Wednesday, October 10, 2012

My Mississippi Kirtan Dream



I’ve been on a spiritual journey for as long as I can remember. There have been lots of ups, downs, highs, lows, questions, answers, no answers, knowing, not knowing. But through all these different periods of my life there has been one common thread: devotion. I’ve called it different names at different times, but the feeling is the same. The teachings of Christ, Buddha, Krishna, and many others all point to the same heart. The divine heart of devotion.

For the past year and half I’ve been study Integral Spirituality with Craig Hamilton. Integral, in that it is meant to transform every aspect of our humanity. “It embraces the wisdom of the great meditative traditions, but also reaches forward to unleash the profound spiritual potential inherent in our recently evolved capacities for self-awareness, introspection, self-authorship and relational intimacy. “

I love this path because it seems to be connecting 51 years of spiritual dots. And nothing was more indicative of spiritual integration than a recent dream I had.

I was back in my home town about to begin a kirtan in the auditorium of the elementary school I attended as a child. The place was packed with folks from the little country church I grew up in. I was on stage playing a few notes on my harmonium when all of a sudden this sweet older woman stood up in the back and begin to sing. Her voice was so distinct. So Southern, so Baptist, so rich and so devotional. Shri Krishna, Jai Jai Ram, she began to sing. Soon others joined in, and then a few more, until the entire auditorium was singing. Singing to Krishna. Baptists, singing to Krishna. Singing with conviction, with passion, and with a heart full of love. It was incredibly beautiful. So beautiful, that when I awoke from the dream I wrote it all down.

I can’t wait to share it at my next kirtan. Soulful, gospel, loving, devotion to Krishna, to our higher selves, to the Divine in all of us. Regardless of what it’s called.