TREASURE HOUSE PHOTOS

TREASURE HOUSES

Ceramic Creations By John Potts

During the first decade of this century, I hand-built and sold clay Treasure Houses until my eyes gave out.  Each house came with this meaning card:

• These Treasure House creations touch, within each of us, the child who remembers the magnificent treasure we each are.  The light shining on the treasures within the house reminds us of the Light shining in each of us. Take time to explore the Treasure Houses and... REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE!

THE TREASURE HOUSE MEANING IS WHAT THIS BLOG SITE IS ABOUT! 

 Treasure Spirit House

 T

 

Treasure Alter with Stream

 

Treasure Tree House

Treasure Tree House and Rock Side

Treasure Alter in Tree House

Treasure Tree House on Rock with Stream

Treasure Alter with Stream

Tree House with Stream

Tree of Life

Tree of Life

Tree of Life

Treasure TeePee

Treasure Tee Pee

Loving Creatures in Roof Top

Chinese Treasure Mountain

Chinese Treasure Mountain

Top of Chinese Treasure Mountain

Ancient Hanging Coffin in cave in side of mountain

Treasure Room of Chinese Mountain

Treasure Room of Chinese Mountain

Spirit Treasure House

Stream Under Spirit Treasure House

WELCOME TO OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY EXPLORATION!

 

 

 

 

Welcome to the site where we can explore our spiritual journey together; a place where we can look at quotes by insightful spiritual leaders in our past and present; a safe place to share our spiritual questions, doubts, certainties, experiences and perhaps gain some new direction and hope in our spiritual journey.

My name is John Potts. I am in my mid-70's and have had about 11 very interesting careers in my life, all the way from 22 years U.S. Coast Guard active duty where I worked my way up from seaman to a ship's captain. I served as a Christian pastor/short term missionary for several years, a Christian book store owner, a water survival instructor, an addictions counselor and retired again from the State of Maryland as a supervisor in the program which supervised drinking driver offenders.  I then became a clay artist for 10 years until just a few years ago.

Over my life, I have searched various Spiritual paths seeking fullfilment and direction, including fundamentalist Christianity, athiesm, Course in Miracles philosophy, Unity, Unitarian-Universalism and Zen Buddhism.  I went through a Buddhist workshop sponsored by my Unitarian-Universalist Church studying the "Five Mindfulness Trainings" and received the Dharma name "Arriving Home At The Source".

Do I believe that any of us are doomed to "hell" for not living by the "right" precepts?  Absolutely NOT!  Do I believe that an inner spiritual part of each of us will continue on exciting adventures when our body ceases to breathe?  Yes, that is the direction I am leaning.  I would like for us to examine ways to live our present lives to the fullest while occupying these bodies while dealing with earthly suffering and confusion in positive and exciting ways.

That is what I would like for us to discuss here on this site. 

Will you join me?

 

WHO AM I - MY LIFE PROFILE

Who Am I?

My Life Profile

John Potts

AKA

Arriving Home at the Source 

                              

       As I look back on my life, I say,‘Thanks'                                   

       As I look to the future, I say, ‘YES!”

   SPIRITUAL SAILING is meant to refer to various experiences depicting how one might allow our universal internal Spirit to blow on our personal sails propelling our lives in whatever direction Spirit knows best. I would like to hear your stories along with my experiences. Please let me know you are on this site and… share with all!
   In my mid-60s, I felt the desire to relate my life experiences.  These words are the result.  I am so thankful for the experiences which I have had over my decades of living – well… many of them, anyway!  As I complete these memoirs, revised and polished over several years, I am not sure who, or when, anyone, except my dear wife, Sandee, will read these words.  I hope that, at least, my children and their children, will read this someday, and understand a little of what I have learned from living.
   I faced life with an air of excitement.  With very little formal education, I have done some very interesting things, in my opinion.   Some of my experiences have touched many other lives, hopefully, in positive ways.  Some people will feel, I’m sure, that I touched their lives in negative ways.

“When we awoke this morning, we realized we had re-occurred one more time in these bodies.  There will come a moment in time when we no longer re-occur in these bodies.  That we may not pass this way again would be almost unbearable, except that it renders sacred, precious, holy, this moment in time here and now…
We’re having a party – it’s called life…
Can you come?”
    In retrospect, I think that mostly, I have tried to live my life as a sacred and holy party, trying to enjoy my intuitions and inspirations, even though, often, in retrospect, they were radical and driven.  I hope that someone else will grow spiritually from reading these words.

    While traveling the path of this life, I was known by various names and titles used to describe my current station at the time.

• During childhood I became an older Brother.
•  As a teen-ager, I became dedicated to enter full-time Christian service – someday.
• Upon enlisting in the Coast Guard at age 17, I asked to become known as John – a more mature sounding name… to go along with being a Bosun’s Mate in charge of a 40 foot Coast Guard rescue boat.
• In my early 20s, I became a Husband and Father.
• Upon receiving the first specialized career training in my life, I became known as a Coast Guard Radioman Petty Officer.
• At age 24, having turned my back on the Christian faith, I assumed the title of agnostic.
• Upon graduation from Coast Guard OfficerCandidateSchool at the age of 26, I was known as Officer-in-charge Radioman School.
• During my late 20s and into the 30s, I was known as ship’s Navigator, Executive Officer and Captain.
• At age 31, I repented of my agnostic title and resumed being called a Dedicated Christian.
• In my late 30s, I became known as Water Survival Instructor, Christian Book Store/Art Gallery Owner, Choir Director.
• In my 40s and 50s I was known as Pastor, Reverend, Foreign Mission Motivator, Voice of the Persecuted Church and Bible Smuggler…and somewhere in there, at age 50, I became a Grandfather.
• In my mid 50s I called myself an Adult Child of an Alcoholic and became an Addictions Counselor and Parole and Probation Drinking Driver Program Monitor, and… became known as a Divorcee.
• I became a spiritual searcher, exploring truths outside of the fundamentalist Christian view.
•  In my early 60s, I became known as a District Supervisor for the State of Maryland, then a Retiree officially on Social Security.
• In my 60s and into my 70s, I was known as a Clay Artist and a Coast Guard Auxiliarist with the various positions of – Flotilla Commander, Public Education and Communications Staff Officer, National Division  Chief, National Deputy Department Chief and finally, Director.
• In my early 70s, I might be known as a Meditator in the Zen tradition.
• Also, in my late 60s and 70s, sometimes my childhood nickname – Little Tommy - comes to mind as a reference to how little progress I have made in things which matter… almost back to the beginning of these full-circle memoirs of One Man’s Path – From Here to… Here.
   I count about 37 different names and titles which I have used at various times to describe my station in life at any particular time… and if I really got into it, I could come up with a lot more subjective adjectives I might have used to describe my lot in life over the years.
   I should caution any family member here who is reading these memoirs, that you might feel disappointed at the lack of intimate immediate family details.  I offer the following explanation – the number of titles given in the above list is a very low percentage relating to family; the number of non-family roles regrettably reduced my focus on family priorities.  For this I sincerely apologize.
   The above titles (which, at this time in my life, seem meaningless) tell a lot about my unbridled radicalism and drive… however, rather than a bunch of mere information, I hope that you will be able to see the higher level of my stories – where the nature of my identity is revealed – stories that touch on the nature of identity, who we are, where do we come from… as I approach the full-circle beginning of this life called John Thompson Potts Jr., or more recently, by Buddhist Dharma name: "Arriving Home At The Source".
Please check back from time to time for Spiritual inspirational entries as well as some continuation of the above memoirs. Don't forget to make a Blog post and let me know where you are in your spiritual path... the blogs are short so don't hesitate to make more than one if needed!