Being orphaned and adopted gave me a head start in seeking my mother and father in heaven and establishing a very unique relationship with Jesus.

As a teen in college my first year I knelt in prayer and spoke, "Father, I want to know truth and I'm willing to die for it if necessary." Be careful what you ask for as the following Tuesday (about a week later), November 11, 1975, I was meditating in the afternoon before launching into the books. I was a pre-med student. Out of nowhere, the 'voice' I'd known since about four and a half asked, "Bruce (my given name), are you willing to die for what you believe in?" What would you do?

I paused and pondered with some trepidation... Christ Consciousness was my first consideration. As I pondered, it didn't feel full like I would have expected. I let it go and went on to 'Cosmic Consciousness' which felt full, and said, "YES!"

The sensation of leaving my body was followed by being engulfed by white light with the most awesome feeling, iridescent and effervescent and the sense of being IN God. I could think, so I knew I wasn't dead. I asked if there was more and soon got my 'marching orders' for my life, if I so chose. I did.

The first realization upon coming back was that we are all cosmic consciousness condensed into form with little knowledge, let alone understanding, of what that really means and what we are able to do. Jesus gave us a hint, "These things and more..."

Living in the material world my 'mystical' experience was often crushed by well-intentioned 'believers' who didn't really understand the Word is a LIVING Word within each of us. My life has been about sharing that and laboring toward a 'new world order' of harmony among people and planet.

I very much enjoyed the piece you've written here, Trip... and it was a trip to read the observation of mystics being on the fringe, yet an important part of the mission of a spirit-filled life and soulful living.

My adoptive mother, a teacher and choir member of our local United Methodist Church, hoped for a preacher or a teacher in me. She got both in spades... and a whole lot more. We're on the cusp of something huge, and the apocalypse is so misunderstood... not a catastrophe... an uncovering of the natural design of God dwelling in Man.

And, btw... this will blow some minds: https://MessyAntics.com

I just came off a 30-year hiatus in asking deeper questions of local leaders and have launched a new series - One World in a New World that will offer many views of a similar process we all have in learning how to connect and thrive with our inner world and conscious choices. https://youtube.com/c/OneWorldinaNewWorld

Blessings, Trip!