I majored in physics and minored in mathematics until I was just about to receive my diploma. I only needed one more quarter to graduate. I decided I didn't want the degree because I discovered something about physicists themselves that turned me off to the idea of becoming involved in a science that I realized was no science at all. This in itself could be a book, but the 'why' of it is related to the same subject that we talk about with archeologists. Physicists, just like archeologists, will turn their heads to the Truth if it means too much of a change too fast. Perhaps the real truth is that this is human nature. So I switched to the other side of my brain and started majoring in fine arts. My counselors thought I was nuts. "You're going to give up a physics degree?" they asked. But I didn't need it, didn't want it. Then to graduate I had to go for two more years majoring in fine arts. Finally, I was in my last quarter before getting my degree in fine arts, thinking "I don't know if I can do this. I'm so tired. I just can hardly handle this."
Then Kent State happened. The whole school system across the United States closed down, and they gave all the students straight Bs and let them go. So I got my fine arts degree without having to finish the last little bit.
My changing majors makes sense now, because
when you study the ancient writings, you find out that the people of the time perceived
art, science and religion as being interwoven, interconnected. So the programming that I
was putting myself through was appropriate for what I'm doing now.
I got my degree in 1970. Then, after going
through Viet Nam and looking at what was happening in our country at that time, I finally
said, "I've had it! This is it! I don't know how long I'm going to live or what's
going to happen, but I'm just going to be happy and do what I've always wanted to
do." And I decided to get away from everything and go live in the mountains, like I
had always wanted to do.
So I left the United States and went to
Canada, not knowing there would be ten of thousands of Vietnam war protesters following me
a year later. I married a woman named Renee and the two of us went way back into the
middle of nowhere, and found a little house on a lake called Kootenay Lake. We were a long
way away from anything. You had to walk four miles from the nearest road to get to my
house. So we were really isolated. And I began to live my life exactly like I had always
wanted to live. I had always wanted to see if I could live on nothing; so I gave it a try.
It was a little scary at first, but it got
easier as time went on, and pretty soon I became adept at natural living. I lived a
wonderful and full life on basically no money. After a while I realized, hey, this is a
lot easier than holding a job in a city! I only had to work hard for about three hours a
day, then I had the rest of the time off. It was great. I could play music and run around
and have a good ol' time. And that's exactly what I did. I had fun. I played music about
ten hours a day, with lots of friends who came from miles around. Our place had gained
quite a reputation by then. An average of about eleven people per day showed up to play
music and enjoy - and we just had fun.
And in this act, which is very important to
my understanding now, I discovered something about myself. It was from this - returning to
my inner child is how I phrase it these days - that my inner child was released, and in
that releasing, something happened to me, which was the catalyst that led into my life as
it is today.
MEETING THE ANGELS
While in Vancouver, my wife and I decided we wanted to know about
meditation, so we started studying with a Hindu teacher who lived in the area. We were
very serious in wanting to understand what meditation was about. We had made white silk
robes with hoods and were very serious about this new endeavor we had begun.
Then, one day, after practicing meditation for about four or five months, two tall angels about ten feet high appeared in our room! They were right there.
One was green and one was purple. We could
see through their transparent bodies, but they were definitely there. We did not expect
this appearance to take place. We were just following the instructions that our Hindu
teacher was giving us. I don't believe he fully understood as he kept asking us many
questions and he didn't seem to understand either. From that moment on, my life was never
the same. It wasn't even close. The first words the angels said were,
"We are you." I had no idea what they meant. I said, "You're me?"
Then, slowly they began to teach me various things about myself and the world, and about
the nature of consciousness . . . until finally my heart just completely opened to them. I
could feel tremendous love from them which totally changed my life. Over a period of many years, they led me to
about seventy different teachers. They would actually tell me the address and the phone
number of the teacher I was to go see. They would tell me either to call first or just
show up at his or her house. So I would do this - and it would always be the right person!
Then I would be instructed to stay with that person for a certain length of time. Sometimes, right in the middle of a
particular teaching, the angels would say, "Okay, you're done. Leave." I
remember when they sent me to Ram Dass. I hung out in his house for about three days
wondering what the heck I was doing there; then one day I went to touch him on the
shoulder to say something and I got a zap that practically knocked me on the floor. And
that was it - the angels said, "That's it. "You can leave now." And I said,
"Okay." Ram Dass and I became friends, but whatever I was supposed to learn from
him was over within that one second. The teachings of Neem Karoli Baba, Ram Dass's
teacher, are very important to me. It was his belief that "the best form to see God
is in every form". I've also been exposed to Yogananda's work and cherish who he was.
And later we'll be talking about Sri Yukteswar and some of his work. I've been intensely
involved in almost all the major religions. I've resisted the Sikhs, because I do not
believe that military preparation is necessary, but I've studied and practiced almost all
the rest of them, Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Tibetan Buddhist. I've deeply studied
Taoism & Sufism - spent eleven years with Sufism. Through all this, the most powerful
teachers for me, however, have been the Native American Indians. It was the Indians who
opened the doorway for all my spiritual growth to take place. They've been a very powerful
influence in my life. That's something I talk about in my workshops and my up and coming
book. All the world's religions are speaking of the same
Reality. They have different words, different concepts and ideas, but there's really only
one Reality, and there's only one Spirit moving through all life. There might be different
techniques to get there, but there's only what is real, and when you're there you know it.
Whatever you want to call it - you can give it different names - it's all the same thing. SEE WORKSHOP SECTION
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