It is with great gratitude and respect that I write this review of Lake Shrine because I found it…read moreto be the best free experience that the Los Angeles Basin has to offer and this is not an exaggeration, nor is commentary sponsored by ad funds. I am feeling pure and substantial admiration and thus I will try to convey it on to page in hopes of celebrating the gift of serenity this place offered me without asking for anything in return, from me. The serenity that this place induced within me, so quickly and firmly, was so strong that I dared to think of scenarios that would challenge it. Meaning I was so in peace in the Lake Shrine grounds, that I wondered what would disturb this seemingly unshakable peace? And my mind went to a dark place. I will eventually know the heart-woe of being an orphan and I wondered if my biggest grief would be lessened in this environment. I know that this was a quirky maybe even macabre way of describing the grandiose peace of this place but I wanted to be honest to the experience because the serenity offered by this place was extreme and unique because I had never felt something quite like it. Thus the question becomes: How did this place achieve this new sense of peace/serenity within me?
First, the ground themselves were tranquility in soft, barely moving stillness. As soon as I was walking down the 100 or so steps to get to the bottom of this sunlit, open-air cathedral I felt the calming colors of nature all around me, plus the absence of city sounds. Like the freeway was near the Shrine. And I could hear it. But the traffic was not a reminder of a city near, it was more like rumors of cities that were somewhere in the horizon but not near because the stress of these distant cities and their bills and heinous crime did not belong amongst the quietly pulsating, encompassing peace.
As I walked the grounds, I saw koi fish and a swan swimming amongst its central lake that was clear as I hoped my mind would be while engaging in the meditative practices that this placed offer. In fact, in one of the videos I clipped I followed a white koi with my video camera. As it swam in the water that was not hit by sunlight the fish was white. As it continued to swim to the part of the lake that had water hit by sun, the koi fish turned a little bit green, like a turqouise shade. And I thought about why the fish would turn green, just slighthly? And that is is where I understood that the clear blue water and the yellow sunlight came together to make green. In fact, the play of light across the grounds was one of the reasons why I loved! this place. I took a picture of a tree drenched with sunlight. But to my eye, the tree did not get covered with sunlight, it was more adorned in sunlight. Like the green was present and the yellow light was present, but they did not become one, it was like the skin of a female was covered in golden lace. Take these moments and add the duo of mingling butterflies I spotted, the small but mighty waterfall, and all of the majestic roses around I feel great comfort in describing this place an Eden of curated nature.
I was also fortunate enough to arrive at a time where I could wait an hour and attend one of their guided meditations, inside a windmill. And this was an experience that made me feel the power of meditation in full scope. At the end, the guide, asked all of us to say om three times. The first time I joined, the second time I did too, but in the third om I remained quiet. I heard the symphony of om's around me and together they made music that verberated within my skin. I did not feel goosebumps, instead I felt my skin shimmer with waves that come an in-rest mind. The meditation focused on feeling love from the heart and have it encompass us, our neighbors, our family, and all people who claim the world their earth. The words of the guide, the peace of the spot, the sounds that could not be heard but felt, made me feel like I was pulsating with love vibes that were being transmitted from me to all in golden, circular vibes. Like I said when I first started to write this Yelp, I am not exaggerating, those images and feelings came to my mind. What I fear is that I will visit this place a second time and not feel the wonders of my first visit. I mean that is a common situation, people will never feel the same pleasure they first felt, when they heard their favorite song. I asked a working gardener if he ever lost the love for the wondrous garden surrounding him. He said never. I hope he was right. I don't plan to go hear regularly, but enough for the peace to feel needed and true.
I also took a tour of the garden with another guide. She described the lotus frame next to the lake as a "wallless temple" which made a lot of sense. I was at a pier not too long ago after my visit. And I was at the pier's edge facing the water and I realized this was also a wallless temple. I hope this Yelp is a peace pulse, too!
