"Sing for the forest, sing for the sky, sing for the moments that are passing you by."

Your Friday photo…

This photo, by former resident caretaker Buzz Glasky, captures the view from Meher Mount of the 2,600-foot Topa Topa Bluffs beneath clouds illuminated by the setting sun. 

"Sing and Surrender" is written as a prayer by singer-songwriter Adrienne Shamszad. 

“It is a wish,” she said, “that when more of us express ourselves, the world becomes a more healed place for everyone to live. It is an invitation to lift your heart up to the sun, the moon, and sing your song.”

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“Sing for the forest
Sing for the sky
Sing for the moments that are passing you by”

— Adrienne Shamszad, Singer-Songwriter, "Sing and Surrender"

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“Sing and Surrender”
By Adrienne Shamszad

Sing for the forest
Sing for the sky
Sing for the moments that are passing you by

Sing for the animals
Sing for your friends
Sing for the beginning and sing for the end

All of our days
Are endlessly numbered
while the clock runs, time stands still
Tomorrow’s never promised
To anyone
And the empty stage of life is yours to fill
So sing

Sing and then surrender
Sing and then let go
Sing for your happiness and for your sorrow

Sing because you can
Sing because it’s good
Sing for all the people in the world who wish they could

All of our days
Are endlessly numbered
while the clock runs, time stands still
Tomorrow is never promised
To anyone
And the empty stage of life is yours to fill
So sing

Sing for your healing
Sing because it’s right
Sing your warmth into the cold dark night

Sing for your homeland
Sing for your soul
Sing for your brokenness, sing until you’re whole

All of our days
Are endlessly numbered
while the clock runs, time stands still
Tomorrow is never promised
To anyone
And the empty stage of life is yours to fill
So sing

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Singer-songwriter Adrienne Shamszad performs her original song “Sing and Surrender.”

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"...the solid mountain of our true nature stays where it's always been."

Your Friday photo…

One late summer evening, photographer and guest caretaker Juan Mendez took this photo of the Topa Topa Bluffs as seen from Meher Mount. Long-time volunteer Sam L. Ervin suggested these words from the Sufi poet Rumi.

“There are many winds full of anger, and lust and greed. They move the rubbish around, but the solid mountain of our true nature stays where it’s always been.”

— Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī

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Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī, also known as Rumi, was a 13th century poet and Islamic scholar. Avatar Meher Baba enjoyed listening to Rumi's poetry and praised him as one of the greatest minds of all mystical and spiritual literature.

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Source
Coleman Barks, “Feeling the Shoulder of the Lion: Poetry and Teaching Stories of Rumi,” p.91, Shambhala Publications, 2000. (Selections from Rumi’s epic poem, Mathnawi.)

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"You gotta go out and look toward the Topas..."

Your Friday photo…

A little after midnight on May 11, 2024, Meher Mount Caretaker Ray Johnston received a phone call…

“You gotta go out and look toward the Topas,” said the friend over the phone.

Immediately Ray ran outside and saw the aurora borealis behind the Topa Topa Bluffs.

The rest of the Ojai Valley was covered in clouds, but higher up, the sky presented this incredible light show.

The aurora borealis appeared due to a geomagnetic storm caused by solar flares. This meant that parts of the world that are never able to see the aurora borealis (also referred to as the Northern Lights) were able to witness it for two nights in a row.

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