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We turn and turn in the animal belly, in the mineral belly, in the belly of time, to find the way out - the poem. - Octavio Paz
Welcome to my website. I am a writer and documentary filmmaker. The Western Mountain Project is dedicated to studies, teachings and expressions of the drala principle. Drala is a Tibetan word which means “beyond aggression” or the conflicts of duality. The drala principle is the potential to communicate fully with life and can be realized in any moment, from how we open a car door to how we think about a dream. The courage to speak and walk one's truth attracts the dralas.
We have a primordial connection to the dralas, which are variously called the creative imagination, the invisible world, ancestors, angels, spirit or spirit guides, gods or God. We invoke the dralas when we take responsibility for the individual and collective challenges we face and become committed to the work each of us is uniquely here to do.
For several years I've written essays on the "universality" of the drala principle. Theses, and various short films and video interviews I've made, are found below. - Bill Scheffel
FILMS BY BILL SCHEFFEL
BOOKS BY BILL SCHEFFEL
FATHER AS ANCESTOR - I'm writing about my father. I'm writing for the first anniversary of his death. August second is over two months from now but I want to be prepared. Though death comes without warning the anniversary of death comes with plenty of lead-time... read more.
DECLINE OF THE AUTOMOBILE - I sold my last automobile six years ago and I hope to never own another one. After I'd taken the car away from him, I drove my father's car intermittently over these last couple of years, but I sold it too. Studebaker, Mercury Comet, Dodge Coronet, Toyota Camry: middle-class cars of the American dream... read more.
K.O.S ENERGY - The Kingdom of Shambhala refers to a semi-mythical society that once existed in the Himalaya region of central Asia, an “enlightened society” that was based and organized on the principle of awake - that society could encourage and support the spiritual realization of every individual within it. Not that everyone was or would become enlightened or that the society was perfect, but that it’s constitution, so to speak, held this aim... read more.