Women's Camp Española 2007

[Guest guest]

Sat Nam Dear Divine Women,We invite you and all women who are dedicatedto deep healing, and nurturing themselves and our planet to join us atWomen's Camp Espanola June 24th to July 31st! Weare preparing for our sweet time of spiritual growth, and learning. Theseeight days of Kundalini Yoga & Meditation, heartfelt kirtan, physicalchallenges, healing, and FUN…all in the company of women of caliber andspirit…will alter you and your life. Yogi Bhajan established this camp in Espanolathree decades ago and taught " woman how to be woman, aspect by aspect " for three decades. His love, energy and guidance still fills all the classesunder the cottonwood trees, as Women's Camp classes are either taught byhim via video, or based on his teachings for women, and taught by seniorstudent teachers trained by him personally.3HO yogi's know that it is undeniable thatKundalini Yoga is the HEART where all practitioners can transform themselvesand live in conscious awareness. And Women's Camp is the SOUL where womencan empower their inner essence, learn to live in grace and dignity, andelevate all those around her. Join us THIS SUMMER at Women'sCamp and experience the HEART andSOUL of 3HO. If you have sat at the feet of our Teacher at previous Women’sCamps, come and share with the new generations of 3HO. If you are a youngwoman or new to this spiritual family, take this opportunity to learn thesemost precious Teachings which will be the most valuable guiding touchstonefor your life.We are looking forward to be with you. Come be with us. Sat Nam.Blessings,Rai Kaur: Knoxville, TNDeva Kaur: Coral Springs, FLArdas Kaur, Arjan Kaur, Japa Kaur, KirnKaur, Tarn Taran Kaur: Española, NM

[Guest guest]

A Correction & A Little Testimonial:

 

First, I'd like to correct the dates that were quoted for this summer's

Women's Camp in Espanola. Sadly, the camp will only be from June 24

until June 31, not July 31.

Next, I'd like to humbly offer a short note I wrote after attending

Women's Camp the first year after the Siri Singh Sahib, Yogi Bhajan,

had physically left us all:

 

I attended my first Khalsa Women’s Training Camp in 1980, and except

for the summer of 1982, when I was about to pop because of the

impending birth of my first daughter, I haven’t missed one since. I

attended alone, I attended pregnant (the second time), I attended as a

nursing mom, I attended as a toddler’s mom, and for many years I

attended as the director of the Young Women’s Program. I’ve never

added up all the weeks I’ve spent living in a tent among the

cottonwoods, but the memories I have of those weeks are more than

plentiful and way more than simply nostalgic. My own identity as a

woman, wife, and mother was precisely honed there, and my daughters’

identities as women were truly forged there. My daughters’ memories of

sitting for hours at the feet of our teacher every year from the time

they were six years old; of being in the company of hundreds of

turban-wearing women dedicated to this path from all over the world; of

feeling the love and respect those women had for our sacred teachings,

even when they were too young to understand the teachings themselves,

have all given them an amazingly beautiful depth and firmness of

conviction that I never could have given them alone. The gratitude I

feel for this gift from the Siri Singh Sahib is immeasurable, and it’s

what has driven me to continue to try to make this experience available

for all our future generations, even now when he is no longer with us

on the physical plane. As the Siri Singh Sahib’s health was failing

over the last many years, I saw the energy of my precious Women’s Camp

fade as well, and my sorrow over losing them both was profound. He

told us, though, that he would be able to serve us better, and be

closer to us, after he was released from his physical body, and my week

at Women’s Camp this first summer after his passing proved that reality

to me, beyond any imaginable doubt.

There has been a tiny group of us “old-timers” who have maintained our

support of Women’s Camp continuously over the years, even when it has

become painful to even think about dragging our dusty tents and all our

paraphernalia out of our storage lockers one more time. This summer,

the group grew from “tiny” to “small,” but the experience we had was

BIG. I came to camp this summer with minimal expectations. My idea

was to continue to support this “institution” I valued and to try to be

of some service in any way I could. I would teach what was requested

of me, show up for the video class every night, and try to express some

of the Siri Singh Sahib’s energy to the newer and younger students

through stories of the “old days.” It never occurred to me that I

would have a profound personal experience of my own, and I was

blind-sided by the third day of camp, when I found my own heart center

overwhelmed by a reawakening of a spirit I hadn’t felt in years. As an

extremely grounded Capricorn, I immediately tried to evaluate the

nature of what I was feeling, sitting under the old big top on that

well-worn astroturf. Was this just my frontal lobes recalling a

wonderful bygone era? Was I simply being emotional, reliving feelings

I used to have in this place, surrounded by children and friends,

sitting at the feet of our beloved teacher? Or was the Siri Singh

Sahib really there, teaching me, inspiring me, loving me, just like he

used to? I meditated on it the whole week, and by the end of the week,

began speaking about it some to old friends. They were having similar

experiences, and there were even some quiet tears shed as we talked.

I don’t presume to know exactly what happened at Women’s Camp, 2005,

but I do know it was real and powerful and important. My prayer

continues to be that more women will come back to camp, or come for the

first time. If they feel even a fraction of what I felt this summer,

it could change their lives. I trust my teacher. He said he would be

there for us even after he left his physical body, and I know he was

there this summer, under the cottonwoods. He’ll come back next summer

too.

 

Rai Kaur Khalsa

Knoxville, TN