The Fast Path - Shiva's experiences studying with Rama, Dr Frederick Lenz

Chapter 10 - Meditation And The Wreck

Before I started studying with Rama, my life had disintegrated. I had lost my lucrative ministerial position, my marriage, and was separated from my children. I was really alone. Now, after studying with Rama for only a couple of months, for the first time in my life, everything seemed perfect! Meditation, something that had always been difficult for me to do, suddenly became the easiest thing in the world. I was living in a state of Light that was constantly dissolving all the structures of my being. My realities were constantly shifting and I found it hard to live in the world.

I found myself unable to get any sort of work. I could no longer continue to be a minister. My heart was going in a new and completely different direction and it just didn't seem right.

Finally I landed a job selling automobile sheepskin seat covers.

"Mr. T's Sheepskins" was located at the corner of Santa Monica and Westwood (one of the busiest corners in Los Angeles). I swallowed my pride and decided that humility must be part of the experience of Enlightenment.

I found it ironic that a person with several advanced degrees should end up sitting on this street corner selling sheepskins. This was, however, the perfect job for me at that time. I experienced times of busy activity followed by long periods of time waiting for a customer. During the inactive times I would sit in the shade on my lawn chair wearing my straw Panama hat and shades, and I would have wonderful meditations.

I experienced the entire street and buildings turn to gold as my attention started spanning the reaches of enlightened awareness. It was a gift from my Teacher and I never grew tired of it. It seemed that his aura was with me constantly.

On this day, I was meditating with everything dissolved into gold, when there was a loud "Kabam!" As I heard the noise, I remembered taking a class years before, where the instructor said that noise was just energy, nothing more. I decided not to associate it with anything. Instead I converted it into energy that would take me deeper into meditation. It worked!

People started to yell about calling the police. They scurried around, yelling and waving their arms. One individual even started directing traffic. I took this energy, too, and went deeper into my meditation.

Sirens came, fire trucks, then the police, then the ambulance. All this commotion and noise was just energy that I took deeper into my meditation.

The police directed traffic with their whistles and the ambulance took away the injured. More energy to take me deeper into God.

The fire trucks left and the wrecker came. The cars were hooked up and the street swept clean. Then the wrecker left.

Finally the street slowly resumed its pattern of daily traffic. I was once again alone. I went deeper still.

The whole city was bathed in the most incredible white light.

It was a most extraordinary meditation.

This experience showed me that I did not need to meditate in absolute silence. Given the proper orientation, a person can have a wonderful meditation under the most distracting conditions.

I discovered that all sound and any other distraction is just energy. I give that energy shape with my thought. If these distractions are aimed toward God, then they propel me in that direction.

As I have related this experience to others, some have suggested that I should have left my meditation and tried to assist the victims. As a result I have really examined whether or not I did the right thing.

I concluded that if I were ever in an auto accident and someone nearby was meditating, I would definitely want them to take that energy and go deeper into God. It seems to me that this is the proper use of energy and I am certain that everyone in the vicinity, including the victims, would benefit.

Next >>