PROGRESS REPORT # 2 on MAJOR RESTORATION PROJECTS at Still Mountain Meditation Center

Even with one atmospheric river after another was lashing Still Mountain, we persevered this week to make major progress during one very long day of laser beam focus…

THE DAWNING LIGHT, Volume 8, # 794 Sunday, February 24, 2024

STILL MOUNTAIN CHRONICLES Section # 49 Stories by Chinmayan about our life and adventures in search of simple living freedom and doing our service to the world at a small rural mediation center

All images in this issue by Chinmayan

PROGRESS REPORT # 2 on MAJOR RESTORATION PROJECTS at Still Mountain Meditation Center

Even as one huge and intense atmospheric rivers hit us with high winds and torrential rains that went on for many days and nights, we persevered and pushed through to make significant progress forward on the restoration of our old building.

A WARM and WELCOME SUNNY DAY

I am sitting in a pool of warm and welcome sunlight on this beautiful blue-sky afternoon on Still Mountain. 

After so many days of roaring winds and intensely pummeling rainstorms dropping so much rain on our roofs that it sounded like rolling thunder and seemed to go on forever, a sparkling bright sunny day like this seems like a respite to be savored. 

We have been living in these mountains for too long to be fooled into thinking that days like this mean winter is over. 

I have seen major snowstorms hitting us as late as May… blanketing everything in drifts of white flakes so deep that normal life was suspended as we all were literally snowed. 

Knowing this makes this day all the more enjoyable.

WE MADE MAJOR PROGRESS THIS WEEK

Because I was scheduled to have intense eye surgery in the middle of the week, which would normally take several days of being sequestered in a darkened room for me to recover from and make my directing the project impossible, we decided to have one long super focused work day with high goals.

Above photo: After surgery on my left eye…which resulted in one of the most amazing and unexpected miracles of my life…which I will write about soon.

OUR CARPENTERS MADE A MASSIVE EFFORT

Our young carpenters made a huge effort to get up before dawn, drive to Still Mountain from an hour away and spend all the day light hours pushing to accomplish two main goals….

First, laying down the rest of the new floor in the south end…

and Second, to set new columns to replace the temporary ones that support the two massive beams we set up against the ceiling years ago to brace the roof. 

When we first moved here in 1996, the roof over the South End was sagging and near collapsing, so one of the first repairs we did was to set these two massive beams under the roof to push it back up. 

The temporary columns we used then were always intended to be replaced with permanent ones…and finally, we were able to do that as a primary goal on this massive work day.  These new columns would be set permanently and properly on the new floor.

After pushing hard, and barely stopping for breaks, our carpenters maintained a strong momentum all day. 

They set a strong pace, but worked very methodically without any hurrying with laser beam focus…and by the day’s end, had accomplished our goals for the day!

It took over three weeks, from starting to tear out the old floor and then several days cutting drainage ditches and cleaning our sump wells and replacing sump pumps to finally laying the new flooring to reach this point.

Here are the two previous stories about why and how we launched these major restoration projects on Still Mountain:

“Progress Report # 1 On Major Restoration Projects At Still Mountain”

“Finally launching Major Restoration Projects at Still Mountain”

WE ARE READY TO LAUNCH PHASE TWO: Clearing and Remodeling Our Meditation Hall

Now that we have a new floor in place in the South End, we will move on to Phase Two of our projects, which is preparing our Meditation Hall for reopening this Center. 

We intend to completely restore and upgrade the Meditation Hall before we launch a new schedule of public programs, events and courses. 

This is a vital step towards creating a supportive and beautiful environment for us and everyone who wants to participate in both our in person and online programs. 

I will write about our goals for this project and report on our progress after we start the work. 

WE THANK EVERYONE WHO ARE SUPPORTING THIS WORK

We are sending a big thank you! To all those of you who have written to encourage us, who have made financial donations to keep these projects going, who have offered their help through volunteering and most of all, who believe in us and value what we are doing to serve the world.   We could not be doing these great and wonderful things without you!

We still need your on going help and support  to complete these projects and re open this Center. 

Here are the links to our ultra safe donation site… We are asking for donations of any size, even a few dollars makes a massive difference!

DONATION PORTAL to Support Restoration Projects At Still Mountain Mediation Center

Or use this QR code:

In return, everyone who donates any amount to our cause will receive a generous discount  on tuition to upcoming new programs and courses, plus we will send you our “Meditation Training Intensive” video course ($150 value) as a reward.

Meanwhile, we will continue to keep on working to do everything we can to be a source of inspiration, information and encouragement for you, our friends and family in the “Dawning Light.” 

Thanks again for being here and shining your own light of Love which is needed now more than ever!

Chinmayan teaching the “Meditation Training Intensive” at Still Mountain

                           THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE WITH US TODAY!

If you loved this issue of the free version of “The Dawning Light” we ask that you consider supporting us on our mission to help save the world….

…By sharing any of our stories with your circle of beloveds, friends or anyone else in your life would would love and be helped by this newsletter and letting EVERYONE in your world know that we are giving FREE SUBSCRIPTIONS to the daily version of “The Dawning Light” to anyone who wants and needs it.

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Besides all the goodies we are offering to you, your subscription directly helps us maintain our simple life on Still Mountain so we can keep the lights on, food on the table and stay focused  on writing and publishing this labor of Love!

                                    STILL MOUNTAIN DHARMA CENTER

                                         INNER RESOURCE INSTITUTE

                        Authentic Meditation Training and Practical Spirituality 

Stay Tuned for free upcoming programs and trainings for our subscribers and supporters of “The Dawning Light”…

We are planning to launch our next “Meditation Training Intensive” course in the first months of 2024. When we set the dates and open this course for registration, we will announce the details in this newsletter first so that all of our “Dawning Light” friends will get first choice.

LEARN TO MEDITATE and DEVELOP YOUR OWN INNER SANCTUARY OF EVER GROWING AWARENESS, MINDFULNESS, PEACE and JOY!

Join with us in this very special course that will enthrall and inspire you while giving you absolutely everything you need to develop your own effective and soul satisfying personal meditation practice that you will love and want to do every day because of its blissful benefits….This course was created and is taught by Chinmayan, who was trained by some of the greatest meditation masters of our time…and who has taught authentic meditation and practical spiritual principles for forty years.

“Your greatest service to humanity is to attain your own Self Realization!” Ramana Maharshi

“When you change the way you think about things, and the things you think about change”                                                                  

                                                                                        —Wayne Dyer

“I see my life as an unfolding set of opportunities to awaken.” —Ram Das

“When God is the center and focus of my life, everything else falls into it’s rightful place.”

                                                                                          —Chinmayan

“Meditation is the greatest gift you can ever give yourself…Establishing your own effective and soul satisfying meditation practice is your path to a new and wonderful life of clarity, peace of mind and spiritual fulfillment…Meditation is the path to discovering your own inner sanctuary and portable paradise.”

—Yeshe Gyamtso