 Dear Friends,
Have you ever seen such a magnificent crystal? And do you see how it’s shaped like a swan, or even two swans, intertwined? Well, this is what Diana Cooper gave Cygnus for its 15th Birthday! She said it’s for all of us – including you – and she has charged it with the energy of abundance.
Why? Well, at our 15th Birthday celebration on 11th August, 400 of you joined us in Lampeter for a special day of talks, music and togetherness, with Diana Cooper, Pierre Pradervand, and the poet and musician Jehanne Mehta, accompanied by her husband Rob and Will Mercer. Our hearts are still overflowing with all the happiness and gratitude we felt on that day. How wonderful it was to be among so many loving people and so many faithful staff, and to observe how, together, inspired by Diana, Pierre, Jehanne, Rob and Will, we were able to transform a room which would normally have been rather grey in atmospheric terms, into a veritable column of light that could spread its blessings over a wide area. We were surrounded too, we are sure, by many invisible helpers, including angels, and even unicorns, who always come to offer assistance, says Diana Cooper, whenever a human being wants to transcend their personal concerns and work for a higher, wider goal.
We were also helped by a beautiful mandala, specially designed for Cygnus by Barry Stevens, a remarkably talented and deeply spiritual artist who lives over here in West Wales. This mandala was projected onto a screen about fifteen feet high, at the back of the stage, for everyone to see. It shows a swan with wings outstretched, flying straight upwards from the heart of a circle, its light radiating everywhere – above and below, without and within. Whenever we look closely at it, we are filled with a sense of joy, freedom and love. It took Barry almost a year to create, and since he finished it a couple of months ago, we’ve been asking ourselves how best to share it with you. Then a great idea came up. How about printing the mandala on a t-shirt, with the words joy, freedom and love underneath? Then, not only could we share it with you, but you could share it with loads of other people, too! Perhaps it could even help to pierce the veil of doom and gloom which the mass media so often seem intent on spreading. Which brings us back to our birthday celebration, and Diana Cooper’s crystal gift.
You see, we realised that the words ‘joy, freedom and love for all beings’, most accurately expressed our birthday wish, which we made when all 400 of us blew out the candles on our birthday cake on 11th August. Joy, freedom and love for all beings, and the wish that Cygnus might play a role in spreading those healing, heart-opening ‘foods’. And finally, the wish that Cygnus might be abundant, so that it can survive and thrive as long as it is needed. Hence Diana Cooper’s crystal gift, charged with abundance. And the crystal was not the only thing she gave us. At the end of the Birthday Celebration, she asked everyone present to create a ball of light, fill it with golden coins of abundance and throw them to us as we opened our arms to receive them. ‘Do you accept this abundance?’ Diana asked. And we responded with our wholehearted ‘Yes’.
Now, with hearts uplifted and strengthened, we are confident that we’ll be able to fulfil our deepest wish: to foster joy, freedom and love in all beings.
With much love from Geoff, Ann and all of us at Cygnus
p.s. Click here to find the t-shirts.
Photographs © Cygnus Books 14-Sep-2006
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