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My Vision "The Evolving Soul Retreat Center exists I do not believe that traditional religion is bad or wrong. However, there is much within all religious faith traditions that has been lost or forgotten from the times of their inception. Through the ensuing centuries many teachings and beliefs have come into our collective memories that do no resonate with initial teachings nor reflect the ongoing evolutionary process of the human heart and experience. I believe the human soul is capable of signaling its readiness to continually evolve into more of what is desired, and that readiness is what has brought you to this retreat center.
My Mission "My mission is to provide guided tours into the constantly expanding world of evolving human consciousness and maturing spirituality that will ultimately carry us all into a mutual existence of something more than religion or spirituality." Eventually there will probably be a new label to point to this phase of our existence: hopefully by the time it does we will have evolved to the place where labels no longer require a sense of separation from others who wear a different label!
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More than you wanted to know!
I am on a personal adventure of exploration and discovery that grows more exciting every passing day. And for most of that adventure I don't even need to leave home. More and more of it takes place in quiet space between my ears and in my heart-space. I was ordained as a minister in a world-wide conservative, evangelical church group in the late 1960s and served as a district pastor for a number of years. Those were fantastic years with much growth and joy. By the mid-1970s my study of the bible led me to conclude I could no longer support the doctrines of my childhood and my tribal traditions, so I took a leave of absence from the ministry. The experience of leaving the ministry led to almost total abandonment by everyone we had come to love and rely on. After eight years of floundering around while trying to discover who and what I was it became obvious I no longer fit the description of a Christian and wasn't even sure there was God. I did the only thing that made sense at the time; I completely walked away from the spiritual side of my life. Over the next 25 years I wandered in the wilderness of despair, loneliness, and bewilderment. I functioned as a writer, a public speaker, a publisher. I have been a sales person, business consultant, a copy writer, web designer, and a multiple-business owner. Today I am a seeker: An adventurer: An Explorer: A Dancer. In the year 2000 I began to wake up! Once again I addressed the spiritual issues of my life and concluded that while I was no longer a traditional Christian, I did have a deep desire for a spiritual life and I did retain a fondness for Jesus as well as many other spiritual greats throughout time. Entering once again into a steep learning curve I began to expand my hungry soul into the wonder of a divine presence I had never known before. In the process it became obvious that most of what I'd learned through my previous life as a religious person simply no longer worked. Today I am a happy camper! I explore whatever shows up in my life on a daily basis for the pure exhilaration of it! I (generally) have nothing to prove, nor to accomplish. I try to be here in this ‘now’ moment simply because I cannot ignore the expectation of fresh, new experiences that await me. Every person, every experience, every event that comes to my attention is an invitation to dance the divine dance of exploration and discovery of what and how the meaning of life can be integrated into our expanding world vision. These two things I have come to understand and accept...
(#1) Any belief that encourages me to think less of someone else is not from love nor can it exist within the demands of unconditional love and acceptance. I am not here to teach you anything for I believe we only truly learn by experience within the bounds of relationships with others. The best I can do is possibly facilitate that learning experience WITH you so that we may grow and expand together. Additionally, I believe we have much to share with each other as to what life looks like as we regain our collective memories of who we really are, and from whence we have come. I just know that somebody exciting is about to show up to share this dance with me! Is that you? Let's dance! "Happiness is a journey.
The mountaintop is just one place on |
My name is Daryl Ochs and I am a father, grandfather, husband, lover, and friend. I could show you my wife, kids, and grand kids, but you really don't want to know THAT much!