Happy Diwali, Michigan

via our facebook page..

Diwali, the festival of lights links back to our innate generosity, and prosperity.

While we are out of the 2008 hole and climbing out, 8 years on now, we see new housing developments and commercial construction activity. These show the confidence of the investors in growing commerce around the SE Michigan region. Is the growth translating into peace of mind for Michiganders? Do they feel better about their future? The future of their children?

Prosperity has many dimensions. The top ten dimensions of prosperity, per aspects of Goddess Lakshmi, the personification of prosperity. What could be the best indicators of how a region may be doing in these dimensions?

Adya Lakshmi - The primordial feminine principle - how are we treating our women and girls?

Vidya Lakshmi - Educational prosperity - Are toddlers ready for school? What are graduation rates: HS? 2 yr college? 4 year college? Student loan debt?

Santan Lakshmi - Maternal / Child related prospetiry - Mortality rates pre-natal, natal, post-partum? Other? Teen pregnancy etc.?

Yoga Lakshmi - Enlightenment prosperity - Trends in people's belief in a higher power, other?

Rajya Lakshmi - Economic prosperity - Jobs: minimum wage, above minimum wage, savings?

Bhogya Lakshmi - Consumer confidence / consumption - spending, personal debt?

Gruha Lakshmi - Household peace and prosperity - Domestic abuse, foster care, single mothers?

Saubhagya Lakshmi - Marital prosperity - Divorce rates, girl-child welness indicators

Amruta Lakshmi - Quality of nutrition and environment -  Access to good food, clean water/air, etc., Other?

Mahalakshmi - Evolution and adaptibility - Are attitudes changing for the better or worse? e.g. Trust in evolution, science etc.

Apart from the indicators, it is worth being aware of the organizations and people who work hard to turn the curve on these aspects of broad prosperity.

What is the history of these aspects in the region? What has been tried before and worked well? What are the experiments (social, political, technological) in progress?

Look forward to your thoughts...

Further reading:
- The MSU Center for Economic Analysis 2016 Forecast
- Bureau of Labor Statistics: Michigan Economy at a Glance
- MI Senate Fiscal Agency: Michigan's Economic Outlook FY15 - FY18
- Michigan Economic Development Corporation forecasts

Goodbye winter, hello spring

With the inner peace day celebrations in Ypsi downtown and Bowling Green, OH we bid farewell to winter and welcome spring. 

Spring meditations will begin at WCC. Stay connected and informed!

Four connections of the heart (anahata) in Sahaja Yoga

The focus of Sahaja Yoga meditation meetings at WCC continues to be the Spirit for January and February.

Today at WCC, we will explore the four connections of the heart, where the spirit resides. The spirit is connected to the root chakra of mooladhara, there is a connection that goes out to all our friends and frenemies, a strong connection with the left-fifth chakra of guilt-free living and finally the crown chakra of Sahasrara.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAz4r0-SSlo

What's new in fall 2015?

Dear fellow meetup meditators and meditistas (if that's a real word),

I am very excited about starting our fall meetings next week on Tuesday. Hope some of you will be able to make it to the first one on Sept 15th at 7:00 p.m. at WCC. Bring friends, there is plenty of space there.

For the first meeting, we will begin at the very beginning, a very good place to start. Self-realization, the experience and meditation. 

By attending, you would be able to claim two digital badges of achievement. 

This is a cool new experiment in recognizing our learning and achievements. You can proudly show off your digital badge on various social platforms. (More info https://credly.com/faq)

Badge 1 of 2: Self-Realized (Never expires!)

Badge 2 of 2: Balanced

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Spring Meeting 3 Tonight! Empower the Soul by Channeling Passions

Greetings!

Thank you for your continued interest in meditating with us during the Spring meetings. Your presence has filled the hearts of all attendees with joy and purpose. I hope to see you tonight at 7 PM in room BE 172, Business Education Building, Washtenaw Community College. 

Tonight we will go deeper in our understanding of the passions of the soul: this month's topic in Sahaja Yoga Meditation. The brief workshop about elements and their imbalances will happen before the group meditation. The exercise will help us better understand issues that hurt us the most. From understanding comes strength and a fresh approach to deal with old issues.

A preview of the worksheet we will use tonight:

 

Earth Day in Milford, MI

Earth days celebrations are common this time of year, but the Milford MI Earth Friendly Family Festival is a unique celebration. Read on why its worth stopping by on April 25th at Carl's YMCA (YMCA membership not required to attend). 

Earth days are good opportunities to pick up on new ideas to be green, learn new ways to connect to the earth and have fun with music and family friendly workshops. But there are two workshops that you would rarely find at family friendly festivals that make this festival a must to attend. 

Storytelling and meditation workshops will be held in the Aerobics classroom and they are reason alone to attend, apart from the excellent displays by area exhibitors. So don't miss either. But if you do miss one, each will be offered twice - so mommy and daddy can take turns attending while the other watches the kids. 

Now that's truly family friendly

This month at WCC: Spirit

The focus of Sahaja Yoga meditation meetings at WCC continues to be the Spirit for January and February.

In the first meetup, we introduced the concept of the Spirit being our individual, true identity that reflects the source of creation and it's energy, the Kundalini represents the creator of all creation.

In meeting #2 last week, we explored the three qualities of the Spirit: Joy, Awareness and Truth. We reflected on how we might have experienced these three qualities in our own lives.

Today in meeting #3 for 2014, we will explore the four connections of the heart, where the spirit resides. The spirit is connected to the root chakra of mooladhara, there is a connection that goes out to all our friends and frenemies, a strong connection with the left-fifth chakra of guilt-free living and finally the crown chakra of Sahasrara.