Insiah Caspers is in England, visiting her daughter Mariamah for an extended stay. I miss her!
Here’s news and a photo from them.
Mariamah and Insiah report they’re doing well with lots of adventures and time with Insiah’s
great grandson (Mariamah’s first grandchild) Emry, who is newly walking. He’s shown in this
photo trying to help his dad push the pram.
On the not-so-good side of her visit, Insiah recently fell and broke both wrist bones of her
dominant left arm. She is in a cast, recovering well, but the break is complicated and more
surgery may be required to insert a wire. More news to follow when updates come in.
Insiah and Mariamah send their love to Subud Greater Seattle.
-Rayma Norton

Subud Greater Seattle welcomes our newly opened member, Joyce Cornell. Joyce was opened
on Sunday, April 12, after latihan.

On Tuesday, April 14, after latihan at the Seattle Subud house, about 14 people gathered to
honor Insiah Caspers for her long years of service as a Helper. Insiah is now an Honorary
Helper.

Insiah received a certificate of thanks and acknowledgement for her work for Subud.
We celebrated and talked over coffee and cakes afterwards. Making it even more meaningful,
Insiah’s daughter Mariamah Mount, visiting from her home in England, was there with her
mom for latihan and this special event. Next Sunday, Insiah is going to be leaving for England
for several months to live and travel with Mariamah and family.

The gathering was also notable because Danella Mauguin will soon be leaving the Greater
Seattle group, moving to Oregon for a time. We took the opportunity to say farewell to Danella
and send her off with love as she takes her next steps into the future.

Earth Day Event: Tuesday, April 21st, 11 A.M Greater Subud Seattle Center

After 10 AM Latihan please stay and join in on an Earth Day clean up party
for the gardens. Bring gloves.

If you wish to stay after the cleanup party, bring a sack lunch and we can eat together.

Yes, official Earth Day is April 22.

Let’s Adopt a Susila Dharma Project

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

One of the ideas that came out of the SD-USA board meeting that I attended 2/19-22 was for each Subud center to “adopt” a project.  SD-USA is currently supporting 17 projects along with our dues to SDIA which supports an even broader group of projects world-wide.

I like this idea and wondered if there was anyone else in the group that would like to look at the many projects SD-USA supports and see if there’s 1-2 that they might suggest at our next group meeting on March 22nd for consideration.  We’d then vote on the one the group wanted to support and start supporting it.

As an example, the Washington DC group picked Bina Cita Utama (BCU), the Subud School in Kalimantan. The reason they chose this project was that Myriam Ramsey – a former SD-USA board member – championed that project.  The group was already giving a monthly donation to SD-USA to support its work. They decided to donate additionally to support BCU.

Anyone interested in being a part of this process of selecting a project for our center, just needs to contact me and I’ll coordinate a selection process via email.

Thanks, Oswald

Current and Past SD-USA Board members

Pictured Top Row: L-R Jane Katz (board member), Andrew Clark (Chair SD-USA), Lucas Boladian (Treasurer), Oswald Norton (former board member), Michael Barber (vice chair SD-USA), Aneesah Hassani (Woman National Helper Laison), Reynold Orchard (Man National Helper Laison) Seated Row: Loretta Covert (board member), Sofia Nicoletti (board member), Fauziyah Ishak (past Chair SD-USA), Mary Salisbury (board member),

From Subud California Newsletter:

To Fast or not to Fast, that is the Question

As you know, Subud is not a religion, and its membership includes people who adhere to a wide range of faiths as well as people who do not practice any religion. Bapak actively supported members practicing their own faiths. He was an Indonesian Muslim who fasted during Ramadan and found the practice very beneficial. He spoke about the practice to Subud members in a number of recorded talks and recommended it as a way to help quiet the “nafsu” (Indonesian for desires). To be clear, this was a suggestion only, and not a requirement for Subud members.

Many religions and spiritual paths have practices that involve fasting, including Ramadan (Islam), Lent (Christianity), and Yom Kippur (Judaism); there are many Buddhist, Hindu, Yogic fasts as well as non-religious fasts. Bapak spoke about how fasting in other traditions has the same benefits, and he recommended members to practice a fast in accordance with their inner feeling.

Many Subud members who have fasted have experienced deep spiritual benefits from it. Many members have never fasted.  We do not keep track of who fasts.

Fasting can take many forms, and for Subud members who feel moved to fast, each person determines for themselves how to observe the fast. For instance, some people feel to do the traditional Ramadan fast which includes refraining from food and drink during daylight hours (or 6am to 6pm), as well as refraining from anger, negative thoughts, gossip, and using your eyes in an unkind way. Some members receive to abstain from a particular behavior or thought, but not to engage in the food fast. Some people receive not to fast at all.

If you want to learn more about fasting, please ask any helper or member about their own experiences. There is information available on Subud websites and at most centers.  The helpers can also do personal testing with you if you want to explore whether fasting in some manner would be beneficial for you. And please remember, there is no pressure or expectation that Subud members fast.

Dates of the Fasts 2026: Ramadan, February 18 (approximate) to March 19; Lent, February 18 to April 2; Yom Kippur, September 20-21.

Memorial on Saturday, February 14th, 2026, from 4 pm followed by a potluck dinner reception at the Seattle Subud Center (Spring Street Center) at 1101 15th Ave, Seattle, Washington 98122. We plan on streaming service on Zoom. Click here to join.

The main course is being prepared, so no need for main course items. If you wish to bring a side dish, bread, or salad to the memorial service, please sign up using this app.  https://www.PerfectPotluck.com/VMNZ9715

Link to signup to attend the memorial service in person here!  https://www.eventcreate.com/e/hadidjahgregory

May God in his love and mercy make her passage easy,

Her devoted Husband, Marston Gregory