First Quarter 2017

 

Winter has come: work for Wood & Garden

Winter arrived at the end of November with some heavy storms. We now notice that many trees are over 100 years old and have become vulnerable. Along the beech lane – between Arundale House and Atelier – part of the stem has been broken off of two large beech trees. The lane was no longer safe and had to be closed temporarily. One of the stems dug itself into the soil for over 70 cm, with its remaining branches intertwined with those of the adjacent tree. This resulted in a considerable challenge for our Wood and Garden group. In addition, all lanes had to be cleared of leaves and branches, a standard Autumn job. We are very grateful to have such a skilled and reliable team, always available in case of emergencies.

ITC blessed with a small team of volunteers

The ITC has a large estate – some 15 hectares – with quite a number of buildings, used by a broad range of spiritual organisations. Being in charge of such an active spiritual Centre requires a lot of work. Both from a spiritual as well as a financial point of view, the day to day work in such a centre can only be done by volunteers, sharing their time and positive intentions. The small team of volunteers consists of the seven members of the Executive Committee, two key workers in charge of the Booking Office and Maintenance, as well as several other regular volunteers, including the Wood & Garden team and the Library team, Activities Committee, while one of our friends takes care of the linen in Crystal and Arundale House. All in all we can rely on some 20 volunteers, for which we are – as said – very grateful.

A new Garden group: mindful gardening at the ITC

In addition to the current team of Wood & Garden volunteers we have decided to establish a new Garden group. Each month, Friends are invited to come and work in the garden in a mindful – silent – way. This is going to be a new experiment. First we will work in the meditation garden, which needs some further maintenance, after which the Garden of Remembrance and the gardens around St. Michael’s House will get more attention. The first meeting of the Garden group will be Saturday March 18, 2017. You are most welcome to join! Please have a look at our web site for additional information (Dutch language).

Seminar with Fernando de Torrijos: To Be a Lamp Onto Oneself

We very much look forward to the seminar with Fernando de Torrijos on “Mindfulness: a gateway to a spiritual life”. These days, mindfulness attracts a lot of attention, as an effective method to reduce stress. The aim of the seminar and retreat is to explore the living spiritual reality behind mindfulness. Have a look at our web site for the leaflet with more background information, the separate registration form, and some related articles by N. Sri Ram and J. Krishnamurti.

More attractive programs lined up

Please take a look at our agenda: we are very pleased with the range of programs we can offer you. You are invited to reserve the dates. Programs are a work in progress. The symposium on March 4 is a recent emerged unique opportunity to meet with a range of very attractive TS lecturers. Program still needs to be confirmed. Check our site for follow up information.

Progress Replacing Arundale House

The design for the new guest house is now ready and looks very attractive. It may be shared with those interested. In particular, the logistics between the enlarged living and the kitchen proved more of a puzzle than anticipated. We will now contact the municipality to request the building permit. The financial aspect however still remains a challenge. With the financial crisis behind us, the building industry increased prices considerably. We decided not to organise a large fundraising campaign, as we did for the building of Crystal House and Hall in the 1990’ies. However, we would like to ask our Friends to make an extra donation, as it appears that quite a few of our Friends have forgotten already for several years in a row to transfer their annual contribution…

Arend Heijbroek, Chairman