The Journey

A note about the photo of the first card of the tarot, “The Fool.” It represents the beginning of the journey, a step into the unknown. At least it was that for me.

Here’s a bit of my story.

I’ve lived a long time already… Born just days before Pearl Harbor, I have childhood memories of blackouts in Baltimore during the war.  After the war, life normalized, I guess.

But when I look back, I see my life as beginning in 1966 in San Francisco, when I found Haight-Ashbury. It was my first experience of feeling at home. Everyone I met there, and came to know, was so open and supportive that I came alive in their presence. I discovered my creative self, my spiritual path, and the wonder of wandering, of love, and laughter. Of celebration.

It was there that I first became aware that the life I was living was my own to live, and that there was a spark or something inside that would lead me where I needed to go. I followed that spark to SF, and I’ve followed that spark ever since.

Sometimes it’s a little voice, sometimes a vision. Mostly it’s been a recognition that wherever I was, was just where I had to be.  And whatever I was doing was what I needed to be doing.

Like Now.

GyanarthiBooks features items from the brick-and-mortar bookshops that I’ve had, gem/mineral shows that I’ve worked in, jewelry that I’ve made, and things I’ve collected over the years.

Unlike many sellers, I’m not looking to get a start in life, create a brand, or expand into a larger operation. I think that’s really fine, and I remember being excited about the future when I was starting my first bookshop – but it was a long time ago – 1968 actually. But things are different now.

I’ve been in the retail business now for over 50 years. I’ve learned to appreciate the notion that “small is beautiful.”

Actually, I think I was born to that notion. I wasn’t very old when I realized I had no place in the world I grew up in. Middle class values never made sense to me. I didn’t want a big car or house or a lot of money. So, sometime around my 24th year, I left all that and took to wandering. I turned on, tuned in, dropped out – and began a life-long process of breaking the chains of resistance to becoming my Self. I began learning to act from my heart and how to intuit my inner voice and follow it. It’s been a long and fruitful journey. And I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

So…

After wandering for a bit and winding up in San Francisco in 1966, with no idea why I went there…  I found that little neighborhood called Haight-Ashbury, soon to be the birthplace of the “hippies.” The way we described it was – “Haight is Love” … and so it was…

In 1968, I returned to my birth home and opened one of the first of the new wave of metaphysical bookshops on the East Coast, the Aquarian Age Bookstore… slow going at first, then the musical, “Hair,” happened on Broadway… “This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius” was on everyone’s lips… and we were off and running… the store flourished, a commune (Savitria) came together, we started a free school (AUM- the Aquarian University of Maryland), and over the years we became the center for what became known as New Age teachings in the area.

The shop closed in 1980. I wandered for a bit, and went to Oregon to be with my teacher, Osho, and my sannyasin brothers and sisters from around the world.

My interests have always been wide ranging, and my life would revolve around them. My interest in books, for instance, was mostly about sharing the information that can help us wake up to our greater reality. The world of commerce – buying and selling – by itself, doesn’t interest me at all.

I’ve had a couple other bookstores in my day – an astrology center in Ventura, California, and sold books via the Tom Folio book co-op online. The last real-world shop I had was called The White Cloud, in Gainesville, Florida – it featured most of the items I’m offering here: books, gems, minerals and collectibles. It closed in 1992 when I accepted a job counseling in a community drug treatment center.

I never thought I would use my M.A. in Psychology, but it ultimately led to 12 years working in the Florida state prison system. I started as a therapist and ended up working in administration and program management in Tallahassee. Mental health and substance abuse treatment in the prisons (and in the community) suffered tremendous cutbacks in the late 90’s and onward, and my position was no exception.

I retired in 2003.

In my head I was retired, but in the real world I was just unemployed – and, as I soon found out, unemployable. Too old and too ornery, I guess. Unfortunately, none of my work experiences netted much money… and Social Security didn’t cut it… So, when a friend told me about the Etsy community, the peddler in me surfaced to save the day.

Etsy as a community was wonderful for many years, but it became an impersonal marketplace like Amazon or Ebay… and, for me, not so good. So I finally decided to shut down my shops, put up a website and see what happens.

So here we are…

Tallahassee is lovely… life is good… beautiful people…music, dancing and a community filled with like-minded folks. Money is, of course, an on and off problem, and I hope this site will help with that.  I also plan to share more of the experiences that I’ve learned from over the years and pass on what was so lovingly passed on to me.

Cheers, for all that serves to enliven us – and for all that seeks to wake us up.