January 20, 2014 (MLK Day)
I have been back from Hawaii for a-few-daze-now…and will say — what a great place! And the transition of leaving quaint Hilo airport at 6:20am in the morning — to stepping out into LAX circa 4pm later-that-day is, well…it’s definitely different.
I also had an amazing pair of circumstances (coincidences?) that caused me to buy the book, The Power of Now, by Eckhart Tolle. I will naturally share the circumstances/coincidences with you…but first, a quick caveat:
I am pretty sure that HG told me to read this book quite some time ago – and I probably told him that I was pretty sure it wouldn’t tell me something that I didn’t already know; or, that hadn’t meditated on over-the-years. But my memory is beginning to fail me and I’m humbly admitting that I need reminders of what I’m talking about to complete a thought: I’m hoping I’ll be reminded of important precepts that I’ve forgotten, through this book…
Brother Jim, who has been living in Hawaii since 1972 (or was it ’75?), was my idol back in the mid and late Sixties (so was Brother Mike) — and one night during my visit, we got to talking about “lifestuff”– like we did in the Old Daze. After listening to a few of Jim’s tales (Jim is the caretaker for Papa Mike who just turned 95…so Jim subsequently doesn’t get to share many-of-his stories to a listening audience these daze) – I responded. After listening to me, Jim asked me if I’d read The Power of Now: I replied “No.” Jim suggested that my responses to the stuff-of-life seemed to be informed by this book. I said, “Hmmmmmmm…”
The second coincidence occurred on the flight home – which I had to make, even though I experienced some “locked in” knee boarding in Honoli’i Bay that convinced me that I am for Hawaii, while Jim still has major body surfing skills. I dreaded the flight home because Hawaii Airlines has very uncomfortable seats and the flight over from L.A. left me near paralyzed. So when I got one of the center seats, again (there are 4 middle seats), and then saw a person who appeared to be a bag lady preparing to sit next to me – I could only think “Oh shit – this will be a shitty ‘lock in’!” Actually, the lady-in-question turned out to be a delightful Baby Boomer (still a Flower Child and a now a Grandma) and she is also a pretty spectacular artist and an astrologer. So we got to talking…
It wasn’t too far into our conversation that she asked me if I’d read The Power of Now. Naturally I said, “Holy Shit! You’re the second person in 2 days that I have had conversation with who has asked me that question!?” She replied: “There must be something in it then.” And I guess there must be – since I have now purchased the book and bought one for Son Tyler too!
I have a funny feeling that since I practiced psychotherapy for 10 years and have been teaching it for 27-or-so – that I am still accustomed to creating therapeutic moments with folks that I talk to; and, in therapeutic time – time-and-space fall away: only the-two-of-us occupy the universe.
And, this is probably something I need to remember in my one-on-on conversations: I need to be glued into my conversations when I sense the Other is as well. My biggest fear, however, is that WE Californians are losing the ability to be “locked into” the Other in the electronic morass and decay that is Hollyweird and La La Land – and that perhaps, only Island People can still can achieve that place…