Michael Bedar Jeff Brown came from Indiana to help make the Gathering a success.A former resident at the Enchanted Garden Intentional Community, he organized workshops and is an avid enthusiast for raw vegan foods.	The Once and Future History of the Essenes The Essene Ecstatic Mystical Gathering took place September 19-21, on Selichot 5763--International Peace Day--at the scenic Madre Grande Monastery between San Diego and Tecate. It was the weekend before the Autumn Equinox, and a week before Rosh Hashana, the Birthday of the Universe when Jewish people can write new life scripts. Attending this gathering I felt a little like a modern-day historian observing the Once and Future history of the Essenes through the lens of my video camera. The gathering was organized by the enchanted gardener, Leslie Goldman of San Diego who says that world peace will be a product of people living their deepest passion and growing their dreams in harmony withnature.  The gathered would agree. Rav Gabriel Cousens M.D. is a mystical happening. A scholar athlete in the National College Football Hall of Fame and captain of his college football team 30 or more years ago, he used to finish his teammates' steaks after downing his own 13-ouncer. Rav Gabriel Cousens with Anu (left) and Shanti. Today "Rav Gav" is author of many books, including Conscious Eating and is founder-director  of the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center in Patagonia, Az.   He sees a constant stream of patients and travels extensively. He had just returned from Tel Aviv where he spoke to more than 200 people on ³Vegetarianism, eco-Kosher, and Spirituality² in one evening. Cousens says that Israel's population has the largest percentage ofVegetarians in the world, second to India. He leads a joy-filled life  on a 100% raw, organic, vegan dietand minimal need for sleep.  He does Ophanim, yoga-like movements and postures  that form the aleph-bet with the body. His shamanic Shabbat practices include Mikveh, devotional singing and dancing, and Ruach Ha¹kodesh meditations. Cousens is the epitome of vitality, suppleness, and alertness, and healthy relationship with family and friends. Cousen¹s Kabbalistic Essene teachings are grounded in the body and through nutritional practices. To demonstrate this, Shanti Cousens, wife and partner of Rav Gav, taught the preparation of living food challah, that tasted like a sweet bread. Living foods maintain the nature of food by not cooking or refining it, and uses the best of organically grown produce.  Her recipe calls for almond flour, flax seeds, and fresh seasoning.  I felt energized when I ate it. Her Challah gave me none of these allergic reactions or lethargy that I experience from white flour made Challah that has many preservatives. Jeff Brown, a nutritional counselor who came to the gathering from Bloomington, IN, echoes the need to prepare our bodies for high conciousness. His days are so full and focused on his passions, he says, that he couldn't afford to not eat a living foods diet, or, he prefers, "live-it."  (L-R) Robert Yarosh, Gabriel, Lisa Soto, and Shanti. Robert Yarosh and Lisa Soto, two participants who have been instrumental as consultants to San Diego's first Vegan, organic restaurant Cilantros, spoke about how those new to raw food can get all the protein they need without meat, grains, or dairy foods. Leslie Goldman, The Enchanted Gardener says, "When you plant seeds, water comes." And water came, for sure, right at the kick-off of the gathering, in the form of hurricane Isabel's grounding some east-coasters who had expected to come.   The gathering ended with a minyan of women and men re-enacting Moshe at the water stone intended to bless the waters of the world.  They touched and communed with a rock while voicing chants derived from the Hebrew spelling of Shechina, the divine feminine. These chants were taught by Joseph-Mark Cohen, the Kaballistic astrologer from British Columbia (www.treeoflifeschool.com.).  We planted and watered freshly harvested Job's tears (bean-sized grey or black seeds that grow on tall grasses), as we listened to a poetic blessing of water written by poet and author Liora Leah.  The ceremonies symbolized that we all can be prepared to enter the promised land--the enchanted garden--by lovingly nurturing the seeds of our dreams. The day of the gathering, the temperature was close to 100. The day following, Leslie gathered early morning gentle rain water at his home.  It was the first time it had rained in months. I saw demonstated at this gathering that our intentions are connected with nature and with Hashem. The gathering menus, deliciously prepared can be sampled at the Tree of Life Cafe at the Tree of Life Rejuventation center.  http://www.treeoflife.nu/ A story  on "Ecstatic Mystical Judaism" by Rav GabrielCousens can be viewed at: http://www.lesliegoldman.com/Essenes/id18.htm For more on the Enchanted Garden, please visit http://www.lesliegoldman.com/ My website is www.environ-MENTALprodutions.com. _____ Michael Bedar created extraordinary footage of more than seven hours from AN ESSENE ECSTATIC MYSTICAL GATHERING held September 19-21, 03. It will take about $400.00 to get this unedited video materialinto DVD format that can be distributed to those who attended the workshop, and about $2000.00 to give him an opportunity to work with editing it down into a videothat could have far reaching influence to healthfully and ecstatically transform Judaism as it it practiced today.  If you are interested in furthering this project, email Leslie Goldman, Your Enchanted Gardener, Home to Main Site	Genine Halsted, was one of the early risers in San Diego in 1979.  She had her own healing center where she did massage.  Today she is active in the Jewish Renewal Movement in San Diego.  She attended An Essene Ecstatic Mystical Gathering.
	Job's Prayer, copyright, Leslie Goldman, Version 1985 All Rights Reserved.