Update from Tsegyalgar West

Happy New Year of the Wood Dragon to You All!

We wanted to use the occasion of the arrival of a gust of fresh air and the evolutionary energy of the dragon to share with all of you the latest news about our current projects here at Tsegyalgar West and invite you to join us in one or more of the many ways that exist to be part of this Gar’s manifestation.

After a (much too) long time without a Vajra Dance Mandala during our recent course of the Vajra Dance of the Song of the Vajra with Carisa O’Kelly in December 2023 and January 2024 the idea arose spontaneously how wonderful it would be to have a (more) permanent Mandala for the Vajra Dance here at Tsegyalgar West.

Fortunately due to the presence of enough of our practitioners with the appropriate inspiration and disposition to actually become active, it did not remain just a wonderful idea! As you can see in the pictures below the work on the Mandala has since progressed quite nicely and we are confident that we’ll be able to finish it just in time for our annual Losar celebrations and a course of the Dance of the Three Vajras with Carisa with which we will inaugurate the new Mandala so all of you can join and enjoy the Dance with us whenever you come to the Gar!

Although the work on the Mandala itself is almost finished, there are still many ways for you to join the action so to speak!

Here is a list of ways to become active and support the Gar, its new Mandala and our different projects:

– Become part of the Tsegyalgar West Gakyil!

If you know and want to support the Gar and the Community directly through your work and can ideally come to the Gar throughout the year at least once or a couple of times a year, please let us know! It’s also possible to become a friend or assistant of the Gakyil to support its activities. All colors are welcome and needed to keep the wheel of joy turning!

– Become part of the Team (Codename “Los Obreros”)!

Throughout the year there are many opportunities to support the Gar as volunteers through work exchange or as Karma Yogis and Yoginis. If you want to join us, contact us and tell us when you would like to come and we can let you know about the current possibilities!

– Come and stay at the Gar for your personal retreat!

We usually recommend the “semester” from November until April for personal retreats due to the most appropriate climate and conditions. This is also the time we usually organize our collective retreats of the Community. If you like more heat or potentially more hurricanes you are of course welcome also at any other time of year. Let us know if and when you are interested to come and we let you know the current prices and availability of casitas!

– Donate!

The Mandala itself might almost be finished, but in order to protect our new Mandala from the elements, the roof of our Gönpa is in urgent need of repairs before the next hurricane season. If you wants to donate make sure to just the word “Mandala” as reference, not anything else!

Any donation received with the reference “Mandala” will be used and useful to advance all of the following current projects and more:

– Fixing and renewing the roofs of the Gönpa, so rain can not seep in and destroy the Mantras and freshly painted Mandala and also of the outdoor main kitchen, to protect it from rain and also to provide us with shade without wasps, as our current palapa roof unfortunately (for us) provided the prefect conditions for the local wasp community to create a thriving colony. While we’re already in the process of replacing the roof we’re working at the same time on the possibility to collaborate with a group of biologists to create a pollinator hotel, so they don’t come back to re-populate the new roof or alternatively the trees around the kitchen and we don’t have to apply poison to kill them and keep them away. We are after all a voluntary natural reserve!

– Replace and update the fans and lighting of the Gönpa, to be able not only to dance in the evening appreciating the bright colors of the new Mandala but also to read our practice texts more comfortably after sundown.

– Repairing water damage of last hurricane season in Gönpa. As you can see in some of the pictures, the mantras on the roof beam of the Gönpa sustained some damage during the heavy rains of last hurricane season which needs fixing.

– General plumbing and carpentry work to maintain the casitas for personal and collective retreats and keep the life-sustaining water system connected to the Gar’s very own spring in optimal working conditions.

– Maintenance of the Gar’s cars in order to be able to pick you up from the airport on your next visit!

If you have skills in any of the activities that are needed to help us advance these projects you are of course welcome anytime to let us know, so we can inform you when best to come to lend a helping hand!

Otherwise if you can and want to help by donating to support these and other work projects preferably you can use this banking information for international transfers:

Beneficiary Bank: Banca Mifel SA

Name of Benficiary: Montaña San Miguel S de RL de CV

CLABE: 042045016004917054

CUENTA: 0160049705

SWIFT: MIFEMXMM

RFC: MSM950401I68

REFERENCE: MANDALA

or this account for transfers in mexican pesos:

Montaña San Miguel S de RL de CV

CLABE: 0420450160052950456

CUENTA DE CHEQUES: 16005295045

REFERENCIA: MANDALA

or, only if this is the only viable alternative for you, you can also use this link to donate via PayPal (not the preferred method as it costs extra fees and the money arrives in the US from where it still has to be transferred to Mexico to actually arrive at the Gar…):

https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/TsegyalgarWest

Thank you for your active participation in any way that you enjoy!

We hope to welcome you soon here at your wild and voluntary nature reserve!

With love and all the best from Tsegyalgar West!