The Land of Great Bliss

"Enveloping the land like a blue pancake..."

2011-07-17T15:16:00.014+02:00

We have asked some visitors and programme participants – newcomers as well as regular visitors – what they appreciate and think about Dechen Chöling.

Judith from Berlin, Germany:

I always enjoy the beautiful landscape, especially the green fields, the cows, old trees, the frogs and all those sentient beings. I love the chateau and its surrounding barns – the atmosphere feels very ancient and uplifted and rather mellow. Dechen Chöling attracts people of many different cultures and I hope that it will continue to blossom and benefit from the coming together of younger and older generations.

Seweryn from Szczecin, Poland:

Dechen Chöling, the green pearl of bliss, gently held in a dream like French countryside landscape of rolling hills, meadows with curious cows, all guarded by ancient trees and greenery rich with foliage, towering along the side of narrow, winding country roads. On the land of Dechen Chöling is a pond full of fully froglike frogs generously cracking along, day, as well as night. A pure land, an amazing place to train the mind and open the heart. The blue sky here is just much bluer, enveloping the land like a cape or a blue pancake, ready to fall on your head. And at night there are more stars than anywhere else I’ve ever been. People from all over the world come here and there are always many familiar faces glowing with delight.

Valérie from Paris, France:

I love Dechen Chöling! It feels like a family home for me. Everybody is kind and welcoming. I like living for a few days or weeks with people from all over the world. It’s a wonderful place to learn, to relax, to slow down, and to be open to oneself and others. Also, nature here is so mild and lush at the same time. When you come from a big city, it’s paradise!

Ian from London, England:

For me, Dechen Chöling is a place where the heart and mind are given space to fully appreciate the innate beauty of the world around and inside us.

Isabella from Munich, Germany:

I come to Dechen Chöling almost every year because I feel it is an auspicious place and I love its rich nature. Being here feels like charging my batteries. I am very happy to get vegetables from the local garden and enjoy the good food the kitchen provides – very enriching for both my body and mind. Also, I enjoy having so much time and space for myself and at the same time meeting many nice and interesting people, friends and teachers, who inspire and touch me.

Dominique from Paris, France :

I visited Dechen Chöling for the first time at the beginning of the summer season. I took the chance of spending ten days in the center’s beautiful garden, - created by Michael and Steffen -, with weeding, cleaning, watering…savoring the beauty and the energy of this place, as well as the kindness of the people living here. What I have experienced here was what I needed at that moment. I leave full of gentleness with a big desire to preserve an important part of slowness in my urban life. Many thanks to all the people I met at Dechen Chöling.

If you like to share your personal experience of your stay here, please let us know. Thank you & Merci!

EXPAND, DEVELOP, GROW! - Organic Garden Update

2011-06-23T22:03:00.014+02:00

Over the past couple of years the garden of Dechen Chöling has developed into the big, beautiful garden it is today. In October of the year 2010 Michael LeBlanc made a proposal to expand the garden even further, growing more organic fruits and vegetables, and creating an environment where people can reconnect with nature. Thoreau ones wrote: “Let go of the past and go for the future. Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you imagined.” “Jardin Shambhala” is that dream, to take what we have, and make it even more beautiful.

In the beginning of 2011 project “Jardin Shambhala” was put into action. From the very beginning we received a lot of support from the neighbours. They bundled their powers to set the whole project into motion, clearing out the space, planting seeds and harvesting. They have put a lot of effort in making this happen, and without their help it would not have been possible. Therefore we are eternally thankful.

Most of the seeds planted in the garden are from KokoPelli. Kokopelli is an official depository for ancient seeds. The seeds are pure, meaning they are not produced by crossing different kinds of species. Nor are they genetically modified. Kokopelli has three main places to produce seeds. From there they distribute to members, whom buy the seeds. In return, after the plants start producing seeds themselves, the seeds will be send to another place. So there is a constant exchange of seeds going on. The main goal is to preserve original species, as well as to benefit third world countries.

In March Steffen arrived. A hard working man, wearing a straw head and sunglasses, whom has put a lot of exertion into making sure that the garden is blooming in its full glory. Planting, watering, weeding, harvesting. Steffen is the garden angel, working from dawn till dusk, handling the plants with at least as much care as any sentient being. Michael could not be more thankful for Steffen’s help saying he is definitely the muscle in the garden.

During the large programmes in May quite a few people offered their help during their working period, turning the garden into a crowded place. It was amazing to see all those people creating an uplifting energy and enjoying the vibes of nature.

All the effort that has been put in this garden is finally paying off. The garden grows more beautiful and beautiful every single day. Flowers bloom in full glory, turning it into a little piece of paradise. The garden is able to provide the kitchen with lots of greens. In the months May and June the kitchen received nearly 240 heads of salad, 11 kilos of chard, 12,5 kilo spinach 21 kilo of sweet peas and over 700 pieces of radish.

Entering the Dechen Chöling grounds the first thing you see is the garden, inviting you to take a walk and enjoy all there is to see and smell. The garden has enough space for greens to grow fully, and simultaneously tickle all your senses. Walking through the garden you can connect heaven and earth. Inhaling the aroma’s of herbs such as, basil, parsley and chive, and witnessing the sheer splendour of a variety of flowers. With the new entrance, the garden is now the door to the outside world. Magnetizing all of the neighbours, all of France, all of the world to come and rejoice in the grace of nature.

Written by Rianne Pelleboer, summer volunteer at Dechen Chöling. Photos by Steffen and Katja.

Sangha Retreat - Review by Rianne, a volunteer at Dechen Chöling

2011-05-24T17:35:00.012+02:00

After some weeks of calmness it seemed as though a bomb had exploded in Dechen Chöling. On Sunday the 8^th of May over a hundred fifty people arrived for the Sangha retreat. Young, old, beginners and advanced students came from all over the world to witness this big event. Before the programme started we had put a lot of effort into making this place ready. And thankfully all our hard work paid off. After asking some participants how they felt about arriving here I couldn’t help but notice that everyone felt happy to be here and very welcome. I reckon handing out those chocolate cookies at arrival is something we should keep in mind. It seems to work their magic on tired people who have traveled all day!

Having all those people around had an amazingly uplifting effect on the energy of this place! It seemed as though we have accomplished the impossible. We had to work at least three times as hard to keep everything running smoothly, but looking back I feel we did an outstanding job! I couldn’t be more delighted to be part of this community. Thanks to the entire staff and all the participants whom did a great job on their work assignments we managed to turn this event into a great success.

On my day off I decided to blend in with the retreaters and see what it was like in the big tent. We started at 7 o clock in the morning, and spend the entire morning in silence until after lunch. It was their first period of silence and I could see how some people were struggling. How hard they were trying to sit still, and practice. But they were hanging in there! And they had installed a solid container to keep them uplifted. It was truly humbling to witness this.

As the Sakyong’s arrival was approaching people got more and more excited and we were exploring all avenues to make sure that all the staff members could at least go to one of his talks. I for some reason hit the jackpot and got to go to all of his talks! Like most of the participants I had never met the Sakyong before. That way I got completely absorbed in their excitement and got to share this experience with them.

During the last three days of the retreat the Sakyong gave three talks about basic goodness, and being kind and brave. Instead of talking for hours he did some practices with us, to get in touch with our bodies and our feelings. But most importantly for us to feel we are basically good. By approaching the teachings in this way he managed to reach all students without throwing beginners into the deep, yet, still keeping it interesting for the “older” students. And to be quite fair: you can never hear “you are basically good” enough. (Don’t even try to deny that!)

After receiving a blessing, enjoying a delicious meal and giving the last Sunday evening some serious Saturday Night Fever, people packed their bags and made their way back home. With nothing left but a bundle of experiences worth a trip going down on memory lane.

By Rianne Pelleboer, volunteer from the Netherlands at Dechen Chöling (on the left of the picture above); Photos by ka.

"How simple life can be, if I just let it"

2011-05-17T14:28:00.021+02:00

Many participants from Dechen Chöling's Sangha Retreat last week share here their experiences with us. Thank you so much for that!

“In this retreat I dared once more to leap into the arms of the teachings, the sangha and the Sakyong. A wonderful landing place. My heart and my mind are filled with courage and confidence, to take a fresh leap into the world.” Gaby Pongracz from Vienna, Austria.

“In this week I reconnected with my heart and my strength. I feel confident to face the challenges of my life now.” Friederike from Cologne, Germany.

“I am feeling in touch with my human nature, which feels basically good and vulnerable. I bow for the courage of all participants. By the way, we had lots of great laughs. Love and Respect,” Dennis from Holland.

“Discovering basic goodness as something personal I can connect with, has been an opening of my heart. Meeting the bigger sangha of Shambhala in a practice situation, manifesting as best as we can an idea about an enlightened society: This has been a deeply moving experience to me. Somewhat showing that it is possible to manifest or live these principles. We breathe the same air while meditating. We work with our individual minds. We try to open up our minds and hearts. For some reason this creates a deep feeling of community. I experienced a strong feeling of community being in this retreat.” Christian Stenberg from Copenhagen, Denmark

"How simple life can be, if I just let it. This was one of the many insights AND experiences during this sangha retreat.” Bart Landstra from Leiden, the Netherlands.

"The Sangha Retreat offers the opportunity to spend a week together with an amazingly diverse group of people - in terms of nationality, culture, spiritual background, age, careers - in order to contemplate and practice dealing with some important questions: What is a decent life? How can we relate to each other? What role can I play in society? So: a wonderful experience." Vera Schoelmerich from Amsterdam, Netherlands.

"What role can I play in society?"

2011-05-14T15:36:00.005+02:00

Cultivating gentleness

2011-05-13T21:53:00.004+02:00

Barbara Märtens at Sangha Retreat "Being brave, transforming our world":

“I think if we want to understand friendliness, kindness and why this is the core of our being, we also have to understand the pain and the fear and the suffering, and the function of it in our being. In moments of pain we very often open up if we lose our set system of concepts and ideas about who and what we are. In those moments we are connected with the openness of our heart, with the uncontrollableness of our human situation that we always want to avoid. Friendliness is not to be separated from this pain, this fear, this part where our existence feels like a burden, a threat or something we want to escape from. If we touch into this part we automatically connect with our inherent gentleness.“

Barbara Märtens is a senior teacher in the Shambhala Buddhist tradition. Sangha Retreat is a one week meditation programme.

Talk on "Being Brave: Transforming our World" by Adam Lobel

2011-05-10T11:04:00.006+02:00

Excerpts from Adam Lobel’s talk, May 9 – Introductory to Sangha Retreat “Being Brave: Transforming our World”, a one-week meditation reteat at Dechen Chöling.

“What is more natural – the beautiful strong magnificent oak tree or a modern city with highways, buildings and people busying around with headphones plugged into their ears? Or, look at the routine of our busy lives and that of a toad? What is more natural? Many of us would say, it’s the oak tree and the toad’s life. The simple point I want to make here, is that there is an invisible background understanding that we as human beings are fundamentally unnatural, problematic, confused, maybe even aggressive and violent. How have we come to understand ourselves in this way? How do we experience ourselves in the midst of society, feeling unnatural? There is something sad about this experience. Many of us thrive on this feeling.

In the Shambhala tradition Human society is considered basically good, natural – just as an oak tree or a toad. We as human beings have a right to be on this planet, there is goodness and dignity about being human and part of nature. So, it needs a shift in experience – being as simple, good and natural as an oak tree. In the midst of our ordinary experience there is this sense of wakefulness always available. It is completely basic and ordinary. And therefore we miss it. But we do all experience it, in moments of freshness, appreciation, silence and stillness. Within the speed of our lives, it’s difficult to rest with what we call basic goodness. Many of us don’t experience this natural being. In part that’s because of the simplicity and ordinariness, there is something very boring about sanity – compared to all kind of madnesses and horror news on TV.

There is so much incredible goodness happening on this earth every day and minute, there is so much of what people have let go of in favor of others, so much kindness, we wouldn’t believe it. Just think of the countless ways of someone caring for someone else, or just people preparing good food for each other. We can’t forget that.

Every consideration of transforming our world has to do with our own state of being, our heart and emotions and how we live our everyday life. Cultivating our own goodness, connection, opening up and wisdom is inseparable from shifting modern society.”

Adam Lobel invited all participants to touch and taste their own basic human goodness.

Working day & a cake to die for

2011-05-01T16:20:00.005+02:00

“Only 17 days left until the Sangha Retreat! In order to make sure that Dechen Chöling is completely ready for the spring/summer programmes we decided to call the “community work afternoon” into being. From 14:00 pm to 17:30 everyone leaves the office and works in facilities, household or landscaping to make sure that all visitors find their place in the sun.

After a hard day of work, and a tea break with a cake to die for, we could feast our eyes on a whole different Dechen Chöling. It seemed as though the staff campground and the big dining tent had appeared out of nowhere. It’s amazing to see what a difference it makes if everyone bundles their powers for just one afternoon! And then to think that we did that in only one day.

This afternoon we will help Hans Willie (our “Lord of joy”) to make sure that all tents are equipped with beds and cabinets. So that all visitors can get a good night rest after sitting on their cushions all day. Because, it turns out having sour backs doesn’t make people jump for joy.

The following two weeks we will keep bundling our powers to turn Dechen Chöling into a little piece of paradise. To make sure that every single person can enjoy the splendor of the land of great bliss.“

by Rianne Pelleboer, volunteer from the Netherlands

Review on Dharma Art Programme

2011-02-22T16:45:00.017+01:00

We just look back to a wonderful Dharma Art programme happening here. Fabrice Champion, Herb Elsky and about 20 participants spent a week exploring „First Thought, Best Thought“. It was a very vibrant time and everyone contributed with their inspiration.
One of our French participants wrote a poem that she shared with the group and allowed us to post on our blog here, and we tried to translate it into English.
Lily Martin, the coordinator, shot some pictures that capture some glimpses of the programme: exercises in calligraphy and brushwork.

L'eau du lac reflète le ciel
Le ciel tutoie la montagne
La montagne parle à la plaine
La plaine pleure dans le lac
Le lac transpire
La montagne aspire
La vie expire
Tout est relié
Vous que je ne connaissais pas
Moi qui étais inconnu pour vous
Nous avons bâti des ponts entre nos âmes
Votre flamme illumine mon coeur
Tout étourdi d'éclairer le vôtre
Je vous aime.

The lake water reflects the sky
The sky caresses the mountain
The mountain speaks to the plain
The plain is crying into the lake
The lake transpires
The mountain aspirates
Life expires
Everything is connected
You, who I did not know
I, who was unknown to you
We have built bridges between our souls
Your flame brightens my heart
Stunned to enlighten yours
I love you.

Our Youngest Member of Staff

2010-12-14T15:03:00.000+01:00


What does this button do?

This is Clara, who, while not technically a member of staff, is definitely the youngest person around on a typical day. Her father, Jean-François, is our Head of Kitchen, and her mother, Konstanze, has recently taken over as Head of Programmes. Konstanze was previously Head of Operations, and then had maternity leave, for obvious reasons.

Clara herself spends a lot of time at Dechen Chöling too, often choosing to hang out with her grandmother, Angelika, and she is a great bringer of fun and joy to our community. She sits at the head of the table for meals, and presides over the rest of us. I want to thank Konstanze and J-F for allowing us to share in watching her grow up.

Mother, daughter, grandmother

Suddenly Snowy

2010-11-28T21:24:00.000+01:00

A few days ago, the weather changed from rain to snow. I suppose it dropped below that critical temperature, and voila! The world was white. When I left the office late in the evening the night before last (yes, I know, we're supposed to be on retreat...) a white blanket had been silently and gently draped over the land, softening the sharp outlines of the buildings, and muffling all sounds of life.

This might not seem a lot of snow, but often the weather is markedly warm here in November, and snow is pretty rare at the best of times. Below is a shot of the azuchi (the platform for Kyudo, Zen archery) from the day before, after most of the previous night's snow had melted, but showing the pristine elegance of the winter landscape at DCL.

So, perfect weather for our annual staff retreat. We have had the honour of receiving daily teachings from two local teachers, resident Acharya, Mathias Pongracz and also our local Shastri, Chris de Block. They are teaching us about Shantideva's Bodhicaryavitara. Which is much more accessible than it sounds, and extremely pertinent. In a nutshell, to make progress on the path of the Bodhisattva, we must learn how to work with Shenpa, situations where our buttons are pressed. In a community, this is surprisingly easy to find, thus we should regard ourselves as even more lucky to be here!

Abundant fruits

2010-10-23T12:45:00.003+02:00

The rich harvest of life at DCL continues. The juice that we pressed was delicious. 70 litres was easily consumed. Some fed Phillip's sourdough culture, with which he made marvellous bread, easily as good as that which is delivered. Mushrooms are popping up everywhere - Marcus counted 85 parasol mushrooms in the horse-field next door. On her first mushrooming foray, Brooks found a highly sought after cepe (porcini) after about two minutes. She dried that and a bunch of other boletes to take back to the States. Our chestnut tree produced big fat juicy chestnuts, which are such a hassle to prepare that we are giving them away.

Sutrayana Seminary, our last big programme of the year came to a triumphant close. After that most of our summer volunteers left: we hope that they have harvested joy and confidence in their time here. To celebrate their presence, we had a dance party in the dining room, which was livened up by some killer moves on the dance floor.

Finally our new sewage system came online. M. Brun and his team made the final connection and our daily thousands of litres of wastewater (including everything!) began to seep through our reedbed system instead of the old septic tank and soakaway. To celebrate we joined them for a glass of eau de vie - a good investment as M. Brun also runs the local apple press.

We recruited the staff and those still here from Seminary to plant up the reedbed and canal system with reeds, yellow iris and purple loosestrife.

Environmental sewage system!

2010-09-29T14:01:00.001+02:00

Gravel is leveled out on top of the coarser layer beneath

Construction has begun on a reed-bed system to replace our aging septic tank. Shown is the large tank which will comprise the first of the two-phases of purification. Raw sewage will flow into this and filter through graded beds of gravel. Reeds will use the nutrients to grow. Excess water will flow out into a more naturalistic system of channels, planted with various types of vegetation, including the Robinia pseudoacacia which already grows there.


Reed bed with chateau behind

This large project takes our commitment to the environment forward in a big leap. Not only will we no longer need to have a septic tank regularly emptied by big truck; we will create a wildlife haven and we will be able to harvest and make use of the organic material that is fertilised by our waste.

Some of the shades of tomatoes

We are very keen to minimise our impact on the environment. We already took a big leap last year, with a commitment to buy only organic food. We have also, for many years already harvested vegetables from the garden each year, to supplement those that we buy. We had a bumper crop of tomatoes this year, mostly from our polytunnel. We continue to harvest squash, chard, lettuce, greens, courgette and have kale and cabbage for the winter. Unfortunately our current Gardener will soon be leaving, so if you are a passionate and skilled organic gardener, and would like to spend the next few years helping to take our vision forward, please get in touch.

All these apples came from just one tree!

Our staff campground is also an orchard, containing trees planted by us, and others that were here long before we arrived. Ralph and I spent some time harvesting one tree: I climbed and shook the branches and he picked up the fallen fruit. We took about 160 kilos from just one tree (see picture) and we will take it to a local cidrier to press for juice. If some accidentally turned to cider, we would have to deal with that...

Wildlife and wild life

2010-09-09T12:13:00.000+02:00

I was contemplating writing an article about wildlife this morning, when John appeared and said "do you want to see a viper?" The facilities team had captured this small venomous snake in the Fire Puja Barn, which we are currently "taking down" amidst the Takedown of all the tents and summer facilities. The viper, or adder as we call them in the UK, was only about 20 cm long, dark grey, with a head bigger than the rest of the body, which is apparently distinctive, and pink markings on its neck. A couple of weeks ago a participant in a programme was actually bitten by a viper, although not on our land, I believe. She required hospitalisation. This is the first time it has happened here, as far as I know.

This year I have seen many creatures in the very biodiverse corner of the world that we live in. I have caught the occasional blue flash of a kingfisher on the river before, but I recently saw two flying close by, which was a breath-taking moment. The blue is intense, like that of a hummingbird or bluebird, and seems too exotic for France, somehow. On other river swimming visits (the Vienne is, we understand clean enough to swim in) I have seen swimming snakes, water voles, and even a beautiful crayfish, which was like a small lobster. The particular bend of the river on which we are situated is listed as a site of high biodiversity.

Once, walking along the old road running behind the office, my attention was caught by a flash of green. On looking closer, I was amazed to see what appeared to be a tree frog, complete with adhesive disks on its feet. This was another experience of "isn't that something from the tropics?" but wikipedia proved otherwise. I have never seen it again, but I took some nice pictures at the time. Perhaps the most exotic and rare creature that I have seen is the elusive genet. This lean cat-like creature is supposedly solitary and nocturnal, but I observed a pair of them walking around in daylight in Lageas, a nearby almost-deserted village.

Even without taking into account the larger creatures, the insect life here is startling enough. Almost every day I see bugs I've never observed before. I spent an evening chatting with a friend while the huge stag beetles blundered through the air around us, sounding like miniature helicopters. The larvae of these remarkable creatures spend some years chewing their way through decaying tree stumps before metamorphosing into these large beetles with huge "antlers". The adult form is not known to eat anything at all, and dies soon after either breeding, in the case of the male, or laying eggs in a treestump, in the case of the female. The hummingbird hawk-moth is another pretty extraordinary creature, it is neither hummingbird nor hawk, but a moth that strongly resembles a hummingbird. The hawk part of the name comes from the swift flight and hovering behaviour of this family of insects.

Lazy end of summer days

2010-08-30T17:10:00.005+02:00

The second last day of August and summer at DCL is over. The program season ended early this year with the Scorpion Seal Assembly 2 and the Vajra Garchen. Suddenly the days are crisper and nights are downright cold. End of summer tomatoes from the garden. SO many tomatoes.

Now, fall takedown is in full swing. Since the departure of the last program participants, DCL has taken on a quiet, almost cottage-vacation like atmosphere. Many summer volunteers have already left, and the result is that the remaining staff are treated to many home-baked treats; fresh zucchini bread French toast for breakfast, and home-made peach ice cream and cookies with lunch. This weekend the remaining staff and DCL neighbors enjoyed a western-style brunch at Michael LeBlanc’s house, followed by tango lessons in the evening. A violent early morning thunderstorm cut out the phone and internet for five days, giving the office staff a pleasant break from work and intensifying the sensation that DCL exists in a bubble on an island in the middle of a vast ocean. DCL staff and neighbors enjoying brunch at Michael LeBlanc's.

Post-tango BBQ feast.
The summer, all of those people who came to DCL, all of the volunteers I grew to love, the dream-like nature of it all is both sharp and haunting. Waking up to cool breezes in my tent each morning with a sense of “did that really happen?”. It was a great summer.

Picture which didn't make it into the last post: adorable children raising the flags at family camp.

Rites of Passage

2010-08-09T17:08:00.000+02:00

It has become our tradition here to have a cluster of programmes simultaneously at this time of year. Specifically, that is Family Camp, which is pretty much as it sounds, where families come to live and practice together; Kyudo, which is Zen archery, with its strong forms and beautiful costumes, and Sun Camp, where the older children come and experience an independent camp, and hopefully, their own minds. In recent years we have also hosted a programme for young people from teens to early thirties, who train together in contemplative disciplines while helping to provide childrens' activities.

The Rites of Passage children arrive

The culmination of Family Camp is the Rites of Passage ceremony, which is for children of around 8-10 years old. This is an age of transition from young childhood to a more responsible, independent time. In many cultures this transition is marked with a ritual, and in Shambhala we follow this tradition. The children of this age participate in their own stream of activities, which this year included Aikido, Ikebana, and Kyudo. They make their own bow and fire the first shot. Finally they do the Rites of Passage Ceremony, which includes giving up a toy or item of clothing which is representative of their childhood, taking a vow to be kind, and receiving various ceremonial gifts.

Sensei presents a Ya to Ruby

This year we again had the honour of Kanjuro Shibata Sensei XX's presence, and he gave a beautiful Ya, or arrow, to each of the Rites of Passage graduates. Then sacred clowns representing the four elements performed a wonderful dance around the children, before showering them with sweets and nuts.

Sacred clowns

Trailer trash

2010-07-31T11:47:00.000+02:00

Here in the countryside, we pride ourselves on the ability to celebrate. Any occasion will do: a wedding, a funeral, a new lawnmower, a cow coughing, what have you. To celebrate moving into my new home, a twenty-five-footer, we had a good old-fashioned shindig. Promised activities included gurning, tractor-pulls, mud-wrestling and other enlightened activities. In the end, we settled for beer-drinking and welly-wanging, which go together very well.

I had my hair cut special

tragically we lost the baby - anyone seen it?

Dathun meets Encampment

2010-07-17T14:33:00.011+02:00

July 15 2010
Heat. Sweat. Aimless people in red or green or blue. Khaki. Meditation. Marching. Hearing that marching is meditation. Mexican feast. THUNDER. Drums and chanting. Not sleeping. Not caring. Caring too much. Dathun. Flowery dathun people. Loud kasung. Humid tents. Encouraging moon. Lightening lullabye.

It seems difficult to remember a time before Dathun. Sitting, patiently or not so patiently, in Shrine Hall Ah, right in the center of DCL, they provide a constant reminder of space. Their presence has a profound effect on the atmosphere. In contrast to the exuberant, sharp nowness of Warriors Assembly, Dathun bring a subtle openness, without promise or compromise. Sometimes, sitting on the rose porch sipping coffee and nursing my internal dialogue, I feel jealous of them. I want to join them. Other times I am glad to be able to go down to the river and lie in the shade when it gets too hot.

As part of the Kado (the “way of flowers”) portion of the Dathun, Marcia Shibata gave a talk open to the DCL community about art in everyday life, with an exquisite demonstration of flower arranging.

Simultaneous with Dathun we hosted the two-week Maitri Space Awareness program, in which participants explore the energy of different emotions through work with meditation and specific colors and postures. Participants could be spotted wandering around the DCL grounds wearing a different color each day.

After the Maitri program, the Dorje Kasung arrived for the first ever Magyel Pomra Encampment at DCL. Situated in the field on the other side of the “lake” (it’s a pond, really), Encampment is a two-week intensive training program for Kasung, in which participants live simply with the elements and train with military forms. From the 6:30 am wakeup music to the shouts of calisthenics and drill commands, encampment makes itself heard all through DCL.

A glorious meeting of the silence of Dathun and the loudness of Encampment occurred on Tuesday night. Early in the evening Dominic Watson-Wall, the DCL Rusung, gave a talk to the dathunees and DCL staff about Kasungship. The talk was well received, and sparked many questions and discussions. Later, under the cover of darkness, the Dathun and DCL staff banded together to raid the Encampment. Walking slowly and silently in meditation mudra, carry roses to symbolize our peaceful intentions, we processed onto the parade ground and presented our flowers as a symbolic offering to the symbolic Sakyong. We were well received by the Kasung, who presented us with an offering of drink and drill practice in return. Parade grounds lit only by the stars and moon, this was a first taste of Kasungship for many of the raiders. After drill we stood in formation for a long time, silently appreciating the sharpness of our senses and the experience of being together. Even for those who have no interest in being Kasung, the heart of encampment practice was transmitted.

Level 2 of the Way of Shambhala was offered this past week for the staff. Taught by Tessa Racine, it was an excellent continuation of the success of Level 1. Says summer volunteer Sarita McNeil , “Level 2 kicked my ass”.

This is the height of the summer season at DCL. There is a sense of forward motion and delight, with always three or four programs happening simultaneously. Some days are unbearable humid—there is nothing to be done but sit and sweat. But dramatic thunderstorms clear the air, bringing coolness and rain.

Winds of Change

2010-07-14T18:20:00.000+02:00

Today the weather has made a radical shift to cool and rainy, after weeks of sunshine. We are at a crossroads of programmes, with the dathun, a month-long (mostly) quite retreat ending on Saturday, along with the first Magyal Pomra Encampment, the gathering of the Dorje Kasung, to happen here. Arriving in their stead is the Youth Leadership programme, followed by Kyudo, Family Camp and Sun Camp. The summer schedule is in full swing.

The teachers of Warrior Assembly told me that DCL seemed to be running smoother and more accommodatingly than ever before, and I have to agree with them. The core staff are mostly very experienced, and know each other very well, and the volunteers that have gathered have formed strong connections with Dechen Choling and each other. Perhaps some of the reason for that is also that we have various systems of communication and support in place to help people to settle in. We allocate an experienced member of staff to be the 'mentor' for any new arrival, and for a month (or possibly more) they will help them in matters of body (knowing where to wash clothes), speech (how to make a suggestion to the managers) and mind ("are you ok?").

Another system we have is regular community meetings. For the volunteers we usually have a bi-weekly gathering to check in and discuss any pertinent issues. For the core staff we have longer meetings, with longer intervals between them. We tend to have a lot of gatherings that deal with getting things done; the emphasis of these meetings is more on 'being' with each other, and exposing any problems or conflicts that people are having. Getting core staff to come to the meetings has proved over the years to be rather difficult, as they can be somewhat confronting. However, usually people leave feeling that they have communicated with each other on a deeper level that normal.

The Key to Dechen Choling - contributor - Marta

2010-06-30T14:31:00.002+02:00

The last week has been incredibly busy and full. With only a short three day gap, the Warriors Assembly participants left and the summer dathun participants arrived. Temperatures dropped to a chilly 5 degrees at night, and barely reached above 15 during the day, we celebrated the arrival of summer and the contributions of long-term DCL neighbours by hosting a community BBQ. Six people who have been deeply involved and committed to the development of DCL were honoured with the “Official Key” to DCL, and a certificate. We enjoyed a repast of unprecedented deliciousness, with hamburgers, sausage and fried potatoes. Food tastes better here in general, but this meal was exceptional. Afterwards there was a short lesson in blues dancing, and a small but committed group of staff members continued with a techno dance party until curfew.

Maggie receives her key and certificate

On Sunday and Monday the staff were treated to Shambhala Training Level 1, taught by Chris de Block and Tessa Racine. Some talks were in English and some in French. For many staff members it was their first time doing a Level. Though DCL is a practice container in itself, the addition of Level 1 facilitated a deeper experience of basic goodness. Even though this was my fourth time doing the level, I never escape unscathed. I always find myself simply on the earth, with my normal perceptions challenged; feeling whatever there is to feel.
Following the Level 1 the staff were invited to take part in the first Way of Shambhala course, Meditation in Everyday Life. Classes were offered in the mornings and evenings during regular practice times, with a normal workday in between. Non-DCL staff who were participating in the class spent the day meditating in between morning and evening talks. This was the first time the class has been presented in this format, and the response was mixed. Some felt there needed to be more meditation and less discussion, while others felt that the discussion time was cut short. We ended the class with an elegant yet casual banquet on the back porch of the chateau, sipping wine and Perrier in the evening breeze.

Summer at Dechen Choling is full of hellos and goodbyes as the summer volunteer staff come and go. This week we said goodbye to Tor Kemp, our charming and beautiful office assistant who came to DCL in April. Good luck with wherever you go next, and know that you will always be welcome here.

On Thursday the weather changed from cold to blistering hot and the staff went to the Night Market in Gorre. There are long tables set up, and many booths selling bread, cheese, pate, beer, wine, pastries and raw meat that you buy and then give to the barbecue man, who cooks your lamb or duck or sausage just the way you like it. The experience was so decadent, it was almost overwhelming. I ate and drank until the pain of my distended stomach made me stop. Previously, my only experience with French food had been the tangy, stinky, blue-black goat cheeses that many staff members are so fond of. But after tasting the fresh-grilled duck and pate on fresh baguette at the Night Market, I am a convert. Afterwards to celebrate the Rusung’s birthday, and life in general, all the staff were invited to continue partying at Michael LeBlanc’s house. Moonshine was sampled, but we all made it home in good enough shape to wake up for group meditation in the morning ;)

Contributor: Marta Vigerstad

2010-06-18T17:45:00.000+02:00

June 14 2010
I arrived at Dechen Choling 20 days ago, and it already feels like I’ve been here for months. On May 21^st I flew from Halifax, Nova Scotia to visit friends in Amsterdam for a few days before taking a train DCL for a 4 month stay as a summer volunteer. I had never been to Europe before. Despite what I had heard about French people being cold to foreigners, especially those who don’t speak a lick of French and sound American (Je suis Canadienne, merci) I met many amazingly helpful people who helped me carry the 36 kilos of luggage I had brought and find my train when I was lost. I had my first genuine French pastry experience, a hastily-shovelled buttery chocolate affair, while standing in line to buy a ticket at the Paris train station. Even though my travels had been somewhat arduous, when I arrived at DCL I immediately felt comfortable—this place feels like Shambhala.

The Great Bliss of DCL reveals itself slowly. There are many facets and layers to this intriguing, enticingly-named piece of land, but the most obvious is the green. I’m from Nova Scotia, and so am no stranger to plants, to wild landscapes and sky, but the blooming profusion of life here is completely new. In last May the patio entrance to the Chateau is framed by an abundance of roses in various shades of pink and red, filling the air with a subtle fragrance. In early June the blossoms wither with alarming suddenness. Sitting under the roses in the morning sipping coffee, eating supper in the evening amid the fallen blossoms. Framed by the empty rose trellis is a landscape graciously inhabited by enormous ancient trees (what kind of trees?). The sky here is soft and vast. Blues from baby to brilliant mix with sunshine and puffy clouds. In the mornings a mist rises between the hills, an ethereal wake-up call. Birds and frogs chatter and cry ceaselessly, mixing with the fractured whine of crickets and the patter of rain on tents. I open my eyes and see prayer flags.
It’s easy to not sleep much here. The energy of living here, the pace of life, changes depending on what program is happening. Right now its Warriors Assembly, a 10 day program which is the culmination of Shambhala Training, in which the participants are expected to actually manifest enlightened society.
The participants dress in elegant clothing. They wake up early for physical excercises and mediation, and stay up late into the night at formal banquets or simply enjoying each others company. While there’s usually a lot to do here, the energy of Warriors Assembly makes sleep difficult. Everyone is having such a good time.

New Arrivals

2010-05-26T09:25:00.000+02:00

Most of our new Summer Volunteers have now arrived, from the States, Italy, Latvia, England, Denmark, Holland and even Brazil. Welcome to them! We have a mentor programme where experienced community members help a new arrival to find their feet. This can mean showing them where to wash their clothes or buy a toothbrush, showing them around, and also helping them to understand how our community works and the communication systems within it.

The recruitment process and my predecessors in the job have brought a varied but excellent bunch of people here. Some have been here before, many have not. I look forward to getting to know all of them.

We have another visitor coming tonight, Martin Ledant, who wrote the previous post. He is on the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, and had interrupted it previously to come here, after bumping into our wonderful skateboarding cook, Phillip, in Limoges. He said Phillip's beard and skateboard had magnetised him. Not the typical recruitment process, but it brought Martin here, and he was a valuable and inquisitive member of the community.

Anyway, he spent some days in Belgium with his family, and is now resuming his pilgrimage. His plan is to walk here from Limoges today as a pilgrim once more, and seek shelter with us. We will accomodate him in the shrineroom. Hopefully he will arrive before dinner, as it is a special one.

from Martin's blog: Le chemin interieur, le chemin exterieur et le chemin secret

2010-05-13T20:32:00.000+02:00

vendredi 7 mai 2010

Le chemin interieur, le chemin exterieur et le chemin secret

Apres un long blanc et un brouillon inacheve, je vais a nouveau essayer d'ecrire ce dernier chapitre de ma petite histoire.

Ce chapitre est hardu a composer car il relate un moment de mon periple a la fois deconcertant de simplicite et tres charge de sens spirituel. Le challenge est donc de rendre ce qui est simple interessant et de transcrire quelque chose de tres profond en langage courant tout en evitant de passer pour un allume.

Dechen Choling n'est pas un endroit tres excitant. C'est un endroit magnifique. Tout semble ici reposer en paix, a commencer par certains arbres profondement ancres dans le lieu. Le chateau et ses dependances sont comme ces arbres, ils sont a leurs places et ils sont beaux. La vie resplendit partout ou se pose le regard. Des fleurs sauvages a decourager mon petit sens de la botanique et toutes sortes d'etre vivants partagent les lieux. Comme cette chouette qui tourne autour du chateau chaque soir en poussant ses cris effrayants. Ou ces crapeaux allignes sur le seuil a l entree du chateau et dont la presence en ce lieu reste assez obscure. Mais au dela du rythme et de la magie de la vie alentour il y'a peu de distraction a Dechen Choling.

Trois activites rythment la vie ici. La meditation, les moments a table, et le travail. Quand la grande cloche retentit a travers les terres c'est qu'il est l'heure de s'assoir ou de manger. Quand au moment de travail, je les passe avec Hans-Willy, Guillaume et John. On est l'equipe des travaux physiques ce qui signifie qu'on est constamment dehors en train de transporter, bricoller, monter, demonter, et remonter. Etre dehors me convient. Et sous les ordres du capitaine Hans-Willy, le reste du travail, sans etre passionnant, n'est pas bien stressant.

Vous vous demandez peut etre ce qui me pousse a m'arreter pour si longtemps dans un tel endroit quand je pourrais courir le monde. En verite, je ne me suis jamais vraiment arrete.

Ce voyage que j'ai entrepris a une double nature. Sa premiere nature est physique, ou geographique. Un parcours a travers le monde, ses paysages, ses habitants, leurs cultures. Une grande partie des articles anterieurs que j'ai partages avec vous relatent de ce que je vois, de ce que je vis, des chemins que j'ai empruntes. C'est le chemin exterieur.

L'autre nature de mon voyage est spirituelle. Certains esprits trop entraines par l'inertie de leur train quotidien pense peut etre que la spiritualite est destinee a ceux qui veulent se perdre. Je pense justement qu'elle permet de se trouver. Ce chemin la est interieur et il est hardu de le decrire en mot. Cependant, les couleurs de ce chemin interieur ont bien souvent transgresse la simple frontiere de ma personne et rayonne sur la facon dont j'arpentai mon chemin exterieur mais aussi sur la facon avec laquelle je l'ai decri sur ce blog. Un peu comme si ce cheminement interieur formait une forme de trame invisible au chemin exterieur.

A Dechen Choling, je me suis physiquement pose. Cependant, a l'interieur, mon esprit n'a de cesse de progresser et de se renforcer. Mais comme la grande aventure physique a perdu de son attrait, ce blog est devenu bien difficile a nourrir avec un regime si spirituel. Pas que je rechignerai a vous en parler autour d'un verre en terasse. Mais ce genre de chose doivent etre vecues et percues depuis l'interieur.

D'ailleurs, un lieu ou peut se retrouver tranquille en soi meme, c'est cela que procure Dechen Choling. Pas que l'on soit seul, au contraire on vit ici en communaute. Avec ce que cela implique... par exemple que chacun peut etre gentillement une plaie ou un vraie bonheur pour les autres. Mais plutot que par un astucieux jeux d'harmonie, de regles tacites, et de pratique de la meditation assise, ce lieu a le drole de pouvoir de procurer a l'esprit un formidable espace au sein duquel la nature des choses devient soudainenent beaucoup plus claire.

Depuis que je suis ici, certaines choses qui etaient deja en moi sont simplement devenues plus claires. Que ce soit par les enseignements de Bouddha n'est pas vraiment ce qui importe.

Aujourd'hui, j'ai eu une idee concernant comment j'allais m'en aller de cet endroit. J'aimerais garder cette idee top secrete jusqu'a son accomplissement. Pour vous gardez en haleine chers lecteurs je vous dirai simplement que ma destination et mon mode de transport ne sont pas attendus.

Je suis desole pour ceux qui viennent voir ce blog et le decouvrent inchange. Le simple acte de votre visite meriterait a chaque fois une histoire. Mon ecriture est spontanee et cela lui confere une certaine honetete et je ne vois pas les choses autrement. Ceci dit, vos messages et votre presence sont pour moi une source d'inspiration donc n'hesitez jamais a laisser votre trace. Mes excuses pour les accents.

Aussi spacieux que l'esprit puisse etre, vous y occupez toujours une grande place

Je vous embrasse,

Martin

See original article

from: Over The Hills And Far Away

Beach Days, not at the beach

2010-05-09T16:44:00.000+02:00

Every year we have 11 days of holiday which everyone must take, on top of contractual allowances. Tomorrow and Tuesday are two of these. They are called 'beach days' as that is often where people have gone on these days before. However, as it is early May, the weather is unpredictable, to say the least. Perhaps that is why only a relatively small fraction of the staff and volunteers decided to go. They tend to be the Club 18-30 members.

They set off yesterday for Arcachon, and others set off for the South of France, Germany and Paris. Suddenly, although there is a small programme going on, the place seems very quiet. I took an afternoon walk yesterday. It was cloudy but not cold, not raining either, and as it was Saturday, no pounding sounds were coming from the quarry. The atmosphere was still, and I walked up the 'allee', the old tree-lined carriageway.

I stopped to look at fresh galls forming on oak leaves. These are tough little balls, caused by a parasitic wasp that injects its egg into the leaf bud. Somehow it messes with the leaf-building routine in the leaf and it forms a hard ball, in which the wasp larvae will grow, eventually eating its way out, leaving just the woody ball behind.

Then I noticed a small green caterpillar hanging from a silken thread, inches from my face. As my focus expanded, I saw dozens more of them hanging from the oak trees around me. I suppose they disperse through the tree canopy by spinning out these threads and then getting blown onto a different tree or part of the tree.

Nature has a quite magical quality at times, and for me, this was one of those times. Everywhere I looked, life was bursting out: the horses rolling, seemingly gleeful, in the neighbour's field; the craneflies crazy flight, the endless variety of birdsong. I was glad I had not gone to the beach. I felt lonely and blessed.

Fashion and fun

2010-05-02T22:00:00.000+02:00

Johanna in a fur hat

After the ceremony mentioned in the last post, we were treated to a talk by Ashe Acharya John Rockwell. He covered a lot of ground, mostly dealing with questions that had been submitted by staff. It was very grounded and reassuring, and many of us found it very useful.

After dinner it was Alexa's fashion show. Called Perdu Trouve (Lost and Found), the collection being presented consisted exclusively of items from our Offered Box, things that people have left behind, either accidentally or deliberately, or clothes that the models owned.

It turned out to be an excellent evening, with witty fashions (themes were departments at DCL and the seasons) including those of some of the invited neighbours, booming music and copious champagne. The celebrations continued into the night...

New Rusung and Head of Culture and Decorum

2010-05-01T17:51:00.000+02:00

The new Rusung and Head of Culture and Decorum with the Acharya

"Culture is the binding factor of a society, and reflects the embodiments of the Shambhala teachings in a community and a kingdom. Through shared rituals, symbols and experiences – we become a people, give our children a rich sense of heritage, and invite others to share in the celebration. This is how we invoke drala, infuse the community with authentic presence, and create an atmosphere that is conducive to practice and genuine communication.

The decorum of Shambhala is a series of gestures and forms used to invoke wakefulness, uplift ourselves, the environment, and therefore other beings. All forms should be based on generosity, put others at ease and create harmony with a bit of perky edge. It is essential that Shambhala forms always evolve and progre ss, so that they do not become a conventional system of rules, but rather serve as a setting within which the jewel of dharma can sparkle."
from shambhala.org

Stuck in London

2010-04-19T14:09:00.000+02:00

The fragility of the air traffic network has been shown dramatically recently, as all flights in Northern Europe have been grounded for the last few days, due to volanic dust from Iceland in the atmosphere. I was due to fly with Ryanair back out to Limoges today. I know, I know, the environment... But the price was £26, as opposed to £206 on the train. Including the booking fee, which is an absurd £5 per person per leg. (Not person leg, journey leg, in case you were wondering.)

So I'm trying to do my work from here. It's not the same. For one thing, I don't have access to OMNIS, our trusty database, upon which I rely heavily. But mostly I just don't have access to the people I am working with, so I feel disconnected. I can't pop my head out of the office door and ask Tracy how something works. I can't chat with someone in the lunch queue and get an idea how they're doing. Obviously, I can't go to meetings, or check in in the daily gathering.

Luckily I have somewhere familiar to be, with an Internet connection, and access to work email. But I miss the land of great bliss intensely.

Week off

2010-04-14T19:38:00.000+02:00

After 10 days in my new role, I am back in England for a week with Ruby, my daughter. I miss the land of bliss. Why? It certainly wasn't the easiest time of my life, getting to know my new job, with people seeming to expect me to know the answer to certain things almost immediately (actually this is helpful, as it helps me understand what people want from me as Personnel Manager) and the lack of staff to do certain things, not to mention the forthcoming vacuum when Alexa, the Head of Office, leaves at the beginning of May.

I suppose what I love about the job, and have always loved about being at DCL, is that I'm working towards something bigger than my personal happiness or security. I feel part of a grand vision of societal enlightenment. I often demonstrate this for people by talking about doing gardening work: in 2002-3 I lived most of the time at DCL, and found myself gravitating to working outside. To their credit, the existing management team allowed me to do this, and I had a great time, mowing, pruning, weeding and other "menial" tasks.

After leaving DCL I continued to work as a gardener in London, but for private homeowners. They each had their own vision of what they wanted in their garden, and we would try to achieve that. But I never really felt part of their vision, and at times felt really like a slave! Although I was doing basically the same tasks, my heart was not in it, and consequently it tired me out completely, mostly I think because I was fighting it.

Although I have not really done any office work in London since I was eighteen, I cannot imagine that I would be enjoying the repetitive little tasks, the phone calls, the photocopying, the stapling! as I have done the last days. But in Dechen Choling I can somehow say that I was. Why? Partly, I think, because I feel I am doing something worthwhile. I think it also has to do with not feeling self-conscious about applying the teachings we receive on mindfulness and compassion in working with others. Of course, this office is a shared space, and shared with others who are also working with their minds.

Staples of life

2010-04-09T22:00:00.000+02:00

DCL snapshot - the housemartins are beginning to arrive, and spend their days swooping over the meadows and lake. Participants are also arriving, for the Chi Gung Level 1 and 2 this weekend. And the frisbee has emerged from hibernation, due to the encouragement of the Personnel Manager (good for morale ;)

As I said before, working in an office is a little scary for me. This might sound strange to the many millions of people for whom office life is an everyday situation. But I left my last office job when I was eighteen, and I really thought that it was my LAST office job. As it turns out, I am quite enjoying certain aspects (after one week, so we'll see whether that lasts.)

Stapling, for example, is quite satisfying. To properly staple, of course, one needs to have collated the correct papers into a neat bundle. Then there is the satisfying Click and then you have made a single entity out of a multiple. Neat.

This is just one of the many links in the various chains of tasks which together make up office work. There are beginnings and ends to the component tasks, minor punctuations in the stream of work. At some point, a person is recruited, after numerous chains of tasks have taken place. They then have their own entry in a file, containing various stapled bundles of paper contained in a transparent plastic wallet.

Being of a certain type of mind, as I learn the systems that are in place, I continously think of how to optimise them. Especially the computer systems. I don't think it is giving away too much to say that we don't seem to have a broad IT strategy in place. Perhaps we do, but I just haven't heard about it yet. As a matter of fact, having started this blog, I found out that we already had a blog, which I didn't know about. I am considering whether it is worth switching over to that one, which might integrate better with our website.

So, for example, I look at the various documents which I work on, which often contain the same names and some of the same information, and I wonder why they are not somehow linked to the database, which, theoretically, stores all that information and is constantly updated. That kind of thing.

Of course, the more complex you make the systems, the more there is that can go wrong. Finding a balance between simple and labour-saving is a challenge. This is the kind of thing I wake up thinking about. Sad really.

Losing and gaining trees

2010-04-06T10:56:00.001+02:00

About a month ago we lost one of the most distinctive trees on the land, the Scots pine on the far side of the lake. It looked like a giant bonsai, with several large dead branches. The rot had extended down to the base and during a storm it broke. These are photos I took on my camera a few days afterwards.

I also planted four new trees, the money for which had been raised by participants in the 2008 Sutrayana Seminary. For our 230 euros we managed to get a small Cedar of Lebanon, a paper bark birch, a Sweet Gum (Liquidambar) and a weeping beech.

As many of the magnificent trees on the land are probably nearing the end of their life, I have been trying to get new trees planted on a regular basis. And the French volunteer group put together by Franc planted hundreds of baby trees, and then re-planted them when we realised the land on which they had been planted was under contract with a farmer. The cows he brings would make mincemeat of them.

Arrival

2010-04-03T12:25:00.000+02:00

I arrived at Dechen Choling at half past ten last night to be the new Head of Personnel. Though I have been here many times before, it has never been to take on a paid 'core' staff position. I worked here during 2002-3, but as a volunteer, on various manual projects, mostly outside. The office was a bit off-limits for me, both because I was usually dirty, and because of the slightly neurotic panic which seemed to permeate it. I am glad to say that recent visits would indicate that certain demons seem to have been pacified, and 'Le Bureau' is a much more tranquil place.

Especially at the moment, at the tail end of a Dathun, a month long retreat of sitting meditation. A gentle but effective rain softens the atmosphere of broken-hearted warriorship permeating the Land of Great Bliss. It feels like a precious opportunity to be here and share that atmosphere. On arriving, I immediately ran into my old flatmate, Annalie, who is doing the Dathun. She has clearly been through a lot in her month with the company of her own mind.

I awoke at about 5, hearing the sounds of the building and my early-rising neighbour Gerd. I dressed as presentably as possible, and went to find Rona, whom I am replacing. Unfortunately we only overlap in presence here for a few minutes before she has to leave, so we did a ten minute handover, which is certainly worthwhile. My office is elegant and clutter-free, and systems are in place and working, thanks to her. But, boy, are there some details, and the devil is in the details. Not my strong point, in fact I tend to panic when presented with a lot of details. But I'm now responsible for coordinating the ever-changing staff situation, and most urgently, the large influx (hopefully) of volunteers for summer. With everybody arriving and leaving at different times, having different accommodation and other needs, and a range of different programmes happening, this is a LOT of details. Yikes.