Cealo and Amica’s Visit to Chicago, June 2008

By Michelle Rosenaur

We had an amazing few days when Cealo and Amica came to visit Chicago in June. On Friday night, about 45 people attended the public program at Yoga Now in the Gold Coast. We had a special treat because Father Andrew drove from Michigan to give us a live sampling of his lovely meditation music. I was pleasantly surprised to see a few former volunteers who I hadn’t seen at one of Cealo’s public programs for years. It was good to see them.

On Saturday morning, a volunteer named Stewart and I came to Cealo and Amica’s apartment to help with the private sessions. Father Andrew was staying at the apartment, too. He explained to us the procedures for bringing in the guests. Each guest was invited to write a prayer on a special prayer tablet. The tablets are then prayed over by Cealo, Father Andrew and many monks. Father Andrew said it was like having a whole cheerleading team root for you.

After our brief training, Father Andrew left to go back to Michigan. Bonita, who had done a lot of work researching and renting the apartment, joined us mid-morning. I had my own private session that morning. Although I hadn’t felt especially emotional when I asked my questions, something that Cealo said touched a deep part of me. I needed to dab the tears from my eyes with the tissue that Amica offered me. In the afternoon, Jennifer J., who was a lead organizer, arrived and I went back home.

On Sunday at 5 pm, we had a wonderful special meditation with Cealo. Volunteers as well as people who attended the private sessions were invited to come. Elizabeth and Jonathan, a couple who regularly attend Eric’s meditations, had the idea of taking pictures at the meditation.

The next day, at the closing volunteer meeting, Jonathan showed us a slide show of the great shots he had taken the previous day. A volunteer named Beth stood up and explained her idea of making donation boxes out of Kleenex boxes. Cealo and Amica are taking donations for people in Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Myanmar.

After the volunteer meeting, I thought I wouldn’t see Cealo and Amica anymore in Chicago. I was flabbergasted when Jennifer J. phoned me at work later that week to say that Cealo and Amica were going to be at my neighbor Eric’s house that night to join our meditation group for the full moon meditation. It was a beautiful meditation. After the meditation, I caught Cealo’s eye. I was smiling and he was smiling, too. Eric bowed down to Cealo several times while Cealo held his hand over Eric’s head, blessing him. I could tell Cealo was pleased by Eric leading his weekly meditations, not just because of the money that he raised, but because of the way he is spiritually helping people out.