Spring Break Work Party

Why is this term different from all other terms? Because there's a two week class break right in the middle. From June 3 - 17 no classes will be held at DM. So what meaningful thing are we to do for that time? Get out of the classroom and into the dirt. From Diamond Mountain board member Nicole Davis:

Jobs include the Lama Dome, water system, helping build retreat and caretaker cabins, and making adobe bricks. Valuable work can be found for everyone.

Earle will be outside the kitchen yurt at 11am each morning to meet with anyone who doesn't have an assigned job for the day. Those who already have a designated project will meet with their crew leader at the agreed upon time.

We are planning community meals each evening for the work crews, including a time to dedicate and de-brief about the day. The BOT has pledged some money for meals, and we are asking for additional donations. Let me know if you would like to contribute.

See you on the land!

Spring Term Yoga Schedule

Thanks to the hard work of Jessica Kung we all now have the morning yoga teaching schedule for the first half of Spring term 2009. If you don't know what that's supposed to mean, allow me to explain. Every morning, except Wednesdays, a different skilled yoga teacher leads any willing attendee through one of the seven Tibetan Heart Yoga series. And like everything else at Diamond Mountain, these world-class instructors teach for free.

On the schedule you'll find the teacher leading that morning's yoga as well as which Tibetan Heart Yoga series they'll be going through. That way you can avoid the easier series. If you've never done any Tibetan Heart Yoga, you're in for a treat.

You can view the yoga schedule on the Diamond Mountain events page or you can download the schedule in iCal format or PDF.

Elisa Monte Coming to Diamond Mountain

Dancer and choreographer Elisa Monte will be spending a week at Diamond Mountain starting May 25th. Ms. Monte, who is Geshe Michael and Lama Christie's favorite choreographer, will be giving daily dance master classes during her stay. For the class schedule see the Diamond Mountain events page. From Elisa Monte's bio:

Elisa Monte founded her own company following early training at the School of American Ballet and fifteen years as a professional dancer – eight as principal dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company.

Monte’s first choreographic work, Treading, (1979) defined her as an important innovator and contributor to contemporary dance. Rooted in sensuality and controlled, sustained energy, Monte’s work is notable for its expansive range of movement, which refuses stylistic conformity.

New Online Diamond Mountain Calendar

New on the Diamond Mountain website is a calendar of events. This Diamond Mountain Calendar lets you look at what's happening at Diamond Mountain each day and see actual class times and locations right in your browser. The calendar also features the schedule of Geshe Michael and Lama Christie so you can see what our spiritual directors are up to and what exotic country they'll be in month by month.

My favorite part of the new calendar is the ability for it to be shared and subscribed to. If you use a calendar that supports subscriptions like Google Calendar, iCal, Thunderbird, or maybe even Outlook, you can subscribe to the Diamond Mountain calendar. This means you can have the schedule right in your personal calendar and watch it automagically update when changes are made to the Diamond Mountain schedule! Instructions on how to do that are below the calendar on the Diamond Mountain events page.

Diamond Mountain Events and Calendar

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