Table Of ContenttME RG ING
SPIRITUAL
TEACHERS
JOHN W. PARKER
SAGEWOOD PRESS
FORT COLLINS, COLORADO
DIALOGUES WITH EMERGING SPIRITUAL TEACHERS
Copyright © 2000 by John W. Parker
Published by Sagewood Press, a subsidiary of Brookhaven Publishing, LLC
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any
information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher.
987654321
FIRST EDITION
Printed in the United States of America
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the American National Standards Institute Z39.48 Standard.
For additional information write to:
Sagewood Press
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ISBN 0-9703659-0-X
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Cover and book design by Paulette Livers Lambert
Manufactured in the United States of America
Quote on back cover is from The Great Swan: Meetings with Ramakrishna by Lex Hixon,
Larsen Publications, 1996.
This book is dedicated to my beloved wife Sylvia, who has been
an unfailing source of love and light for the past thirty-two
years. Also to my beautiful children Tony and Devon who are
the greatest gurus of mindfulness and innocent joy. And to my
devoted and loving parents Harold and Frieda Parker who
have always been enormous pillars of strength and stability in
my life. Special thanks to my friend Roland Wolff, Language
Professor at Colorado State University for his perceptive editing
work. Finally to all of the remarkable spiritual teachers, dear
friends and guides who have illuminated the pathless path
along the way—my sincere and deepest gratitude.
Blessings to all who are moved to live from the Heart.
Contents
Introduction, vii
THE DIALOGUES
John Sherman, 1
Pamela Wilson, 23
John de Ruiter, 43
David Ciussi, 59
Elizabeth Klarich, 79
Eckhart Toile, 97
Mira, 127
Howard Badhand, 139
Byron Katie, 159
Timothee Roi Diers, 179
James Steinberg, 201
Hanuman Das, 235
Jane Vennard, 255
Saniel Bonder, 275
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Introduction
I remember a hot, humid summer night when I was nine years
old. I sat on my bed staring intently into the endless sky, looking for
anything that would give me a sign that “God” or “Spirit” existed, not
knowing exactly what I was looking for. Enveloped in total stillness I
whispered, “O.K. I’m ready. If you’re out there just give me a sign, any
sign: a shooting star, an angel flying by, a bearded old guy from The
Ten Commandments movie, ANYTHING! Are you out there?” Noth¬
ing happened for what seemed like hours. I wasn’t giving up. I just
kept gazing out the window, focusing on deeper and deeper layers of
indigo emptiness dotted with flickering celestial bodies.
My mind was churning a million miles an hour. “Am I just a blob
of meat spinning on a speck of dust and that’s all there is to life? What
are we doing here on this planet anyway? Maybe I should be looking
for God in church like everybody else, but it’s so boring and hot in
there. Maybe I’m looking in the wrong place! Is it in books? I’ll bet
Jerry (the kid who lived down the street) knows. I’ll ask him tomor¬
row. Why am I thinking about all this stuff anyway? I must be going
nuts! Nobody else I know cares about it! All anybody else thinks about
is baseball, fishing and swimming at the river. Bob (another neigh¬
borhood buddy) is the one to ask! He’s Catholic and his parents are
always dragging him off to church. What about the guy next door?
He’s in the tile business and knows everything! I’ll ask him.”
My brain continued to boil over in a cul de sac of nonsense.
Finally total exhaustion set in and I slumped under the sheets burying
myself in utter disappointment. I muttered to myself, “There is no
God. There are no angels, otherwise they’d be here by now! Ask and
you shall receive. Baloney! There is nothing. NOTHING!”
vm Dialogues with Emerging Spiritual Teachers
Within a split second of self-pitying defeat, while drifting into the
twilight of deep sleep, I felt a warm, ethereal light enveloping me,
bathing every cell of my body with a feeling of love and tenderness. I
took a long, deep breath and muttered, “Wow, what is this? Is this IT?”
For no apparent reason I found myself grinning from ear to ear as I
nodded off, thanking whomever or whatever was responsible for giv¬
ing me this wonderful experience. Something spoke to my heart with¬
out words and said, “Yes, I am here.” From then on, I knew at some
fundamental level that life was infinitely more than I ever imagined.
As karmic whirlpools of adolescent and early adult narcissism
ensued, the graceful epiphany bestowed upon me faded into the
porous nature of unconsciousness. However, despite my many expe¬
ditions deep into maya (the great master of illusion and delusion), I
never fully lost the “Presence.” An infinitesimal heart-flame of pure
Light burned like a tiny ember buried under the ashes. Over the years,
the “fire” for truth was strengthened and intensified through my asso¬
ciation with various spiritual teachers and teachings who have been
most graciously given to me precisely at the right time.
For thirty years I have been inexplicably drawn into the flame of
love and eternal beauty that was my childhood experience. It still
remains my primary passion to this day.
The purpose of this book is two fold: to serve your natural
inquisitiveness into reality or truth and to introduce you to fourteen
“emerging” spiritual teachers. What is an “emerging spiritual
teacher”? The word “emerging” in this context means “to come into
view.” Originally I considered naming the book “Dialogues With
Emerging Spiritual Teachers and Extraordinary Students,” or “Dia¬
logues with Emerging Spiritual Teachers, Guides and Friends.” How¬
ever, in the end both titles were too wordy and I made it less
complicated. In actuality the content more accurately reflects the orig¬
inal title ideas.
These dialogues reveal that there is an increasing number of less
well-known, unadorned “spiritual teachers, guides and friends” sharing
with us powerful insights into eternal Truth and Light. This was once
thought to be the exclusive domain of celebrated, highly visible gurus.
These Emerging Spiritual Teachers” are in many respects ordi¬
nary people. They are also spiritual emissaries of notable veracity,
bringing forth in their own unique manner the underlying indivisi-
