Happy August!

Here’s a beautiful poem about summer by Mary Oliver:

The Summer Day
Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean-
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention,
how to fall down into the grass,
how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed,
how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?

Have you read a good book lately? Feel free to share! Two of my most recent favorite reads are “The Overstory” by Richard Powers, and “My Grandmother Told Me to Tell You She’s Sorry” by Fredrik Backman.

Let yourself take some downtime to read a good book this summer!

website to check for class schedules, etc., https://matashaktiashram.org.
FengShui/sacred space consultations: https://sacrednest.com
For psychotherapy services: https://sacredlistener.com
(Next HSP class will be held on August 7)

Service Opportunity
Mata Shakti Ashram welcomes your support! How can you help?
Time and Talent: help with yard and garden maintenance, upkeep of classroom and workshop/training spaces, vegetarian raw food prep, help with social media and technology. Talk to your friends and personal community about Mata Shakti Ashram, for we are truly “grass roots”!

Finance/Funds: Donations of money to assist Mata Shakti Ashram pay the overhead cost for the current space, pay guest teachers, and provide some scholarships to those in need. Let us know how much you are willing to pledge monthly or yearly over the next year to 5 years, as we prepare the non-profit status. Every donation will receive a class pass to share with a friend to acquaint them with the ashram.

Thanks to Kevin Millar, Lisa Brown, Sahej Anand Kaur, Jennifer Pittman, Lindy Hoeft, Joni Liebel, Michelle Hill, Sat Inder Kaur and Karta Purkh Singh of Kansas City’s Param Tirath Ashram, Elke/Keval McCalla, Ranpreet Kaur, Shirin Negmodjanova, Connie Boston, Mary Radulescu, Barbara Lynn Freed, Updesh Kaur, Florence, Wasalisa Davison, Harbhajan Khalsa, Param Terath Kaur and Ashley Jackson, who have already given their support!
Stay tuned for an open house, and contact HarDarshan for more information: 919-257-7814 or hardarshan@matashaktiashram.org

Sacred Listener, Transpersonal Counseling and Kundalini Yoga, Chapel Hill, NC