Coastal fog shrouded our hillsides, but Sunburst’s solstice “sunrise” labyrinth walk went on as scheduled. Craig, Sibylle, Steve and Sandy were at the labyrinth walk. Personally, I would have been happy to sleep in today, but got up for meditation, and was glad I did.
Six baby turkeys, and their mother hen, visited the temple this morning just before we spilled out the doors. It was fun to see them. JK was first out, and they jumped/flew 8 feet into the air at the sound of him opening the door. The turkeys then slowly headed into the redwood trees around the temple.
My husband, Al and I walked home while watching a coyote leaping at mice across the field. It was a magical morning for wildlife. We have at least two beautiful and rare Eurasian Collared Doves here, and one of them serenaded us during meditation. Mostly white, they like our evergreen trees and are usually perched or flying as a pair. I often see them drinking at my ground-level water saucer. A lovely fox drinks there daily as well. He’s so comfortable around us, that we can get in the car and bang the door shut while he’s sleeping undisturbed on the hillside 15 feet above our driveway.
Summer is officially here. Let’s find joy in every day, no matter where we are. Joy is God’s life and love in us.
The last weekend of many months at the Sunburst Sanctuary is dedicated to nurturing and restorative activities such as yoga, hiking, meditation, and occasional classes. The pristine beauty and peacefulness of the surrounding land adds much to the experience of relaxing and recharging our batteries. Abundant wildlife such as deer and wild turkeys can be seen in the meadows around the landscaped lodge grounds.
The lodge itself was built in 1998 by a number of Sunburst residents, including John Henry McCaughey. Beautiful pine paneling lines the inside walls. Douglas fir rafters and trusses support the high ceilings. The outside of the building has redwood siding and Douglas fir posts. One of the things that make this building so striking is that the dimensions of the two main rooms are based upon sacred geometry.
Memorial Day weekend featured two presentations on sacred geometry by Craig Hanson. Saturday afternoon he discussed the vesica pisces, and we learned how to accurately draw this seed image, which is part of the Sunburst mandala. We colored our drawings, each of us creating unique artwork. In the evening we enjoyed a beautiful and informative slideshow in which Craig gave a short overview of sacred geometry. The “thumbprint of God” was Sunburst founder Norman Paulsen’s name for the golden proportion. Craig’s slides illustrated this repeating, aesthetically pleasing theme in nature. Included were plants, crystals, snowflakes, the structures of our bodies, and its adaptation in ancient architecture.
Vegetarian meals were specially prepared during the weekend by Kira Slade, who has studied and taught the benefits of simple core foods that serve to heal and harmonize the body, mind and spirit. Meals are an important part of Celebrate Life weekends as they provide time to get to know each other and to socialize.
Sunburst yoga classes on these special weekends offer an opportunity to do something wonderful for yourself. Restorative yoga with Dawn King on Friday evenings is for anyone who wants to sleep like a baby afterwards. It’s a safe and supportive environment in which to totally “let go” and relax. Patty Paulsen’s Saturday Yoga class gets all bodily systems into sync, up and running more smoothly.
If you have a chance to attend one of these weekends, prepare to be renewed, relaxed and recharged!
