Satsang in Nenagh

Satsang in Nenagh this evening Dec 14th, starting at 8pm. All welcome! For directions, call or text 0879840521

Give a GreenFriends Tree Gift Voucher :)

Here's a lovely opportunity to dedicate a native Irish tree,

in the name of / in the memory of, a loved one this Christmas.

Vouchers come in 5 different designs, corresponding to the 5 native trees to be planted in the Amma Woodland next year: Alder, Ash, Birch, Oak and Willow.

Each voucher includes the tree's Irish and Ogham names, and a small inspirational quote about nature. See sample voucher (front and back) above.
Vouchers are 10 euro each, and all proceeds go to support humanitarian aid projects.

To order your vouchers, and for all info, contact woodland.greenfriends.irl@gmail.com or call / text 0868788310

PayPal will be set up on www.ammaireland.org in a few days as well :)

Ireland has the lowest proportion of tree cover of any country in Europe, so by offering a Tree Gift Voucher, you're helping create more native Irish woodland, which is so very good for the environment. But that's not all: since the project's actual costs are being kept to the very minimum, this means that most of the 10 euro voucher cost will go to ease the burden of some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world.

So your Tree Gift Voucher helps the environment, helps people in need, and also gives wonderful opportunities of being close to Nature, getting involved in creating woodland, learning about trees, woodland planting & maintenance (which is also tremendous fun!)

For info: woodland.greenfriends.irl@gmail.com or call / text 0868788310

GreenFriends: Amma Woodland Weekend

Thank you so much to all the brave souls who got down and very dirty this weekend in Corofin! See slideshow :) Click on a photo to view slideshow in a bigger format.

The woodland is now ready for planting, so the next woodland weekend will be Jan 30 & 31 - max. 25 people. Book early if you'd like to come & plant lovely native Irish trees with us.
To find out more, contact us at woodland.greenfriends.irl@gmail.com

Kildare Satsang: 28th November Saturday

Kildare Satsang in Maynooth on Saturday 28th @ 2.30pm; All are very welcome; Contact VJ 087-2491588, 01-6245050 for directions.

Join us Dec 5th & 6th at Amma's Woodland in Co. Clare

Creating Amma's Woodland in Co. Clare is now well underway, and our next step will be Dec 5th & 6th, a weekend to clear and prepare the ground where our first trees will be planted in the New Year. Native Irish trees will soon be growing on this land near Corofin, and every time you buy a voucher to sponsor a tree, you're also supporting Amma's amazing humanitarian effort (we'll soon post info here on how you can purchase vouchers). But your love and care of Nature is the precious gift we hope you'll share by joining us Dec 5th in Co. Clare!

When: 5th & 6th Dec, starting 10am on Saturday
Where: Amma's Woodland near Corofin, Co. Clare
What to bring: Warm clothes, rain gear, gardening gloves, lots of love, energy and enthusiasm, plus your favourite bhajan and any instruments for Satsang on Saturday evening :)
Bring any garden tools you have or can borrow as well, bush trimmers etc particularly welcome, but anything you can bring is good.

For more info, directions etc, contact Caromy on 0868788310 or email caromyc@hotmail.com

This is a GreenFriends Ireland project

New Venue for Cork Satsang

Cork satsang will be tomorrow, Thursday Nov 26th @ 7.45pm at our lovely new venue in Anglesey St. For directions, call or text 0877556619
We had our first satsang there a fortnight ago and settled in very well to the new environment :)

Saturday Nov 21: A retreat day with Br. Shubamrita

Guided meditation, spiritual talks, bhajans (spiritual singing), a film about Amma, a walk in nature and more: a day to relax, unwind and renew inspiration, to connect with each other in a meaningful way, to celebrate Amma's presence in the world and in our lives, with Br. Shubamrita, one of Amma's closest disciples.
Everyone is welcome. Let us know you're coming: text/call 0879450912
For info, text/call 0879450912 or email help@ammaireland.org

Saturday Nov 21, 10am to 5.30pm
at Townley Hall, Co. Louth (near Drogheda)
Cost: 25 euro, including vegetarian lunch

For directions, see www.townleyhall.ie/directions.html - Townley Hall is a beautiful, historic building, surrounded by hills and woodland in a tranquil setting.

Friday Nov 20: Br. Shubamrita in Dublin

We're delighted to welcome Br. Shubamrita, a close disciple of Amma's, to Ireland again. He'll be with us at Stillorgan Park Hotel tomorrow, Friday from 8pm.
His theme will be Peace Within Yourself, with practical spiritual wisdom, music and guided meditation to help us reconnect with our inner centre of strength, peace and joy.

It's on Friday Nov 20 @ 8pm.
It's at Stillorgan Park Hotel, Stillorgan Rd (N11), Dublin 18
It's free
It's open to everyone
Come along, bring your friends :)

Buses 46A, 63, 84, 145 stop in front of the hotel.
For more info text/call us 0879450912 or email us at help@ammaireland.org

New AYUDH Growin' Website!

AYUDH Europe have launched a brilliant new website especially for the Growin' project: have a look at http://www.ayudh.eu/growin/ - it's just got off the ground and will be adding content and features over the next while, so keep visiting to catch all the updates - and let's all get growin'!

AYUDH: Amma Youth Growin' Project 2009

As it's Amma's Green Year, Ayudh's latest project is all to do with young people growing organic veggies in small spaces. David is an organic grower with GreenFriends Ireland, and he made some great step-by-step clips at the European Youth Gathering in July, see below!
David says, 'Many young people live in flats and have limited outdoor space, but it's possible to grow organic food even on a balcony. The clips will help people to do that, even if they're completely new to gardening or organics'.
David and Aisha are starting up the Ayudh Growin' Project in Ireland, so pass the word to all the young people you know, and for more info contact info.ireland@ayudh.eu
The clip below is for making brilliant worm compost, but when you finish viewing, you'll find links to all the other clips, covering each step you need to know to grow your food, so - start growin'!!!

Re-Enchanting the World

Babel is a GreenFriends France ecology/community project that's been running for a couple of years now with notable success. It's based at Amma's Ashram in France (you can see how beautiful the place is from the clip below) where people gather for weekends to learn and practice things like eco-building, beekeeping and lots more. So hey - why not go along and get involved?

To keep in touch with what they're doing, download the Feb 09 issue of their newsletter in English here http://www.greenfriends-france.org/telecharger/e-mag_01_english.pdf or directly from the Magazine section on their homepage http://www.greenfriends-france.org/

GreenFriends Europe launches next April at the French Ashram and all Ireland GreenFriends are welcome :)

Babel!

Babel the week
Uploaded by GreenFriendsFrance. - News videos hot off the press.

Our first Skype Link-up for Satsang

Satsang is going on right now in Donegal and Galway - and Cork was linked in with Donegal via Skype for a while, so the entire country (almost) was singing together. Nice!
This was our very first trial with a satsang skype link-up in Ireland, all thanks to Simone and the intrepid Donegal group. It was lovely for us in Cork, a very special feeling of connecting across the country. Thanks for the idea, guys, let's do it again! We'll work on improving the sound quality and once that's ready, we can join up for national satsang evenings from all over Ireland :)

Amma Channel on YouTube

There's a great (official) Amma Channel on Youtube, check it out: http://www.youtube.com/ammafootage
The clip of Amma's visit to Kenya this year is on it - really beautiful and inspiring - have a look :)

Amma Ireland @ Electric Picnic this weekend

"When a collective of people pour their heart, soul, energy, enthusiasm, vision and passion into a space, you can be sure that the experience will be both magical and alchemical. It comes from the heart, and is infused with love!" ... the Body & Soul area at Electric Picnic

Amma will be represented at this tranquil and meditative space at the Electric Picnic Arts and Music Festival which attracts over 40,000 people every year, in Stradbally, Co. Laois. Amma Ireland will host a welcoming information point near the Healing area in the Body & Soul section.

Information on many things including Amma and her humanitarian projects, Amma Ireland, GreenFriends, Amma Youth and much more will be available for people new to Amma and those who would like to deepen their present understanding. There will also be showings of Amma's DVD 'Embracing the World', an Amma altar, samples of GreenFriends produce, books on Amma to browse and much much more.

If you're travelling to enjoy the Picnic this year, be sure to drop by and say hello.
Call Susanne on 087-9682042 if you get lost trying to find us!

Youth In Action 2009 - Give Peace A Chance

"From 19th to 26th July, young people from all over Europe flocked to the M.A. Centre Germany to participate in the 5th annual European Youth Exchange. 'Give Peace a Chance' was the theme of the week, which for the third time was generously funded by the EU's 'Youth in Action' programme. Br. Shubamrita and Bri Dipamrita presided over the retreat. Through their witty and lively talks they provided the youth with spiritual insight as well as concrete, practical solutions to bring about peace in various areas of life.
The atmosphere was very joyful, warm and accepting. A unique spirit of togetherness prevailed throughout the week. For many participants, this was a week to experience the unity of hearts, beyond the boundaries of nationality, religion or culture, a week to explore the power and impact that a common goal and unified action can have. It was a week that proved that peace does in fact have a chance if only we stand together and dare to try...."

Many thanks to Simone for sending this report. These are just excerpts but you can read the full text on www.amma-europe.org/youth-exch-07-09. Simone is the Ayudh contact in Ireland, email her at info.ireland@ayudh.eu for Ayudh info.

Enjoy the video clip below :)

World Peace March Ireland

Along with many other humanitarians and spiritual leaders, Amma has endorsed the World March for Peace and Non-Violence. This is the first ever World March that will travel the world asking for the end of wars, the dismantling of nuclear weapons and for an end to all forms of violence (physical, economic, racial, religious, cultural, sexual and psychological).
The March starts Oct 2nd in New Zealand - that's the anniversary of Gandhi's birth and as such, is International Day of Non-Violence - and ends January 2nd 2010 in Argentina.
Already, all sorts of great, locally-organised events are happening across the globe to help create a new, non-violent global consciousness. See www.theworldmarch.org to get an idea of the range of organisations and individuals supporting the World March, and find out what they're doing.

World March Ireland is the organising group here and they're putting wonderful energy, heart and faith into this venture. Amma Ireland has become a registered member with them, and we went along to support the Hiroshima Day event they held August 8th at the Kilkenny Peace Park. No pics I'm afraid (remember to bring your cameras, guys!!!) but have a look below at a video of the launch event they held in Kilkenny last March. We didn't know about the March yet at that stage so we weren't there but we're really encouraging everyone to go along to all future Peace March events in Ireland!
Have a look at www.worldmarchireland.com for more info, and if you'd like to get involved, email Krisztina at worldmarchie@gmail.com

We're back!

It's been ages since we've had new news on the blog, apologies to all, people were travelling, couldn't get near an internet connection, etc etc... but we're back!!! So lots of news to fill you in on; keep watching this space :)

Amma Ireland's Northwest satsang group

Amma Ireland's Northwest satsang group had a great stall at the 'All-Ireland & Five Nations Sheep-Shearing Championships' in Co. Donegal recently. The event was held in the fields around the Grianan of Aileach - the 5th-century ring fort of the Northern O'Neills - welcoming 15,000 visitors over the weekend.
It was a bit like running a 'mini' version of Amma's Dublin programme: setting up the tent, cooking the snack food, running the bookshop/GreenFriends stalls, selling pakoras, hot drinks, cooked snacks, homemade juices and delicious lassi - and having great fun and song as we went :)
The GreenFriends table promoted care of birds, bumblebees and butterflies, as well as raising funds for Amma's Charities. As Ricky said, "Members of the public were interested in attracting and looking after smaller birds like wrens, robins and tits in their gardens and making sure they had enough food and good habitats for them.... [And] without bumblebees and honeybees, our food chain would fall apart and hunger would be widespread. We sold a number of bee-logs and hope to provide these at future GreenFriends events as well".
A hard-working, flexible team made this fundraising event possible, great weather made the weekend even more enjoyable, and all worked together in good spirits, spreading awareness of Amma's message in our local community.

Thanks to Amma's Northwest satsang group for this inspiring post. Have a look at the slideshow or ammairelandinfo's Gallery for great photos of the event.

Why not get involved with organising forthcoming events around the country? Contact help@ammaireland.org for more info!

Satsang in Galway and Cork this evening

Come along to Galway satsang group this evening 7.30pm , all welcome! For directions, contact Toni on 087 6871516

Cork Satsang group gathering today too, hope to see you 7.45pm for the very last satsang in St. Luke's (watch blog for new venue!). Come along and bring a little snack to share. For directions call or text 0877556619

Viewing the slideshow and albums

Just in case you might not know: if you click on the slideshow, it should open in a new window where you can view the photos in larger format. From that window, you can also access all Amma Ireland albums (well, all those we've managed to upload so far!) by clicking the 'ammairelandinfo's Gallery' tab: that'll take you to all the albums, so just click the one you want to view :)

GreenFriends Beekeeping Day at the Hollies in West Cork

60,000 bees in a hive - did you know that? Bees & Nature-friendly ways of beekeeping were the subject of last Sunday's Bee-Friendly day. We learnt all sorts of extraordinary facts about bees: like they never sleep, ever. And they can travel up to 1.5 miles from the hive and still find their way back -yet if the hive has been moved 4 feet from its original position, the bee can't find it: 2 feet no problem, but 4 feet and the bee is lost ... strange but true!
We had an amazing day! Loads of thanks to David for sharing his vast knowledge of, and respect for, the lives of bees with us. David has some hives at the Hollies in West Cork, the sustainable living community project where we held the day: thanks so much to everyone at the Hollies for hosting the event and welcoming us so warmly, showing us the gardens, the cob houses, inspiring us all with what a few people have done in a decade or so, to develop this amazing place.
We all got 'suited up' in beekeepers' gear and went off to visit the hives for real: a fascinating and most instructive experience, though terrifying for the first few minutes (will my suit really keep the 60,000 bees out??). Awe-inspiring too, when you see the active bees and the way they live in the hive.

To join us at the Amma garden hives in West Cork, or if you're thinking of beekeeping yourself or if you'd like to know about future Bee-Friendly days, let us know: greenfriends@ammaireland.org

Croagh Patrick Mountain Climb

One of the Highlights of our Fundraising Events for 2009

Amma Ireland Sponsored Croagh Patrick Mountain Climb
Croagh Patrick, near Westport, Co. Mayo, has long been a sacred mountain and a place of pilgrimage for Irish people. Many of us have at one time or another joined the traditional pilgrimage which climbs to the summit each year in July.
Following the success of the Amma Ireland sponsored climb last year, the event has now become an annual highlight of our fundraising efforts and in early May this year, a group of intrepid climbers set off up the mountain once again....

Event Target €15,000 surpassed again this year!
.... and once again, the climbers have raised more than the target amount they set themselves: congratulations to one and all, this is really inspiring! It was a wonderful day of fun, spiritual reflection and companionship, and the funds raised will go to help alleviate suffering through many branches of Amma’s charities, such as health care and education to combat child prostitution, free housing, suicide prevention and other measures to combat the results of extreme poverty.
Mike, joining the climb for the second time said, “We had a great day, we got to raise money for Amma’s charities, meet nice people and spend time together. Also, it was a great workout, the views were beautiful and there was a good sense of achievement on reaching the top”.
Ralph - at 9 nine years old our youngest climber, though already a veteran as he joined the climb in 2008 as well - said, “It was good fun and exercise, and it was very easy!!!" Not everyone may have found the climb as easy as Ralph, but everyone agrees it was good fun and well worth the effort!

Keep an eye on the blog for more info & pics very soon, from a fantastic Amma fundraising event recently, in Donegal!

If you'd like to join the climb next year, or get more info on how you can participate in other efforts to support the alleviation of suffering, contact help@ammaireland.org - we'd love to hear from you :)

Amma's Woodland in Ireland

Sunday was our first step towards developing GreenFriends ™ Amma Woodland project; the day was really wonderful in many different ways, and great fun as well.
We'd rescheduled the full 'Weekend in the Woods' for later in the year, and had opted instead for a smaller one-day gathering, so that GreenFriends and John (who's offered to make his land and skills available for the project) could meet and get to know each other a little first.
John's welcome couldn't have been warmer or kinder; we were all completely at home in no time, sharing our knowledge of trees and nature, and learning so much from John's great experience with planting woodland, caring for trees, and even building his timber-frame house - a feat he insists is easily achievable without heavy machinery or big financial outlay.

John took us through the extensive woodland he has planted over the past 12 years, in an area one participant described as "John's 'Heaven'"; the area is incredibly peaceful and beautiful. It's wonderful to see the native trees allowed to flourish in such a natural, unspoilt environment, and to study the rich and varied plant and animal life that is supported in such an environment.

We got in some practice in maintenance of small trees: this is great fun and involves 'dancing' round the sapings in order to flatten grasses and weeds so that the young trees have adequate access to light and can thrive.

We visited an ancient well on the land and drank the fresh, cool water: the spring appears on maps of the area dating back to the 1600s.

We 'hugged' a huge old Monterey Pine, several hundred years old: not a native variety, but probably planted as a 'specimen' tree by landowners in the 1700s.

We spent time near a big old oak which, though it had fallen many years ago, had simply continued growing from the few roots that remained in the soil, with branches transforming themselves into 'trunks', and we saw what a vast range of other plant life a tree can support.

We shared a delicious lunch, including John's fresh-from-the-oven bread.

We'd brought harmomium and a drum, and had a lovely satsang to close the day, dedicating the project and our efforts to Amma and Mother Nature.

Next time, we'll be learning more about tree care and planting, planning where Amma's Woodland will be, and we'll do our first planting when the trees are fully dormant, as that's the best time to plant: November to February.

Everyone is welcome to get involved in the Amma Woodland project.

Contact us at greenfriends@ammaireland.org or phone/text 0857471483

Satsang in beautiful Inishowen this evening :)

Satsang at Bill's place, Clonmany, Donegal, in beautiful Inishowen! Come along and join in with the Donegal satsang group this evening at 7pm. All very welcome! For more details, email satsang@ammaireland.org or call/text 0868774036

Our evening with Br. Shubamrita

Br. Shubamrita came all the way to Ireland to bring us Amma's message of Love and to share some reflections with us, on what it can mean to 'take charge of our lives', with Amma's life as an example and inspiration. He spoke in a gentle, heartful way that was also thought-provoking and practical, showing the way to turn ideas into action in our lives.
After his talk we all had some delicious refreshments and then Br. Shubamrita lead us in singing bhajans, meditation and arati.
It was a delightful, memorable evening, and all our gratitude goes to Shubamrita, and to Amma for sending us her envoy.
It was great too to see Grace and Lorraine team up with so many volunteers to organise and run the event with all that involved, from beginning to end; there was a lovely sense of community, of enthusiasm and joy.
Have a look at the slideshow for photos of the evening!

Br. Shubamrita Visit - Volunteers Required

As announced in the last newsletter, Brahmachari Shubamrita will visit Dublin 8th of July for an inspiring evening.

We need a lot of help to ensure that flyers are distributed to outlets where members of the public can find out about the visit. Ideally we are looking for a team of two people from each postal area in Dublin & surrounding counties to distribute leaflets.
The following types of outlets/locations are suggested: Supermarkets, Bookshops, Health food stores, Credit Unions, Libraries, Farmers Markets & Markets, Chinese Medicine outlets, yoga & pilates centres, Complimentary therapists, Homeopaths. You can use your judgement to decide if a notice board location would work best on these locations or if a bundle of leaflets can be left near a point of sale.
Meet us at Grace’s house, Dublin at 11am Sat 27th June to find out more and get the flyers: for directions contact Grace at gracecrowley.ireland@gmail.com If you can't come, let Grace know and let us know which area you would like to drop leaflets, how many leaflets you need and address details, so we can post them to you.
As we have just 2 weeks to publicise the visit we need to ensure that this information gets into the public domain quickly so your help is very much appreciated. We will need as many volunteers as possible.
In relation to visit of Shubamritaji I would be grateful if you could pass on this information to your friends and other people who would be interested in attending an evening with Amma's envoy the 8th of July. And please come along yourself! We are also looking for some volunteers to help with setting up the venue, serving refreshments, and clearing up afterwards.
For any questions please contact Grace on gracecrowley.ireland@gmail.com or on mobile 087-2214958

July 19th: Another Date For Your Diary!

They might look like spacepeople, but actually they're GreenFriends wearing beekeepers suits, about to visit the beehives in our West Cork Amma garden recently.

To learn about bees, beekeeping, and to visit local hives, you're invited to our first Bee Day for Beeginners. It's 10am to 5pm on July 19th in West Cork. There are just a few places left, so if you'd like to come along, let us know soon - email us at greenfriends@ammaireland.org

July: Dates For Your Diary

July 11th and 12th near Corofin in Co. Clare,
John near Corofin is happy to provide land to plant an ‘Amma woodland’, and as he has a lot of experience with planting trees, John will also be teaching us about tree planting and maintenance of woodland. So, come along for either day or for the whole weekend to learn about tree planting, visit woodlands that John has established there, plan our 'Amma woodland' and get some experience caring for trees by helping with maintenance of saplings. Bring a tent to camp onsite, or a sleeping bag to stay indoors (or book a b&b if you prefer). Let us know if you’d like to come: email greenfriends@ammaireland.org .

We’ll also have Satsang while we’re there, will post time here once details are finalised. Come and sing to your heart's content :)

PS that's a pic of some woodland John has planted in Clare :)

Helping at the Integrated Amrita Meditation® Course

1o volunteers helped last weekend at the Integrated Amrita Meditation® course near Drogheda. What an uplifting experience it was, pooling energy and time with a joyful sense of common purpose, so that participants could receive this wonderful meditation technique, one of Amma's gifts to the world.

The next full courses in Ireland should be spring/early summer 2010, but meanwhile we hope to offer more Refresher courses for practitioners around the country. A Refresher course takes just a few hours: the facilitator guides you through the practice and is available to answer your questions. If you'd like to organise a Refresher course in your area, let us know at mailto:atiam@ammaireland.org

Satsang Cork this evening

Satang start time in Cork is now 7.45pm, so everyone has time to get there. This will probably be the last satsang at St. Luke's pending a house move, so we'll soon have a new venue - watch here for details! For this evening, call or text 0877556619 for directions.
Our drummer is on hols, so if anyone's got a spare drum and can play- you're very welcome to join us :)

Dublin GreenFriends / Community Garden

Following the May meeting organised by Val and Rob, Dublin GreenFriends now has a dedicated and dynamic team involved in developing Green projects in the Dublin area. Most recent news is that they've been offered the use of a site by Dublin City Council, with a view to setting up a community garden near the Sundrive Road.
If you're in the Dublin area and would like to get involved, email Val on valypap@hotmail.com

Wealth From Waste

Margaret in Nenagh and Ansuya in Cork are together starting a 'Wealth From Waste' plastic recycling project in Ireland, inspired by the Amritapuri example - see this Ashram report: www.amritapuri.org/2880/plastic-project
Inspired to join in? For more info, email us on greenfriends@ammaireland.org
Meanwhile, to find original & very practical recycling ideas, check out this link: http://www.myrecycledbags.com/
For a very clear, step-by-step guide to making Plarn (yarn made from recycled plastic), which can then be woven or crocheted into useful stuff like bags, mats etc, follow this link: www.myrecycledbags.com/2007/02/17/instructions-for-cutting-plastic-bags-creating-recycled-plastic-yarn/

GreenFriends Cork - Amma's Garden

Our next GreenFriends Day at Amma's West Cork garden is Saturday 13th June. All welcome! We've got 4 beehives there now, as well as organic veg and salad beds that are coming along well, and we're learning traditional gardening techniques that nurture the soil's valuable micororganisms and natural balance.

It's also great craic, even when it rains :)

For more greenfriends info, email us on greenfriends@ammaireland.org

Integrated Amrita Meditation® course next weekend near Drogheda

There are still places available on the Integrated Amrita Meditation® course next weekend near Drogheda. If you'd like info or to sign up, let us know at help@ammaireland.org and we'll get back to you straight away. Beginners and Refreshers very welcome! Course starts Friday from 5pm, and ends Sunday with lunch at 1pm.
If you want a reminder of the benefits of meditation, have a look at the cool IAM website: www.iam-meditation.org

New Amma Ireland blog - stay in touch with Amma events in Ireland :)

If you're in Dublin today, go along to the Cultivate Centre in Temple Bar - there's an Amma Ireland table at the Yoga and Health Day there. Good place to pick up some inspiring Amma books (all profits to Amma's humanitarian work as always) and you can hear Vijay give a talk about Amma in Room 6.