Friday March 14th – Subud Greater Seattle monthly general meeting at the Subud eastside facilities 752 108th Avenue NE, Bellevue, WA. After Latihan. All members welcome.
Category Archives: General Announcements
Poetry Reading at the Subud House
With the AWP in town, there will be 14,000 writers in Seattle this week. The Subud House will be full of lodgers by tomorrow night and there was a remarkable poetry reading last night as the debut of Dar Safi Press was celebrated.
Subud members who attend the Poems for Peace event last September will remember Faiza Sultan whose poems about war were frank, ironic and incredibly moving. She is the Publisher of the Press and welcomed Iraqi poets living as far away as London and the Philippines to read. Wafaa Abdul Razaak had stunning war poems of her own and read them with a bold performance style before they were read in English by Faiza. 
Traditional Kurdish drumming and singing was provided by Ahmed Yousefbeigi, whose mastery of the frame drum was mesmerizing. And the first half concluded with Falah Saik, who was introduced by the reigning winner of the Stranger Genius Award for Literature, Cairo native Maged Zaher, who said Salah was the most important Arab poet in the world.
Maged read the English translations which had a broad range of references, from Hamlet to Marx and his own anatomy. The conversation the poet described at the grave of Karl Marx was especially deft. Amalio Madueño closed out the 2nd half of the reading which also featured two local poets.
Tomorrow (Thursday Feb 27) there are TWO MORE readings at the Subud House. I can’t tell you how amazing last night was and how disappointed there were NO SUBUD PEOPLE to witness, to talk to the gathered about our community, our house, SICA and other topics I engaged in briefly. Please try to attend and remember, there is no latihan.
BEI, Thursday, February 27, 7:00PM- 11:PM. The event is sponsored by Black Earth Institute and we are inviting writers who have had work in About Place Journal, BEI Fellows and various friends and colleagues. Part of the impetus of this event is to explain more about the mission of Black Earth Institute, a progressive think tank of artist-fellows and scholar-advisers to work toward a society based on justice, spirit and earth-centeredness, as well as to get together many of us who have been involved in About Place, the literary journal BEI publishes quarterly to give voice to their mission.
Colorado Review, Yalobusha Review, and Ahsahta Press are proud to present A Midnight Triptych, AWP’s biggest late-night event. Join us for last call on Thursday night/Friday morning for an all-star line-up featuring Carmen Giménez Smith, Matthew Cooperman, Lucy Ives, Danniel Schoonebeek, Gillian Conoley, and C. Violet Eaton. 12M Thursday night/Friday Morning. The reading will be held in the basement of the Spring Street Center chapel (1101 15th Avenue)–just one mile from the conference center. Doors open at midnight and we’ll get started shortly thereafter, so don’t be late. Beer for sale or bring your own drinks. See you there!
Don’t Miss Salsa Party on March 8th
This is a reminder to RSVP Marston Gregory if you are attending the evening of March 8 at 7 pm. Amazing South American food…dancing…and fun! No gifts please other than a donation. Crazy birthday cards are acceptable! See you there!
Should We Discontinue Monday Latihans
Women’s Latihan Hall/Chapel on Monday Nights
It has been discussed on and off for months now in the Dewan. An average of two men attend Monday night latihans and often there are none. This is a cost to Subud Members because of the heating used and also limits attendance for other latihans. So the question went out last week, should we discontinue Monday night latihans and perhaps add a Tuesday afternoon session. Results from Men’s Local Helper Jim O’Halloran:
How would it be for the SGS group if there were no more Monday night Latihan?
3 got nothing, one got a faint positive.
How would it be if we had a Tuesday Afternoon Latihan about 3PM?
2 got nothing, one got “worth a try”, one got OK.
And from Hadijah Obar:
I should have said that we talked and agreed that phone calls would be made to poll the members about the proposed Tuesday afternoon latihan. Recently several of the women members have talked about the need for an afternoon latihan because there are so many ladies who
no longer like to travel at night, there are specific people I’d like to run the idea of the Tuesday afternoon latihan by. Also, several inactive women helpers said they would be willing to time an afternoon latihan.
Hadijah
Members, if you have a feeling about this, please chime in to a helper with a comment. No feedback from the membership and I will support the effort to cancel Monday night latihans for the men. For the women it’s not an issue, since there have not been women helpers on Monday night for years and no women ever show up.
TESTING THIS SUNDAY
Our Love Month continues this Sunday (Feb 23)
Here are some possible test questions for next week that we ladies came up with:
What is love?
What are the qualities of Love?
Where do these qualities reside in me?
How do I manifest love in my daily life?
How do I love myself?
How would God have me love myself?
How do I respect myself?
How would God have me respect myself?
How do I care for myself?
How would God have me care for myself?
How do I love my Subud brothers and sisters?
How would God have me respect my brothers and sisters?
How is it for me and my life when I have loving and/or affectionate feelings
toward my Subud brothers and sisters?
O.K., there’s a place to start.
Hadijah Obar
World Congress Registration Heating Up
From the Subud E-Blast:
FROM THE WORLD CONGRESS ORGANIZING TEAM
As of February, 1071 members from 51 countries have registered for the Subud World Congress in Puebla Mexico (street scene above). The EARLY BIRD FEE #2 runs through April 30th, 2014. The adult and discounted fees each go up $100, $550 and $400 respectively. The fee for adults under 26 goes up to $390 and children’s prices go up by $30. To register, go to: http://www.cvent.com/d/rcqvll?
Subud USA Directory
From the National Office:
Dear brothers and sisters,
Just click on the link below this paragraph to get your free copy of the 2014 Subud USA Membership Directory. The information included is based on what we received from the census that was just conducted. You can keep the directory in its electronic version and/or print it out, whatever is your preference.
If there is an error in your membership entry, please inform the national office at subudusa@subudusa.org. We are working hard to have as accurate a database as possible.
If you prefer, we can also send you a paper copy of the directory for $20. This includes the cost of labor, printing, and postage. Just let us know the following:
| Number of Copies of 2014 Subud USA Membership Directory Requested: ______Total Amount: __________ ($20 for each copy)
Mailing Address: Street Address ______________________________ City, State, Zip Code__________________________ Send this information and your check to: |
If you would like the directory, but need a reduced rate, indicate the amount you can afford on the line “Total Amount”.
If you donated at least $240 during the recent Subud USA pledge drive, we would like to express our appreciation by sending you a free copy if you would like one. Just let us know by emailing us atsubudusa@subudusa.org or calling the national office at 301-595-0626.With warm regards,
Shoshanah, Daniel, Lucian, Morris and Hamidatun
(Subud USA National Committee)
Shoshanah, Daniel, Lucian, Morris and Hamidatun
(Subud USA National Committee)
Test to be a National Helper
From Hoan Toan Phan:
Hoan Toan Phan
Dear Brother and Sister Regional and Local Helpers,
The National Helpers are now still on the selection process for new National Helpers for coming term. We would appreciate it if you ,( who did not test last year at Albuquerque national congress about this position), would consider helpers you know in your own regional and local dewans, whom you would like to encourage to step forward to test for this important job. Usually national helpers are chosen from those who have served as regional helpers previously, but local helpers may also be considered. The term of service will begin in August 18, 2014 and will end at the next world congress probably in 2018.
Here is how the job has been described: The Dewan of national helpers provide support to the nation’s committee, wings and regional helpers and they are the kedjiwaan link to the zonal and international Subud Association. National helpers are charged with looking into and knowing about the work of the regional helpers, and are charged with participating in addressing members’ difficulties that cannot be solved by the regional helper dewan alone. National helpers “must keep themselves informed about the progress of the members and impart to them a deep understanding of the truth of the latihan kejiwaan of Subud so that the inner selves of the members may be truly Subud.”. (from Bapak’s Advice & Guidance for Helpers, “The Helper Structure:Dewans,” Candidate Helper Information handbook)
To really understand what is required to do this job well, please translate the above description into a good amount of time and patience needed to stay informed and in touch through regular email messages and participation on frequent conference calls. There is also a fair amount of travel that is necessary. It is helpful to have a space where one can do latihans without interruption and to have an agreement with one’s family, partners and housemates to share your time, energy and attention. There is a great spiritual benefit that comes from being willing to serve in this way.
Those who would like to put their names forward should pretest with their local or regional helpers first. Once pretesting is positive, please send your name to any National helper(Alexandra Boyer, Aminah Ulmer, Laurie Lathrop, Suzanne Renna , Hoan Toan Phan,Humphrey Williams, andSjarifuddin Harris).
The National Helpers will meet together and test about this issue in Denver, Colorado from Jan.30 to Feb.1st , 2014.
We will test with those candidates over the phone by conference call during the weekend Jan. 31 and Feb.1st, 2014.Thank you for your help with this. The final step in the process is to select a new dewan that will work well together from the pool of those who received a positive response through testing with the national helpers.
Please feel free to contact us with any questions that come up as you are trying to respond to this request, and please let us know who is putting their name forward by email or phone before Jan. 29, 2014.
Sincerely,
Your National Helper Dewan
Alexandra Boyer,aalexandraboyer@yahoo.
Aminah Ulmer, aminahulmer@gmail.com
Laurie Lathrop, llathrop77@gmail.com
Suzanne Renna, msuzanne.renna@gmail.
Hoan Toan Phan,hoantoanp@yahoo.com
Humphrey Williams , humphrey.williams@gmail.com,
Sjarifuddin Harris, sharif.harris@ymail.
Birther Wesbites are Calling Subud A Cult
Apparently the death of Deliana Fuddy is bringing out the paranoid, as hits on the Subud Greater Seattle website got over 800 and counting by 9pm tonight. Most of the hits are coming from the political movement known as the Birther movement, which believes President Obama was not legally born in this country and, as such, has no right to be in office. That Deliana died in a plane crash has the fertile imaginations of these folks in rare form. See the stats:
Stats 1.22.14
The linking websites are: http://www.americanthinker.com/2014/01/barack_hussein_soebarkah.html and
http://www.birtherreport.com/2014/01/blockbuster-csu-criminology-professor.html to name two.
As Marston Gregory once joked with me: “If Subud were a cult, we’d be more organized.”
Who’s bringing the kool aid to the Sunday potluck?
going to the Puebla World Congress?
Hurry
From Marston:
DEADLINE FOR EARLY BIRD ENDS ON JAN. 31
THE PRICE GOES UP $100 PER PERSON AFTER JAN 31. FOR THE WORLD CONGRESS IN PUEBLA, MEXICO. IF YOU WANT THE LOWEST FEES, PLEASE REGISTER ON OR BEFORE JAN 31. (Last one in is a rotten tortilla.)
ANNUAL MEETING THIS COMING SUNDAY
Don’t forget we have our annual meeting this Sunday Jan 26 after latihan/lunch at the Seattle Subud house. Please bring a potluck dish to contribute for a healthy, delicious lunch. Or bring pizza. (Gluten free pizza.) Following lunch we will have our annual meeting. Find out what’s going on in Subud. The current Dewan has been in office for one year. What do you like about Subud Greater Seattle in that time? What could use work? Are we done with Forgiveness Days, or are we just getting started? Come share your thoughts, help us build a better Subud community and hear about plans for the coming year from your Dewan.