Meditation Mount

During my two weeks of housesitting, I had another guest. My friend Royce, who hasn't spent much time in Ojai, came up for a visit. I knew I had to take him to one of my favorite places ... Meditation Mount. It's so beautifully landscaped against the backdrop of the valley, and the hills and mountains in the distance. It is constantly changing with the light and with the seasons.

It had been cloudy and rained a couple of days prior to our visit but the skies cleared and it was simply gorgeous.

Meditation Mount, Ojai

January 2012

The world is healed

one loving thought at a time.

~Marianne Williamson

Joy has no cost.

~Marianne Williamson

Miracles occur naturally as expressions of love.

The real miracle is the love that inspires them.

In this sense

everything that comes from love

is a miracle.

~Marianne Williamson

When you begin to touch your heart or let your heart be touched,

you begin to discover that it's bottomless,

that it doesn't have any resolution,

that this heart is huge, vast, and limitless.

You begin to discover how much warmth and gentleness is there,

as well as how much space.

~Pema Chodron

Every moment is unique, unknown, completely fresh.

~Pema Chodron

"The mission of Meditation Mount Is to promote the building of an enlightened and compassionate world through the power of creative meditation, inspirational educational programs, and community-based events focused on the practical application of the following universal spiritual principles: Right Human Relations, Unanimity, Goodwill, Spiritual Approach, Group Endeavor and Essential Divinity"

For information about the Mount, it's history and about "Friends of the Mount," please go to Meditationmount.org

Have a beautiful weekend!!!

Blessings and light to you!

Goodbye 2011 ... Goodbye to the Bodhi Tree

I love the relative emptiness of the days between Christmas and New Year's.

In the space of so much not happening, so much seems to be getting ready to.

You can almost feel all the forces coalescing for a new beginning.

~Marianne Williamson

I can't quite believe Christmas is over! I am back in L.A. unpacking and getting ready to re-pack for a little trip to San Diego. I am feeling so anxious about the new year. Not "bad" anxious but anxious for it to start! I feel like there is an inner momentum happening that I can't really explain!

I am having to say goodbye though, not only to 2011 but to a place I love and have come to count on. When I have been blue, or happy, or just looking for a new and different way of looking at things, I have gone there.

My favorite bookstore, The Bodhi Tree is closing. It opened in 1970. (It was made a bit famous by Shirley Maclaine in Out on a Limb.) Phil and Stan, who have run it for all these years are ready to retire. They are trying to sell the business but alas ... the neighborhood has gotten so expensive, that if the sale goes through (a few haven't) they will have to open it somewhere else.

Some places just have an amazing energy, especially bookstores. This one though? It has whole sections (not just a shelf or two) on Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Islam and the Sufis, Native American Shamanism, Astrology, creativity, Judeism, Kabbalah, Saints, healing, psychology, books on yoga and breathing, music, candles, sage, healthy eating cookbooks and more incense than you have ever seen in your life ...

A seeker went to ask a sage for guidance on the Sufi way.

The sage counseled,

If you have never trodden the path of love, go away and fall in love;

then come back and see us.

~Jami (Essential Sufism)

There has always been complimentary tea in the shop and many times I would go in, have a tea and find a quiet corner somewhere to explore some new thought or way of seeing the universe.

I wasn't the only one ...

Asking good questions is half of learning.

~Muhammad

(essential Sufism)

It will close in just a few days, on the 31st of December. I went yesterday to say goodbye and there were more people than I have ever seen in there, buying 1/2 off books, CDs, essential oils and laminated images of the Buddha and anything else that was left on the shelves. The incense, candles and sage were gone, as were all of the wonderful jewelry and prayer flags.

Most of these photos were taken a couple of months ago before the big sale started.

A tiny slice of the incense selection they had ...

Clean but the mirror and the message shines forth.

~A Course in Miracles

Soul development should take precedence over all things.

~Edgar Cayce

Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment,

full effort is full victory.

~Mahatma Gandhi

Does this path have a heart?

If it does, the path is good;

if it doesn't, it is of no use.

~Carlos Castaneda

A small section of the Buddhism area ... books beginning to disappear ...

And you?

When will you begin your long journey into yourself?

~Rumi

Throughout the store, all around the ceiling, pictures and images of teachers, prophets, saints and gurus ...

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.

If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

~14th Dalai Lama

The cat cleaning himself last night, on a nearly empty bookcase, in women's studies and feminism ...

Empty shelves in the middle that were filled with candles and candle holders ...

I want you to be concerned about your next door neighbor.

Do you know your next door neighbor?

~Mother Teresa

Some shelves were almost bare, signaling that it was actually going to happen. The store will indeed close. A mother and her adult son were taking photos of each other in the store. I wasn't the only one trying to freeze time.

I hope whether the business is bought or not, someone will create another sacred space here, of exploring and learning ... a place that inspires the spirit and propels us into a place within ourselves, to be the best version of ourselves. It's wonderful to have a place to go, that helps us to open that door, that welcomes us ... and says, We are all in this together and we will help you find a way.

I am feeling so grateful that such a place, found a place here, for so many years. Sometimes, though, we have to find that place inside ourselves. (but I will still miss it!)

The appearance of things change according to the emotions,

and thus we see magic and beauty in them,

while the magic and beauty are really in ourselves.

~Kahlil Gibran

Heaven on Earth is a choice you must make,

not a place you must find.

~Wayne Dyer

Hope you have had a beautiful holiday with your loved ones.

May you have a safe and joyful celebration of the year to come!

Blessings and light and so much love!

p.s. ... saw this this morning on my friend Anna's FB page and had to share!