Join us for Dinner with Santa at the Himalayan Institute December 17- 5 to 7 pm

What could be better than an evening with Santa, homemade cookies and cocoa, Holiday music and Mac and cheese!  Join us for a “Dinner with Santa” party on Saturday, December 17^th from 5 to 7 p.m.!  Sit around the Christmas tree and listen to Holiday Songs by the Himalayan Institute Choir.  Meet Santa and tell him your Christmas wish.  Enjoy delicious homemade cookies and cocoa (it’s Santa’s treat!)

Want to join Santa for dinner?  It’s everyone’s holiday favorite, Macaroni and Cheese!  Parents – be sure to bring your camera! Refreshments, holiday songs, and pictures with Santa are free.   Reservations are necessary for dinner with Santa (starts at 6:15) so call Brian Fulp at 570-309-7860 to secure your tickets!

Come to the Himalayan Institute’s “Dinner with Santa” party at the Himalayan Institute’s Main Campus on Route 670 in Bethany – on Saturday, December 17^th from 5 to 7pm.  Remember to be good and bring your wish list for Santa!

Himalayan Institute Donates to Honesdale Fire Departments- Pictured: Brian Dulay, Brian Fulp, Steve Bates

HONESDALE, PA – October 6, 2011

At a recent Honesdale Fire Department (HFD) training meeting, representatives of the Himalayan Institute (HI) stopped by with a check for $1500 to acknowledge three recent emergency calls to the campus, just north of Honesdale.

In presenting Fire Chief Steve Bates with the donation, HI’s Director of Local Operations Brian Fulp said, “We’re so lucky here inWayneCountyto have this incredible service available to all of our communities. We couldn’t believe that the first responders arrived at our door within six minutes of the alarm going off.”

“As a non-profit volunteer-run group ourselves, we understand the tremendous organization, not to mention effort and sacrifice, that daily go into these firefighters’ service. We wanted to help defray costs they wouldn’t otherwise recover. And, we threw in gift certificates for our new café so they can have a hot drink on us now that the weather’s turning colder.”

“Beyond that,” Fulp joked, “we hope not to see them again.”

Assistant Fire Chief Brian Dulay said, “We’re proud to serve our community and help folks be safe. We’re all volunteers and not in it for the money. We’re always pleased to accept donations from our constituents, especially after we’ve made an emergency call out to them. It costs a lot just to roll the truck out of the bay. It’s important to raise awareness about fire safety.”

Next week marks the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) Fire Prevention Week. According to the NFPA, one home structure fire was reported every 87 seconds in 2009 which caused 12,650 civilian injuries, 2,565 civilian deaths, $7.6 billion in direct damage. You can visit the NFPA website for a fire safety quiz, home escape plans, and up-to-date information on smoke alarms, sprinkler systems, and fire awareness tips.

The Honesdale Fire Department maintains four stations, six trucks, and is staffed by about 50 volunteers. As volunteers, these emergency responders hold outside jobs and drop everything when a call comes in, converging on the scene in their private vehicles. They are connected to each other and the emergency response system by high tech communications technology that allows them to stay informed of the situation even while en route. First responders provide an ongoing report on the situation to those still on the road.

The award-winning Honesdale Fire Department has been serving the communities of Honesdale Borough and portions of Dyberry,Cherry Ridge,Oregon,Berlin(Townships), and Bethany Borough since 1843. At the recent Northeast Fireman’s Federation contest of four area counties, the Honesdale team took home five trophies, including one for Best Appearing Horse Drawn Steamer. You can view the fully-operable steamer and other historical firefighting equipment at the corner of Park andMainin the Protection Engine Company No. 3 station.

The Himalayan Institute is a non-profit educational, spiritual, and charitable organization world-renowned for its programming in yoga, meditation, and holistic health. It has established and supports humanitarian projects through sustainable community centers in India, Mexicoand Cameroon, West Africa. To learn more about the Himalayan Institute, its programming, or to get driving directions, visit http://www.himalayaninstitute.org/.

Rock for Tots Benefit Concert July 9 2011

The ElektrixStudio.com Rock For Tots Christmas in July Benefit Concert will be held on July 9 at Joe’s Ranch House in Beach Lake, PA. The night will include food, music and prizes to raise money for the Wayne County Children’s Christmas Bureau.

Many local businesses and individuals donate their time, food, gift certificates and prizes for the event.

The Wayne County Children’s Christmas Bureau accepts donations throughout the year. Anyone wishing to contribute can send a check to “WCCCB”, P.O. Box 583, Honesdale, PA 18431.

Please visit www.rockfortots.net for more information and a complete listing of contributors for this and past benefit concert events.

Roots & Rhythm Music & Arts Festival Pre-Festival Party at Rusty Palmer's

Honesdale Roots & Rhythm Music & Arts Festival proudly announces Rusty Palmer’s (1103 Texas Palmyra Highway, in Honesdale, PA 18431) to host the Friday, June 17, 2011 Pre-Festival Party.

The evening will kick-off at 8 P.M. with opening act, chart-climbing country band, Zoe Muth and the Lost High Rollers.  Headlining renowned performers, the Dave Keller Band will take the stage at approximately 9 P.M.

This fund raising event will have a cover charge of $10 and serve to keep the annual Honesdale Roots & Rhythm Music & Arts Festival sustainable.  Proceeds from the gate fee will directly benefit this year’s festival.  Chef Mike of the Riverview Restaurant at Rusty’s will offer a special menu of cash “bar fare” and a limited cash bar will serve adult and other beverages.

Detailed information, additional images and links to video clips for previewing the fabulous performers participating at the Pre-Festival Party can be obtained by visiting the facebook pages, “Honesdale Roots And Rhythm”,  “Zoe Muth and the Lost High Rollers” (also on myspace.com), “Dave Keller Band”, either band’s websites at www.zoemuth.com, www.davekeller.com or www.YouTube.com.

Support those who support Honesdale

It’s not the job of the GHP (Greater Honesdale Partnership) to get people into the doors of stores in Honesdale.  In my opinion the Greater Honesdale Partnership does a great job and exists to bring people to Honesdale. It’s the job of the individual businesses to get people into their stores AND to provide products and services that people want at competitive prices.

Another point that’s important to consider is that although in some cases you may find better deals in the valley, when local non-profits work to raise money for high school student activities or fundraisers for worthy LOCAL HONESDALE projects, the businesses in the valley won’t donate to anything outside of THEIR community.

Side Note: Take a look at those who support Roots & Rhythm Music & Arts Festival. That event has so much community support that everyone should take a second to read who is supporting local projects here in Honesdale. In many cases it’s the same businesses every time for different projects.

See all who sponsored last years event here

Support those who support Honesdale- Shop local when you can!

College Bound with Sweet Smelling Biodiesel

HONESDALE, PA (December 27, 2010) – High-school senior Rebecca Harvey fuels her 1991 Volkswagen Jetta with refined oil donated by the Total Health Center (THC) located at the Himalayan Institute just north of Honesdale.  She and her father, Dave Harvey, converted the engine to run on waste vegetable oil (WVO) after some careful research.  They purchased an older, mechanical diesel vehicle and had to restore it prior to the conversion.  “They’re happier running veggie oil than the newer cars with computers,” says Mr. Harvey.  The gas mileage ranges from 40 miles per gallon in town and 50 on the highway.

In the northeastern Pennsylvania winter, vehicles with converted engines use both diesel and WVO.  They must be started with diesel and rely on the heat from the engine to warm the oil before it will flow well.  Converted cars must purge the WVO from the injection system after reaching their destination so it does not gel in the lines while parked.  Whereas WVO from restaurants requires substantial refinement to be car-ready, oil from the THC’s shirodhara program need only be filtered.

Shirodhara is an ancient ayurvedic healing therapy for clearing and calming the mind. The highlight of the treatment is the steady streaming of warm oil on the forehead for up to 15-20 minutes preceded by a 20-30 minute massage of the feet, neck, and shoulders and followed by a scalp massage.

“Shirodhara is amazingly soothing to the nervous system,” says Mick Grady a licensed massage therapist at the Himalayan Institute’s THC.  “It is directed at that part of the brain involved in engaging with the world, being alert and decisive.  That steady, warm flow helps us let go of our random thoughts and mental chatter.”  Himalayan Institute shirodhara oil is a proprietary blend of nut and flower oils and other botanical extracts known for their adaptogenic properties.  Adaptogenic herbs are known to be balancing and restorative.

“Rebecca’s been very dedicated to make our trips to go look at colleges as green as possible even taking fuel with us,” says her father.  They were surprised to find actual vegetable oil pumps at Oberlin College in Ohio had actual pumps.  She’s looking at majoring in environmental concerns related to the social aspects of getting people to take action to reduce, reuse, recycle.  “Even if people don’t do the same thing, maybe there’s something else they can take and do to make a difference.”

Asked about the odor of combustion with shirodhara oil, Mr. Harvey says, “It’s wonderful.  It smells fragrant and pleasant in the car and out in the street, kind of like burnt lavender.  Used restaurant oil smells more like fatted french fries.”

To learn more about waste vegetable oil and biodiesel engines, you can visit http://www.homebiodieselkits.com/oilguide.  To learn more about shirodhara and other therapeutic techniques offered at the Total Health Center or to schedule an appointment, you can call (570)647-1500 or click http://www.himalayaninstitute.org/Health/AboutTheCenter.aspx.

George Brown of Fox Hill Farm

HONESDALE, PA (December 22, 2010) – Local Wayne County family-owned and farmed Fox Hill Farm is pleased to begin receiving operational support from the Himalayan Institute this season in the form of kitchen scraps, like potato peelings, which become premium hog feed.

“We were so excited to come across the opportunity to help HI in their mission of sustainability.  Our partnership saves 300-500 pounds of food waste a week from the landfill.  What’s more, it’s a means to produce locally sustainable meats and replenish and rejuvenate the pastures,” says second-generation owner George Brown who, along with his wife, Katharine, and their two children, produce grass-fed beef, pastured pork, and free-range chickens and eggs.  Katharine is also a flower farmer a

nd garden designer.

Fox Hill Farm follows the sustainable production model made famous by Joel Salatin at Polyface Farms in the movie “Food Inc.” and by food writer Michael Pollan.   Mr. Brown continues, “These methods create happy, healthy critters, improves the quality of the soil, and sequesters carbon while doing so.”

The Himalayan Institute has been exploring possibilities to implement a composting program at its international headquarters campus just north of Honesdale.   “We are proud to help the Brown family farm and do our part as good neighbors while we work through some of obstacles presented by such a large composting program.  We are always delighted to give back to Honesdale and the Wayne County community,” says Brian Fulp, Director of Local Operations at the Institute.

The Himalayan Institute is a non-profit educational, spiritual and charitable organization, and is the premier center for yoga, meditation and holistic health. The organization also established and supports humanitarian projects through sustainable community centers in India, Mexico and Cameroon, West Africa.

Reiki is gaining popularity in hospitals across the country due to the many reports in the medical literature stating patients benefit from this therapy. It is also being taught in medical schools and nursing programs.
Reiki is an ancient healing technique that was rediscovered in Japan by a man, Mikao Usui and brought to the United States by an American Japanese woman; Hawayo Takata.

Reiki utilizes the life force energy that is in all beings. Learning how to focus this energy will help one to relieve stress, decrease pain and promote healing; be it emotional or physical. It is easily done by using the hands to transmit energy.

There are three levels of Reiki.
Reiki I is for healing of self. This technique is taught to the practitioner to help them to maintain health or promote healing within themselves.

Reiki II is taught to the practitioner to help others to heal. A person who has been taught Reiki II can offer Reiki Treatments to others to help them to heal.

Reiki III is an Advanced Class. The person taking this class has decided to increase their skills as a Reiki practitioner and become more knowledgeable about Reiki.

Reiki Master/Teacher is a series of three classes that not only prepares the practitioner to work at a high level but also will prepare the practitioner to teach Reiki classes.

At the Minerva Educational Center, we often use the analogy of a light bulb to explain the various levels. Reiki I is a 25-watt bulb, Reiki II a 50-watt bulb, Reiki III a 75-watt bulb and finally Reiki Master/Teacher is a 100-watt bulb.

The Reiki Master/Teacher can not only develop a private practice but teach and attune others to the various levels of Reiki. Most Reiki practitioners continue to study the art of Reiki as they continue their practices.

The attunement process is what is unique to Reiki. This process is the method used to open one to the Reiki energy in each one of the levels. Once a practitioner has been attuned to Reiki it is stays with them for life and that person can use the Reiki energy at any time. Each person who is attuned at the Minerva Educational Center receives this attunement as passed down to us by Mikao Usui.

The Reiki practitioner who studies at Minerva is asked to read the Reiki Principles written by Usui and apply them to their life.

These principles are:

• Just for today I will give thanks for my many blessings.
• Just for today do not worry
• Just for today, do not anger.
• Honor your parents, teachers and elders
• Earn your living honestly.
• Show gratitude to everything.

If we could all follow these principles our lives would be less stressful and we would have a better world.
Reiki is very easy to learn, I have never had a student who could not feel the Reiki energy or apply it to themselves or others.

To learn more about Betty Caruth or programs offered at Minerva visit www.MinervaEd.com

Self-Transformation Program Participants at the Himalayan Institute

We will focus on organic methods for composting, mulching, seed propagation, greenhouse techniques, plant selection, crop planning, bed preparation, soil types, planting calendars, pest and pathogen control, seed saving, irrigation, and cultivation. You will receive practical skills and knowledge to manage your own garden and to teach others the basics of organic horticulture. The program begins with a month-long Self-Transformation Program, included in the cost.

For an application and more info, visit the Himalayan Institute website here:
http://www.himalayaninstitute.org/calendar/seminardetail/21bca42e-6ef0-49b6-aa2f-30d515ba0bc8.aspx
Price includes private room accommodations and vegetarian meals. For more information, call 570-253-5551 ext. 3018 or e-mail residential@HimalayanInstitute.org.

Exact dates TBA.