| Dallas-Fort Worth Meditation Group eNewsletter December 2021 |
| | Noting in the West the festive outgoing consciousness that accompanies Christmas celebrations, often lacking in depth of true spiritual feeling, Paramahansa Yogananda, in 1931, began in Self-Realization Fellowship the custom of holding one purely spiritual observance of Christmas--an all-day meditation service--before the social festivities on December 25th.
During these meditations led by Paramahansaji, he often entered samadhi, ecstatic communion with God, Christ, and the Great Ones. Sometimes he talked aloud with God, bestowing on all present a glimpse of Divine Love. The following words were spoken during one such ecstatic experience in the chapel of Self-Realization Fellowship International Headquarters on December 24, 1940.
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"O Christ, We Bow to Thee"
"O Christ, this day we have called you with all our hearts, and you have come and blessed us all. You have been born to us in physical form and Spirit in the cradle of our devotion. What joy I feel; joy, happiness eternal. O Christ, we bow to thee.
"Beloved God, we pray that every devotee have this experience of divine communion. We cannot live without Your presence, without Your guidance. You are the power in our hands and speech. You are in every niche of our thoughts and feelings. Yet how You love to hide from us! My beloved Lord, You are all-compassionate, so You understand and don't mind my scolding You for hiding Yourself. Maybe we, Your children, are naughty; but You must not hide from us, for therein begin all of our miseries. Reveal Thyself unto us, be with us. Hide no more, beloved Lord, hide no more. With folded hands and bowed head and heart, we stand before Thee. Receive our humble devotion. Come to us in any form You like, that we may feel Thee tangibly. The little time we have left in this life must be spent in conscious awareness of Thee....
"Let the glory of the Universal Christ descend upon us. May we feel that Presence pouring through our hearts, trickling through our minds, and our hands and feet. O Eternal Light, may we behold the Infinite Christ within and without. We celebrate that Christ in Spirit, and we pray that every day be a Christmas of divine rejoicing. Aum, Peace, Amen."
Paramahansa Yogananda Self-Realization Magazine Winter Issue 2019 |
| | Thought at Christmas
Beneath the Christmas tree of civilization, with its many branches of races, may we lay imperishable presents of goodwill, spiritual service, and unconditional love for all. These are the gifts that Christ wants to receive.
Paramahansa Yogananda Whispers from Eternity Self-Realization Fellowship Publishers |
| | Upcoming SRF Online Activities for December and January
Dear Friends,
We are happy to share the schedule of the online upcoming activities for December and January.
Below are the individual event links in the calendar for Central Time Zone.
- Event length: 1 hour
- Event start time: 9:00 a.m. PST
- Platform: YouTube
- Short message from President
- This event will take the place of the annual Christmas Open House
- This will be a pre-recorded event
Online All-Day Christmas Meditation – Saturday, December 18 (Two monastics to lead – worldwide audience)
- Event length: 8 hours
- Event start time: 8:00 a.m. PST
- Platform: Embedded on SRF website
- We will leave the meditation up until Christmas Day for those in other time zones to enjoy
- We will record meditations in 4 major languages – Italian, German, Portuguese, Spanish and post on SRF website.
New Year’s Eve Meditation – Thursday, December 31 (Monastic to lead - worldwide audience)
- Pre-record event
- Event length: 1 hour
- Platform: YouTube
Master’s Birthday – Wednesday, January 5 (Monastic to lead – worldwide audience)
- Event length: 1 hour
- Event start time: 9:00 a.m. PST
- Platform: YouTube
- We will broadcast this live from the Main Hall
Master’s Meditation – Saturday, January 8 (Monastic to lead – worldwide audience)
- Event length: 6 hours
- Event start time: 8:00 a.m. PST
- Platform: Embedded on SRF website
- We will broadcast this live from the Main Hall
- Leave the meditation up for 48 hours for those in other time zones to enjoy
Please view the SRF Online Calendar for correct times in your time zone if the above links are not right for you. |
| | About Our Livestreamed Kirtan Fundraiser
We thought it would be nice to share with you our attendance for the livestreamed Building Fundraiser we had on Sunday, November 21st. We had a chapel attendance of 14 (fairly normal these days) and an online attendance of 109! Wonderful!
In a future issue of this eNewsletter we will let you know how we did with donations for our Dallas-Ft Worth Building Fund when we get the report on our fund which is held by Mother Center. |
| | DFW-SRF Open With Meditation Service 10:00 am - 11:00 am
Dear Friends,
Currently we are open each Sunday with a 10:00-11:00 am Meditation Service, including the SRF Healing Service at the end.
Our calendar will reflect changes as we phase in our services.
Livestreaming - Occasionally there is a Commemoration service or Special Address from our President, Brother Chidananda, that occurs on a Sunday morning. We have been livestreaming these events. These events will be announced in a letter from our Coordinator in advance. We invite everyone to join us for these special events in the environment of our chapel. The 10:00-10:45am time for our service will be in effect for any service followed by a livestreamed event that starts at 11:00 am.
Following are the details of how we conduct services under the Covid conditions:
Consistent with other groups and temples, we will offer a separate area for socially distanced seating for those who need or prefer it. As with SRF Temples and groups, we will continue to follow CDC guidelines by making masks optional for those who have been vaccinated, and asking those who have not been vaccinated to wear a mask. We respectfully request your cooperation in adhering to these guidelines for the safety of others.
We will not pass donation baskets but will place the baskets outside of the Chapel area. For safety we ask for adherence to social distance in the lines to the restrooms.
We very much look forward to seeing all of you who are able to attend now or in the near future.
In Divine Friendship,
Dallas Fort Worth Managing Council of Self-Realization Fellowship
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| | Dallas Ft. Worth Building Fund
We are pleased to report the Dallas Ft. Worth Building Fund total as of September 30th is $540,844.
Our previous fund raising campaign, at the end of 2020, was a resounding success! We surpassed the goal amount of $450.000.
The building fund exists for the purpose of allowing our group to have a permanent Chapel when the time is right. We now have the task of selecting a new amount for a future goal. We realize that it will take more than our current building fund to obtain a new permanent Chapel. We would like to encourage those who can contribute, comfortably, to our building fund to do so. A donation of any amount will be gratefully accepted.
Our building fund is held in an account for us by Self-Realization Fellowship. Gifts to this fund are tax exempt.
Thank you all for your continued generosity and sponsorship of the Dallas Fort Worth Group’s Chapel Project.
Ways to Donate Can Be Found Here
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| | Self-Realization Fellowship Links
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| | | DFW-SRF Group General Donations
We are now open with very limited attendance while our monthly obligations for the facility still continue. Any donations to our group general operating expenses are needed and will be greatly appreciated.
Thank You for your support! |
| | As the official branch of SRF in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, our meditation group Email: connect@srfdallasfortworth.org Phone: (972) 294-7161 |
| | 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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