Spiritual Caretakers

Spiritual Caretakers

I remember living in Ceres, California, in the first years of my life. Everyone in my neighborhood had property; we were surrounded by farms much like our own. My father used to tell the story of buying that house — he had worked on the Alaskan Pipeline to earn enough to pay cash. The realtor, he said, was reluctant to work with him because of this. I couldn't understand why at the time. It was beyond me.

During our years in Ceres, my family attended a Christian church, where I first learned about Christ as a two-year-old. I was shown a picture of a white man with a neatly groomed beard, wearing a robe belted at the waist. What I remember being told was that Christ was God incarnated as His own Son. I felt a deep curiosity about this God-man — and I was sent home with a coloring page of his face.

Later that day, I sat at the round table and colored it. It was a simple line drawing, and I enjoyed thinking about him as I worked through my crayons. What made the moment miraculous was this: it was the first coloring-book picture I had ever been able to color within the lines. I was so proud of that work on Jesus' face that the memory took on a weight beyond the ordinary — a living moment of metaphysical meaning. For me, it was an accomplishment that felt like a miracle.

Looking back now, I realize Christ was my first spiritual caretaker. And even then, at two years old, I was already forming my first spiritual questions.

My family eventually stopped attending church, but the holy seed had been planted. Throughout my youth I developed a budding interest in Christianity, tarot cards, runes, psychometry, entropy, and trance states. Everyone told me God was within — and yet I was drawn to these reflective tools with an instinct I couldn't fully explain. I came to understand that what lay beyond ordinary "me" — the miracle realm — was a realm I was born to explore.

My interests in research and writing grew alongside that curiosity. I earned an education and learned to communicate. I came to see that everything is a story of perception, and that how you frame your position of interest determines the quality of attention it receives. Organized thought, communicated well, is multi-layered and thematic. Good organization and quality sources that echo your theme become the growing spine of any completed work — whether it's an essay, a chapter, or a life.

In my early thirties I became athletic, discovering Bill Phillips' Body for Life — a genuinely life-changing body transformation system. I became a runner. My regimen developed into 3–5 miles a day, with a 10K on Sundays for fun. I taught English Language Arts during the day and ran afterward for over a decade, while also practicing the program's nutritional approach and weight training. Running gradually tapered off through my forties as arthritic changes in my hips made it difficult. These days I walk and use free weights, and that's enough. My years of running, at their core, I now feel was meditation training of a different kind.

The spiritual changes that took place in my forties are harder to describe. I got sober from alcohol — my sobriety date is 3/16/2014, so it has been a while. I came to view recovery as a deeply spiritual process, and working the Alcoholics Anonymous system taught me a great deal about my own humanity. From there I discovered Robert Monroe and The Monroe Institute, and spent years working through The Gateway Experience, again and again. During this same period I read the Holy Bible multiple times, as well as The Urantia Book.

And from there, I found Yogananda Paramahansa and The Self-Realization Fellowship. I completed their meditation training and read Yogananda's books — all of which I wholeheartedly recommend to everyone, regardless of religious background. Yogananda Paramahansa, along with all of The Self-Realization Fellowship's gurus and saints, now lives within my own worship practice alongside Christ. I regard them all as my spiritual caretakers.

This has been a very brief sketch of my own spiritual journey. As you know, The Father — The All — is my Center Mass - the still point around which everything else orbits.

I would love to hear about your own spiritual caretaker experiences or realizations. This post is open for comments, and I hope you will share.

Thank you for your presence.

~ Pranam ~ OM ~ aMEn ~

6/25/26, 2:07 p.m.