February 2013 - Subud World News

Issue #153 February 2013
Photos: New York Chelsea Center (courtesy Simon Cherpitel), Chelsea Center hallway artworks, New York holiday meal (courtesy Alfia, chair)
FOR THE FIRST TIME, SUBTITLED TALKS
ARE AVAILABLE: A new experience
For the first time ever, thanks to the dedication of the World Subud
Association translation team and Vernon Contessa, the Subud
Library webmaster, Ibu Rahayu’s and Bapak’s talks are not only
online in print, audio and video form, but some of the videos now
have subtitles in English and Spanish. There are plans to add
subtitles in several languages. This means you may watch a video
from the Subud library without waiting for a spoken translation,
with the text of the talk displayed on the bottom of the screen. An
entirely new experience!
All subtitled talks are available on www.subudlibrary.net. Currently,
there are eight of Ibu Rahayu’s talks with subtitles and recently the
first Bapak talk (New York, June 1981, 81 NYC 4) has been added.
More will be available as the translations team completes them.
Eventually DVDs of subtitled talks will be on sale.
Elisa Sanchez Caballero (photo) in Argentina
heads the WSA translations team. They have an
ambitious agenda to complete final translations
of Bapak’s Volumes not yet in print for
publication by Subud Publications International
(SPI) prior to World Congress along with other
initiatives. The WSA, as an international
WHAT’S INSIDE
• Subtitled Talks
• Groups: New York,
Washington DC, Woodstock,
Florida
• Members: Michael Menduno,
Raina Rose & more
• Affiliates & Activities
• Regions: South & East Coast /
Midwest
• National: New Members, New
ED & Bookkeeper, Committee
Update, Finances, World
Congress proposal schedule
• Kejiwaan: New Helpers.
Latest talks, National Helper
Reports & more
• International: World
Congress, Legacy Project,
Zone 7, Suriname, & more
• Life Cycles
• Media & Literature
• Ads & Calendar
association, recognizes the importance of translations and has funded it internationally
since the last World Congress. Read more HERE.

SIGN UP FOR THE SUBUD LIBRARY: If you are a Subud member who has not yet registered for the online
Library and would like to, fill out the library security registration form
www.subudlibrary.net/English%20Library/regform.htm. An account will be created for you followed by an e-
mail confirmation, usually within 24 hours.
GROUPS AND CENTERS
Subud Woodstock hall, recent photo of cleared Washington D.C. property, current Subud USA, DC & SD offices next door
SUBUD NEW YORK, “arguably the most successful enterprise in the history of all of Subud.” sent from
Alfia Khasanshina, Chairperson www.subudnewyork.org
The Subud New York Chelsea Center ended the last quarter of the year with no damage from Hurricane Sandy,
nor loss of power—thank God—but we did sustain a financial loss because rentals were canceled at the last
minute and due to the loss of subway service a regular tenant couldn’t hold its usual programs.
In October/November we held committee elections at two general membership meetings. Current committee
members are: Alfia Khasanshina (Chair), Lee Noonan (Vice-chair), David Bernstein (Treasurer), Miki Hayden
(Secretary), Nick Taylor (Membership Secretary), with board members Robert Riedner, Daniel Hawk Hicks,
Dexter Douglass, Simon Whelan, and Mara Grbenick.
Subud New York sometimes undertakes charitable activity toward the end of the year. This year we provided
aid for Hurricane Sandy victims and completed our sixth SD-USA matching fund drive. (NOTE: See articles on
both in this newsletter.)
For the holidays, we had a wonderful Winter Wonderland potluck, raising $385 for a member hard hit by
Sandy. One of our members, Uraidah Hassani, organized a year-end fundraising event for her communitybased
organization, The Women Worldwide Initiative. TWWI is dedicated to youth development, and cultural
and economic empowerment of women and girls in low-income communities in New York City and developing
countries. They occasionally use the library room in Subud House for meetings.
For Thanksgiving holiday Renardo Barden, our dedicated building manager, wrote a message as a gesture of
appreciation: "New York Subud members, think of it; our Subud house and enterprise is now more than 18
years old and together from hope and ideas and some pain and suffering we have created what is arguably the
most successful enterprise in the history of all of Subud. Our building was originally discovered by longtime
Subud member Paula Mason. I believe the contract to buy our property was signed by Hamid Kaber, now living
in Costa Rica, but Geoffrey Armes, now living in Berlin, was also deeply involved. I was chair in 1994-1995
when together with Lee Noonan and Robert Riedner I sponsored a memo proposing that, owing to
complexities of negotiation and internal problems in the group we ought not to purchase the building.
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Thankfully we were overruled. Eventually the deal went down and the late Jerry Chalem, God rest his soul,
oversaw renovations.
For this I'm saying thanks to the many members, active and less active, who saw the purchase through... We
have earned millions of dollars of rental income. Not only have we created an enterprise to support the desire
of members to receive the latihan in the pricey, ungovernable city of New York, we have also generously
supported the East Coast Region and Subud USA. Our enterprise has sent many thousands of dollars to Susila
Dharma projects throughout the world. For this we ought to give thanks indeed."
READ A HISTORY OF THE CHELSEA CENTER as written by Renardo Bardon in 2008 and excerpted here.
“...the Subud Chelsea Center is the face of Subud in New York City. Thousands of people who had never heard of
Subud are now quite aware of it.” www.subudchelseacenter.com
The Subud New York latihan hall is located in mid-town Manhattan. The house was originally a synagogue
called the Fur Centre Synagogue because it was located at the centre of the fur trade in the city. The House has
two major renters, both Yoga groups. It also occasionally rents to businesses offering evening seminars.
Overall, there are about 10,000 square feet of space in the building...
We bought the former Fur Center Synagogue for $650,000 in June, 1994 using an $800,000 housing fund,
which was the sum of two bequests made to Subud in the 1980s and '90s. The Fur Center Synagogue agreed to
carry a $70,000 mortgage for us. Even so, we were short on funds to renovate our building. Fortunately,
businessman and longtime Subud member Jerry Chalem agreed to take on the challenge. After two years of
negotiations between Subud and the Synagogue concerning who would do the asbestos abatement (finally
removed at the owner's expense), Subud took possession in the summer of 1996 and the board appointed
Renardo Barden building manager...
We lacked the funds to complete necessary renovations. We applied for and, thankfully, received two loans
from Subud USA, totaling $60,000. ...By the grace of God and with the loans, the recovery of additional Russell
funds, and the early success of our enterprise, we were able to liquidate our obligations to Subud USA and the
Fur Center Synagogue mortgage even before those sums were due. We also received another bit of grace
when a member of SYDA Yoga, the late Philip Baloun, donated about $25,000 worth of lighting and electrical
work to the upper hall.
From the beginning the value of our "air" or development rights [were considered]. In 2003 when Renardo
learned that the two buildings immediately to our west were to be demolished to make way for a hotel, the air
rights matter was brought before the board. After many meetings and much group discussion Subud sold
10,000 square feet of its allotted 35,000 square feet of air rights in 2005 for $750,000.
Ten years in, the Subud Chelsea Center is the face of Subud in New York City. Thousands of people who had
never heard of Subud are now quite aware of it. Many tenants and visitors have commented on the sense of
calm they feel in our spaces. Some of these people have been opened. There are many new faces in Subud
these days and there is an expanding willingness among the membership to do things that benefit the world
beyond our doors.
SUBUD NEW YORK AND HURRICANE SANDY
Hurricane Sandy was the largest Atlantic hurricane on record and hit the Caribbean and several U.S. states in
late October. It struck New York City on October 29. Subud New York members donated and delivered supplies
afterward. Here you will find a letter of thanks with a link to photos that Alfia Khasanshina, Chairperson, sent
to members and then Renardo Barden, the building manager, describes how the storm affected their hall, the
Chelsea Center...
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ALFIA WRITES TO NEW YORK MEMBERS: Many thanks to your
contribution and donations to the victims of Hurricane
Sandy! How much love and warmth was in the air during
preparation of donations, labeling bags, and organizing them
in the Subud House. It was like Christmas time!
This trip was an eye opening moment of how much people
care for each other. There were three of us who could make
it, but a lot of Subud members donated so we were able to
bring in a lot of necessary supplies. An overwhelming
amount of supplies kept on coming in by trucks, vans, cars
from different parts of New York. There was no room to
place them so that the church had to stop the delivery. So
many enthusiastic volunteers made the work get done fast
and joyfully. If you want to meet a good friend, the
Rockaways is the place to be!
I want to confirm that your "gifts" were safely delivered to St.
Francis Church and may they be of great use to people who
lost their homes. Here is the link to see some pictures of the
Rockaways:
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8QcOHDFs5csjo
FROM RENARDO ON THE CHELSEA CENTER: For starters you should know that the Subud New York building
has a big flat tar roof and that our roof drains haven't always gotten the job done. Several years ago during a
heavy rain cigarette butts clogged our drains and the ceiling came down and we sustained thousands of dollars
of damage and had to close the building for weeks. Time passed and...someone threw a hotel towel on our
roof. The rain washed it against a drain cap. Whoops. More flooding, less serious. Plus there's a sizable steel
grate in our sidewalk in front of the Subud house which is intended to bring fresh air into what is after all a
kind of a crypt of a building. Moisture comes in from rain and snow and makes a big mucky mess on a part of
the cellar floor, but that's New York life.
Last year when Hurricane Irene was imminent I found an old slab of plywood and taped it across the vent to
prevent flooding. When the worst of it was over I walked downtown to discover that my contraption had done
the trick and that our drains had done their work. I felt like giving a big party, but went home and got some
sleep instead.
Hurricane Sandy already. I couldn't find the plywood slab I'd used for Irene so I asked my assistant to come up
with something. He found a thin sheet of stiff plastic somewhere and taped it in place. When we'd done what
we could, we went home to worry (I mean, uh, surrender).
My wife Lee Noonan and I live in Midtown which is somewhat elevated and so not a bad place to live if you live
on the island of Manhattan. Our apartment is several floors up, but sheltered by big skyscrapers. We weren't
really worried for our safety. Once Sandy came in there was soup and television and a universe of talking
heads and muckymucks advising everyone to stay home. We stayed in and watched the surfers and
adventurers, living vicariously, slurping more soup.
We watched events unfold on television like everyone else and thought of and worried about and prayed for
people we knew in hard hit areas. When the worst of the storm was over we ventured out into the nasty blow
and rain. Nobody could get around very well thanks to all the street closings. We knew that the subways were
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flooded and power was out below 34th Street so we got into our best rain gear and got our unused flashlights
and slogged and hobbled downtown.
We hunkered down, passing lines of people waiting for coffee. Any place open had throngs outside. People
without power in lower Manhattan were coming up town, armies of people, walking up town where there was
power, needing to charge cell phones, get dry and warm, eat a meal. Restaurants that could open had maybe
the best three days in a decade.
To our huge relief and disbelief we found that the rooftop lights at the Subud house were shining, part of an
island of light in the mess. The plastic contraption over the vent held up. Our drains had drained at the perfect
rate. The city sewage system had functioned. We didn't need our flashlights or wet mops.
We were grateful to come through so unscathed. Still are.
SUBUD WASHINGTON D.C. UPDATE
On behalf of the housing committee Barbara Thomas, Chairperson, and Damanhuri Alkaitis sent this update of
the Washington, D.C. center project.
Barbara writes: "A very long labor of love mixed with turmoil and miracles has settled and our new Center is
becoming a reality. We will be launching a final fundraiser for a push to the finish as soon as we receive the last
building permit and the modular structure is under construction."
The entire site, 1 acre, has been cleared...It is staked and ready for digging the foundation. Building permits
will be applied for in the next several weeks. Adjacent to the building site another acre with an older brick
house has been renovated and is temporarily housing the Subud USA National Office, Susila Dharma Office,
and Subud Washington, D.C. until the Center is built. It is also providing a home for the new Executive
Assistant for Subud USA.
Read the entire ‘update’ or visit www.subudwdc.org.
SUBUD FLORIDA GATHERING in November
near Tampa from Roseanna Ovington
Fifteen members attended. A selamatan luncheon
was held for the passing of Simone and Joseph Paige
and John Bailie, followed by a brief business
meeting and then some Kedjiwaan time and testing.
From left to right visually- Roseanna, Raphaela,
Bertina (in back), Veronica, Noel (in back) Mardi,
Margaret (East Coast Secretary), Simon, and Hussein
(East Coast Regional Helper)
SUBUD WOODSTOCK – 45 YEARS!
December 1967 – December 2012
from George Helmer: “....as Bapak admired our work, I was nearly overwhelmed with feeling that winter of
frozen carpentry had not been some gruesome exercise in "prihatin", but an enormous privilege.”
Late in the summer of 1967 I was managing a rock band of college friends – and friends of friends – ‘The Joyfull
Noise’ – and we moved from Chicago to Woodstock, Vermont. Shortly thereafter, David Hanni, one of the
band’s leaders, found and was impressed by John Bennett’s Concerning Subud, as he was making his way
through my mother’s large collection of occult literature. (My parents Charles and Lucy - later Stella - had been
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opened in 1965). She told him there were Subud “Helpers”, Maynard and Lilliana MacDonald, living and
teaching at the nearby Mountain School in Vershire, and several carloads of us drove over to investigate.
Maynard was perfect to talk to a crowd of hippies about Subud – somewhat Buddha-like, perpetually smiling,
he told us of Bapak’s receiving, and the latihan – which could be passed along to others – no rules (other than
separate latihans for men and women), no dogma, no prerequisites, and each of us might receive our own
individual proof that what we were practicing was worthwhile and powerful. I believe we all asked to be
opened, and three months later we were:
David (later Machmud, deceased)
Phyllis Rowe
Charles (now George) Helmer
John (now Lucas) Rowe
Bruce (now Daniel) Foster
David Hanni
Wally Pugh
Eric von Ammon
Jane Robinson
Jonathan Conner
I was opened on my 23 rd birthday, December 12, 1967.
My parents (Charles and Lucy - then Stella) were group regulars for the rest of their lives - 16 more years for
my dad and 31 for my mom. Daniel Foster and I may be the last of these first members, living and doing
latihan, but throughout the late sixties and well into the seventies, Subud Woodstock grew – at one point we
had about 40 active members. During those early years, despite Bapak’s unrelenting advice that we should be
“normal”, and occasional scolding by the Gurdjieff-descended helpers of Subud New York (and another
generation!) most of us in Woodstock were enthusiastically in pursuit of a utopian “counter culture”, and we
did what we could to make Subud part of that. This made for countless latihans, endless testing, and so on,
but not a whole lot of material achievement.
Then, in the summer of 1973, Subud Woodstock decided to build a Subud House. My family donated a plot of
land and, along with Adam Albright, about $15,000 in cash and we were off! None of us were professionals,
but we struggled and hammered and sawed, and by winter we were well along with the project. In those days
many of us had plenty of "time on our hands", but as the weather grew colder, only three people kept working
at what was still very much an outdoor project. Every day, at a pace that only frozen, amateur, fasting-twice-aweek
carpenters could achieve, Roland Heijn, my brother Hamilton, and I built that Subud House. Roland and I
later became professional builders, and brother Hamilton has a respect for north-country carpentry that may
be unique among Silicon Valley Strategy Consultants. At any rate, in the spring the Group returned to help
close the building in, and three years later they took out a $9,000 mortgage to have my business, Woodstock
Builders, complete the final details in time for Bapak's first visit to Woodstock. There were well over 100 Subud
members in town when Bapak came that fall of 1977, and the house where he stayed was generally swarming.
But on the morning that Bapak came downstairs and asked to visit the Subud House for the first time, only
three people happened to be available to take him there: Roland Heijn, Hamilton Helmer, and myself. As
Bapak admired our work, I was nearly overwhelmed with feeling that winter of frozen carpentry had not been
some gruesome exercise in "prihatin", but an enormous privilege. I really had no idea at the time just how farreaching
that privilege would become, however, because that simple Subud House was the first project of my
40-year career as a designer-developer-builder.
Over the years, we experienced Prio Hartono and all sorts of “enterprises”. Varindra and Lestari Vittachi built a
house nearby and Bapak came back for a second visit in 1979. In all, about 80 members resided here at one
time or another, but that winter of 1973-74 was the beginning of the end of our hippie-esque existence and
eventually the Group could only retain members who were actually able to make a living here. For many years,
the core was Charles Helmer (architect), three builders: Lucien Hinkle, Roland Heijn, and myself – and our
respective wives: Stella, Rosanne Marinna, Helise, and Gail. Since my mother died in 1998, there have been
only 3 or 4 regulars, until last year, when that number was reduced to just my wife Jill and myself. The nearest
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group is Subud Boston but they're 150 miles away. The house was paid for long ago, and Jill and I
are fortunate enough to be able to support the various expenses. It has always been only a Subud House and
is in good repair. We try to have a regular latihan on Wednesdays (5:30 in the winter), and visitors are always
welcome!
Contact George Helmer at wbi@vermontel.com or 802-457-1942.
FROM AND ABOUT MEMBERS
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FOR MICHAEL MENDUNO
Last October, writer, diver, and technologist
Michael Menduno was awarded the “Carl
Spenser Lifetime Achievement Award” at the
EUROTEK 2012 technical diving conference in
Birmingham, UK. The honor was for his
magazine “aquaCORPS: The Journal for
Technical Diving” (1990-1996) which WIRED
magazine once described as the “Sea Geek’s
Bible,” and for the numerous technical diving
conferences and industry forums that
Menduno organized and produced.
Think of “technical diving,” a term that
Michael coined in the early nineties, as
extreme recreational diving, that is, dives often beyond the 130-foot depth limit for recreational divers.
Michael first got involved in this kind of diving in the late 80s. At the time there was very little information
about it, and small groups of experienced divers who were doing this type of diving didn’t talk about it
publically for fear that other less experienced divers could be lured into danger.
Michael has published hundreds of articles about diving for magazines such as Alert Diver, DIVER, Scientific
American, WIRED and X-Ray magazines and is a sought after speaker at diving conferences. He remains an
active diver and writer living in Berkeley, California where he is a helper at the local Subud group. He also
served as Congress Chair for the 2012 Subud California Congress. He can be reached at
michael@menduno.com.
On a Personal Note: Two years ago, I was invited to give a talk at a technical diving conference in Sydney,
Australia. I hadn’t been diving in more than 12 years and hadn’t written about the field for nearly a decade. I
wasn’t sure if I should re-engage with diving or not. I attended the Menucha gathering that Fall and decided to
test about “getting back into diving.” We received that indeed, this would be a wonderful thing inwardly and
outwardly, and very fun, and that there were opportunities waiting for me. I took the plunge. I feel very
blessed.
RAINA ROSE AND KICKSTARTER: 1+1=YOU
SIDEWAYS AMERICANA-SOUL SINGER, SONGWRITER, AND ARTIST, raised over 20K online for her next
album. Here’s how and why...
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As Raina wrote on Kickstarter: “I am a working musician. I’ve
been touring the United States, Canada and the UK non-stop
for the last seven years. I play in living rooms, church
basements, dive bars, coffee shops, as well as in theaters, at
outdoor music festivals and old-school social halls. You may
not have heard of me before now. That’s because most the
music you hear is controlled by the major-conglomo-music-ascorporate-product-monster,
it’s hard to get noticed if you
don’t fit their formula.
Thing is, it’s totally okay that you don’t know me. I am working
on changing that with this project. Thanks to the interwebs,
there is an emerging middle class of musicians that have found
a way to have a sustainable career outside corporate
entertainment. We are watching our music spread like a
mighty river through digital media and it is amazing. We make
music because we need to. Because we live and breathe songs
and we need so much to share those songs with you.”
Raina’s music is described as Americana. “Her unique voice and exceptional guitar playing transcend age,
gender, generation... With a naturalist's eye, an artist's pen, and a lion's attack, Raina lays everything she has
on the line; she makes you feel as if she's your best friend whispering a honeysuckle-sweet secret in your ear,
warmly inviting you into a joyfully intimate and darkly candid conversation.” – from Social Music Marketing,
www.sonicbids.com/rainarose
Raina writes about the creative process and funding her next album: Writing for me evolved from an easy and
private way to express my emotions into a preferred art and then into my career. I was always attracted to
songs and poetry, but the end result was not something I anticipated. I love writing songs and think of that as a
part of my identity. ‘Inspiration’, in my opinion, is less an unexpected bolt of lightning and more a wild
creature, of whom you are first afraid, and then you have a timid exciting relationship, and then becomes an
old friend that visits you often and also comes to your call. Having a baby has helped me get to that friendship
with the muse. I have only have a small amount of time in the day when I have my hands free, so I better use it
wisely.
Kickstarter is basically a crowd-funding platform that allows entrepreneurs to finance their projects without
bank loans. It's brilliant. It's also hard work; we took about two months to study successful campaigns and
build ours. We wanted to have something worthwhile for even very small donations, as we believe the real
high number you are looking for is the amount of people involved, not the dollar amount. We hit just about
$20K and after Kickstarter fees and a few bounced donations, received about $17K for an album that will end
up costing about $24k. It's an incredible help for us. My last album cost about a quarter of that and I couldn't
afford to promote it correctly; this is a huge leg up for my music because it allows me to make something that
sounds and appears commercially viable. We are now in the mixing process and the album titled, Caldera, will
be out in March or April of 2013 at the latest. I have four other full length albums and they are all available at
these links:
www.rainarose.com/store.html
rainarose.bandcamp.com
itunes.apple.com/us/artist/raina-rose/id79311720
Raina is originally from Portland, now lives in Austin. Her dad, Morris McClellan, is currently serving as Subud
USA Treasurer. Listen to her music on her website: www.rainarose.com.
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NATURE SPEAKS PHOTOGRAPHY
Photography as Communion… by Halimah Martin, halimahmartin@comcast.net
It’s not easy to say what it is about photography that has been such
an inspiration. The process and sensation of seeing something in
physical form and then taking a photo, which sometimes extends
into the developing of it into its final form, is like an inner “ah.” It’s
an exchange, a courtesy allowing nature to speak. Ah….
A good photograph brings about a communion between the viewer
and the viewed, between the seer and the seen. This is it. This is
the moment, this is beauty, this is truth.
Photographic art is an invitation to behold the myriad forms of beauty in this world, sometimes taken for
granted or perhaps not even noticed at all. The best photographs remind us of the gift that is Creation.
I’m selling my 2013 photo calendars for a reduced price of $10 plus $2.10 for First Class postage. Visit
www.naturespeaksphotography.com to see four months of the calendar or contact me directly.
CREATING ISLANDS OF PEACE - OUR SUBUD GROUPS!
Melinda Wallis
Today, on December 16th, everything is colored by the latest horrible event - the killing of humans at an
elementary school in Connecticut. And children are killed in other places around the world all the time.
It seems to me that Subud can help the state of things. In addition to doing regular latihan, I am suggesting
that we Subud members make conscious and continuous efforts to turn our Subud groups into “islands of
peace”. I’m sure many members are already working on this. Still, I’ll ramble on a bit.
We can keep it simple: This is done by making an effort to get to know and understand each other. We can do
this by helping to create activities that provide space for us to know each other well and to find, express and
share our true talents. It can be simple: have an amateur talent night; do social service projects like making
sandwiches for homeless people. Do testing together to discover your true talent and then explore ways to use
that talent in your life. “Getting to know you”…
None of this is brand new - but let’s try again! I suspect that numerous newer members haven’t been part of
these activities. How good it feels to think that a person can come to latihan at a friendly, loving place and can
feel confident to bring friends there. What do you say, folks - shall we see what we can do to Increase The
Peace. (There’s our slogan: Increase The Peace!)
NOTE: A quote from an end-of-the-year bulletin from the Parliament of the World’s Religions: “...we watched
the televised interfaith service in Newtown, CT, where a speech by President Obama paid tribute not only to
those killed, but he also honored the Divine space in us all that shares a common grief.”
GIVING AND GOOD DEEDS
Hamidatun Karapetian
There are times when I don’t want to give, am unable to give, or have refused to give. But, giving does not
always involve money. And sometimes the world seems to have so many problems! In the 16 th century, a
Jewish mystic named Rabbi Isaac Lurig addressed what is not working in our world, from hunger and disease to
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poverty, suggesting ways to fix it. He named this “tikkum olam,” or “repairing the world.” I thought of us in
Subud, trying to be charitable. There are so many ways you can do something.
Here are some ideas:
You can let someone get ahead of you in a grocery line. Tell the manager of a business about an employee who
gave you excellent service. Listen to people you meet with an open and giving heart. Give spontaneously. Talk
to someone different at the Subud house instead of the same friends you always talk to. Signal a driver to let
them get in front of you. Clean up an area of your Subud house without being asked. Pick up litter on the
sidewalk, or wherever you see it. Pray silently for someone when you hear an ambulance siren. Call an elderly
neighbor or friend. Send a note to an old teacher, friend, colleague or mentor, telling them the positive impact
they had on your life. Make or give something to someone even if it isn’t their birthday. Offer to help a friend
who is feeling overwhelmed by doing their dishes or laundry. Bring a cooked meal to a friend who is not well,
has lost someone, or has a sick or dying relative or pet. Forgive someone you have not forgiven. Apologize to
someone you have offended or hurt. Volunteer in your community….even once a month. Offer to help a
“foreigner.” (Recently, I arranged to meet the cleaning lady from my gym at the library to help her get a card
and find books that would help her career.) Visit a dying friend, tell them you love them, and tell them why.
Offer assistance whenever you can, even if it is sharing your expertise or understanding. There are so many
ways to go beyond yourself in being aware of others, small ways to become a person of integrity and honor, or
what in Judaism is called a “mensch.” In Christianity, it’s being a good neighbor. In Subud we can be True
Brothers or Sisters.
COMPOSER SOUGHT
David McCormack sends this request:
I am looking for a composer to collaborate on a piece called the "The Cattail Song of August". It is a seasonal
tale and whimsical like the nutcracker. Perhaps there is someone out there who would like to take a crack at
conveying through music the feelings of the vegetable world and the child's world. The music would inspire a
dance of the willows. My hope is for this to be premiered by Subud children at a national or world congress or
at The Lewes School or BCU or another Subud school. Perhaps it could eventually be a useful tool for young
dancers emphasizing arm and torso movements.
To find out more write David at imdavidmccormack@gmail.com.
AFFILIATE AND ACTIVITY NEWS
SUBUD YOUTH ACTIVITIES INTERNATIONAL (SYAI)
BLOGGING AWAY: The SYAI team now has a blog that they are using to promote and report on the activities of
Subud youth internationally. The blog is currently being hosted on Wordpress with the following address:
http://subudyouth.wordpress.com.
Each week SYAI will post an entry. The
entries will vary but will generally be
information about World Congress, reports
about projects, updates on enterprises or
photos from a camp, congress or gathering
usually from a different Area. Whilst some
information posted here over laps with
what you may find on Subud World News,
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it's a bit different in that it is focused on the activities of Subud Youth internationally. It's the youth forum to
share news and information with other youth.
SYAI invites youth and youth-friendly readers to send articles to post. SYAI prefer articles with photos and,
where possible, try to keep it short (500 words absolute maximum). SYAI also asks that if you are a youth
coordinator that you share this blog with as many young people as possible. It's linked to the SYAI
facebook page too (and) you can subscribe via the blog home screen to receive updates direct to your inbox.
Already there are a few posts including an introduction post from both Alex and Lucinda and from the recent
World Congress planning meeting that Roland and Alex attended. The blog is a work in progress!
SYAI invites and encourages computer/design/communication minded
and skilled people to get in touch with suggestions for improvements -
even better if you'd like to offer your time to assist! Thank-you in advance
for your articles and for sharing and reading!
Photo by Fayra Teeters of Scrooge,
(Tory Mitchell), Bob Cratchit,
(Elizabeth Houghton) and Tiny Tim
(Rian Turner ).
With Love, Subud Youth Activities International
Alex, Lucinda, Marcus and Roland
SICA-USA (SUBUD INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL
ASSOCIATION)
PORTLAND HALL SOLD OUT ‘COMMEDIA CHRISTMAS CAROL’
On December 14-16th members of Portland’s Masque Alfresco Theatre
presented a witty commedia dell'arte adaptation of the traditional Charles
Dickens' A Christmas Carol at the Subud Portland house. A Commedia
Christmas Carol was adapted and directed by Subud Portland member and
Masque Alfresco founder Fayra Teeters. Six actors played 28 characters
complete with costume changes. True to commedia tradition, the
performance was interactive, including the audience in a Carol Sing-Along.
The play delighted sold-out crowds of all ages during its 3-day run. Masque
Alfresco elected to give 100% of ticket and concession sales--totaling nearly
$1200--to SICA-USA. Over the years the theater troupe has received several
SICA grants. "We really wanted to give something back,” explained
Teeters.
The play was such an enormous hit that many members have expressed
the desire to make it a regular holiday event at the Subud house and
Masque Alfresco is more than delighted to bring out The Dickens as a
yearly fundraiser!
SICA-USA NEW CONTACT INFORMATION: SICA-USA; 1526 N.E.
Alberta St. #155; Portland, OR. 97211• usasica@gmail.com; (971) 258-1424
Board members are: Muhammad Isman Kanafsky (Chair), Alexandra
terHorst (Treasurer), Peter terHorst (Recording Secretary), Lorraine Tedrow
(former Chair), Leonard Dixon (Webmaster), Melinda Wallis and Theodore
Salisbury. Robert Mertens and Mary Wold are Advisors to the Board. SICA-
USA donations may be sent to this address.
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RECEIVE SICA INTERNATIONAL e-MAIL UPDATES: Subscribe here! And visit www.subud-sica.org!
• OOH LA LA! SICA WEEK IN BÉNODET, FRANCE! 150 meters from the sea. € 100/person. August 24-31,
2013. Details on SICA site HERE
• VIVA L'ITALIANO! SICA ITALY hosts two workshops to explore Our Inner Creator this summer in Anticoli
Corrado (Rome). Details on SICA site HERE
NEW YEAR GREETINGS FROM LATIFAH, International Chairperson, and the SICA team
...a new world is forming all around us. And the skills needed to shape that new world are skills artists and
creatives have: social imagination, empathy, the ability to improvise, cultural citizenship, connectivity, and
creativity. Most especially creativity -- that ability to generate something fresh and alive; that capacity to see
possibility arising from the broken scraps of old answers and actualize it. Creativity is the life force in action.
These are the skills SICA nourishes and values in the work that we do. These are the skills that, fed by the
latihan, can make a gigantic difference in the world. Indeed, to have been granted the gifts of expression,
communication, and imagination is a sacred trust - one that, like love, has meaning only when you share it.
JAKART, www.jakart.info “... an homage to human creativity and intellectuality, the capability to express the
essential truth about life and the capacity to understand and appreciate the thoughts and feelings of other
human beings.”
Since 2001 JakArt has held six festivals, organized and staged 12 major productions in over 175 cities in four
continents, held over 1800 performances in more than 800 locations with the participation of more than 3000
artists from 50 countries. JakArt has
worked with more than 350 government
MIDWINTER SOLSTICE 2012
and NGO organizations, foreign
embassies and has involved more than Breathe in, and sense the pregnant stillness of the earth
2000 enthusiastic volunteers from all Where tight new buds foretell their springtime birth
walks of life. JakArt has received the This axial Winter solstice of December Twenty Twelve
endorsement of UNESCO and is
Calls on each one of us to pause, to listen, then to delve
founding member of The Association of Deep, deep into our core, and, if open to the Spirit, find
Asian Performing Arts Festivals (AAPAF). The Spark that signals a new future for mankind.
ONE EXAMPLE: THE IMAGINARY
FESTIVAL (IF), (2008) was a mix of
Reality and fantasy. “If” was a
statement, a conceptual festival where
imaginary events took place in
collaboration with the media. ...A
statement that Jakarta, a large city with
a population of over 18 million people is
presently without an opera house,
concert halls, international museums,
etc. and that the dream of turning
Jakarta into a cultural city is far from
reality...
Breathe out, and watch as dominating structures are brought low.
Witness how the outworn hierarchies retreat like melting snow.
Rejoice, that through the pain and darkness, gleams the dawning light.
Awaken to fulfill your dreams of new horizons bright.
Be present, in the time between the breaking of two waves
As heaven revives her millions of lost children who were slaves,
Bound by their own base passions and their unrelenting greed;
So arrogant and ignorant of what they truly need.
Bow down in thankfulness. Now is the time to sing our love‘s new song.
All round the earth we are the ones we have been waiting for so long.
Sharifin Gardiner
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SUSILA DHARMA INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION & SD - USA
One of the events included
The reading out loud of the declaration of the
Global Academy of Arts and Sciences:
On Aug 21 st , 2008, 11 actors in costume toured
embassies , ministries, Indonesian government
offices, and other locations throughout Jakarta to
read the Declaration of the Global Academy of
Arts and Sciences signed by over 600 world
renowned scientists, intellectuals and statesman
including Albert Einstein, Abraham Lincoln,
Genghis Khan, Marilyn Monroe, Socrates,
Mahatma Gandhi...
NEW SDIA BROCHURE: We are pleased that SDIA has released its brand
new brochure which gives an overview of the Susila Dharma Network
activities and sports our attractive new visual identity and our relationship to
Subud. We hope you like it as much as we do! Watch for printed copies
through Susila Dharma members and Subud national committees.
Thank you to the World Subud Association for financial support to publish
this calling card for Subud and Susila Dharma.
RECEIVE THE SUSILA DHARMA ENEWS BY EMAIL: Sign up on the SDIA website
HERE for French, Spanish or English. The SDIA Network eNews is published
once a month from information sent to the office.
SUBUD NEW YORK’S MATCHING FUND PROJECT FOR SD-USA
“I feel like a kid on Christmas morning...”, Deanna McFadden explains:
Six years ago Subud New York decided to have a fundraiser for Susila Dharma USA. At
the Board Meeting a decision was made to match whatever funds we received from
local members on a "3 to 1 basis" up to $5,000. I got so excited by this announcement, I
was overjoyed. I created a chart with our GOAL at the top and each time someone
handed me a check I felt like a kid on Christmas morning. So many of our members were
giving me checks. That first year we raised $5,123 and sent a check for $20,123. Well, I
felt so good--it was like we were finally doing what we supposed to be doing.
The next year, we did it again with some changes...instead of 3 to 1 it became 1 to 1 and the limit had been
eliminated; we raised $7,225 and sent in $14,450...not bad!! I was still excited, still felt like a kid on Christmas.
The third year we raised $8,047 and sent in $16,094.00. A few members from outside our group asked if it
would be ok to send us money to match. This project has been an annual event in Subud N.Y. ever since. It has
been held in September and October and has become open to members all around the country. Now checks
come from many brothers and sisters and groups are doing their own collection, sometimes matching that
from their treasury for us to match again.
I still feel like a kid...Happy as a Lark each time I receive a check. To date we have collected more than our goal
nearly every year. Every penny has been forwarded and we still do a "1 to 1" match. For the past two years we
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have matched up to $7,000. Since the beginning of this project, thanks to so many involved members and their
generosity we have sent Susila Dharma USA a grand total of $102,794.22. That’s a lot to be happy about.
SUBUD ENTERPRISE SERVICES
SES-USA
• NEWSLETTER, THE ENTREPRENEUR, VOL. 5, NO. 2: “This quarter's edition is packed with news, features
and articles – there's more going on out there than you might think!” Stories include Latijah Millers'
wellness clinic, 'Human Diamond Nutrition', Hamid Kaber's fledgling call-center enterprise, a forensic
science instrument from Rofin Australia named one of the four greatest Australian inventions of the 20th
century, plus tips on such things as creating an online appointment book and much more.
• NEW VIDEO: Go to www.sesusa.biz and at the home page select ‘click to view the SES video’. This takes
you to the newsletters page. At the bottom of this page are two choices for downloading the video, highresolution
QuickTime movie or low-resolution. As usual, all feedback would be appreciated.
• SES SUPPORTING SD: This message is for Subud Enterprises. SES-USA is raising $5000 for Susila Dharma
USA. This $5000 will be offered to the membership as matching funds for a fund-raising drive that would
raise between $10,000 and $15,000 for SD. This is a great way to leverage charitable donations from
your business. Please let me know whether you are able to help, and I will call to briefly discuss the
details. Thank you very much for your support.
• BECOME A MEMBER: SES-USA invites you to become a member. Contact Hanafi and Levana Fraval, 1015
S Hayworth Ave, Los Angeles, CA, 90035-2601 • Phone: (323) 272-3323 • Fax: (323) 272-4539 • E-mail:
fbeco@me.com & lfraval@me.com.
SES INTERNATIONAL (SESI)
RASHAD POLLARD IS NEW SESI COORDINATOR
Rashad Pollard has been appointed as the new Coordinator for SESI, thanks to a unanimous confirmation
through testing by the International Helpers. Rashad takes over from Ruslan Morris who now will be able to
concentrate his time on developing the major enterprises that SESI has worked to help set up in Kalimantan.
Ruslan remains on the Board of SESI to ensure continuity.
Rashad has recently retired as a consultant to international development programs, and is based in Virginia.
Before moving to the US in 1984 he was the Marketing Manager of the S. Widjojo Centre in Jakarta, Director of
the team that initially developed the Subud Township in Kalimantan, and Manager of the Pamulang housing
development in Jakarta. He joined Subud in Bangkok in 1964. He has been on the SESI Board since the last
World Congress.
Rosetta Narvaez has been asked to join the SESI Board with her special expertise in banking. Stuart Cooke has
joined SESI as an Advisor with specific reference to the work he is doing for the WSA Fundraising Initiative. [See
the WSA-MSF fundraising letter that accompanied this newsletter.]
SESI AND THE ENTERPRISE BUSINESS MARKET PLACE
SESI is launching a new initiative to assist members with their own enterprises who may be seeking support,
whether technical or financial. Our ‘market place’ works to bring together those seeking support with those
willing to provide it. We first circulate requests for support through our list server at
sesinternational@yahoogroups.com, then through our newsletters.
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Go to: www.subudenterprise.com. If not registered, do so, then go to: SERVICES -- ENTERPRISES and enter
information in the SUBUD PROJECTS WEB SITE.
Enterprises seeking support: Register at SERVICES and SPRINGBOARD.
Enterprises seeking to promote their services: Register at SERVICES and SubudB2U.
SUBUD EDUCATORS
THE SUBUD EDUCATORS LISTSERVER
A vehicle for our educators in Subud to be in touch with each other, it has educators from USA, UK, Indonesia,
and Australia; from preschool teachers through college professors, Special Ed teachers, specialists…you name
it! You can join the educators listserver group at subudedu@yahoogroups.com by e-mailing Melinda Wallis at
Melinda.wallis@gmail.com.
Here are two biographies from the list:
ROSADAH CARRE KLITZNER (maiden name Carré): This is my story. I am an Early Childhood Educator and have
been since 1990. After graduating high school, I went to England and studied to work with learning disabled
people. After my studies I went back to Jakarta to see my parents and volunteered at an International school
for a year. Then I was hired by that school to work in the 2nd grade to help students with disabilities. I worked
with a child with Cerebral Palsy and also taught ESL. Then the school wanted to pilot a preschool program and I
was asked to be the teacher. I had no experience in early childhood education, but it was the start of my
profession. The program was a success and the school ran two classes.
After working there for a few years, I was asked to be Head of a preschool in Jakarta which I helped to promote
for six months. I also trained teachers. After meeting my husband, Simon Klitzner, I moved to the U.S. and
taught in Los Angeles for several years in a traditional school, while getting my Certificate in Montessori. I now
live in Raleigh, North Carolina, and work at a Montessori school.
MARIAMAH MOUNT (maiden name Libman): I grew up a bit in Skymont, then Seattle, I now live in Southern
England with my husband and four children.
Over the years I've worked with teachers and parents in childcare and
education and homeschooled my family for 2 years. I now work at Inwoods
Small School which is a part of Brockwood Krishnamurti Trust. I am so
fortunate to be in a place where education is truly about inquiring into the
whole self. We do make sure the kids gain the skills and understandings
about 'school stuff', but also give time for stopping, self-guidance, facilitating
communication, play, real questions, affection. There is a lot of parent
volunteer help to keep the place affordable (the trend to subsidizing
alternative education in the UK is incredibly new and not yet fully utilized or
utilizable).
We offer parenting workshops and consider the community an important part of the school. It is also a
beautiful place, with an emphasis on time to appreciate nature. However, there are always challenges. I don't
work with people who do the latihan, but they are equally sincere about looking into themselves and living life
with connection. We have misunderstandings with each other, with parents, and most of all with the kids, but
we are willing to admit our mistakes, be honest, and to let go. The idea is to embody those steps to being the
revolution we seek.
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I find it quite hard to encapsulate something I eat, sleep and breath into a couple of sentences, but I have been
pleased to be a part of the Subud Education site to listen to the thoughts and feelings of other keen educators.
NOTE: Mariamah was instrumental in helping to solidify Subud Britain’s unique ‘Families and Children
Program'. It is now evolving to include Subud youth, as well.
REGIONAL NEWS
Subud South yoga workout, Damanhuri Alkaitis & Ra’uf Ramsey on DC plans, Amelia & Frederic Casilli, SEC Chair & Treasurer
SUBUD SOUTH GATHERING
“I have been wondering for some time about the issue of growth in Subud. My concern is primarily about how
Subud members feel about it.” from Humphrey Williams, National Helper
FROM AMINAH ULMER, National Helper: Saturday was met by a rousing, happy, hungry crowd for breakfast
followed by Latihan. After latihan, we met in a large circle and Rosina Newton, (Regional Helper) suggested we
use the format used at Menucha to decide on how the remainder of our weekend would unfold. So each
person was given time to introduce themselves, say a little about their Subud experience, their life, and what
they hoped might happen during our time together. ...This was a wonderful process but it took a great deal of
time and we all realized we needed to create a time table because most people wanted to do everything.
It seemed like there was a need to talk together about the issues swirling around the letters by Ruslan
(Feldman) and Harris (Boebel). ...Several people spent a great deal of time wanting to explore how we can
respect Bapak’s advice and guidance and still leave room to experience for ourselves the reality in any given
situation. There was discussion about taking some of the Indonesian words out of the vocabulary so as to "deculturalize"
how we talk about the Latihan. This seems to be a topic in many places with many members. These
are (two of the) questions the Regional Helpers wanted to test with members:
• What can I know or understand that can help me when I am feeling cut off from God's grace?
• How would my Latihan be if I was able to completely surrender to God's grace with no hindrances?
People seemed quite satisfied and complete in this testing session. Everyone I spoke to expressed the feeling
that they had received a great deal of nourishment from our time together.
FROM HUMPHREY WILLIAMS, National Helper: I grew concerned about the men’s Latihans on Saturday. There
were only 7-8 of us... There were times when after 10 minutes of Latihan I was the only one making a noise
and the only one standing. ...On Sunday morning we had a very strong Latihan which was quite different from
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the Latihans on Saturday. The Latihan was so strong and good that I felt some issues that I had been concerned
about cleared up in my feelings
I have been wondering for some time about the issue of growth in Subud. My concern is primarily about how
Subud members feel about it. There are some who are frustrated with the organization because we don’t
seem to be doing anything about it. They want to urge and agitate. There are others who have absorbed the
advice and explanations given by Bapak and Ibu at various times. This is the advice that says we have to be
good examples and so on and then when we are able to do this we will naturally attract new people to Subud.
Although many have understood this advice they still have not reached the point where they can put all of it
into practice. I have felt that interactions among Subud members on this issue often leave one or more of
them dissatisfied. And what to do? I felt the need for some testing about this issue, some questions and
receiving which would enable us to appreciate all the perspectives involved.
...After talking about this I asked the men if they would help me ask these questions. They agreed
enthusiastically. The questions were difficult but I did my best to ask them. We tested each for ourselves:
• In a situation of stress in the Subud community, what can I do to bring the community back to a quiet
and peaceful state?
• In the case of a friend who is trying to put Bapak’s words into practice, but is encountering difficulty,
how can I help him?
• What is it like to find our true talent and put the Latihan into practice in our everyday lives so that we
can be an example to others?
We went round the room after each question to hear what everyone had to say. I was impressed that even the
newest member (< 6 months) was receiving answers. The whole process was unplanned. I feel that there was a
need for something like this to happen. I felt extraordinarily blessed to be a part of it.
FROM ROSINA NEWTON, Regional Helper: Subud gatherings are like that old movie Brigadoon - where
periodically a community springs forth seemingly out of nowhere, joins together having fun and fellowship as if
no time has passed at all since last we met, and then disappears until the next time.
We had a lovely sing-along with Maria Larson and Ramon and Trini Cuencas during our Saturday night
entertainment segment - how fun! Ramon is such a good host for sing-alongs – he always brings the lyrics so
that we feel comfortable chiming in.
It really is remarkable how united and sweet and great in number the Dallas group is, especially knowing what
a materially-driven city Dallas is.
p.s. Now in January, looking back on that weekend two and a half months ago, I feel the kinship again that we
felt then, I feel a longing for that spiritual Brigadoon! I wish we could have a gathering like that every month!
Every week! Oh that our local groups could be that large and vivacious! Personally, I remember that – even in
the process of driving to Dallas for our gathering in the company of my sister and fellow regional helper Sylvia
McClain – I was transformed by the latihan. May we each be blessed with the transformative powers of the
latihan on a daily basis.
THREE RIVERS GATHERING NATIONAL HELPER REPORT: Subud East Coast and Midwest
Helper Development Meeting and Kedjiwaan Gathering from October 18-21 near Pittsburgh
from Suzanne Renna, Laurie Lathrop and Hoan Toan Phan, National Helpers
The scenery was beautiful with leaves of red and gold. The atmosphere was quiet and peaceful. There were 68
attendees (44 women and 24 men); 53 East Coast members, 14 Midwest members and 1 PNW member.
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...Helpers met together to introduce each other and identify what they would like to discuss and test at the
helper development day:
1) Practicing awareness testing, talent testing and open ended testing;
2) Talking to members;
3) Nature of helper roles;
4) Reading/Listening to Bapak’s and Ibu’s talks, Bapak’s advice and guidance to helpers.
About old and young members:
~ What can helpers do in order to improve the connection of harmony between young and old members?
~ How should an older helper speak to younger members?
General:
~ What is our obligation to Almighty God for being created as a human being in this world?
~ What is our obligation to Almighty God for having received the latihan kedjiwaan?
~ What is our obligation to Almighty God as a helper towards speading Subud ?
Sunday morning Closing circle: Laurie and Suzanne observed that there were very warm feelings at the
gathering. Many people at the closing circle said they felt they had had significant insights and receivings and
they particularly enjoyed the social time to be together and reconnect. ...A
comment was made that this gathering was close to offering those of us in
the East and Midwest what Menucha offers to the Western side of the
country. There is enthusiasm for keeping this gathering a yearly tradition.
SUBUD CALIFORNIA CONGRESS - Come and join us May 24 –
27, 2013!
Meldan Heaslip, Congress Chair, sends an invitation
Come join us! Our California Congress will take place at the elegant Sofitel
Hotel on the San Francisco Peninsula, May 24 – 27. We will have three days
of latihan, testing, eating good food, a stand-up comedy show (with actual
comedians!), and we’ll debut our “So You Think You’re A Subud Group”
competition. Our children, younger and older, will be at the heart of this
gathering, with centralized and free childcare, kid’s theatre, congress
games, and youth activities such as Congress TV. Come recharge, reconnect
and be a part of the Big Subud thing. Visit our website for more details and
to register: http://congress2013.subudcalifornia.org
NATIONAL NEWS
SEBASTIAN TEDROW, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF SUBUD USA
This is a relatively new role in our Subud organization so we all are examining
what executive director Subud style is. Starting with a big picture view of
what I believe the national organization’s two principle goals and
responsibilities are. First strengthening the Latihan and Subud Community in
the US. Second establishing and maintaining professional, transparent
financial and procedural information for Subud members and regulatory
agencies. A big Part of that effort involves providing platforms for robust
communications giving accurate and timely information and ways for
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members to interact and work together. I see the role of
executive director as assisting the Board of Directors,
the National Committee, National Helpers, Wings, and
the National Office in putting together the pieces and
policies that move us towards achieving those goals.
My initial steps are working with the new National Office
Team of Myra Margolin (Administrative Assistant) and
Sonya Shooshan (Bookkeeper) to provide those efficient
clear operations that serve the Subud membership, and
to explore communications in the new electronic world.
The communications part is an ever evolving process
that will involve a lot of input from you the Subud
Membership. We are embracing more and more the
digital age, while trying to maintain connection to all of
our members no matter what their electronic
capabilities are. This will always be a work in progress.
The more feedback we get from the membership the
better. If the Latihan is important to you, consider
providing us with your feedback. Once a year annual
meetings and working in isolated small offices scattered
around the county does not necessarily mean we have
the pulse of the nation at all times. Be involved in your
Latihan and the structure that supports its growth in the
world.
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WELCOME NEW MEMBERS
SUBUD USA
June – December 2012
Bo Parfet
Stephen Hoerler
Sydney Hoerler
Ellen Fitzpatrick
Marini Bustillo
Ann Brown
Judy Jamison
Daniel Howell
Lisa Bodero
Sarah Sage Perretta
Sareena Sandha
LeAnna Dolan
Aziza Ansari
Muhsim Bustillo-Pollard
Gassama Zainab
Ibrahim Shokry
Joesph Tobing
Van Nga N Dang
Anne Marie Pizzariello
Boulder, CO
Boulder, CO
Boulder, CO
Borrego Springs, CA
Durham, NC
Flathead Valley, MT
Flathead Valley, MT
Los Angeles, CA
New York, NY
New York, NY
New York, NY
Portland, OR
Santa Clara Valley, CA
Shenandoah Valley, VA
Washington D.C.
Washington D.C.
Washington D.C.
Washington D.C.
WA
NOTE: Please forgive us if anyone is missing – and
please let us know!
I will tell you a little about myself. My wife Lorraine and
I were opened on the same day over forty years ago in
Spokane. I have served as a committee member or helper for at least 35 of those 40 years. Some of that was
wonderful, some not so much especially for my family. I recently sold my Subud enterprise of 20 years leaving
me in a position to take this new job as Executive Director of Subud USA. I hope that my experience can
inform me and not just bind me to the past and I pray that in some small part my work and Latihan will help us
all in our efforts to make Bapak’s mission that Subud and the Latihan become relevant to all of Humankind.
Thank-you all for the expression of your Latihan in this world.
SONYA SHOOSHAN IS THE NEW SUBUD USA BOOKEEPER
Sonya began by volunteering in the office in August 2012 when it moved to
Beltsville MD. She was opened in 1980 and does latihan with the metro DC group.
She has served in many Subud jobs over the years, including local treasurer and a
term as Subud USA Treasurer from 2002-2004. Sonya enjoys “fun” fundraising, and
has organized many silent auctions and raffles at local, regional, and national
gatherings. She has also helped locally with yard sales and bake sales.
In her professional life, Sonya is a non-traditional medical librarian. Since 1997, she
has worked in one of the research divisions of the National Library of Medicine, part
of the National Institute of Health. In her previous life, she was a defense
contractor, developing and maintaining software for Air Force intelligence systems.
Sonya has never done bookkeeping, but she got an A in accounting in college, back
in the dark ages. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, knitting, and visiting with
friends.

SUBUD USA NATIONAL BOARD MEETING
November 3rd, 2012, Santa Cruz, California
online. Resolutions from congress are:
Sebastian Tedrow was appointed the
new Executive Director. Some of the
items discussed include housing
assistance for Washington D.C. and
Subud Durham, national congress
and gathering planning, 2012
Congress Resolutions and archives.
Committees were created for
Finance, Fundraising Coordination,
Fostering Enterprises, Archives,
Delegate System Review, Terms of
Office, and Housing. Minutes are
1. The space being rented by Subud USA in the Washington, DC house is the National Office and not to be
confused with a Subud USA National Center at this time.
2. A delegate system is currently in place: Is the delegate system appropriate for Subud USA’s purposes? If
so, how is it faulty and how could it be improved? If a delegate system is to continue, how should the
selection and education of delegates be handled? Would it be more appropriate to use a member system
instead of a delegate system wherein anyone who attends Congress has a vote?
3. Terms of office for officers of the National Committee to be examined after the efficacy of the Executive
Director has been determined.
4. To develop continuity on the Board of Directors; a subcommittee will be formed to look at length of
terms, staggering terms, who should serve – chair or rep.
5. Include all ex-officio members by informing them of Board activity, excluding executive sessions.
NATIONAL COMMITTEE UPDATE by Shoshanah Margolin, National Chairperson
2013 National Gathering
We are soooo close to announcing the site for the 2013 National Gathering that will occur in the Rocky
Mountain region from Thursday, July 4 through Sunday morning, July 7. We are just waiting for a contract to
be developed. Perhaps by the time this newsletter reaches you, we will have completed that process. Mhd.
Isman Kanafsky has agreed to pull together a team to begin conferencing about program planning and
operations management.
Census Process
By now, all center and regional contacts have received a list of member names that were classified as active or
semi-active in the last census. We are asking the contact persons to do a pre-census, that is, just delete anyone
who has died, moved away, or resigned/no longer attends or does latihan; and add new members and those
who’ve recently moved to the center or region. This is a clean-up process. Because we are developing a new
online membership database, it was decided that rather than putting the entire membership through the
lengthy paper-based process we would hold off until the online development was further along.
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Once we have the revisions, we plan to move forward with the online membership database (part of the
“members’ only” portion of the redesigned website), inviting each member to login, check his or her
membership account, and update his or her information similar to the way one does online banking. The
details of the census including security and privacy issues will be described in a later message. Members will
have the opportunity to opt out if
they choose not to post their
information and a paper form will
be available to members not on
the internet.
In the past the census was a
pyramid approach with the
membership data ending up in the
national office server. With the
introduction of the online
membership database this changes
and permits limited searches of
directory information to the
membership, group information to
the center, regional lists to your
regional chair, and delegate
information for congresses.
New Website
By the time you receive this
newsletter, the website will most
probably have gone live or be
about to. When you view the site
you will start with a home page
that is for the general public. In the
upper right corner is a member
access tab. You will need to create
your own account to access the
members only pages. This will
involve a login with a user name
and password. Once you access the
membership section, we would
appreciate your feedback, such as:
any links that don’t work, any
inaccurate text, missing dates and
any minutes of past congresses
that are not on the site. We wish to
thank Christine Szepesi, Ramon
Hildreth and Lucian Parshall, who
started the project over a year ago.
2012 2013
Actuals Budget Variance Budget
INCOME
Regional/Center Pledges:
California $ 28,596 $ 28,596 $ - $ 28,600
PNW 14,400 14,400 14,400
Pacific Islands 300 300 300
Rocky Mountains 6,000 6,000 6,000
South 1,000
Midwest 2,000 2,400 (400) 2,400
East Coast 7,950 8,200 (250) 7,200
Centers 3,726 7,704 (3,978) 4,000
TOTAL Regional/Centers 62,972 67,600 (4,628) 63,900
Member Contributions 70,494 75,159 (4,665) 88,500
Enterprises 13,380 5,004 8,376 10,000
Bequests 20,000 20,000
National Congress (Net) 3,502 1,711 1,791 2,500
Special Fundraisers/Other 5,288 2,520 2,768 5,060
TOTAL INCOME 175,636 151,994 23,643 169,960
EXPENSES
Staff:
Employee Payroll 37,169 37,098 71 22,735
Executive Director 22,824 22,824 37,800
Bookkeeper/Accountant 5,108 6,350 (1,242) 9,480
Newsletter Editor 1,500 1,500 2,000
TOTAL Staff 66,600 67,772 (1,171) 72,015
WSA 29,600 27,600 2,000 29,350
Zone 7 6,000 6,000 6,000
Helper Travel 17,134 17,004 130 24,000
Committee Travel 9,745 12,340 (2,595) 9,500
Printing & Publications 3,956 2,500 1,456 1,500
Insurance, Legal, Prof. Fees 7,383 7,755 (373) 7,800
Office Rent 9,453 9,353 100 5,100
Other Admin Costs 15,084 13,392 1,692 14,695
TOTAL EXPENSES 164,955 163,716 1,239 169,960
NET OPERATING INCOME $ 10,681 $ (11,722) $ 22,403 $ 0
OTHER INCOME/EXPENSES
Adj. of Assets to Mkt Value (6,020)
NET INCOME 4,660 (11,722) 22,403 0
Subud USA National Staff
As of January 2, the following people are working for Subud USA, either as paid staff or as contract workers:
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~ Sebastian Tedrow, Executive
Director
~ Myra Margolin, Office
Manager and Communications
Director
~ Sonya Shooshan, Bookkeeper
~ Julia Hurd, Newsletter Editor
~ Daniela Moneta, Archives
Coordinator
We also wish to thank Uraidah
Hassani for the extensive work she
did on finding possible sites for the
national gathering.
INPUT WANTED ON SUBUD
USA COMMUNICATIONS
Myra Margolin, Office Manager and
Communications Director, is helping
Subud USA reshape our
communications - including our
website, e-mail communications, and
newsletter. She is looking for:
Communications advisors: People
who have experience with non-profit
communications or communications
strategies that integrate social media
who would be willing to serve in an
advisory capacity for this process;
and,
General communications feedback:
Subud USA members who would like
to share their opinions or experience
with Subud communications. For
example: Do you get too much e-
mail? Too little e-mail? Do you have
enough information about Subud
USA? This would involve a one-time
phone call or short e-mail exchange.
Please write Myra to express your
interest at myra.susa@gmail.com.
SCHEDULE FOR PROPOSALS
TO 2014 WORLD CONGRESS
from Maxwell, Maya, Hammond and
Silvana, the WSA Executive Team
THREE EXISTING WORLD CONGRESS PROPOSALS TO DATE from the World Subud
Council: (1) the Subud definition of consensus. This follows much discussion in recent
times, including proposals from the last World Congress, (2) A WSA Mission
Statement, since we do not have one, and (3) WSA country membership. Currently, a
WSA member country must simply accept the WSA constitution and bylaws and be
endorsed by World Congress to ‘join’. The council believes membership requirements
need revising. To learn more visit the membership page of ‘subud.org’. Here is the text
of proposals for discussion from the 2012 World Subud Council Meeting Minutes:
(1) Recommendation: Consensus
Consensus is not 100% agreement. WSA states in its bylaws that “WSA shall seek
consensus in decision making”. Consensus within Subud is a process leading to a
decision.
The process of consensus within Subud is arrived at the time of voting. If a vote is not
unanimous but there is a majority of 75% or more (this is a figure based on historical
reality) the other 25% or less are given the time and space to be heard, that they are
carefully listened to, that their ideas are taken into consideration and written down.
Following these exchanges a new vote would be taken and then the minority, if still not
in agreement would be asked whether they accept the majority vote. If the minority
still do not accept the majority view, then the views of the minority having been noted,
the motion will be considered carried.
(2) Resolution: Mission Statement: That the amended mission statement be put to
member countries for their perusal and ratification.
WSA Mission Statement
Preamble: The name Subud is a contraction of three Sanskrit words: 'Susila, Budhi and
Dharma'. These words represent the possibility to surrender to the divine power that
can touch our inner nature, allowing it to effect change from within that will lead to
the qualities of a true human being.
Subud is open to all persons regardless of their religion, race or nationality. The
spiritual practise of Subud described above, does not require the acceptance of any
dogma but exists to unite human beings through a common worship of God.
Mission: The mission of the WSA network through its member countries and partner
organisations is to foster the spiritual training (latihan kejiwaan) that comes from
within the individual Subud members, as well as the beneficial use of the spiritual
practice of Subud, including the development of individual talents. The WSA network
nurtures the worldly expressions of this practice that benefits society, aiming towards
a more peaceful world in which humans can enjoy a healthier inner and outer
environment.
(3) Recommendation: WSA Country Membership
1) The WSA membership form needs to be re-written integrating among others things:
A. Benefits and obligations of member countries
B. Include a copy of the bylaws, mission statement, as well as the MOU (which
includes protection of name, symbol and Bapak and Ibu's written works) and
obtain a written acceptance of them.
C. Agree to and accept the WSA structure (zones, areas, national organisations)
and adhere to following and participating in that structure
D. There must be a minimum of 10 members and an established national
organisation (legally incorporated or not) with committee and helper Dewan.
2) Financial commitment of a country is a membership fee of $US100 per year
(current fee is $US1 per year).
3) There are two types of membership
A. Full membership with voting rights: These would be countries fulfilling A, B, C
& D above.
B. Associate membership with no Voting rights: These would be countries with
less than 10 members or that do not fulfil criteria A, B, or C above. The aim
being that they work towards becoming a full voting member. These countries
would participate in discussions but would not have a vote.
Recommendation: Membership Form That the WSA Executive and the Zone
Representatives will work with countries to come to an accepted proposal for a new
Membership form for ratification at World Congress. This new membership form
would be re-signed by all countries every 4 years or at World Congresses. If a country
no longer fulfils the criteria of a voting member then the WSC, through its Zone
Representative, should dialogue with the country before it ceases to be a full voting
member country and become an associate member country i.e. non-voting.
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We thought it would be helpful to outline the schedule for proposals (recommendations) from now until the
World Congress in August 2014.
Bylaws Deadline March 1, 2013
First of all, proposals (recommendations) that require a change to the WSA Bylaws or Constitution need to be
circulated to all member countries one year prior to World Congress i.e. August 2013. In this case member
countries would need to get proposals to the World Subud Council, via their Zone Representatives, as soon as
possible.
The intention of this time schedule is to allow enough time for proposals to be discussed and debated at
national and zone levels so that clear decisions can be reached well in advance of World Congress and so that
delegates can be fully briefed and ready to vote without the need for further discussions at World Congress.
Proposals Deadline January 2014
Secondly, proposals (recommendations) that do not require a change to the WSA Bylaws or Constitution
should be sent 6 months before the World Congress i.e. by January/February 2014, at the latest. Council needs
feedback from Countries via Zone Representatives well before World Congress. This is to allow enough time
for papers to be circulated to delegates before World Congress.
FOR SUBUD USA: With the intention of being democratic, the National Committee has identified a process
for refining and eventually agreeing on proposals to submit to World Congress from the U.S. First, suggestions
may come from individuals through their local group or for regional members, through Regional Chairpersons.
When possible, suggestions should be reviewed at regional congresses or regional council meetings. All
proposals should be sent to Lucian Parshall, Lucian_Parshall@ameritech.net, Committee Councillor, who will
deliver them to the National Committee and Board for national consideration during an open workshop at the
Subud USA Gathering next July. Proposals that come through affiliates or interest groups or any other route
should also be sent to Lucian for national consideration prior to July.
Proposals that are well-thought out and meaningful to the global Subud community, that is, taking into
consideration wide ranging cultures, languages, circumstances and advancing common world-wide goals, are
most likely to be adopted. Ideally a proposal will relate to one or more of the WSA’s ten aims and funding
implications must be considered. Certain ideas have been approved at past congresses and not been
implemented for a variety of reasons, so we hope to avoid this. The Subud USA delegation has one vote, as
does each WSA member country. Resolutions are passed by consensus.
This process also applies to discussion and decisions on proposals from other countries and the World Subud
Council (see insert). You may also write to our Zone 7 Representative, Dave Hitchcock in Victoria, Canada,
regarding the WSA bylaws or proposals, dave_hitchcock@shaw.ca.
NOTE: The World Subud Association is an association of Subud
national organizations. World Congress is its supreme authority.
At World Congress member countries review past actions and
agree on goals, priorities and policies of the WSA. Member
countries may have up to four delegates to congress with one
combined vote. WSA Delegations are the same officers that form
Zone Council delegations consisting of the country chairperson,
committee councilor and male and female kejiwaan councillors.
The authority of Congress is vested in the World Subud Council
between Congresses.
WELCOME NEW HELPERS
June through December 2012:
Hamidah Glasgow - Boulder, CO
Luke Jones - Los Angeles, CA
David Rosas - New York, NY
Lillian Thomas - Asheville, NC
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KEJIWAAN, HELPERS & more...
IBU RAHAYU’S DECEMBER TALKS ONLINE
Ibu Rahayu's talks from 8 December 2012 at Rungan Sari, Kalimantan, Indonesia, (12 TKL 1) “Talk to Delegates
from Zones 1 and 2” and (12 TKL 2) “Talk to Members” are now online at www.subudlibrary.net.
The Asian Zone Conference was held in Rungan Sari on the weekend of December 7-10. Attended by about 30
people, there were representatives from nine of the countries in the Asian zone: India, Australia, Vietnam,
Indonesia, New Zealand, Thailand, Japan and Singapore. Ibu Rahayu attended the conference and gave two
talks and a testing session. She commented on a number of important topics.
Ibu Rahayu explains in detail while she is no longer able to answer members' questions. She also expresses her
conviction that the structure and guidelines of the Subud organization as received by Bapak should not be
changed.
IBU RAHAYU SENT GREETINGS TO THE AUSTRALIA CONGRESS in January; the letter is available on the Subud
Library.
NATIONAL HELPER DEWAN MEETING IN JANUARY
The national helpers had a vibrant and rewarding annual dewan meeting this year at Suzanne’s home in the
snowy forests of Maine the weekend of January 18-21. We brought an agenda of items to discuss, test, or
resolve; however, the primary purpose of the meeting was to latihan together, and to feel our commitment,
sincerity and guidance as a dewan. We are grateful for the harmony with which we are able to work together,
and we are aware that this precious harmony is particularly beneficial in our role as national helpers.
We tested what the various regions and national wings need from the national helpers, and what our
responsibilities as national helpers are to best meet these needs. We addressed some specific issues that had
been requested of us by the national committee, wings, or regional helpers, as well as issues that had come to
our awareness through our experiences interacting with our sisters and brothers – through latihan,
conversations, letters or online
social groups.
We also looked forward to our
national gathering next July,
and tested about its content.
We received that the 2013
National Gathering is meant to
deepen our connection to the
latihan, with the awareness
that we have been given this
gift not only for our Subud
growth and development, but
for all of mankind. We
received that the gathering will
be full of loving connections
and flexibility, laughing,
dancing, abundance and a very
celebratory spirit...like going to
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a beautiful fair … full of praise and thanks. We felt an awareness of many kinds of culture - cultures of old and
young, men, women, diverse social classes, north, east, south, west, different countries throughout the world.
On some level, our national gathering will be preparation for the World Congress in 2014. We look forward to
sharing this experience with all our Subud family.
Love from your national helpers,
Aminah, Hoan Toan, Humphrey, Suzanne, Laurie, Sjarifuddin, and Alexandra
NATIONAL HELPER REPORT FROM OCTOBER
The National Helpers presented a report at the Three Rivers Gathering talking about what they had been doing
since the Americas Gathering and National Congress. Highlights include ordering 15 copies of Bapak’s Advice
and Guidance for Helpers for candidate helpers, regular conference calls with the National Committee and
among themselves as well as with Wings and Regions. They attended three regional congresses: Pacific Islands,
Rocky Mountains Congress with a Family Camp, and the Pacific Northwest Congress.
REMINDERS OF REALITY website http://remindersofreality.weebly.com
An individual initiative from Emmanuel Elliott:
This website came into being with a momentum all its own. It began with the email sharing of
personal spiritual experiences between a very few friends – mostly, but not entirely,
members of Subud – and developed into a weekly networking now reaching about 2,000
people all over the world. It continues right up to the time of this writing (December 2012). It
is my intention to maintain the email circulation of new stories every other weekend and to
add them to this site shortly thereafter.
The consensus is that these postings, with the exception of artists and published authors, will generally be on
an anonymous basis, and I hope you may be moved to contribute your own story to
emmanuelelliott@blueyonder.co.uk. The feedback has been wonderfully encouraging.
ELEANA PAWL from Seattle sent this quote saying: “I think it says in a clear way what Bapak mentioned
in almost every talk he ever made: without harmony, we have nothing.”
From "All of Mankind" Seventeen Talks By Bapak From The 1981 World Tour” (81 WAS 1)
Copyright © 2007 the World Subud Association. All rights reserved.
So start among yourselves, just with the few of you - how to love each other. And then when you can do that,
then you can start loving people outside of Subud. It's lucky for you that it's only a small group, that Subud
hasn't spread.
You're really lucky because you can start practicing with just a few people. Supposing Subud were already ten
million people now in the United States and you hadn't learned how to love each other. Then what's the use of
having ten million people?
...And Bapak says: Try to practice loving each other and helping each other. Because if you don't, if you can't
do it in such a small group of people, if you can't really feel close to each other, and really support each other,
and work together, then the whole thing is no use.
FEELINGS ON IBU SUMARI’S DEATH by Ruth Berger, 1971
David McCormack found this remembrance among his mother’s, Rohana’s, papers shortly after she died
following the death of Ibu Siti Sumari, Bapak’s second wife.
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I know by the way and the extent of the awareness of her going something of the inner size of her. It certainly
covered the abundance of this earth...
You lit up the earth with your going like the tail of a comet so brilliant it paled the sun. Was it in my heart only,
or did it really happen that the flowers blazed so I half shut my eyes and the world was a song like I first heard
when in love and loved in return. This is not what I was taught of dying. Not this joy. This triumph. Not this
flood of life. This death of yours makes shadows of our living!
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
SUBUD WORLD CONGRESS 2014, PUEBLA, MEXICO
THE 14TH SUBUD WORLD CONGRESS DATES are August 2 to 14, 2014, in Puebla, Mexico. In the meantime,
sign up to the Subud World Congress Puebla 2014 group on Facebook: click on “like” and you will receive
regular updates or visit the congress page of ‘subud.org’. Or read books about Mexico – we’ve been compiling
a list (see the literature section later in the newsletter). The congress website will be available in March.
PREPARING THE XIV SUBUD WORLD CONGRESS
Dave Hitchcock, Zone 7 Representative, informs:
In the second week of January a number of representatives
from the Wings, Affiliates, WSA Executive and International
Helpers attended a planning meeting in Puebla. Mexico is
an important part of Zone 7 so, as Zone 7 Rep, I was asked if
I would facilitate this meeting - a somewhat daunting, but
exciting, prospect!
...We started the week with a kejiwaan morning, when we
did latihan and tested together. Testing questions included:
The vision, nature, flavour, or essence for the 2014 World Congress
How to work together without self-interest
The correct inner state for each of us to perform our work, according to God’s will
Significance of the 2014 World Congress being held in Puebla
After the testing, we shared some of our receiving and identified a number of key elements for the 2014 World
Congress. These included:
Flowering of the latihan
Emphasis on the kejiwaan
Connection & integration with the people of Puebla
Lonely Planet readers named Puebla as one of the top 10 cities in the world to visit for 2012
The New York Times names Puebla #13 on the list of the cities in the world that you should visit for 2012.
FROM A WORLD CONGRESS LETTER SENT TO NATIONAL COMMITTEES in December:
Maya Korzybska, WSA Executive Vice-Chair, and Marston Gregory, World Congress Treasurer, visited Puebla in
October/November 2012 and sent this information:
REGISTRATION FEE: There is one registration fee and one discount fee. The discounted fee must be requested,
but has been set up to help anyone in need and is not simply based on country of residency. The reduction will
apply for people on low incomes, from developing countries but also, members on unemployment or elderly
26 of 34

members on low pensions, youth who are studying or starting their careers, etc. There will be a daily rate at
congress, but this is not fixed as yet. Registrations will begin online in March 2013.
Early Bird February to November 30, 2013:
Mid Bird December 2013 to April 31, 2014:
Late Bird May 2014 onwards:
normal fee 450 US$ reduced fee 300 US$
normal fee 550 US$ reduced fee 390 US$
normal fee 650 US$ reduced fee 490 US$
HOTELS: We have also been negotiating with hotels and we now have a number of average + hotels ranging
from 25 US$ per person in a double room to 35/40 US$ per person in a double room. Most hotels also have
some triple and quadruple rooms, so prices get quite low. These prices, which members will access via the
world congress website, will include a full continental breakfast. Those members from abroad who are
registered with the World Congress will also get a discount of 16% on the published prices, which is due to the
congress’ tax exempt status. There are a few up market hotels where prices range from 60 to 100 US$ per
person in a double room.
MEALS: We have a choice of catering companies offering their services; one is an association of chefs, as
Puebla is a renowned gastronomic centre. There will be the choice of all lunches, all dinners or all lunches and
dinners. Costs will be reasonable.
LEARNING SPANISH FOR WORLD CONGRESS
Reynold/Ruslan Feldman has a suggestion for Subud USA which he calls "Accion Americano Lindo" or "Action
Beautiful American". The idea is that Americans intending to go to the Puebla Congress in 2014 commit to
begin learning basic conversational Spanish by Congress time.
He is exploring possibilities through Subud Mexico and online to find responsible and affordable Spanishlearning
opportunities in Mexico and in the U.S. Shoshanah Margolin our National chair who, as an
International Helper, followed Halstein Stralberg's example and worked on learning Spanish, recommends
“Duo Lingo” as a wonderful on-line Spanish program that is available free of charge. Both are examples to the
rest of us.
He invites any other U.S. brothers and sisters to email him resources they have found, be they audio courses,
good books, or local teaching programs so that, in a future issue, he can share this information. Contact
Reynold /Ruslan at reynoldruslan@gmail.com
THE LEGACY PROJECT
The Legacy Project aims to raise funds to ensure that Bapak’s and Ibu Rahayu’s
original recorded talks are restored and preserved, not only for Subud members
today but for generations to come. The project will also make sure photographs,
films, and historical documents are cared for. Unless we take action today, many
original recordings will deteriorate and be lost forever.
The Legacy project was launched at the America’s Gathering in Vancouver and since then the Foundation has
made presentations at various events including, the Subud Britain Congress and Gathering, Menucha, and the
Subud USA Pacific Northwest Gathering. The archives will need ongoing support if we are to reach the goal. For
more information visit the Foundation’s new website www.msubuhfoundation.org, watch the film, read our
brochure, view historical photographs and make your donation. Join our Facebook page
www.facebook.com/LegacyProject.
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A (BELATED) HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM YOUR ZONE 7 REPRESENTATIVE Dave Hitchcock
As 2013 starts to unfold, I felt that it was a good time to give you a brief update of what I have been doing
recently as your Zone 7 Representative.
Zone 7 Council
Following our in-person meeting in Vancouver last summer, we have been meeting every 3 months or so by
telephone conference call. ...we have managed to re-establish communication with the national committee in
Cuba - something that has been very difficult over the past 3 years.
Preparations for the 2014 World Congress
Preliminary registration information has been sent to all national committees and it is hoped that registration
can start in March 2013. Together with the usual Early Bird rate and packages for families with children, there
is a specific registration rate for those needing assistance and a new three-time installment payment plan.
Many thanks to US members Marston Gregory (Treasurer) and Mary Wold (Children’s Program), who are
important members of the WCOT, with assistance from Latifah Taormina (SICA) and Alex Woodward (SYAI)
and, of course, support from the International Helpers.
WSA Organization Working Group (Task Force)
At the 2010 World Congress in Christchurch, one of the approved resolutions charged the WSC with
establishing a working group to examine the Subud organization and propose improvements to the next World
Congress. This lengthy process has begun and Latifah Taormina, Kumari Back and I are members from Zone 7
of a small Working Group that is leading this project. A letter inviting involvement by interested Subud
members from throughout the organization is to be sent out to all national committees.
[NOTE: Refer to the article in the January NDewan E-News with this title for more information. The work group
will have up to 15 people. The deadline for nominations was February 1.]
SUBUD SURINAME CELEBRATES 45 YEARS
The National Committee and their wings together with
Susila Dharma have done a very good job organizing
this 45 year celebration night on November 8th 2012.
On the same night Susila Dharma Suriname also
celebrated their 25th anniversary. The night began
with a minute of quiet time to Thank Almighty God for
the guidance, grace and blessings we received for what
Subud Suriname and Susila Dharma are now today,
also for our loved ones who have left us, we are
praying that they are in God’s hands again.
Patrick Karijodirono as the National Chair looked back
and reminded us of how it all began. Originally the
Subud Suriname groups did their Latihan in the homes of members. Then in 1984 the organization received a
generous gesture from the family Jatins: a piece of land to build our Subud house in Paramaribo. So the
members started together as one unity with what we say in the Indonesian language “Gotong Royong”. The
building blocks were self-made with cement. We had many in-kind donations of material, for example, the roof
of the building. Also for financial support the members grew vegetables and tubers and sold them for a
reasonable price. Subud Suriname is still holding the Gotong Royong tradition and the result is the Subud
house at Accaribo with a Loan from MSF.
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Finally we had Alia Tanoesemito-Tjitrodipo, chair of Accaribo say“I want to say that each one of us experiences
the feeling, just how I feel it at this moment: ‘I am Subud and Subud is me.’ We had a dance group performing
dances with a touch of cultural and pop music.
LOOKING BACK, GOING FORWARD
A RECENT JOINT LETTER FROM THE WORLD SUBUD ASSOCIATION (WSA) and the MUHAMMAD SUBUH
FOUNDATION (MSF) Chairpersons, Luke Penseney and Bachtiar Lorot, to the U.S. and other select National
Committees, explains their cooperative efforts, activities and goals. The letter was included as an attachment
along with this newsletter. “The purpose is to reconnect with Bapak’s vision for Subud as Ibu has reminded us
over the past 2-3 years, to enable members to feel more confident in the latihan, remain and grow in Subud,
and to prepare ourselves to welcome thousands of new members in the future!” The letter is in part the result
of 2010 World Congress resolution to this effect and has a target of raising $754,000 over the next two years.
Donations can be sent to Subud USA and earmarked for the World Subud Association. Learn more about WSA
finances.
WSA CARE SUPPORT PROGRAM – vacancies filled
The Subud Emergency Fund and The Subud Education Fund
Two new members of the Care Support Team have recently been recruited as assistants and will work with
Arnaud Delune, Coordinator and Hakim Naibi, Treasurer, assisting members in emergency situations and with
education scholarships worldwide. Constanza Hudson is from Colombia and now lives in Manchester, UK.
Claire Wells, also from the UK, is currently working for Social Services.
The WSA Care Support Program was established by the WSA in 2005. You may read more about it here or
contact Arnaud Delune, delunea@yahoo.fr, for information.
INTERNATIONAL INVITATIONS
TWO YES QUESTS
A CREATIVE QUEST all about helping young Subud members bring their creative
ideas to life and show them at the 2014 Subud World Congress will be held in
Kalimantan from August 15 - 25, 2013. For more info on The Quest email:
info@yesquest.org or visit www.yesquest.org. Check out the Creative Quest 2013
You Tube clip.
THE ART OF LIFE…LIVING THE SECOND HALF
THE YES QUEST is very excited to be launching their first Adult Quest experience…
For some years, the YES Quest team have been approached by older people, saying “It’s not just young people
who need to sort out their lives. We need life direction too!” In response, two of YES Quest’s experienced
facilitators, Marlena Basser and Lilliana Gibbs, are offering a retreat specifically designed for mature adults,
The Art of Life…The Second Half. It will take place at La Ferme Loubetas (La Source) in the South of France, May
4 – 11, 2013.
The Art of Life is a Quest experience for the 40s +. We recognise that as we move into the second half of our
lives, it’s a different landscape, where we are invited to live more consciously. In the first half, life can be taken
over by the needs of partners, children, financial realities and the drive to follow through on career decisions
we made in our twenties.
For more information please contact marlena@yesquest.org or call Lilliana +1273 478 952.
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INVITATION TO ZONE 4 MEETING - WOLFSBURG, GERMANY
We are looking forward to our Subud Zone 4 (Central and Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Northern Asia and part
of the Middle East) Gathering which will take place from April 30th to May 5th in Wolfsburg. We are excited to
be able to host this gathering and are happy to extend this invitation to our and sisters and brothers from all
over the world!
You are welcome to visit our brand-new Zone 4 website with information about the gathering: www.subudzone4.org
or write to info@subud-zone4.org. Special arrangements will be made for young people so refer to
the website regularly.
FROM JAVA TO KALIMANTAN...
IF YOU ARE THINKING OF VISITING INDONESIA, check out the new Wisma Subud website. The site gives you
information about staying in Wisma Subud, visits to Bapak’s home in Semarang, visits to his birthplace, Kedung
Jati, and to the Subud development, Rungan Sari in Central Kalimantan. www.wismasubud.org
LIFE CYCLES
NEWBORNS
ALEXANDRA RIPARETTI: Raphaela and Owen Riparetti of Santa Barbara have this
announcement: “By the grace of God Alexandra Riparetti was born November 5th at
8 lb 2 oz and 20.5 in. long. She is the light of our lives! She arrived quickly and
furiously in the night on the eve of the presidential election. She cried when I told her
she wasn't old enough to vote. She is a quiet and sweet little girl that loves the water.
We feel so lucky to know her. She looks forward to meeting all her Subud brothers
and sisters at congresses to come!
ILARIA WALKER-BIRNES: Armani Walker-Birnes and Geoff Birnes from the San
Francisco group and Marcus welcome their daughter and sister, Ilaria, born February
19 at 12:22. All are well and exhausted.
REMEMBRANCES
LUQMAN FLETCHER from Benedict Herman: My friend and brother, Luqman Fletcher, passed from this world
yesterday (Dec 11, 2012) after a long struggle with Alzheimer's. I helped him build his house in Santa Cruz back
in the early 80's, nailing together thousands of 2x4s, and what seemed like billions of roofing shingles, day
after day in the hot sun. We joked endlessly between serious conversations about construction, and as he was
British, we often referred to each other as the Archbishop of Canterbury, M'Lord, etc. We shared tea and toast,
sandwiches and sodas, our deep love of our families, and our love of the gift of the latihan. RIP, dear brother...
May you be welcomed home with joy and thanksgiving.
DAVID (MAJNUN) ANDER: Robina Page sent this message, “David found a family in Bellingham, [Washington],
who honored and delighted in him at the Ground Floor, a healing community. On New Year's Day, David,
known more recently by his Sufi name, Majnun, fell asleep in a sauna and passed on to the next world leaving
a legacy of love and kindness. Majnun often spoke of the nearness of his own death, yet his spryness and
youthful spirit made it hard to believe. He turned 80 last October.” From an article in the Bellingham Herald:
“Raised in the Midwest, he developed a love of music early in life. He reached a professional peak in the early
'60s when he became the guitarist for the Chad Mitchell Trio. Majnun accompanied dance and music students
on guitar, played at weddings, funerals and other events, performed with bands [and] sang and played guitar
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for people in dementia care facilities and accompanied a
dance class for people with Parkinson's disease.” The article
also mentions that Majnun was a spiritual seeker and that he
and his wife and their children “once lived on a Subud
commune in Virginia.”
Marlena Knill wrote: I was thinking of David this Christmas
because he used to play guitar at the Bellingham group
parties in the 90's. He was a gentle soul who did indeed share
his music freely. God bless him.
ARE YOU READY FOR DEATH?
Harris Smart, Editor of Subud Voice, and Peter Jenkins,
founder of the Yes Quest, both from Australia, have a video
conversation about death on YouTube (Parts 1 & 2). They
David (Majnun) Ander received a hug during a
kirtan, an event at which people sing and dance to
Sanskrit chants – from The Bellingham Herald
talk about attitudes towards death, such as people's fear of death, and they talk about practical arrangements
for exiting the planet and finish with a joke. You may contact Harris at subudvoice@gmail.com or Peter at
peterjenkins4@gmail.com.
Go to: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ssev6i1y1N4&feature=plcp
and: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpdkAuMtRLE
MEDIA AND LITERATURE
PURCHASING TALKS AND SUBUD BOOKS
You may purchase Bapak’s Volumes, Rahayu’s Talks (and videos), and Subud books at By The Way Books. To
order talks online visit this private URL: www.bythewaybooks.com/cgi-bin/btw455/subudtalks. Other Subud
books may be found at: www.bythewaybooks.com/cgi-bin/btw455/category/Subud.html. There are currently
62 titles available by Subud authors, including some out-of-print. If you have a poor or no internet connection,
call (301) 595-0626 and a volunteer will get back to you to assist. If you need assistance contact the national
office at 4216 Howard Road, Beltsville, MD 20705; Phone: 301-595-0626; Email subudusa@subudusa.org.
The By the Way Books website “offers a unique selection of rare, out-of-print and select new books related to
mysticism, metaphysics, philosophy, psychology and religion.” And so along with Bible Study, Buddhism,
Hinduism, Native American, Sufism, Yoga and Zen, you will find Subud as a ‘browse’ category.
LET’S GET ACQUAINTED: BOOKS ABOUT MEXICO in preparation for World Congress...
Nadia Woodcock sent these reviews of books about Mexico. She is a librarian and bibliophile and is a member
of the Skagit Valley/Bellingham group.
THE HUMMINGBIRD’S DAUGHTER by Luis Alberto Urrea
This is an historical novel based on Urrea's real great-aunt, Teresita, who had healing powers and was known
as the Saint of Corbora and the Mexican Joan of Arc. Teresita’s story is set in the late 1800’s, amid the
beginnings of what would be the Mexican revolution. It’s a big sweeping sort of novel with lots of historical
detail to balance the magical realism that is one of the treats of Latin American literature.
LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE
A Novel in Monthly Installments, with Recipes, Romances, and Home Remedies by Laura Esquivel
The subtitle says it all. The number one bestseller in Mexico and the U.S. for almost two years, and later
around the world. It’s a strange story of the all-female De La Garza family. Tita, the youngest daughter, cannot
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marry because by Mexican tradition she must look after her mother until she dies. But Tita falls in love with
Pedro and seduces him with her magical food. The film of the same name was an instant success.
MALINCHE by Laura Esquivel
You might want to read this book for the vivid and poetic descriptions of pre-colonial Mexico, the different
peoples and their spiritual beliefs and for the interesting codex that tells the story of Malinche in pictures. It is
about the woman who Spanish conquistador, Hernan Cortez, used as a translator and eventually took as a
lover as he fought to overthrow the Aztecs. Throughout Mexican history, La Malinche has been considered a
traitor to her own people for her alliance with Cortéz, but Esquivel builds on recent research to show that her
role was much more complex. She was the mediator between two cultures, Hispanic and Native Mexican, and
two languages, Spanish and Náhuatl.
MEXICO, SPLENDOR OF 30 CENTURIES, Metropolitan Museum of Art with an introduction by Octavio Paz
It covers 3000 years, includes petroglyphs in Baja and early Olmec, Toltec and Aztec art and moves through
colonial art on into the 20th century with the murals of Diego Rivera and David Siqueiros and more. It’s a big
coffee table book well worth looking at and is available through Amazon, but I’m happy reading a copy from
my public library.
STAY IN TOUCH
WSA E-NEWS JANUARY 2013, “Bringing together Subud members
from around the world”
CONTENTS: A special visit, Looking Back, Going Forward, Our Subud
World, Money Matters, Subud Spaces, Get Involved, Upcoming
Events
SCAN (SUBUD CANADA) NEWSLETTER is quarterly and includes
many Kejiwaan related articles with a growing international
readership. To subscribe or send submissions, write to Lester
Sutherland, co-editor along with Valentine Narvey, at
lesters1@shaw.ca.
THE SUBUD BRITAIN JOURNAL is published monthly and is now
posted on the ‘Subud Voice’ website at
www.subudvoice.net/subud-britain-journal.
SUBUD VOICE for international news and views. It is edited by Harris Smart in Australia and designed by
Marcus Bolt in the UK. Now in its 25 th year, it is the longest running private, international Subud magazine in
existence. Available the first of every month, now free, at www.subudvoice.net. In recent months there’s
been a lively conversation about the future of Subud. To send submissions, write to Harris at
subudvoice@gmail.com.
A CELEBRATION OF HEALING is an art book. It’s a book of stories. It is Sal Brownfield’s book of twenty-one
paintings of lives impacted by breast cancer and Eve Hoffman’s stories of the models told in large part in their
own voices. It is neither a “Hallmark Card” nor a “how to book” about breast cancer. It is a book of
celebration! Purchase on ‘Amazon.com’ or through Granite Springs Press, P.O. Box 920723, Norcross, GA
30010 (Georgia sales: $29.45 includes taxes, shipping. Non-GA sales, $28.95). View images, additional
information, readings, etc. Contact: www.celebrationofhealing.com.
THE SUBUD POETRY ANTHOLOGY: AN UPDATE from Emmanuel Williams
I'm pleased to be able to tell you all that worldwide response to my request for poems for a new anthology has
been strong. It looks as though there will be poems from over 60 poets, so I’m limiting each poet to 2 poems.
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My plan is to have the collection edited, sequenced, laid out, designed and ready to go by some time in spring
of this year. If you, dear reader, are wishing that you sent me some of your poems… send me some. This is not
a literary magazine, so everyone who sends me work will be included.
So far I have a couple of provisional titles: “Walking through words" and “Waiting for my pants to dry." All
profits from sales of the anthology will be donated to the SYA International travel fund to help young people
get to the next world Congress. Please email your poems to me at: emmanuelriddlemaker@gmail.com. This
project is sponsored by SICA International.
‘TWINKLING OF AN I IN THE EYE OF THE SELF’ by Marcus Mursalin Cornelius is a Subud autobiography. In
the words of reviewer Andrew Bromley, “It is a story of the insights gained from suffering and the difficulties in
following the appointed course but also the joys and heart-felt blessings that are the lot of someone who has
very deep sincerity and will only accept the truth.” For one month his new book will be freely available to
Subud members as a PDF download at his website auroranovapublishing.net.
The book of our
memories of Bapak
AN EXTRAORDINARY MAN
is still available.
The print run of 600 is nearly gone. And it is now
being translated into other languages
Special new year deal:
$15.00 + $3 SHIPPING!
TO ORDER: Contact ameliawilliams49@yahoo.com
1315 Poplar Ave., Pacifica, CA 94044
Payable by PayPal or Check
Melting Pot Pizza
ROBERT BACHELOR
PROPRIETOR
Celebrating 40 Years
FRONT ROYAL, VIRGINIA
SUBUD USA NEWS ONLINE
This is the fourth ‘virtual’ issue of Subud USA News. If you or
someone you know would like a hard copy, please contact
the National Office at 301-595-0626;
subudusa@subudusa.org. We request an annual donation of
$25, if possible, to offset expenses or if you already donate
directly to Subud USA, that’s enough. Previous issues of the
newsletter are available at www.subudusa.org.
Julia Hurd is the editor and the Newsletter Advisory
Committee consists of Hadiyah Carlyle, Maria Wallington,
Melinda Wallis, Lucian Parshall and Shoshanah Margolin.
Please send submissions to newsletter@subudusa.org.
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CALENDAR
Subud California Congress, Sofitel Hotel, San Francisco Peninsula, http://congress2013.subudcalifornia.org ...... May 24-27
Subud USA National Gathering .................................................................................................................................... July 4 -7
For World Latihan times and international events, visit the calendar section of Subud World News online.
ADVERTISING RATES:
¼ page ............. $45
½ page ............. $80
full page ........ $120
SUBUD USA NEWS is a quarterly publication of Subud USA.
The opinions expressed in the newsletter are those of the
authors and do not reflect the views of Subud USA or those
of its membership. Advertising is carried as a service to
readers and does not imply an endorsement of any product,
or service. Articles that fit the stated purpose are published
on a space available basis.
Submissions, comments and questions about the
newsletter or its editorial policy may be addressed to the
Editor at: newsletter@subudusa.org or mailed to: Julia
Hurd; 19396 Ashe Lane; Burlington, WA 98233. The
deadline for the next issue is 15 April 2013.
SUBUD USA is a tax-exempt non-profit corporation under
section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code. Donations are
tax-deductible.
For change of e-mail or postal address, please notify the
Subud USA National Office at 4216 Howard Road, Beltsville,
MD 20705.
SUBUD USA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Shoshanah Margolin National Chairperson
Daniel Stralberg
Vice-Chair
Lucian Parshall
Committee Councillor
Hamidatun Karapetian Secretary
Morris McClellan Treasurer
Rasjidah Franklin Past National Chair
REGIONAL CHAIRS
Daniel Foster
Amelia Casilli
Mary Wold
Hardwin Blanchard
Samantha Warden
Hamidah Glasgow
John Schoenthaler
California
East Coast
Midwest
Pacific Islands
Pacific Northwest
Rocky Mountains
South
AFFILIATES AND ACTIVITIES
Evan Padilla
SD USA
Mhd. Isman Kanafsky SICA USA
Hanafi & Levana Fraval SES USA
Almut Zieher
SYA USA
Andres Paglayan
Ann Padilla
SIHA USA
NATIONAL HELPERS
Laurie Lathrop
Hoan Toan Phan
Alexandra Boyer
Aminah Ulmer
Suzanne Renna
Sjarifuddin Harris
Humphrey Williams
Kejiwaan Councillor
Kejiwaan Councillor
SUBUD USA & SD USA STAFF
Sebastian Tedrow Executive Director
Myra Margolin
Executive Administrator
Sonya Shooshan
Bookkeeper
Julia Hurd
Editor, Subud USA News
SUBUD USA
4216 Howard Road, Beltsville, MD 20705
Phone: 301-595-0626, Fax: 301-595-0620,
Email: subudusa@subudusa.org
The name Subud and the Seven Circles Symbol are registered
marks of the World Subud Association.
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