Auburn Auto & Angel Clouds

Auburn Auto & Angel Clouds

Photographs from Los Altos Library
& Palo Alto (Sunday, August 10, 2014)
with notes & links on Spiritual Mentors

By Peter Y. Chou
WisdomPortal.com

Preface: When the Los Altos Library closed at 6 pm on Sunday, August 10, 2014, I walked out and saw beautiful cirrus clouds in the sky. Before I snapped a photo of these heavenly clouds, an earthly invention caught my attention. Between the Library and the Los Altos History Museum, a vintage automobile was parked for some wedding event. It was the most beautiful automobile I've ever seen— most pleasing to the eye. Several admirers were taking photos of this marvelous classic beauty. A car connoisseur told me it's an 1935 Auburn 851 made in Indiana, USA. After the crowd dispersed, I took several photos of this Auburn automobile, admiring especially the Auburn hood ornament streamlined as an angel. When I looked above, there were angel clouds, feather clouds, flaming clouds in the sky. Time to savor this moment— "As Above, So Below." This Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg was the car for Hollywood stars and royalty. Auburn 851 auto owners include Marlene Dietrich, James Cagney, Gary Cooper, Clark Gable, Mary Astor, George Murphy, and King Gahzi of Iraq. When my friend picked me up at 6:40 pm and drove to the Stanford Theatre, we saw Audrey Hepburn as Princess Ann in Roman Holiday (1953) and Greta Garbo as Queen Christina in Queen Christina (1933). Needing two vertical photos to balance out this web page, I've added these royal characters from the films. Afterwards I read Peter Vann & Gerald Asaria, Extraordinary Automobiles (1985), p. 193— “Auburn Speedster: They say that Marlene Dietrich, on first seeing a white 1935-vintage Auburn Speedster, cried out: "It's a cloud!" The Auburn was considered one of the most beautiful sports car of its time. Besides, the Auburn displayed its goods as openly as beautiful Marlene. Remember Marlene's unabashed display of leg as Lola the coquette in The Blue Angel (1929). The car was the brainchild of engineer August Duesenberg and body builder Gordon Miller Buehrig who designed the eternal marvel and sold it for the comparatively low price of $2,245. They sold only 600. Marlene bought a Speedster and by the same token became the most famous Auburn driver ever.” The 1935 Auburn 851 was used in the 1936 film Desire starring Marlene Dietrich and Gary Cooper (photo). A 1935 Auburn 851 Supercharged Speedster sold for $517,000 at a 2013 RM Arizona Auction. It is interesting that spiritual mentors came into the lives of Audrey Hepburn, Greta Garbo, and Queen Christina. Audrey Hepburn's final film appearance was in Steven Spielberg's Always (1989). She plays Hap, the supernatural barber to Pete (Richard Dreyfuss), an aerial firefighter who died in a plane crash. She teaches him to provide Spiritus ("the divine breath") to others. In real life, Audrey Hepburn was a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador (1988-1992), working in some of the most profoundly disadvantaged communities of Africa, South America and Asia. Greta Garbo was considered one of greatest female stars of all time. She never signed autographs, answered no fan mail, gave few interviews. She was a reclusive and wished to be alone. However, she enjoyed dinner in New York with another Swede reclusive, Dag Hammarskjöld, Secretariat General of United Nations. From his diary Markings, Hammarskjöld, led a mystic inner life (UN Meditation Room). Garbo had three books by and about Hammarskjöld and corresponded with him (auction #373, #375). Queen Christina invited René Descartes to her Stockholm palace to teach her mathematics and philosophy (Oct. 4, 1649-Feb. 1, 1650) when she was 23. It's interesting that Descartes had his prophetic dream on Nov. 10, 1619 at age 23, that inspired him to invent analytical geometry and Cartesian philosophy. Christina wanted her lessons with Descartes at 5 am, and with the wintry cold, the French philosopher died of pneumonia on Feb. 11, 1650. Christina employed the Spanish priest Miguel Molinos (1628-1697) as a private theologian, and sent him food and hundreds of letters when he was locked up in Castel Sant'Angelo. Audrey Hepburn as Princess Ann smashed a guitar on the head of an investigator (with Castel Sant'Angelo in the background). Molinos published The Spirtual Guide (1675) on meditation that was translated into six languages (1675-1699). It's interesting that Queen Christina studied with Descartes (my spiritual mentor) & Miguel Molinos (Paul Brunton's mentor). When PB told me the story of Molinas's meditation book that's translated to many languages, I pointed to PB that his meditation books were translated to 17 languages. "Could you have been a reincarnation of Molinas?" I asked PB. He just smiled, saying "Maybe" (PB on Molinos).