International Gathering - Subud Voice

®
journal
T H E S U B U D B R I T A I N
M a y 2 0 1 3 www.subud.org.uk
International Gathering
29 JUNE - 6 JULY 2013 POIO MONASTERY, PONTEVEDRA, SPAIN
This is an invitation from our Zone 3 Representative Paloma de la Vina to join the kejiwaan gathering, called ‘El Camino
the Way’ in Galicia this summer. It will be a great opportunity to meet with brothers and sisters from all over our zone
and beyond, experience international latihans and enjoy some Spanish sunshine.
‘Members are very welcome to come and join us during the kejiwaan mornings, which will be assisted by the International
Helpers and all the helpers willing to serve our members. In the talk she gave on the 8 December 2012, our dear
Ibu Rahayu said: “Kejiwaan events like this are a discipline for our true natures. Times like this can be an awakening or
a way for each of us to correct ourselves.”
‘During the Gathering, and because it would be a good time
to know what Muhammed Subuh Foundation, Subud Enterprise
Services, Susila Dharma and Subud International Cultural
Association are up to, there will be workshops and presentations
on some interesting projects. Also, on 1 July there will be
a presentation on the XIV Subud World Congress, which takes
place in Puebla, Mexico in 2014
‘Because it is also a time for holidays there will be trips to
Pontevedra by night, Vigo, the Cies Islands, Combarro village
AND, on the 3rd of July, you are all invited to become pilgrims
and walk down to Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, where
we hope to have the opportunity to see the Botafumeiro swing
along the central nave of the Cathedral. It will be an unforgettable
experience.’
Paloma de la Vina
For information, booking form and payment details contact
Sonia Ray (Committee Councillor) Morar, Church Lane, Errol,
Perthshire, PH2 7PX
Telephone: 01821 641307 email: sonia.h.ray@gmail.com
Looking forward to seeing you there,
Sonia
c o n t e n t s
Congress Reps 2
From the Editor 2
Nat. Council Opportunities 3
SICA Update 4
Bapak cannot do it alone 5
Effects of the latihan 6
Bapak on death 7
Proposed eco village 8
Importance of testing 9
Separate latihans11
What’s On? 13
Congress Team 15
Wisma Mulia & Poem 17
Crossword 06/Updates 18
Ads & Notices 19
Journal & National Office
contacts 20
DOWNLOAD THE JOURNAL AS A .PDF FROM www.subudvoice.net/subud-britain-journal
•

Congress proposals and being represented
The business part of Congress this year will run from the afternoon of Thursday 22 August up to lunch on
Sunday 25 August.
Proposals
Proposals must be approved by your Regional Council and submitted by Regional Chairs to me at National
Office by 14 June. I will then email all proposals to Group Secretaries for discussion in Groups.
Delegates need to be clear how to vote in principle. Remember that proposals are often amended at Congress
to achieve consensus, so give your Delegate some freedom to act!
Being represented
Voting Delegates at Congress are our National Chair, Regional Chairs and Group Chairs. Currently we have
Chairs in post for:
South East
Canterbury
Chichester
Lewes
Reigate
Tunbridge Wells
East Anglia
Bedford
Cambridge
Hitchin & Welwyn
Sudbury
South West
Brecon
Bristol
Devon South
Exeter Area
North
Bradford
Chester
Derby
Lancaster
Liverpool
Manchester
Sheffield
London
Barnet
London Central
London North West
London South East
Thames Valley
Ascot
Birmingham
Loudwater
Maidenhead
Oxford
St Albans
A Proxy can only be appointed by a Group Chair in post (forms can be downloaded from our website
www.subud.org.uk under Resources/Forms, so if you wish to be represented at Congress make sure your
Group appoints a Group Chair.
Perhaps you might like to stand?
Congress accommodation and travel costs can be reclaimed from your Group. In return you are expected to
attend all Delegates’ Workshops & Plenary Sessions, and read the Delegates’ Pack!
Ridwan Kennedy, National Secretary•
From the Editor
Crossword: I would love to have some feedback on our cryptic crossword. Are you enjoying them? – I certainly
am. It is quite a task for Marcus Bolt, who also lays out the web version of the Journal, to compile the crossword
each month, so please send me an email or write to me (address on back page) with your comments:
jill.flanders@vigin.net Perhaps a small incentive is in order – look out for the Prize Crossword next month.
Advertising: Since we reduced our advertising rates we have been getting bookings almost every month. This
income helps towards the postage costs for the concessionary magazines. If you would like to place an advertisement
our rates are: Whole page £60, half page £40, quarter page £20, eighth page £10, sixteenth page £5.
Maybe you have something about the house that you no longer need but might be useful to someone else? £5
would give enough space for a description and contact details. For bulky items you could perhaps do a handover
at Congress if seller and buyer are attending?
Your experiences: Please don’t be shy about sending in your experiences – these are the heart of the Journal
and are much appreciated; Stefan Freedman is our star this month. And we have a humorous contribution
from Helena Gudgeon that I was delighted to receive. Thank you to both of you.
Some folk get the writing bug after having an article in the magazine. Ernest Horseman is on his third one
– this time pondering about separate latihans! Tony Bright-Paul, who has been a constant supply of interesting
articles, has sent in some of his poetry – obviously a man of many talents.
Aleena Flanders•
MAY 2013 Page 2

Helpers Development Weekend 17-19 May
We plan to run two Helpers’ Weekends this year: one will be in Great Hucklow in May, the second will
probably be in Pulborough in November.
All helpers, including candidate helpers, are welcome, but only costs for one of the events per year can
be claimed.
It’s time to book for the May Weekend and booking forms are available from your group secretary, or
on our website www.subud.org.uk/Resources/Forms.
If you require more information contact Idina Waugh:
idina@sealightnet.co.uk or telephone: 01903 885995
•
National Council Opportunities
There are a couple of important and exciting vacancies on National Council – please consider if you, or someone you
know, could be the person for the job.
NATIONAL CHAIR
Our National Chair is one of the eight Trustees of Subud Britain. Together, and in consultation with, our National Helpers,
they make policy decisions on behalf of our organisation. They develop and implement policy on behalf of Congress
and are responsible for the business conduct of Subud Britain. The National Chair chairs Congress and National Council.
National Council currently meets four times a year, including at Congress.
Our National Chair represents Subud Britain at zonal/international meetings and at World Congress, and is assisted
by an Executive Team and a Committee Councillor.
Congress appoints our National Chair following guidance received from the latihan. The term of office is normally
two years.
If you would like to know more about the role, do contact our current National Chair Leonard Hitchcock,
chair@subud.org.uk, 01803 762648.
Candidates for the post should familiarise themselves with the responsibilities involved – see job description on our
website www.subud.org.uk/Resources/Manuals&Guidance, before testing with their local helpers whether to put their
name forward.
One member should formally propose the candidate and the candidate should indicate their willingness to be appointed
by sending signed Notices in writing to the National Secretary by Friday 2 August 2013.
NATIONAL TREASURER
Our National Treasurer works as part of the Executive Team in managing the positive use of money for Subud Britain.
Candidates should have experience and inspiration with money and finances, but do not need to be an accountant, as all
bookkeeping and accounting is undertaken by a paid professional.
If you would like to know more about the role, do contact our current National Treasurer, Lydia Edwards,
treasurer@subud.org.uk, 01978 761349
There is a job description on our website www.subud.org.uk/Resources/Manuals & Guidance
Candidates should apply by email, or in writing, with a CV to the National Secretary by Friday 2 August 2013.
National Council, with a recommendation by the National Chair, will appoint from the applications received.
Subud authors
Would you like to sell more books at Subud Congresses?
It’s often difficult to provide copies of books for sale at World Congress and other Subud Gatherings, because
of the cost of transporting them. So we propose creating a leaflet for distribution at such events as a simple,
cost-effective way of achieving both awareness and, more importantly, orders.
We (three of us so far) can create and have printed a thousand A5 double-sided, full colour leaflets with space
for 10 books for about £300, which would mean if ten of us got together, it would only cost us £30 each (or £30
a book if an author wanted more than one book displayed), just as an example. But we need to know in advance
how many authors are interested (and how many books they would like to advertise) before going further and
finalising costs.
Please contact Ilaina Lennard: ilaine.l@blueyonder.co.uk Tel +44 (0)1242 707701 if you are interested in joining us.
When we get ten authors offering to participate (or 10 books), we’ll then contact you and ask you
to send the following information:
Title / Author / Publisher / ISBN (if applicable) / jpg of cover / synopsis (up to 100 words) / price cont >
•
MAY 2013 Page 3

in any currency) / your contact details or info on how to buy / book format & size (hardback/paperback,
e-Pub, Kindle e-Book etc. etc.) and number of pages.
Example of how info and brief synopsis will be presented:
THEY WERE THERE: The Best of Subud Voice: Compiled by Ilaina Lennard: SV Books Chapters include:
Bapak’s horoscope – what a good astrologer saw • Vivid descriptions of how Bapak died, and of events surrounding
his death • A talk about Subud’s early days, given by Husein Rofé, the first Westerner to receive the
Subud contact • The chaos surrounding Bapak’s first visit to the West • Who was Bapak? and the third secret
of Fatima • Life with Bapak and Ibu • The present state of the world • How our thoughts affect us • Destiny
– and when we experience misfortune • Varindra Vittachi’s talks at Amanecer • What it was like to be at the
Amanecer World Congress and much, much more... Paperback : 187 pages 9” x 6” Order from: www.lulu.com
£10 plus postage.
•
The manufacturer’s manual
Have you ever used a piece of new equipment, say a cooker, washing machine, fancy drill or anything for
that matter, only to discover after using it for quite some time that it has a really useful function you hadn’t
noticed before? You had forgotten completely about it because you only looked at the manual when you first
bought it, and of course hadn’t remembered everything you read, and how stupid you feel when you realize
you could have been making good use of it from the beginning. It occurs to me that Bapak’s talks are like
that. Who on earth buys the most sophisticated piece of equipment on the market, then does not study the
manual? Maybe there is a lot of repetition, especially at the beginning of each talk, but perhaps that is there
to allow us to get into the right state to receive the little nuggets hidden in there somewhere.
To some degree, reading the talks can be a way of measuring our progress. Something that we might have
read many times suddenly takes on a new light and true understanding dawns, and that can be a really good
feeling.
It is not always easy to do a latihan on one’s own, but to sit quietly and read one of Bapak’s talks is surely
almost as good, if not as good. So if you are one of those people who don’t enjoy reading talks, do give the
matter some serious reflection – or you might be missing out on the maker’s instructions? I hope I haven’t offended
anyone with this little offering.
Aleena Flanders – Devon South group
•
New Season - New Look
The SICA Britain website gets more than a face lift
A website is like a shop window, a place where a company or organisation
can show its wares, but then that is only one part of the story. A website can
also be a place to find information, post ideas, comments and news, a place that
is dynamic and changing as it reflects the interests and activities of a community.
With this in mind I have been working with Ridwan Treacher to offer something
more ‘happening’ and dynamic to complement the gallery pages currently
on the site. We have launched a website section known as:
SICA Magazine - SICA Britain's Events Network
The online SICA Magazine is aimed at raising the profile of all members of
Subud who are involved in cultural activities in every sense of the word. We
will feature news about events, exhibitions and performances as well as projects
that aim to help make a difference to the culture of communities, individuals
and organisations.
We Need You
We want members who are interested in culture in all its forms to participate in
the website. SICA can only reflect and respond to input from members. It is
not a governing body for the arts, it is a point where news about events or projects
can be published and shown to the wider world.
The SICA Magazine can become a place where ideas can cross-fertilise and
contacts can be made. Above all it is YOUR website that YOU can have a stake
in. Although we produce this magazine in Britain it is open to anyone cont >
Marius Grose,
SICA Britain Co-ordinator
SICA
BRITAIN
MAY 2013 Page 4

who is interested in promoting true human culture. To this end we will include news about SICA related
events from across the world. We will seek to link to other SICA websites and publications to become part of
a true global network.
For the potential of the magazine to become a reality WE NEED NEWS of events, exhibitions, projects starting
or coming to fruition. This content can be in the form of images, the written word, video and audio clips.
Facebook and Twitter
As a further change to the way the SICA Britain website operates we now have a Facebook page which you
can find either through the links on the website (www.sicabritain.co.uk) or simply put SICA Britain Facebook
into a search engine. We will use the Facebook page in conjunction with our Twitter feed, @SICABRITAIN, to
get up to date news of events out to as many people as is possible and as quickly as possible.
The Future
We will of course maintain the gallery aspect of the site for those members who wish to display their work. In
time, with your help and involvement, we hope that SICA can become a vibrant and active force to support
cultural projects that involve people both in and out of Subud. We want this to be practical support and as a
start toward this we have a Resource Page that lists bodies that fund culture related projects.
As SICA flourishes, I hope that we will have the means to fund deserving practitioners in all artistic disciplines
and also projects of any kind worth consideration. This can only happen if YOU get involved in what
I hope will be an exciting and fulfilling development of SICA in Britain.
Please take some time to visit the site: www.sicabritain.co.uk
If you have comments or more importantly content, that you wish to go into the magazine please contact
me on: sicabritain@gmail.com, Mobile: 07719 484 771 or Tweet us: @SICABRITAIN
Visit the website: www.sicabritain.co.uk
Marius Grose - SICA Britain co-ordinator
•
Bapak cannot do it alone
In the January issue (Reminders of Reality) this received message from Bapak in 1983 to a member in Canada
was so important that I felt it should be put in regularly as a reminder to us all.
‘Bapak cannot do it alone; he needs the help of all the Subud members. The earth is very hot now. It is close
to a very dangerous edge, if it goes over it will be smashed at the bottom. You must help cool it down.’
‘How?’
‘The universe is filled with a cool light, it has always been there; you can’t see it, just like you can't see light
until it is reflected off something. Wherever Bapak is it's cool, but Bapak cannot cool the whole earth down
by himself. Subud members have a responsibility to cool things down wherever they are. The only way is to
set aside your passions, then this light, which usually goes right through the earth, will begin at once to reflect
off your inner self. It is not necessary to fear or be concerned about coming events. It's only your job to be a
reflection.’
Editor
•
Effects of the latihan
I have been practising the latihan regularly since June 1970.
It's been a gradual process for me. I've noticed profound
changes in my character and my life and (my intuition is that)
the latihan has played a major role.
First effects: Health
During my first year of doing latihan a number of ongoing
problems that had dogged me since childhood started to ease
up. Chronic insomnia, shyness and nervous tension, depression
and mood-swings, obsessive-compulsive thinking all became
much more background. I found myself spinning in
latihan – as apparently many heady people do. It seemed as if
mental and emotional distress was being spun out of me! I
spontaneously stopped drinking the strong black coffee I’d become
very fond of, and discovered bearable substitutes.cont >
Bethan and Stefan
MAY 2013 Page 5

Second effects: Body Connection
I felt more in tune with my body, then discovered a joy
in dancing, especially folk-dances from around the
world, which seemed to give me a taste of different cultures
and ways of being. I had no idea back then that
I'd later be choreographing dances, or that this passtime
would have anything to do with my livelihood.
Phase Three: Sensitivity
A few years later I went through a period of hyper-sensitivity.
Once or twice, when walking past a pub, the
dissonant energy was so strong I had to cross the road.
Once I had to leave a supermarket queue, abandoning
my shopping, feeling physically overwhelmed by the
‘vibe’ (material forces?). This was inconvenient but I
accepted it was part of a gradual inner awakening. Around the same time I had what I jokingly called an Energy
Crisis. I’d always suffered from tiredness, but now – even though my sleep patterns had improved – I
would get a sudden wave of exhaustion. Maybe some of this was a response to school class teaching, but it
felt like an inner thing too. Also inconvenient but I tried to trust and accept it. I was relieved when both the
hyper-sensistivity and the exhaustion passed.
Phase Four: Finding A Voice
I’d always loved music and had hoped to be singing in latihan, but for seven years only movements and no
sounds emerged. I tried my best to accept, trust, surrender, be patient etc - and not to compare or to feel
inferior. When a sound finally emerged it was a sort of gruff growl. I was half-pleased and half-disappointed!
Then, finally words, songs, prayers, shouts and a range of sounds were arising in latihan. Looking back this
seems significant to me as it took many years more in actual life for me to feel my own feelings (not just those
I thought I should be feeling) and to speak, write and sing, with my own authentic voice. Maybe this latihan
breakthrough was what started the process.
Phase Five: Emerging
About ten years after joining Subud I was in Central London group, one of several Subud, fairly carefree bachelors
who seemed, to put it bluntly, a bit wishy-washy. I had a strong sensation that I was about to shed a
snake-skin and enter a new phase. Despite my resistance, as I loved my name Doron, an inner feeling kept
prompting me to apply for a new name, and shortly after becoming Stefan I found clarity about my vocation
and also found my wonderful wife, Bethan, not suspecting that soon we’d be working together and that this
would take us around the world. At the same time I was discovering the limitations of the niceness that I always
cultivated (and hid behind) and the usefulness of boundaries.
Phase Six: Integrating
It’s harder to describe this more recent phase. I feel as though I’ve been prompted by the latihan to marry
inner and outer. This also came about through bringing up three step-children, being a self-employed breadwinner
and having a strong interest in peace-work and conflict resolution. I’ve become more practical, assertive,
politically pro-active and more widely read. All this (and the latihan, I believe) seems to have energised
me. I have more vitality now as a 61 year-old grand dad than I had when young. My mind is clearer. I’m also
far more spontaneous and joyful. The role I play in Subud was once entertainer and ‘nice guy’ but seems now
to include reformer, though I hope I am still nice (and entertaining) on social occasions.
The challenge for me now is to stay in touch when striving - to bring the peaceful atmosphere and guidance
of the latihan into the nitty-gritty reality of everyday life.
We're just back from a month of giving dance and cultural workshops all around Brazil. I had the pleasure
of joining the very welcoming Sao Paolo Subud group for latihan. In a few days time we'll be working in Holland,
and later this year in Bulgaria, Greece, Belgium, Scotland, UK, Canada and USA. Wherever we're invited
to work we meet kindred spirits and receive warm hospitality.
For all of this I am hugely thankful to the un-nameable loving Source for Subud, for it’s founder, Bapak,
and for all of my Subud peers and fellow travellers on the latihan path.
Stefan Freedman (Ipswich & Norwich groups, UK)
MAY 2013 Page 6
•

Three extracts from talks on the
end of life
Selected by Hannah Hurd
Man's situation on this earth is that, although man is truly an excellent
creature, yet for some reason it is God's will that he has to be created on
this earth, and this earth is in truth the earth of matter. And man's soul
(jiwa) is enveloped or wrapped in a form that breaks easily and corresponds
to the condition of this earth.
If we remember that the soul of man does not correspond to its covering,
it becomes clear that man is willed by God to work as well as possible
with his covering or this outer physical body, while we should know that
this body can serve also as a way or means for man in his efforts to attain
the true path.
Also, we need to remember that man's sojourn on this earth, due to the
fragile covering of his outer physical body, is only a very short one indeed. In truth, considering man's noble
soul, it is a short road for man to travel. Man's life on this earth cannot be for very long. It is necessary, and it
has been decreed, that man on this earth must experience death.
Thus, in reality, man's life on this earth does not conform to God's creation of him as an excellent, noble
creature. However, if the truth of the situation can be known or received, man's death on this earth is really a
true blessing for him. For through death, man can rise up or change in state, so that he goes on until he comes
to the place where he should be.
But someone who is unable to understand and be aware of the true human life that is in his soul, will meet
with darkness in the way of his true destination as willed by the One who creates, that is, the One God.
In truth, it is not God's will for man to be given life and created on this earth only to die and only to meet
with darkness, with no true direction from his human soul. It is therefore necessary for man to survey and try
somehow to find the true path, his true human state, so that death, which is always appointed for man, will
be like the opening of the way for him to continue his true life in the direction willed by God.
Clearly, man's death is an opener of the way, or an open gate, for him to be able to continue his life.
London, England November 29, 1957 57 LON 1
This is something that is very important for you, when you come face to face with death, because no one can
escape death. Death is decreed for all human beings. But what dies at that point is only the nafsu and the
heart and mind, so that all the things that we used to think about, all the things that we used to deal with in
this world, at the moment we are facing our death they disappear from us. It is said that when we are facing
death, at the moment of our death, all our ability to think about this world is taken away from us, so that not
only can we not think about our money, we cannot think about our children, about our husband or our wife;
we can no longer remember them or think about them, and this is because at that moment the heart and mind
lose their power. Therefore, because the nafsu lives in heart and mind - that is its nest, the heart and mind - at
the moment when we come to the end of our life we are actually facing a handover of responsibility between
the nafsu and the jiwa, like when you leave your job and someone else takes over from you there has to be a
handover. So what continues to live is your jiwa, which is not affected by this transition. This is why, brothers
and sisters, Bapak really hopes that you will practice very diligently your latihan kejiwaan, so that you really
are able to prepare and you are really able to feel this life of the jiwa whenever you do it.
What Bapak is telling you now is something that Bapak has himself experienced, and the evidence for the
truth of it is actually contained in Bapak's own being because, to be absolutely frank, Bapak's age is not that different
from all of you. For example, Bapak's age is comparable to yours, Luthfi, because Bapak himself is over
80 years old. So Bapak is already getting on. But with Bapak, what he has experienced as he has got older is that
Bapak's ability to think - which normally, as a person gets older, the ability to think becomes narrower and narrower
and tends to shrivel up – in Bapak's case, it is just the opposite. As Bapak has got older maybe he looks as
though he is shrivelling up, but the reality is that Bapak's life is expanding, so that, at Bapak's age now, Bapak's
thinking is much wider and Bapak can see and understand things which normally people cannot understand,
or cannot think about; and the reason for that is that, at Bapak's age now, what is growing is the jiwa. It is the
time now for the nafsu and the heart and mind to shrink, to shrivel up gradually, to get smaller, to get narrower,
because within Bapak the handover has already been going on because of the latihan kejiwaan. cont >
MAY 2013 Page 7

Actually, what Bapak is experiencing is the growth of his jiwa as his nafsu shrinks and becomes less and
less significant and less and less powerful - and that is the fruit of the latihan kejiwaan.
Wisma Mulia, England April 14, 1981 81 FOS 1[provisional translation]
So it is clear that the teaching human beings receive from God manifests within their brain. How we die
and how we live after death will be there in front of our eyes, ears, nose and mouth and there in front of
our inner feeling.
What this means is that the law of God becomes alive. Instead of following religious teachings and prohibitions
out of fear, people will simply be unable to do anything wrong, because God’s law will manifest within
them. In this way you really will become God’s workers, because the directives for working and for arranging
your life according to God’s will are already there within your breast.
Nice, France December 30, 1959 59 NCE 1
Introduction to the proposed Eco Village in Montbrun-Bocage
Dear brothers and sisters,
We have just finished working on the presentation of an original project and wish to share it with you. It is
the result of our working group, which is currently made up of several Subud members from the South of
France who are looking for a solution adapted to the needs of meetings and gatherings that revolve around
the practice of the Latihan Kejiwaan of Subud. This project goes beyond just one Subud house for the Latihan:
it's a project with a ‘human face’ in which several aspects are put in place for the harmonious development of
inner and outer life.
We have been offered the opportunity to buy a 4.5 ha piece of land in Montbrun-Bocage, a small municipality
located 60km south of Toulouse that is very open to social and ecologically-sound development. We have chosen
to sign a promissory letter for this piece of land, and the deal could be finalised in December 2013, if all
goes well. In the document ‘Eco-Hameau’ (Eco-Village) (see link), you will find a description of this project
organised around ecology, habitat and social projects.
Living right next to a Subud house with its latihan halls is of priceless value. We have designed this project
with this in mind - the benefits of the latihan can be reinforced through the implementation of the communal
activities that are developed there. We will be able to use this space for organising local, regional, national
and international gatherings - SICA, youth, helpers meetings, national congress, zone meetings - with the advantage
of appropriate infrastructure.
A guest house which will be used as:
• accommodation for members coming for South-West group meetings, or other groups' meetings;
• time-share holiday accommodation on a weekly basis;
• a place to accommodate brothers and sisters visiting the eco-village;
• a place for other national meetings, or more, with the possibility of adjoining accommodation.
A Latihan Hall called ‘Space for inner expression and art’ with an area of 300m² divided into:
•
- 2 x 100 m² rooms convertible into a 200 m² room,
- 2 x 25 m² rooms,
- 1 x 50 m² entrance hall with a lounge area (reception) and storage space.
This space could also be rented for other activities like meditation, qi gong, dance, singing etc.
The social projects we plan to develop are very diverse and would give us the chance to put the guidance
we receive in the Latihan into practice, the essence of Susila Budhi Dharma, and thus to participate in improving
the quality of life for people of all ages.
Currently, the French societal context shows a great distrust vis-à-vis the sectarian movements and associations
with a spiritual purpose - an amalgam that we deplore. That is why we decided not to put forward
Subud in this eco-village project. Our desire is to implement the fruits of the Latihan in our lives with this
project, which is open to the world, accessible also to other non-Subud people - insofar as they share the values
of the code of ethics, and are in agreement with the modalities of ‘living together’ (in preparation).
In our approach, the spiritual space is alive; it is of a personal and private nature. cont >
MAY 2013 Page 8

To arise and develop this eco-village project, it will be officially a place free of any reference to spiritual, religious,
philosophical and political issues.
Here is the link where you can find a pdf version of the Project:
http://irislab-doc.s3.amazonaws.com/Eco-Hamlet-Montbrun-English.pdf
If you share our motivation, if you feel that this project has resonance for you, be it as potential residents, financers
or investors, or if you simply feel you have something to contribute on some aspect, please contact us
for more information at: ecovillagemontbrun@gmail.com
With our warmest wishes, Eco-Village Montbrun-Bocage project team
L E T T E R S 1
Letter from an Elder
I read with interest the article in last month’s Journal, ‘The Way of the Elder’. I turn to my Hoffman’s Herbal
Handbook and find ‘Elder – a veritable medicine chest’. Well yes – here at Wisma we have a medicine chest
and after lunch with our coffee we get pills, and chocolate mints three times a year – Christmas, Easter and
Bapak’s Birthday.
Then I realise the article refers to Elder Humanus, not Elder Aboreous. Silly me! But you may like to consider
how humanus reacts with arboreous. Here at Wisma we have a virtual forest of elders. Do not confuse
us with those north of the border, a different species known as the ‘Elders of the Kirk’. Here we are known as
the ‘Elders of the Kedj(iwan)’.
ASH TREE - No, no, no. A strict no smoking policy here.
OAK TREE - No acorns – monthly chiropody sees to that.
SICKAMORE - Carefrus angelicas deal with this.
FUR TREES - Politically incorrect – we all have fleece.
BEACH TREE - Well life’s a beach they say but our nearest is Quicksand-by-Severn, so we just view it from
the safety of the Anchor Inn.
WEEPING WILLOW – Not many – and again, carefrus angelicas cope.
HOLLY – Not so prickly here one finds.
HAZEL – Catkins abound and just a few nuts!
THE RAMBLING ELDER – Quite of lot of this species locally but Andrew the gardener has instructions not
to prune them – just let them ramble on, and on, and on…
So, hanging on to my ‘authenticity, vivacity and playfulness.’ ‘Say not the struggle naught availeth and
westward look the land is bright’ – and all that.
On the importance of Testing
from Robert Millard – Wisma Mulia (formerly Manchester)
Previously published in Subud Voice 2007
Fondest love from the Elders of Wisma – Helena Gudgeon
•
Ever since joining Subud many years ago, I’ve been in the habit of noting down bits and pieces from talks and
testing sessions with Bapak: tests that have cropped up in talks, in books or on tapes. Also, I recently acquired
a book from America called ‘The Tests of Bapak’.
Looking through this material, I was struck by the fact that testing with Bapak nearly always involved the
movements of different parts of the physical body, the voice and feeling of the body, and this was the basic approach
from 1957 until his death in 1987. Bapak didn’t call it ‘body’ or ‘awareness’ testing – he just called it
testing, because the physical body is the instrument through which everything can be received and known,
once it is brought to life.
Both Bapak and Ibu Rahayu have likened this testing to getting a latihan injection. Ibu Rahayu has gone so
far as to say that to do this testing is a new duty for helpers to ensure that this important aspect of Subud is
passed on to the coming generations and isn’t allowed to die out or be forgotten about. She suggests it should
be done at least once every three months or so.
The purpose of this kind of testing, as explained by Bapak at various times, can be summed up as
follows: cont >
•
MAY 2013 Page 9

• as a marker to check on progress in the latihan: on which parts of your being are alive and able to respond
• to integrate the latihan into daily life and introduce the inner to the physical body
• parts of our being sometimes go back to sleep and need to be re-enlivened from time to time
• as a spiritual injection or latihan booster
• to develop the latihan and align the inner with the outer
• this testing helps form the jiwa
• each part of the body should be able to move spontaneously, which then means it is alive. This process
can be assisted by testing. We can help ourselves in this way, especially if our latihan has become too
repetitive or stuck in some way
I have the impression that, for some reason, we don’t take this kind of testing seriously enough. Maybe
there’s a mistaken feeling that, because it seems so very simple, it only applies to newer members and the rest
of us don’t need it any more – or, is it just that we, as helpers, lack the courage and confidence to do it? It is
sometimes ignored in favour of high-flown questions ‘invented by the mind’ that satisfy the curious but have
no practical purpose. This used to be discouraged, as it can become self-indulgent, and older and more experienced
members are often reluctant to participate in it.
There are many ordinary actions which Bapak asked people to perform, first in the usual way and then
moved from within by the latihan:
Walk forward in the normal way with your will. Now, don’t use your will or your nafsu, but follow the
movement of your legs. Don’t walk until you are made to walk. Walk forward. Point to the sky in the ordinary
way – now point to the sky with your finger moved by the jiwa – show where is the sky?
Always the people being tested were asked if they could feel the difference between the two ways:
When you say, ‘I look up’, what action happens when you say this? ‘I look down – I look to the left, the
right – I look straight ahead, I worship God.’ Only move when it comes by itself so you know how far you’ve
got. How do your hands move when you’re driving – cooking – writing. How do you put on your tie? How
do you feel in your eyes if the person you’re looking at is clever?…is stupid?
And after a talent test: Receive the movement of your whole being so you can carry out and complete that
which you have to do.
These examples are, of course, just the very tip of a large iceberg: there are many more in the same vein as
all long-standing Subud members will know.
Again and again Bapak would say that this sort of testing was really what we should be doing at our helpers’
meetings or that we could do this by ourselves at home. Sometimes he linked it to enterprise:
All this Bapak does with you so you can do it for yourself. This is absolutely essential. That for as long as
you practise the latihan kedjiwaan, you constantly check, you constantly examine and test your own self…
And this is why Bapak is constantly doing this testing with: How do you move if you’re doing this kind of
work? How do you move if you’re doing that kind of work…if it comes spontaneously from within, that is
the experience you are looking for in enterprises. That is the meaning of enterprise.
In another session he said: This that Bapak has done with you is something you can repeat, something you
can train yourself to do, something you can practise every time you have your helpers’ latihan together. The
latihan is not limited to one thing, or one type of movement…the latihan isn’t supposed to be one kind of
movement that goes on and on and on always doing the same thing. If you train yourself like Bapak said
every time you have your helpers’ latihan then it will get smoother and smoother and easier and easier for
you to receive it.
Once, after a session in which a man was asked how he should act and how he should be if he was to make
progress in his work, Bapak commented: Don’t waste all your time just testing things for other people that are
really not important, like should so and so move house, or should he go from the East to the West…All these
questions are really unimportant. Then you actually waste all your time.
Whereas what you should be doing is this kind of testing. To test yourself: in other words to test your own
self - checking your own self, testing in the true sense of the word.
Very often, Bapak would finish a testing session by asking the group to receive a rhythmic dance-like latihan,
moving the neck, head, waist and every part of the body including the voice, so that your whole body will become
alive. The use of the voice was important,…your voice also needs to move in order to bring your chest
to life and the feeling within it can also be purified. Don’t restrain your movements in any way, so that you
are truly free.
Here is something he recommended to everyone as a kind of pick-me-up: Now follow the movements of
your legs, your hands and your voice in the nature of a dance but with a movement that is truly rhythmic and
orderly. (Test). This kind of latihan you have just done is something you can do anytime, at home, in cont >
MAY 2013 Page 10

your own room. For example if you are feeling depressed, have a lot of things on your mind, or you are bothered
by something, you can do this latihan. It will entertain you, it will lift up your heart and you will feel
okay again. You will be able to sleep soundly afterwards. And never feel afraid, because God is always there,
no matter where you are.
•
Separate latihans
I keep writing the following in my head, so it must be time I set it out in print so the problem can resolve itself
before I forget it and lose the answer for good.
The problem concerns my wife’s attitude to Subud, which I know is not for me to seek to influence, best just
to let it be.
A sticking point – in fact there are two. One is testing, which also leaves me often on the sidelines, as unguided
as I have every right to expect, save on very rare occasions. The other is our practice of separating the
men from the women for our latihans. She feels it is a ‘cultural’ thing, something inherent in a handed-down
culture, and so one that an enlightened community such as we in Subud, of whatever ‘culture’ ourselves,
should be able to rise above. That we do not seems to mark us down in her estimation as backward, sexist
and repressive. In some cultures, the women always walk behind their men-folk - an unwelcome practice in
other cultures, as it is in hers and mine. Although I am sympathetic to our segregated latihans, I do find it
hard - and have done for years - to justify it to her on the rare occasions when it arises in conversation.
I talk of the way our sensibilities can be heightened through and after latihan. This is not so easy to accept
if not in Subud. She points me towards the Quakers, of which she is one. There is no segregation there: they
sit, they meditate together, they are quiet, or they talk, as the spirit moves them. Gender is irrelevant. The
quiet, the meeting, is very powerful says my wife.
I try to relate this to our Subud experience, but this is not easy, and talk seems to push us gently further apart,
instead of bridging the gap in understanding and again, I think it is best to – let it be. Although I cannot explain
us to her, I still find it not easy to explain these separate latihans to myself. Perhaps it is better left unsaid.
But still, men are the peacocks- what can I say the ladies are – these lovely beings we are so blessed with. We
strive to attract each other, we strive for our unions, we never cease to be male and female, it is our being we
cannot escape. And if we come to our latihan as men and as women, in and after latihan we are more so, more
than before, and enhanced. It stays with us till, fading, it is renewed at the next one again and again and again.
We cannot risk our latihans to become arenas, where peacocks display, and responses develop, and our attempts
to put aside our daily selves for a while are blown by the winds of our desires.
The latihan is easy, says Bapak, so let nothing complicate the nothingness of our surrender, and let only that
that God wills arise in our inner silence so we can progress to where it is meet we should be.
For us in Subud perhaps, for me certainly, my latihan is my chance to sing to God. When I sing I know I am
doing what I am meant to do. There is nothing else. When I lift my arms, why upwards? When I raise my
head, I look up. And my voice goes up to heaven wherever that may be. It makes a great noise but it is music
to me and it feels like that, however out of tune. I am a skinny relic, yet my voice at times seems to reach into
a barrel, with echoes you won’t find in my personal makeup. So what is happening? Am I finding new depths,
are they being hinted at, as future possibilities? There is plenty of room for development, I must say.
This all comes not from my thinking, not from my conscious wishing. It is there already, and it’s the latihan
that awakens it. This is what it means to be opened. To let out the love that is within, that has always been
there in all humanity since the beginning. When did it begin? Since before even then, I guess.
Our latihan is the continuation. The Life Force, Bapak calls it. It embraces men and women equally.
In our latihan, we are in our love, our love of God, and all creation. But as humans we cannot be trusted to
keep our love, with its spiritual and physical power, when brought to us in the latihan, under the social constraints
so necessary for an ordered society. So we go our separate ways, to our worship, although afterwards
we can be together, as understanding and loving comrades.
Perhaps someone else can, probably already has, put into concrete words our reasons for this policy that I
can put convincingly to those who may question it. I have said enough, for myself at least.
Ernest Horsman – Barnet Group
Here is just a little of what Bapak has said on this subject – from Hannah Hurd:
Bapak does not really approve of married couples in Subud doing the latihan kejiwaan together, and Bapak does
not permit this, because in fact the latihan kejiwaan of Subud that you are following is your worship cont >
MAY 2013 Page 11

of Almighty God. As for the way in which you worship Almighty God, in this you are guided and directed
by His power. You must realize this because in your worship of Almighty God your inner nature must be
completely free from the influence of the nafsu, whereas if men and women do the latihan together, simultaneously
and in the same place, it will actually attract the influences of the nafsu. This, of course, will easily
cause both men and women members to experience a turmoil of the nafsu asmara (passion of love) which
they will be powerless to prevent.
If, at the time of opening, women must be opened by women helpers and men must be opened by men
helpers, then why after they are able to receive and to do the latihan kejiwaan, should they suddenly be permitted
to receive and do the latihan together, simultaneously and in the same place? Clearly this only comes
from the pressure of the nafsu, and they are not yet aware that the latihan kejiwaan is quite different from ordinary
exercises, which are awakened by the will and the nafsu. In fact, Bapak forbids such behaviour, seeing
that the latihan kejiwaan of Subud that you receive and follow is really and truly guidance and direction from
the power of Almighty God.
You should feel very fortunate that the nafsu, which usually control you, can be put aside through the grace
of Almighty God. Therefore, as far as possible, you should no longer permit yourselves to be playthings of
the nafsu, which influence your heart and mind.
From Pewarta Kejiwaan Subud Vol. VII, No. 3, page 15 - (letter 64} 1969
MAY 2013 Page 12
•
My experiences with sculpture
Three years ago I decided to go to sculpture classes and although I had never felt particularly gifted artistically,
I had always known that it was something I needed to do for my inner life. I find ‘making things’ very therapeutic
on a deep level but over the years had lost all sense of creativity.
I went to the class for a year and was very slow at producing anything apart from a sculpture in relief, a
man’s face and was quite disappointed after all the work I had put in and the short space of time we had to
work in.
In the second year I really wanted to create a whole figure, a statuette and was deeply drawn to the image
of the Virgin Mary in the Catholic tradition, of a beatic woman in prayer. The image grew in me almost like
an obsession and during the school holidays I took my sculpture home to work on her there. The more I
worked the more my hands felt alive and I became aware that what I was actually creating was not the Virgin
Mary but an image of myself as I should be when I receive the Latihan. It was as if I was working on myself.
Just before the Christmas break I tentatively uncovered my little figure on the work bench and as I did so
light streamed through the window, almost white light which caught me unawares, giving a whole new aspect
to my sculpture and I felt a certain grace imbue the room. It was the same grace I had felt when I was working
on the sculpture at home. I was really taken aback because although it wasn’t bad for a first attempt and her
hands still needed work, something inexplicable had happened and she looked alive.
Several people came up and said how beautiful she was and our teacher told me later that in that moment
she had taken photos of her, which she then used as Christmas cards. I was slightly embarrassed because as
I say, I am not particularly gifted and I also felt very exposed. Interestingly, when she sent me copies of the
photos it did not contain the same element that the light had created.
On returning after the Christmas break I started casting; I tried four times and on each attempt something
went wrong and I found myself behaving like a petulant child, irritated and helpless and very stuck. After
this I decided that I just wasn’t capable of producing anything and gave up.
Three years have passed and as I was walking down the road a couple of days ago feeling what I can only
describe as the intermittent, painful weight of my ancestors sitting in my heart and head, again something
happened. I surrendered the feeling and all of a sudden was made aware of the meaning of the casting and
why I had struggled. It was all just a sort of analogy for my life and it is pretty self-explanatory in relation to
the Latihan. It is also about letting go.
The first casting was with a mixture of sand and two other elements; I used far too much water in the mix
so it never set properly and when I removed the latex mould all the components seemed to have separated or
blended in strange patterns and it all looked quite revolting. For the second casting I used just plaster but I
had not added enough to the mix so it became fragile and crumbled when I removed the mould again. The
third casting was ok until the head fell off! It was suggested on the fourth that I put a metal rod through the
centre, up into the head in order to stabilise the neck and trunk. This was ok, but still the actual features didn’t
seem quite to correspond with the original clay sculpture.
I have often found that I experience things and then get the answer some time later, and that a blatantly obvious
meaning is, at that moment in time, not permitted. I kept the head and it rests in the arms of the Buddha
in my sitting room - just to remind me of my fallibility.
Seraphina Manferrari – Lewes group•

What’s On? May /June 2013
To avoid disappointment always check
with event contact before travelling.
When? What? Where? Whom to contact?
Wed 1
(Every
1st Wed)
All Helpers’
Latihan
Sun 5 World Latihan 11am
May
A distance latihan for all
helpers. 9.45 for 10am, or 7.45
for 8pm, or any time if those
times are not possible
Sun 5
East Anglia Regional
Latihan & Kejiwaan
Day
Norwich Subud House.
10 for 11am.
Please bring some food.
All welcome
Fardijah Freedman or
Mahmud-Henry Rogers
nationalhelpers.eastanglia
@subud.org.uk
Sun 5
Thames Valley
Regional Latihan
Loudwater Farm
10.45 for 11am Latihan.
Testing and shared lunch.
Please bring some food
Sebastian Paemen
or Hannah Hurd
nationalhelpers.thamesvalley@subud.org.uk
Sun 5
South East
World Latihan &
Kejiwaan Day
Tunbridge Wells Hall
TN4 9SA
10.45 for 11am Latihan
Aura Hargreaves
aura@rkrhargreaves.net
Sun 5
Scotland & North
East Region AGM
Balloch Community Hall,
IV2 7HE. Just off A96,
5 miles east of Inverness
12.45 for 1pm Latihan
1.45pm AGM. 4pm close
Sonia Ray
sonia.h.ray@gmail.com
Roy Tibbetts
roytibbetts@yahoo.co.uk
Sun12
Wessex Group
Regional Latihan
Greyfriars Community
Centre, Ringwood
BH24 1DW
11 for 11.15am Latihan
Claire Wells
clairelwells@hotmail.com
Wed 15 Monthly latihan All Saints Village Hall,
Fri 17 –
Sun 19
All Helpers’
Weekend
Sat 1 World Latihan 9pm
Sun 2
East Anglia Regional
Latihan & Kejiwaan
Day
Nr. Axminster EX13 7LX.
11.30am Latihan
Please ring 01395 513816 to
confirm
Nightingale Centre
Great Hucklow, SK17 8RH
June
Norwich Subud House.
10 for 11am.
Please bring some food.
All welcome
Sofia Davey
sofia.davey@virgin.net
Idina Waugh
idina@sealightnet.co.uk
Fardijah Freedman or
Mahmud-Henry Rogers
nationalhelpers.eastanglia
@subud.org.uk
Sun 2
Thames Valley
Regional Council &
Latihan
Loudwater Farm.
10.45 for 11am Latihan
Regional Council
Shared lunch. Please bring
some food
Rosabel Saunders
chair.thamesvalley@subud.org.uk
>
MAY 2013 Page 13

What’s On? June 2013 continued
To avoid disappointment always check
with event contact before travelling.
When? What? Where? Whom to contact?
Sun 2
Wed 5
(Every
1st Wed)
Sat 8
Sat 8
Sun 9
All Helpers’
Latihan
South East
Regional Meeting
Susila Dharma
fundraising BBQ
hosted by
Chichester Group
Wessex Group
Regional Latihan
A distance latihan for all
helpers. 9.45 for 10am, or
7.45 for 8pm, or any time if
those times are not possible.
Reigate Subud Hall
10.30 for 10.45am Latihan
Reigate Subud Hall Garden
1 – 6pm.
Greyfriars Community
Centre, Ringwood
BH24 1DW
11 for 11.15am Latihan.
Wed 12 Monthly latihan All Saints Village Hall,
Fr1 14 –
Sun 16
Highlands-Sub Group
Attached Members’
Monthly Latihan
National Council
Updates May 2013
Balloch Community Hall,
IV2 7HE. Just off A96,
5 miles east of Inverness
12.45 for 1pm Latihan.
Nr. Axminster EX13 7LX.
11.30am Latihan
Please ring 01395 513816 to
confirm.
Lodge Hill Centre,
Watersfield, Pulborough,
West Sussex, RH20 1LZ
Death:
Rahmaniyah Horthy Lewes
Post:
Miriam Bennett
Devon South Chair
New Members:
Adriana Albarracin Pineda London Central
Abigail Robertson
Tayside
Latihan times Exeter
The following changes are being trialled for 3 months:
Friends Meeting House - Mondays and Thursdays:
Women 7:15 for 7:30pm. Men 8:15 for 8.30pm.
First Thursday of the month simultaneous latihan for social
meeting afterwards 7.15 for 7.30pm.
Second Thursday of the month simultaneous latihan for
kejiwaan afterwards 7.15 for 7.30pm.
Latihan times Tiverton
No weekly latihan at Moorhayes Community Centre, but
continuing informally at a member's house.
NB For Updates to email addresses, postal
addresses and phone numbers please see the Update
list emailed to Group Secretaries on the 20th of
each month.
MAY 2013 Page 14
Solihin or Sjarifah Roberts
01224 791373
Suzanne Maylin
01667 452137
Aura Hargreaves
aura@rkrhargreaves.net
Andrew Holloway
andrew@greenoakcarpentry.co.uk
Claire Wells
clairelwells@hotmail.com
Sofia Davey
sofia.davey@virgin.net
Ridwan Kennedy
admin@subud.org.uk
Publications
Available from the Membership Secretary (see National
Office contacts p18). Cheques payable to Subud Britain.
LEAFLETS
For Applicants to Subud – (talk by Bapak) 60p each
The Latihan – a way to deeper spiritual understanding
(Subud Britain) in colour. Describes the latihan, how Subud
began, joining etc. £2.50 per 10 copies minimum (sometimes
called The Clouds Leaflet).
Subud: My Personal Introduction to a Spiritual Path – by
Sharif Horthy (SPI). Transcription of a talk given to the
public in Los Angeles in 2000. £1.20 per copy.
Subud – (Subud Publications International). Explains how
Subud began, welfare projects, enterprises etc and also
about joining Subud. £1.50 per 10 (min order).
About Subud – by Léonard Lassalle (SPI). A personal
introduction. £1.50 per 10 min).
FORMS – all free
Member Application Forms – IMPORTANT: Helpers need
to send Part 4 of the completed form to the Membership
Secretary.
Gift Aid forms –
Most forms available to download from www.subud.org.uk,
but also available from the Membership Secretary.
• •
•

The 2013 Congress Team – an update by Marcus Hamilton
Here is the team of coordinators and their roles that we have established so far.
Marcus Hamilton
Marcus@Hamilton.eu.com
Sofia Davey
sofia.Davey@virgin.net
Organiser & Team Leader
Setting up and
co-ordinating a great team
of individuals who will
work together to ensure we
all have an excellent
congress.
Ellen Martin
ellen.martin12@gmail.com
Registration
Overseeing the
registration process in the
office during congress and
helping with any queries
regarding bookings &
accommodation.
Bookings
Taking your bookings and
payments and managing
your accommodation.
& Programme
Helping to compile the
overall programme.
Max Potter
maxpotter288@btinternet.com
Treasurer (during Congress)
Behind the scenes
keeping tabs on the cash.
"In his counting house,
counting out the money".
Brian White
bwkayaks@gmail.com
&
Michael Steed
michaelsteed101@gmail.com
Site Management
Working together, to prepare and organise the site to
make Congress a safe and enjoyable experience for
everyone.
Includes Health & Safety, logistics, and the timely
provision of rooms and facilities.
Raphaella Sapir
raphaellasapir@yahoo.co.uk
Volunteers
Matching the capabilities &
needs of Volunteers (those
willing to contribute their time)
to the job needs (as specified by
the coordinators) & managing
individual discounts from the
Helping Hand Fund.
Amanda Bolt
amanda.m.bolt@gmail.com
Crèche
A safe, fun and nurturing
place to leave your little
ones or stay and play with
them. Available each
morning in the on-site
crèche.
Vincent Mount
&
Faustina Walter
vincentmount@hotmail.com faustinawalter@hotmail.com
Family & Children’s Programme
Helping to welcome Subud families and children into
the congress, to provide activities that make a happy
and enjoyable time together. Working closely with
other team members to make sure we have a holistic
programme where families and children are a
significant part of congress.
MAY 2013 Page 15
cont >

Lucas Adamson
lucasaugustineadamson@gmail.com
Camp Site Co-ordinator
Making sure the campsite is
clearly laid out to meet
people's diverse needs
regarding noise/peace.
Providing a central social hub
and dealing with any issues
on the camp-site.
Andrew Clague
d.clague@ntlworld.com
Audio-visuals/sound
Making sure the sound and
projection systems work
when you need them.
Mr ‘Can You Just’ from
previous years, plugging in
the laptops & microphones.
Louisa Rust
louisa-rust@hotmail.co.uk
&
Donald Rust
donaldrust@btinternet.com
Café in the Quad
Providing teas coffees, cakes and other sustenance
throughout the day and evening helping to create a
very sociable atmosphere in the quad.
Edward Drinkall
edward.drinkall@btinternet.com
Walks & Outings
A chance to ''Get out of
School'' and enjoy the local
countryside, its history and
heritage – and the
occasional cream tea.
Hammad Ahmad
Hammad_ahmad_@hotmail.com
Publicity
Helping to let a lot more
people know about congress
and how great it is!
& Project management
Making sure we get the right
things done on time so that
you can all make the most of
congress!
Louise Paeman
louisepaemen@hotmail.com
Arts & Crafts
Enriching Congress – adding
colour with a wide variety of arts
& crafts workshops for both
adults and children. The Great
Congress Sewing Bee – make &
decorate a skirt to see who will be
crowned our Supreme Sewist 2013.
David Shrubsall
davidshrubsall@yahoo.co.uk
Music Event Coordinator
Organising some great
talent to perform for you.
To run a successful congress we need lots of volunteers.
What area might you be interested in helping with?
In addition to this strong and experienced team… I am also in the process of appointing an Entertainments
Coordinator, and a Disabilities Coordinator.
We are being supported by National Helpers (Sebastian Paemen and Maia Spall), taking advice from
Davina Hitchcock and Adelia Tisdall on learning from previous years and have support from our National
Treasurer, Lydia Edwards, with her financial model.
We have managed to organise our inaugural meeting on 5th May when 14 or 15 of us will be able to get
together.
You will be able to follow more details about our plans on our website www.subud.org.uk/Congress.
Don’t forget to book to secure your place at the best prices as soon as you can. Booking forms can be
downloaded from the site.
Marcus Hamilton
•
MAY 2013 Page 16

Request for unwanted Directories
Our Membership Secretary, Margaret Hughes, members@subud.org.uk,
0151 228 3790, would be grateful to receive copies of any unwanted
Subud Britain Directories – pre 2010 - in any condition. Postage would
be reimbursed but please, let Margaret know what you can send, before
posting them to:
1 Littledale, Knotty Ash, Liverpool, L14 5PR.
Award for Wisma
Mulia’s chef
Penny at work
The Gloucestershire weekend magazine
gave a two-page spread to Wisma
Mulia’s chef Penny Clemenger, winner
of the title of best care home chef
in the ‘Taste of Gloucestershire Diamond
Jubilee Food and Farming
Awards’. The competition, sponsored
by the Gloucestershire Care Providers
Association, promoted the use of locally
produced food and included a gruelling
MasterChef-style cook off. It was the care she took over planning
meals, together with the ability to create delicious food that won her the title.
Penny says in the magazine, ‘For me, job satisfaction comes from
knowing that the residents are happy. It’s really nice when they tell me
that they have enjoyed their meal. Taste, sensations and appetites become
impaired but calorific needs remain high, especially if somebody
is suffering from illness,’ she explains.
‘The key things are good nutrition and digestibility. I’m careful over
how much salt I use and I often make the most of things like spices,
herbs and garlic to bring out the flavours of the ingredients in a particular
dish. I also prepare separate dishes from the day’s menu for people
with particular requirements, such as a lady who has a salt-free diet and
another resident who hates onions. I’m a vegetarian and we have three
residents who don’t eat meat, although a lot of people choose the vegetarian
alternatives simply because they like them. Aubergine and
Parmesan bake always goes down well, for example. Any kind of lamb
is a favourite. The residents always enjoy shepherd’s pie, lasagne, stews
and roast dinners, and we serve fish twice a week.’
Penny, who says she learned to cook by watching her mum and is inspired
by celebrity chefs such as Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Jamie
Oliver, tries to use locally-sourced ingredients whenever possible and
makes a point of including seasonal fruit and vegetables. ‘We have a
very good local farm shop,’ says Penny. ‘Sometimes people in the village
put their excess produce outside their homes on little tables, so I always
keep my eyes peeled for that, and staff bring in things such as rhubarb
from their own gardens. In autumn some of the residents enjoy going
out and picking apples from the garden to bring to the kitchen, while
some of the residents are quite independent and grow their own herbs.
As well as cooking at Wisma Mulia (which means honoured home),
Penny and her family visit the home a few times a year to provide musical
entertainment and are often joined by kitchen assistant Jess Chandler,
who is a keen singer.
‘I just love it here,’ says Penny. ‘There is a lot of interaction between
staff and residents, many of whom are fairly able. This creates a great
atmosphere in which to work.’
MAY 2013 Page 17
An Elegy for Enid
So Temple-Cotton is gone
That great towering man
That great shy boy,
For ever, for ever a boy.
We all own chunks of him
Slices of him
That fit together
Like a great jigsaw –
Standing in the rose-garden
At Coombe, I hear him laugh.
Perched on the cliff-top
We seek the fulmar’s nest.
He was at odds
With a world at odds with its
Maker;
But when we sat by the Exe
On a tin box, our feet in the mud,
Then as the avocets came
He was at one
His spirits swam with the flood tide
And ebbed again as we left.
•
We all own chunks of him, Enid,
Slices of Raiph, slices of Simon;
Here are a few of the pieces
The postcards, the pictures, the photos,
Some of the chunks that I
And my family own.
We offer them back to you.
When the buzzard wheels over the valley
When the woodpecker
Comes to the window
He will be there all around you –
As the long-tailed tits flit through the oaks
And the black-nosed deer start away
Down the hill.
All that is dross in him
Let it be
Buried, consumed by the fire.
Let his spirit go now
That great big boy
Let him gambol on the cloud-tops
Let him laugh with the thunder.
All that we love the most
We have to let go.
Lord knows he wanted Peace.
Lord, give him Peace at the last.
Tony Bright-Paul June 1985
•
•

Solution to last month’s Crossword 06
Kevin’s Kartoon Korner
Cryptic Crossword
Number 07 – Set by Mr. Lucas Bot
CLUES ACROSS
1. Office agenda includes big freeze (3, 3)
5. Fool first gets help (6)
8. Communiqué originally from north, east, west
and south (4)
9. Needs mixed income to be smiley (8)
10. A land we unified with ancient Danish
statutes (4-3)
11. Dumb note muffled (5)
13. Looking into reorganised exit overlap (11)
16. Dean backed about a thousand in the raw (5)
18. Male, about 55 and a queen, finds Congress
venue (7)
21. Tedious and what US garages do? (8)
22. Hit hardworking student (4)
23. Name short verse about river (6)
24. Tom Hanks shows appreciation (6)
CLUES DOWN
2. Create around a million to burn (7)
3. Sounds like I’ll be between seats (5)
4. In a flap on an aeroplane, gets a lift... (8)
5. A promise to confess (4)
6. A collection of incentives is multi-tasked (7)
7. Incline to be poles apart (5)
12. Take pear chopped to small parrot (8)
14. Go in front and order ‘de crêpe’ (7)
15. Listener to gospel makes a characteristic sign (7)
17. Quiet remark made by a team? (5)
19. Gets pleasing view by including street (5)
20. A small river, we hear, came into being (4)
The Subud Britain
Directory now available
from:
•
Margaret Hughes,
1 Littledale,
Knotty Ash,
Liverpool
L14 5PR
Helpers’ initial concerns over 16 year old Jason’s
spontaneous opening fall away when they are
reminded he is 4th generation Subud!
lambert.hughes@virgin.net
0151 228 3790.
£6.50 (includes postage)
MAY 2013 Page 18

Paula Hallett Wisma Mulia Trust shop is up for AUCTION
The building containing the Paula Hallett Wisma Mulia Trust shop is up for auction at the end of May, making the future
of our shop there very uncertain. If we are given notice by the new owner, we might not find another property in Stonehouse
suitable for renting as a shop.
Even if a new owner allowed us to remain after the sale goes through, we would still rather have a Subud member as
our landlord.
This will be a bargain for somebody, as the asking price (not a reserve price) at auction is just £135,000, and the building
(shop and maisonette flat together) brings in £1000 a month. If the maisonette flat were divided into two units, revenue
from the property could be even higher. This is a great investment for someone – but they will need to move fast.
The auction is on the 29 May, at All Saints Church, Pembroke Road Clifton.
Control + click on the link, 'Hollis Morgan, Clifton' below, to go to the website where you can get full details - or phone
Hollis Morgan directly.
To view this property or request more details, contact Hollis Morgan, Clifton 9 Waterloo Street, Clifton, Bristol, BS8
4BT 0117 227 2217
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Wanted: Indonesian Batik
If you have any batik to sell, please contact Rachman Hopwood: Email: rachman.hopwood@gmail.com
Mobile: 07747328412
FOR SALE
One bedroom casita in Jaramuza
The casita is in the Jaramuza Subud development,
Orgiva, Andalucia, in the foothills of the beautiful
Alpujarras mountains.
Built in the traditional style, the casita is about fourteen
years old and in very good condition. The beautiful
setting on the Subud land close to the latihan hall
includes communal gardens and swimming pool etc.
It is a 45-minute drive to Granada and 30 minutes to
the coast and lovely walking in the magnificent
surrounding mountains.
You will find a friendly, welcoming international
Subud community. £40,000 for quick sale.
E-mail: maggiebell68@hotmail.com
Tel: 00 34 650 635490
R A M A D A N i n t h e S U N
Subud Alpujarras are hosting a gathering for the last ten days of Ramadan in August this year at their
Subud Centre in Orgiva. Ramadan starts on Tuesday 9th July and so the 21st night (the first night of
power) will be July 30th, the last night of power will be on 6th August and the last day of fasting will be
Thursday 8th August, which is also Idul Fitri. So a two-week stay from 27 or 28 July to 10 or 11 August
would be ideal.
Jaramuza is a Subud development in Andalucia, South of Granada, Spain. It has seven apartments
with a swimming pool and Latihan Hall. In addition to the apartments there are seven Subud families
living within walking distance. As well as latihans we would have the possibility to show Bapak's talks
in the evenings and have communal meals for those who want them. August is normally quite hot but
visits to the mountain villages and the Buddhist monastery would bring some cool relief.
If you have not visited Orgiva before this could be an ideal opportunity as well experiencing Ramadan
with fellow Subud members. There is a variety of accommodation available but the cost of a self-catering
stay in Jaramuza in a shared bedroom is £100 a week per person. Please contact Andrew Bromley on
andreworgiva@gmail.com to book or if you would like more details.
MAY 2013 Page 19

National Office contacts
National Secretary:
Ridwan Kennedy,
36 Bradford Road,
Bath BA2 5BX
Tel: 01225 830 051
Email: admin@subud.org.uk
Subud Britain National Office:
Tel: 01225 830 051 / 0870 444 2604
Email: admin@subud.org.uk
Web: www.subud.org.uk
Membership Secretary:
Margaret Hughes,
1 Littledale, Knotty Ash,
Liverpool L14 5PR
Tel/fax: 0151 228 3790
email: members@subud.org.uk
Susila Dharma (Britain): www.sdbritain.org
Susila Dharma (International)
www.susiladharma.org
SICA Britain
www.sicabritain.co.uk
N E W D V D F R O M S P I
Stories of Bapak and Ibu
As told by Lusana Faliks
A two-disc DVD set
containing two and a half
hours of reminiscences.
This film gives a unique
insight into Bapak and
Ibu's domestic life as
experienced by Lusana
Faliks in the USA and
Indonesia. Lusana
r e lates anecdotes,
and pieces of advice
she received, with
clarity and humour.
£12.00 including postage
and packing (UK).
Stories of
Bapak
A Personal Experience of
Living with Bapak and Ibu
as told by
Lusana Faliks
and Ibu
Distributed by SPI (Subud Publications International).
Tel: 01727 762210 spi@subudbooks.co.uk
journal
T H E S U B U D B R I T A I N
Published monthly FREE online by Subud Britain
to download the pdf go to:
www.subudvoice.net/subud-britain-journal
The Journal Team
Editor: Aleena Flanders jill.flanders@virgin.net
Bapak’s Talks: Hannah Hurd
Health & Wellbeing: Osanna Whitehouse
Proof readers: Stefanie Brown (print) Peter Trueman (web)
Cartoonist: Kelvin Holland
Layout & Type: Arthur Flanders (print) Marcus Bolt (web)
Printer: Partington Print
Copy deadline for next issue:
20th May 2013
Annual Subscription rates for 2013 print edition
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MAY 2013 Page 20