Work continues this phase on the new entrance to the publications building, known now as the Media Studio (yes, we outgrew our old name, Press Shop). The entrance will be on the East side now, and begin with a covered portico held by eight massive redwood posts, trimmed with copper. Two 24-foot-long beams sit atop this, and these were just installed.

To make beams that long required a special piece of timber joinery, see the seventh photo in the slideshow. It's a traditional joint seldom seen these days. And it comes with an impressive name:

Stop-splayed skarf joint with under-squinted square butts and tapered traverse keys.

The French call it the "trait de jupiter" scarf joint

When you drive the pair of wedges (tapered traverse keys) in, they cinch the two beams together and hold them tightly.

All set for the kindling of the sacred fire, we hymn you, O Lord, with our verses, invoking your powerful grace. In your praise, O Lord, who reach highest heaven, we compose our song, eager to obtain your treasure divine! Rig Veda 5.13.1-2. VE, P. 853

Today the monastery began it's new phase with a powerful Siva homa, which was shortly followed by Kaduval Temple's monthly Adra Abhishekam.

From Living with Siva:
LESSON 318
How Prayers
Are Answered
The Gods, their devas and your own guardian devas are ever ready to respond to requests for help and guidance. You may well ask, "How are prayers answered?" It is well known that religious people have guardian devas, or angels, helping them through their Earthly experience. Established families who have kept the continuity of togetherness generation after generation court the same devonic beings century after century in their home shrines. In our technological age it is difficult to maintain this kind of togetherness or to attend properly to the home shrine. Therefore, other means of communication with the devonic guardians must be used. ¶Those who worship in Siva temples slowly gain acceptance into the devonic realms of the Gods, and one or two of the uncountable numbers of devonic intelligences often return with the devotee to his home. When this happens, the home immediately has within it the feeling of fullness. It is these guardian devas who are the first to receive the devotee's written prayers when they are transferred to the Devaloka through the sacred fire. They read each prayer carefully. If they cannot immediately respond, the prayer is given to a waiting dispatcher along with some personal advice about the individual or the family from their guardian deva. The dispatcher carries the prayer, along with the guardian deva's advice, to the group of devonic helpers who can best fulfill the request. ¶There are many groups of devas who sit in sangam circles, communicating with one another through thought transference. When they receive a prayer, read and understand it, through the power of consensus their group mind begins the process of fulfillment. After the prayer has been read and understood by each one present, it enters their inner minds. When this happens, the solution, karmically proper, is revealed to all. One or several of the devas is then seen to vanish from the group, on their way through inner space to execute the request. Because Earth time and astral time are different, the entire process takes about three Earth days from the time the prayer is offered until the time that it is fulfilled. ¶These sangams of devas configure themselves in circles of six, twelve, twenty-four and thirty-six. They dispatch many kinds of requests, some business, some health, some personal, some creative, some marital, some mental and others emotional. There is a sangam circle of devas for literally every department of life. These sangams service the needs of devotees in many temples and shrines in China, Japan, Southeast Asia, Hawaii, India, Africa, North America, Europe and other areas of our planet. ¶Before the Gods and devas can respond to your request, they must examine a time line extending ninety-nine years into the past and ninety-nine years into the future. Then they divide the possible decisions into nine groups to choose their course of helpfulness to your karmic pattern. Their duty is not to alter time or experience or to manipulate karmas, but to assist you in going through your natural karmas and to mitigate, nullify and soften the effects of karmas of the past that touch you in the present, whether they be good, mixed or bad. Therefore, it is important to delineate your state of mind as you write your prayer. ¶The devas surrounding all Natha temples and shrines respond best to written requests. The Gods and devas do not normally read your thoughts--only the thoughts directed to them--and they never interfere in the natural karmas of individuals who come into these places of worship. Hindus often say, "God knows my need. He will fulfill it." This is generally true for those who have sufficient mental prowess and intensity of thought, the inner fire burning in the manipura chakra, in the heart chakra and in the head. But in our day-to-day states of consciousness, it is most fruitful to clearly and precisely let our thoughts be known through the written word. This is the great boon the Natha temples have to offer--the direct, intricately concise, two-way communication between this and the higher inner world.