Mostly About Pablo

Soundtrack: Gracias A La Vida by Violetta Parra

The view from my back porch at Krotona

Many of you should know my great enjoyment of visiting Krotona by now. Lately I've been tying up many karmic and everyday loose ends, and at the end of January was another.

The first time I went to Krotona was shortly after the first time I went Madre Grande in 2013. After that trip I was asked to be a part of an experimental Partners Program, in which they pair up burgeoning Theosophists with very esteemed veterans. I have had the pleasure of Tim Boyd and Pablo Sender being my mentors for two years. They have both taught me so much about Theosophy and, I being the mentee, produced a number of projects to present to the attendees at Krotona.

Tim Boyd and Joy Mills

One project that came out of such effort is a book about Tim Boyd coming to know his Theosophical teacher, Bill Lawrence. I interviewed Tim six times, with a total recording time of about six hours. This translated into a 100 page book.

Between you and I, it is still not done yet. I have a graduate degree in Written Communication, and so I thought it would be breeze. I've written articles, and even books on my own, but using another person's story to write from their first-person perspective takes a lot of drafts - especially when its original form is audio recording!

I'll likely post about it when it is done done, but I presented a bound copy of my work in front of my peers. And to be honest, the value so far has not been in whatever product I produce anyway. The story of Bill Lawrence is one that has changed my approach to Theosophy. I don't want to hype it up beyond hyperbole, only to say it's not available, but any story about a young man and his lifelong teacher is profound. And this is about Theosophists, so I'm biased.

The Chronicles of ...Pablo?

It is interesting when you start considering a mentor just as a friend.

Pablo Sender is an internationally recognized presenter and scholar. Even when working at Olcott Headquarters in Wheaton, whenever I had a question on some obscure Theosophical concept I would just ask Pablo. To paint the picture even lazier, Pablo is often working in the award winning Theosophical library in Wheaton, but I would still go there and simply ask him. Who needs to read any reference books when you have a Pablo?

So Pablo and I hung out quite a bit, and I got all nostolgic for Wheaton. I miss all my friends back in Illinois. I know I am where I belong, the universe has spoken again and again in that regard. However I'm sure my astral self flies back to Wheaton in my sleep quite often leaving me to forget all about it in the morning.

So the only solution was to kidnap Pablo and take him back to San Diego with me. Ha! I like to kid around sometimes.

...But I'm completely serious about this. I took him up to the majestic Madre Grande Monastery amidst the singing mountains of Dulzura. Bishop Monica Magiar and Friar Allison Ritter somehow got us all - Pablo, Amber, and I - to sing songs and play instruments as a group with them. I used some wooden frog xylophone thing. This all sounds like a dream scenario as I type it out, but I swear it all happened!

I took Pablo to the San Diego Study Group which I've been spearheading here. I also prepped him on how "San Diego Theosophy" works, which is different than the rest of the world. All different Theosophical organizations are friendly to each other; many members of the TS Adyar will also have membership in ULT or Point Loma for example. However, we actively help each other here.

When I first arrived in San Diego I was looking at Unitarian Churches and libraries to rent space for a TS Adyar group. Ken Small, a Point Loma Theosophist pointed me to the ULT lodge. When I showed up, they were happy to meet me, and offered to let me use their facility for my group.

As such, my group has had better luck in starting up and getting attendees than most startups. It's like cheating, only I'm too focused on the work to stop and feel guilty about it. Lately we've been studying the Mahatma Letters.

Pablo in Lomaland

Me, Amber, Pablo Sender, Ken Small, and Riain Hager

Another fun adventure was going to the old Theosophical Lomaland, which was sold long ago to Nazarene University. I mentioned to Ken Small that we were considering going, and Ken offered to give us a tour - we were joined by my wife Amber and another San Diego Theosophist, Riain Hager. I've had the tour many times, and it is a delightful excursion. I should say, Ken is not some tourguide eccentric, he simply knows a profound amount of inside information about the former Theosophical village since his father grew up there, and is mother was born and raised in the community. I can only imagine what it was like.

It was nice to see other Theosophists get along as immediately and as easily as I do with new people. Ken and Pablo became fast friends. I'm sure we'll all keep in touch in the future. I intentionally did not tell either of them that the both of them have been intensely exploring the H.P. Blavatsky diagram of meditation in order to teach instructional practice to meditation students. Why not, you ask? The conversations were stimulatingly long enough, and I wasn't the only one attending our several hours long luncheon.

I had to give Pablo back eventually, but not before a fun day at Ocean Beach. Even we can't just think about Theosophy all the time. Plus it was January, and I always laugh out loud at the irony of going to the beach in January. Usually no one else gets the joke.