FIRST LIGHT

FIRST LIGHT 2010 Prayers For World Peace New Years Day January 1, 2010 - 7 a.m.
Free and open to the public. Donations are always gratefully accepted.
The St. Augustine Karma Kagyu Study Group cordially invites the public to the annual non-denominational offering of lamps and aspiration prayers for world peace! Discovery Yoga has offered their facility to host this event. Beginning at 7 am, we will chant prayers written especially for the First Light, Aspiration Prayers for World Peace Ceremony by His Holiness the Seventeenth Gyalwa Karmapa, and place lighted candles on the shrine. In this way, participants may symbolically add the light of their prayers and aspirations to the light of the sun which, like the Buddhist concept of loving kindness and compassion, shines equally on all beings without discrimination. These prayers will begin at sunrise on January 1st at the International Date Line and follow the course of the sun westward around the world. Thus, we will join people from all parts of the globe in generating compassion and in offering prayers for world peace and harmony at the first light of the Western New Year.	On January 1, 2000, Western disciples of the 1000-year-old Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism began an international collaboration focusing world attention on the need for peaceful, loving relationships: among family members, within communities, and among all nations, races, and religions. According to Tom Vogler, director of the local Karma Kagyu Study Group, “an aspiration is the beginning of accomplishment of any goal.” We are fortunate to be participating in the tenth consecutive year of this practice. Doors will open at 6:45 am and we will begin at 7 am with an hour-long service consisting of meditation, chanting the prayers for world peace, and lighting candles. After a tea break and we will continue with a session of chanting the Chenrezig liturgy, a traditional practice of engendering compassion that allows the practitioner to develop an unconditional empathy toward all sentient beings. There will be an opportunity to ask questions and to learn more about the local dharma center. For further information, please call Tom Vogler 829-6034, or e-mail trvogler@bellsouth.net or visit www.kagyu.org

QUIET MIND, PEACEFUL HEART New Years Day Meditation with Christopher Baxter 10am - 1pm Suggested Donation $10 A Soothing Series of Calming, Kind-Hearted Meditations Suitable for all Spiritual Traditions and Levels of Experience (simple instruction in “how-to-meditate” and “stretch breaks” are included) Qualifies for Yoga Alliance CEUâ€™s Christopher Baxter, ERYT-500, a practicing architect and yogi for more than 30 years, is the author of "Kripalu Hatha Yoga". As a founding member of Kripalu Center - the largest yoga training facility in North America - he was founding director of the Kripalu Yoga Teachers Association and was instrumental in the development of Kripalu Yoga and Kripalu Yoga Teacher Training. He currently lives in St Augustine, Florida where he leads teacher trainings, seminars and classes at the Discovery Yoga Center. . He can be reached by email at atmacoreyoga@gmail.com or by phone at 904-687-8482. To reserve a delicious 9AM Brunch for $7 contact: joenaz@gmail.com “The greatest gift we can give is the kindness of a quiet mind and peaceful heart”