2010

Project

SMILE TRAIN

January and February Project

We will contribute all donations from January and February meditations to the Smile Train organization.  Smile Train surgically repairs cleft pallet in children of foreign countries.  All the doctors and medical assistants volunteer their time and expertise for these children, so the majority of the money donated to this charity goes to the children. 

Children in these foreign countries who are born with cleft pallet and cannot get surgery are destined to a life of rejection, poverty, prostitution, exploitation and abuse.  At this time Smile Train has a wealthy anonymous donor who will be matching all donations to Smile Train, so we thought this will be a great time to raise money for this worthy cause.  Every $100 will help one child get surgery, therefore with the matching donor if we raised two hundred dollars together as a community these next couple months we can help alter the lives of four children.

If you have an idea for our next charitable project please contact Bonnie 801-694-0787. Remember we are a 501 C 3 organization so we can create our own projects for causes we are passionate about or people we know who are in need.

 Costa Rica  Retreat

 As many of you know I have been exploring options for a spiritual retreat in Costa Rica, this has been in the planning for several years initially inspired by Jim Sorenson at a board meeting a few years ago. Many of you have put down deposits on the retreat. With the intended property donated to us by Jim Sorenson not coming through it would be very expensive for us to have our own retreat, costing around $2,500 per person for one week, not including airfare.

Therefore I will be organizing a retreat to Costa Rica for everyone who is interested through Omega. An all inclusive week long retreat with a personal tent, all meals, all workshops, daily yoga, evening events, use of all the facilities including library, pool, beaches etc. is $1,195 per person.

You can register for the retreat directly through Omega, however in our next newsletter I will let you know which week this winter the Center for Awakening will be attending Omega as a group.

For all those who put a deposit on the retreat, (I have a list of all of your names), regardless of how much you paid, as promised, I will pay $100 towards your 1010 Costa Rica retreat at Omega. Go to www.eOmega.org/winter for more details

 Costa Rica Retreat

Week four won the most votes!

Everyone is invited to the Costa Rica spiritual retreat on January 23 to 30^th 2010. We will be staying at the gorgeous brand new Blue Spirit Omega retreat center in the lush jungle on the edge of the Pacific Ocean in Nosara Costa Rica.

This is an all inclusive retreat where we will enjoy classes with some of Omega’s top teachers (described below), also included are three delicious healthy meals a day, a range of elegant accommodations (price varies), miles of white sandy beaches, daily yoga and tai chi classes, evening events and concerts, a salt water infinity pool, library and café.

Classes and workshops available on week four:


John Perkins
Achieving Peace Through Higher Consciousness
Before writing and teaching about shapeshifting, shamanism, and ecology, John Perkins worked for the World Bank and the United States government. He left when he realized he was part of a system that was transforming the once respected American republic into a feared empire. Having worked with shamans and indigenous populations around the world for four decades, Perkins, author of the best-selling Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, shows us how to achieve personal and global peace and prosperity by expanding our consciousness and shapeshifting our institutions.

Alan Lowen
The Art of Being®
Learn to love the life you are living with The Art of Being®. Created by Alan Lowen, The Art of Being is a down-to-earth way to restore full connection with your nature, heart, being, and soul. Through dynamic meditations, trance journeys, music, inner explorations, and sharing, we bring healing to the wounds of our childhood, transcend self-limiting beliefs, and open our way into living vibrantly in an ever-deepening and expanding state of presence.
 
Judith Ansara, MSW, and Robert Gass, EdD
Relationship as Spiritual Practice
Do you long to create a loving and satisfying relationship? Join internationally-known consciousness teachers and creators of Sharing the Path workshops for couples, Judith Ansara and Robert Gass, for an enlivening and practical training in the art of embracing relationship as a spiritual practice. As you learn to bring your heart, mind, body, and spirit into your relationship, you will delight in increased intimacy, connection, and joy in your union.

Judith Ansara, MSW, and Robert Gass, EdD
Sacred Chant Celebration
Come sing your heart open, dance your prayers, and let your spirit soar! Judith Ansara and Robert Gass, creators of the best-selling chant CDs Om Namaha Shivaya and Ancient Mother, lead us in the deep, ecstatic practices of sacred chant, movement, and meditation. As we chant in joyful communion together, we each open to the possibility of directly experiencing bliss, devotion, and inner peace. Beginner and experienced chanters alike are welcome.

Jane Fryer, RYT 500
Inward Bound Yoga
Are you ready to take your yoga practice deeper? Join Jane Fryer, creator of Inward Bound, for an active and deeply restorative yoga and meditation practice in the tranquil setting of Nosara, Costa Rica. With her extensive background in Kripalu, Iyengar, Sivananda, and Anusara yogas, Fryer guides us to personalize our yoga practice and discover our sacred inner essence. Beginner and experienced yoga practitioners alike are welcome. Bring your own yoga mat.

Annette Knopp
The Free Heart
As human beings living in a conditional world, we tend to look outside of ourselves for perfect love, freedom, and peace. Guided by spiritual teacher and counselor Annette Knopp, we use meditative inquiry, experiential exercises, and deep communion to rediscover the natural love, clarity, and space that is already present at the core of our being. As we discover our free heart, we make peace with all aspects of reality and let go into “present-moment-openness” and authentic connection with ourselves and others.

Steven Michael Pague
Easy Qigong & Tai Chi
At Play in the Fields of Elixir
With Steven Michael Pague, longtime codirector and host of Omega’s winter programs, we work, cultivate, and play in the wonderful mystery of qi. Through easy-to-learn yet profound movements and meditations of qigong and tai chi, we begin to discover how to access “the elixir within,” our inner medicine. Together, we cultivate a foundation of practices that can be readily duplicated at home to increase vitality, strengthen immune function, enhance creativity, and achieve more harmony and balance.

Stephan Rechtschaffen, MD
Living Fully in This Moment
Physician and cofounder of Omega, Stephan Rechtschaffen, teaches holistic approaches to time, longevity, stress reduction, and well-being. Through visualization techniques, mindfulness practices, and awareness exercises, the author of Timeshifting: Creating More Time to Enjoy Your Life and coauthor of Vitality and Wellness, shows us how to slow down and come into the authentic and natural rhythms that are the result of living fully in the present moment.

Register for the Costa Rica retreat by going to www.eOmega.org/winter or call Omega directly at 800-944-1001.  

We Care Carly

Carly Davis is a 17 yr. old teenager living here in Salt Lake City who was diagnosed with 4th stage Ewings Sarcoma two yrs. ago. She underwent chemo and radiation for over a year with no hope of even getting through the treatment. She was able to be completely healed from her cancer, because of many prayers and the grace of God. Recently the cancer has returned and the doctors have told Carly that using chemo and radiation the second time will not be effective, they are giving her 6 months to 1 year to live with no treatment. It is Carly's wish that she travel to Europe while she still feels good. Carly’s parents who are faced with huge medical bills and choosing to leave their jobs to travel with Carly this year are struggling to come up with the funds to make Carly’s wish to travel this year possible. Our project for March will be to raise money for Carly’s travel to Europe this coming year. It is our wish that this coming year is filled with joy, adventure, love and fascination for Carly.
For pictures and more information about Carly go to Carlydavisblog.blogspot.com 

Massage Fund Raiser

I will be donating all the money I earn from my Tuesday massage clients for the month of March until April 20 to We Care Carly. So call Bonnie at 801-694-0787 to schedule a massage on a Tuesday to create a healing experience for yourself, while also creating miracles and adventure for Carly.

Bonnie LMT 801-694-0787
191 East 7500 South Midvale, UT

God’s Littlest Angels

Our February project to support the Gods Littlest Angels orphanage was a great success! Thank you all for your generosity, love and support.

Women to Women Organization

We raised enough money last year to sponsor two women in the Congo for an entire year, through the Women to Women organization. We have received two letters from each woman. I will have the letters available to read on the kitchen table at the March meditation.