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Founder & Director: Daryl Ochs
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 dispair, 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. I have experienced many different ups and downs; personally, professionally, spiritually, and in business. I’ve failed (or what appeared at the time to be failures) at all my endeavors more than once. I’ve had (what at the time appeared to be) successes in all of them as well. At one low point (it felt that way at the time!) in life I even experienced the life of a criminal with an arrest record and a short jail time to round out the experience. On the other end of the stick I have enjoyed some of the accolades and rewards bestowed by our culture’s more normal functions. Today I am a seeker: An adventurer: An Explorer: A Dancer. In the year 2000 I woke 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 and His teachings. 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 did not fit the facts of Jesus' life and teachings. So I dedicated my life to the ever-expanding awareness of who and what God is. 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 how the life of The Christ becomes my own experience. These two things I have come to understand and accept... (#1) Any belief or doctrine that encourages me to think less of someone else, or to assume that I know something they need to know is not from love nor can it exist within the demands of unconditional love and acceptance. (#2) The first order of business for any follower of Jesus (by any name) is to love oneself in the same way that s/he is loved by God; and there is very little evidence that we traditionally have clue-#1 as to what this means! So today I am once again a follower of Jesus, but in a far different way than before. Does that make me still a Christian? Maybe, maybe not. The label simply does not matter. My personal passion these days is learning to love myself from the perspective of God/Spirit/Source, and then allowing that love to extend to others. As I watch the incredible proliferation of Divine love and wisdom showing up in so many different faces and voices of our time, I am inspired to provide a catalytic place and voice where much of this manifestation can be easily and quickly accessed. In addition, 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. A subsidiary of Evolving Soul Retreat Center ©2008 New Dimension Business. All rights reserved. |
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!