Casitas Vista

My spring fever has not just affected my work but my love of Ojai.  The last couple of weeks I have fallen in love with Ojai deeper than ever before.  So many factors contribute to this high I am feeling..... I have made so many new lovely friends that are an inspiration and a joy to be around and I continue to meet new interesting people every week...even in this tiny little town.  Also, in addition to all of the beautiful places of nature wonder that I have always enjoyed (Sisar Canyon, Meditation Mount, Krotona), I have just discovered several new little gems.... all practically in my own backyard.  I will share them over the next few posts when I return to take photos.

Sisar Canyon

Meditation Mount

Krotona Gardens

....last but not least, my fabulous walk today with my friend Tegan and her sweet "Little Buns" and Sacha around good ol'

Lake Casitas

"Any perception can connect us to reality, properly and fully.
What we see doesn't have to be pretty, particularly; we can appreciate anything that exists.
There is some principle of magic in everything, some living quality.
Something living, something real, is taking place in everything."

~ Chogyam Trungpa ~

Shambhala

I live in the small idyllic valley of Ojai (pop. 8,000) in one of the northern most parts of Southern California located about an hour north of Los Angeles, a half hour south of Santa Barbara and about 20 minutes inland from the beach. Because of it's natural beauty and location, Ojai was "cast" as the utopian village of Shangri-La in the movie Lost Horizon, based on James Hilton's 1933 novel inspired by the mythical kingdom of Shambhala.

Ojai Valley from Thatcher School

According to many Tibetan Buddhists, Shambhala (a sanskrit word meaning "a place of peace") is the spiritual center of the world. When I am creating my designs and jewelry here in Ojai, I truly feel at peace and full of joy. I feel so blessed to have found my Shambhala!

"there is a natural source of radiance and brilliance in the world, which is the innate wakefulness of human beings. this is the basis, in myth and inspiration, of the Kingdom of Shambhala, an enlightened society of fearlessness, dignity and compassion." Furthermore, "Shambhala vision applies to people of any faith, not just people who believe in Buddhism... the Shambhala vision does not distinguish a Buddhist from a Catholic, a Protestant, a Jew, a Moslem, a Hindu. That's why we call it the Shambhala Kingdom. A Kindgom should have lots of spiritual disciplines in it."

Chogyam Trungpa

source of quote: Angelfire