BIOGRAPHY
The following paragraphs provide some brief background information about my life and work. More may be added from time to time.
I have a very ordinary background, almost too ordinary to be a teacher of higher consciousness. I grew up in a very conservative Christian subculture. For most of my adult life, I attended a mainstream, fairly liberal Christian church. I read much spiritual, mystical, and metaphysical material and intensively studied a broad range of religious behavior and experience. But, though I lived in Ann Arbor, the metaphysical capital of the Midwest, with the exception of going to see Amma, the Hugging Saint, when she came to town, I almost never attended any of the events offered by the endless stream of gurus, monks, mystics, saints, enlightened teachers and healers who passed through.
Not only does Ann Arbor offer a steady flow of spiritual dignitaries, within the last 10 to 15 years there have been a growing number of people living in the area, who claim to have attained states of higher consciousness. Not all of them go public. Not all of them teach others. I have spent very little time checking any of them out, but at a cursory first glance, some of them appear to me to have a high degree of the quietness of mind and the knowingness (the implicit understanding) that would legitimize such claims.
Spiritual seekers in Ann Arbor tend to be well read and many have often traveled far and wide to be in the presence of the most well known spiritual teachers, so for most, the news that another resident of Ann Arbor had become awakened would not arouse any interest or inquiry. What could be more ordinary than this late-comer becoming a teacher of higher consciousness in a town that is already brimming with spiritual teachers?
Higher consciousness arrived while reclining on a couch in my living room meditating, while my wife was making Christmas cookies with our children in the kitchen, just a few feet away.
On becoming awakened there was a knowingness that I would serve others as a teacher of higher consciousness and there was also a knowingness that it would be most appropriate to move toward it slowly. There was an innate curiosity about how life would be experienced in the new state and to what extent, if any, the state would continue to evolve or unfold over the course of time. Along with this curiosity was the understanding that I was to observe and learn regarding the various nuances of what was occurring in consciousness, so as to be able to understand and convey it meaningfully to others.
There was also a knowingness that I was to learn and understand how to be established in a state of higher consciousness in the midst of everyday life; while still being sufficiently grounded to help children with their homework, mow the lawn, fix the car, give friends a hand, care for an elderly parent, and go to work each day.
Lastly was the awareness that it would be best to move ahead slowly with regard to communicating what I was experiencing, so as not to cause any unnecessary discomfort or disruption to family, friends and acquaintances and the social network of the family. To hear that one has become awakened may be the very last thing that some of one’s family, friends and associates would want to hear. Some might find the concept challenging or even disturbing.
I started sharing my experience of higher consciousness with a small group of friends, with whom I had been studying higher consciousness by watching the videos and reading the books of Dr. David Hawkins.
Following the practice of Amma, who gives blessings via hugs, I proceeded to use hugs and the practice of Namaste (the word Namaste means that the DIVINITY within me recognizes and honors the DIVINITY in you), as an intentional means of blessing and uplifting those around me. It was easy to do this, since a portion of each Sunday morning gathering at the Interfaith Center for Spiritual Growth, where I have attended for the last four years, is set aside to share greetings, hugs, and the practice of Namaste. People approach each other with hands held in prayer position at the heart, look into each others eyes and greet each other, saying “Namaste”. This was a simple and easy way to bless others and was part of the natural flow of what was happening anyway.
After several months, I went to the Minister, David Bell and asked if I could start a Spiritual Inquiry Group, on Tuesday mornings at the Interfaith Center for Spiritual Growth. It was the predecessor to the current Thursday Evening Higher Consciousness Group. I greatly appreciate the willingness of David Bell the Minister and the membership of the Center for providing space for me to serve the community in this manner.
In recent months there has been a growing awareness that it is time to increase my teaching and service to others on a much broader basis. This has led to the development of this website to make my writings available and provide information about the services that I provide.