Honoring Barbara Chavez

Interviewed by Jan Spencer,

ToLS Volunteer Librarian

October 2016

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[Editor’s Note: Barbara Chavez is one of the earliest donors to the Tree of Life Sanctuary’s library.   Barbara has donated nearly 350 precious books, some that are very rare.]  

Barbara was born and raised in California, in fact she’s a third-generation Californian. Her grandmother was the first white child in Sonoma County.  Her family wasn’t particularly religious, even though she attended Sunday School.  She considers herself more spiritual than religious.

Her personal experiences include being a “Rosie the Riveter” as a young adult, even recently being interviewed by a Richmond, California non-profit magazine.  As a newlywed, she was living in El Salvador during the major revolution.  It was much later when she and her husband returned there on a visit with their children that they experienced the occurrence of an earthquake.

She and her husband first returned to the U.S. when she was pregnant with her first of seven children. They lived in Walnut Creek, California with her mother.  Almost immediately (this was during WWII), her husband was stationed in Italy.  After his return sometime later around 1949, they moved to Auburn, California, and then settled in Meadow Vista, California in 1950.

She was heavily involved in the Meadow Vista school system, not only as a paid employee for 24 years, but continued as a Mentor Volunteer for 19 years.

Barbara's spiritual journey started in the 1970’s when she joined a mystery school, the Builders of the Adytum (BOTA), founded by Teacher Paul Foster Case.  BOTA, like the Tree of Life Sanctuary, has Hermetic Qabalah roots, and sprang from the Order of the Golden Dawn. She attended meetings, studied and worked with the Tree of Life, Gematria and sacred geometry, all as part of her Qabalistic practice.

In the 1990’s, after almost 20 years of being heavily involved with BOTA, she experienced overwhelm and left the formal school.  Though she still does many of the same practices today.

She has created almost three thousand oil pastels of the Tree of Life and other spiritual symbols, which were displayed in many organizations, including Kaiser Hospital in Sacramento, California.

Barbara is still an audio clairvoyant Light Worker connected with her Divine Self, receiving information regularly. She believes, especially with her connection to the Universal Power, that we are in the midst of a spiritual realignment.  Now is a very critical period for Light Workers to focus on their role here on Earth.

As of this interview, she’s looking forward to her 95^th birthday bash – she even has a new dress for it.

I’m so full of gratitude to have been able to hear Barbara's story, and we’re all so grateful for her major donations to our Spiritual Library.

• Meets monthly
• Has taken the ToLS Intro to Qabalah class
• Holds a sincere desire to study Hermetic Qabalah (HQ) on one’s own time, to learn from fellow group participants and to respectfully share your insights and knowledge
• Is responsible for own study agenda
• Holds all sharing that occurs in the group as confidential
• Demonstrates respect for all points of view offered
• Honors the dance of group discussion by not interrupting others when they are speaking, and limiting your sharing to a reasonable length

• Facebook Group - a dedicated and closed (“secret”) FB group
• Suggested Reading & Viewing – a list provided at your first gathering that is updated regularly.
• ToLS Library Use – use of the library is included.  You will be given a library card # and instructions on how to request an item for borrowing.