Dialogues With Emerging Spiritual Teachers

354 Pages·2000·43.003 MB·English

by  John W. Parker

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SPIRITUAL
TEACHERS
JOHN W. PARKER
SAGEWOOO PRESS
FORT. COLLINS. COLORADO
DIALOGUES WITH EMERGING SPIRITUAL TEACHERS
Copyright © 2000 by John W. Parker
Published by Sagewood Press, a subsidiary of Brookhaven Publishing, LLC
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any
information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher.
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
FIRST EDITION
Printed in the United States of America
This edition is printed on acid-free paper that meets
the American National Standards Institute Z39.48 Standard.
For additional information write to:
Sagewood Press
2601 S. Lemay, Suite 7-438
Fort Collins, Colorado 80525-2247
www.sagewoodpress.com
ISBN 0-9703659-0-X
Library of Congress Catalog number applied for
Cover and book design by Paulette Livers Lambert
Manufactured in the United States of America
Quote on back cover is from The Great Swan: Meetings with Ramakrishna by Lex Hixon,
Larsen Publications, 1996.
This book is dedicated to my beloved wife Sylvia, who has been
an unfailing source of love and light for the past thirty-two
years. Also to my beautiful children Tony and Devon who are
the greatest gurus of mindfulness and innocent joy. And to my
devoted and loving parents Harold and Frieda Parker who
have always been enormous pillars of strength and stability in
my life. Special thanks to my friend Roland Wolff, Language
Professor at Colorado State University for his perceptive editing
work. Finally to all of the remarkable spiritual teachers, dear
friends and guides who have illuminated the pathless path
along the way-my sincere and deepest gratitude.
Blessings to all who are moved to live from the Heart.

CONTENTS
Introduction, vii
THE DIALOGUES
John Sherman, 1
Pamela Wilson, 23
John de Ruiter, 43
David Ciussi, 59
Elizabeth Klarich, 79
Eckhart Tolle, 97
Mira, 127
Howard Badhand, 139
Byron Katie, 159
Timothee Roi Diers, 179
James Steinberg, 201
Hanuman Das, 235
Jane Yennard, 255
Saniel Bonder, 275

INTRODUCTION
I remember a hot, humid summer night when I was nine years
old. I sat on my bed staring intently into the endless sky, looking for
anything that would give me a sign that "God" or "Spirit" existed, not
knowing exactly what I was looking for. Enveloped in total stillness I
whispered, "O.K. I'm ready. If you're out there just give me a sign, any
sign: a shooting star, an angel flying by, a bearded old guy from The
Ten Commandments movie, ANYTHING! Are you out there?" Noth
ing happened for what seemed like hours. I wasn't giving up. I just
kept gazing out the window, focusing on deeper and deeper layers of
indigo emptiness dotted with flickering celestial bodies.
My mind was churning a million miles an hour. "Am I just a blob
of meat spinning on a speck of dust and that's all there is to life? What
are we doing here on this planet anyway? Maybe I should be looking
for God in church like everybody else, but it's so boring and hot in
there. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place! Is it in books? I'll bet
Jerry (the kid who lived down the street) knows. I'll ask him tomor
row. Why am I thinking about all this stuff anyway? I must be going
nuts! Nobody else I know cares about it! All anybody else thinks about
is baseball, fishing and swimming at the river. Bob (another neigh
borhood buddy) is the one to ask! He's Catholic and his parents are
always dragging him off to church. What about the guy next door?
He's in the tile business and knows everything! I'll ask him."
My brain continued to boil over in a cul de sac of nonsense.
Finally total exhaustion set in and I slumped under the sheets burying
myself in utter disappointment. I muttered to myself, "There is no
God. There are no angels, otherwise they'd be here by now! Ask and
you shall receive. Baloney! There is nothing. NOTHING!"
viii~
DI ALOGUES WITH EMERGING SPIRITU AL TEA CHERS
Within a split second of self-pitying defeat, while drifting into the
twilight of deep sleep, I felt a warm, ethereal light enveloping me,
bathing every cell of my body with a feeling of love and tenderness. I
took a long, deep breath and muttered, "Wow, what is this? Is this IT?"
For no apparent reason I found myself grinning from ear to ear as I
nodded off, thanking whomever or whatever was responsible for giv
ing me this wonderful experience. Something spoke to my heart with
out words and said, "Yes, I am here." From then on, I knew at some
fundamental level that life was infinitely more than I ever imagined.
As karmic whirlpools of adolescent and early adult narcissism
ensued, the graceful epiphany bestowed upon me faded into the
porous nature of unconsciousness. However, despite my many expe
ditions deep into maya (the great master of illusion and delusion), I
never fully lost the "Presence." An infinitesimal heart-flame of pure
Light burned like a tiny ember buried under the ashes. Over the years,
the "fire" for truth was strengthened and intensified through my asso
ciation with various spiritual teachers and teachings who have been
most graciously given to me precisely at the right time.
For thirty years I have been inexplicably drawn into the flame of
love and eternal beauty that was my childhood experience. It still
remains my primary passion to this day.
The purpose of this book is two fold: to serve your natural
inquisitiveness into reality or truth and to introduce you to fourteen
"emerging" spiritual teachers. What is an "emerging spiritual
teacher"? The word "emerging" in this context means "to come into
view." Originally I considered naming the book "Dialogues With
Emerging Spiritual Teachers and Extraordinary Students," or "Dia
logues with Emerging Spiritual Teachers, Guides and Friends." How
ever, in the end both titles were too wordy and I made it less
complicated. In actuality the content more accurately reflects the orig
inal title ideas.
These dialogues reveal that there is an increasing number of less
well-known, unadorned "spiritual teachers, guides and friends" sharing
with us powerful insights into eternal Truth and Light. This was once
thought to be the exclusive domain of celebrated, highly visible gurus.
These "Emerging Spiritual Teachers" are in many respects ordi
nary people. They are also spiritual emissaries of notable veracity,
bringing forth in their own unique manner the underlying indivisi-
Introduction C\.V ix
bility of flesh and spirit. They have worked, or are working in a vari
ety of occupations: a forest firefighter, a prosthetic shoemaker, a tour
guide, school teachers, a federal prison inmate who was once on the
"Ten Most Wanted" list, a housewife, and others. To lend some bal
ance, I also included an adjunct professor of theology and two Ivy
League graduates.
Each teacher is uniquely suited to serve as a transformative spir
itual agent. I want to comment briefly on the word "spiritual." As Jack
Kornfield puts it, "It's a delusion to say that this is the spiritual part of
one's life, this is the financial part, this is the psychological part. That's
insane. Spirituality isn't about any particular realm or dimension to
be liberated. It means liberation in the heavens and hells, in the
monastery and in the marketplace. It means liberation of the body,
the emotions, and relationships with all other beings." In other words,
we don't have to worry so much about whether we're being "spiritual"
or not. Again Jack Kornfield, "The lesson of spiritual life is not about
gaining knowledge, but about how we love. Are we able to love what
is given to us, love in the midst of all things, love ourselves and oth
ers?'' If the answer is no, then Kornfield suggests we move with our
body, heart and mind to open and rest in the natural perfection that
is always here, now.
Whether or not these teachers, guides or friends are appropriate
in your own case is for you to discover as you journey through these
dialogues. Over the decades I have observed that many spiritual seek
ers feel less intimidated by teachers who are not so towering and are
more accessible on a one-to-one basis. The absence of celebrity pro
vides fertile ground for seekers to open up to, be with, and absorb
honored teachings.
Another observation is that the spiritual potency of a teacher has
little or nothing to do with public notoriety. Throughout history,
there have been many examples of inconspicuous teachers who have
had an enormous effect on those who were fortunate enough to meet
them. These obscure teachers, for whatever reason, were not inter
ested in becoming highly visible world figures, and some cases never
did. On the other hand, teachers like Neem Karoli Baba, and more
recently H.W.L. Poonja (Papaji), became highly visible as their stu
dents spread the word throughout the world about their powerful
presence and accessibility.