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Meeting with a Shinto Priest
It all seemed to start after meeting a Japanese Shinto Priest named Hideo Izumoto. I met him at a convention while passively looking into whether or not I was interested in anything remotely spiritual. During our brief encounter, he suggested I let him perform a healing on me which he explained in a cute Japanese accent as, “it make you shiny.” After a short session, I gave him a donation and left the convention. In a strange turn of events, we happen to run into each other that evening. He said, “we need to talk.”
The next hour was spent with him expounding the secrets of the universe (all of which was over my head at the time). He had told me to come see him the next day so that I could learn his healing technique. I watched him perform the healing on someone else, and admittedly I saw the young man become more “shiny”. It was pretty incredible. Once he finished he immediately started to leave. I tried to stop him, “Hideo! I don’t remember anything from yesterday and I didn’t take notes today. How will I know what to do?” He dismissed me and said, “don’t worry, you will remember” as he ran out of the room. I departed in a daze and decided to forget all about it.
The Journey Inward
A month later I had a strong desire to meditate. I had never successfully meditated before. My one failed attempt years earlier ended with me throwing off the headphones after about 10 seconds of my eyes being closed out of fear.
I searched online for how to meditate, and although I read interesting information, no one seemed to relate to my particular challenges and experiences. So I decided to just go for it. I set a goal to work up to 5 minutes. I put on the music and proceeded to experience the longest 5 minutes of my life, checking my timer every 30 seconds. What a mission. It was hard and nothing amazing happened, but I got through it and pushed forward. I tried all the styles from all the teachers I could find. A lot of them didn’t do anything for me, but occasionally I would find a gem that “took me places”. I slowly began to move into an inner world that was rich with unexplainable experience and joy.
I started to love it so much, that my practice expanded to 30 minutes every morning. I was noticing that I was more peaceful, and I was having experiences during meditation that were out of this world. I wanted other people to know about the benefits of meditation. I decided to start doing it at work, inviting whoever wanted to sit with me, to come. Slowly people tried it out, and a few gracious souls encouraged me to lead guided meditations. I poured over books on how to construct guided meditations so that I could be the best facilitator. Before long our space was filled with wonderful scents and candles, and we were visualizing long walks on beaches, forests, and floating out into space together.
I led meditation at lululemon for over three years, in two locations, earning me the privilege to work with all levels of corporate tiers from associates to Vice Presidents. I constructed guided meditations and learning courses for all levels.
Personal Development and Mantras – A match made in heaven
Throughout this time I joined different spiritual communities to gather more inspiration and understanding. I took on a holistic coach named John McMullen from Journey’s of Wisdom who spent the next two years teaching me about the light and shadow side of consciousness. He leveraged his deep understanding of Carl Jung’s work, and the way the human psyche uses various relationships to develop itself.
After some time I was hungry for deeper understanding, and more robust techniques to share with the people around me. That is when I found Swami Satyananda Saraswati from Devi Mandir. I was introduced to mantra at this point, and I began to incorporate mantras into my meditation. Immediately I noticed a difference in the depth of experience and benefits of the meditations.
The coaching I received from John had uncovered all the deep-rooted issues that I had kept buried inside me. As I worked more mantras into my meditation, I noticed all the pain and trauma coming to the forefront of my mind. Meditation sessions became therapy sessions as I used the mantra to bring conscious awareness to each circumstance that presented itself. Thanks to the coaching, I was able to apply the principles of discrimination to the process. Without a foundation of personal development, I am not sure the mantras would have been as effective, since most likely I would have resisted their effect.
Each mantra meditation session was experienced as a clearing out of issues and unhealthy behavioral patterns. It was hard, but afterwards I felt joyful and energized, like I could take on the world. I knew that I had discovered something important.
Taking it to the Next Level
I watched as my life dramatically changed around me. My priorities changed, and I put my personal well-being higher on the list. I systemically brought myself out of financial debt, cared more about my relationships, practiced yoga more regularly, and developed a more intimate relationship with the food I ate. I was drawn to learn even more. My mind was more clear. I could remember everything Hideo had said to me those many months before. One thing in particular that inspires me to this day is a comment that he made in his cute Japanese accent, “first you meditate… then you bring meditation to work… then… you bring meditation to everyone.”
I left my job, gave away my belongings, gave up everything I had worked to build and moved to the ashram where Swami Satyananda Saraswati stayed, eager to learn more about spiritual discipline and the philosophy behind mantra chanting. Through his inspiration and guidance, I was able to expand my meditation practice to several hours each day. The mantra meditations stopped being difficult, and became a wonderfully joyous experience full of bliss. This process has been humbling and expansive.
The longer I trained my body to sit in meditation, the deeper I was able to go into my soul. Swami Satyananda taught me how to chant Sanskrit texts, how to tune into the subtle world, and how to use my attention and intention to access my chakras. His translations of ancient texts have inspired me to better understand the journey of the soul, and work towards continuous expansion of consciousness.
I learned that without a firm and practical foundation, advancement in our spiritual life can be encumbered and stunted. If I wanted to meditate, I had to organize my life to be conducive for it. If my mind was thinking about how I was going to pay rent or feed myself, I wouldn’t be able to focus on divinity. By learning how the mind works, I could apply principles to move beyond it.
Now, on the other side of it all, my deepest desire is to share what I have learned over the years so that others who are interested can have access to what I’ve learned. I am deeply aware that we each have our own journey, and when it comes to spirituality especially, we must only do what works for us. We are each creating our own internal becoming; finding our true selves, and developing a life which brings us to our own deepest peace.