My Path To The Divine
My first introduction to a mantra was in 1975, at the age of 15, during a journey that began aboard a ship called the Aphrodite in Piraeus, Greece. I was on a tour of the Greek Islands with a group of English Literature students from Bishop McGuinness, a Catholic high school in Oklahoma City.
On that first evening, I attended a reception before dinner, where 12 waiters were standing lined up, holding trays of champagne. Despite the festive atmosphere, something caught my eye—a young man sitting alone on a chair at the side of the room.
Feeling an inexplicable pull, I knew I had to approach him. When I greeted him, he wasn’t rude but seemed detached and disinterested in engaging
I found myself suddenly proclaiming, “There’s something you need to share with me. I don’t know what it is, but I know it’s important.”
He calmly responded, “I see you, you see me, you see you.”
Being dumbfounded was an understatement. I’m sure my gaping mouth was a clear indication of my shock, but I felt compelled to continue the conversation.
I had no idea why I had blurted out such a bold statement to start this strange interaction. What had come over me to insist that this stranger had something important to share with me when I had just met him moments before?
In response to his enigmatic words, I asked, “What does that mean?”
He simply repeated, “I see you, you see me, you see you.”
One afternoon, I managed to convince him to come to my room, which was a windowless hole deep in the bowels of the ship. He told me he was going to share a secret with me, something that only I could use. He would tell me once, and that would be it.
He said, “OM NAMAH SHIVAYA.”
At the time, I had no idea it was a mantra. After reciting the words, he guided me through some visualization and breathing exercises. As I followed his instructions, I felt a sudden rush of electricity surge up my spine.
I continued to practice what he taught me that day.
We didn’t spend any more time together after this experience, and we parted ways at the end of the cruise
The day the cruise ended, our group boarded a bus bound for Florence, Italy. We arrived in the evening, and I shared a bedroom with two other girls.
The next morning, I woke up from a vivid dream and began to recount it to my two roommates:
“Last night, I dreamt that I saw myself being shot in the head, watching as my head blew apart and my body separated, hitting the ground. Almost immediately, I found myself moving through a black void—a tunnel with a golden light in the distance. As I got closer, this golden light began to grow, radiating a feeling of profound bliss.
I could sense the presence of beings around me, welcoming me into this warm, joyful light filled with unconditional love. But suddenly, I felt a gravitational force pulling me away from this presence. I wanted so badly to stay and bask in the light. Then, there was an impression of a voice that said, ‘It’s not time yet; you are not finished.’
My astral body then moved back into my physical body, and I returned to the bedroom where I was sleeping, although I didn’t wake up at that moment.
After this dream, I embarked on a spiritual quest to return to that place of light and unconditional love. The place I entered was the Portal To The Divine.
Now, after decades of working on myself, I’ve found ways to access parts of that dream again. With the assistance of singing bowls, sound instruments, and tapping into higher frequencies, I use light and vibrational technology, along with practices like Nada Yoga, Kriya Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, and meditation, to reconnect with that profound state of being.
