When Avatar Meher Baba visited Meher Mount in 1956, He asked about Meher Mount's boundaries. He was particularly inquisitive about the southern boundary corner post.
Meher Mount discovered that the property of the neighbors to the south, Larry and Maj Hagman, encroached on Meher Mount's land with footings for their solar panels, a couple of other small structures and a road. The fence line was actually on Meher Mount’s property.
Interestingly, that boundary line starts from the very corner Meher Baba inquired about.
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The Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus) residency in Baba's Tree has much expanded! There are four to five full-size nest holes, plus some tentative ones, all along the underside of one branch.
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"An infinite number of branches spread out from me. It is I who work through you all and suffer for you all. ..." - Avatar Meher Baba
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In honor of America's independence celebration on July 4, 2013, Meher Mount published these comments by Avatar Meher Baba on America's spiritual potential.
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In 1996, artist Will David visited Meher Mount and was inspired to paint Avatar Meher Baba with the 6,200-foot Topa Topa Bluffs in the background.
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The weather report for Sunday, April 14, 2013, said “mostly sunny, 69 degrees, 10% chance of rain.”
Invitations to the event that day - the "Don’t Worry, Be Happy” Ojai WordFest After Party - had invited everyone to come see the 360-degree views from atop the 2,500-foot level of Sulphur Mountain Road.
However, when volunteers arrived to set up for the event, Sulphur Mountain and Meher Mount were enshrouded in the clouds.
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Yellow Starthistle (Centaurea solsitialis), is an invasive, noxious weed found in range lands, some wild lands, and along roadsides and walking trails.
There are an estimated 19,761,201 acres of Yellow Starthistle in the US. Some of that acreage includes Meher Mount.
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The need for the fireproof garage/workshop sparked a series of discussions which led directly to the development of a long-range master plan for Meher Mount.
Meher Mount had earlier begun long-range planning discussions by holding two community meetings – February 7, 2004 and May 22, 2004 –to brainstorm ideas that would help guide the master plan.
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The idea of building of a new Workshop started on January 13, 2007, at a work party in honor of Agnes Baron’s 100th birthday. Agnes Baron, born on January 17, 1907, was a co-founder of Meher Mount who cared for the property for Avatar Meher Baba from 1946 until her death in 1994.
Whenever individuals are doing the manual labor that has been one of the hallmarks of Meher Mount - pulling weeds, trimming trees, cutting tall grasses by hand, and hauling trash and debris - the discussion always turns to how to make the tasks easier.
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There are several photos of Avatar Meher Baba's 1956 visit to Meher Mount, including one in which Meher Baba is walking the property while the then Caretaker Agnes Baron points out various sights and facts. Eruch Jessawala holds an umbrella to protect Meher Baba from the sun.
Artist Karl Gallagher of Melbourne, Australia, painted that moment of Meher Baba's visit to Meher Mount.
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In May 2012, the Board of Directors of Meher Mount adopted a Master Plan. Planning for the future of Meher Mount is a careful, thoughtful and daunting process.
The master plan provides a framework for planning, operations and future development of programs, activities and infrastructure.
It is designed to be broad enough to encompass all elements and aspects of Meher Mount, while also being focused enough to provide consistent direction and guidance over the long term.
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On the occasion of Agnes Baron's 105th birthday - January 17, 2012 - Meher Mount published this photo as a part of a short biography of Agnes. After seeing this photo, former Manager/Caretaker Ray Johnston sent the following email.
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It was a Monday or Tuesday when Meher Mount is officially closed. However, we were going to run some errands down the hill, and we had earlier opened the front gate for our departure.
Meanwhile, back at the Visitor Center/Caretaker Quarters, we were busy and not expecting visitors, so we weren’t watching for them. Somehow a couple of visitors slipped by.
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As Manager/Caretakers at Meher Mount, my wife Pamela and I encountered a number of people who happened to visit seemingly for “no reason” at all.
Maybe they were inexplicably drawn up Sulphur Mountain Road or were just out for a drive in the mountains. Regardless, they were unknowingly led to Meher Mount, and ultimately, Baba's Tree.
These unintentional visitors came in all shapes and sizes, from students to seekers to tourists to long-time Ojai residents who seemed baffled that they “never knew this place was here.”
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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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