greetings all, i write to you today from the abode of the message in new lebanon new york. my wife and i are here to assist in the renovations of an on site barn.

we left thursday night, and the first part of our journey took us to Chevy Chase, Maryland, where we met up with a member of the local DC sufi group named Munawir, who agreed to shelter us for the evening and guide us the rest of the way to the abode on friday morning. the drive from Maryland to the abode took about 7 hours, and after a brief period of settle in time, we immediately took to work.

i spent the better part of the afternoon wearing a hardhat, safety glasses, and thick gloves, picking up the pieces of old, broken siding that were pulled from the north wall and carrying them away from the work site. this was my first time on a construction site ever, so i was thankful to be given a relatively simple job. don’t think it wasn’t hard work though! after a couple hours of this (we arrived fairly late in the work day) it was time for dinner, and then after a shower to the main hall for zhikr.

it’s morning, and i’ve just returned from meditating in their hall. it’s really quite incredible, over the door there is a hand painted sign with a tree and basically all of the same symbols that adorn the arches at the entrance to the lotus shrine in yogaville. quite a bit like just going home.

for now, i’m off to breakfast, and then we’ll get back to work on the barn. tonight we’re going to be doing some kirtan, minus the basement bhaktis… well, that is to say, minus the usual basement bhaktis. i’m sure i’ll be able to enlist a few for the evening.

om shanthi,

jdavyd