The Nature of Real Spiritual Healing Goes Beyond the Confines of Organized Religion

What is the Nature of Real Spiritual Healing?

In the depths of human history, religions have emerged as beacons of guidance, offering solace and a sense of belonging. Yet, one must ponder: do these institutions truly facilitate spiritual healing, or do they merely serve as structures for socialization and control? The essence of real spiritual healing transcends the boundaries of organized religion, delving into the profound aspects of the self and the universe.

Religions, in their myriad forms, provide a framework for community and moral guidance. They offer rituals, scriptures, and doctrines that shape the lives of their adherents. However, underpinning these societal constructs often lies a more profound quest—one for true spiritual healing. This form of healing is not about conforming to a set of prescribed behaviors or dogmas but about embarking on an inward journey that seeks to unravel the mysteries of existence.

While many religions offer a sense of community and moral direction, they frequently fall short in enabling individuals to achieve true spiritual growth and healing. Rituals and dogmas can become ends in themselves, overshadowing the deeper, introspective work required for genuine spiritual evolution. This is not to discount the value of religious practices, but rather to highlight that they can sometimes become barriers to self-discovery rather than catalysts for it.

True spiritual healing lies in the realms of self-awareness, personal growth, and a connection to something beyond the physical plane. It demands a holistic approach that integrates the mind, body, and soul. Self-awareness is the foundation upon which spiritual healing is built. It requires an honest examination of one’s thoughts, emotions, and actions, fostering a deeper understanding of oneself.

Personal growth, the next pillar, involves the continuous effort to evolve and better oneself. It is a process of shedding old patterns and embracing new ways of being that align with one’s higher self. This growth is often accompanied by a sense of inner peace and fulfillment, signs that one is on the path to true spiritual healing.

Lastly, the connection to something beyond the physical realm—whether one calls it the Divine, the Universe, or the Higher Self—is crucial. This connection provides a sense of purpose and meaning, anchoring the individual in a reality that transcends the material world.

Many religions present rituals and dogmas as pathways to spiritual enlightenment. However, these practices can sometimes become distractions, preventing individuals from engaging in the deep, introspective work necessary for true healing. Real spiritual healing is not about adhering to external rituals but about cultivating an inner sanctuary where one can connect with the essence of existence.

This inner work can take many forms, from meditation and mindfulness practices to exploring philosophical and metaphysical concepts. The goal is to foster a state of being that is in harmony with the universe, where the mind, body, and soul are aligned.

True spiritual healing necessitates a holistic approach that encompasses all aspects of the self. It is not confined to the boundaries of any one religion or belief system. Practices such as meditation, yoga, and contemplative prayer can all contribute to this holistic healing process. These practices help to quiet the mind, open the heart, and connect the individual to a greater reality.

Moreover, engaging in creative pursuits, spending time in nature, and cultivating meaningful relationships can all support the journey toward spiritual healing. The key is to find practices that resonate with the individual and foster a sense of connection to the self and the universe.

The nature of real spiritual healing goes beyond the confines of organized religion. It is a journey of self-awareness, personal growth, and connection to a higher reality. While religions can provide valuable guidance and community, they often fall short in facilitating true spiritual healing. By embracing a holistic approach that integrates the mind, body, and soul, individuals can achieve the profound sense of peace and fulfillment that comes with true spiritual healing.

As we navigate the complexities of modern life, let us remember that the path to spiritual healing is a deeply personal one. It requires us to look beyond external rituals and dogmas and to embark on an inward journey of self-discovery and growth. In doing so, we can connect with the essence of existence and truly heal our spirits.

The Crucial Pursuit of Healing, Creativity and the Unknown

The march of humanity is a testament to our enduring capacity for transformation and rebirth. Yet, despite our strides in technology, society, and self-awareness, we are often shackled to the visible horizon of our present consciousness. We dwell within the cocoon spun from the threads of what we already perceive, understand, or can extrapolate from the known. Our visions of the future, our aspirations, are invariably projections cast forward from today’s vantage point. And yet, the soul of progress lies not in the projections but in the unexpected leaps, the unfurling wings of creativity, insight into our troubled humanity and self, and explorations into the realms of the unknown and the timeless.

Herein lies a fundamental argument: 

The continuous evolution of our species is hinged on our willingness to nurture creativity, bring healing to cultural and personal trauma, and venture beyond the familiar seas into the uncharted waters of possibility.

Thinkers, dreamers, spiritual healers, and innovators of every epoch did not merely reconstruct the known fabric of their times; they cast it aside, reinventing paradigms and reimagining futures once thought improbable, if not impossible.  Historically, every quantum leap in human advancement has sprouted from seeds of creativity and exploration. The unveiling of heliocentrism, the cracking of the human genome, the digital revolution—these were not mere extensions from prior certainties but radical departures, conquests that expanded our collective consciousness.  To continue on this trajectory of exponential growth and enlightenment, it is paramount that we encourage these journeys into the farthest regions of imagination, spirituality, and potential. Our current local and global challenges—whether environmental, social, or philosophical—cry out for solutions drawn not from the same level of consciousness that created them but from a more elevated and insightful plane.

Fostering a culture steeped in creativity and an intrepid spirit of adventure might help us discover new horizons of thought, craft groundbreaking technologies, and forge spiritual and philosophical frameworks that contribute to a more sustainable and harmonious existence. We possess the toolsets necessary for this undertaking—our inherent curiosity,  ingenuity, and artistic inclinations, but we must be vigilant that they are employed to achieve this grand objective. It is human to fear the shadowy depths of the unknown. Yet, we can recognize that standing upon its threshold is both a privilege and a responsibility chronicled by our ancestors who reached far beyond the knowns of their present times. We must uphold the torch they have passed to us and cast its light deeper into the shadows where we may make apocalyptic discoveries.

As stewards of tomorrow, we are extended an invitation—a call to set sail upon the unbounded ocean of the human imagination, leaving the safe harbors behind to chart courses to astonishing destinations. Would we be amiss to ignore such a summons, knowing that each wave of audacity brings us closer to the unimaginable expanses of what might be?  Our efforts to step bravely into new realms of thought are not just for the betterment of our lives or times but for all of humanity stretching into eternity. We must author this narrative with the boldest strokes of creativity and exploration, for indeed, the next leaps in our epic saga await in these ventures into the profound, unknown, and timeless.

The Search For The Unknown Truth

I officially began my search for Truth on January 28, 1986, after a suicide attempt prompted by the Challenger explosion and sixteen years of dysfunction and disillusionment that led up to that date.  The next fourteen months had the search taking me through intense personal darkness and into some unsavory situations within Portland’s underworld community. Coming out of that darkness in March 1987, I finally became a sober man.

Sobriety did not magically erase the hellish experience of my previous 16 years of life, however. I was not healed and whole, as my body was still wracked with pain while constantly shaking, and I had an almost constant and annoying chatter in my mind.  But I was looking in earnest for a new way to look at life, and to experience possibilities for myself that in the past I dared not dream for myself.  I was experiencing the symptoms of drug-induced schizophrenia, and I still thought that I could hear what people were thinking about me. Do not be too quick to judge my experience, as anybody who judges others and assumes that they already know what another is thinking or going to do in the future shares in the same delusion, even without apparent neurological disease.  In this stage of early sobriety, I rationally countered my insanity by challenging all such observations, reaffirming to myself that if I did not hear these statements directly from the mouths of the people that I thought they came from, I was to ignore them. It was pretty tough, but it kept me from having embarrassing confrontations with strangers.

I stayed obsessively involved with AA and NA meetings, attending 270 recovery gatherings in 90 days, and I continued in earnest my prayers and meditations. I started reading several great spiritual works by M. Scott Peck, such as The Road Less Traveled and People of the Lie: Hope For Healing Human Evil. Mr. Peck spoke to most of my issues and problems that I had with toxic religion, and I felt like I had found a friend and another teacher of Truth. 

I still had some free time to explore, and I would take overnight trips into the wilderness to get close to Nature and God. I still felt blessed and was hopeful that continued recovery from my devastating mental illness and neurological trauma might continue.

“HE IS HAVING AN EXPERIENCE WITH GOD”

On June 22, 1987, I was hiking up to Larch Mountain, a beautiful peak that overlooks the Columbia River valley. From its vantage point, all of the major mountain peaks in the area can be readily observed. In ancient times, I was to learn several years later from a Warm Springs Indian tribal elder this area was considered sacred ground by the indigenous peoples, who came to this area from miles around to honor their Great Spirit and to hold their holy ceremonies and prayer rituals. This area had soaked in all of the historical, spiritual vibrations from our ancestors, and I was about to drink from its stored, transcendent pool of sacred energy,

I arrived at the top and became as quiet as my mind would allow. I slowly did a 360-degree rotation, observing the area’s incredible beauty in all directions. The mountain peaks of Rainier, Adams, St. Helens, Hood, Jefferson, and the tremendous winding Columbia River extend below me. It felt as if I were on the top of a great observatory, and today, I was the only person with this particular view, and immensely grateful just to be alive and have this privilege.   I bypassed a guard rail and then climbed around the rocky peak to be hidden from the view of anyone who might climb to the top. With the additional privacy I had created, I felt comfortable enough to begin praying and meditating for a little while. I had hopes that I could do better at this activity, but my mind refused to quiet the boisterous committee debates usually present. But, at least, I made myself available to Spirit in the way that felt appropriate to me.

Larch Mountain, near observation deck

My nervous system was still entirely compromised from all of the poisoning caused by the chemistry experiments masquerading as methamphetamine/crank that I had ingested over the past 18 months, ending in March, in addition to continued heavy alcohol abuse. At this point, I had been clean and sober for three months, but total recovery seemed out of the question. I had been a drug addict and alcoholic, more or less, since I was 15 years old, but the last 18 months had taken a heavy toll. My physical health was improving a little, but I still was having tremors, similar to Parkinson’s disease, and I was also experiencing the psychological discomfort of hearing voices, a delusional activity within my mind that consisted, at this point, of mentally generated feedback about whatever I was observing, or doing at the time. The voices were nothing more than my thoughts, yet, in my mind, they appeared to be coming from a center not of my self-aware self but of something or someone, not quite me. It was like having an unwanted internal play-by-play announcer who verbalized everything in a third-person perspective that was happening as it happened, with no color commentary added to it.

I had an uncomfortable relationship with these mental processes, and I did not report these aberrations to medical professionals, fearing that I would be hospitalized or placed on the same destructive medications that I had seen administered to my mentally ill ex-wife. I had resigned myself to a life of marginal mental health, at best. Yet, I had no choice: either pursue the Truth and see what manner of healing it might bring to me or give up on myself and live out my years of suffering and continued deterioration.

A light, warm breeze carried the fragrance of the nearby pine trees to me, drawing me away from the problems of my body and mind. I continued to be absorbed by the beauty of the area and the majesty of the unobstructed views. The mountain peaks began to feel closer to me for some unknown reason. I could reach out and touch each of them. The river far below me felt close, very close, and the whole panorama seemed to be drawing nearer to me, and I began experiencing everything differently than I ever had before. And, for the 2nd time in a month, I started feeling possessed by immense beauty, awe, and love.

A month ago, I experienced a vision, and with its presence, all of my loneliness and depression had lifted. I attributed that temporary healing to the presence of the vision, and a love flowed into me during its presence. The vision had disappeared, but it had left an imprint upon me of a beautiful, unconditional love, traces of hope, and the expectations that something new was to follow. Well, something was now following, and it was closer than breathing, nearer than hands and feet.

A voice inside of my head then stated, with its typical matter-of-fact nature,

“HE IS HAVING AN EXPERIENCE WITH GOD“.

I was no longer separate from that which I was viewing. I became in one transcendent  oment both the knower and the known, unified in the magic and glory of uplifted perception. Everything revealed itself as an extension of myself and my long-ignored but miraculous nature. For the first time in my existence, I could see that, as far as I can see, all that I will ever see, unto eternity, is myself. Then, with a sense of all of my thoughts now being my own, I asked myself

“How will I see myself today?” 

For the first time in my life, I saw that all of humanity was my actual family. I saw that everybody, human and animal, was my brother or sister in this new, true nature that was revealed within me. I looked within myself, and for the first time in my life, I saw peace, too. The third-person monologue had stopped!! I held my hands before me, and my hands were steady, which usually shook so badly that I could not even write my signature clearly or use a spoon to eat from a bowl without making a mess! Peace had finally found me on a mountain peak, and I had finally found my true self. And, I had finally found that life, that TRUTH I had been seeking since I know not when. I then had an intense desire to be with other people.

“WHERE ARE MY PEOPLE?”

became the question of the day after I hiked back to my car.

I then drove towards Portland from Larch Mountain and was guided to NE 73rd and Glisan, where the US Postal Service’s EAP program was based. I had worked at the main office from 1975 to 1985, the final day being July 8 when I called in sick and never returned to work or called back. I was fired five months later.  I walked into the door, and both Larry and Mike greeted me. The last time I saw Mike was when he visited me in the Care Unit 3 years before. Larry has been the director of the EAP employee assistance program for as long as I can remember. I called out to them by name, yet neither man recognized me. When I mentioned my name, they were both blown away. I was happy, or, more precisely, ebullient, and Mike said I was simply radiant. They wanted to know what was going on with me, and I stated, with a matter-of-fact attitude, that I had a spiritual experience, and they both gave me a huge hug and acknowledgment.

Inspired by this reception, I returned to the Main Post Office and checked in with the Personnel Department, where Eleanor Workman was the head of the department. My father and Eleanor were friends before my father retired from the USP in 1982. She immediately recognized me.

“Bruce, it is so great to see you again! Wow, you are looking healthy and happy! I have thought of you often since your termination. Please, let me give you an application to reapply for your lost position.”

“No thank you, Eleanor, I just wanted to express my apologies for working for this company in such an unhappy manner for so many years.”

“Bruce, you could get the job back with little problem, since the Post Office knew that they fired you even though you were still a practicing alcoholic. “

“Eleanor, what would make me the happiest is if you could schedule a meeting between me and the head of Plant Maintenance, John Zimpleman. “

Well, he was “in,” so I went right up and had a direct opportunity to make amends to him for my poor performance from 1980-1985. He greeted me warmly, listened to my story, was quite impressed, and then stated.”

“Bruce, I wish that my son could discover what you just found, because John Jr. was rapidly descending to your former level. I accept your amends, and I wish you well in your future!”

Wow, this day of amends went so well; I remained ecstatic about all future interpersonal possibilities.

One day that next week, while visiting our world-famous Powell’s Book Store on Burnside in Portland, I saw my old psychiatrist, Dr. Dan Beavers. He was standing in the metaphysical section of the bookstore. I walked up to him, and he also did not recognize me. I stuck my hand out to him and re-introduced myself to him.

“Bruce, this can’t be you, can it? Last time I saw you, I was wondering how much longer you could survive if the medication did not turn your life around.”

“Dan, the medication worked just fine. I never used it, at least not in the way that you would have intended for me to use it. I actually carried it around with me for over one year, prepared to use it for my suicide if I did not find a reason to live. I finally found a new way to live life without medication, drugs, or alcohol. I now accept full personal responsibility for my thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and activities”.

“Bruce, that is the desired outcome for all of my patients. Congratulations on your success!”

I hugged Dr. Dan and apologized for using him as a tool in my effort to manipulate my former employer, the US Postal Service. He said that I did not need to make amends to him and that he was there for me to serve all of my needs, whether I considered them dysfunctional or otherwise. But seeing Dr. Dan and showing him my healthier sense of self still felt good. I never saw Dr. Dan again. When I later saw his obituary for his premature death in 2015, I felt great sorrow and cried.

In the continued interest of finding my people, I attended the INTA Conference in Portland In August of 1987 (International New Thought Alliance). I was most interested in seeing Jack Boland, the recovering alcoholic who had started a SUPER CHURCH in Minnesota with over 5000 members. He also had a following of many hundreds of thousands of recovering people worldwide, as his approach to spirituality, sobriety, and healing was universal. Integrating into this new community was a fascinating immersion into a group energy I had never experienced before.

I WAS SO HIGH THERE!!!

I got to see firsthand a group of well over 1000 people warmly embrace the musical group Alliance, which starred Jerry Florence. They had some hits in the 1980s, and they were a group of gay men who all had HIV/AIDS. Having recently left Hinson Baptist Church, where gays were bashed regularly, this was like a breath of life to a drowning man, even though I had no homosexual tendencies. The tenderness that I felt towards Jerry Florence and the group of men that constituted Alliance still lives in me today. I still have tears today for the suffering of all people who have been unfairly isolated or judged as unworthy.

Marsha (Masha) Feldman was a beautiful Jewish woman of Russian descent who sat directly across the aisle from me at the Jack Boland talk. For some reason, she came over to ME after Jack’s talk and began a friendship with me that was to last for over one year. Masha was troubled and had recently visited her rabbi for some support. Her rabbi had informed her, in the interests of her own personal happiness and sense of well-being, that she should give up on understanding “GOD” and instead pursue more ‘grounded’ approaches to her physical and emotional health and welfare. He advised her to seek out 12-step recovery programs where she could learn more about herself and her resistance to spiritual awareness and healing. She certainly had the physical aspect mastered, as she worked out daily and kept her physical energy and beautiful appearance at as high of a level as possible, but her spirit needed energizing. I was to remain friends with Masha for over a year, until relationships with others took us away from each others.

The International New Thought Alliance conference of 1987 was part of her higher involvement in the social activities of her community, both inside and outside the Jewish culture. We traveled all over Portland together, visiting various recovery and spiritual groups for the first time. We were delighted to discuss all manners of healing and methodologies for achieving a higher spiritual experience with each other. It felt wonderful to have a new friend on my spiritual journey. As a direct result of this connection, we visited the YWCA of Portland on 10th Avenue. Every Sunday, a tape group meeting was hosted by Marie Schmidt, a student of Joel Goldsmith, the creator of the healing movement “The Infinite Way.” Since Masha was Jewish too, like Joel, she had an immediate connection, though it did not last long. I continued with the 12 steps of AA, along with the Infinite Way, for several years afterward. I still practice many of their principles today.

Be mindful, oh Mankind, of all the painful secrets that we must keep.  For, by our suffering silence, we will not awaken but just die alone, powerless, and asleep.

It is a long, happy life for those who finally shed their suffering cloaks of pain inspired indifference to others and denial of their own woundedness to find their healing Truth.

Classic 12 Steps Of Recovery from Alcoholics Anonymous

12 Steps Revised To Reflect My Spiritual Experience

1. Through our own extended suffering, we finally found the desire to want it to end. We admitted that when we become self-destructively habituated to any substance, situation, or perception, or judgment and/or lack of forgiveness in our relationships with others, we lose our freedom of choice, bring unnecessary trauma into our lives, and into the lives of others, and, thus, fail to achieve any lasting sense of inner peace and joy. We finally realize that our lives have been lived unconsciously and have become unmanageable due to that neglect.

2. With our new found hope and openness for change, came the desire to begin to awaken to higher possibilities for our lives. We realized that, in our essence, we have an interior, though neglected, power that will heal us and restore us to balance, if we pursue it in earnest. We now realize that we have not been living up to our full potential as human beings.

3. We decided to turn our will and lives over to the care of our higher interior power. We become open to embracing a new Truth in our lives. We want to access the power to evolve continuously and cultivate our hearts to be more loving to ourselves and others. We decide to let go of ANYTHING that impedes our progress toward happiness, healing, and wholeness. We realize that we will not be transformed without the deepest desires and intentions to change our behavior.

4. We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. We have lived a life without a high sense of self-esteem, and we have made unfortunate choices because of the scarcity consciousness that has resulted from it. We realize that when we find the blocks to our evolution, and become willing to remove them, our new found insight will guide our paths with precision to the Truth of our existence. This is our entrance onto the path of mindfulness and higher consciousness.

5. We admitted that we were not being truthful with ourselves and with others, and by talking with another who we may trust, yet not be beholden to, about our errors in judgement and in actions towards our self and others, we can better deal with the shame and self-judgement that so often arises from the deadly secrets that we once felt that we must keep. Just by honestly talking with someone else, our burdens can be lifted. Our secrets need no longer keep us imprisoned, and mentally ill. When two or more people come together in the spirit of Truth and honesty, mutual compassion and empathy also become part of the gathering.

6. We became entirely willing to let go of our attachments to unhealthy attitudes, behavior, and people. We wish to see clearly, without the limitations of our past, of our family history, and of our cultural conditioning, with all of their embedded trauma.

7. We open our hearts through humility and the willingness to change to embrace a new possibility for our life. Our new found sense of connection with our higher interior power inspires us to become more grateful for the gifts that we now have, and we are now spiritually preparing to finally give back to the world in a meaningful, positive way. We want to finally let go of all of the emotional charged memories which keep us trapped in a dead past. Rejoice, for the old demons are being transformed into the new angels!

8. While we were unconscious to our higher potential as human beings, we brought emotional, spiritual and perhaps even physical harm to other innocent beings, and we want to try bring healing and peace to those who have suffered from the effects of our ignorance. We realize that through the mirror of all of our relationships, dysfunctional or otherwise, we are granted a view into how we truly see ourselves. We want to see through the eyes of Truth, and not through the pain and suffering that unfulfilled relationships may have brought to us.

9. We made direct amends wherever possible to all people we may have brought harm to, except when to do so would bring further injury to them or to others. Our guilt will not be assuaged at the expense of others. We make full application of our new found wisdom, and our renewed desire to bring no harm to any sentient being. We want our world, and our own personal sense of self, to feel safe from further attacks from us, and our honest disclosure of our mistakes to those impacted by our errors in judgement will continue to support that intention.

10. We continued to take personal inventory, and, when wrong, promptly admit it. We have become honest with ourselves. We practice mindfulness, and continue to develop our capacity for insight into ourselves. We now know ourselves, and we now know many of the potential impediments to experiencing and expressing the Truth of our being. We no longer solely abide in old modes of thought, and now we are more focused on the beauty of the present moment.

11. We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with the Truth of our being, praying only for knowledge of Truth, and the willingness to live within its infinite domain. We now understand that this whole process of recovery is a meditation on life, and that the evolving, healing life that we are now experiencing is our living prayer. Each time we drink from the deep interior waters revealed to us by meditation, more of our painful dreams are dissolved. We finally realize that the capacity to change, to evolve, to grow in our infinite spirit is the whole point of our human existence. We are now traveling upon new paths of consciousness.

12. Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we attempted to carry our message of recovery to our world, while continuing to practice these principles in all our affairs. We have finally become whole, and are now conscious, caring human beings. We have accepted full personal responsibility for our lives, including healing our past, and keeping our present balanced and harmonious, and we no longer blame others for who we are now. We are now experiencing prosperity on many levels, and have witnessed the healing of ourselves. We have saved the world—from ourselves. Our life is now our truest teacher. We realize that we have no power to bring salvation to others, yet, it is our responsibility to point to the way of healing for others who may still be suffering, and who may finally become interested in overcoming their own limitations.

I had finally found what real recovery is. It is not just stopping drinking alcohol and using drugs obsessively. It is the decrease, and, ultimately, the elimination of all patterns of thought based upon my wounded past that kept me from caring for myself, this world, and for all of the life upon it. All that I will ever see, unto eternity, is myself projected through the lens of consciousness, and I am responsible and accountable for all that I see. I can’t be alive, and live life fully and holistically, without loving my fellow man, and all of the rest of the life upon our planet. 

Think of the love that we have for our newborn baby, or our favorite pet, feel that love completely, with no reservations at all. We spare none of our hearts or souls, do we? Can we give this love to all of the plants, insects, and animal life, aquatic and land based, upon this planet? Now think of that family member or acquaintance who is causing us so much distress, so much anger, even hatred. Anger is not bad, or evil, unless it becomes entrenched within our being, and institutionalized within our society as racism, misogyny, xenophobia, or other forms of hatred. Can we give the same love that we would for our baby to that person who we are distressed with? If we can’t let go of those negative emotions, then that is an example of our separation from God, or Truth. 

I don’t have to travel to the underworld again to find the path to that Truth, or to look for somebody else to either guide or listen to me.

I will forever remember, as a result of this experience, is all that I see, or will ever see, unto eternity, is myself.  The expansiveness and quality of my vision determines the quality of my life experience.

It is up to me.

The Nature of Real Spiritual Healing Goes Beyond the Confines of Organized Religion

In 1987, I met Marie Schmidt, a practitioner of Joel Goldsmith’s The Infinite Way, which is a movement involved with mysticism and spiritual healing..  She was a woman about 87 years old, who taught every Sunday at the old YWCA on 10th Avenue in downtown Portland.  I had seen a simple advertisement for her tape group, while attending the International New Thought Alliance conference in Portland in August of 1987.  The tape group was a combination meditation group, and a forum for listening to the taped teachings of Joel Goldsmith, a spiritual healer and mystic who first began his healing practice shortly after the Great Depression began.

She had been holding weekly meditations and tape recorded playbacks of Joel’s actual messages since 1962. Marie would sit in the front of the room, and lead a 15 minute meditation, followed by the playing of a cassette tape of one hour length.  She had a collection of at least 300 tapes, of which I eventually copied virtually all of them, and committed them to memory as best that I could. Marie had over 1000 hours of his recorded messages, which she ended up giving to me, and which I converted to digital format.. Some of the tapes were the old style reel-to-reel, and I was not able to convert those tapes to the more modern digital format.

I was captured by this group, which had mostly older people who attended.  I believe that I was the youngest person there, for the period from 1987-1991, while I remain involved with her group.  Initially, I kept my distance from most of the people, not really being sure what the whole business was about.  I eventually drew Joan Madsen and Marcus Jones into the group, who I knew from the International New Thought Alliance convention of 1987, as well as Alcoholics Anonymous, and the Living Enrichment Center.

One day in February of 1989, after I had just broken off an engagement to be married to Laurie H, and I was devastated.  The sweet old woman, Marie, offered me a “healing session”.  Well, I had my doubts, and nothing to lose, and I was a little curious about this “healing business”.  I went up to her apartment, still devastated, and meditated with her for 15 minutes. At the end, Marie spoke the “message” that she heard from Spirit, in regards to me.

“More perfect than you are, you could never be”,

with

“All that is human, is illusion”.

Well, OK, but how can I possibly apply that spiritual salve?

As I thanked her for her time, it was then the winds of Spirit blew away everything from my mind, except peace and joy. I noticed I was totally at peace, and I was “healed” of all of my emotional disturbances around the ending of my engagement to Laurie. 

As I look at my life’s history, I have been healed by its Loving Mystery.

I later tried to have her heal my mentally sick ex-wife, Donelle,  with no success.  So there were limits to her ability, though she always stated that God  heals, not herself . I can almost now hear Marie’s voice, telling me, in regards to all of us:

“More Perfect than you are, you could never be.”

How that manifests in all of our lives remains an unraveled mystery, to be experienced by us each day that we have the privilege to wake up.  She would tell me that we are all blessed by each other’s continued walk through life.    Love goes before us, to make all of  “the crooked places straight”. We are Loved, and, in fact are Love Itself.    The body goes where it must, but also, so does our Hearts.  Go in Peace and Love, and always be willing to bring healing to any situation, for that is our mission, and who we are always to be.

In 1994, Marie was placed in the St. Andrews home near Mt. Tabor, when her nephew noted her deteriorating health, and he was concerned about her decline.  Marie continued to practice healing with the other patients, even while under care of the attending professionals.  My last visit to her, prior to her death, was characterized by her still restating to Sharon and me of our perfection in the eyes of God.

“More Perfect than you are, you could never be.”

—–Marie Schmidt

[

At lunch with Marie, Sharon, and I, around 1990

Believe in yourself. Believe in your potential. Be in your UNIQUE PRESENCE.

BE NOW, AND BE STILL, AND KNOW THAT STILLNESS IS THE DOOR TO THE ONLY GOD THAT WE CAN EXPERIENCE AS HUMAN BEINGS.

Please heal yourself.

Perception of Reality: Mind vs. Divine Union

In the labyrinth of human consciousness, the question of perception stands as a towering paradox. What is the bedrock of our reality, the arbiter between the seen and unseen, the known, knower, and unknown? Do we construct our world from the fabric of our thoughts, or are we merely witnesses to a divine play, not unlike figures in a grand celestial theater? In my odyssey of seeking Truth, I have come to the profound realization that there are two fundamental lenses through which we perceive the world: the mind, with its tapestry of personal concepts, historical wounding, and cultural conditioning, and a state of divine union, where the singular seer and the seen are joined in an eternal dance.

The human mind, with its voracious appetite for categorization and understanding, is a potent sculptor of individual reality. It weaves the narratives that color our daily living, etching the boundaries within which we believe the world exists. But this view is inherently myopic, for it is grounded in the limitations of language, culture, and personal experience. Our beliefs and biases, products of this inherently limited perspective, become the filters through which we interpret the nuances of reality.

I recall a childhood etched in both terror and wonder, where the interplay of shadows and light conjured worlds within worlds. In a dream when I was eight years old I was shown the very nature of projection, where I was shown that my waking and sleeping nightmares were created from the projections of deep-seated fear, grief, rejection, and loneliness unto the screen of my mind, which became the background or foundation for most other perceptions. I realized the seductive nature of perception, the intricate tapestry of subjectivity that coloured my experiences, yet was helpless as a youth to effect any lasting change.. .

Contrast this with the vision of divine union, where every dance of shadow and light, every encounter with the world, is a sacrament of the divine. Here, the witness looks upon the kaleidoscope of creation not as a separate other, defined by the vagaries of distance and difference, but as a reflection of an undivided whole. This union transcends the limitations of the mind, ushering in a perception that is all-encompassing and interwoven with the sacred. It is a rarefied view that sees only God’s mirror, peering through the cracks and mirrors in all things to behold a singular divine essence.

I remember the first time I beheld the eternal sunrise from the crest of a mountain, where the veil between myself and the heavens seemed to dwindle to the faintest gossamer. In that ephemeral moment, I felt the stirrings of a union beyond words, where the light that bathed my very being and the air that filled my lungs sang an invisible ode to unity. It was a fleeting moment, yet one that would echo through my soul, reminding me that in this cosmic drama, we are both actor and audience, forever conjoined.

The landscapes of mind and divine union are as starkly different as they are complementary. The latter, steeped in the seeing of the divine, cultivates a spirit of oneness and compassion, erasing the divisive lines that plague human relations. It renders the witness a harvester of interconnectedness, perceiving not the isolated datum, but the web of relationships and resonances that give life to our understanding of the sacred. In stark contrast, the former, through its penchant for separation, fans the flames of ego and individualism, casting the world in the light of personal desires, successes, failures, wounds, losses, and gains.

The snapshot of reality through the mind is a fractured one, where the observer remains aloof, dissecting the world into the known and the alien, the mundane and the sacred. The divine perspective, on the other hand, is a panoramic one, suffused with the breath of the transcendent, where the boundaries of self and other dissolve into the immortal dance of creation. Each creates a unique resonance with the outer world, imprinting our lives with purpose and meaning, but one must ask – which version is the truer reflection of reality’s song?

The voyage that began with curiosity and wove through the corridors of perception has profoundly impacted my being. I have been both the captain and the passenger, guided by both the temperance of reason and the rapture of divine communion. In yielding to the latter, I have discovered that the essence of reality is not crafted solely from the tapestry of cognitive understanding, but from the depths of our capacity to love and unite. This realization has birthed empathy in my heart—empathy that transcends the borders of mind-forged identities and dances to the symphony of shared essence.

Adopting the lens of divine union has enriched my encounters with the world, transforming the mundane into the miraculous. Mountains, once impregnable fortresses of stone, are now wise sages, repositories of the earth’s history. Every tree, every blade of grass, every creature upon this earth, is a testimonial to the divine’s unseen hand. This revelation has kindled a flame within, urging me to nurture a perception that is not of estrangement, but of endearment.

The penultimate unfoldings of this musing on perception lead me to conclude that our reality is, indeed, an out-picturing of ourselves. Each perception choice shapes the narrative we live, carving avenues for growth or stagnation. While the mind’s perspective is not without its merits, it is the union with the divine that promises a reality unrestrained by the boundaries of the self. It is a call to rekindle our primordial insight, to look not with the eyes alone but with the heart aflame with the love of all that dwells upon this wondrous earth. Ultimately, we are the architects of the reality we perceive—a masterpiece forged in the fires of divine union.

The Illusion of Perception: A Mind Intoxicated by Knowledge Versus Clarity Through a Divine Lens

In the tapestry of our everyday lives, we ceaselessly interpret the world through the lens of our mind’s eye. Our understanding is a mosaic crafted from the myriad fragments of knowledge, prior experiences, and deep-seated beliefs. Yet, in this relentless pursuit of intellectual articulation, one can’t help but wonder: Are we merely projecting our perceptions onto the stark canvas of reality?

Like countless others before me, I have discovered that the perception of reality is inescapably cloaked in the concepts and ideas instilled within me. My mind is akin to an artist, daubing the white fabric of existence with the colors of my cognizance. This phenomenon presents a conundrum; with my approach to life invariably tinted by the prejudices of my past learning and the presumption of cognitive competency.

The subjectivity of my vision is thus unmistakable; I have witnessed the outer world through a personal narrative, often mistaking my interpretations for absolute Truth. But these interpretations are merely shadows cast by the light of my often unintelligent emotions and self-centered intellect—subjective, changeable, and often deceptive.

I finally found that beneath the clamor and clutter of all cognitive assertions, there lies a profound simplicity—a possibility to perceive without the meticulous analysis and judgment that my mind reflexively impose. I was to find on Larch mountain there a way to experience reality not through a verbal monologue, deftly spun by years of addiction and other trauma influenced conditioning, but through an untouched, divine lens.

There is a poetic allure to experiencing the world in its purest form—an unspoken understanding that transcends the noisy corridors of thought, damaged or otherwise.. This purer, more intuitive perspective might be the key to fostering harmony, bridging the chasms that thought-driven ideologies have carved into society..

Imagine a society that sees through a lens distilled of love and intuition, stripped of the heavy draperies of doctrinal knowledge and pain encumbered personal history. In this empathic civilization, individuals are bonded not by the rigidity of mental constructs, but by an inherent recognition of universal kinship. Such a society could thrive on the principles of compassion, mutual understanding, and non-judgmental acceptance. A shift towards this intuitive perception promises a realm where empathy supersedes ego, and a sense of common humanity prevails over divisive intellectual demarcations. The fruit of such a transcendent view is a harmonious way of co-existence that befits our natural state.

The pathway to this elevated state of awareness is found in practices like mindfulness, meditation, and reflective self-awareness. By cultivating a mindful presence, one learns to witness thought without attachment, to see without the clouded filters of preconceived judgments. Meditation allows us to retreat from the relentless narrative of our thought processes and to touch a space of vast stillness within. It is here that one begins to disentangle from the mental intoxication of incessant chatter and meets the essence of pure perception. Through diligent practice, we inch closer to the experience of reality as it is—a cherished kinship with existence, unsullied by the distortions of prejudiced contemplation.

The quest for a perception unburdened by the weight of constructed knowledge is both noble and necessary. It beckons us towards an understanding that defies the limitations of language and transcends the confines of conditioned consciousness. By daring to silence the mind, we open ourselves to the immaculate wisdom of seeing things through a lens of love and unity—an unadulterated vision that heralds a new epoch of human connection and inner peace. 

In this pursuit, we are not renouncing the value of knowledge, but rather inviting an evolution of awareness—a harmonization of mind and soul that enlivens and embellishes the human experience. For in the end, what we seek is not solely the comprehension of the world but a profound communion with the heartbeat of existence itself.