LittleJoe

All we are is God in drag

Every day I spend 45 minutes or so on the treadmill. I typically listen to music or podcasts during this time. Hearkening back to my Catholic upbringing, on Sundays I'll usually listen to a podcast of something spiritual; I'll do this on other days as well, but especially on Sunday. The persistence of childhood traditions is funny that way.

So today I was listening to talk given by Ram Dass about 10 years ago (podcast from Zencast). Early in the talk, he said that all he's doing is saying what people already know, as evidenced by audience members nodding in agreement at various statements ...but that we all seem to need to hear things over and over until we truly hear them. And in my mind, I nodded in agreement as the sweat began to trickle down my face and back and arms.

After a while, he said what I now gather (after some quick Internet trolling) has been a theme of his for years: "All we are is God in drag"

And I nodded in agreement.

My own spiritual path has been far less intense than that of Ram Dass. But after forays into - or readings about - traditions Catholic, Pentecostal, Hindu, Buddhist, transcendental, Native American, Sufi, Hawaiian, shamanic and others ...and reading biographies of saints from various traditions, of political figures from around the world, of other people of interest ...and after years of meditation, sometimes along with pranayama, asana practice, chanting, and various other little ventures ...after or during all of that, I have had glimpses. I've had moments (or longer) of near overwhelming bliss, feelings of the unity of all that is. And I've certainly experienced the strongest grasp of my own human emotion. And it's like a yo-yo, going to one end and then the other, staying near either end for varying periods of time.

"All we are is God in drag"

And I nodded in agreement.

The answer lies within

Life's been hectic lately. OK, so when is it not, right? What with getting some health issues addressed, my dad dying, Ben starting his senior year of college, Shirley making some career decisions, a few financial items ...oh yeah, and the insanity of local, national, and global events.

Yesterday afternoon I did a half hour on the treadmill, which is often a time for thinking. A little later I sat down and meditated. There was a string of many years when I was always meditating twice a day, every day, no matter what. I've been missing that inner peace. When I went to bed last  night, I gave myself a Reiki treatment (and sent some Reiki to others).

During the night I had a 'flying' dream. It'd been a while since I'd had one of these, but they are always very vivid for me. The feeling of peace this morning is rather profound ...and sorely missed for quite some time.

I can't say that I'm back to meditating regularly and practicing Reiki regularly (I hope so), but I do now recall (why had I forgotten?) that the most peaceful I've ever felt ...regardless of the events in the physical world ...was when I made the time every day for some spiritual practice. I do believe the universe could benefit from more folks feeling inner peace. At least part of my simple mission is clear.