Help save the Peace Chamber
Donation protected
Above; the chamber as it was in 1992.
There are sacred sites that need preservation. My favorite sacred site, the one where I was ordained by Beautiful Painted Arrow and the Reverend Betsy Stang, is the Sound Chamber in Wittenberg, just outside of Woodstock, NY, and it is being repaired WITH YOUR HELP i hope!
A sacred space is one where the boundaries between dimensions may seem to blur.
Built in the 1980s in accordance with a vision of Joseph ‘Beautiful Painted Arrow’ Rael, it is one of over 50 sacred Sound Chambers worldwide. Also called Crystal Chambers and World Peace Chambers, they vary in dimensions. Sacred sites are in existence to facilitate the transmission and reception of sacred knowledge and profound insight. This structure is half above and half below ground and has an egg-shaped footprint. It’s about 27 feet at its widest point and the ceiling rises from about 8 at the wall to 12 at the center.
The walls are of local stone with clefts and caves for candles evenly spaced around the perimeter, crystals from around the world embedded in the mortar. Gorgeous carved dolphin doors await installation when entrance-way is rebuilt. There’s a large stone butterfly in the wall above the fireplace made of two halves of a boulder. It was accidentally dropped and split that way when they were building the chamber. The slightly conical roof has a circular opening at its peak, used as an exit during certain sacred ceremonies.
I had many transformative experiences in the chamber while I was studying at the Wittenberg Center with Joseph and many others. When the first Gulf war was beginning Lakota elders were seeing a great cloud of black smoke and many people, including me, were frightened for the future of the earth. Betsy told me to go into the chamber and not come out until I laughed so I did. As soon as I started to meditate I 'saw' these creatures in long white robes with animal heads and they were very funny looking and were doing hilarious things that made me laugh and I kept laughing for a long time.
Pauline Oliveros performed there with the Deep Listening Orchestra. Lex Hixon was there along with several important Tibetan lamas and indigenous teachers from at least four continents including famous medicine people like Gaboo Ted Thomas from Australia. These great ones are all gone now but they linger in our hearts and minds and in the chamber.
A revered Grandmother of the Hopi quipped ’nice kiva’ when she visited. Hopi kivas are sacred underground ceremonial places so that was a sweetly respectful compliment from an observant traditional clan mother.
It is said that the first time Grandfather Thundercloud entered the chamber he said, “You got a corn grinding stone in here.” Even though he had not been there before he strode directly to a smooth stone about heart high in the southeast and put his hand on it. Sure enough, its softly sloped bowl would be perfect for grinding corn into meal.
Those of us who feel connected to the chamber can be very happy that the current owner Lenny Bee is so strongly behind the repair of the roof. A good start has been made in repairing the roof and most of the beams are in place.
Our host Lenny Bee of the Lenny Bee Happy Farm and BnB has come up with all of the wood for the project estimated value $5-8000. Jim Davis told me Australian medicine woman Lorraine Mafi Williams said when the trees around the chamber were gone it would be a good thing: some sort of an important spiritual activity would be possible. So it rang a bell when I saw Lenny had taken the big pines next to the chamber down. He had them milled into lumber for this project. Now instead of one day falling on the the roof these white pines will BE the roof.
No one else but Lenny who has owned the chamber has been interested in fixing it. We are committed to finishing the job NOW. We have a crew of three highly skilled carpenters, which is necessary for this job. This is not, unfortunately, a job for amateur volunteers. $5000 will pay for the labor of three skilled carpenters for two weeks plus materials like paint and sealant, and tools (had to replace a router, for example) like including what will be a very challenging hang of the doors. I'm very grateful the rubber for the top layer has already been procured by a donor. I will pay as much as I can if we fall short of this goal. If they were billing at their regular rates it would be a lot more. These are good longtime Woodstock people and they are giving us a break. The fact that a big bald eagle has flown low over Willy three times so far when he was working there hasn’t hurt either…
First, there are 28 big pine beams (6x6?) holding the center ring up. They are mostly in. Then comes a layer of 1x8s. No two board’s measurements are the same. Each will have to be measured precisely and cut. Thousands of cuts will be necessary. After this a coat of thick rubber will insulate the whole roof. And the fiberglass dome will be replaced if it can't be refurbished. The dome and chimney will be flashed with copper salvaged from the old roof. We’re still discussing the outer layer. It could be a living roof because it's plenty strong enough for that. But once the rubber is on the chamber will be functional again. Willy says it will last a hundred years when he's done and I believe him. There will be a walkway for ceremonial purposes.
This year Joseph is officially retiring and passing responsibility for the upkeep of the cycle of dances he has initiated to his children -both biological and spiritual. I salute Joseph “Beautiful Painted Arrow” Rael for his great love and decades of service to the cosmos and his mysterious writings and mindboggling teachings and for ordaining me and especially for the peace chambers. Please have a happy and productive workaholic artist retirement, Joseph! I WOULD LOVE TO SHOW YOUR ART HERE IN WOODSTOCK AT THE MOTHERSHIP!
Your blessings ripple across and through the expanses of timespacethought intermingling with blessings of all ascended masters, saints, sages and holy beings wholly being of beingnessness.
What a beautiful spirit, what a beautiful life, what a beautiful gift you gave all of us, you fool who fell in love with life!
Joseph once started a teaching in the Sacred Sound Chamber with,”It’s good to be here with so many faces of God.”
So with that in mind the reason I’m writing this is to intrigue you into helping me come up with the resources to get it done. I’d sure love it if you would like to contribute and/or volunteer.
Small donations are even better in some ways. That's all I can usually give. This whole thing is about opening the heart, however that happens.
Also, if you’d like to buy any of my ‘stuff’; art, music, books, cat toys, pins, postcards, stickers, lamps, posters, other, I will donate 100% of it to the chamber until the roof is paid for.
http://paulmcmahon.storenvy. com/
and music https://paulmcmahon.bandcamp. com/
I think we can reopen the chamber on October 7, 2018, for a 7th at 7 ceremony on the 11th anniversary of the first event at the Mothership. I believe it can be done. All who were ordained, performed ordination, attended workshops and/or sacred ceremonies there will be invited back for a reopening. And the rest of you too!
On the 7th of every month at 7 PM, chambers around the world link up in a ceremony. In Wittenberg, we called it a World Peace Ceremony. Each in their own time zone, a virtually continual ceremony, therefore, happens at 7 PM all over the world. If you think about it 7 PM reflects a certain position relative to the sun. All of the different time zones reach the same angle in relation to the sun at 7 pm. So if you were the sun and you heard someone singing to you, you would keep hearing singing coming from the same position even though the first singer was now on the far side of the world. For a few years, I’ve been holding the linkup ceremony in my backyard. All are welcome to join. It is very nice in the yard but I look forward to being able to hold the 7th at 7 in the Wittenberg Sound Chamber again this October.
-Paul McMahon
There are sacred sites that need preservation. My favorite sacred site, the one where I was ordained by Beautiful Painted Arrow and the Reverend Betsy Stang, is the Sound Chamber in Wittenberg, just outside of Woodstock, NY, and it is being repaired WITH YOUR HELP i hope!
A sacred space is one where the boundaries between dimensions may seem to blur.
Built in the 1980s in accordance with a vision of Joseph ‘Beautiful Painted Arrow’ Rael, it is one of over 50 sacred Sound Chambers worldwide. Also called Crystal Chambers and World Peace Chambers, they vary in dimensions. Sacred sites are in existence to facilitate the transmission and reception of sacred knowledge and profound insight. This structure is half above and half below ground and has an egg-shaped footprint. It’s about 27 feet at its widest point and the ceiling rises from about 8 at the wall to 12 at the center.
The walls are of local stone with clefts and caves for candles evenly spaced around the perimeter, crystals from around the world embedded in the mortar. Gorgeous carved dolphin doors await installation when entrance-way is rebuilt. There’s a large stone butterfly in the wall above the fireplace made of two halves of a boulder. It was accidentally dropped and split that way when they were building the chamber. The slightly conical roof has a circular opening at its peak, used as an exit during certain sacred ceremonies.
I had many transformative experiences in the chamber while I was studying at the Wittenberg Center with Joseph and many others. When the first Gulf war was beginning Lakota elders were seeing a great cloud of black smoke and many people, including me, were frightened for the future of the earth. Betsy told me to go into the chamber and not come out until I laughed so I did. As soon as I started to meditate I 'saw' these creatures in long white robes with animal heads and they were very funny looking and were doing hilarious things that made me laugh and I kept laughing for a long time.
Pauline Oliveros performed there with the Deep Listening Orchestra. Lex Hixon was there along with several important Tibetan lamas and indigenous teachers from at least four continents including famous medicine people like Gaboo Ted Thomas from Australia. These great ones are all gone now but they linger in our hearts and minds and in the chamber.
A revered Grandmother of the Hopi quipped ’nice kiva’ when she visited. Hopi kivas are sacred underground ceremonial places so that was a sweetly respectful compliment from an observant traditional clan mother.
It is said that the first time Grandfather Thundercloud entered the chamber he said, “You got a corn grinding stone in here.” Even though he had not been there before he strode directly to a smooth stone about heart high in the southeast and put his hand on it. Sure enough, its softly sloped bowl would be perfect for grinding corn into meal.
Those of us who feel connected to the chamber can be very happy that the current owner Lenny Bee is so strongly behind the repair of the roof. A good start has been made in repairing the roof and most of the beams are in place.
Our host Lenny Bee of the Lenny Bee Happy Farm and BnB has come up with all of the wood for the project estimated value $5-8000. Jim Davis told me Australian medicine woman Lorraine Mafi Williams said when the trees around the chamber were gone it would be a good thing: some sort of an important spiritual activity would be possible. So it rang a bell when I saw Lenny had taken the big pines next to the chamber down. He had them milled into lumber for this project. Now instead of one day falling on the the roof these white pines will BE the roof.
No one else but Lenny who has owned the chamber has been interested in fixing it. We are committed to finishing the job NOW. We have a crew of three highly skilled carpenters, which is necessary for this job. This is not, unfortunately, a job for amateur volunteers. $5000 will pay for the labor of three skilled carpenters for two weeks plus materials like paint and sealant, and tools (had to replace a router, for example) like including what will be a very challenging hang of the doors. I'm very grateful the rubber for the top layer has already been procured by a donor. I will pay as much as I can if we fall short of this goal. If they were billing at their regular rates it would be a lot more. These are good longtime Woodstock people and they are giving us a break. The fact that a big bald eagle has flown low over Willy three times so far when he was working there hasn’t hurt either…
First, there are 28 big pine beams (6x6?) holding the center ring up. They are mostly in. Then comes a layer of 1x8s. No two board’s measurements are the same. Each will have to be measured precisely and cut. Thousands of cuts will be necessary. After this a coat of thick rubber will insulate the whole roof. And the fiberglass dome will be replaced if it can't be refurbished. The dome and chimney will be flashed with copper salvaged from the old roof. We’re still discussing the outer layer. It could be a living roof because it's plenty strong enough for that. But once the rubber is on the chamber will be functional again. Willy says it will last a hundred years when he's done and I believe him. There will be a walkway for ceremonial purposes.
This year Joseph is officially retiring and passing responsibility for the upkeep of the cycle of dances he has initiated to his children -both biological and spiritual. I salute Joseph “Beautiful Painted Arrow” Rael for his great love and decades of service to the cosmos and his mysterious writings and mindboggling teachings and for ordaining me and especially for the peace chambers. Please have a happy and productive workaholic artist retirement, Joseph! I WOULD LOVE TO SHOW YOUR ART HERE IN WOODSTOCK AT THE MOTHERSHIP!
Your blessings ripple across and through the expanses of timespacethought intermingling with blessings of all ascended masters, saints, sages and holy beings wholly being of beingnessness.
What a beautiful spirit, what a beautiful life, what a beautiful gift you gave all of us, you fool who fell in love with life!
Joseph once started a teaching in the Sacred Sound Chamber with,”It’s good to be here with so many faces of God.”
So with that in mind the reason I’m writing this is to intrigue you into helping me come up with the resources to get it done. I’d sure love it if you would like to contribute and/or volunteer.
Small donations are even better in some ways. That's all I can usually give. This whole thing is about opening the heart, however that happens.
Also, if you’d like to buy any of my ‘stuff’; art, music, books, cat toys, pins, postcards, stickers, lamps, posters, other, I will donate 100% of it to the chamber until the roof is paid for.
http://paulmcmahon.storenvy. com/
and music https://paulmcmahon.bandcamp. com/
I think we can reopen the chamber on October 7, 2018, for a 7th at 7 ceremony on the 11th anniversary of the first event at the Mothership. I believe it can be done. All who were ordained, performed ordination, attended workshops and/or sacred ceremonies there will be invited back for a reopening. And the rest of you too!
On the 7th of every month at 7 PM, chambers around the world link up in a ceremony. In Wittenberg, we called it a World Peace Ceremony. Each in their own time zone, a virtually continual ceremony, therefore, happens at 7 PM all over the world. If you think about it 7 PM reflects a certain position relative to the sun. All of the different time zones reach the same angle in relation to the sun at 7 pm. So if you were the sun and you heard someone singing to you, you would keep hearing singing coming from the same position even though the first singer was now on the far side of the world. For a few years, I’ve been holding the linkup ceremony in my backyard. All are welcome to join. It is very nice in the yard but I look forward to being able to hold the 7th at 7 in the Wittenberg Sound Chamber again this October.
-Paul McMahon
Organizer
Lenny Bee
Organizer
Bearsville, NY
