(NOTE: I wrote most of this blog between July, 2006 and election
day, 2008. Some media references, then, may be outdated or
unavailable.)
As I continue my journey, I have more and more desire to meet with others on the same road. Fortunately, we have this great tool known as the Internet to assist us on our journey. The incredible number of links, websites and references to other people, places and ideas that we can discover there is indeed staggering.
At a certain point, however, it becomes increasingly important to contact others on this path in a more personal way. Unfortunately, I find that as a native Midwesterner who continues to live here, I must travel elsewhere to find groups of fellow travelers. Seldom are the kinds of groups, workshops, seminars and conferences that I would be interested in attending held in the Midwest.
I don't know if this is because of we are inherently less enlightened here, or if there is something subtler going on.
I've often joked with my family and friends about the fact that most people choose to leave my hometown once they've "gone off and seen Par-ee". Most college graduates--unless they graduated from a local college--leave this area, and those who arrive to take professional positions with the big corporations in the area form the basis of a local "intelligensia".
But many of these non-locals continue to be transient who could be transferred elsewhere after a few years, and given the more attractive locales available to those who of this population, our relatively drab physical environment and less stimulating cultural climate would prevent many folks from staying if they have a choice to move elsewhere.
I mention this transient intelligensia only because it's apparent to me that the vast majority of people who haven't gone to (off) to college simply don't have the necessary exposure to liberal (i.e. free and unrestricted) ideas to be aware of the existence of a spiritual journey, much less to embark on it.
Back to the problem with the Midwest. For people on the same journey that I'm on, it seems that the areas on the edge of our country--the East and West Coasts--seem to offer something they can't find in the Midwest.
The number one area to find more answers than questions regarding spirituality is, or course, California: which as they say in jest, is the home of fruits and nuts. To a great extent, the epicenter of spirituality in this country is San Francisco and the Bay Area.
There are probably many reasons for this. The history of that area going back as far as the Gold Rush in 1849, brought many diverse types of people to the area. From the beginning, the Bay Area accepted them all, good and bad.
This openness to outsiders is why San Francisco has had such a colorful history and has hosted artists, writers, poets, prostitutes and pirates alike. It gave refuge to the Beats and their existential offspring, the Beatniks; as well as their colorful philosophical descendants, the hippies. It also gives home and refuge to gays and lesbians: today's outcasts from "the Love of Christ" and other religiously twisted exponents of God's Love.
I believe, however, that there is more important reason for the large number of spiritually advanced beings and seekers in the Bay area--and West Coast in general. It is because of the natural beauty that exists there.
From the majestic redwood forests to the serenely beautiful deserts and the magical towering mountains that are all within just a few hours of the Bay Area, the presence of Spirit seems almost palpable.
Finally, there is the most subtle reason of all.
As more and more seekers of wisdom arrived, their energy sowed the seeds of spirituality, and like a nuclear reaction, their energies combined and created new energy. Those receptive to the energy, absorbed it and in turn shared it with others.
So why hasn't this happened in my own Midwest?
Perhaps the critical mass necessary to do this has just never been achieved. Perhaps the good European stock of hard-working Protestants that settled the area were simply never open to the energy. The West, after all, has been influenced for almost two centuries by people from Asia who had a very non-Protestant view of spiritual matters.
The cultural benefits of these differently-thinking people, many of whom arrived not by choice, cannot be underestimated. One has only to spend some time with people of Asian heritage to know that much of their outlook is highly-influenced by Zen, Tao, Buddhism, Hinduism, Shintoism and other traditions steeped in magic and mysticism.
My own perceptions based on Asians I have known is that a great many of these people possess a gentle dignity and demeanor that can only stem from centuries of living in often-times abject and oppressive circumstances; yet who have learned somehow to transcend the ego-based need for self-denigration and self-loathing based on those circumstances.
I actually lived in the Bay Area for a period of time; way back in the mid '70's. I was primarily attracted to the incredible beauty of the West. What I found, however, was that the pace of life in the Bay Area--as with most large population areas--was far beyond what I was used to in my own Middle America. Also, coming from a large family, the separation from my parents and siblings was difficult. And the older I get, the more important these primary relationship have become. So I don't regret my return.
Still, the West has always called to me like a siren's song of desire. And now, on this path, it calls even stronger. As many have said, The West in the United States is also the beginning of The East. Even the shamanism of the many North and South American indigenous cultures that so attracts me to its secrets originated in the Far East millennia ago.
Perhaps the difficulty of being able to follow my path without having to travel long distances to meet those I desire to meet is an important part of my journey.
If it is, after all, too easy to achieve what I seek, then perhaps I'll never really achieve it.