...Usually in our lives, we can blow off this kind of inner spiritual contemplative work. Many people go through day after day of so-called living without even aspiring to see beyond simplistic, surface, black and white views of life. However, this 9-11 terrorist event really forced everybody to contemplate. You couldn't just blow this one off completely.

We watched executives leap to their death from the highest floors of those burning buildings. We saw faces filled with agony and shreds of precious hope parading through the streets of Manhattan, desperately showing photos of their missing loved ones. We heard story after story of tragedy, as well as of triumph. No movie could compare with what reality had brought forth. We realized and remembered how amazing life is - even, and perhaps especially in the midst of tragedy.

Powerful emotions gripped humanity. We had to contemplate topics such as death, hatred, intolerance, responsibility, and evil. We had to find more goodness within ourselves to balance out the horrors we were witnessing outside.

As the United States moved into a truly impressive state of prayer, I contemplated how it is often only in times of extreme personal tragedy - such as at the end of our lives - that we remember what is really important. The veil of worldly illusion falls away, and the soul lost remembers the soul eternal. Tragic events such as this can also give us opportunities to take great leaps of spiritual awareness and spiritual happiness right in the midst of our lives, if we are mature and lucid enough to make good use of those opportunities.

For months after this particular attack, television and movie studios also postponed showing negative images and violent movies. Instead, we watched images of some of the best that human nature has to offer - the dedication of workers at the site, the caring by so many anonymous helpers across the nation, stories of selfless sacrifice, the moving and heartrending "singing cop," the generous giving of charity, inspired and moving interfaith memorial services, and patriotic offerings of time and skills by celebrities, as well as non-celebrities. Everybody had to bring forth some goodness inside of themselves to balance out the evil they'd witnessed. Americans had a rare opportunity to bless our motherland with song, and to show our gratitude and respect to a country that - thought clearly imperfect - has given many an opportunity to grow and learn our life lessons in an atmosphere of relative freedom. God bless America, and God bless the entire world.


...more of this chapter is available in the book, "Secrets of Spiritual Happiness," by Sharon Janis.

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