PART TWO: the story up to the late 1990s

This article is a continuation of a report begun here:

http://atiasrama.wordpress.com/2008/12/14/the-1970s-and-its-spiritual-influences-part-one/

In one or both of those books that I purchased sometime in late 1973 or early 1974 was contact information for the young spiritual community developing around the young Franklin Jones.  I sent off a letter and, in rapid succession, was assigned a correspondent contact and mentor: first, Dennis Duff, then Elizabeth Brown, and finally Billy (call him William now) Tskinas.  I filled out a detailed questionare and had a complete physical.

At some point, this group moved from Los Angeles up to Lake County, where they had acquired a large spread of property (hot springs and all) on Cobb Mountain at Siegler Springs.  The group was named the Dawn Horse Communion and the sanctuary was called Persimmon.

I was still living in Eureka, California.  And, still attending Humboldt  State University (and working in the mailroom of the local newspaper, the Humboldt Time-Standard).  It seemed like every week I was mailing off answers to these questionare’s as well as sending $10/month.

In additon to the Lake County sanctuary, the Dawn Horse Communion had established a center with a bookstore upstairs from a health food restaurant on the corner of California and  Polk.  I first went there to see a premier screening of a recently filmed movie at the Lake County site called A Difficult Man.   Only a handful of people were there, most of whom I went out to lunch with first: Billy Tsiknas, Patricia Morley, Glenn Johannes, and some others whose names I don’t know or remember.

Bubba’s laughter in A Difficult Man was an apparent sign of a very happy guy.  The movie was filmed by a Hollywood crew and based on the “shocking” book called Garbage and the Goddess, where tales of wife swapping, drinking, and powerful shakti displays were shared.

By the spring of 1975 I was making frequent trips to San Francisco (from Eureka) and I learned at the Dawn Horse bookstore (on California and Polk) that it was going to be easy to visit “Persimmon”, the ashram community in Lake County (on Cobb Mountain) where Bubba Free John lived with his disciples.  So, after an amusing orientation meeting with James Steinberg, a car load of us (driven by a guy from Texas and including a guy from Chicago and another from New York City) made it up to Persimmon on a Friday night in early April 1975.  We got a little lost, but made it just before midnight.

We were greeted by Tsiknas and some of the gopis (Bubba’s wives) and were told that Bubba would soon be sitting in the Hall for “Satsang”.  He had been awaiting our arrival.

In the hall, we faced a couch at the front.  Two guards sat on each  side of it.  When the door behind us opened, everyone of us put our heads to the floor.

Bubba scanned the room, looking around at everyone.  Within seconds, a silver/whitish disc shaped light deep in my head—in the forehead region—began clicking on and off and then I began seeing a raining of drops of light descending in the room!  Whoa!

That night (and other two nights) Islept on a mattress in one of the cabins.  My roomie was the guy from New York. 

We did some service work the next day.  The guy from New York vacummed Bubba’s house.  I was part of the crew that cleaned up all the broken beer bottles between the Dining Hall and Bubba’s house (which had a white picket fence!).  I remember having to extract a piece of a beer bottle from the mouth of the ashram’s dog.

Other memories:

One night, before dinner, the guy from New York and I were sitting on the couch talking with the magazine editor, Saniel Bonder, discussing what we felt were some similiarities in meditation practice in the teachings of Krishnamurti and Bubba Free John.  Then, a woman told us to put the books away and come and eat dinner.  After dinner, Bonder came up to me with an essay Bubba had just written on Krishnamurti.  Bonder said it was written after he shared our conversation with Bubba.  He took me to his office to read it.  Since I had just seen K in San Francisco the  previous month, giving a series of talks at a large Hall on Geary Blvd, I felt that some of his criticisms hit the mark.  Then, he took me to the Bathhouse and we sat there for a while talking (with two women joining us…????)

I have memories (during the service day) of Bubba touring the grounds slowly, visiting with different people.

Also, we spent time in the Bathhouse with Bubba.  Someone put a flotation device in the pool and I held it as Bubba got on.  Then pushed him around.  Again, I saw a rain of energy.

Here I did a big no no.  Feeling faint, I left the bath house after an hour or so.  First!  Bubba Free John followed me out.  I went directly to one of the shower stalls and saw Bubba looking at me, perhaps amazed and amused.  He had that look.  Everyone else was coming out of the hot water pool also and Billy Tsiknas told everyone to hold off on showering and wait for Bubba to finish.  (Oh oh.  I was already dressed by then.)

Another Satsang occassion with  Bubba was held in the meditation or Satsang Hall.  At that time, I felt a current of energy partially rise of my spine, stopping at my chest.  I felt a melting sensation and suddenly saw the room blasted by blue/green colors!  Oh my.

Late one morning, after Bubba engaged in a raucous snowball fight outside, he joined us all inside the Dining Hall.  First, we could hear him chatting and laughing in the kitchen.  This man and I chatted about the oddity of the snow in April and I joked that perhaps President Ford’s recent visit to the nearby Geysers on Mt. Geyser had an impact on the area.  Then Bubba came in and sat by us.  The man asked him if he had anything to do with the snow.  Bubba glanced at me and then turned to answer the man: “no, perhaps President Ford’s recent visit had something to do with it.”  (Again, oh oh.)

Bubba then started talking about raging war on the Forces of the Chocolate Auric Demons and extolled the virtues of the pure white Big Hunk candy bar.  Then, an African-American woman named Michelle came in the room.  Prompting Bubba to ask if anyone knew of any “good nigger jokes”.  She came over to him and they kissed on the lips.

Then, we joined him on the porch.  (There are pictures of this in the archives that include me standing right in front of him, as he holds a new born child.)  Someone asked “Generalissimo” Bubba what he was going to do with his POWs (in his war against the chocolate covered auric forces) and he said: “kill them”.

The final day included the reading of the essay on Krishnamurti before breakfast or lunch.  While everyone cheered, I booed (just to counter the unanimous consent).  This stern looking guy had a little chat with me after that.  (I’ve always been the goofball, clearly.)

Those are just the highlights that I remember.  We returned to San Francisco.  It would be 1986 before I was to visit that sanctuary again (where I saw this guru sit before a large number of people in this big tent).

I never became a formal member after that, but I did frequently visit some of those disciples I had gotten to know in ashram households in The City.  I had settled in San Francisco, initially working in the kitchen at the White Horse Tavern/Hotel Beresford on Sutter Street.  Then, I moved to Forest Hill (on San Marcos Ave), living in a basement apartment of this mansion owned by Olive Cowell (Henry Cowell’s stepmother) and where a college chum and his wife also lived (on the second floor).  My years in San Francisco were coming to an end by the end of 1979, when I became a licensed psychiatric nurse and moved to Napa, California (where I would live and work—at Napa State Hospital—for twenty years).  Not too much in the way of spiritual practice really occurred during my years in Napa.  UNTIL my encounters with Ammachi and Shree Maa (and involvement at the old Ken Wilber Forum).  Those stories in part three.  I retired at the very end of the 199os. 

(This report deliberately has a “rough” draft look to it.  Easier to post my memories in an unvarnished way.)

to be continued…..