Purchase of School of Being Land
Praise God!
Nelson County, Virginia
October 18, 2008
Kim and I are pleased to announce that on October 17th, we signed the deed of purchase on a beautiful land and property in Schuyler (pronounced sky-ler), Virginia.
I have wanted to write and share the news for some time now, but was inwardly guided to wait until we had the actual closing and recording of the deed. The process was very delicate for some time and we are very happy that we had the victory and can get settled next month so we can return to getting the Teachings out—which is our main goal and joy to do.
After Omri-Tas made the fundraising announcement, Kim and I spent week after week searching in a wide area of the Allegheny and Blue Ridge mountains. The process was amazing to experience and there is too much to tell here in the context of this announcement. But I hope to share the details at a future conference, as a testimony to the love for Divine Direction and overcoming spiritual blindness.
As we are well aware, the financial markets all over the world are in a precarious way, and which we felt extremely fortunate to get funding under the circumstances. We were turned down flatly for a business loan by Wachovia bank before we could even start the loan process. And shortly after that the bank failed and was bought out by another bank.
By then the markets were starting to really pull in on business and mortgage loans and so we had to try and purchase this land and home on our own income and credit. But we could not normally qualify for such a large loan because we only take a small amount of funds out each month from Shangra-la for personal income. So I knew it was going to take some ingenuity and will to get this loan through, but fortunately our credit was excellent and that helped tremendously.
Meanwhile, we had been directed to the exact month to put our home up for sale in New York. And following that inner direction we had an offer on our home within 9 days of getting it listed—without hiring a real estate agent to sell it for us! And somehow this young couple – and first time home buyer – got their loan to go through and to close in six weeks. So I was extremely grateful for that miracle which came about through following divine direction.
After many weeks of looking for a place for the school that would provide a large home and a retreat like setting, we were beginning to get very discouraged. If you found a spacious house, you also found neighbors very close, or it would be situated too close to a major highway and noise. If you found a lovely retreat setting, the house was too small or old. Finally I realized we just could not find what would be right for the school if we did not start looking at more expensive properties. And simultaneously I then received what to look for in the right property – 7 points – which gave us a much needed guideline. And when I went online with the right criteria, I quickly found the property that was meant for us. Amazingly – but not when you follow divine direction as a natural process of life – what we eventually found had all seven points and was located central to an area of a about 500 hundred square miles in a total possible search area of about 1,500 square miles, covering the area up and down the mountain ranges on both sides. Thankfully, we had been divinely led to look no more than 50 miles south, north, east and west of where we were meant to be-Be.
Schuyler property , Virginia
When I found the property online, I was so drawn to this one place that I made immediate plans to view just this one property that weekend, even though Kim could not travel with me and my realtor was unavailable for several days as well. Normally we would go down with several appointments in hand, but I just could not get myself to make any other appointments. So after doing the spiritual preparation, I made the long trip by myself and spent a most glorious and enlightening day visiting the property and then talking with the masters. They gave me, without a doubt, the confirmation that this land was ours and why. So I worked with the masters until I felt the inner conviction, strength, courage and determination to carry this purchase through to the victory. Somehow I had to get a substantial mortgage loan in a financial market that was extremely vigilant to keeping any immediate future loan approvals to a minimum.
I had just received the first business loan rejection the day before viewing the property, from a process that I had started as soon as we began looking for a place. So I knew I had to find another way to get a loan. With my excellent credit record, I could qualify for something similar to a no-doc mortgage loan, geared to self-employed individuals. But usually the interest rates are much higher for those loans, as well as for business loans. And both were exactly the type of loans that the banks were using extreme caution in giving out due to the mortgage crisis.
The second bank loan application we locked in an excellent interest rate, but we were stymied by not being able to provide the paperwork they needed. But through providence I had been guided to a wonderful mortgage broker who fought hard for us, and he found another lender and again locked in an even lower interest rate. Again we were stymied, being just one step away from victory, but unable to break through their requirements. I sent forth heavenward my discouragement and surrender, as I was ready to give up on this property, believing that we would just find another property if we had to, or try the loan process again at another future date when things were better.
Rockfish River Road , Virginia
But immediately two things happened, one, I was first guided to not give up, to keep the victory flame and to procure this property because this was the place of and for Being. And therefore I was renewed and encouraged from Above that this was the land and property we needed to procure and therefore I could not fail with the will of God on our side—or rather I would not give up and thus fail. I knew without a doubt that this was the property for the school, yet at the same time I had this feeling of total detachment to getting it! And I think that detachment was such that I needed to come back to the will and determination to fight for what I knew was right for us.
And so that night after I fell asleep I had a most difficult experience where I was immersed in darkness that I could not find my way out from, although I tried to find the light. It disturbed me because normally I could make the calls and immediately feel the release from any fear. But this time, although I kept waking up and making the calls, I would go right back into the darkness. I could not understand why, until the next day when I realized that the experience was from my higher Self, not the dark forces, and it was to help me see that I needed to bring light into the darkness in this world and not let this darkness stop me. And so I was doubly determined to somehow get this loan through and fight for it because I would not – and could not – let the masters down and their plan for the school of Being.
Although we collected the goal of $100,000 during the fundraiser from those who generously donated, we still needed another $75,000 to qualify for this particular loan and low interest rate or we would be lumped into another category of loans called a jumbo loan—which are very hard to get today and at a much higher interest rate. Thankfully we raised that money from donations beyond the $100,000, and from the sale of our home. And again, through divine providence, I went forth with greater determination to work with the underwriters of the loan to provide them with just what they needed to feel comfortable to give us the loan.
Property, Schuyler , Virginia
Our land has a newer small home on it, plus another small cottage for guests and plenty of room to grow. It is approximately 40 acres of rolling hills, with forested and cleared land, fenced pasture land for livestock, a barn and a large beautiful spring fed man-made lake at the back of the property. It is approximately 3 hours from Washington D.C. and 30 miles south of Charlottesville, which city in 2004 was ranked as the best place to live* in the United States based on cost of living, climate, and quality of life. The city is best known as the home to three US Presidents, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe, as well as the home of the University of Virginia. Charlottesville is also known for Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, his renowned mountain-top home, approximately 20 miles from Schuyler. It is a big tourist attraction drawing approximately half a million people each year.
Rockfish River, Nelson County, Virginia
Schuyler is in Nelson County, which is bounded by the James River on the east (as well as having the Tye River running through it and Rockfish River, which runs very close to our land) and the Blue Ridge Mountains on the north and west side, and also has the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway and the Appalachian Trail as part of the county. There is also located in the area, up the mountains, the highest cascading waterfall in the Eastern USA. Wintergreen, a four season resort, is located just 20 miles away, up on the Blue Ridge mountains.
Most Americans remember the popular television series, The Walton's, which ran for almost ten years. The "real" Walton's Mountain is Schuyler! The creator, Earl Hamner, was born in Schuyler and many of the places in his stories were based on his boyhood experiences there. Earl Hamner's character was "John Boy." The school the Hamners attended has been turned into a community center and Walton's Mountain museum. The town is all of about 400 people!
Another incredible aspect of being located in Schuyler, is due to its county location, and land value. The acreage cost is much less then in the neighboring county where Charlottesville is located. What cost us about $4,000 an acre in Nelson county would cost $10-15,000 an acre just over the county border—and we are only about a mile away from the border! So we came to learn that even the price of the entire property, and all on it, was priced far below the market value. It was so well priced that we were not even obligated to get an appraisal of its worth for the bank loan. But the property wasn't selling because it had been listed for a lot higher price, but they had recently reduced it drastically because of the mortgage crisis. So that gift to us, as well as the interest rate of 5.38%, was another miracle. The fixed-rate mortgage hit 6.46% Friday, representing the largest weekly increase since 1987. So the timing on everything has been impeccable, all by the Grace of God.
So again, we are very much grateful for the seemingly many small and large miracles that occurred throughout this process, not the least, the raising of $100,000 in just a month!. And the country setting is beautiful, peaceful and close enough to be convenient to the cities amenities, and an airport, but far enough away to be nestled in the country peace and quiet. And the land does vibrate of peace.
Property Lake , Virginia
For whatever reason, this land we bought is special. Although we know some of the reasons, I do believe there is the more we will discover about it sometime in the near future. So once again, we want to thank so many people who contributed to this victory in so many ways, many people we have not even met—but hope to some day.
God bless this land, the school of Being and all who have made this possible. And thank God and Divine Direction that unfolded this miraculous event and will continue to unfold many more miracles as we grow into the school of Being.
*From the book Cities Ranked and Rated by by Bert Sperling and Peter Sander.
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