Elizabeth Lodowski

Dearest Friends and Family,


Thank you all for your support of our dear friend, sister, cousin, niece and daughter Elizabeth throughout this difficult time.

Elizabeth was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma in November, a couple days after her sister Sarah’s wedding. Elizabeth loved being there by her sister’s side that special weekend and was her usual energetic, gregarious, smiley self -- dancing up a storm at the reception -- so it came as a shock to us when we found out she had cancer.

Ewing’s Sarcoma is a rare bone cancer that often appears in children and young adults. It usually must be treated with a combination of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. It can be anywhere in the body; Elizabeth’s tumor is located on the side of her neck close to the spine. She is nearing the end of her initial six rounds of chemo. Each treatment is a 21 day cycle beginning with chemo being administered for the first 4 days of that cycle. Following these rounds of treatment, Elizabeth will undergo surgery to remove the rest of the tumor. The hope is that the surgeons can remove all of it, but because of its location near the spine, she may have to go through radiation treatment and possibly more chemotherapy.

Elizabeth was uprooted from Seattle to move back to Houston for care at Methodist Hospital and to surround herself with her loving family. Methodist Hospital offers the resource of the CarePages website, where Elizabeth communicates with her friends and family about what she is going through. CarePages is a great way for us to participate in Elizabeth’s journey regardless of where we are in the world to form a community of support around her, her family and each other. Her page can be found at this link: http://www.carepages.com/carepages/ElizabethLodowski/updates/.

Elizabeth’s last round of chemo is Monday, February the 21st. To celebrate her life and the completion of this round of treatment, we are holding a benefit on February 17th in Houston to assist Elizabeth with her medical expenses. This benefit is a chance to financially support Elizabeth, but, more importantly, to be there with her to give her the strength she needs to enter the next stage of treatment and beat this cancer for good. Elizabeth has always been selfless, generous, supportive and kind. Her big heart and continued positivity throughout this difficult time serves as a constant inspiration to us all. The fundraiser is a way to collectively show her how much we appreciate her inspiration and give back to her.


Helping Hands Ministries has set up an account, the Elizabeth Lodowski Medical Project, to help Elizabeth’s family and friends make the process of giving to her easier as well as tax deductible. Helping Hands receives donations via Master Card, Discover, Visa and checks made payable to Helping Hands Ministries with the Elizabeth Lodowski Medical Project written on the memo line of the check. Donations will be accepted during the benefit or can be mailed to:

Helping Hands Ministries,
PO Box 337
Tallulah Falls, GA 30573.

Donations can also be made on the website at: https://www.hhmin.org/make_donation_projects.php
At this site, select "Medical Project" for the Project Category and in the "Project" drop box select (Lodowski, Elizabeth) from the list.
Please feel free to invite others to attend the benefit.


Thank you all for being there for Elizabeth. It means a lot to her and her family.

With love and appreciation

Progress made me a woman

Progress made me a man

PROGRESS SHOWCASE 2010

12pm / Inlets / NY

12:45 / Dana Falconberry / Austin

1:30 / Sharon Van Etten / NY

2:15 / David Wingo (of Ola Podrida) / Austin

3:00 / Jesse Woods / Austin

3:45 / Lesser Gonzalez Alvarez / Baltimore

4:30 / Lost River/Old River / Austin

5/5:15 / Mountain Man / Vermont

'Are you friends with them?'

'Are you friends with them?'

Insights from Vedanta @ Progress Coffee

Insights from Vedanta @ Progress Coffee
---The Philosophy of Life & the Ultimate Reality---

Vedanta is the ancient wisdom of Indian Philosophy. The Sanskrit word 'Vedanta' simply means Ultimate Knowledge. Vedanta is considered the most complete system of philosophy that deals with life and living. Vedanta directs its pursuer to the highest human experience of Self Realization. Incidentally, it helps you to gain a calm mind & a sharp intellect.

Rangarajan is a disciple of Swami Parthasarathy, a 83 year old Self Realized master living in India. Rangarajan will be conducting a series of talks at the Progress Coffee; on the third Thursday of every month from 7pm to 8pm. You are welcome to join these sessions. Visitwww.vedantausa.org to know more on Vedanta in the USA.

Topics for the first 6 sessions.
1. The Meaning of Happiness
2. Concept of God
3. The Mystery of Origin - Why, when & wherefore this world
4. The 3 states of Consciousness & You
5. Life, Death & Reincarnation
6. Qualities of a Spiritually Evolved Person
Vedanta Cultural Foundation USA
rangarajan@vedantausa.org

R Rangarajan speaks at Progress on Thursday, Jan. 21, 7pm

Talk title:

“The Fall of the Human Intellect”

Synopsis:

Humanity has stopped thinking. The paucity of thought, reason and judgement has left the human intellect emaciated. Educational institutions focus on providing only knowledge, intelligence with no plan or program to develop the intellect (reasoning ability).

This loss of intellectual development has left humans with stress, depression, disease, etc. and the world with militancy and privation. More deeply, this fall has deprived us of our original, spiritual stature. Humanity now faces an urgent need to rehabilitate, reconstruct the fallen intellect.

With the re-development of the human intellect, called ‘buddhi’ in Sanskrit, humanity can recover peace and productivity both individually and on the societal level. Ultimately, a strong intellect can take one to the highest state of consciousness known as Self-Realization.

Rangarajan will introduce the Vedanta philosophy as a means for strengthening the intellect, reducing stress and strain and leading us to the spiritual awakening we are heir to.

R Rangarajan is originally from Chennai, India and is a senior disciple of Swami Parthasarathy. After a brief stint as a consultant in the management services industry, he took to full time study and research on Vedanta (Indian philosophy) at the Vedanta Academy in Malavli Hills, near Pune, in India. After completing 6 years of full time research and practice at the Academy, Rangarajan served as its resident representative and faculty in various cities throughout India. For the past 5 years, he has been assigned to the United Arab Emirates.
He offers weekly study sessions on Vedanta, utilizing various Vedantic texts including the Bhagavad Gita. He also conducts Vedanta retreats for all age groups. He has been a guest faculty at colleges and various private companies, corporations and institutes.
Ranga will arrive in the US next week and will be based in Houston. He will serve the non-profit Vedanta Cultural Foundation, USA (www.vedantausa.org) in a full-time capacity. Ranga will spend equal time in Austin and Houston, offering donation-based classes for the public, in-house retreats for companies and other groups and will help arrange Swami Parthasarathy’s upcoming US tours.
This will be Ranga’s first talk in America.