Open Secret Chronicles: Barbara
Once upon a time, that time: pre-pandemic, wildly electric, remarkably eclectic, when horizons felt limitless, when the world felt potent with possibility, when telephones were connected to wires, when the rain didn't fall in the California summertime, when book orders were placed over the phone, talking person-to-person, when posters were made by actually cutting paper and gluing disparate pieces together, to form a template - once upon that time, there was an enchanted place, a bookstore, a coffee house, a stage, and one more room.
At the end of a long hallway lined with bookcases, with double wooden doors that opened to a womblike, windowless temple, an homage to spiritual traditions of the world, filled with divine images from around the world, inhabited by deities depicted in multiple sacred Tibetan thangkas, a golden intricately carved altar from Thailand, next to it, a wooden sculpture of a massive Garuda-bird from Bali, brightly painted and gilt with golden highlights, its wing-span embracing all who entered, a giant Ganesh from India, his presence a blessing, paintings from India, Bali, South America, statues from Africa and Indigenous cultures throughout the world, the goddess Kali reigning supreme, centrally situated, her righteous rage directed towards eliminating negativity and restoring balance, her altar maintained with flowers, incense and offerings on a daily basis, her being, and all she represented, honored with monthly ritual pujas, chanting, incense, and prayers,
Where the monkey-god Hanuman received the 40 verses of the Hanuman Chalisa, attributed to the 16th poet-saint Tulsidas, Where Ram Dass shared his teaching and healing after his stroke during the last Sunday of each month during 2001-2002.
Where world-music artist the late Geoffrey Gordon, and Uma Reed and Mirabai chanted the names of god inspired by Neem Karoli Baba. Where Vedic Astrologer Chakrapani Ullal initiated us in the intricate and very specific mysteries of the stars, the science of light , the Yogas they impart and their impact in our lives,
Where weekly classes in the Quantum Enneagram, our research center that shared the common roots of astrology and the 9-pointed esoteric system for understanding personality and natural character, where Tibetan masters, such as Lama Tarchin, came to teach Tibetan Buddhism and Dzogchen.
Where we hosted weekly dialogue over 7 years. as taught by David Bohm, where we learned how to understand to witness the workings of the mind and thought and how we can think together.
Where, in silence, anyone was free to contemplate these myriad mysteries, where the open secrets were given free reign to reveal themselves, there, that place existed in time and space - not a mirage, not a dream, not a fairy tale - it was real.
This place was Open Secret Bookstore, Music and World Art Gallery and the Rainbow Body Cultural Center, in San Rafael, California. How I came upon it is lost to the misty corners of my memory, but it is forever imprinted in my consciousness, has become one with my being, and the details are woven together like a tapestry from which details cannot be completely extracted anymore.
Open Secret was a hub, a portal. It attracted those who loved books, music, the arts, esoterica, healing, and the mystical side of life, pregnant with the promise of discovery. It was a place that defied limitations, welcomed creativity, and encouraged inquiry. It was not a perfect place. It was a place, perfect in its embrace of imperfection. "Wabi-Sabi", you could say.
There was a crazy kind of order to the disorder that reigned supreme, an arrangement of chaos that fostered discovery and the delightful play of serendipity. There were books, books, and more books books, bursting out of groaning bookshelves, books in the windows, books spilling out of boxes on the floor, books in the attic, books in the bathrooms, books surrounding the stage- a wonderland array of new, old, weathered, and precious books, waiting to be unearthed and revealed.
And there were people: people of all ages, people from all over, people from near, people from wide, visitors, performers, artists, soothsayers, psychic readers, tarot card readers, teachers, meditators, devotees, bookworms, poets, friends, acquaintances, neighbors and the community who worked together there.
Open Secret provided the portal, the fresh-made spicy hot chai that brewed all day with no reference to time, there are no clocks for that matter, the comfy couches to linger in, the straight-backed chairs and round tables to converse around, and the stage, which many a memorable artist graced with their inspired performances, ranging from classical Indian dance, to American folk music - Ramblin Jack Elliot - to devotional kirtan, with the transcendent melodies of Jai Uttal and his Pagan Love Orchestra as another American Kirtan wallah, Krishna Das, Deva Prema and Mitten and Manose, and many who we will honor in a future love letters.
Santana might drop in just to commune with the Angels in the temple room, Pir Vilayat Khan paid a visit once, as did Tibetan lamas and teachers, traditional Hindu and Muslim artists and musicians, and the treesitter Julia Butterfly, Houston Smith, Joseph Pierce, Jose Arquelles, Esperide from Damanhur, David Cushing Fuess master healer, , Jean Klein, Sheri Huber, Jack Kornfeild, and our special, special friends Carolyn Casey and Martin Prechtal who were frequent guests all sharing their deep wisdom and transforming our lives.
Where sublime dance performances of heart breaking beauty graced our stage, originating from the cultures of wisdom that embodied the devotion in beautiful form and ancient tales. It did seem that the ancient Gods of India often made their Presence felt, sharing love and blessings.
. In that time period, who did NOT come?
All this was envisioned and woven together, unfolding like mushrooms rising their heads from the duff of the earth - unexpected, delightful, surprising, often unforgettable. And so it was, once upon that time, and so it was, allowed to flourish with the un-rushed grace and inspiration of those who wish to be anonymous,
This fragrance of serendipity and natural creativity is still present as the years form a tapestry of our our explorations, a diary of our quest to know and understand God.
We harvested our collective spiritual heritage from all the wisdom traditions that has made itself so available during these decades and in the first time in history shared in one language, English They flow into one another, living in Presence and savory emotion and through the mental and spiritual imprints that those of who lived the experience shared with us throughout our 35 years.
The next chapter begins now.
Barbara Framm
“We are either going to have a future where women lead the way to make peace with the Earth or we are not going to have a human future at all.”
― Vandana Shiva
Men will will either be the guardians of the long vision of evolution for all children, and women, so safe and protected that divine seed in the Heart Of Humanity can flower.
Then we can re-imagine a culture founded on love, wisdom and understanding., hand to hand, building a heaven on earth made in the image of divine harmony and beauty made in the image of the divine.
We are the human neurons of a Loving conscious Being spanning all space and time, and the Mysteries before and after, beyond all that can be known, yet completely embodied in Being
.
Rainbow Body Oracle
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