"If you let yourself go, you will see God in that bird."

Your Friday photo…

Guest caretaker Juan Mendez photographed this turkey vulture in flight over Meher Mount. His comments about seeing God in nature are from his interview for the documentary film, Tree of Fire: A Story of Love and Resilience.

“If you let yourself go, you will see God in that bird.”

— Juan Mendez, Photographer and Guest Caretaker

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The following is an excerpt from Juan Mendez’s interview for Tree of Fire, the documentary film about Baba’s Tree at Meher Mount:

“Maybe one day Baba’s Tree will not be here, and we will be sad if we are alive at that time. But we have to remember God is above everything.

“You will find a way to connect to Him. You see a fox or you feel the breeze against in your face. That's a manifestation of God. So you just have to open your heart to to see that, to feel it.

“That’s why Avatar Meher Baba said you can appreciate God in nature. Trees, the wind, the birds, the fox, the turkey vultures are nature. If you take your time at Meher Mount, you're going to see species walking around or flying.

“You'll see the birds are majestic as they fly over you and fly over Baba’s Tree. So you're seeing God. If if you let yourself go, you will see God in that bird.”

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Tree of Fire: A Story of Love and Resilience

Tree of Fire is a heartfelt story of loss, survival, and spiritual connection. After a devastating fire, a once-thriving oak – blessed by Avatar Meher Baba – rises from the ashes to offer love and solace. The survival of Baba’s Tree becomes a living symbol of resilience and Divine love. Through personal testimonies, archival footage, and breathtaking imagery, the film invites viewers to rediscover their own capacity for healing, transformation, and spiritual awakening. Click here for festival screenings.

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"Do you like tarantulas?"

Your Friday photo…

This photo of a tarantula seen at Meher Mount was taken by Caretaker Ray Johnston. Guest caretaker Wayne Myers tells the story of a young boy’s interest in tarantulas which coincided with their fall migration.

“Just as they were about to head out to see the views and Baba’s Tree, I felt prompted for some reason to ask the boy, ‘Do you like tarantulas?’

He leapt up: ‘Yes! Where? Where?’”

— Wayne Myers, Guest Caretaker

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By Wayne Myers

It was a late Sunday afternoon at Meher Mount in early October 2010, warm, dry, and quiet.

A family of three, husband, wife, and young son visiting Ojai, took a country drive and found their way up Sulphur Mountain Road to Meher Mount, somewhat inexplicably so they told me. 

While the parents and I conversed, their son, about 8 years old, seemed bored and restless as he sat in a rocking chair on the porch.

I sensed a “Why am I here?” vibe from the boy.

Just as they were about to head out to see the views and Baba’s Tree, I felt prompted for some reason to ask the boy, “Do you like tarantulas?”

He leapt up: “Yes! Where? Where?”

I had recently learned there was a tarantula migration at Meher Mount in the fall.

His mother informed me that just that week their son’s schoolteacher had brought to class a large tarantula to show the students. Their son had taken a sudden and avid interest in tarantula sightings!

I was happy to tell them I had spied a large tarantula on the move just outside Baba’s Tree that very morning. The excited boy exclaimed: “Let’s go to the tree! Let’s go to the tree!”

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Tarantulas

Tarantulas are naturally docile creatures that only bite when threatened, with venom no more potent than a bee sting for most humans. They serve as vital ecosystem components, controlling pest populations while providing food for birds, reptiles, and mammals.

Their burrowing aerates soil and creates habitats for other creatures. Their feeding activities contribute to nutrient cycling, while their silk provides nesting materials for birds, making them important indicators of environmental health.

Tarantulas in California migrate, but it's more accurately described as a mating season migration. During this time, male tarantulas leave their burrows in search of female tarantulas. This typically occurs in the fall, with peak activity often in mid-October. 

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"Love is the cleanser that wipes the mirror bright..." - Avatar Meher Baba

Your Friday photo…

Artist and photographer Natalie Farsi took this photo at Baba’s Tree on a recent visit to Meher Mount. She calls it “Mirroring Divine Presence.” The quote from Avatar Meher Baba is shared by frequent visitor Martha Aubin.

“Love is the cleanser that wipes the mirror bright and enables you to behold with increasing clarity the indivisible Entity that permeates all life.”

— Avatar Meher Baba

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I place these mirrors in wild landscapes, framing and shape-shifting the living world in ways that invite another way of seeing and connecting.

The series explores thresholds between the seen and unseen, the human and more-than-human.

Through this visual alchemy — presence, reflection, and transformation — the mirror opens a gateway into the liminal realm, where perception shifts and new ways of seeing and transcending can emerge.

Here, the mirror rests in the gnarled branches of Baba’s Tree so the old can reflect the new — illuminating past, present, and future. The volcanic interior of the Earth, held within the obsidian mirror, gazes back at itself, capturing young leaves and rays of light from ever-present sources.

~Natalie Farsi, Photographer

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Source

Meher Baba, Life at Its Best, edited by Ivy O. Duce, pg. 49, (Walnut Creek, CA: Sufism Reoriented) ©1957 by Sufism Reoriented, Inc.

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"It feels kind of enchanted."

Your Friday photo is in honor of National Love a Tree Day…

Baba’s Tree at Meher Mount is beloved by many. It was graced by the presence of Avatar of the Age, Meher Baba in 1956. Today, many visitors spend time at the tree in quiet contemplation to find inspiration, solace and joy.

This photo of the deer grazing by Baba’s Tree, which is to the right out of the picture, was taken by guest caretaker Juan Mendez.

Eric Carlson, former resident caretaker, describes how the deer interact with the tree and area around it. His comments are part of his interview for the upcoming documentary about Baba’s Tree, Tree of Fire.

“It feels kind of enchanted.”

— Eric Carlson, Resident Caretaker, 2019-2022

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I would say that all of nature recognizes on some level, something going on that goes beyond the tree itself.

I have sat at Baba’s Tree for hours and noticed that animals, like deer and coyotes, seem to be attracted to the area. Now you could say, well, that's just the geographic location. It could be a strategic crossing.

But it does seem like they like to hang around the area.

Sometimes I'll go down to Baba’s Tree, and there will be deer bedded down inside the low roped-off enclosure. And I feel kind of bad for spooking them out of there. I want to say, “Wait, wait, you don't have to go. You can stay.”

And sometimes when I'm there, the deer won't even go that far. They literally see you and they don't feel that threatened.

So that's what I observed at Baba’s Tree. It feels kind of enchanted.

~Eric Carlson, Resident Caretaker, 2019-2022

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Tree of Fire — Coming Late Summer

The documentary, Tree of Fire, is the journey of a seemingly ordinary oak tree blessed by the presence of Avatar Meher Baba. For decades, Baba’s Tree fulfills its role of inspiring others. Then one night the tree is felled by fire and high winds. Its very existence is threatened.

Through the tree’s own resilience and love, it is transformed by fire to emerge even more powerful in radiating Meher Baba’s love.

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National Love a Tree Day

On May 16th each year, National Love a Tree Day celebrates the joys of life provided by trees.

Trees provide more than just beautiful landscapes and a shady canopy on a sunny day. They provide habitat and structure for strong ecosystems. They play a significant role in reducing erosion, moderating the climate, and providing oxygen. Large quantities of carbon are stored in their tissues as trees remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

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"True love gathers power and spreads itself..." - Avatar Meher Baba

Your Friday photo in honor of Valentine’s Day...

This heart stone under Baba’s Tree at Meher Mount marks the spot where Avatar Meher Baba sat alone in 1956. It is a touchpoint for many visitors.

For Amartithi 2025, Martha Aubin decorated it with flowers. Later that day, Margaret Magnus took this photograph and was reminded of the following from Meher Baba on love.

“Essentially, love is self-communicative: Those who do not have it catch it from those who have it, for one cannot absorb love without making a response.

The secret of true love is that it is unconquerable and irresistible. True love gathers power and spreads itself until it transforms everyone it touches.

Humanity will attain a new mode of life through the unhampered interplay of pure love, as it spreads from heart to heart.”

— Avatar Meher Baba

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Source

D. E. Stevens, editor, Listen, Humanity, (c)Avatar Meher Baba Perpetual Public Charitable Trust, Ahmednagar, India.

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"Nobody tries to save a tree this badly burned..."

Your Friday photo...

This week (December 4th) is the seven-year anniversary of the 2017 Thomas Fire that struck Meher Mount — and in particular Baba’s Tree. At the time, it was the largest wildfire in California history.

This photo of Baba’s Tree was taken former caretaker Buzz Glasky just days after the Thomas Fire swept through Meher Mount.

“Nobody tries to save a tree this badly burned...”

— Michael Inaba, ISA® Certified Arborist, 2018

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On the night of December 4, 2017, high winds toppled the giant canopy of Baba’s Tree and fire burned the trunk and limbs.

Baba’s Tree was shattered. The trunk was a hollowed-out shell. There were only a couple of inches of actual live wood. There was a hole in the tree’s trunk that was three or four feet wide. You could walk right into the middle of the trunk — or what had been the trunk.

We saw people come to the tree and weep. We knew we had to do everything humanly possible to help the tree recover. That's when we reached out to ISA® Certified Arborist Michael Inaba just a few weeks after the fire.

He came up with plan — watering, mulch, covering the limbs to protect them from sunburn, putting the tree in isolation (as you would a very ill patient), and spraying non-pesticide clay, and steel props to hold up the burned limbs.

“But…,” Inaba said, “Nobody tries to save a tree this badly burned.”

And then he asked, “If we don’t save the tree, what will the community think?”

All along, all we could do was our best — and leave the results to Meher Baba.

~ Margaret Magnus, Communications Director

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The Documentary on Baba’s Tree — COMING LATE SPRING

The story of Baba’s Tree begs to be told on film. It’s the journey of a seemingly ordinary oak tree blessed by the presence of the Avatar of the Age, Meher Baba.

For decades, Baba’s Tree fulfills its role of inspiring others — drawing seekers from around the world in search of inspiration, silence, joy and solace.

Then one night Baba’s Tree is felled by fire and high winds. Its very existence is threatened. Through the tree’s own resilience and love, it is transformed by fire to emerge even more powerful in radiating Meher Baba’s love.

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"What occurs to me around Baba's Tree as far as sound or silence..."

Your Friday photo…

Thank you to volunteer Stephanie Ervin for this delightful photograph of Baba’s Tree.

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“What occurs to me around Baba’s Tree as far as sound or silence is how profoundly calm and quiet it can be.”

— Robert Turnage, Board Member

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Robert Turnage and Kristina Somma shared their thoughts about silence at Baba's Tree while being interviewed for the documentary about Baba’s Tree: — Tree of Fire: A Story of Love and Resilience.

Robert Turnage

“What occurs to me around Baba’s Tree as far as sound or silence is how profoundly calm and quiet it can be.

“And there is a connection for me between that and the silence that Meher Baba observed for the last 44 years of His incarnation. You can definitely sense the silence at Baba’s Tree.”

Kristina Somma

“So if there’s any sound that emanates out from the sky or the tree, you’re listening. It's the silence, the calmness that allows you to be a deeper listener. I find myself listening very deeply at Baba’s Tree.

“My nature self is listening for any sound of an animal or a bird or any movement in the bushes.

“But also metaphorically, you could say that there's an opportunity to listen more deeply to your own inner self and more deeply to whatever Meher Baba might be asking you to hear. So they kind of come together for me.

“I tend to like to go to Baba's Tree on my own the first time I get back to Meher Mount. Because I am trying to allow myself that deeper listening place in that relationship.”

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Meher Baba’s Silence

Avatar Meher Baba began His silence on July 10, 1925. He said that His silence was not undertaken as a spiritual exercise, but solely in connection with His universal work.

After Meher Baba started His silence, He communicated by writing on a slate board.  After that, He pointed to letters on an alphabet board to spell out words. Later, He used a series of hand gestures that were interpreted by His close disciples.

He kept silence for 44 years until He dropped His body on January 31, 1969.

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