Icons of
The Peace Portal
G. Ramon Byrne
1,200 year old growth Douglas fir reclaimed from the Ventura-Ojai rail line.
Dedicated January 24, 2009
From intent to realization, the project was a heartfelt collaboration between the Mount and this fine artist, manifesting truly as a labor of love. The Portal is the first construction onsite, since the Mount’s official opening on April 11, 1971. Built from 1,200 year old growth Douglas fir reclaimed from the Ventura-Ojai rail line, it represents new possibilities, a threshold between one world and another. We hope that you experience the depth of energy, at multiple levels, as you pass through the Portal and enter the International Garden of Peace
The Peace Pole
In the early 1990s a spiritual coworker and local peace activist gave Meditation Mount a Peace Pole that fortunately survived a brush fire that swept over the grounds on New Year’s Eve, 1999. However, the plastic strips mounted on all four sides of the wooden pole with the inscription ‘May Peace Prevail on Earth’ in different languages, were warped and discolored by the heat
A second Peace Pole from Japan was gifted to the Mount on January 24, 2009 for the official inauguration of the International Garden of Peace and the dedication of our newly installed Peace Portal
On December 5th, 2017 the Thomas Fire engulfed the Mount and destroyed both poles – melting one and leaving the other badly charred
The third and latest Peace Pole, that now stands in the center of our Auditorium, was consecrated during Peace Week on September 19th, 2021. It carries the message ‘May Peace Prevail on Earth’ in eight languages: English, Spanish, Hebrew, Arabic, Chumash, Russian, Mandarin and Hindi
Meditation Room Carved Doors
Evelyn Ackerman
“Signs of the Zodiac” series
Hand carved redwood, designed in 1967
For 50 years, Los Angeles-based artist/designers Evelyn and Jerome Ackerman have played a central role in the distinctive aesthetic of California mid-century modernism. Employing their deep knowledge of fine art, traditional craft, and design, the couple created a body of work remarkable for its diversity of styles, techniques, and materials. The couple has been the subject of numerous articles in the local and national press and their pieces are in many public and private collections
Today, the Ackermans’ work, highly acclaimed over the course of their collaborative partnership, is being rediscovered by both design historians and a new generation of mid-century design collectors. The first major retrospective of their work, “Masters of Mid-Century California Modernism: Evelyn and Jerome Ackerman,” was on view at the Mingei International Museum in San Diego, March 29, 2009 through January 10, 2010
The Auditorium Skylight
Lynn Hegney
Created in 2019
Symbols tell stories and stories release new energy in the heart and mind of the true listener. At Meditation Mount, we focus on telling a universal story of the Heart—the story of the Soul of the Universe pouring through all forms, “As Above, So Below”
In recent times, a few intuitive observers discovered a beautiful new pattern in the Heavens. Venus—the planet known for Love, traces hearts and forms five- petaled roses in her orbital travel around the Sun. While doing so, she is always in
relationship with the Earth—coming close and ‘kissing’ the Earth 5 times over 8
years, drawing Roses in the Heavens through their motion together round the Sun
In the course of 1 complete cycle around the Sun, Venue revolves 12 times on her axis (13 Venusian years to 8 earth years); 5 is the number of petals of the wild rose in nature and is a symbol for the heart—and for the Soul in the West; and 5 is the
number of the perfected Human. It is no surprise then, that these numbers are part of the Fibonacci sequence describing the growth of every living thing in nature in perfect proportion, balance and pattern.
Venus has a special relationship with Earth and is considered to be its alter ego – a higher expression of consciousness to which our Planetary Life aspires. This is the love story depicted in the skylight created by local glass artist Lynn Hegney
Meditation Room Skylight
Lynn Hegney
Created in 2019
The skylight mandala in the Meditation Room, created by local glass artist Lynn
Hegney, has two major themes for contemplation and reception: the star Sirius and the Dove
The Dove depicted in the Meditation Room skylight represents the Spirit of Peace
that over-lights our present Era and calls forth our Essential Divinity
Sirius is shown as an eight-pointed Star shining above the Dove of Peace. Sirius is
called the ‘brilliant star’ and is said to be the Portal through which Cosmic Love pours into our Solar System. The esoteric teachings note that there is a special and ancient cooperative relationship between the ensouling Life of Sirius and that of the Earth
We who live on this blue-green planet are part of a vast stellar family constellation of evolving lives and these two symbols of the Star Sirius and the Dove of Peace that grace the skylight, offer a doorway into a deeper knowing of this Mystery.
Kwan Yin
At Meditation Mount we understand the coming Era to be one governed and guided by the Soul and the Divine Feminine. The Kwan Yin statue next to the Meditation Room and Office greets our visitors and honors and celebrates the Feminine Principle alive in each of us – regardless of gender
Kwan Yin is often referred to as the female Buddha, and according to legend, was a beautiful Indian princess who forsook marriage and the good life to embark on the quest of becoming a truly enlightened being, or bodhisattva
While standing at Heaven’s Gate after having achieved enlightenment and the right to enter Nirvana, Kwan Yin heard a despairing cry coming from earth. Upon registering this sad utterance, she quickly returned and vowed to stay and help all those who suffer to achieve the same level of enlightenment that she had attained
Kwan Yin’s name means “The one who hears all sounds of suffering in the world.” Kwan Yin is a deity of mercy and compassion and blesses all travelers and pilgrims on the Path.May she bless your visit 🕊️
Heralding The Dawn
Frances Jansen
Colorado Marble
Arrived at Meditation Mount in 2017
"Heralding the Dawn" is carved out of a single piece of marble by sculptor Frances Jansen. Located on the West side of the property at Meditation Mount, the sculpture stands 16 feet tall and weighs 14 tons, 28 thousand pounds.
Here is represented the expression of the Sacred Union between the feminine and masculine polarities of existence. The Sacred Feminine is looking out into the cosmos to bring back the reflective dreams of consciousness ever anew. She is held by the Sacred Masculine, who knows the world – who knows all of the future potentials, including the obstacles and pitfalls of each. He watches out for Her, as she is free to explore the infinite possibilities of the Universe. She, in turn, brings her visions back to him.
The poem that accompanies the sculpture reads:
Power shielding sacred vision
Starseed of our evolution
God and Goddess ever reaching,
As above so now below
From the pureness of our union,
Birth the pearls of higher wisdom
As the beauty touched within us
Frees the brilliance of our soul
The piece is currently on consignment at Meditation Mount and offered for sale. To inquire about purchase, please contact connect@meditationmount.org
Heart Totem
John Battell, Planet432
Dedicated July, 2023
Lovingly built by Ojai local and friend of Meditation Mount, John Battell, the Planet432 Heart Totem is intended to strengthen our relationship with the heart of the Earth and with our own Essential Divinity
Standing on the North West side of the property, the totem vibrates at a continual frequency of 432hz, in rhythm with the heart beat of the Earth. This frequency pattern can also be found in the design of ancient sites such as the Great Pyramids and Stonehenge
"Bringing light and focus to the essence of our internal vibration can start us all on a trend toward moving inward, which is where we begin to experience the power of the heart that will move us to the next human paradigm of life connectedness" - Planet432