Rea Nolan Martin

By all accounts and in all religions, we are called to love each other.  We are in fact told over and over again that there is no OTHER.  There is only ONE that encompasses all.  Armed with that beneficent arsenal of inarguable truth, we nevertheless pick and choose our company to suit ourselves.  We opt mostly for those who operate well within our political, racial, religious, social and personal comfort zones. Those who don’t challenge our belief systems may be easier to love, but ironically, they don’t teach us much about love.  Real love looks outside itself.  

I have a friend who is a pastor at a local church who takes in the homeless every night.  Other pastors of other denominations in the same area have refused sanctuary to these chronic homeless because they make seemingly no attempt to better themselves.  “We can’t afford it,” they say.  “We have to take care of our own parishioners.”  My friend doesn’t see it that way.  He says, “I don’t know what a homeless person looks like, but I know what a human being looks like.”  So he takes them in.  He feeds them and gives them shelter.  He sees God in them, and they no doubt see God in him. 

Some among us are grappling with other uncomfortable situations—the friend with a devastating diagnosis, the aunt with Alzheimer’s, the cousin with autism, the perennially irritable neighbor, the family down the block suffering so much devastation from the loss of a child that we cannot even face them for fear of saying the wrong thing.   The list of sorrows facing us through the lives of others is sometimes so endless and overwhelming that in the end, we do nothing.  These situations and these people cross our minds—we may even pray for them—but in the end we don’t act.  For whatever reason, (name the excuse), we never get around to making the phone call, paying the visit, sending the card, dropping off the meal.  Instead of reaching out, we move in our own circle of comfort and validation until we’re the ones kicked out by the alienating centrifugal force of disease, bankruptcy, imprisonment or any other situation that invites unwarranted shame or devastation upon us or our inner circle.

When pondering the many such alienating scenarios I have survived, I realize that the situations that present themselves to us through others are not accidental.  They are intended as much or more for us as they are for the people in the eye of a particular storm.  Think of each of these scenarios as a hand-engraved, highly personalized invitation to Love with a capital “L”.  In my own life, I can tell you that the more discomfort I felt in a situation that called for Love, the more I ultimately learned from it.  I would go so far as to say that until we love outside of our own comfort zones, we haven’t really loved at all.  Until we have allowed love to change us, to expand our boundaries and redefine us, we don’t even know what love is.

My resolution for 2012 is to include a few more stragglers orbiting the outer circles of my life—bring them in and learn a few new things about love from them.  I hope you’ll join me and report back.

As we near the end of the year, I find myself contemplating the words of the renowned author, psychiatrist, philosopher and Holocaust survivor, Viktor Frankl, in his 1959 classic, Man’s Search for Meaning: “Live as if you were living already for the second time and as if you had acted the first time as wrongly as you are about to act now.”

Words to live by in any decade!

The genius in this credo is that it merges the past, present and future in a single pre-meditation that, if truly applied, could help us to avoid any number of pitfalls. In the first place, it keeps our attention on the present and forces us to imagine all the options of bad behavior and decision-making before we act.  Doing so may be challenging, but not nearly as challenging as living in the realm of regret, remorse, and powerlessness that comes from having committed an act that we deeply regret.  Such an act bears consequences far into the future, and forces our minds into continuous reenactment on either a conscious or subconscious level (or both) that is extremely detrimental to our present wellbeing.

But why?  Why exactly is living in the past so detrimental?

Living in the past, or for that matter, the future is so detrimental because although our minds can dwell outside the realm of the present, our bodies cannot. When our minds and bodies are out of alignment, “dis-ease” occurs. Living in the past is a terrible burden on our mental/emotional and spiritual aspects, not to mention our physical health and energy. Think of it as walking around with a heavy trunk strapped to your back. Inside the trunk, some event or chronic behavior from the near, far, or even the ancestral past is continuously knocking on the lid and sides, implicating itself to one degree or another in every present thought and action. You can just imagine how damaging this distraction is to your overall wellbeing.

The past, having actually occurred in a certain coordinate of space/time, is a fixed event. Imagine your body attached to that fixed point by a thick rubber cable as you try to drag yourself from there into the present.  No matter how mobile we imagine it to be, the past can absolutely not move with us.  So if we don’t release it, eventually either the body or the mind (or both) will snap.

Many people talk about living in the present moment.  Many even think they do.  But for some reason, this nearly impossible task requires heroic effort. Why it is so incredibly difficult is at least in part due to our collective lack of mental focus and discipline.  Meditation can help.  When we allow our undisciplined minds to wander far afield of our present 3-dimensional reality, our mind/bodies fall out of synch, depriving both of key energetic resources.  The result is almost certainly some degree of suffering, from minor to major depression, anxiety, or the onset of acute or chronic disease.   Put another way—absolutely nothing good can come of it. I can’t help but think if we truly understood this connection, we would be more willing to let go and forgive ourselves and others.  True forgiveness releases the mind of the shackles that separate it from the body so that both are freed to go forward.

As we move toward the end of 2010 and into a new year, I wonder what you would do differently had you approached some act or decision in the manner Viktor Frankl suggested—as if you were doing it for the second time?  Evaluating even one such action may help to install Frankl’s advice as mental software moving it eventually from enforced forethought into default behavior that kicks in automatically with every decision.  You couldn’t give yourself a better gift!

Philosophers and mystics have long studied the product of mental “supersubstance” known as thought. The consensus across all disciplines, including physics, is that a single thought (good or bad), dwelled upon over a period of time, takes form. These forms are known as “elementals” and elementals are responsible for everything from the brief grace of a found parking spot to the enduring curse of terrorism or world war. Since these elemental forms are first issued by and then entertained in our conscious and unconscious minds, we can stop them and their negative effects by simply cultivating awareness. In stopping them, we not only prevent family feuds and holocausts, but in their place, create a wealth of joy, peace, and love.

There are surprising mechanics to this process. For instance, mystics have long believed that a thought exits the forehead amplifying as it travels (through the 4th and 5th dimensions), and enters the intended recipient at the base of the skull at a magnitude of 7 times the intensity it had at conception. This dynamic applies to positive thought forms (blessings), as well as negative thought forms (curses). It’s the reason we think of a person moments before they call us, or develop a sudden sense of urgency about someone else. If you are especially “sensitive” or “intuitive” it’s because you are tuned-in to the mental messages that are sent your way. The more sensitive you are, the earlier you’ll pickup the message. The earlier you pick up the message, the faster you can prevent (or accept) its intended impact.

If all day long, we are sending out (intended or unintended) negative thoughts, receiving them at a magnitude of 7, repackaging and redelivering them at another magnitude of 7—then without even opening our mouths, we are engaged in an extremely destructive dynamic. As this continues back and forth over the course of a day, a week, or a month, it is building tremendous resentment, anger, and hostility that becomes harder and harder to resolve. Understanding this complex dynamic makes it easy to see how negative thoughts, including addictions, self-defeating attitudes, depression, rage and hatred can manifest into enduring family, regional, national, and even world conflicts without anyone accepting blame or even understanding their participation.

But the good news is that since these patterns emanate from us, we also have the power to stop them.

By recognizing our participation, we can not only neutralize a negative dynamic, but also convert it to a blessing. Though we can’t stop someone else from spinning negative thoughts and directing them our way, we can stop the process in its tracks by refusing to play. By refusing to return negative thoughts and feelings, we are neutralizing the dynamic. By neutralizing negativity and sending blessings in place of curses, we are converting the probability of an argument into the probability of civility and understanding. If throughout this holiday season, each of us were to turn every nagging negative thought we have about anyone in our lives into a blessing, we would simultaneously neutralize the power of the entire universal thought exchange. With massive participation, this effort would convert the probability of war into the probability of peace and change the world.

I see and hear this line everywhere—in church, on the mouths of well-meaning friends and neighbors, as well as on the little pearls of internet wisdom that travel mindlessly around. Years ago, in the midst of a monstrous catastrophe, I was at the receiving end of this comment countless times. It was usually delivered with eyebrows raised and heads cocked knowingly as if…what? As if I shouldn’t have bothered to prepare for the holidays because all along God had been busy planning a critical illness for one of my family members? As if I should have known better? Just yesterday, I heard this comment from an acquaintance remarking on the life-threatening accident of a friend of mine whose life and business had just been coming together. “We make our plans and God laughs at them,” she said. Huh?

To say that God laughs at our plans is to suggest a Supreme Being lying in wait for just the right moment to upend us. A demonic God who gleefully interrupts our plans and then chortles at the absurdity of our earnest efforts, when all along, we should have done…what? Nothing? Should have sat, waiting with folded hands because it would be impossible to guess what the Almighty Destructive Force might come up with next?

To say that God laughs at our well-intentioned plans paints a picture of the most callous God imaginable. Think of any scenario. Think of a family deep in the joyful preparation of holiday gift-buying. Think of a horrific accident removing the grand orchestrator of this holiday out of their midst and into ICU. Think of less critical scenarios—a car loaded with people and gifts impaired by a flat tire in the midst of bumper-to-bumper traffic and unable to attend the celebration. Think of someone just fired from her job with a pile of gifts she can no longer afford wrapped beneath her tree. Would you laugh at these situations? No. Neither would I.

Neither would God.

To think that God orchestrates everything from inconvenient mishaps to devastating catastrophes in order to teach us a lesson, is to believe in a God without mercy or compassion. We live in an entropic world—a world of breakdown. Life happens, and we contribute to it. And sometimes while we’re rushing around, things happen that could even have been prevented had we slowed down just a bit. And some things can’t be prevented. The God I know is not a God who laughs when you fall down the stairs or burn your hand or even unwittingly offend a friend. God is Understanding. God is Love.

Of course this comment implies that there’s a lesson to be learned from our busy-ness. That in delving into our plans we were somehow out of alignment with the Divine Plan or out-of-tune with our own intuition. That we should have slowed down, listened more carefully, executed our plans differently. Those explanations might be true, but not always. Sometimes the unfortunate scenarios suffered by our family, friends, and neighbors don’t happen for their spiritual benefit at all, but for ours. Sometimes the family on the side of the road with the flat tire is sitting there for us—so that we will express God’s Love and Understanding by upending our own plans in order to help them.

The faster we leave God out of these minor and major catastrophes of life, the faster we’ll put ourselves in. The faster we self-actuate, the faster we can respond to the pain of those who need us. In putting our plans aside in response to the pain of others, we are expressing the love and compassion of the true God—a God who laughs with us, not at us.

Anyone who has ever felt true happiness at any given point in her life knows what a rare and special gift it is. Extensive studies have shown that money can contribute to happiness up to a point, but only the point at which it buys us the basics and a few discretionary dollars. People with more money are not necessarily happier. Believe it or not, there’s a break-even point beyond which no more happiness can be purchased.

People often ask the question, “If you had all the money in the world, what would you choose to do with your life?” I think that question is less useful in determining true vocation and inspiration than this question: “If money didn’t exist at all, what would you choose to do with your life?” There’s a difference. Money can provide power and with it you may lead a philanthropic life or a profligate life, or maybe a little of each where (in your own mind) your philanthropy at least partially excuses your greed. But if there were no money involved whatsoever, and life’s currency derived completely from happiness, what would you do with your day? What would motivate you to get up in the morning? What makes you happy?

I think it’s a true statement that real success ensues from happiness and not the reverse. Happiness that ensues from success is fragile indeed because it’s completely dependent on remaining successful in a variable world. Happiness is the byproduct of actually executing the gifts that we do most naturally, the gifts that arise organically from our own natures. How can money have anything to do with that? Money only muddies the waters and points a lot of us away from our gifts.

The great philosopher, author, and psychotherapist, Dr. Victor Frankl said, “Don’t aim at success—the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one’s dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one’s surrender to a person other than oneself.”

Some have cultivated their gifts earlier in life, and others are just getting started. It really doesn’t matter when you start, as long as you do it. All we ever really have is the present anyway, and it’s never too late to be happy.

So I pose the question: If money didn’t exist and you could do anything at all with your time, what would you change in your life? Would you spend your day doing exactly what you’re doing right now? Or would you be cultivating new gifts, gifts you’ve always known were there but were never empowered or encouraged to express?

The population of my neighborhood is diverse in every way you can imagine, cutting across the spectrum of race, creed, sexual-orientation, socioeconomics and age. Because of its proximity to Manhattan, there are many languages spoken, and on any given day during my daily river walk, I hear accents and languages from the Near, Middle, and Far East; Africa; Australia; Western and Eastern Europe; Indonesia; and anywhere you can name in North, Central or South America. Depending on your mindset—opportunities abound for profiling stereotypes or understanding the complexity of individuals.

I think we imagine profiling as originating in the psyches of people in power for the purpose of retaining power over others. When our English and Dutch forefathers dominated the ruling class of America, they created profiles and stereotypes of the immigrant Irish, Italians, Germans, Polish, etc. As these cultures became increasingly more entrenched in American society and accepting of each other, they in turn profiled the Asian, Mexican, Latin American, Indonesian, and Filipino cultures. All of these cultures are guilty of profiling African Americans, women and gays. If you’re all three, you have no doubt felt the painful effects of profiling exponentially more than most. Within our own country we stereotype each other North and South, East, West, and Midwest, democrats and republicans, and you name the religion. We love to box people in and exclude them from our clubs.

Even though it appears that throughout history profiling has occurred from the top down—from majority to minority, this is not exactly true. In order to understand its depth and power in today’s society, it’s useful to understand profiling not as an exclusionary tool of power by a ruling class, (though it can certainly be used that way), but as a basic human tendency. A tendency rooted in real or imagined fear—fear of being misunderstood, of being invalidated, of being in some way harmed physically, psychologically or financially. Even though for some these fears may have been valid at one time or another, profiles stay alive long after any basis for fear exists.

If you were to examine my life, I think you would find mostly a history of open-mindedness and compassion, minus a few admittedly dusty corners of assumption and presumption about others. Although fiscally centrist, I mostly vote in favor of the underdog who needs a hand-up, because there by the grace of God go I. So you can imagine how I felt as the butt of a joke in a comedy club a few years back when an African-American comedian pointed at me and mocked me as the perfect example of a “rich castrating dumb blonde suburban PTA right-wing republican dominatrix.” What?! The most surprising part of this for me was that I was being profiled at all. That this is how some people actually saw me. I realized then that profiling is not the domain of one group or another. Rather, it’s a universal human tendency to put each other in boxes we can easily label and control. That someone would do that to me meant that somebody and some group feared me, which for me was a radical and disturbing concept. What was there to fear? Obviously something.

Yesterday in the grocery store parking lot of my again—incredibly diverse neighborhood, I was trying to back out. There were so many cars and people coming and going, that it was no surprise when two of us gently knocked each other’s bumpers. I jumped out to make sure the other party was ok (there are a lot of elderly here as well) and that my larger car hadn’t damaged his smaller one. I barely got out before the other driver—a man with a thick European accent—screamed obscenities which included, “You miserable stupid *&^*& American suburbanite driving a car too big for you that you have no idea how to drive…etc. etc. Get a *#&$*# car you can drive!”

Neither of us had any damage whatsoever to our cars, so there was no physical harm done. But for me it drove home the idea that as humans, we are always looking for a way to exclude someone from our incredibly elite circle of whatever: intelligence, coolness, talent, ability, wealth, education, gender, religion, etc. It doesn’t even matter what it is. Even though I looked as if I came from his own family, he was hell-bent on separating himself from me in some hurtful way. On passing blame.

If we all—from every spectrum of life—acknowledge that in addition to being profiled, we also profile others we fear, despise, or in some way can’t relate to, maybe we can stop it.

I have just finished reading Stephen Hawking’s new book, The Grand Design which was hyped more or less as the book that disproves the existence of God, or at the very least, disproves God’s involvement in the creation of our universe. In the words of the authors (it was co-authored by physicist Leonard Mlodinow), “…the multiverse concept can explain the fine tuning of physical law without the need for a benevolent creator who made the universe for our benefit.”

I am not new to books on popular theoretical physics; I have been reading them for decades. So I did not read this book as a complete novice. Similarly, I have been studying comparative religions, contemplative spirituality and mysticism for nearly my entire life (which involves more than a few decades)—so I am not new to theology or spiritual practice, either. The once groundbreaking idea of the “multiverse” has been around for years in articles published in popular science periodicals. To me, the “multiverse” concept has always made complete sense and does not challenge my idea of God in the least. It enhances it. These credentials by no means qualify me as an expert, but they do give me an educated perspective on both the subject of popular physics and the subject of God.

While reading this book, I applied the mental template of my “idea” of God to every one of the authors’ concepts, leaving myself completely open to the possibility that at any point in the book, their science may trump my faith, or at least eclipse it for a time. Was I afraid of this? No. Why would an infinite Being allow himself to be limited by me? He wouldn’t. Conversely, how much arrogance would it take for me to think that any conclusion of mine could limit God? Too much. A true seeker seeks Truth, not validation. In challenging our “ideas” of God, we are not challenging God. We are challenging our own limitations. In doing that, we are giving God room to expand. An infinite God will not disappear in the face of an honest conflict, but instead, make himself known in new ways.

At the end of the book, the authors write, “Because there is a law like gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing…” They also say, “Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist. It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going.”

Do either of these conclusions exclude God? Hardly.

Only if I think of God as a bigger version of the Wizard of Oz standing behind the curtain manipulating a panel of levers do I think that God is excluded from the creation of the universe based on mathematical equations or physical theory. A “Supreme Being” is not a large human. It is a “being” in the sense of “Being-ness.” God’s infinite intelligence runs through all aspects of the created world, and to my thinking, preceded them. It is this integral intelligence that allows all manner of creation, right down to unobservable quantum matter, to function without intervention. We were created with an obvious degree of self-sufficiency that is itself a manifestation of divine intelligence.

As I studied the authors’ conclusions, I asked myself—is gravity itself not a force? Where did gravity come from? And also, even if the laws and forces of the multiverse were enacted in such a way as to spontaneously create a universe (which I believe they probably were)—how does that exclude God? Did he not create the entire multiverse? And was it not an aspect of God himself who burst through the barrier of nothingness to express himself, as so many mystics write, “in the divine joy-pleasure of creation?”

God is not limited to or by anyone’s—a scientist’s or a theologian’s—imagination. God is inconceivable, indefinable, infinite. Among other things, God is Intelligence itself, Love itself, Being itself. God runs through us, and we through God. The forces of Love and Intelligence are not, as far as we now know, measureable physical forces. But they are vast and, in the grander scheme, arguably greater than gravity or electromagnetism. Rather than revel in the discoveries of their limited science, I would suggest that these authors allow their expanded knowledge of the created universe to simultaneously expand their apparently limited understanding of God.

Most of us are familiar with the ancient mystical concept of the Higher and the Lower Selves and the grand, nearly impossible divide that lies between. In some mystical circles the Higher and the Lower Selves are also known respectively as the Permanent and the Present Day personalities—the perfect and the corrupt. This makes sense, of course, because by all accounts, we were created in God’s perfect image. That perfect image is called the Higher Self. It is our epic task to construct a bridge across the grand divide of human consciousness (and unconsciousness) to reach it—and to reclaim it. Some of us are closer than others. When our bridge is complete, we will know. The reward is nothing less than divine integration, in other words, Enlightenment.

Understanding this, it makes sense to get to know our Higher Selves sooner than later. But how to get acquainted? And after getting acquainted, how to forge a relationship? We can pray, meditate, and receive sacraments, and many of us do. These tools certainly help. But considering the fact that we’re seeking a permanent relationship with this familiar stranger, it makes sense to go about it in familiar ways. So, as with any relationship, we must first introduce ourselves.

Lower Rea, meet Higher Rea.

We can recognize our better aspects by that Self’s ability to Witness without attachment. Theoretically, the more in touch I am with my Higher Self, the more interested I am in observing a situation instead of becoming emotionally entangled in it. The more integrated I am with my Higher Self, the more able I am to grasp the underlying purpose in an unfolding scenario, positive or negative. Grasping the underlying purpose, I learn to be more objective—to take things, especially negative things—less personally.

Now that I’m introduced to my Higher Self and can recognize it on the street, (land, air and sea!), it’s time for the next step in the relationship. Something casual, not too intense or demanding—a walk!

This may sound preposterous, but I literally try to take a walk with my Higher Self (and my dog) every day. We stroll into the world together, down the River Walk, where we can encounter both friends and strangers—into situations in which I can be taught. Situations with the potential to strengthen our bond, allowing me to forge a relationship, and thus a bridge, built with steel instead of twigs. During this walk, I don’t hide behind my thoughts, meditations, or iPod. I consciously observe people, places, things, and situations, but most importantly, I Witness myself in relationship to all of it, and to any arising stimulus. In doing this, I allow my Higher Self to teach me the ways of the Divine. If necessary, to convict myself for irritable behavior (people, traffic, weather) or quietly observe that I have been able to handle a difficult situation evenhandedly. Or maybe, my Witness simply shows me the unbounded joys of a day off! The unbounded joys of true freedom, the freedom we will know when we are rejoined with each other and with the Divine.

The more you take the conscious walk with your Higher Self—your Witness—the better companions you become. The more integrated the Witness is in your life, the less anxious, fearful, and reactionary your thoughts, words, and behavior become. It can take a lifetime, it’s true, but we’ve all been given one. Best to use it. As Lao-Tzu said, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”

A short walk is a great place to start!

There is a prayer (*see note) that circulates the web which I’ve received countless times. It contains the line “May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be.” Depending on your life, situation, or the day you’re having when you run across this line, it may lift your spirits or crush them. Personally, I feel that the idea expressed in this line is not only false, but deceiving and even harmful in some cases. Why? Because as I’ve said in other posts, what we say, especially in prayer, matters deeply. Thoughts turn to words; words to action.

For those of us who are digging out of a negative situation over which we are finally exerting some control, the line, “…you are exactly where you are meant to be,” might be true and validate our efforts. In other words, “I am where I am meant to be because I am finally doing what it takes to climb out of the hole I dug for myself to begin with.” In such a case, I have risen above victim-consciousness and assumed responsibility for my past actions. I am accountable.

But am I exactly where I’m meant to be if I’m begging or stealing from relatives because I’m miserably addicted to the prescription drugs that once saved me from excruciating pain? No. Of course not. In that case where I’m meant to be is rehab. Am I exactly where I’m meant to be if I’m currently unemployed and facing hunger and homelessness? I would say in this economy, most likely not. In that case, I am meant to be receptive to the compassion of my friends and family. No one is meant to live in chronic fear and anxiety. We are meant to seek solutions and through God’s help, personal accountability and the compassion of others, lift ourselves and others out of misery and hopelessness. Misery and hopelessness are nobody’s intended fate. If you are miserable and hopeless, you are not where you are meant to be.

The idea that at any given point in our lives we are exactly where we are meant to be assumes that we are in control of all influences. It also assumes that we have seized control of the influences over which we do have control. In the case of the latter, I am in total agreement. In other words, if you are an addict and you are attending an NA meeting, you are exactly where you are meant to be. If you are an addict and living on the streets, you are not.

As a sweeping statement, that line is no more than another rung in the caste system. It lets the rest of us off the hook. When we see someone suffering, we can dismiss it because “…they are exactly where they are meant to be.” If we are miserable ourselves and lack the courage to seize control, we can dismiss it because “…we are exactly where we are meant to be.” In that case we can hang out and wait for someone else, maybe God, to perform the miracle that will rescue us. Worst of all, if through no fault of our own, we are in terrible pain or suffering from an excruciating loss, and this prayer is passed onto us, we are left in despair because the only conclusion we can draw is that, if this is true, we are meaningless to God and worse, God and the ones through whom God works, are masochists who have left us to suffer.

Are any of us “meant to be” in prison, ICU, or rehab? Not unless we have put ourselves there and they are the wombs of our rebirth. Otherwise, no. We “are meant to be” personally accountable, highly compassionate, joyful children of our Creator. This notion that we are other than that depicts us as victims on a never-ending karmic wheel. We may as well just stay put and see where it takes us. It will take us nowhere. The karmic wheel accounts for cause and effect (over lifetimes, if you’re a believer in that.) Stop the cause and you stop the effect. Personal accountability, not only for ourselves but in compassion for those who need us, puts us on a different course.

You are exactly where you are meant to be if you are filled with a deep-seated peace, acceptance, compassion, and love for your fellow humans. If you are in pain that cannot be resolved and for which you have reached no acceptance—if you are lonely, unsettled, depressed, anxious, jealous, enraged, filled with hate or resentment—you are not where you are meant to be. Pain is a reset button. Don’t trust it. Get help.

*Note: The prayer claims to be a novena, which it is not. The word “novena” is derived from the word “novem,” which is the Latin word for “nine.” A novena is very specific ritual of prayer said for nine straight days, prayed to a specific saint, invoked for a specific intention. This internet prayer is most often attributed to St. Therese, the Little Flower, also known as the Saint of Little Ways. Saint Therese was born in Lisieux, France in 1873 and died 24 years later in 1897. In spite of the fact that this “novena” is attributed to St. Therese, however, it is generally accompanied by images of Mother Teresa, who was born in Macedonia in 1910 and died in 1997. Mother Teresa has not yet been declared a saint, so she is not “Saint Teresa,” although she will no doubt be canonized one day. But the bigger truth is that neither of these women authored that prayer. I don’t know who did.

Some of you may already know about this experiment, but if not, click (or copy/paste) this link and you will either be amazed, grateful, upset, or if you’re prone to cynicism—suspicious. But chances are you will feel something. It documents the efforts of a neuroscientist to magnetically stimulate a specific area of the brain in order to induce a mystical experience. At first I thought it was crazy. But the more I think about it, the less crazy it becomes.

I read the Carlos Castaneda books when I was in college. Don Juan’s wisdom impressed me, but so did the age-old shamanic concept of accessing the divine through hallucinogenic plants, or for that matter, hallucinogenic anything. After all, I thought, why not just get drunk and meet God at a bar? (I was in college, remember!) Later, I came to realize that the ancients have been using different means of accessing the divine since the beginning of time. They danced, chanted, drummed, meditated, breathed and prayed rhythmically and repetitiously, and for that matter—fasted in and out of the desert for extended periods of time. Why? To induce altered states of consciousness that allowed them to drop their concrete reality in favor of the divine. We called them saints, mystics and shamans. We thought they were particularly talented or called by God, but really—what sense does that make? Are we not all called to God? The way I look at it, back then some people were willing to put in the effort and some were not. For those who were, the rewards were great.

Enter 21st century. A curious neuroscientist attaches magnets to a helmet in a specific pattern and solicits volunteers for a so-called “relaxation” experiment. Relaxation indeed. By stimulating a particular region in the right hemisphere, his volunteers each had a powerful and unexpected mystical experience that induced both shock and awe. The helmet remained on their heads for about 30 minutes, so it was not instantaneous. In fact, it is about the same time (per session) spent by experienced practitioners of contemplative prayer, meditation, and other ritualistic practices.

The neuroscientist and I part ways at the end. He concludes that since these divine feelings and experiences can be achieved by stimulating the brain with magnets, they are not really divine. They are human. He says this “God Center” of the brain was most likely developed over time as a means of coping with the overwhelming anxiety early humans felt about their mortality. In other words, it’s home-grown. I think he could not be more wrong.

When you think about it, would a Creator create a creature “in his image and likeness” without a means of communicating with that creature? If our spiritual teachers have repeated one thing over the millennia it has been, “God is within you.” I believe God is. It only makes sense that in creating us, God also created a “message center” through which we could converse. This message center is no doubt located in the right hemisphere of the brain as revealed by recent experiments using MRIs and other scanning equipment on volunteers in deep prayer. That area of the brain is not God. It is our means of conversing with God, or experiencing God. It is developed more in some, less in others. If that region of the brain can be stimulated to reach Oneness through prayer, meditation, hallucinogenic plants, drumming, chanting, dancing, or rituals of any kind…then why can it not also be reached through applied science?