Each has his own personal tale to tell of how he came to Avatar Meher Baba or in truth how Meher Baba came to him. Mine is simple. In 2002, on browsing through the small ads in Caduceus, a British metaphysical journal, I came across a somewhat familiar face.
The ad was placed by the U.K. Meher Baba Association and the face was Meher Baba’s. The quote beneath said more to me than all the literature that I had read to date on a 10-year spiritual quest.
This was an answer to my inner searching that spoke directly to the heart. What it said is long forgotten but what it contained embedded in me a spark that changed my life beyond recognition.
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Leslie Bridger, who was a Manager/Caretaker at Meher Mount from 2010 to 2013, writes poetry and was inspired to write this "Summer Song."
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In May 2009, I spent my birthday alone sitting with this rattlesnake. I had recently experienced a time of profound personal challenge and change.
As I looked at its nine to 10 buttons [rattles], I thought of the years I had lived at Meher Mount – essentially the same period of time as the snake.
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Leslie Bridger, who was Manager/Caretaker at Meher Mount from 2010 to 2013, writes poetry including this one inspired by Spring in California.
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That a small, yet steady, percentage of first-time visitors arrive at Meher Mount by sheer happenstance, rather than intention, seems to exceed the rational probabilities of this occurring as often as it does.
Some do say they felt drawn up the mountain for inexplicable reasons. Some are on a country drive hoping for spectacular views. Others are simply passing by and are curious. Whatever the reason, they found their way to Meher Mount.
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It was our last day at Meher Mount in May 2006 after a year of caretaking. We were packing up the house along with our things on the porch at the side of the barn.
I spoke to Lilly saying that we should find a motel room nearby in Santa Paula, sleep there that night, and drive the rest of the distance to Flagstaff, Arizona, in the morning.
I reached for the phone to dial 411 for "information" to ask for motels nearby. Because I was so tired, instead I dialed 911 for "emergency!"
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One sunlit Saturday, I called to let Agnes know I was planning to come to Meher Mount, and she asked me if I could give a ride to a friend of hers, Germaine Curchod, who lived in Santa Barbara.
I was intrigued about her relationship with Agnes, and wondered how they came to know each other. Agnes had never mentioned her until that morning.
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I once traveled to Meher Mount for a work party after the fire. It was pouring rain.
I parked my rent-a-car near the work site. Agnes Baron [then caretaker of Meher Mount] jumped into the car.
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The fire at Ojai happened on Monday, October 14, 1985. I attempted to call Agnes Baron on that day to no avail. Then, I heard the news from friends that Meher Mount had indeed been destroyed.
The following weekend, I flew down to Los Angeles and drove to Ojai to visit Agnes personally and make sure that she was well. I met her in town at the house of a friend of hers [George S. Stuart] who had taken her in after her devastation. Agnes appeared quite composed and peaceful.
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On two occasions I saw a mountain lion at Meher Mount, both times in exactly the same place. Both times I saw him cross the road, going down the slope of Meher Mount from right to left, and both times it was around dusk.
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One evening at Meher Mount, just after dinner at dusk, we were sitting outside at the round table where we used to eat, and just enjoying the peace of Meher Mount.
While I sat alone with Meher Baba, looking at the sky, I noticed something moving towards me. It was a beautiful red fox.
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When my wife Lilly was pregnant with our son Cyprus and near the end of our stay as Manager/Caretakers in 2006, we would frequently hear owls at Meher Mount.
One morning, around 5:00 a.m., I woke up and made my coffee and heard an owl hoot-hooting.
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John Bryon had just finished building a fence for Agnes near the main entrance to Meher Mount. He then saw a man accidentally drive into the fence knocking it down.
John completely lost his temper and ran as fast as he could to catch the man in the car. He yelled and screamed at the man. The man apologized, and said he would fix the fence.
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In 2002, preparations were being made at Meher Mount to celebrate the anniversary of Avatar Meher Baba’s visit there on August 2, 1956. As I reflected on the events and significance of Meher Baba’s day at Meher Mount, this poem began to take shape as a small thing I could offer.
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On June 5, 2005, Aspen Weichberger, who was 10-years old wrote these poems after arriving at Meher Mount with her parents, Laurent and Lilly Weichberger. The family were Manager/Caretakers from 2005-2006.
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On a cold, foggy day in the winter of 1968-1969, Agnes asked me, Bobby Hazard, Rusty Bostwick, and Charles Christian to help her pull the pump out of the well so it could be repaired or replaced. Apparently it had stopped working, and no water was available at Meher Mount.
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It was about 1965-1966 and Murshida Ivy Duce [of Sufism Reoriented and a follower of Avatar Meher Baba] had told a story about Agnes' plight in the mountains of Ojai with a non-functioning well on the property.
Agnes had to go daily to bring water up the mountain in buckets to the house from some place [a natural spring] down the mountain.
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From the beginning of their tenure in 2002, Ray Johnston and Elizabeth Arnold felt that being volunteer Manager/ Caretakers at Meher Mount was a calling.
To be a Manager/Caretaker at Meher Mount, according to Ray, is to be willing to serve, to put oneself in the flow of Meher Mount's unfolding destiny, and to be part of the ongoing challenges and benefits of living on this land sanctified by Avatar Meher Baba's presence.
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On May 29, 2009, students from the Oak Grove School in Ojai visited Meher Mount as part of their world religious study.
Afterward, many commented on Baba’s Tree, the 1985 fire that nearly destroyed it, and being where Avatar Meher Baba sat in 1956.
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It was a beautiful day Saturday, April 11, 2009, when Meher Mount hosted two bird watching walks.
Manager/Caretakers Ray Johnston and Elizabeth Arnold were extremely prepared as usual. They had worked to make sure the hiking paths were mowed and the roads open.
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