itself.
His techniques are now applied worldwide, bytherapists, artists, actors, healers and others interested in creative imagination.He is the author of A Little Course in Dreams, Tracks in the Wilderness of Dreaming, and Embodiment, and is a founder of the Santa Barbara Healing Sanctuary.
Workshop size is limited and a fee will be charged. Itis for educational purposes only and is not a therapeutic setting. Pleasecontact Harriet Eisman hcl26@logical.net to register or for more information.
Bosnak will present a public talk at the Center on Sunday Sept. 18 at 7:30 entitled “The Plasticity of Our Past.” Hewill talk about “techniques to strip off and dissolve the master narrativeswhich form a crust over the live magma of memory, thus freeing up Memoria, thecreative imagination experienced as our past.” He adds, “Since neurosciencetells us that we do not remember our past, but actually the last memory of ourpast, I will discuss how we can change our past without falsifying it.”
Saturday Seminars
Please join us for two Saturday seminars of
informaldiscussion, shared experiences and
meditations,facilitated by Avery Solomon.
Tentative dates for thefall are October 22-23
and Thanksgiving weekend, Nov 26-27.
Saturday: meditation 8, breakfast 9, discussion 10,
lunch 1,discussion 2, meditation 5:30. Sunday:
meditation 8,breakfast 9, discussion 9:30-11.
Donations to the Center welcome. Please contact
aps5@cornell.edu for more information, and if you
plan toattend.
Visiting the Center
If you’d liketo visit us, please call 607-546-7777 or email wisdomsgoldenrod@gmail.com.
TheToltec I Ching
We were delighted to have Martha Ramirez and William Horden, authors of TheToltec I Ching, visit the area to conducttwo workshops and to make presentations at WG on July 5 and Rasa Spa on July 6.They shared their collaboration on a new oracle based on the meso-American andancient Chinese wisdom traditions. Several people had either a private IChing reading with William or a sacredToltec calendar reading with Martha during their stay.
They look forward to returning in the fall to do a more in-depthworkshop of how this oracle engages the depths of the soul in response toquestions. William is currentlydoing intensive work with the I Ching andthe Sabian symbols after being so inspired with the WG tradition.
Dates for workshop are TBA, butWilliam will be available for private readings Sept. 19 and 20 at Wisdom’s Goldenrod. For more information contactAmy at oppermax@aol.com.
LongDistance?
Several classes are taking advantage ofmodern technology to allow distant people to participate. For information, usethe contact information given with each class.
Residence and Retreats
Thosemembers interested in a short or long
stay at WG can contact us at 607-546-7777 or wisdomsgoldenrod@gmail.com.
No Parking --Fire Lane
Reminder: the lane that runs pastthe library toward the main building is for emergency vehicles and is to bekept clear at all times. There should be no parking next to the main buildingalthough short-term unloading is OK. Please park in the parking lot.
This photograph isfrom 1979, when His Holiness blessed the WG Library. (Does anyone know who tookthis wonderful picture?)
PastHappenings
Recently at WG, we’ve had a variety ofevents including seminars on the Soul, a meditation retreat, a visit by theauthors of The Toltec I Ching, and a workshopon PB’s view of the long and short paths.
There’s been a lot of work done on thegrounds – clearing the view as well as the New Path. As usual, we sold fries,pies and corn at the Hector Fireman’s Fair. The WG board met with the PBPFboard as work continues on the Archival Project.
And every week there have been gatheringsfor silent meditation and lively discussion – about Buddhism, Non-dualism,Egyptian Goddesses and the works of Anthony, PB, Plotinus and more.
Committees
The WG board would like to invite you tojoin any of the standing committees: buildings and grounds, library, finance.If you’re interested, contact Steve Smolen at ssmolen@empacc.net.
Dalai Lama Birthday Collection
For many years, WG has given His Holiness a monetarycontribution for Tibetan causes. The Dalai Lama has clearly stated that hefeels the best way to assist the Tibetan cause is to help Tibetans, withinTibet, with education and health care. In 2003 we began donating to TibetFund’s efforts on behalf of Gutso Hospital in eastern Tibet. This from a letterreceived in July of 2011:
“…Tsewang Kongo (our committee member) returned to Kathmandu after his trip to Tibet. He distributedeye sun glasses for the villagers in and around Gutso. The local authoritiesdid cooperate with him to buy medicine this time. I have mailed you by post thereport of his trip to Gutso with latest photos. We are going to continue oursocial work in the area.
For your general information, we Tibetans inKhathmandu were banned to celebrate The Dalai Lama’s birthday by the Nepaleseauthorities this year.
Iwould like to thank the friends at Wisdom’s Goldenrod for your support. KarmaKhangkar”
It’s not too late to contribute! Send yourtax-deductible donation to WG, or place it in the envelope on the bulletinboard. Be sure checks say “Gutso” on the memo line.
Library Books
Not sure if you have a book from the WG library on your shelf? Look fora yellow dot on the spine (and bring it back, please!)
THE NEW PATH
A new walkway is under construction thissummer between the Center main building and library. Marie Holmes and TerrySalmirs as visionaries have taken on the awesome and strenuous task of buildinga new path. It replaces the20-year-old path, which preceded it. Many have assisted in the project including Strider, Marie’s son andnewest Hector resident. David and Jane Gallagher generously donated most of thenative flat stones that have paved a new surface. Come, see and walk thisbeautiful new pathway and then circle around the Center and notice that we cansee the lake again. Anyone who is inclined to help finish this project shouldcontact Marie Holmes
The design team laying outthe new path
Excavated path ready forcrushed stone
Workday early in morningbefore the high heat
The Roadcrew
Enjoying the shade onAnthony’s tractor
Setting the big stones first
A new side ramp from theaccess road
These photos are thanks to Steve Smolen..
Short Phrases Capturing the Essence of PB’s EarlyBooks
as dictated by Paul Brunton - January, 1981
The Mansfields spent time with PB in December 1980 andJanuary 1981. During that visit PB decided to offer an autographed set of hisbooks to the Wisdom’s Goldenrod Library. PB held each of the early books in hishands, gazed at it intently, and then spoke a short phrase that captured itsessence. Elaine wrote down his spoken phrases or koans on small pieces of paperand the next day he went over the wording with great care and made a fewediting changes. He then asked Elaine to write the phrases in each book beforehe signed his initials “PB.” The phrases and the corresponding books are thefollowing:
A Search in Secret India:
What am I?
The answer is a quiet smile
The Secret Path:
The clue is faint but it can take you there
A Search in Secret Egypt:
He is the man.
He was led by a true unseen guide
Follow him
A Hermit in the Himalayas:
All alone.
It seems so.
But it is not so.
Why?
The Quest of the Overself:
Let go
Begin afresh
It is there, it is there, it is there.
Discover Yourself (The Inner Reality):
To discover yourself is to find the inner reality.
How beautiful is this long-dreamed event.
Can it really happen to you?
Why not?
The Hidden Teaching Beyond Yoga:
The more men study words, theories and
intellections, the less they gather insight,
Revelation and wisdom.
Look within
The Wisdom of the Overself
The first glance is thought to be the truth but,
much later, the final glance reveals truth.
Look deeper.
The Spiritual Crisis of Man
Yes, God is!
Stay where you are.
Holiness will come to you.
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