Overall, learning about this commune was very, eyeopening. During this time in history, I was aware of the explosion in culture that was found in the LA area, but not to this extent. It was as if it was another religious renaissance, and the California region was a hot bed for a lot of them.
One action that very much stood out to me was the fact that each one of them had a certain encounter with Father Yod. Each person felt as if meeting them was an outer body experience. Some saw lightening bolts rise from his head, others felt the need to kneel down and kiss his feet. He gave off such an intimidating vibe which his followers respected.
The restaurant they established, I thought was a brilliant idea. They used all the revenue they made from that restaurant, and put it towards their commune and living situations in the hills of LA. Their restaurant was so wildly popular with celebrities and passerby's, that they usually were well off when it came to house expenses. Because they did not believe in modern medicine, they really did not need to spend excessive money on medicine or hospital bills.
This commune really was interesting to me. I never ever learned about any type of groups in this way, growing up. So learning about them now is really great.
I was kind of in the same boat as you when it came to communes. I did not know much about them and anything I did know was negative, so I tried my best to steer clear of discussing them. That being said, when I did finally learn the truth, I feel like things came full circle. I also think it is important to always consider the historical aspect of things and as you stated, it explained a whole lot. Its really interesting to be able to sit back and study these communes and think about what they could have done differently and what went wrong or just the opposite, what we would have done or what was successful.
ReplyDelete