Long Weekend with Rishi Nityapragya in Houston

(More pictures from Rishiji's VIP event in Houston)

Rishiji started off the weekend with a fundamental truth that we should all remember. Our outer world consists of people, situations, and things; our inner world consists of the seven layers of our existence, which are, in order: body, breath, mind, intelligence, memory, ego, and soul. The first big lesson of the weekend was: our experience of the outer world is largely influenced by the state of our inner world!

Now what does that mean? Well, some who have everything in life still complain and grumble at every opportunity. Some others who face challenges at every turn still smile and find things to be grateful for. Is it clearer now? The state of our inner world determines our experience of the outer world.

And that is the best reason to remain committed to a daily practice of sudarshan kriya and meditation. These practices help you take care of your inner world like nothing else can. As Rishiji reminded us, intelligent people make intelligent choices.

And the above statement (inner world influencing the outer world) is also a great way to introduce someone to the Art of Living.

The weekend was very intense. There was (a lot!) more that he shared with us, far too much to enumerate here. It was as if a mirror was being placed in front of us, and we could see ourselves with unusual clarity...

Materialistic gifts and favors only bring short-term joy; the gift of knowledge is eternal and life-transforming. Rishiji emphasized that the biggest service you can do someone is to introduce them to knowledge. And that is also a service that requires some skill.

How to develop that skill? Well, if you missed this past weekend with Rishiji, watch out for future visits by him or other senior teachers, or of course by Guruji Himself. You have the opportunity to make the intelligent choice to be in Guruji's presence next week during Guru Poornima, which is the most special time for a disciple to be with the Master. The (intelligent) choice is yours to make...

Part 2 Course with Sri Sri - May 8-12 2008

The excitement is growing as we get closer to the May course with Sri Sri in DC. Seats are still open. Flyer below. If you haven't attended a part 2 course with Sri Sri before, do take this opportunity. If you have, then you will of course want to go back again and again. :)

Second Spring Refresher at the Texas Ashram

After our very successful refresher course and retreat at the Texas Ashram, the Houston group is organizing a retreat of their own, and are inviting participants from Austin. Here is the flyer:

DSN with Anandji - Apr 17-20

DSN
Creating a Divine Society
Apr 17 – 20, 2008
Atlanta

DSN translates to "Creating a Divine Society - Do Something Now"

Click here to hear Sri Sri speak on DSN
DSN is a transformational course that empowers participants to break through personal inhibitions and barriers - it brings such inner stability that no outside event can shake us.

All of us have personal barriers, old habits, or inhibitions that hold us back and keep us from fully participating in life. Yet we have a deep desire to be the best we can be - for ourselves, our families, our communities and even the world around us.

DSN uses a powerful combination of yoga practice, special meditations, breathing techniques, group processes, and deep spiritual knowledge to break through personal barriers.

The DSN course will be offered in Atlanta by an international Art of Living teacher, Anand Rajendran (Anandji). Anandji's dynamism, enthusiasm and compassion are such that thousands from every walk of life are attracted to his courses. In a mere 5 years, he has facilitated Art of Living Courses for over 200,000 people.

Course Details:
Dates: Apr 17 – 20, 2008
Venue: Hindu Temple of Atlanta, Riverdale
Registration and more information: http://secure.artofliving.org/course_details.aspx?course_id=2590

Spring Part 2 Course with Sri Sri

For those who have been waiting to go on a part 2 course in the presence of Sri Sri, wait no more. Here is the opportunity to attend a Spring Part 2 course with Sri Sri at the nation's capital.

Date: May 8th Thursday evening 7:00PM to May 12th Monday afternoon 3:00PM
Venue: Hyatt Regency, Crystal City VA (minutes from Washington DC National Airport)
Fees: Regular: $660; Seniors & students: $560 ($100 discount for 1st 300 participants by March 28)
Register: Online registration here
Prerequisite: Art of Living Part 1 course

Accommodation is available onsite at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. The discounted room rate for Art of Living is $125+tax per room, per night. One room can accommodate up to 4 individuals. You can call 703-418-1234 and give the code "ART OF LIVING" or "YOGA" to get the group discount. You can also book online here.

Part 1 Courses for March and April

We have a daytime Art of Living part 1 course scheduled for March 24-28 in Westlake Hills. This is a unique course for Austin since the sessions will be from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm Monday through Friday. It's the perfect time for stay-at-home moms who have been unable to make it to the regular evenings and weekend schedule. (Details and registration)

The next regularly scheduled (ie. evenings and weekend) Art of Living part 1 course will be April 8th through 13th in Central Austin. (Details and registration)

Did you know? If you have done the Art of Living course once, you can repeat the course for a donation of your choice, anywhere in the world!

Change is in the Air

Thanks to all who responded to our survey two weeks ago and gave us feedback. Here are the biggest take-aways from the survey:

1. Saturday morning works well for long kriya; so does Sunday evening.
2. Thursday evening also works well for many people.
3. We need to watch more videos of Sri Sri’s talks.
4. We need to have community service activities.
5. We need more short refresher courses.

Based on all the responses we got, we are implementing the following changes:

1. We will change the Saturday morning long kriya start time to 8:30 am on an experimental basis. This will free up more time in the morning after the kriya is over. We will do this for six to eight weeks starting on Saturday April 5th.

2. Starting April 3rd, we will have a long kriya session at 7 pm on Thursday evenings at 1810 San Gabriel St, Austin TX 78701. This will again be on an experimental basis for six to eight weeks. You have the choice of attending this kriya session or the one on Saturday or the one on Sunday (need to attend only one per week).

3. Starting April, we will also have knowledge satsangs where we get together to watch Guruji share his wisdom. Watch this space for the schedule.

4. We will have a quarterly community service project starting May. Again, watch this space for the exact schedule.

5. We just had a great refresher course and mini-retreat at the ashram this past weekend. We will plan on having the next one in Austin, but this will be a few months out.

6. We will maintain a blog at http://aolaustin.blogspot.com where we will post events and news. That way you don’t have to wait for the newsletter to check up a course date or find out what’s happening.

Many survey respondents opined that they have too many family and work commitments, hence they may not find time every week for long kriya. If you are stretched thin, that's the best reason to come back to the sudarshan kriya practice and the stress-reliever knowledge in the first place. :) We are hoping that some of these changes will make it more comfortable for you to reinforce your daily and weekly practice.

Free Spring Break Refresher Course and Retreat

We have been busy planning a refresher course for the spring break weekend (March 15-16). We have 22 RSVPs so far, and the total capacity of this course is limited to 30.

Date: March 14-16 2008
Venue: Texas Ashram at Reagan Wells
Fee: None. Please donate to cover the cost of meals.
RSVP: Anoop Iyer (512-786-6871) or anoop@artoflivingaustin.org

Update on March 10: The number of RSVPs we have received is now at 29. We are increasing the course capacity to 35. This is going to be a fun-filled trip!

Presenting - The Art of Living Austin Blog

We are starting this new blog here as the common place for announcing our local events, courses announcements, photos, and other news. Visit us here again in the upcoming weeks as we populate and grow this space.

Our website at www.artoflivingaustin.org is still the first place to go for information about Art of Living's courses and events. This blog is intended to complement that website.

With best wishes from the entire Austin Art of Living family...