My spiritual journey is and continues to be the focal point of my life. I did not follow a specific path tied to a specific linage or teachings. My journey is specific to me and has been unfolding over the last 54 years.

One of my favorite movies is the Razors Edge with Bill Murray.  There is one scene that resonates deeply for me. Bill Murray plays the main character Larry Darrell. Larry finds his way to a Buddhist monastery high in the mountains of India. After living at the monastery for a while, Larry’s teacher sends to an isolated hut much higher in the mountains. Larry brings his sacred texts so he can continue to study and learn. Eventually, Larry runs out wood needed to keep warm. He pauses for a moment and begins to burn his books. His realization is that the ultimate meaning of life will never be found in any books. It will be found in living his life. I love that. That realization resonates deeply for me.

The great news is that you don’t have to go to India, Napal or anywhere else. Unless you want to. Everything you need is right here. Right now.

There is a saying. When your ready, a teacher will appear. I don’t know if that is universally true. It was true for me. I was fortunate enough to have a close personal relationship with two spiritual teachers. The first one was Swami Lakshmi Devi. I lived in a Yoga ashram for 18 months located in Readers, PA called the Sivananda Yoga Ashram. Swami Lakshmi was the spiritual leader. The second is Brenda Morgan. I continue to have a close personal relationship with Brenda. A relationship that has lasted for over 22 years.

My journey started in high school. I was a sophomore. I had a growing inclining that there was something more to life then what I was being told. Going to Hebrew School and sitting is services repeating the same prayers over and over just did not make sense to me. Something was missing.I started to read. I read most of Herman Hesse’s books. Especially Siddhartha. I read the Upanishads. The Bhagavad Gita. Books on Buddhism. I read any book that could shed some light on what I was feeling and thinking about the reality of who I was in relationship to the life I was living. I needed to “make sense” of this feeling of awakening.

I found two things at the same time that shook the foundation of my understanding of the true nature who I am and began to explain what it was the I was feeling. The first was a book by Ram Dass called Be Here Now. The second was mescaline. Both fundamentally changed how I perceived the reality of my life and set me on a journey of spiritual awakening.

Following is a list of some of my other life experiences I had that continued to help me awaken to the Mystery that lives all things.

Living with a community of Hucihol Indians in western Mexico for 4 weeks.

Many trips to Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia, spending time with healers and shamans in the Andes and rain forest.

Living in a Yoga ashram.

Having an epiphany that compelled me to quit my job and go to Acupuncture School.

Plant Medicine.

A deep intimate relationship with two spiritual teachers.

A meditation practice for over 40 years.

Some therapy.

ManKind Project.

Path 2 Spirit Warriors.

An amazing community of friends.

I am sure there is more. There is a lot to share about each of these experiences and how they impacted my life. There wasn’t a straight line from where I started to where I currently find myself. There was a lot of stumbling, leaning, many not so pleasant experiences. Some messiness. Plus, all the experiences most people have as we traverse our lives.  For me they include, getting married, having a beautiful daughter and granddaughters, a divorce, losing a wife to cancer. Being in an amazing relationship. Having an amazing community of friends. Like all of us, there is so much more.   What is many the most important thing for me about my spiritual journey is that it is ultimately about where I put my attention. The rest might have not been up to me.