Krotona

I moved about a week ago, my husband and I rented a house on a lane that’s a private property of the Theosophical society. The lane is positioned right next to the Krotona institute which, I believe, is the center for theosophy in the area, if not in US. It’s a beautiful place, up on a hill with a grand view of the Ojai valley, with extensive grounds, occupied mostly by oaks and coyotes, perfect for evening prowling. Being a dog owner I do prowl regularly, and with every day I become more and more aware of the specific energy of this place. My first impression was that of a community. Private community, rather exclusive – but not unfriendly. There was also the feeling of luxury. There isn’t anything that looks luxurious, it just feels that way. It has the feeling of high society somehow. With every day I spend here (and I spend all days here, working at home) I can feel the presence and energy of this place stronger and more defined. I can feel how distinct and different it is from the “ordinary world”, to the point where, when I look down at Ojai, which is about 5 minutes away, it seems like a different reality. This is a distinctly different energy that that of the east end of Ojai, and yet somehow similar – east end is wild and incredibly present at the same time, one becomes aware of ones God nature there almost automatically, the place facilitates the process. It is not a human experience. Here, at Krotona, I can feel distinctly that the energy and presence is created by community. It is an experience of society. It is a space where, while walking a dog in the evening, I have random conversations with strangers about the cult of Mary, the mother of Christ, in Poland, or about free masons. This, in fact, is what sent me flying to my computer tonight with the need to type it out and share it with the world – it’s so amazing! It’s so amazing to live in a place where human beings talk to each other about religion and philosophy and looking for the truth – randomly, in passing, instead of talking about weather or the latest TV show, like they do in other places. As I meet and talk to people here I’m realizing that this is what creates this place. The way those people think, their approach to reality, their point of view and their understanding of what’s a priority in life, creates the amazing energy and presence of this place. It is not heaven full of enlightened beings floating around, as I said it is a human experience, an experience of society – but completely different than what the ordinary, or maybe the mass reality is. Being here reminds me very very strongly about “lost Horizon” and the Shangri-La. The valley where humans, not having to worry about death and survival, could spend their lives experiencing what they wanted to experience, growing in the way they wanted to grow. This is how this place feels. And here is my point – it’s created by people. Regular people with jobs, cars, families. Just a group of people who got together, joined by the common need to search for the truth – and changed reality. Literally. In a middle of Ojai, in a center of United States, with Bush in power, with economical crisis and hopeless war, with TV and mass-media taking over… Just a group of people, got together and changed reality.