In the spring of 1973 i was on Mt. Shasta and i heard singing through the trees. i followed the sound through the meadows and found a school bus painted with YEA GOD on it and a far out group of people singing songs to God. i spent the next few days with these people, but they were on their way to New York City to see their teacher who just returned from India. As they were boarding the bus for the cross country trip, i stood at the door hugging each one goodbye. there was a man named Gentle Bear, and we hugged and i said "You give good bear hugs" and he said "You give good bear hugs too, you must be Ladybear". everyone there said ... "Yeah, Ladybear" ! the name stuck, so since 1973 i have been known by that name. :) i ended up following that bus to New York City and found my new teacher sitting on a park bench at 86th St. and Central Park West. He was silent and taught us to communicate with a fun sign language that he created so we could all communicate with each other and translate for him. HE RADIATED JOY. i had never been near anyone like him before. it was contagious. in India he became "enlightened" by his Guru, Satya Sai Baba. He asked Baba to make him free, and he did. Sai Baba changed his name to Freedom. Freedom was an amazing man and it was a magical time. we stayed at Central Park and celebrities would come by and see Freedom, and the Yea God family would sing all the time. the police would watch out for us and come to sit on the corner asking questions about God. within a few weeks of meeting Freedom and the family i was on my way overland to see Sai Baba for myself. For more photos of the YEA GOD days click HEREWhile we were in NYC we always visited with HILDA CHARLTON at St. Luke's Church in Greenwich Village. Hilda was a former ballerina that had become a holy woman, a living saint, and held regular meetings in the church basement. it was full of light and many extraordinary things happened with HILDA. she even danced for the great sage YOGANANDA once. her meetings were always full of Music,Love and Reverence. |