The Ordinary Mystic

OK, I admit it. I’ve been known to watch Dr. Phil on occasion. It’s not appointment TV, but between 8 and 9 o’clock in the evening when I’m relaxing after a day of work and then dinner, it can be entertaining.

So I caught part of last night’s show that featured a husband who was obsessed with spying on his wife. Spy-cams, GPS - whatever technology is available, he used it. He just didn’t trust his wife, although she had not had an affair - or at least that wasn’t revealed in the show. After he admitted to yet another way that he had spied on her, and said he just feels that she is having an affair and is going to leave him, Dr. Phil turns to the guy and says “Have you ever heard that old saying, ‘What I fear I create’?”

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It’s rare when a New Age/metaphysical believer turns into a skeptic. In fact, I use to think that such a thing was pretty much impossible. Why would someone take that step backwards, was my thinking. Well, it happened, giving me cause to reflect on my own convictions and basis for why I believe in what I believe.
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It’s just a hug.

So why take a long drive? Why endure the crowds?

It’s just a hug.

[This is the third in a three-part series about my first visit to see the Mata Amritanandamayima, also known as the "Hugging Guru" or "Hugging Saint". Be sure to read parts I and II.]
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You may have heard jokes about them. You’ve probably encountered them when they came knocking at your door on a Saturday morning.

They are the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

If you aren’t really familiar with them, then you probably don’t have a strong view of this group one way or the other. Another religious group, you might think - maybe worthy of admiration for their zeal and strength of belief. They certainly are one group whose members take their beliefs very seriously. Unfortunately, many who have joined them have not had a good experience with their strict interpretation of the Bible and the social pressures to conform to a standard that goes against the flow of the rest of society. Also, unfortunately, these members had to suffer in silence as any criticism of the organization was viewed as tantamount to criticism of God himself.

And then came the internet, and the freedom that comes with anonymity.
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The next time you find a particular piece of music very relaxing, there might be more to it than you realize.

The first time I heard Snatam Kaur’s Ray Man Shabad, I was instantly hooked, yet I failed to understand exactly why.
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