Dear Family and Friends,
Greetings and Aloha from all of us at Polestar! With much upheaval in the world for many this past year, we are more grateful than ever for the cherished friendships we share with so many of you. Thank you for your continued interest, participation and support of this Grand Experiment called Polestar Gardens!
2017 has been the beginning (and ending!) of many things here. It started in January with the arrival of Hanalei Ketty-Cohn, the first child born at Polestar. She quickly stole our hearts and then broke them all with her and her parents’ departure to India this past month. Joe and Vina spent two wonderful years here sharing their many gifts and friendship and we wish them well on their extended adventure / service project at the Mother Miracle School in Rishikesh - and we hope to see them again soon!
Long-time residents Maddy, Emma and Matt Schindler also departed this year. Matt has been beyond stellar these many years, running the kitchen and garden while raising these two beautiful souls. We will miss you all!
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We have been delighted to also welcome many new families to Polestar this year and cannot help but feel that this is the coalescing of the our long held dream to start a school here. Preparations have begun for a home-school study group early next year, with a more formal version to begin in the fall. Yogananda’s practical teachings on ‘how to live education’, which promote the balanced physical, mental, and spiritual development of each child, guide our vision of education which will include a dynamic curriculum integrated into community life. We are extremely grateful to be collaborating with the 'Education for Life' schools from Ananda Village with their decades of experience in creating successful wholistic schools - much more to come about this soon.
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Coconut harvest at Polestar!
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2017 has been an amazing year for the Garden at Polestar. Led by returning resident and permaculture specialist Denise Foust, the garden has an ambitious new design, many new plants, and is getting an infusion of energy not only from the community but from the Hawaiian Academy of Art and Science’ high school students who volunteer here twice a month. The trees we planted years ago have really hit their stride this year and are producing more food than ever. It has been our best year for avocados (16 trees bearing right now), rollinia, abiu, lychee, rambutan, ulu, starfruit, mamey sapote, and so much more.
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We are happy to announce our first annual ‘
Art of Conscious Aging
’ Workshop, guided by our dear friends Priya Ross and Bimal Wong. Join us this February for an in-depth exploration of all the amazing challenges and opportunities of elderhood, along with time for enjoying island life at Polestar in the company of like-minded friends.
Thanks to a generous grant from our dear friend Patricia London and The Aceves-London Family Fund, Polestar is implementing a major upgrade to our power system this fall via a
Solar Power Workshop November 13th
. Having lived off grid since we arrived here almost 10 years ago, we are all too aware of trials and travails of generating and storing one’s own power. It is has been satisfying and exciting for us then, to see the revolution that is taking place for power generation and especially storage. With new panels, batteries and an upgraded distribution system, we expect to more than double our overall power efficiency in the next several months. Rich Mills, who is heading up the installation, will also be teaching about the system and solar power in general for those who sign up for his hands on workshop. Join us if you can!
Other events coming soon
to
Polestar include a Kriya Yoga Initiation in November with dear friends and Nayaswamis Daiva and Gangamata, all the social and spiritual holidays of the season including Yogananda’s birthday celebration in January, our annual 9 day rejuvenation diet in February and our Sacred Music Festival in April. Depending on your interests, these are wonderful times to come but feel free to visit whenever you feel called.
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As we have in years past, we are hoping to pour extra love and energy into our Temple building as a 2017 Christmas present to Polestar. Please consider joining our effort by investing in this special project. The Temple is at the center of our life here and hosts countless hours of meditation, chanting, and satsangs with so many great souls. With your help, we hope to to build a new roof over our entry lanai, upgrade several windows, and add a meditation supplies closet. Our goal is to raise $5,000. Donations of any amount are tax deductible and greatly appreciated!
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