Spiritual Social Commentary

In life, and especially spiritual, religious, or philosophical life, you have to keep your wits about you. You have to use your intelligence and intuition to guide you in terms of what you decide to believe. Just because someone tells you that you’re wrong, doesn’t mean that you are wrong, and vice versa. You have to be vigilant, whether you’re listening to the Pope or Oprah Winfrey, Creflo Dollar, Billy Graham, Deepak Chopra, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Robert Schuller, Dr. Phil, Jeremiah Wright, or your mother. And you have to be especially attentive and discerning when watching the combination of manipulative propoganda, tabloid trash, and current events that has pervaded our media landscape. For this, I do have to take some responsibility, since my first job in 1989 after a decade of living a monastic ashram life was editing for a brand new tabloid show called Hard Copy, whose success then set the stage for our current gossip-obsessed society. For that I apologize, though not as much as I apologize for helping to unleash Suze Orman upon the world. For Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers and X-Men, no apologies.

I always tell people that you have to be a good editor on the spiritual path, and it seems that Barack Obama was doing just that in his church attendance, although perhaps he wasn’t thinking carefully enough in terms of political strategies when he chose this church to be his family's community. Still, when it comes to matters of spirit, you can't let others guide your steps away from what moves your heart. I learned this after leaving my atheistic family and university studies to spend ten years living a monastic ashram life.

Since that time, I’ve enjoyed experiencing houses of God of various denominations, including some political ones that said some fairly outrageous things. One pastor was talking about how the disastrous tsunami that had just hit India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand was clearly God's way of bringing Christianity to the east. As he said, "Can you imagine? These people are so primitive that they worship elephant gods!" I thought, well then, you probably wouldn't like my chanting and devotional singing page, which has a devotional chant to Ganesh.

Anyone on a journey of spiritual discovery will encounter some strange ideas being put forth along with the beneficial ones -- if everyone who disagreed or took offence with something said in their place of worship were to walk out, we would surely have many empty houses of worship -- although I do have concern about someone with spiritual power using words like damn together with America, because it suggests that they don't understand the power of their position or words. Sometimes a bit of spiciness helps to loosen the attachments to this world, but it seemed like the pastor's teaching was not moving parishioners above the world, but down into the mud of it all. I do accept that someone else may have a different view and purpose in speaking in a shocking way as part of a spiritual revival type gathering, however in general, I prefer that ministers inspire us to sing God Bless America, and of course God Bless the Whole World -- whether or not a disaster is taking place.

Now Jeremiah Wright has been intoxicated by a taste of fame, coupled with a perceived feeling of betrayal from Barack and others. He's not one to go and sulk in a corner -- this man is a preacher, and if he's got something to say, he's going to say it. In this way it seems that Obama may have misevaluated him the same way senior President Bush misevaluated Sadam Hussain, not realizing that to them, their personal honor as they define it is worth everything -- their purported missions and even life itself.

And the irony is that in the end, it is Jeremiah Wright who may play the largest role in "keeping the black man down." Proof once again that we ultimately become whatever we meditate and focus on.



From Spirituality For Dummies:

Being a good editor

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
—Aristotle

One secret to benefiting from spiritual teachings is this: Be a good editor! Drink the nectar and leave the dishwater. Eat the peanuts and throw away the shells. Use the good film footage and cut out the shaky shots. Choose and digest what makes sense and rings true and leave the discards respectfully in a bin for possible future consideration.

You have to be a good editor when it comes to reading and hearing anything in life, but especially with spiritual teachings. Be open-minded, but not naïve. The greatest teachings often come along with other ideas that appear to be less than great. However, if you completely avoid these teachings because you disagree with certain elements, then you may miss out on some of the greatest spiritual guidance for your spiritual journey.

Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.
—Mark Twain

Labels: barak obama, jeremiah wright, spirituality

It’s Valentines Day and love is in the air.

Actually, love is always in the air and in every particle of creation, but sometimes it takes a holiday to get us to shift our focus and see it.

Society and greeting card companies have seen to it that you'll be feeling disheartened on Valentines Day if you don't have a partner or significant other with whom to celebrate. Yet, you don't have to be held hostage by commercial interests that may want to limit and define this holiday to a very specific configuration that requires purchases of flowers, chocolates, and jewelry. Just as couples rekindle their love for one another on this day, so we can also rekindle our love for this entire universe, our love for ourselves, our natural state of lovingness. A true celebration of love can be so much more than an obligatory sharing of chocolate hearts, champagne, or candlelight dinners, and this celebration of love doesn't require anything more than the depths and richness of your own sweet heart.

Here are some alternate ways you can celebrate this day of love and deepen your experience of love on Valentines Day and every day:

1. Love your life! Spend time this Valentines Day enjoying the peacefulness and love of your own company. Take a walk in nature, contemplate your life and feel gratitude for the blessings you have and the challenges you've overcome thus far. Love yourself just as you are right now -- flaws and all. Light a candle inside yourself and sit quietly, taking stock of what you love most, and contemplating how to give more goodness to yourself, and others.

2. Love everyone! Go through this Valentines Day focusing on the feeling of love in your heart. Imagine that this was your last day on earth and with this exercise, see each person you meet with fresh eyes. Instead of going though your day with usual formalities, look into the eyes of every person you come in contact with, and bring an appreciation of them and their life story into your heart. Look at the supermarket cashier with the eyes of your heart, and buying milk will become an act of divine love.

3. Love anything! Whatever you naturally love in your life, focus your attention on the love you are feeling for that object, person, or situation. If you have a pet that you love, then hold your pet and allow the feeling of love to expand. One ancient technique is to feel the love you have for anything you love, and then to move your focus from the object of your love and onto the feeling of love itself. This practice helps you to strengthen your connection with the experience of love, so your intermittent drops of love can eventually expand into an ocean of love that stays with you all the time.

4. Love SPIRIT! Whether you consider yourself to be a spiritual or religious person, you can still love God, either as a religious persona, or as the formless absolute force of nature that creates and sustains everything. Feel how your heart connects with the universal heart. Love the divine, and become divine -- this is one of the great secret alchemies of spiritual life. The poet Hafiz said, "Someone inside of us is now kissing the hand of God and wants to share with us that grand news." On this Valentines Day, turn your attention within to taste this part of you that is kissing the essence of love.

Labels: blessings, love, self-help, spirituality, valentines day

In this excerpt from the still-in-progress sequel to my memoir, Never to Return: A Modern Quest for Eternal Truth, you can read about what must have been my most intriguing Valentine's Day to date. This event took place several years after I'd left the monastery and moved to Los Angeles. It was early in the morning on Valentine's Day. I'd recently finished co-producing and editing a feature film with Arnold Schwarzenegger's best friend Franco Columbu, and was at the local gym, running on a treadmill next to my Italian actress friend, Jo.




It was Valentines Day, and as we ran on the treadmills, Jo was telling me about all that she was going to do to celebrate the day with her wealthy, studio executive boyfriend. Now, I'd never had much interest in relationships or Valentine's Day, which had made ten years of monastic life quite natural and agreeable. Nevertheless, this move from from ten years of monastic life right into the middle of Hollywood definitely gave me a chance to see how easy it is for our interests to be swayed by the interests of others.

While running on the treadmill and listening to Jo's romantic plans for the day, I started to feel a little sad about being alone on Valentines Day. Now, this is coming from someone who very much enjoys solitude. A new idea was being born in my mind. I was at a crossroad of what could have become a new pattern of intention and life direction for me -- a wish, a prayer, a decision. One strong thought or intention can sometimes change the whole direction of our life. Just imagine how many people have spent decades in unhappy relationships due to what may have been a strong, perhaps hormone-based reaction to someone's physical appearance or attracting smells (and you know that some perfume companies have no qualms about screwing around with your instincts by adding sex smells from various animals to their nice little bottles of fragrance -- a strange lot we human beings are!) In this case, the power of company was sparking new thoughts about wanting to have a partner for Valentine's Day, bringing me to the precipace of possibly wishing for something for the wrong reasons.

Maybe the universe or God had to go out of its way to come up with something drastic to pull me back from getting off track. At that very moment, I looked forward into the mirrored wall in front of our treadmills, and saw that Arnold had entered the gym. We'd met many times before, and had spent the previous Thanksgiving chatting together at Franco's house. Arnold and I had hit it off, and he always seemed very enthusiastic to see me when we happened to run into one another at a restaurant or gym. This time also, he entered the gym, saw Jo and I running on the treadmills, and headed straight toward us. As I continued to jog, Arnold walked up behind me and checked my gluteus maximus muscles, or in other words, he grabbed my butt, while commenting on how well I was running. Anyway, I didn't really mind -- he was, after all, Mr. Universe (this was more than a decade before he became the Governator).

After Arnold walked away, I remembered how I'd been feeling left out of having any action on Valentines Day, and thought, "Okay God, that worked!"

Years later, when all the accusations about his groping came up during Arnold's gubernatorial campaign, I remembered this and a few other incidents, and -- while I understood how some women might not appreciate the "boys club" mentality of Arnold, Franco, and some of the other body builders -- I had also seen that body builders tend to have a very different concept of the physical body than most of us do. Touching one another is part of their work -- like running your hands on a classic car to check the wax job. But yes, I suppose that you could technically say that I was officially groped on that Valentine's Day.

Labels: arnold schwarzenegger, love, valentines day

For the past year, I've been writing the new 2nd edition of Spirituality For Dummies and producing the CD of inspiring music from Christian, Hindu, Jewish, and Buddhist traditions that comes in the back of each copy. The book/CD set is now available at online and physical bookstore venues around the world. Amazon is offering an excellent discount price of only $16.95 for this 384-page book and full-length CD that will be a friend on your spiritual journey for life.


Here, I'll share an excerpt from the first chapter of the new Spirituality For Dummies, which explains part of the reason why I felt it was so important to create an updated 2nd edition of this book for today's world circumstances:

Finding Authentic Spirituality

Today’s topsy-turvy world brings a unique array of spiritual challenges. Religions east and west stand accused of indiscretions and violations, while spiritual teachers who should be lifting seekers into higher wisdom aremore often concerned with uplifting their own bottom line. Modern prophets cater to desire-obsessed audiences by teaching a kind of “Santa Claus” theol-ogy that is guaranteed to get you that new car you want, or if nothing else, that will get these prophets the new cars they’ve always wanted.

Newsflashes warn about small and large apocalypses that could happen at any moment in-between investigations about which star has revealed which bad quality to the paparazzi. Countrymen don’t trust their leaders; family structures are crumbling; autism rates are climbing, children are being over-medicated, and people feel cut off from their divine spiritual heritage.

The key to turning things around and bringing greater light and healing into this world is through authentic spiritual knowledge, awareness, and blessings.

What the world needs now is the kind of spiritual love, wisdom, and practices that provide an anchor into the peaceful, sublime happiness of the eternal universal soul. People today need authentic, intelligent explanations of higher-consciousness spiritual principles that honor, support, and guide them right in the midst of their lives. The goal of Spirituality For Dummies is to be a helpful guide for your journey — a friend on your path that opens new doors of awareness, understanding, and experience.

Find more info about the book, read more pages, the table of contents, and the index, and play tracks from the CD that comes in the back of every book at www.spiritualityfordummies.com.

Labels: blessings, dummies, inspiration, modern times, positive teachings, religion, spirituality, the secret

How rare it is to meet a truly saintly person. Abbot Claude of Prince of Peace Abbey was such a one. He passed away this week just short of his 99th birthday. He was a monk for 77 years, and an ordained priest for 73. Abbot Claude was one of the most friendly, open-minded, and thoughtful spiritual adepts I’ve met. I remember once watching him walk by two other brothers of the order, and after he passed by, one said to the other, “There’s a real saint.” Now, this title has not been officially applied to Abbot Claude by the Catholic Church, given their stringent religious requirements for bestowing such an honor. One of these requirements is for the person to perform at least two documented miracles, and I think that if you can live with people for so many decades and they still call you a saint when you walk by, that should qualify as some sort of miracle! It’s one thing for visitors to see your greatness, but these brothers lived with him day in and day out, and they love to share how he was always the first to arrive at the early morning prayers, and that he was always cheerful and faithful to their many holy hours and practices.

Today, I attended his farewell mass for many reasons. First, even though Abbot Claude and I had only met and chatted seven or eight times, I consider him to be one of my very closest soul friends. We met in 1997, just before my first book – the memoir Never to Return – was published. My publisher and I drove up to Oceanside to look for one of the old missions we’d heard about. We found one, and were told about an active Benedictine Abbey down the road and up on top of a hill. As we drove up the hill, I received a strong intuitive insight. I don’t usually go around playing psychic, nor do I get too focused on what may or may not have happened in previous lifetimes and whatnot, but I wanted to share this with my friend, and told him, “I just got a hit that I’m going to meet a very dear friend from a previous lifetime.”

We walked into the reception area where people were milling about drinking tea and coffee before the evening vespers. Across the room, I saw an older man dressed in a black robe. As we entered the room, this monk looked over, excused himself from his conversation, and came walking up to me, saying, “Don’t we know each other?”

I smiled and replied, “Yes, but not from this lifetime!” Which incidentally was the same response I had given years earlier to Johnny Depp while meeting him in his trailer during the filming of Don Juan De Marco, when he kept insisting over and over that we had met somewhere before (as if! Maybe during my decade of monastic ashram life?).

Abbot Claude had beautiful blue eyes and a truly saintly smile. He invited us to join him for dinner after the vespers, and our friendly meeting continued there with great conversation. He was anything but stiff, and enjoyed hearing me share some favorite Sufi poetry and other stories.

Soon after, my memoir was published, and I sent one of the first copies to my new old friend, Abbot Claude. He wrote a generous letter back, saying that he’d read the book in one sitting, that he’d enjoyed it, and that he was confident there would be more. Abbot Claude was in charge of the oblates at the time – these are students who lived in the world but took on certain monastic practices in conjunction with the monastery. The next thing you knew, he was giving them my memoir to read and recommending that they read the book.

At one point, I met a few of these oblates, and they confided that “We don’t know why he’s having us read this book about your time in an Indian ashram, but he says that your approach to the challenges of that life demonstrates Benedictine principles.” (By the way, you can read this entire book online as part of the Night Lotus website of free multimedia resources at www.funnythinghappened.com )

After sending Abbot Claude the book, I didn’t come for another visit until a year later. The monastery was a bit of a drive, and I was in a hermit phase where I didn’t travel too far from home. When I arrived, I asked one of the monks to call him out, hoping that he’d remember me.

Abbot Claude came over to me and – as if he were my Jewish mother – said, “Well, why didn’t you tell me you were coming? I would have called out the band! What took you so long to come back? I’ve been worrying about you every night. I keep your book on the little shelf above my bed.”

But my delay was forgiven, and we again shared a meal together after the prayers, as we did whenever I’d visit. Over and over when we met, Abbott Claude would look at me with an intrigued smile, shake his head, and say, “I just can't figure you out. You’re a mystery.” He was referring to the spiritual maturity he thought was demonstrated in certain circumstances described in my memoir and in our conversations, in contrast to my atheist upbringing in a somewhat dysfunctional family. He couldn’t understand how the spiritual transformation had come to be. Of course, he didn’t have religious beliefs in reincarnation, nor did he know about the tradition of shaktipat – where the touch and presence of a meditation master can awaken your consciousness well beyond any spiritual state you may have apparently earned.

Every time I met with Abbot Claude, I’d return home with a feeling of having been in the company of a very pure being who had a deep spiritual love and acceptance for many – especially those like me who were a little out of the box and may have been ignored or dismissed by most adherents of such a strict religion. He gave self-respect with a smile.

During our 10 years of friendship, I thought of Abbot Claude at least every week, and sometimes did feel a little guilty for not visiting him more often, but I also knew that it was fine to feel our connection from a distance. When I received the letter about his passing, I knew that I had to go to visit him one more time. His face and demeanor couldn’t have looked more peaceful. The variety of people attending gave testament to his generous acceptance of all. I knew that this was a funeral for someone who must be bound for heaven. if anyone was a shoe-in, it was Abbot Claude.

No unhappiness is as difficult to cure as the unhappiness that comes from being overly spoiled. Even a starving person can find happiness in a crust of bread, but someone who has had too much for too long can't find the inner resources to bear challenges happily, and can also become unhappy from the boredom of having too much for too long. Getting more of what you want can't help someone who has been "spoiled" by a life of ease. The only thing that can help a spoiled person is to go through the hellish experience of surrendering to unbearable demanding challenges, and to finally acquire the inner strength resources that most people gain through common usual struggles.

Today I sent a copy of my book, Spirituality For Dummies, to Paris Hilton at the Century Regional Detention Facility, to offer support for her recent attempts to raise herself up spiritually by parading past the paparazzi with some spiritual books, a somber face that perhaps was meant to look pious, and a silk blouse with no bra. Hey, you do what you can do.












The books Paris carried were probably carefully (and well) chosen by a publicist -- The Power of Now, and The Holy Bible – a good combination!

I've been in the midst of writing the brand new second edition of Spirituality For Dummies (January 2008, Wiley), so I thought of how this book would be a good introduction to advanced spiritual concepts for someone like Paris, or for anyone who is seeking to explore spirituality in an intelligent and interesting way (a tiny plug!).

I'm sure Paris and her publicists would never want to give Jay Leno and Kathy Griffin fodder for their humor by having Paris be caught carrying a book called Spirituality For Dummies. So I thought it would be nice to send the book to Paris in jail, wrapped in a plain brown bag (it was my last copy, no less).

(CLICK HERE to watch a video where I discuss how people -- especially spiritual people -- sometimes have a problem with the word dummies. So much for spiritual humility!).


Here is my letter to Paris:


Dear Paris,

I thought you might enjoy reading a copy of my book as you begin this challenging but hopefully beneficial part of your spiritual journey. Sometimes a challenge like this is just what it takes to jumpstart you on a better road, and it looks like you have had the intelligence and guidance (outer or inner) to recognize this.

May you continue on this good road of spirituality, and be a blessing to yourself and the world.

Stay healthy – bad food is better than no food!

Wishing you the best,

Sharon Janis


I added the “bad food is better than no food,” part, because this is probably not an issue Paris has had to deal with very often in her prosperous life. Poor folks know that bad food is better than no food, but someone like Paris might choose to not eat anything, which could cause health problems worse than the ones she’d have from eating bad quality prison food.

Prison is like the opposite of a health spa in one way, although I do feel that Paris has a lot of blessings, and that this could end up being a wonderful, life-transforming experience on her journey – a time when she’ll discover parts of herself that she never knew existed. Of course, looking at ourselves in the silence of solitude can also be difficult and challenging to do.

Clearly Paris was seeking this kind of rush while planning and creating her show, “A Simple Life,” which required Paris to leave her comfortable circumstances and –- in the one episode I watched –- to even do unsavory things like reach her hand in to impregnate a cow. Once you’ve voluntarily done something like that, a few weeks in prison shouldn’t be such a big deal (not that I'd want to have to do it). Paris should just consider this as one more episode: “A Simple Life: Alcatraz.” But perhaps the experience of being swept out of your comfortable environment is not so easy when there are no cameras to inspire or freedom of choice to leave the circumstances.

With Paris’ public position, she could become a very good example and a wonderful blessing to the world, and I think that would be just great.

Labels: paris, paris hilton, spirituality

Explained in Seven Easy Steps, From the Simple to the Metaphysical

The whole country is buzzing about this new mystery of the ages: How is it possible that Sanjaya Malakar has not yet been voted off of American Idol? Personally, I don’t find it to be much of a mystery at all, nor do I think it is because of the few people who vote in as part of various prank websites and radio shows. Clearly the boy is getting actual votes, and here I’ll share with you some of my thoughts and theories about this “all-important” situation, from the simple to the metaphysical.

1. Okay, starting with the simple: Sanjaya is a cute, good-looking boy. Some of the other contestants are very talented but not so cute. He is thin, has golden brown skin, white teeth (usually held in a big happy smile), and beautiful lush hair. Back when I was a pre-teen, the teenie fan magazines were all the rage, and Sanjaya looks just like the long-haired boys that some young girls (not me of course! ahem. . . ) drooled over in those magazine pages.

2. Sanjaya is actually not a bad singer. We saw his very good audition (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eXNMRwykCQ) that left the judges applauding. On Youtube, you can also see a very good and heartfelt performance of Swing Low Sweet Chariot by a younger Sanjaya in his church choir (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDtTVSkFHyM). It has probably been difficult for Sanjaya to sing his best with all the attention and controversy, given his interesting combination of shyness and flamboyance.

3. Sanjaya is amazingly comfortable with who he is, strutting his stuff in full flaming, hula dance mode. In general, our society respects someone who, especially at such a young age, knows who he is and is not afraid to be and show it with a happy smile.

One of the most popular new shows on television is Ugly Betty, and one of the most popular characters on that show is Betty’s flamboyant nephew Justin, who also has golden brown skin, a killer smile, and an amazingly free expression of flamboyance. To some degree, I would guess that viewers’ love for young flamboyant Justin has been transferred to young flamboyant Sanjaya.

4. Okay, now we’ll start to go a little more out there. You know who answers the phone when you call for tech support or phone into your credit card services? Most likely it is someone from India. These guys have access to a LOT of phones, and Indians tend to be loyal to their own.

5. Now, for a more metaphysical angle. In India, there are higher castes of people, considered to have a certain evolved purity of genetics. Although this concept has degenerated into an excuse for prejudice in recent years, the original idea does carry a certain wisdom. In fact, Sanjaya’s father is a classical Indian musician, and in India, classical musicians are considered to be the upper echelon of Indian society in terms of human, personal, and often spiritual achievement, and apparently Sanjaya's father is also an actual Brahmin priest in the Hare Krishna sect.

In spite of whatever teenage flaws Sanjaya shows, especially as he gets a bit cocky from all the attention and pressures of being suddenly famous, loved, and hated all at once, he does carry a certain dignity and self-respect. One might venture to guess that Sanjaya’s well proportioned features and gentleness of character might also be signs of having high level DNA or honorable family history, perhaps even with some royal blood, since India had many Maharajas or ruling kings during its heyday. Even if voters don’t know about all this, all human beings dip into the worldwide history of human knowledge deep within our souls, and I believe that many might recognize the admirable qualities of what the Indian scriptures call a “high-born soul.” For example, the way Sanjaya comforted his sister so generously when she didn’t make the Idol cut could be considered another sign of high caste integrity.

6. The name Sanjaya is an ancient Sanskrit mantra that means one who is victorious. This means that everytime anyone even speaks his name as Sanjaya, they are declaring him to be victorious in the powerful language of Sanskrit mantras. Sanjaya is also the narrator of the most popular holy scripture from India, called the Bhagavad Gita. On the Night Lotus Sanskrit Scriptures page (http://www.spiritualscriptures.com), you can listen to the entire Bhagavad Gita sung in English, with many lines beginning with the phrase, “Sanjaya said. . .”



7. Maybe Sanjaya has been using techniques from the Oprah sanctioned road to riches metaphysical fad called, “The Secret” to visualize and mold the universe to conform to his desires. Just imagine, if “The Secret” really works, and people start using it all over the place to get positions and benefits that they haven’t really earned and don’t really deserve, then we’ll get to have a whole world filled with Sanjayas! Hmmmm, did President Bush get an early preview of that book?

Labels: american idol, sanjaya, sanjaya malakar

“Give me chastity and continence – but not yet.”   – Augustine of Hippo


What is going on with our religious and political leaders these days?   Catholic priests are revealed to have been molesting children for decades, politicians fighting to protect children's online safety from predators are themselves predators, and now we find that Ted Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelicals and outspoken opponent of gay rights has been having monthly sex and meth meetings with a gay prostitute who had advertised in "Rentboy" magazine.

How have things become so topsy turvy?   How can we know if people in positions of authority and integrity are behaving in ways that are appropriate for the respect they are given?   How are these beloved ones able to lie so extensively to cover their hidden misdeeds?   And most importantly, from where do these plagues of hypocrisy and transgression come and how can we address and bring the problem into a proper balance?   What can we learn about ourselves from these troubling circumstances?  

I wrote some of my thoughts about this phenomenon in the book Secrets of Spiritual Happiness:

"If we expect perfection from those who have achieved some greatness or shown a willingness to serve society, then we box these people into a life that fits into our expectations.   They may feel obliged to put on a face that doesn't reflect their inner beliefs.   Eventually, that distorted outer face may foster an inner environment that brings about distorted actions that go against their own religious, political, or essential beliefs -- giving even more fodder for more gossiping.

"Instead of coming into their own deeply guided relationship with God or their own deep wisdom, some spiritual, artistic, and political leaders may have to spend much of their time and efforts worrying about how their actions will be perceived by the "viewing public," or the "voting public," or by those tabloid journalists who are licking their chops in hopes of finding the next explosive or salacious rumor to reveal publicly. This is how society unintentionally brings down its greatest achievers, with these gems of humanity being crucified again and again by the errant soldiers of judgment, animosity, jealousy, and greed."

Having to put on false faces to fit into everyone's culturally limited beliefs and expectations keeps public people, such as politicians, religious leaders, and others in positions of perceived respect who are expected to give guidance to the masses from being able to actually follow their own inner guidance -- or to properly wrestle their demons if you think in those terms.   If you've never done anything that some in society would think was shocking, well then I'd have to say that you may not have had a very full, rich, or interesting life. The problem comes when people get so out of balance with their outer persona and inner promptings that they lose touch with who they are and begin to play separate false and distorted public and private roles.

Social conformity, while perhaps more neat and manageable for the government, is not always ideal for a powerful and vibrant spiritual quest. There's nothing wrong with variety, and there's nothing wrong with spiritual people being a little outside of the box.   Look at spiritual pioneers like Peace Pilgrim, and even Jesus, in his time.   When a spiritual person is in a position where they have to fit into the expectatons of large groups of people -- as with a priest or other public figure of perceived stature -- they end up in a position where they have to lie.   Otherwise they'll have to suffer the discomfort of being attacked by thoughts and words of judgment and argument.  

People love to judge each other.   We've all got a little obnoxious Simon Cowell inside of us, snapping off nasty barbs as we go through life.   At the same time, we have a Dalai Lama who only wants to see the best in everyone.   As with everything else in the vastly complex realm of our many layers of consciousness, we get to set the radio for whatever channel is right for us at any particular time.   Sometimes a little Simon Cowell is just what is called for.  

But with spiritual people being some of the most judgmental folks around, their so-called leaders are often kept in a cage of what the flock and the church administrators have decided is right and appropriate. This means they find themselves being guided by outer schedules and spiritual beurocracies rather than being guided by their own powerful inner communion with God.

This combination of receiving great respect and responsibility coupled with being under the control of fitting into so many people's opinions, whether in politics or spiritual organizations, seems to have the potential to create extreme personality aberrations in which these public and spiritual authorities perhaps have to separate off an inappropriate part of themselves, where it only festers and grows in the dark like fungus.  For Congressman Mark Foley, this distortion took the form of writing risky, childish, sexual emails to young congressional pages; for preachers Haggard and Fallwell, a whole lot of Catholic priests, and many eastern monks and gurus, it has taken various forms of digression. 

This is why a successful spiritual journey is usually conducted away from people, in solitude, with freedom of thought and expression. For a spiritual being and seeker, aloneness and freedom can be priceless.  As I watch spiritual public figures topple left and right, I offer thanks to God and my own stubbornness that I have been blessed with a peaceful life of solitude, even with the significant challenges that have come along with this blessing.  

Ultimately, on the spiritual journey to higher consciousness and purity -- and I know that some of you won't want to hear this -- people are often nothing but trouble.  Once I was speaking with a spiritual teacher from India, and he commented on how many Indian gurus come to America and misbehave here.  My response was that some of them were probably fine when they came, but got corrupted by the people who came to see them -- like those "new-age yoga babes" who like to practice their "flirting yoga" with spiritual teachers. 

Of course, human beings are also great and divine and sometimes compassionate and caring, but for the most part they aren't such great company for those who are focused most strongly on their spiritual evolution.  And as we can see, you can't count on them to keep a secret!  Personally, while doing my spiritual practices and creative service over the past ten years, I've much preferred to be alone with just the company of my little cat Angel, who at least was always honest, and almost always extraordinarily peaceful and loving. Angel had her own natural spirituality, and wouldn't even go after the many birds who would gather, hopping around her as she napped on the outside table.  So some spiritual people are like Angel and not so easily tempted by the lower animalistic temptation, but others are.  Such are the myriad ways of life.

“I never resist temptation, because I have found that things that are bad for me do not tempt me.”

-- George Bernard Shaw

Certainly there are spiritual beings and teachers who very naturally have risen above base lower temptations, however, even great spiritual people still have personal lessons to learn and old karmic afflictions to work though.   While part of their being may have evolved to reach into the purest realms of spiritual essence, they're still here on this physical planet, and their very presence here shows that there are still lessons to be learned and experiences to be experienced.  But no, we want them to be Santa Claus, and to fit into every image of spiritual behavior that we can muster up.  Otherwise, we'll complain. And this is how we create the monsters within our saints.

On one hand, spiritual people belong to the whole world, but on the other hand, they do not belong to this world at all. Their focus should not be on the same worldly interests as the culture within which they live. For ages, our spiritual elders have arisen naturally from a deep aspiration to live a spiritual, disciplined life.

The problem with today's media culture is that some of these spiritual figures become famous and end up getting drawn into doing all kinds of acrobatics to please everyone, including donors and investors who may barely have a spiritual bone in their being. Then the sincere spiritual servant can become dishonest and distorted, perhaps resulting in a fall from grace in the eyes of the world.  Some of these fallen public figures may ironically find their first glimpse of inner peace and freedom once their sham is exposed -- after they go off to rehab and write their memoirs.

Of course, many also have the support of friends and loved ones come up in a more precious way than when they were in their lofty positions. That's when they get to learn more about what friendship looks like, even if it may seem to be rare and far between. Let us send blessings for the wellbeing of all the public servants and spiritual beings in our world.

This was the title of a panel discussion that I was invited to participate in, along with famed Christian mystic Matthew Fox, Jewish-Hindu-Buddhist-Sufi scholar extraordinaire Nathan Katz, the Very Reverend Brian Baker, and accomplished documentary filmmaker Stephen Crisman at the Sun Valley Spiritual Film Festival in beautiful Sun Valley, Idaho in September 2006.

During this spiritual film festival week, we enjoyed hours upon hours of intelligent spiritual conversation. My co-panelists and new friends are all doing exciting and good works in the world. Matthew Fox has teamed up with rapper Professor Pitt to create a multifaceted approach to uplifting and healing a group of people who need it the most -- inner city schoolchildren. (CLICK HERE for more info about Matthew's "reinventing education" project)

Nathan Katz is the founding chair and professor of Miami University's Department of Religious Studies. One of his exciting projects is to bring specifically designed spirituality-based classes to the university's other curriculums, such as health care, law, and education -- in effect, bringing a spiritual point of view into all these other courses of study. (CLICK HERE for more info about Nathan's Center for the Study of Spirituality)

Reverend Brian Baker is the dean of Trinity Cathedral in Sacramento, and enthusiastically seeks and finds ways to bring spiritual nourishment to the masses there.

Dr. Nathan Katz, Reverend Brian Baker, Sharon Janis, and Dr. Matthew Fox

We shared meals and long walks together amidst the beauty of Sun Valley, Idaho, chatting about topics large and small, cosmic and mundane. With each of us being quite eclectic in our own right, together we created an interesting tapestry of colorful expressions and ideas.

An email sample of our zenlike conversations:

Upon seeing this photo from our panel discussion, Matthew Fox emailed to say: "Beautiful!  On stage, you look like the goddess herself presiding over the setting.  How fitting!"

To which I responded: "You're so generous and lofty! And here the main thing I noticed about the photo is that I was the only one not covering my genitals ;)"

To which Matthew responded: "That's what's makes you goddess-like!"

This week also brought another opportunity to contemplate the state of spirituality in America and throughout the world today and historically, through conversation and the nearly 40 amazing spiritual films from all kinds of traditions that were shown during the week. Right after arriving, and with only an hour of sleep, I was interviewed on local Sun Valley television about the topic of "Spirituality in America". However, I was surprised to find the interviewer focusing mostly on the social and political climate, such as his passionate question about a new law proposed in Idaho that would "close the door to gay marriage forever!" and his disgust over how right wing politics has hijacked religion for their own interests. As somewhat of a monastic, I was a little surprised to see just how much spirituality has become entangled with politics.

Click Here to watch this television interview

My work was cut out for me in this interview, and, I considered, perhaps also in today's world dialogue about spirituality. Of course, hijacking religion for political gain is nothing new in the history of human beings, but what I learned from this interview and other discussions is that while you might say the "right" is hijacking "religion," you could equally say that the "left" is hijacking "spirituality" with the same intensities of "we're right and you're wrong" that are displayed on the other side of each political spectrum. Anger is still anger, and hate is hate, whether this hatred is coming from Muslim extremists, Christian right-wingers, or new age leftists.

In my understanding, the goal of spirituality is to lift us up into greater realms of divinity, compassion, and wisdom, so that, through these qualities, we grow and mature into the great summit of spiritual and personal liberation, a bigger, more eternal picture, within which all the troubles of this world are like an insignificant itch.

As the great Indian sage Shankaracharya exhorts, "Day and night, dusk and dawn, winter and spring come forth again and again!    Time rolls on, life is fleeting;   nevertheless the winds of desire do not leave him. In childhood, one is attached to play;   in youth, one is attached to a young woman;   in old age, one is attached to anxiety, but to the supreme Brahman (the absolute divinity beyond the waves of this world), alas, no one is attached!"

(CLICK HERE to listen to Bhaja Govindam sung in Sanskrit and translated into English)

Many saints and sages of all religions have lived in much more turbulent times than our current circumstances, and yet have guided those who are interested in following an authentic spiritual life to move beyond the endless waves of entanglements in worldly gains, losses, achievements and tragedies, and to enter into the holy temple of divine communion, spiritual liberation -- the source of grace, refuge from storms of worldly life, and shining land beyond the tumultuous ocean of worldly existence.

From this place, we can still participate in healing the problems in this world, and can do so in our own way and with a sense of peacefulness and trust. As the American Sage Peace Pilgrim said many times during her 30-year walk for peace, "If you want to bring peace, you must be peaceful."

Click the TV screen to watch a 60-minute documentary video of Peace Pilgrim that was scripted and edited for her foundation by Night Lotus Productions

CLICK HERE for help with realplayer

CLICK HERE to read a chapter about Peace Pilgrim in Secrets of Spiritual Happiness, titled "Spiritual Happiness in Action"

A Concert of Sacred Music

At the finale of this wonderful Spiritual Film Festival, I offered a concert of sacred music at the Sun Valley Opera House, with selections that the festival organizers had requested from our chanting and devotional singing webpage, including Shree Guru Gita, Amazing Grace, Bhaja Govindam, The Diamond Sutra, Shree Rudram, and Ave Maria.

Here you can watch a video of the last song from this concert, an acapella rendition of Ave Maria, filmed in extreme close-up by Francesco Cabras, the Italian filmmaker who produced and directed the first place winning film at the festival, called The Big Question.

CLICK HERE to play Ave Maria in streaming realplayer format

CLICK HERE to play Ave Maria in flash format

CLICK HERE to play the whole concert in flash format

 

Visit our newly updated speaker pages at: www.spiritualityspeaker.com

Click on the TV to view a new 12-minute video showing samples from some of my previous speaking and singing events:

Or CLICK HERE to view in flash at Google Video

My speaking and singing events can now be booked through

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We’ve recently witnessed tremendous natural disasters with the 2004 tsunami in Asia and the 2005 hurricane Katrina that has devastated New Orleans and Mississippi. Seeing the devastation, one can easily imagine how our ancestors would have assumed that one God or the other must be terribly angry with them for some egregious misdeed, and is hurling wrath upon the land as punishment. Even in modern times, we’ve had Jerry Falwell claiming that Florida’s hurricanes were expressions of God’s displeasure at Disney World’s recent “Gay Day.” Robert F. Kennedy’s August 31, 2005 article also projects human revenge mentality onto Mother Nature, “As Hurricane Katrina dismantles Mississippi’s Gulf Coast, it’s worth recalling the central role that Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour played in derailing the Kyoto Protocol and kiboshing President Bush’s iron-clad campaign promise to regulate CO2.”

This is not to deny the role of karma – universal cause and effect – in creating these outer events. Certainly it is worthwhile to consider all options when contemplating what we can learn from the events of our lives. For example, science has recently brought statistical proof that the power of mind and prayer can help to effect healing. When viewing the angry red hurricane discus being hurled into the country from the gulf, one might also consider those millions of emotional people around the world praying to their god for the destruction of America. Then we could respond by keeping our own thoughts and prayers powerful and positive.

All events of life carry potential lessons of personal and spiritual growth, and these natural disasters are no exception. It is natural human tendency to strike out and place blame when we are abused, but when Mother Nature herself is the cause, to whom shall we retaliate? We can’t bomb Her or put Her behind bars. Nor can we kill her, because she is our mother, our very existence. The United States has spent years, lives, and massive resources to avenge a single strike by an enemy to our Twin Towers, responding by bombing even friends and neighbors of these perpetrators. Osama bin Ladin and company can’t hold a candle to the damage caused by Mother Nature, and yet we are not able to respond to her strikes with the usual lower human emotions of anger and revenge.

The experience we are all having in response to these natural disasters is a glimpse into how a great, self-realized saint or sage might experience all of the challenges of life. Those who see God’s Hand in everything do not respond with the same kind of personal anger that most of us would. They see all things, all people, and all actions as sparks of the one divine consciousness that manifests in and as all creation as what my guru, Swami Muktananda, called a “Play of Consciousness.”

Another great being from India named Papa Ramdas wrote several books about his journey of learning to experience God in and as everything while wandering as a penniless pilgrim throughout India. If a train worker threw him off of a train, Ramdas experienced it as God Himself or Herself throwing him off of the train, with a trust that the Divine can only bring blessings, regardless of the potentially negative appearance. One story told about Papa Ramdas gives a glimpse into the way this kind of inner vision would manifest outwardly:

Once Papa Ramdas was dwelling in a cave near a town. As people became aware of his presence they started visiting him and spending time with him. The childlike simplicity and deep devotion with which Papa Ramdas lovingly rendered vibrant spiritual wisdom and stories soon endeared him to the hearts of the people.

Seeing him living without possessions in a bare cave, the local townsfolk started bringing whatever they deemed necessary for his comforts. Soon a cot, a bed, plates, and many other articles were collected in the cave.

The devotees would often visit Papa Ramdas during the daytime, but they left for their homes when darkness descended, and thus Papa Ramdas would remain alone overnight.

Presently, a thief came to know about all the valuables kept in the cave, and one night, after all had left and Papa Ramdas sat alone lost in deep meditation, the thief made his way to the dwelling and ordered Ramdas to collect all his possessions and tie them up in his bed sheet.

To the thief’s puzzlement, the saintly man showed no sign of distress. Sunk in divine bliss, Ramdas started packing, and affectionately handed the bundle to the thief with a benign smile. Taking the cot under one arm and the bundle on one shoulder, the rogue walked off and Ramdas sat down on the stony floor, going back into deep contemplation on his beloved Lord.

When morning dawned, the devotees arrived, and were shocked to find an ever-blissful Ramdas sitting in a bare cave stripped of all possessions. "Papaji", they asked, "Where have all the things gone that were here yesterday?"

Papa Ramdas laughed: "Ram took them away."

The devotees were intrigued: "Which Ram, Papaji?"

"Which Ram? There is only one Ram. Ram gave them and Ram took them away." The saint laughed heartily.

It was only then that they realized the greatness of the sage before them. His serene peace and total absence of regret for all that was gone taught them how free man is when he tears the shackles of attachment.


When natural disasters such as the recent tsunami and hurricanes take place, they give us a unique opportunity to experience dramatic challenges without giving us the option of jumping into lower emotional responses such as personal anger and seeking revenge. Surely, the participants have feelings of upset, loss, and sadness, and perhaps even a general sense of anger, and those who are watching still experience compassion for their sufferings. Yet, along with these feelings comes a sense of surrender to the events, a certain level of equanimity and trust in the course of Nature. As Krishna says to Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita, “For the inevitable, you should not mourn.”

In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus revealed these great and relevant teachings of one who has attained full faith in God’s presence in and as all:

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, do not resist one who is evil. But if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; and if any one would sue you and take your coat, let him have your cloak as well; and if any one forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to him who begs from you, and do not refuse him who would borrow from you. You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."

Labels: hurricane, karma

The heart wrenching and complex saga of Terri Schiavo has touched America's heart. It has also brought up important questions for each of us to consider and explore. What is the meaning of life? What is the value of life? What makes life worth living? Who is really looking out for the best interests of this woman? Who can even know what her best interests really are? I wouldn't claim to have definitive answers to these questions, and perhaps it is not meant for us to have clear-cut, black and white answers to such metaphysical principles as the nature of life and death.

Where do we go when we die? Is keeping Terri Schiavo alive and in this apparently permanent vegetative state holding her back from moving on to something better, whether to heaven, or life in a new body, or as some other unknowable dimension of soul expression in this vast universe where, some posit, no energy is ever lost but ever recycled into new forms? Or could it be that being stuck in an invalid body is the best option that Terri's soul can hope for - the only way she can experience, to whatever degree, the great and precious gift of life? Who can know? In fact, nobody truly knows, although some may have better and more deeply considered theories and understandings to share.

Did Teri really ask to not be kept alive with extraordinary circumstances? Can we trust her husband, who may rub us the wrong way, to be an unbiased and accurate reporter of something she may have said while watching a television show when life was oh so different for her? Even if Terri did make a comment at that time, does she still feel the same way now, assuming there is anything inside of her that feels anything? This is an inherent problem with living wills – many who might say they wouldn’t want to be kept alive in certain circumstances would undoubtedly change their minds when in those very circumstances. For example, I remember thinking, as a teenager, that I would never want to live to be as old as 40 years, but here I am now at 45, and I’m glad that I never signed a “pull the plug at age 40” document.

Nevertheless, one good result of this heart-wrenching story that has played across our television stations for weeks, months, and even years, is just that – it has wrenched our hearts open. Hearts made rigid and unmoved by too many violent scenes, real and manufactured, plastered across our media, in our homes, and with our morning cup of coffee, are finding a certain painful discomfort in the thought that this woman, conscious or not, is being starved and dehydrated to death. Who would do that to an animal? Who would want to even do that to a plant? What kind of society would “pull the plug” by allowing someone to slowly and possibly painfully die from lack of physical necessities that are available and plentiful? What kind of society do we have that has not found a compassionate way to allow someone to leave this life, without having to endure weeks of suffering, starvation, and thirst? Our hearts are wrenched because we know this is wrong. Our hearts are wrenched because we’ve also heard from those rare others who have healed from similar apparently vegetative states to declare that they had been aware and unable to respond physically. We know it is possible that this beautiful woman, Teri Schiavo, who probably has no idea that the eyes and hearts of the world, the congressional, judicial, and legislative branches of the American government, and even the Pope himself are upon her, may be suffering without the ability to speak or demonstrate outwardly an inner awareness that just might be experiencing some portion of all that her body is going through.

One man's grandmother was in a coma for several months. Every day, he would visit, sit with her, and read passages from the bible. She showed no sign of comprehension or consciousness. Finally, one day, he implored her to just let go. “It’s time for you to go, just let go.’ According to his story, his grandmother opened her eyes, sat up a bit, and declared with attitude, “You just keep doing what you’re doing and I’ll keep doing what I’m doing!” and then fell back into the apparently comatose state. One thing that this story shows, and which has become so clear during discussions about the Teri Schiavo case, is that we don’t truly know. Theologians don’t know, doctors don’t know, family members, educators, and journalists don’t truly know what is life, what is right, what is healthy, or what levels of consciousness may be active with no outer sign at all.

However, now that we have become aware of how heart wrenching it is to watch someone even with minimal consciousness possibly suffer, why don’t we use this new awareness to become better human beings? Why don’t we reconsider all the ways that human beings today starve, kill, and torture not only other human beings, but animals – precious, loving, conscious and feeling animals who suffer by the millions every day in slaughterhouses and medical research facilities. Why not use Terri Schiavo’s tragedy to make ourselves greater and to really take a look at what life is and how life – in all forms – should be approached and regarded? I suppose the answer to the question "When will we learn?" is that this is how we learn -- by working together to discuss and contemplate situations that arise in search of what is true, what is right, and what is best.

We have all been challenged by viewing incongruous images of sweet faces juxtaposed over brutal torture. We've watched with shocked eyes the innocent heartlessness of this young child of a woman holding a fellow human being on a leash as if we were watching a new sequel to Planet of the Apes -- an image that evokes the metaphor of a young nation that wants to do good, but falls far from its own proclaimed morals by not offering the same kind of respect for others that we demand for ourselves.

An event like this has the potential to transform the world for better or for worse, depending on whether we are able to receive the many lessons inherent within all that we have seen, heard, thought, and felt about this shocking situation -- individually, as a country, and as a world of human beings who have a choice regarding what kind of world we live in and will live in. I pray that we make good choices.

As I watch these incongruous images passing through the media and onto my computer and television screens, teachings from various spiritual traditions come to mind -- for example, how the subtle energies of whatever actions and experiences have happened in a location can stay in that physical location and also affect others who enter that place. You know, just because we can't see something doesn't mean it's not there. Sometimes, such as in the realm of quantum mechanics, certain phenomena must be inferred by their effects without being specifically seen or scientifically measured. Such is the nature of energy vibration, and the interweaving of the spiritual levels of life with the so-called physical realm.

Actions, emotions, and thoughts -- referred to as "karma" by some philosophical traditions -- take form on a subtle level and remain in a place. Due to the power of positive thoughts and actions, holy temples and shrines become so filled with pure vibrations that they are even said to heal those who enter their walls. Every person's personality is like an array of violin strings, which begin to vibrate in tune with the atmosphere around us, on many levels, and in both directions - as we both affect and become affected by our environment. Just imagine the effects of spending many months within these walls which have received rivers of blood and decades of anguished cries. Clearly, the terrible energy of this place has contributed to bringing out the worst in those who had been trusted with bringing freedom to the very people who were tortured.

Human beings can be quite a barbaric species, and there, but for grace, go you and I, who have been fortunate to not have to spend our days and months in a place where decades of incomprehensible barbaric actions have taken place. May we also send blessings to all around the world who have stooped to such ways, because they have to live with themselves.

My opinion is that leveling this particular building and creating something beneficial to humanity in its place would be a good idea. And I also feel that every American must bow his and her head in apology to those who have suffered such horrific treatment under the hands of our youth on command, as well as those above them who, through ignorance, incompetence, or intention, allowed such actions to take place in our name.

This morning, while working on my home office computer with the television on now and then for ADD relief, I saw that the verdict in Martha Stewart's trial was about to be announced.   All the networks were buzzing with anticipation, pundits lining up to explain all the details and likely results of what we were about to discover -- would she be found innocent or guilty?

This whole question of guilt or innocence has been a challenge for me since I contemplated decades ago and realized that these terms are quite relative and of course that we are all mixtures of guilt and innocence in a sense.   Therefore, who is without sin enough to throw the first stone?   This is why I wrote to my local Jury board several years ago, and explained that, as a spiritual philosopher and author, I just don't believe it is my place to serve on a jury.   I do believe that each person should offer some benefit and service to their community, and in fact, when I wrote that letter, was in the middle of producing, directing, scripting and editing a powerful video documentary about San Diego's welfare program success. Nevertheless, my job is to look at the deeper layers of surface events, and to view life with a certain equality consciousness that does not deny having opinions about the rightness or wrongness of certain actions, but nevertheless also requires me to always strive to remember the spiritual view of life, where everyone does the best that they can with what they have, where events have a grand and divine purpose in this play of life experience, and where, but for the Grace of God, go I.   In this role, I don't feel it my place to officially declare someone to be guilty and in need of punishment. At the same time, I do appreciate the need for societies to have certain rules and ways of maintaining order, so it is not that I am against the justice system in the United States - which works about as well as any other manmade societal structures.   Anyway, because of all this, the only time I really delve deeply into contemplating guilt or innocence in a case is when that case becomes a darling of the media and is piped into my little house with all sorts of enticing debates and revelations.

This morning, after hearing that this new verdict was imminent, I wanted to offer a blessing for Martha. I turned my attention within and began to formulate a prayerful intention for her.   Now, the obvious way to go was to offer a prayer that Martha would be found innocent.   However, as soon as my mind started down that route, it quickly encountered another, more spiritual and long-term view of her soul's journey through life.   Who was to say that being found innocent would be better for Martha in the long run than being found guilty and perhaps even having to serve time in a federal penitentiary?   In fact, many who understand the nature of behavior, habits, and karma consider it a blessing if their missteps and erroneous actions are met with a response that will guide them to not continue on a spiral of that kind of mistaken action. It's like how you drive more carefully after being pulled over for speeding, which may save you from a fate much worse than a speeding ticket in the future. When our goal is to perform right actions in our journey of life, any "speeding ticket" feedback we receive after stepping off that path may still smart, but is also honored as a gift of guidance.

My desire to offer the right kind of blessing to Martha with her big verdict about to be read also opened up a contemplation into her life -- of which I've seen and read bits and pieces in various televised biographies and other media presentations.   What I see is a tremendously talented and ambitious woman who has achieved more than she even probably ever imagined possible -- a creative billionaire who works hard, lives in the lap of luxury, and appears to carry herself with great contentment and grace.   Yet, fame and celebrity are double-edged swords, and we've also seen signs of extreme unhappiness behind that stoic smile - such as in the character portrayed by Cybil Shepard in the television biopic, "the Martha Stewart Story," with fits of screaming, yelling, and tantrums behind the scenes.   Garden workers have reported behaviors by Martha that are obvious indications that all may not have been so happy in Marthaland. When people are happy, they don't fly off the handle and attack others -- either physically or with words.

This morning's contemplation on how to offer a prayerful blessing to Martha on the brink of her verdict, brought me to consider the possibility that even what would appear to be the worst of outer circumstances - being found guilty and sentenced to time in prison - just might possibly be the best blessing this woman could have.   Isn't it often the challenges of life that break through our layers of arrogance, pride, anger, and discontent?   Also, having lived a fairly austere monastic life for ten years during my twenties, I learned what kinds of benefits can come from not just elegant Martha Stewart Living, but from simple living. I realized long ago that the worst kind of unhappiness is the kind that comes from being overly spoiled, yet still discontent with all that you have.   When is way too much not enough?   When does a small amount of money in the face of having hundreds of millions become too important to let go, even with prior knowledge that the stock will be going down?   There is the image of a millionaire having her hand cut off while reaching into the garbage disposal to retrieve a dropped penny. Discontent can create the strangest, most illogical forms of greed, and this is what we see in Martha's current situation and the actions that got her there.  

What is the best remedy for a whirlwind, non-stop, busy, spoiled, demanding, and perhaps somewhat unhappy life?   Many spiritual sages would agree that the most effective step someone in this position could take would be to embark on a time of solitude and spiritual retreat, away from all the worldly distractions - some time alone to delve deeply into her own soul and rediscover what was there before the fame and fortune, and will be there long after everything of this world is dissolved back from whence it came.   Sages call this the eternal soul, the Atman, and coax us to look within ourselves to find this amazing greatness right within ourselves.   The world is likened to a storm-tossed ocean.   Solitude allows the waves to settle so we can see all the worlds that exist within the waters of who and what we really are.



Even though a prison cell doesn't look like a very pleasant place to live, it does have a similar flavor to the kinds of rooms, sometimes also called cells, where monastics live a simple life of silence and prayer (think Whoopi Goldberg's convent cell in the movie Sister Act).   Although I do have compassion for whatever suffering Martha Stewart may be going through with these recent events, I also hope that she'll be able to break through that suffering and find the many blessings of solitude during however many months she is given to serve in a small cell. This hope comes from personal experience -- I've gone through my own set of challenges that came years after I'd left ten years of monastic life and entered the whirlwind world of Hollywood, where I was editing and producing many television shows, documentaries, music videos, and feature films.   I describe the experience of discovering the blessing of solitude hidden beneath these challenges in a chapter from my recent book, Secrets of Spiritual Happiness.   You can read about this experience, along with its introductory chapter on "Arrange Your Priorities," here.  

With these contemplations, I came to the conclusion that my prayer for Martha's verdict must be for the outcome that will be most beneficial to her soul, and that she find the grace in whatever this conscious, God-filled Universe brings to her for her own greater spiritual growth. In fact, if Martha chooses to make this experience "a good thing," just as she might take dead leaves and turn them into a beautiful centerpiece, then we might even end up with a much happier Martha Stewart in the long run.   May it be so.






Watch this clip about the Martha Stewart verdict and the funny newsreporting at the scene from the Daily Show in their segment called "Illegally Blonde": http://www.comedycentral.com/mp/play.php?reposid=/multimedia/tds/headlines/8108.html (it comes on after a 30 second ad for Comedy Central).


Click HERE to listen to a verse by the spiritual sage Kabir. This verse, Ghunghata Ka, is track 15 of the Spirituality For Dummies CD, and the translation and transliteration are:  

You will meet God, you will meet your Beloved. Remove the veil, and you will meet your Beloved. The Lord dwells in every single heart, so never speak bitterly to anyone. Then you will meet your Beloved.

Rama milega, shyama milega
Ghunghata ka pata khola re, mana, ghunghata ka pata khol
Ghata ghata men vo saee ramataa
Katuka vachana mata bola re
Ghunghata ka pata khola re, mana, ghunghata ka pata khol

Let's start this blog off with an offering to the Divine Mother, if you will -- with a consideration of what modern society is doing to the woman's breast, which has been an image of purity and abundance in cultures and traditions throughout human history.

"Hope springs eternal in the human breast." -- Alexander Pope





It is up to each culture of humanity to choose the meaning and symbolism they will ascribe to various elements that remain consistent throughout the ages -- for example, long-term elements of nature and humanity, such as rain, clouds, sun, love, relationships, physical bodies with all their accoutrements, mother, father, earth, and so on. One culture may consider our sun as a God, while another sees it as a big battery in the sky. One culture or subculture may worship our earth and her lands as a Divine gift of love and trust that must be revered and protected, while another may see the same earth as little more than potential drilling sites for oil. In some cultures, the woman's breast is a symbol of the Divine Mother, from whom all of us have been born, and who nourishes our lives -- a soothing bringer of mother's milk, which has been empowered by the beating heart beneath that breast. In another culture, the breast may be seen as a blasphemous monstrosity that can be examined and relished only in the most private and hidden of circumstances. Clearly, our modern society's deep spiritual reverance for this natural symbol of life has become corrupted to a great degree by myriad conflicting and manipulative enterprises, from diverse religious doctrines to advertising agencies, to the Howard Stern Show.





For some reason, our culture has cast some repressed sexual confusion upon our collective notion of a woman's breast. A large percentage of our species has spent months, or even years, sucking madly on a breast for our very life nourishment as the most dependent of creatures, a human baby. Then, as a few years go by, we are told that such things must be covered up and hidden, to be viewed only on the pages of "bad" magazines. Of course, men's breasts can be uncovered and walked -- or jogged -- all over the place, but the woman's breast -- giver of life -- can practically bring down a media empire if it dare be shown on network television. Just imagine how much easier life would be for our blessed mothers if they could simply nourish their children when necessary without having to worry about offending others or being charged with "indecent exposure." Why not look at this subject with a fresh eye, and see if it might be worthwhile to reconsider some of our group concepts about this widely accepted inequality between the breasts of males and females? If we all have taken form in these human bodies -- if in fact, as many sages have suggested, God Himself (or Herself) has taken form in and as us in these temples of human bodies, then why create such negative and belittling views of these beloved temples?

Now, I'm not suggesting that this somewhat violent flavored act of Justin and Janet's dramatic breast reveal was springing from a particularly enlightened place -- that's for the participants to contemplate and decide. However, I did find it intriguing to see such a massive hullabaloo swirling above all the other newsworthy events of post-Superbowl week 2004. Of course, the news media want to offer what people will be most interested in watching, and a breast -- while clearly a terrible thing to many commentators -- was nonetheless a good thing for them to spend hours upon hours nuzzling up to, so to speak, while hashing out every possible detail with other news pundits. Thank God for the Daily Show, which brilliantly addressed the issue.



Watch this clip from the Daily Show in their segment called "The Teat Offensive": http://www.comedycentral.com/mp/play.php?reposid=/multimedia/tds/stewart/jon_8095.html



Here you can listen to a Sanskrit group chant with drums that glorifies and celebrates the Divine Mother. If you want to sing along, here are the Sanskrit words:

Jai Ma, Jai Ma, Jagadishwari Jai Ma
Jagadishwari Maheshwari Bhuvaneshwari, Jai Ma
Jai Ma, Jai Ma, Jagadishwari Jai Ma

Jai means glory, and Ma obviously represents the Divine Mother. Ishwari means goddess or female Lord. So this chant has the flavor of, "Glory to you, Divine Mother, You are the Goddess of this earth, the great Goddess of all worlds."

Play the chant here in streaming realplayer: Jai Ma, Jagadishwari Jai Ma


Listen to more chanting and devotional singing here.


More spiritual social commentary soon coming. . .

# posted by Your Own Self @ 7:09 PM

Welcome to this brand new blog, which will explore current events in a new and unique way, from the author of Spirituality For Dummies, Secrets of Spiritual Happiness, and Never to Return: A Modern Quest For Eternal Truth, and the owner of Night Lotus Productions, whose goal is to bring light to the world through creative works.

Please visit again soon -- many blessings on your path!