A Tribute
By Joel Thome
Since last evening, my mind has been filled with an experience I had some moons before the pandemic when I happened to be standing, just before sunset, at the edge of the forest, behind my daughter Melissa's home in Stoneridge, NY. Cloaked by silence I felt a presence to my left. I turned my head to see the most miraculous sight of an incredibly beautiful golden deer Standing absolutely still! Not wanting to startle this sacred Spirit, I remained motionless. With both of us sharing this blessing of pure consciousness exchange, the thought entered my mind that this was like the stuff of legend in the Vedas and other ancient tales. I wondered if this was an illusion of some sort. Determined to hold the meeting of souls as long as possible in order to continue the experience without interruption, we both remained frozen in space, and time. I realized that it would take time to fully comprehend the meaning of this profound experience. Although I mentioned it to my family, I continued to keep the event within the silence of my mind. Not long after that moment, I had the beautiful opportunity to converse with Miles Merritt, Gail Kemper, and Mark Gordon who were all working on films that involved the sacred life of Standing Deer. Eventually, they all presented excerpts of their films in our Editions, Gail and Miles, The Jerry Lawson Story, and Mark Gordon's The Man Of Many Colors, as well as the beautiful paintings of Standing Deer and his wife Marti.
This morning I received a message from Mark that our friend Standing Deer passed away last night after a long illness. As you can see, the wisdom of this Great Spirit has inspired the lives of so many souls in more ways than we can ever imagine. He deeply influenced us beyond our expectations. Now that Soul to Soul sharing in the woods becomes clear in ways mere words can not express. I would love for us to dedicate, in a very special way, our next issue to The Golden presence of Standing Deer. RIP Great Spirit and Mentor.