The Quest - On Location in Vancouver

My spiritual life is spanning a wide territory this week. On Monday I travelled to North Carolina for a company leadership program. Today I am in Vancouver BC. Tomorrow I am running in the Vancouver Marathon. Last night I got to meet some people from the on-line running club I belong to. They met me at the airport yesterday. When I came out of customs, one of them went crazy running around ringing a cowbell and yelling, "Run Spirit run!!!"  This almost caused me to cry. But then, I had felt the tears coming during the long walk from the airplane to customs.

I have today free. I am having a difficult time stopping my mind for even a second and connecting with my soul/Self; that great interior silent love and peace. I know I keep harping on my spiritual life as THE foundation of my life and that everything else springs from there. What I know of as my life is just a communication effort from my soul/Self to me, the little point of awareness. The foundation is why I make an effort each day to return to the connection and give it priority.

ACIM text reading this morning (A Course in Miracles, the section "Finding the Present): "For to believe reality is what you would have it be according to your use for it is delusional...You would anticipate the future on the basis of your past experience, and plan accordingly. Yet by doing so you are aligning past and future, and not allowing the miracle...to free you to be born again."

Do you ever think about how deeply American middle-classers are programmed to solve deficiencies and increase material comfort? My whole life has been focused around solving problems so I can have what I want for myself. What this means is I have been attempting to make reality be what I want it to be. Incredible! I don't think I've ever understood this as clear as I do today (after numerous reading of the ACIM text).

And yes, I know I want to be born again (not talking about born again Christians). And so I lay down my mental distractions and seek inward toward my soul/Self. It matters little whether I am in North Carolina or Vancouver; the main thing is the reliance on my soul/Self without interfering. That's how I get the miracle. The expression of love from cowbell maniac was a miracle. (Miracles are expressions of love). All the runners I've met are expressions of love. As I type this, I am giving them their true reality as beings of love. Wonderful!

You would not believe what a monumental mental battle I had just to get here. After I got home from North Carolina, I was certain that their was no way I would voluntarily get on another airplane that soon. I fought mentally with the idea of just taking 5 days off from work and re-couping my energy. But, I made it to the flight, and wonder of wonders, United Airlines did a fabulous job of being on-time.

So here I am, typing this blog and periodically shutting my eyes and savoring my soul/Self. IT is right here. I love IT.

(I didn't take any of these pictures)

My hotel is located right near the Y at the end of this bridge. My room is a corner room on the 11th floor with a good view.

This afternoon, I will jog from my hotel to Stanley Park and enjoy the view. Missouri has no beautiful seaside or mountain landscapes.

Here is what the race start looks like. Its not that big a race.