The Conscious Life Ecumenical Union, Inc. (CLEU), an Oregon nonprofit religious corporation, was founded in early 2004, getting federal tax-exempt 501c3 status in 2016, to serve as a focus for our vision and to carry out our mission of:
- Promoting the Cleu as a symbol of our spiritual values and identity.
- Assisting in the formation of local Cleu circles.
- Providing online inspiration, guidance, and resources for local Cleu circles and people looking to form a Cleu circle in their community.
- Supporting and counseling local Cleu circles who wish to obtain the legal status of a 501c3 nonprofit religious organization or church.
- Establishing a Cleu circle in a major city and developing a prototype meeting space and typical Cleu service.
The People
The major portion of the energy, inspiration, insights, and just plain work put into the spread of the vision and the Cleu is provided by some very dedicated individuals. A special thanks goes out to Tom Reeves and Hank Davis for checking links and pointing out errors, and to Yoko Silk, our very first ordained CLEU guide. We also owe thanks and hugs to many others for making us feel that our efforts are not in vain, especially the folks who participated in the first Circus Numen and whose enthusiasm gave us the courage to reach out further, and our friends at Burning Man who remind us that giving comes naturally to humans.
Gian Anello, Head Guide
Gian (pronounced “john”) has been the force behind the scenes from the very beginning. As a founding member of the Conscious Life Ecumenical Union and the Conscious Life Community Church, he hosted our weekly gatherings, and organized drummers and poets for Circus Numen, our first community outreach. Legend has it that late one night, he was doodling at his workbench down in the basement and the Cleu symbol just appeared on the bench before him. As the “the force,” Gian has been solely responsible for the development of our websites, and instrumental in defining and refining our vision, mission, values, and challenges. For years reluctant to be associated with any organized religion, he now dreams of founding the last great religion, where beliefs are replaced by values, and the service consists of sharing food followed by a high tech celebration of human rites. Currently, he spends most of his time managing or working on our website, playing music, or twisting copper wire into Cleus.
Emma Cornell, Head Scout
Emma is a founding member of the Conscious Life Ecumenical Union and the Conscious Life Community Church, choreographer, musician, props and games organizer for the original Circus Numen in Nevada City, CA. Emma, also known as the Cleu lady, is the impetus and energy behind every form of outreach we have undertaken, handing out Cleu pendants and inviting everyone to celebrate their human rites. “Dr.Em” has a Ph.D. in English, teaching online, and in her spare time, strategizing ways of hastening the next paradigm and discussing mystic philosophy with Gian. She writes and edits for our website, strings Cleus, and plays drums and bass. Emma invites everyone to celebrate their spiritual identity and develop their community by creating a Cleu circle to celebrate human rites and explore spiritual practices together. Be the Cleu!
Ernest Brown, QuarterMaster and Magician
Ernest has been a member and contributor to the Conscious Life Ecumenical Union and the Conscious Life Community Church for almost a decade. He saw the universal acceptance to the ideas that the CLEU represented to all that it has been presented to and realized the power of the CLEU can have in everyone’s life. His main contributions to the organization is the support of sharing the CLEU at various events and providing a “brainwashing” space called the StarMan Dome at some events. With expertise in computer science, Ernest has been also providing tools for the organization and for promoting the CLEU. Ernest is accomplished in music and the theater arts as well, giving those skills to the group when needed. Expect to see him in a circle near you as more get CLEUed in.
David Mustelier, Treasurer, “el Presidente”
David has been involved with CLEU since its earliest days. A pragmatic engineer he brings the desire to join people into supportive communities. Having worked with NASA on numerous programs to promote the exploration of the cosmos he understands that our reach is magnified when we work together.
Yoko Silk, Board Member, “Yokita”
Yoko Silk has been on the Board of Directors since 2013, but has been promoting Cleu values for many years before that. She has helped to organize multiple CLEU community events, and focuses her outreach on younger generations. Spending most of her working hours connecting teens and adults to nature, Yoko sees a direct connection between a spiritual awareness and a connection to the Earth, and believes that the CLEU values are fundamental to helping create the positive change we want to see in the world. A passionate social justice advocate, Yoko hopes that the CLEU will help create and strengthen resilient and vibrant communities, and a more unified world.