Remembering Slim Spurling

July 3, 1938 — November 12, 2007

By Cal Garrison

One of the brightest lights on the planet has returned to the Source. After a six-month battle with forces that felt it necessary to postpone his parting, Slim Spurling left this world and went home to God at ten-thirty in the morning on November 12th, 2007. It is with heartfelt sadness that we mourn his passing — our deepest sympathies go out to his wife Katharina, and to his sons, Jay and Jody.

Photo Copyright Cal Garrison 2007

Slim's public persona was bigger than life. Over time, the cowboy from South Dakota became such a phenomenon that most people saw him as Merlin and The Lord of the Rings all rolled into one. The mythical wizard who had the power to change the world was everything people made him out to be — but anyone who thinks that's all there was to Slim Spurling saw only one facet of a rare and beautiful diamond.

I am sure there will be many thoughtful tributes lauding Slim's genius, his artistic abilities, his pioneer spirit, his discoveries, and his heroic efforts to heal the planet. Since I have already written extensively about those things I will leave it to others to eulogize them, and give my self permission to remember the essence of the man — because it was his essence that made him who he was.

The one thing that amazed me more than anything about Slim is that everyone who knew him, or met him, loved him. I could never figure out what it was that evoked this response because all he ever did was be him self. Over the years this unusual love affair grew to include thousands of people who adored him because he had the answers and solutions to so many things — but underneath it all it was Slim's natural simplicity and honesty that made everyone respond to him the way they did. The cowboy thing, the Sam Elliott voice, and the fact that he flowed like water with whatever was going on, may have had something to do with it too. But on a deeper level people loved Slim because in giving him self the freedom to be who he was he made it easy for others to just be who they were. The man had the rare ability to accept and see the best in everyone — and when someone sees the best in us, we can't help but love them.

Not fond of boundaries or any form of restriction, Slim embodied the two substances that fascinated him the most — water and the ether. I had the good fortune to spend a lot of time with him and all I can say is, it was like hanging out with a free-electron. You never knew what was going to happen because anything could — and it usually did because his fluidity left every moment open to new possibilities. And if nothing happened that was OK too because he knew that the still points were where everything came together. As far as Slim was concerned, it was all good — even when it wasn't.

A fan of elixirs and strange concoctions, Slim's favorite elixir was coffee. He drank it incessantly and there was usually the residue of some arcane, recently discovered mineral at the bottom of every mug. Slim used him self as a test tube for every remedy he got turned on to. Fueled by the unshakable faith that there had to be one, his quest for the ultimate cure coexisted with the fact that he lived on coffee, smoked like a chimney, didn't get enough sleep, and thrived on bacon and eggs. I finally came to the conclusion that his supposed bad habits were some sort of cowboy-constitutional remedy that no one had the right to monitor or change — and the search for the ultimate cure, while it seemed to contradict everything else he did to his body, had to include caffeine, nicotine, and cholesterol in whatever the protocol happened to be at the time.

The man was a visionary of the rarest sort. The big vision is the one we all know about — but Slim's ability to imagine 'what could be' was so much a part of who he was, it operated non-stop, 24-7. The Denver junkyards were one place where that particular gift got a lot of air time. Slim could pick up a heap of scrap metal and see the Cloudbuster or the tool it would become. He'd scrounge old pallets and craft them into furniture and funky little cabinets. If something broke down in the shop it was never a problem because Slim could make a new part out of nothing. Metal was more like clay to him — he turned junk iron into things that were so light and delicate it was hard for me to believe that he even made it happen.

I think the visionary thing provided the fuel for his boundless, creative energy — and the same force that allowed him to make something out of nothing could move balls of light across the room and send entities back where they came from without making a big, look-at-me-I'm-so-magical, deal out of it. Slim knew so much about everything he instinctively wove his wisdom into whatever was wanted or needed at the time — and whatever he did with his knowledge made things better.

Who do you know who always sees thee best in people no matter how needy or controlling they happen to be? Who have you met who is so totally OK with everything they can just 'Be', even when the situation sucks? How many of us have enough faith to know that no matter what the problem is, there is a solution, a cure, or some way to heal it? Who of us lives from a visionary place, able to see the light in every possibility? With the exception of Drunvalo, Slim Spurling is the only person I have ever met who is all of the above. He knew, without ever having to be told, that we're all one, everything is perfect, there are no problems that Mother Nature doesn't have an answer for, and anything is possible. Slim understood that there is a unity to life, a oneness to everything, and he focused mostly on that, instead of focusing on the things that make it seem as if everything is separate, or wrong, or impossible. So many good things came alive because Slim Spurling not only held the vision that they could, he took the time to make the connections that got the ball rolling — and while a lot of those incredible things didn't ripen on his watch, when they do bear fruit, we'll have Slim to thank.

There were things on this planet that riled him up for sure. The government, the IRS, the Dark Forces, the educational system, and the greed that seems to be the root-of-all-evil here — those things angered Slim beyond belief. Regarding the leaders of the world, he used to say, 'It's time to start growing hemp. We're going to need plenty of rope to hang those bastards'. Well aware that the powers that be aren't exactly a bunch of Boy Scouts, he saw him self as one of the ones who came here to overthrow those forces — and I have no doubt that he was, indeed, a warrior of the highest sort.

On the day Slim died it occurred to me that whoever he came to do battle with, took him out the way they do whenever someone starts rocking the boat or speaking the truth above a whisper. That whole concept isn't too far-fetched. But who knows why he left so unexpectedly? It could very well be that Slim checked out because he had said enough and done enough, and whatever was left undone didn't need to be finished or is now in the hands of those he left behind — because it's more than obvious that Slim Spurling has other things to do now.

It never occurred to me that Slim would die. He seemed immortal to me — even he thought he would live to be at least 130 and was looking forward to finding his way home to Missouri. He had 250 acres in a little town called Willow Springs. He wanted to get off the workshop circuit and open a school there — his own little Hogwarts. The land was where he went to chill out and dream things up. I spent a lot of time with him at the Missouri place and when we were out collecting herbs we'd walk the woods and talk about what the school would be like. Slim had all kinds of plans. It's too bad he couldn't stick around to see them through. And the question that's been coming up for me since he left is, 'What will I do without him?' I am sure that everyone else who loved him must be wondering the same thing — so what will we do without him?

I have no doubt that his work will go on, and that's a good thing. We can honor him by carrying his research forward because these Tools he created have so much to teach us. I am pretty sure there are some things about his creations that Slim overlooked or didn't fully understand, but someone, somewhere, will fill in the blanks. What I think we need to remember more than anything is that Slim's work was born out of who he was, and if we are going to carry it forward we need to go into alignment with the qualities he embodied so honestly, and simply, and naturally. If all of us were half the human being Slim Spurling was, cleaning up the planet wouldn't even be an issue — because what we would see in the world around us would reflect only love, acceptance, faith, trust, and every one of our highest visions.

I hope there's a good greasy spoon in heaven, one where Slim can sit down to a big plate of bacon and eggs whenever he gets tired of penetrating the secrets of the life force. I hope that the waitresses are smart enough to keep the coffee coming because Slim adores it and he always leaves a good tip. If he wants to have a smoke I hope he can light up and go for it without having to step outside. And there better be a lot of pretty women up there because Slim loved the ladies just about as much as he loved Mother Earth.

Goodbye my dear friend. I miss you — but everything you've given me is alive and well and I will carry you in my heart until we meet again, down the road apiece.

www.slimspurling.com

Slim Spurling's Universe Book

About Cal Garrison

Cal is a writer with four books to her credit. ‘The Old Girls’ Book of Spells’, ‘The Old Girls’ Book of Dreams’, and her latest book, ‘Witch On the Go’ were published by RedWheel/Weiser Press and are available in bookstores or on Amazon.com. In addition to her own work, she also writes for Slim Spurling. Her first book with Slim, ‘Slim Spurling’s Universe’ is being followed up by their second book together which, with any luck, will be out in 2008—2009.

A professional astrologer with 35 years experience Cal has cast over 6000 charts and is one of the best in her field. She is also an expert on the Tarot. When she’s not running the Spirit of Ma'at office, or working on her books, Cal spends her time doing in depth astrology and tarot readings for people all over the country.