Martin and Susan Leiderman in front of everyone
I have been hearing about Dara Eklund and Nicholas Week's Solstice parties for years. So when given the opportunity to attend this year, I held together a thin veneer of calm amidst my excess of internal excitement when I graciously accepted my invite. It's not an exclusive event or anything, I just wasn't close enough to the Los Angeles area before, and I am easily excitable about any social gathering of Theosophists.
Amber pointed out my geekiness later, but I don't care. I was surrounded by people who had written articles, books, and given lectures about one of the few things that really interest me. They are just people, but I am grateful to them.
Dara, Natividad, Me, and Amber
Just to illustrate my point, at some juncture of the party Dara greeted Amber and I; she took my hands in hers and sincerely said, "Thank you for coming to my home." As if an automatic response, I said in return, "Thank you for Echoes of the Orient, Dara." When my brain figured out what I just said, I did feel a little embarrassed. Luckily for me, there were some people playing music at the time and she didn't hear me clearly, so she smiled and assumed I gave a pat response greeting.
At the beginning of the party everyone sat down facing the front of the porch for a Solstice lecture, which was very well done by Susan Leiderman on the spiritual concept of Nothingness in lieu of the Solstice. Before that, an announcement was made that they had two very special guests who had come from the national headquarters in Wheaton, Il. It was one of those situations where you think to yourself, "They can't be talking about me. But wait, yes, they probably are talking about me." I had worked there for years, and I didn't see anybody else it could be.
They announced Amber and I, and we stood up in front of everyone and thanked them for their welcome. After I sat down, Robert Ellwood leaned over to me and asked, "But you're not still from Wheaton, right? You've been living in San Diego, correct?"
I shrugged and said, "They told me to stand, so I stood. How could I correct them?" He nodded in agreement in typical Robert Ellwood fashion. If I could get Theosophy trading cards, one of them would have Mr. Ellwood doing that reserved grin he does. I joke about it now, but I may need to invent Theosophy trading cards one day. (Update: This grin: robertellwoodbooks.info See? I'm not making this up.)
A Constant Theosophical Topic
Even though it was such a homey environment, it still felt like a meeting in some ways. Dara made some announcements from her La-Z-Boy for example. She said something that made me a little sad, in that this would be last year she and Nicholas could have the annual party held at her house for health reasons. She also mentioned in passing that she knows many Theosophists have been losing their meeting places, as her group had also lost the capability to fund their gathering place.
I am in a unique place in this, in that I am a young Theosophist who has mostly come in contact with Theosophy at it's major center of business. People at the headquarters mostly focus on processing memberships, library books, printing magazines, and video production. Yet I suspected from my lectures at local lodges that there was an issue of dwindling outreach and interest in Theosophy. It is not exactly like living inside the palace, but it is certainly a different perspective of priorities.
Vic Hao Chin, who I will say would also make an excellent trading card, used to give lectures on how to spread Theosophy and why we should be focusing on it. Popularizing Theosophy or something to that effect. I always found myself hanging on his every word, but some people found his approach abrasive in that it made them feel like missionaries or proselytizers. I look around at this culture of people studying Buddhism, Kabalah, Gnosticism, and I think that this is the time! They are already here! But we don't want to leave our safe buildings and talk to people outside our comfort circle. We want them to come to us.
New Friends
"Why can't I sit here?" I asked, courteously leaving out the rest of my sentence, which was "...next to the person I am married to!" She said she met a friend. I looked around and saw no one. Was this person named George Glass? Is the person standing here right now, invisible?
She said this person's name is Pattie and she used to live near Chicago like us, and she shares some of the same health ailments that Amber did. "How old are we?" I asked, "You're bonding over griping about your health? We're in our 30's."
I told Amber that she should come meet Martin and Susan Leiderman, who are interested in planning a tour with us to the old Theosophical Krotona location in L.A., possibly with with Stephan Hoeller. That's exciting stuff! I didn't mention that all 3 of those name drops would make excellent trading cards, but it kind of goes without saying.
After I spent my time talking to Nicholas Weeks (trading card) about the San Diego Theosophical Monastary, I returned to my wife and met the very real person, Pattie. Amber was finishing up saying, "...so even though he got scared of commitment since we were only freshman in college, I knew we were meant to be together. Eventually he came to his senses and now we've been married for 7 years."
I politely inquired, "Are you telling a person you just met our entire life's story? Have we even been at this party very long?"
She very accurately pointed out, "You should be glad that I am making friends." She was right. And we all had fun.
The evening concluded with a 3 hour drive back to San Diego with the friends we came with, Ken Small and Phyllis Ryan. Mostly we talked about the best highway route to get back to San Diego, and we joked about the stereotype of Californians ever only talking about the best highway route to get to places. Of course, I could say something about Ken and Phyllis making good Theosophical trading cards but I suppose at this point they are more friends and less like icons to me from these months being in California. Amber and I both think of them as friends by now, and we are lucky for it. So I would definitely get them to sign said trading cards, thus increasing the monetary value. Indeed, that's what friends do.
Here are some pictures of Brutus at Ocean Beach on his birthday, December 6th. Something we would never have thought of doing while back in frozen snow drift land.
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