FROM GURU TO GOD

The Turning Point

"Seeing potential in this experiment, I repeated it some time later. On the second day, a remarkable event took place. I was just settling myself onto a couch. I was in a completely ordinary state of mind— no meditation, no spiritual preparation—yet something quite overwhelming happened. The image of Jesus Christ formed up within my chest cavity. With this image came the conviction of who He was. One second following, there was an experience beyond all words can tell. If I were to step it down into the poverty of language, there was an openness and love coming from Jesus to me of cosmic proportions and an invitation. It was as if He was saying, “Give me your life and breath and I’ll take care of you.”

Well, I was staggered, amazed, delighted all at once. The unique feature of this love was that it was communicated to me to an ultimate degree. It was utterly real and personal, but I didn’t know how to respond. I was so committed to the Eastern-oriented practice that I kept doing precisely that. This encounter, however, I could never forget.

A year passed and I’d gone to Berkeley, California, to conduct introductory programs for The Reality Training I’d created. Here, a second significant event took place. Over a three-day period, as if pressed into me from outside myself, came the conviction that everything I had done, the thousands of hours of meditation, the realizations and spiritual experiences, had all added up to a huge fat zero. A 28-year investment just tipped over. It felt as though I’d been trying to draw water from an empty well. Wow! I was sobered. “Well,” I thought, “I’ll just run plum ordinary now, become a regular meat-and-potatoes guy, and live out my span and do what I can. Simple.”

• From Guru to God by Michael Graham