When the student is ready,
the teacher will appear.
“How does meditation work?”
the novice asked his guide in an effort
to understand meditation more clearly.
“How does meditation work?” the guide repeated.
“Everybody asks me, ‘how does meditation work?’
and I ask, ‘how does electricity work?’
Most of us don’t know how electricity works
but we still use it.”
– unknown
DEDICATION
This book is dedicated to the ones I love, to those who have inspired me,
and to those who have encouraged me to complete this project:
— ♦ —
my son and my grandchildren, who keep my heart beating
my parents and my grand-relatives, who taught me about the important things in life
the very, very few people who are my true friends (you know who you are)
all of “MY KIDS” who have enriched my life (you know who you are)
and most importantly…
my God who loves me unconditionally
— ♦ —
The awesome girls at the JDC have insisted that I acknowledge their fabulous ideas and input,
so, thank you, my sweet, lovely girls!
Thank you, too, to the boys at the JDC and at the YC for your suggestions, inspiration, and prayers!
To the officers, administration and staff at the facilities where I have been teaching my program
for so many years, I thank you for your support of my program. You are truly appreciated.
— ♦ —
Much love, many blessings and prayers to all of you for all of your support with this book!
Let my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew,
as raindrops on the tender herb, and as showers upon the grass.
– Deuteronomy 32:2
— ♦ —
God sent a message to me many years ago.
He does that, doesn’t He? He sends us messages.
Sometimes we hear them, sometimes we don’t.
This one, I heard…
THE VISION...
For He shall give his angels charge over thee,
to keep thee in all thy ways.
– Psalms 91:11
THE VISION
I have great memories of my youth, a large part of which was spent on a ranch in the Pacific Northwest in the 1960s.
A favorite memory of mine:
I used to ride my horse through the woods on the mountain behind our house. There were days when I would be out in those woods for hours — riding, exploring, and sometimes resting.
I would ride across the mountain up to a clearing in a meadow, get off of my horse and take off his bridle so he could graze, and I would lean up against one of my favorite trees, just sitting there pondering life. I could feel the warmth of the earth under my legs and the roughness of the tree trunk against my back. I would focus on the feeling of the sun on my face, the sounds and smells of the forest, and the scents from the trees, grasses, and wildflowers.
— ♦ —
I didn’t know it at the time, but I was meditating. I would sit in that clearing in those woods with my back against that tree, and sense everything around me.
I could feel the presence of God there.
In May of 1993, I found myself going through a phase of deep introspection. There was a lot going on in my life at that time.
I was at a crossroad trying to decide where I was going with my career, and trying to resolve some unresolved issues that were hanging around in my head from my younger years.
Sometimes it helps to take a moment to look back on your life to see more clearly where you need to move forward. I had been praying for months for a little guidance on where I was going; apparently, my prayers were heard.
— ♦ —
A woman I knew — Jane, I will call her — intended to help me by guiding me through a meditation to assist with this going back to move forward thing. She had offered to lead me in meditation to a place where I could find my path.
It began simply enough with the relaxation techniques most of us use in meditation, but then it took an interesting turn.
Jane started a guided meditation to help bring me to a point where I could resolve a few issues I had with my mother who had passed away several years earlier.
Jane was trying to bring me to a beach. I could see a beach, and I could see my younger adult self on that beach. I love the ocean; I could feel myself moving toward the water.
Jane told me to pick up a stick and begin to write in the sand. She didn’t tell me specifically what to write, just to write whatever was on my heart.
As I started to look for a stick, my even younger self began pulling me in a different direction. I realized I was in the woods.
Jane asked me if I wanted to read what I was writing in the sand, I told her there was no sand. She asked about the beach, and I said there was no beach.
I was in a forest.
From that point on, I was unaware of being in that room, and I could not hear Jane speaking to me.
— ♦ —
I found myself on the ranch where I grew up, and I was on the mountain where I used to spend so much of my time. I was in my forest and I was a child again.
As I walked through the woods, I picked up some sticks and made some sort of sculpture with them. It was just a pile of sticks, but it resembled something vaguely familiar.
I smiled, and I continued on my walk.
I moved forward along that path where I had ridden my horse so many times, and I came to the clearing where I used to sit to ponder the meaning of life when I was a kid.
As I walked out into this clearing, I realized I had become an adult. There was a long, flowing fabric coming out from my waist like a huge skirt, and it was covering the ground in the clearing. It looked so soft and billowy.
Then I heard the laughter of children. I always have loved the laughter of children — it’s my favorite sound.
As I looked around me, I could see hundreds of little children hiding behind the trees at the edge of the clearing. They were peeking out at me and giggling. I motioned to them to join me and they began to come out from behind the trees.
As they moved toward me, some were aging, but only to a teen age — no older than maybe 16 or 17. They came toward me and sat on that billowy fabric that had filled the clearing. Some moved closer to me and reached for my hands. I reached out to touch their hands.
I could feel my smile. I could feel joy.
And, I could feel a presence behind me; I knew it was my protector, my guardian. I knew I was safe.
Then I felt warmth from above me. I looked up and saw a great light. A huge ball of fire was moving slowly toward me from above, held by two large hands.
As it got closer, the hands and the ball of fire got smaller until they were floating before me.
The two hands hovered for a moment in front of me, holding this little ball of light. As it was placed into my hands, I heard the words — as clearly as if someone were standing there speaking to me — “Plant the seed of light.”
Just as quickly as I had entered the forest, I was back in the room with Jane.
I sat up suddenly, silent.
She asked, “Are you all right?”
I nodded.
It seemed like hours had passed, but it had been less than 40 minutes from the time I had walked in her door, and only a few minutes since the vision began.
Jane asked if I had reached my goal.
I replied, “It was something much greater.”
Then I left.
— ♦ —
For the next several days, I spent a lot of time in introspection, sorting out what that whole vision meant. It was, without a doubt, the most intense vision I ever have had in my life.
I tried to make sense of what all the different pieces of the puzzle could represent — the sticks, the fabric, all the children, the guardian, the hands, the ball of fire, the words “plant the seed of light.”
— ♦ —
For the most part I remained quiet. I didn’t want to discuss it with anyone. It was too personal, too private.
As a matter of fact, I didn’t share this vision with anyone for a very long time.
(This is the first time ever I have written it all down.)
— ♦ —
After several years of keeping it to myself, I chose to share it
with only a few people — mostly my students
(they always seem to understand).
As time has passed, I have come to believe that this vision was
God’s way of telling me, “Teach my children.”
From that vision, my program “Blessings” evolved.
And since 1994, I have been teaching His children…