spiritual journey
I believe anyone can work through the fear of death by learning religion and accepting the existence of an afterlife. Discovering and experiencing that there is no ultimate separation between self and others is made by a few. Rarely one can experience the true nature or fundamental substance of the universe that is beyond all sensation and cognition.
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The final days of the Rosedales
Moving beyond his robotic behavior, Brad meets the final challenge of fully accepting his humanity. He decides that because he has reached a contented state the mission has been accomplished. He believes from his studies that he could pass on to a higher plane of existence, one with more evolved spiritual evolution. A terrible tragedy takes place – Elly dies in a plane crash returning from Japan. Brad is lost, but makes a final effort to spend his remaining years in service to the good of others. He donates the Elly’s life insurance check to a charity for poor children, and takes a volunteer job doing medical exams in homeless…
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Discoveries about the ultimate reality
In one fluid motion, Cassy shoved her chair back, sprang her lanky frame to its full height, raised her arms above her shoulders, and shouted: “This table is real!” Then she bent forward and swung her forearms down. Bang! The table shook and everyone jumped in their seats. The outburst made Brad’s stomach churn. What did I say to cause that? His medical experience forced him to look at her arms for signs of an injury. No evidence of broken bones. But that must have hurt. Returning to her chair, Cassy looked around at the dozen startled faces. Her eyes were burning like fiery coals, and a tight frown had…
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Enlightenment and the Dark Night of the Soul
Elly’s support for Brad was unconditional, even after he turned the temple trip into a competitive sport. The monks had beaten him at every form of spiritual practice, which made him bitter. “They played me,” he said, as they prepared for the 10 hour flight back to California. “They set me up for the hardest practices, and then laughed at me when I failed.” “Honey, nobody was trying to win anything. And they weren’t laughing at you. They are actually happy! You should try it. How can you expect to beat monks who practice every day for years? They didn’t go to medical school, you wouldn’t expect them to come…
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A match made on Earth
Brad complained to a female colleague at work that he had recently divorced. “She took it all, I couldn’t even pay the rent!” he said. It was stupid to mix his personal problems with work, but his co-worker gave him a big hug in their white coats and told him to hang in there. He almost asked her out but the old rule don’t get your honey where you make your money saved him. The following week she gave him a newspaper ad for a matchmaking service. “Don’t take any more chances. Let the pros find you the right,” she said. Her voice had a musical ring to it, and…
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Wanderers and the Law of Squares
Brad found himself with some free time after giving up his calling to be a health care reform activist. Patient referrals were steady, but not overly busy, and with occasional time to reflect, the old riddle “to become square, square yourself” came back to haunt him. A dream came where he was with the 3 beings who had appeared in a vision when he was 14. There were images of a barren and alien landscape, like another planet. He looked down at himself and saw that his body was blue like theirs. In the dream, he felt lighter, and faster than a human should. They were playing a 3-dimensional game,…
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The spiritual marriage that failed
Shaken by the death threat at work, Brad’s spiritual experience from the trip to India faded. The longing to find his soulmate returned, and he met a series of ladies through Match.com. The final one was a flashy, intelligent Russian named Natasha, who wore movie-star makeup and had ruler-straight, pressed blonde hair. He should have known better. Natasha was a proxy for her friend, Irenka, who refused to meet a man on a regular date. The shy lady was convinced that Mr. Right was going to swoop out of heaven and pick her off of her feet. Natasha enjoyed the elegant dinner that Brad paid for, going on about Irenka…
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Enlightenment lost to life’s illusions
Brad made a second trip to India, less than a year later. The taxi dropped him off at 5 am near some cheap hotels near Lachsman Jhula, and just minutes walk from ShantiMayi’s ashram. After an 8 hour ride from New Delhi, as if to test his desire for attaining Enlightenment, he sat shivering on a bench until the sun rose. The hotels began to open for business, creating a mystical setting in the foothills of the Himalayas. Smoke drifted in the morning glow from fires lit up and down along the hillsides. It would be hours before the sun would shine directly into the valley along the Ganges River,…
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An Enlightened Guru on the Ganga
John adjusted his glasses and pinched his beard. “Oh yeah, there’s some real good gurus all up and down the river. I’m going to a different one every day. But nobody can make me meditate like Andrew Cohen does, that’s why I’m here at his retreat.” “I need to see a spiritual teacher I can talk to,” said Brad. I have a hundred questions, and Andrew couldn’t give me an answer to the first one!” “Oh!” John replied. “If you want someone who will answer questions, go see ShantiMayi. She might not give the answer that you want to hear though!” John laughed, and a pained expression came across his…
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A ticket to India
An Indian driver speaking perfect English, dropped Brad off at the San Francisco International Airport. Forty hours later, another Indian driver speaking less than perfect English dropped him off near an ashram in northern India. The connecting United Airlines flights halfway around the world, and the all-night drive from Indira Ghandi International airport had him exhausted, but the driver kept him awake with stories about the holy area, including warnings about the monkeys hanging overhead in trees. Embodiments of the god Hanuman, it was forbidden to harm them even when they plundered food from unwary travelers. They had driven by the ashram where the Beatles had their magical mystery tour…
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Finding what is missing – the search for Enlightenment
A gift came after Dr. Sherman helped heal Brad’s traumatized inner child. Gone was the fear of failure that drove him out of bed every morning to work until he would drop late at night. The need to find and conquer an endless series of challenges, a need that had constantly goaded his mind and body, was gone too. It amazed him that he could sit and do nothing, and not feel guilty or worthless. Going to work and taking care of people with aches and pains became a welcomed routine, and getting STAT trauma calls nights and weekends was not missed at all. It didn’t take long for a…