It is what it is

 

Peter Mount Shasta (actually spelled Peter Mt. Shasta, but my word-processor can´t always process it) is a spiritual teacher living in – wait for it – the small town of Mount Shasta close to the actual mountain, a dormant volcano in northern California. “It Is What It Is: Further Adventures of a Western Mystic” is a small book published by Peter in 2019. It´s apparently an Amazon Kindle best-seller, but I admit it wasn´t *that* interesting. Perhaps it´s intended as a kind of teaser trailer to the wider oeuvre of this particular writer?

The book is a collection of short anecdotes with a spiritual undertone, not in chronological order. The underlying theme is that the Ascended Masters and/or the I AM Presence can guide you and help you both in spiritual matters and in more mundane situations. At least sometimes, the short stories also have a certain sense of humor. The Masters appear dressed as hoodlums, Walmart employees with the face of Eckhart Tolle, or police officers in the forests at 10pm. They can fix Peter´s Word program, tell him to board a bus…or interrupt his advanced meditation by a literal lightning strike! Peter Mount Shasta himself has apparently gained some supernatural powers too over the years, such as the ability to fly a UFO or levitate while meditating. He also has a certain sense of humor – the photo on the book cover shows him on Boulevard Saint Germain, presumably in Paris. Yes, Saint Germain is the name of Peter´s higher plane guru…

The author´s spirituality is an eclectic blend of Guy Ballard´s I AM teachings (said to hail from the Ascended Master Saint Germain) as interpreted by Ballard´s former secretary Pearl Dorris, and Vajrayana Buddhism. But then, the I AM teachings themselves tend to be pretty eclectic. In one anecdote, Peter reveals that he was one first name basis with Wendelle Stevens, the controversial UFO-logist and former US military officer who vouched for Swiss contactee Billy Meier. The chapter is illustrated with a picture of Mary and her immaculate heart, perhaps a hint that Mary and Semjase are supposed to be the same person? Mary also appears during an Ayahuasca experience, to set matters straight! More problematic is the author´s great respect for Sathya Sai Baba. The book even contains a bizarre miracle story about how Sai Baba appears in Mount Shasta after his physical death, driving the same kind of black BMW Peter wanted for Christmas?!

The most intriguing chapters claim that a Chinese Master of Esoteric Buddhism, a certain Yu, wanted Peter Mount Shasta to become his successor, at least in the United States, and would be able to keep half of the proceeds. Peter (dis)respectfully declined. It seems Yu was somewhat angry at this unexpected development. There is also an interesting story of how another Hanmi master attained Rainbow Body. Another interesting chapter deals with the author´s friend Jonathan, who tried to live like a sadhu both on the slopes of Mount Shasta and in a jungle in Hawaii. His Parkinson´s disease was supposedly a way to bear the karma of people suffering in the Buddhist Hell-realms…

All the sensational stories co-exist rather uneasily with more down-to-earth scenarios featuring the author helping his family with cooking and washing, trying to learn unruly New Age people to meditate properly, removing trees from the vicinity of his cabin, driving through fly-over country, and so on. Perhaps spiritual seekers of a broadly New Age type do find this material interesting, but personally, I´m probably moving boldly towards other pursuits.

It is what it is.