Introduction

My daughter Chime and I

Introduction

I am starting this project on the 10th of June, 2005. My oncologist figures I have six to nine months left. So, by all odds, I should be dead by the time you read this. (That is, unless I decide to post this whole manuscript on a blog.) I had an accident on my motorcycle and went to Queens Medical Center (biggest hospital in Hawaii). They were waiting for the swelling to go down before they operated on my knee and while they were waiting, they found that I was in Phase Four of small cell lung cancer.

I guess I could or should have started this book a long time ago. Now I figure I was just waiting for the right “hook” and it finally came along.

Aint life grand?

I find it incredibly presumptuous of me to write a book of this kind. I know so very little. It’s just that…well…the little bit that I know? Is all that you ever need to know. I happen to know a bunch about the present moment…which is important because it happens to be the only REAL moment in existence.

On my journey I met many “seekers” more dedicated than I, holier than I, more devote than I was. Through thick and thin? I just hung in. My motto at the time was, “Whatever it takes”.

You might want to check my credentials for writing this. Well, let me see. The Veteran’s Administration has found me to be totally and permanently mentally disabled due to severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. See how easily you can dismiss me as a nutcase?

Life can be insanely bizarre sometimes. I went through a rough patch that I will detail a little later. But it all turned out to be a necessary part of my journey.

I was nudged into my awakening on June 25th, 2003 by my fifth teacher, Brain Qara. (My life has been dedicated to the spiritual path starting on Thanksgiving weekend of 1971 when I had my first primal with Charlie and Sharon.)

For more than 20 years, I had married, re-entered the marketplace, learned a trade, ran a few businesses, and raised a daughter. Then it all fell apart. See chapter entitled “Hitting Bottom”. And within a year, I met Brian.

I attended two of his seminars called satsang and then we met for one private conference wherein he did something or other…I spent a total of roughly seven hours with the man and I came away an Enlightened Being. Seems almost like cheating, doesn’t it? Almost seems that way to me too. But it is difficult to be where I am and not sense that all that happens does so under a grand cosmic plan.

Actually, I don’t care that much for the word Enlightened. It’s pretty pretentious in its own right. On top of that, the term has been so over-used for so long that I fear much of the meaning has been lost along the way.

Enlightenment has also been called Christ Consciousness, Buddha Consciousness, or Cosmic Consciousness. It’s all the same.

And yes, this is the state of being that I have experienced several times early in my journey…and where I now reside in Peace and Bliss.

I know you can’t just believe every certified nut case who comes along and claims to be awakened. But then again, you might consider how many hundreds of thousands of seekers there are on the path. Millions of them. Wouldn’t the odds suggest that some same percentage of them would actually find what they set out looking for? You have to at least consider the possibility. I just sort of accidentally fell into being one of those guys who actually made it to the finish line…more from stubborn perseverance than devotion or purity.

A few things I’d like to explain here. For instance, there are several different brands of yoga. There’s Bhakti Yoga, which is the yoga of love. Bhakti Yoga is really the basis for all Christian religions. In Bhakti Yoga, you simply love….until love consumes your whole world. Bhakti Yoga and Christianity are (or should be) joined at the hip. Love is all ya need. It’s all about love. Love little things, love big things; love it all. When your whole life is nothing but love? You will be Enlightened.

Hatha Yoga is the yoga that you are most familiar with. Yoga of the body. Posture. Poses. I’m really no expert on yoga, so I am probably not giving proper credit here to the benefits of Hatha Yoga.

There’s also Pranayama Yoga, the yoga of breath. My third teacher was Janaka who was a Master of Pranayama.

What I will be teaching here is what is called Raja Yoga, the yoga of the mind. It is also known as the Yoga of Kings. Raja Yoga….Kingly Yoga.

Another thing that I think you’d be interested to know. In my first spiritual school, each student choose a “divination” to study….like I Ching, astrology, palm reading, crystal ball, Tarot cards. I chose the Kabala, The Tree Of Life.

Please forgive my limited explanation, but I merely skimmed the surface of the great mysteries hidden in the Kabala and I’m sure there are many that are far more knowledgeable than I. But my rudimentary view of the Kabala is that it is actually a map of human consciousness. You see, there are 32 levels to the Tree of Life. Each level represents a level of consciousness.

Level One is fairly Neanderthal…the type of person who is half-man, half-beast. Very physical. Strong physical drives for power, sex…domination of others.

Level Thirty-Two is described as “complete union with God”. At around Level Twenty-Four or so, there’s this great chasm. It’s called The Abyss. The Abyss is a bit intimidating. One is absolutely lost in the crossing of The Abyss. But it must be crossed to reach the highest levels of consciousness.

Now…what do you suppose might be the Level that represents Enlightenment? It is the level of Christ, Buddha, Cosmic Consciousness. It represents a life free from personality and ego…a life of bliss and serenity.

So? What level would you think? Higher than one and less than Thirty-Two.

Actually, the Node of the Tree of Life that represents Enlightenment is Level Ten. Enlightenment is less than a third of the total journey! Myself, I always found that to be a bit incredible.

If you are supremely happy in your life, get rid of this book and head for the hills because this will definitely upset your applecart.

On the other hand, if you have the feeling that something is missing from your life – that no matter how much you achieve, life still doesn’t quite “deliver” the way you had assumed – then perhaps you might find my experiences to be insightful.

Truth be told, there are many aspects of this journey that you are bound to find distasteful.

You see, I look at life from what I sometimes call “the other side of the mirror”. And I see you all scramble around for stuff that doesn’t mean anything. You expend enormous energy, pain and sacrifice for trifles with no real value.

Imagine the task before me. How can I possibly convince you that everything that you hold most dear is illusion? I have to undo a thousand years of cultural conditioning.

It is as if you have been brain-washed for several thousands of years to believe that the most important thing in this world to attain is more and more pork and beans. That whoever dies with the most pork and beans WINS. And you believe it. With all your heart. And will fight and kill and risk your life for more and more pork and beans.

Actually, all I have to do is find a way to out-maneuver your biggest enemy. Which is just as tough when you’re convinced he’s your best friend. But that entity is you. I’m referring to “The False Self” which is also known as the Ego. Please do not confuse the western concept of Ego with the eastern.

The western concept of Ego is someone who thinks that he or she is better, prettier, stronger or some other aspect of being is superior to similar aspects in someone else. This isn’t the ego that I am referring to.

The Ego, or False Self, has disguised itself as your personality. And that is how you have come to believe that you ARE your False Self.

And where does the False Self reside? Where else? The mind. The thinking mind. Which is where we get the Hindu adage: The thinking mind is a perfect servant but a lousy Master.

The first step on this journey is for you to realize that you’re on a journey. There is absolutely no other reason for you to be here. Each and every thing that happens to you? It happens because it’s part of your journey. I can’t tell you how. Odds are that you won’t have any idea until perhaps you have reached the end.

Realize that this plane of existence is really nothing more than a school; more specifically, a laboratory. It is merely the place in space and time where you “work out” those things that you have come to “work out”. This is the great "secret" of the universe: the life you are living is not real...it is merely your spiritual journey. Your "life-story" is made up of those things you have come to this plane of existence to learn.

My message is not for the successful or well-adjusted. They are still deeply under the illusion that the payoffs in the unreal world are more than adequate.

My message is for the frustrated, the confused, the spiritually wounded and maimed, the hopeless, the cheated and the betrayed. Like Jesus, my words call out to the perceived sinners. Like Jesus, I seek out the fringe element.

Yet how can I convince any normal thinking man to take me seriously? I am an admitted, certified and verified mental defective. If you take this path, you will encounter a wide array of anomalies and paradoxes. Consider me the first of many factors that cannot be logically understood.

Beyond that, I could be a charlatan trying to cheat you out of your…hmmmm…I already sold you my book. (Or someone close to you.) I have no cult for you to join. I prefer to stay anonymous because I really seek no followers.

All I want for you is your own awakening.

When I was in my first spiritual school, I was taught that when and if I ever attained my goal…that I had a cosmic responsibility to awaken ten others. If I can sell a mere ten thousand books (or ten thousand browsers visited my blog) would it be reasonable to hope that one in a thousand would eventually find Enlightenment?

I am going to use this vehicle to pass on every conceivable “shortcut” that I know, warn you of every dead end and point out the pitfalls at different junctures of the path. Everything will be designed to lead you to the point where you might experience for yourself the fullness of spirit and the ocean of peace where I now reside.

The peace that I speak of is more profound, more deeply comforting, more constant and all-pervading than the thinking man can ever imagine. It is simply beyond the scope of any normal comprehension.

All I really want is for ten of you to step forward and accept the challenge and then hang on to your perseverance with a death grip until you discover for yourself the truth in my words. Maybe a hundred to step forward…to allow for those who must eventually lose their resolve.

The next couple of chapters might be the most boring but they need to be added to provide “context”; a “backdrop” if you will for all that follows.

In the meantime, you might consider accepting me as your teacher for your own sake. It would be a giant leap forward on your journey. Trust that when you do, only you will benefit. (I’m dead, remember? Okay...well actually...they count my remaining time in weeks rather than months. I'm racing to finish and post this before my death.)

As your teacher, allow me to pass on your first and most important rule: Study, understand and eradicate judgment from your mind whenever you might recognize it. Start by not judging me…for your own sake. And if you can make the leap to accept me? It must be without judgment or reservation. In return, I offer you the Keys to The Kingdom.

You don’t even have to accept me as your teacher. All you really have to do is pretend to do so. That alone is enough if you are even half-way decent as a pretender…and can banish judgment.

Seek and ye shall find.