My mom and dad raised me separately. They parted ways when I was about three or so. In Hawaii, when with my mother, we attended the Catholic Church every Sunday. When with my father, on Lummi Island in Washington, he entrusted me with complete spiritual freedom. My dad would often refer to the words of Christ, but he was not interested in attending the church. He never forced any beliefs on me. On Lummi Island, I had Christian friends and from time to time would attend Christian Church programs. For many years, I assumed that Christianity and Catholicism were the same thing. I thought, “They both believe in Christ so what is the difference?” Over time I came to realize this was not true.
When I was 10 or 11 years old, I completed a course to qualify to receive my first communion. I was so excited, standing there in the church, waiting for my baptism. The ceremony proceeded, the priest poured the water over my head and . . . and . . . and nothing at all. I was thoroughly disappointed. According to the Catholic belief, the ceremony had purified me of my sins. If it was true then I should have felt different. Yet I felt just the same. My hopes were so high, that I would experience something profound; that I would feel some deeper connection with the Great Spirit.
During my thirteenth year of life, I realized that I had never directly asked my father what religion he believed in. Therefore, I did and his answer changed my path of seeking immeasurably. He answered, “Son, I believe in all religions.” Wow . . . with six little words he blew my mind. He said nothing more . . . and he did not have to. This statement elevated my desire to understand life, the universe and everything to an unbelievable dimension of intensity. Having a fresh, new perspective, I started questioning and introspecting about everything.
From a very young age, my mom made sure that every night before sleep I would say a number of prayers: The Our Father, the Hail Mary, and several others. I said those prayers every night whether my mom was there with me. I moved out when I was 14 to go to a performing arts high school in Southern California. I continued saying those prayers but not aloud, just in my head. After some time it got to the point when I could run through each prayer in my head in less than 30 seconds. Shortly after I turned 16, one memorable night, it occurred to me that the prayers had lost their meaning. I was merely doing a ritual, so I stopped. That was one of the most significant moments in my life. The fire of seeking burst further into flames.
I began looking for ways to prove that all religions were one: “After forty days, the Buddha finally attained Enlightenment.” “Christ went into the desert and fasted for 40 days and 40 nights.” During this time, I met an elder man who was a friend of the singer of my dad’s rock band. This old sage, Robert, took a liking to me and offered to teach me Hatha Yoga. He said, “I am happy to teach you for free so long as you are willing to share it with others.” I agreed.
To be continued . . .
Shaun,
The fire of seeking lives in each soul who comes into the body. It is fanned by prayers, love and example of those who touch our lives and who we come from. We are blessed by the prayers of our ancestors; I am blessed by your searching and the Spirit of Holy Mother. aloha nui loa, Mom
Kabar,
This last message was for you and all of my children. I am blessed.
Hey Mom,
Thanks so much for the loving words. So psyched that you are enjoying and experiencing the benefits of meditation.
your lucky son
great start!
BTW, it’s great that you have changed to Wordpess, it is really the best blogging platform. Having a blog here you have an acced to a wide readership of WordPress bloggers – don’t forget to tag your post will all relevant tags and catheogories!
Good luck and keep it up
Your encouragement and support is greatly appreciated. I am so inspired at the moment, I hope to keep it going.
keeping up is the main challenge
I hope you will manage, mostly people stop blogging after 3 months in average…
so who are you>?
Thanks for asking . . . I’ll have to work on that. A response is coming soon.
Hey Sis,
I have began to elaborate. Let me know what you think.
Thanks
Good to see you blogging Kabar! Hope our paths meet again. It was great seeing you in Rome : )
Hi kabar,
Seemed to chance upon your writings. Reading them i felt the joy of the spirit. A beautiful meditation just reading them. I dont know if you remember we met in Cabella during the navratri Puja . Im the artist who made the image of sri Ganesha on the beach, just for you to recall.
Thank you for the vibrations you are sharing with all through your writings.
Would be great to be in touch. Would love to show you the recent works after the encounter with the divine.
Remen
Hello,
Thanks for the encouragement and I am happy to hear that you are enjoying the writings. Sorry it took me so long to reply I have just landed from a very busy travel time. It would be great to see some of the recent work you have done. Please keep in touch and please do share.
Take Care,
Kabar
Hey could I quote some of the material here in this blog if I provide a link back to your site?
Hey Minh,
Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. Yes, you are welcome to quote material from my site. If you provide a link back to the site that would be great.
Thanks for your interest!
Dear Kabar, Beautifulblog, awesome photo .. great (life)story .. looking fwd to find out more about you .. please keep blogging .. thank you for sharing .. Ioana
Thanks a million!
Happy New Year!
I just added this site to my top picks. I enjoy reading through your posts.
Thanks for the encouragement.
I think it is time to get back to writing. A new year with new ideas.
Cheers
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Happy you enjoy the content.
I’ll do my best to keep it going.
Cheers
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