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The Floating Neutrinos
An extended family of nonconformists travels the world on rafts, teaches
its own brand of
philosophy, joins the circus, starts a popular jazz band, and sets a new
world record along the way.
By PJ Partridge
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Mantak Chia
He teaches the ancient Chinese concepts of Tao,
promising a happier, healthier life, celestial visions, more energy and
cosmic orgasms.
By Zini Jones
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PHOTO: The first scrap-raft to cross the Atlantic Ocean (credit:
floatingneutrinos.com)
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Imagine
coming home one day to find that your home has been forcibly seized
without any warning, by bureaucrats of dubious authority. Prevented from
entering to collect even your most personal belongings, you stand by
helplessly as your home and possessions are completely destroyed before
your eyes.
It happened on the 8th of May 2000, in New York City, not just to one
home but two. These were no ordinary homes. The larger, and
more famous of the two, christened Town Hall by its owners, was an
eighteen-by-three and a half meter floating house-raft;
indeed to many, a work of unusual art. Town Hall and another house-raft were anchored in a
small inlet on the Hudson River, just a few hundred feet west of
downtown Manhattan.
Town Hall could have easily been mistaken for a missing set piece from a movie,
a floating art project, or just some sort of odd abandoned wreckage. In fact,
it was home for the previous eight years to the Floating Neutrinos, an extended family of pioneering
adventurers, peacefully living by their own rules, and achieving some
impressive feats - not the least of which was living comfortably with
plenty of space, privacy, safety, and spectacular views amongst some of
the highest-priced and most crowded real estate in the world - for free.
The Floating Neutrinos are led by the husband and wife team of Poppa
Neutrino and Captain Betsy. In earlier incarnations they were known as
David Pearlman and Betsy Terrell.
David was born in San Francisco in 1933 to a mother with a penchant for
gambling, and an absent father. As an only child, David's early years
were unsettled, moving from place to place, attending many schools, and
accompanying his mother on gambling adventures. His early adulthood
included an underage stint in the U.S. Army, studying to become a
preacher, forming his own religion, three marriages, work as a salesman,
a sojourn through the Mexican desert on foot, and binges with alcohol and drugs.
Betsy was born in Philadelphia in 1952, one of four children. Her mother
worked as teacher and her father had a job with AT&T. She learned how to
sail as a child, and obtained a degree in education from Goddard
College. That might make Betsy seem comparatively conventional, but she
is quick to point out that "Neither Poppa nor I have ever led a
conventional life. We are both nomadic spiritual seekers by nature."
continued...
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Photo: Mantak Chia, teaching
(credit: Zini Jones)
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Mantak Chia teaches a system for living that he calls Universal Tao.
He says it promotes health, increases energy and enables "the
reunion of heaven and man." If he himself is an example, it may be a
very good system. Born in 1944, Mantak could easily pass for someone
born a generation later.
We met during one of his occasional teaching visits to New York
City, to discuss his ideas and practices.. Our discussion quickly
veered into the unanticipated territory of out-of-body experiences,
turtles, LSD, Timothy Leary and orgasms.
Sitting cross-legged on the sofa in his hotel suite, wearing a pink
sweat suit, and sipping bottled water, he greets me while furiously
typing on his laptop computer.
I ask him to explain how he got started. "When I was young growing
up in China, we had many Kung Fu novels about people with special
powers and energy, but most people did not believe it. One day I was
talking with my classmate and he said if you really want to feel
energy, come tomorrow and I will introduce you to my Master.
The next day I came to the appointment. The Master looked at me and
said 'Do you really want to feel energy'? I said yes. So he stuck
his finger in my navel and had me concentrate. It felt warm. He told
me 'Go home and meditate, and if you feel anything come back and
tell me.' After that, I felt warmth and it started to expand and
move. And the next day I did it again. More energy. The next day I
went back and said 'Oh, I feel so much energy!' And the Master said
'Hmmm, I think you have potential."
His Master's name was Yi Eng, also known as the White Cloud Hermit,
because he came from a lineage of hermits who lived on the Long
White Mountain near Manchuria. Mantak studied with Yi Eng for five
years, learning Taoist practices that had been only passed down
between monks for thousands of years.
continued...
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