Ann: In what spiritual tradition were you raised?
Ron: I was born Jewish; my parents were second-generation Americans and didn't put much emphasis on religion. My father became interested in Science of Mind. He worked hard, had a business and traveled regularly. And he loved his gardens. He raised irises, tulips and roses. We had a huge garden in our back yard. We lived in the northern suburbs of Chicago, in Highland Park, IL.
My maternal grandmother wanted us to follow the Jewish faith, so my mother agreed to send us to Hebrew school and Temple. I went a few times and saw that the rabbis didn't even believe in what they were saying. As I watched them, their auras would vibrate radically, I instinctively knew they were just mouthing the teachings. And because these messengers were not faithful to the message, I couldn't believe in it either. I became disenchanted and stopped going. When I was younger however, I had a very unusual and beautiful spiritual experience.
In youth I was kind, sweet and gentle. I had always seen auras and felt in harmony with the sacredness in people and liked and respected them. But I was also a big guy and my passive nature led me to become an obvious target. I got into a couple of fights at school; but never understood why people wanted to fight. I didn't appreciate the possibility of hurting people or of getting hurt myself. I really believed in peace, joy and in the sacred and had an inherent love and respect for people. I often went for long walks in the woods and asked Spirit to please tell me, why I was so different? What was I missing? Was I on the right planet? And how could I better understand and get along with some of the strange behavior of others.
On one particular day, I was walking in the woods. As confused as any eight year old could possibly be, I asked God, "What is this all about? Why can't I understand people? Why am I so alone? Why can't I be normal like others?" It was all so weird and strange. People said one thing but I knew they believed in something completely different. And in an unforgettable moment, I had a communication from 'Spirit'. The voice said to me, "You are not alone, for I am with you. I have always been with you and I will always be with you. You are loved, and whenever you want the truth, you have only to look within, and there you will find the Truth." I stopped, breaking out in a cold sweat and thought, "What was that? What is happening to me?" Because the voice was both inside and yet outside of me at the same time, I said aloud, "Who are you? Who is this?" After a pause, the words fell out of my very own lips, "Jesus." Then I said, "Oh, my God" as I felt warm tears leaking from my eyes and sliding down over my cheeks.
Being Jewish and very young, the only thing I knew about Jesus was what I was told. The Jews killed Jesus. The Russian pogroms, the World Wars and the Holocaust were all retribution against the Jews for His death. I had no real understanding of what was what. And as this Lightening bolt experience struck, splitting me in two, rushes of shifting perspectives washed through me, changing me forever. I had Jesus inside of me! I could never tell anyone or they would think that I was insane. And I felt totally estranged from Judaism. It was very strange being Jewish, but I knew where to find my source of truth!! Thank you God! This great gift has guided me through my entire life. Religion became a dry something that was taught out of books, with dogma, by messengers who didn't truly believe. I looked at other religions, and I saw and felt the same sort of strange dryness in them all. But in spirituality I felt a real living connection to the Creator and since that moment, this in dwelling spirit has been my guiding light.
Ann: I know you've studied the mystical traditions of many cultures. Did you study Kabala and many of the other mystical teachings?
Ron: I first studied mystical teachings in Southern Mexico with a Zapotec Shaman. I learned 'Out of Body' work, 'channeling the Spirit Keepers of Monte Al Bon' and about the many uses of sacred plants. Later in 1981, I became a student at the Berkeley Psychic Institute in California, where I learned the mysterious Rosicrucian teachings from a brilliant master, Rev. Lewis Bostwick, with many spiritual insights, techniques and teachings. They included Eastern psychic and spiritual healing, accessing and using Kundalini, Out of Body work and much more. Years later, I met and took refuge and experienced empowerments with Kalu Rimpoche and learned some of the vast Tibetan teachings. And still later, I worked with Native American Shamans, Harley Swiftdeer, Sun Bear and African Shaman, Elie Hein, and then I met and learned from Dr. Brugh Joy and Dr. Richard Moss. I then studied a range of in-depth esoteric teachings and the chain of learning continues.
Ann: Could you see a harmony working at the spiritual level through any of them? At the religious level they seem to just bump into each other, but at a spiritual level?
Ron: Absolutely, all the spiritual systems, all the spiritual teachings of all the different societies on our planet dovetail. They all have the same beliefs. They all have and point to the same infinite love and respect. The Koran, the Tibetans, the East and Western Indians all honor the same beings, Christ, White Buffalo-Calf Woman, and the great sages and seers. Living spiritual reality on this planet is one. It is the theme of this planet. The religions are dry and old and in many cases the texts are so archaic that there are many different translations, none of which is perfectly clear. Even with the Bible-and its many translations-the Council of Nicea altered and removed so many things in the Bible, and therefore, much confusion exists with each version. Now, with finding the Dead Sea Scrolls, many things are being seen more clearly and change is upon us. So, as far as religions, I think they are very young, whereas spirituality is the grandfather teacher on this planet. The essence of life, truth, free will and unconditional love are the reigning realities. The laws of God are clear, if not easy to follow, it's the laws of man that make life so difficult.
Ann: Do you have any spiritual heroes in your background, somebody you've read about or somebody that you actually worked with
Ron: I have many.... In my healing work, I almost always align with the Christ energy and/or the Archangelic energies of Gabrielle, Uriel, Raphael and Michael. I invoke their presences and literally work with them. Another of my 'heroes', perhaps not so well known in America is Sri Ramana Maharshi. He lived in India and had a spiritual awakening at age thirteen. He was born in the late eighteen hundreds and had a near death experience realizing that he was not his body, but that he was spirit! He traveled a thousand miles across India-from the north to Tiruvannamalai in the South. Just outside of the town of Tiruvannamalai is a huge, sacred red mountain called Arunachala. He first lived in town where he was continually in a trance state. People abused him because he wasn't physically conscious, so eventually he moved into a cave on the sacred mountain, Arunachala. While in this cave, the tigers and the giant cobras came and befriended him. So to came a woman, who in her mercy or grace began to care for and feed him. Later the town began to know there was a boy living in this cave and people started going to look at him. He would say these incredibly sage things, and he later became one of the ruling spiritual guardians of India from 1900 to 1950. Everyone came to him, businessmen, Vedic scholars, those who wanted healing or the truth of the sacred Indian texts. He gave them enlightening answers and people would heal in his presence. They built an ashram for him, and he sometimes came down from his cave to the ashram and gave audiences. So Ramana Maharshi and Sri Aurobindo another great Indian sage became the spiritual guides of India for half a century. Indian leaders such Disraeli and Mahatma Gandhi were his students. I stayed at his ashram, visited his cave and I had several very beautiful experiences of his energy. When I went the first time, I sat down and I thought, "Okay, I'm going to meditate." I didn't get a chance to do anything! The cave meditated me! I went into this altered state, and I had a "Unity Consciousness" vision, which led my wife Penny and me to sell our condo on the ocean in Long Beach, NY and to move here to Rhinebeck, NY.
Ann: So he had already died, but his energy was still there?
Ron: Absolutely, he died in 1950, but his energy lives in the cave that he occupied for many years and continues to hold his remains. His energy is so pronounced, that anyone who visits his cave will have an experience that will delight and change his or her life. That's what happened to me in 1993. When Penny and I returned home in 1994, we sold our home and moved to Rhinebeck, because of my experience of his presence and of the powerful vision it evoked. So he ranks as one of my spiritual heroes.
Another who comes to mind was called Daskalos, which is Greek for teacher. His name was actually Stylianos Atteshlis. I went to Cyprus and I spent some weeks learning from him. He was a master healer who taught me many wonderful things, which had a powerful impact on my life. He could and did many of the things that Christ was said to have done.
I was made aware of him by some of my students in Paris and Brussels who had met and studied with him. My students told me that, in some way my energy was like his. OK, I thought, "I'll keep that in mind". On a subsequent trip to London I met one of his long time students and was led to an astrologer who had done readings for many of those in Daskalos' inner circle, but I still didn't know whom he was. There are always lots of tall tales about healer's accomplishments, but one never really know to what extent they are true. The astrologer suggested that the coincidence of our meeting and my reading itself indicated that I might be being guided to meet him. He then recommended that I read three books on Daskalos by Kyriacos Markides. I read the books and was so blown away that I went to see him. It took me several years to carve out the time to visit Cyprus, but I did, and I thank spirit for the grace and gift of our meeting. About a year later he died and was ushered into the next dimension by his beloved spirit guide St. John and continues his good works in their company.
I feel that Daskalos was a great man. And when I think of Daskalos and Jesus Christ I have the same sort of feeling-that here were two great men (obviously, not exactly the same) who walked the earth and did only good. Both taught by example, and honored people and left them better than they found them. I find these people great models for ways of living. They opened themselves and their hearts to allow the highest energies come through them. These men stand out for me and I call them my spiritual heroes.
Ann: I've heard stories that another Christ that is on the earth at this time. Have you heard stories like that?
Ron: Well, the Casey readings (and he was another great man) tell us that this is so. Edgar Casey predicted that the new messiah would be in place on Earth in 1997, and I have a knowing that this "energy" has come to the world. I don't know whether the messiah is an individual or an energetic. It certainly could be a Christ Consciousness brought to us by the grace of God, from the Van Allen Belt, by way of a hole in our ozone layer. But, I personally feel that the second coming of Christ is an energetic that all people will open to and receive directly from God. And by virtue of being on this planet, we all have the opportunity to embrace, hold and grow with this energy. I know that the Christ Consciousness is here and as I continue working with it and unfolding, while traveling along this path I'll continue to embody more and more of the Christ Consciousness, for it is most assuredly here now. And as we embody it, it remains our gift directly from God forever.
Ann: Are there any spiritual teachers involved in hands on healing that you want to study with that you haven't yet?
Ron: Not in this moment. I've always felt that direct experience with the Christ energy, my own higher self, my Archangelic guidance and life itself is my pathway. I took Sanyas, which is pledging my spiritual troth to God, many years ago
Ann: What is Sanyas?
Ron: Sanyas is a Sanskrit word from India. It is a pledge that one takes to follow the path of Light and spiritual unfoldment. When I first began teaching One Light Healing Touch in Berlin in 1985, I met a lot of followers of Osho, then known as Bhagavan Sri Rajneesh. They appreciated my work, and were all pleading with me to take Sanyas with Rajneesh, because he was a true enlightened guru or spiritual guide. I thought about it, but it didn't feel right. As my students continued to try to convince me, I asked my higher self what to do. I was told that I had already taken Sanyas and didn't need to take it again. I had found my "inner guru", which was my own inner Source of Truth or higher self. So when I hear about someone that I want to experience, I go and work with them. But I don't feel the need to seek out another teacher.
Ann: You don't need to be a disciple?
Ron: Disciple is a very interesting word. Being a disciple means taking Sanyas to God and allowing a person who has an enlightened God-sense about them to help guide you. That's basically what a guru is and does. Although, it's very difficult for any man to hold that high space and in some way not mix it with his own thoughts, confusion's and human imperfections. That's where many gurus go astray. And so I honor the connection to my own higher self, and I like the radiant energy that I can call in when I call in Christos, (Greek for Christ) Allah or the energy of Eloheim or Brahman, etc. I invoke these energies and they lift me, so going out to find a Guru is not really on the agenda right now. The important thing for me is sharing the practices and techniques with people who need them, so that they can learn to open, strengthen and to receive their own inner guidance and know their higher truth.
An In-Depth Biographical Interview with Ron Lavin
by Rev. Ann Emerson, March 7, 2002
"I first studied mystical teachings in Southern Mexico with a Zapotec Shaman in 1970. I learned 'Out of Body' work, 'channeling' of the Spirit Keepers of the pyramids at Monte Al Bon, and about the many uses of sacred plants. Later in 1981, I became a student at the Berkeley Psychic Institute in California, where I learned the mysterious Rosicrucian teachings from a brilliant master, Rev. Lewis Bostwick, with many spiritual insights, techniques and teachings "
Fall in Brewster, NY - Robin Lavin©2010