In my earliest memories of looking out upon the world, I thought the world would be paradise if we didn't interfere with it. I know I had confused and mixed feelings and my seeing was often obscured, but in essence, I believed it had to be perfect. I was in love with Nature, sometimes a little overwhelmed, many times in awe, but always in love.
My dream was to be a forest ranger and live in some wilderness paradise. Of course my life path was completely different. I was fascinated by how we {human kind} defined our role in Nature and what we were all about. My intellectual quest led me to philosophy, psychology and anthropology. The ultimate quest was understanding, 'who was I' and 'who is the other'.
I lived life with both hands and didn't shy away from many experiences. But all through my life was this thread of understanding, the world could be paradise if we just loved each other. Perhaps I didn't pay attention to this awareness all the time-but it was always there. Many teachers and great ones encouraged me to do something. Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, there were many more. They could see that it was only our own silliness that kept us out of Paradise.
In the Seventies there was a great back to the land movement. Jamie and I were swept up in it without even knowing it was a movement. We thought we were originals. We thought we were pioneers showing others how to live on the land. It was only after we had emerged our selves in it that we discovered it was a huge movement and there were several magazines dedicated to the 'back to the landers'.
About the same time I developed an idea for a Healing/Learning Center. I envisioned a gathering of folks who had many talents as healers, people who understood Nature was the source of healing. I saw understanding, who we are, as part of the healing. Understanding reincarnation, understanding how are minds work, understanding, connection and interaction of mind, body and spirit. I would include anybody who had something valuable to offer, whether it be an astrologer, numerologist, herbalist, massage therapist, energy healer, nutritionist, gardener, etc. and traditional doctor dentist folks. The idea was to reeducate people to live on the Earth with harmony. It would require people to give up all their pet beliefs and learn to see. I knew we lived in paradise. I wanted to see it. I wanted others to see it.
We moved here to our present location in 1975. We had a wood stove in the kitchen with a water reservoir. The house had running water when we moved in but the system was crippled and rather than repair it we put a hand pump on the well and built an outhouse. It was what we wanted to do anyway. We wanted to discover what folks lost when they embraced the, so called, modern conveniences.
In 1975 through 1977 I met many people who were interested in my idea of a healing center. There were people of influence, with the money to kick start it, who expressed interest. I had the notion that I had to express my confidence in the idea and go ahead and trust in Source. I left my psychotherapy practice in the city in March of 1977 to begin the project.
Well, a lot happened. Jamie and I had many an interesting experience. We met many interesting people, we would have never met if we had our old lifestyle. We did meet many people, very interested in spirituality, who shared an interest in learning to live on the Earth in a sane and peaceful manner. Perhaps the Healing Center did happen in a way that I didn't recognize. We had many people come up and spend an afternoon or a few days with us and I think we all learned immensely.
I recognized the Healing Center was not going to happen and I opened an office in a neighboring town. It worked marginally, but it was clear that I needed to rejoin the class of salaried professionals if I was to care adequately for my family.
I rejoined the professional community by getting a job as a social worker in a rural county. I moved from there to a larger county, then worked for a while as an in-home family therapist for a private agency. I rejoined the county I started out in in 1962. This is 1988. I worked in intake, then began and supervised the Children's Mental Health Unit. The last several years before I retired in 2000 I was Program Manager of the Family and Children Services.
I have never given up the idea of a Healing Center. We have so much to learn. Nature is a creation of Source, it is love. Everything we need is right here. For the last two thousand years we have been making Nature the enemy. She is waiting for us to see Her. She would like to embrace us with Love. We can't know what we will see until we rid ourselves of some silly ideas. We have thousands of years of unlearning to do.
Let's practice being awake. Let's pretend we are already awake. Let's see nothing but love. Let's not accept our egos' perception of the world and each other. Let's see through the superficial veil of each others' pretensions and look at the beauty and magnificence we have been hiding.
We can learn by taking on what we want to learn. We can be awakened. Let us refuse to see anything else but paradise.
Love and Peace, Gregg
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