His dream was to win eight gold medals. And this he did, though not entirely due to the uniqueness of his own athletic abilities. This was an example of how it takes more than our own efforts to accomplish anything.

Examining the races

There’s no denying that Michael Phelps is a world-class athlete, as demonstrated by his setting world records in the following events:

• 400 meter individual medley
• 200 meter freestyle
• 200 meter butterfly
• 200 meter individual medley

Given his performance in these events, it’s no surprise that he won gold medals in each of them. But in three other events the correlation between performance and result is not so clear-cut. In fact, the results were due, in a large part, to circumstances beyond his control. This is because they were team events which would not have been won if not for the effort and abilities of his team members.

But didn’t Michael Phelps demonstrate his prowess by outperforming his team members during his leg of the races? Well, maybe in only one of the races - the 4 x 200 meter freestyle relay. This was the only relay event where he had the best time of any of his team members. Even so, he still depended on their performance to win a gold medal.

In the other two relays - the 4 x 100 meter freestyle relay and the 4 x 100 meter medley relay - he did not have the best time, so his dependency on his team members was even more evident. Especially when we consider the 4 x 100 meter freestyle relay.

In the freestyle relay the US was behind for most of the race! It was the last swimmer in the relay, teammate Jason Lezak who came from behind to take the lead. Lezak’s performance was incredible - he started out a full body length behind and ended up with the fastest 100 meter freestyle split (46.06 sec.) in history to pull ahead and win the race.

Until Lezak finished his leg, Phelps’ dream of winning eight gold medals was in question.

Winning by a fingernail

This brings us to the 100 meter butterfly. This was the race that made me realize there must be some arrangement with the universe whereby Michael Phelps was meant to win no matter what.

In this individual race, he did not set a world record. In fact, he came in 0.18 seconds behind the current record held by Ian Crocker. But he must have beat everyone else hands down - everyone else just couldn’t keep up with him, right? Well, not really. He got off to a slow start, and spent most of the race behind. At one point he was in seventh place and a full 0.5 seconds behind the leader Milorad Cavic It wasn’t until the last one-hundredth of a second that he pulled ahead - just in time to win!

And even then it was not evident that he had won. Everyone watching the race thought that he came in second for the bronze. It sure looked like there was no way he could have beat Cavic after being behind for what looked like the entire race. But that was not in the cards. According to the electronic touch pad, Phelps hit it first. It really seems as if he was destined to win eight gold medals no matter what.

Lessons to be learned

We can see the ingredients for applying the law of attraction at work here.

Michael Phelps made clear his intent when he wrote on a piece of paper (which he kept to himself) a list of his goals for the Olympics - his dream. He also had a strong belief in the power of intention. In fact, throughout the Olympics I heard athletes say, after winning this or that event, “you can do anything you put your mind to!” Phelps himself is quoted as saying, upon setting one of his Olympic records, “Dream as big as you can dream, and anything is possible …”. And then later ” … Anybody can do anything that they set their mind to.” Finally, he was able to let go and do his best. After the 100 meter butterfly I saw an interview where he commented something to the effect that his strategy was just to go out there, give it his all, and then let the chips fall where they may.

Well now he is a celebrity, but from what I’ve seen he continues to maintain a sense of humility. Perhaps he recognizes that while you can believe in your own abilities all you want, there is a whole world of circumstances out there over which we have no control. Achieving anything depends on the cooperation of those circumstances to support our goals. Knowing this helps to keep us humble.

Devi Bhava begins at around 6:30pm with an Atma Puja - a ceremony performed for the spiritual advancement of the world. This is followed by Amma’s darshan, where one by one she blesses all in attendance with a hug. During this darshan she embodies the spirit of the divine mother, and dresses in special ceremonial clothing. Because this involves several thousand people, the darshan usually lasts well into the next morning.

“Entering Spirit Time”

Because parking is limited at the ashram, they direct most people to a public transit parking lot a few miles away. From there, they have shuttles to get to the ashram. When looking at the people standing in line for a ride you catch a glimpse of the type of people who would go through this trouble to get a hug from a Hindu woman: couples with young children in tow, other young adults, some “older” baby boomers, and also some elderly, some who look like soccer moms, and others who look like they came straight from Woodstock, young white people with dreadlocks, and older men who look like retired Boeing engineers.

The anticipation is palpable, and on one occasion, after a group of us piled into the minivan, a rather mature looking woman turned around to face the rest of us and said, “We are now entering spirit time! Now the lessons begin.”

And so we were off. A group of strangers, yet connected through this common interest. For a short while we shared the same experience on the ride to the ashram, but once we arrived and unloaded, we each embarked on our individual journeys, to learn our individual lessons.

In a recent visit I thought I would be clever and go straight to the remote parking. This set off a comedy of errors as I first took a long time to even find the spot, and then when I did (after 30 minutes of driving around), I realized by the absence of anyone there that the BART public parking was no longer being used. So back to the ashram I went so I could get directions to the new parking. By the time I got there, got picked up by the shuttle (there was long line so this took awhile) and finally made it back to the ashram, I thought for sure I (and my son David who accompanied me on this occasion) had missed the atma puja. This provided an opportunity to accept the situation, not have expectations, and be at peace with whatever happens.

The Puja

Normally by the time I get there the temple is filled to capacity, so I would make my way to the cafeteria which serves as the overflow room during the puja ceremony. And on this occasion when I thought we were a hour late, the cups of water (I’ll explain later) were just being handed out - we hadn’t missed it after all!

A television monitor lets us see the stage of the temple where Amma performs part of the ceremony, blessing the elements. The water that she blesses is then poured into small cups and distributed to everyone. Holy water. On my first time at Devi Bhava, a friendly woman, who struck me as a a cross between a Hare Krishna devotee and Ruth Gordan (remember Harold and Maude?), offered me a tip, “I use this to bless all my drinking water. It goes a long way”. And then she explained with a twinkle in her eye, “because it only takes a drop!”

Then the chanting portion of the puja begins. We all stand and perform an expression of offering with our arms while chanting “Om parah shakti namaha”. This is an extremely powerful experience. The combined voices of everyone in the cafeteria and the broadcast of all those in the temple join to create a tremendous reverberation and outpouring of energy which increases with each repetition of the mantra. When it’s over and we sit back down, I always enjoy feeling the energy still flowing.

Shortly afterwards, Amma begins her darshan. They have a system where everyone who wishes to receive darshan is given a token, or ticket, with a number range or group printed on it. You enter the darshan line when they announce your number group (through placards in the temple). By the time I get my token the number on it is usually quite high, which means I have plenty of time to get something to eat, wander around the grounds, sit in the temple, and just soak in the atmosphere.

And that atmosphere is magical.

Synchronicities and Lessons

After the puja ceremony they serve a vegetarian Indian meal. It was while waiting in line that I met a woman who in the course of chit chat I found out lived in the same town as I, and had a daughter the same age as my son who attended the same high school.

On another occasion a man who was visiting for the first time left the dinner line to get a token for receiving darshan. While he was gone, a volunteer started to come through the line to hand out tokens . I felt bad that this guy was going to miss out. Right before the woman reached us, another volunteer engaged her in a long discussion about some procedure or detail of some assignment or whatever. Just as she resumed going through the line, the man came back looking disappointed that he couldn’t find where to get a token, but relieved when the attendant handed him one right away.

But perhaps the most auspicious event occurred this recent time when David was with me. We had just sat down at a table in one of the snack bars when David noticed a basket filled with paper shapes; each with a word written on it such as spirituality, encouragement, charity - all positive expressions. One of the words was “discrimination”, which David - not understanding the full meaning of the word - felt was not an appropriate sentiment. After David went through all the slips and stacked them neatly, an elderly man sat himself across from us and started looking through the basket. David, being more sociable than me, made some friendly comment about going through every slip. When the gentlemen turned over the slip that said “discrimination”, I mentioned that that one gave David some trouble. At that point the man went into a very intense discussion about why discrimination is important as a spiritual practice. He then started talking about spiritual practices in general and basically delivered a Spirituality 101 lecture. I enjoyed listening to him, but more importantly David enjoyed it as well. It seemed to come out of nowhere.

The cool part was that I could never have expressed myself the way this man did without feeling self conscious about lecturing, and there was no way that David would have wanted to listen to a long diatribe from Dad. But as I nodded along with practically everything the stranger said, David learned a lot about what I believed, and also received a balanced view of spirituality that hopefully tempered his cynicism towards religion. I couldn’t have asked for anything more.

Timelessness

Hindu bhajans are played inside the temple, providing a distinct Indian atmosphere as I wander though the crowd. Young devotees are often seen dancing on the upstairs balcony - especially with the more lively bhajans. As the evening wears on, many people settle in one spot, finding corners here and there to nestle as they wait. I’d even come across individuals who had no intention of getting a hug from Amma - they were there just to be in the temple during Devi Bhava.

Outside the air is cool and the sounds are more subdued. Various snack shacks line the paths around the temple. A snack tent provides a place to sit, drink some chai, or enjoy a variety of vegetarian snacks - including cheese pizza.

Every so often I make my way back to the temple to check on the progress of the line. In the beginning it seems as if the placards take so long to progress from one group number to the next. There often doesn’t seem to be any consistency either in how fast the numbers progress. Eventually the number is close enough so that the best thing to do is stay inside the temple. By then I can usually find an open seat and so I spend the remaining time seated and meditating to the sounds of the temple.

And then they flip the placard and my group number appears. From that point time seems to speed up as the ritual scooting on the floor and hopping from chair to chair goes on until the next thing you know you’re up on the stage at Amma’s feet, your back to temple crowds. After receiving Amma’s hug, I find myself walking down the steps off the stage. For me, the evening is over. The hug, as special as that is, is just the culmination of an entire evening-long experience.

I make my way out of the temple, locate my shoes, and head down the driveway. The light of dawn shifts the energy from the night to a new day. Had I really been awake all night? Throughout the entire evening time didn’t seem to exist in the normal way, and it doesn’t feel like ten hours had passed since I first arrived.

The Magic Continues

At the bottom of the temple driveway is a pick-up spot to catch a volunteer shuttle to the off-site parking. Some people arrived from some other route and need to find a ride to BART, the airport, or just to a bay area town. One man walks up saying he needs to catch a ride to Union City - one of dozens of towns in the area. The attendant flags down a car heading out and asks the driver “Where are you headed?”

“Union City.”

So even at this stage of the journey, magic abounds. One of the other people waiting for the shuttle said “Amma definitely had a hand in that.” I don’t have the same beliefs that many of the devotees have, but I do feel that around the temple and at these events there is a strong spiritual atmosphere that is conducive to synchronicities and the flow of grace.

An hour later I arrive home, grateful to have had yet one more opportunity to leave the cares of suburbia behind and immerse myself in the magic and grace that surrounds the hugging saint, Ammachi.

She is having a night terror.

They occur more frequently in children than adults. They are rarely understood, and more frightening to observers than to the ones actually having the experience. In fact, very few even remember the experience the following day. Most of the time the episode ends with the person falling back to sleep.

My experience with night terrors

I experienced this several times as a child (we called it “waking up crying”). What was it like? Well, the distress wasn’t from a nightmare or anything that you might typically expect to be frightening. What I remember were vague, abstract, feelings and situations that my mind wasn’t able to wrap itself around. Imagine a massive boulder balanced on the tip of a pin, or sweeping a large room with just a pin. For some reason these concepts caused me so much distress. But I can see how these night terrors are related to sleep walking because sometimes I would get up and walk around. One time I walked to my parent’s room and started talking to them; in that espisode my visions involved drinking something and I was listing everyone who drank a certain drink and then I pointed to my parents and said (rather accusingly) “and you drank some, too”.

As I got older, the night terror episodes just stopped. Later I learned that many children experience them - including my own son. Maybe it’s genetic. Fortunately, I was familiar with the phenomenon and wasn’t alarmed the first time my wife and I witnessed it. It can be very distressing to watch if you don’t understand it. From the outside, it is very similar to sleep walking, except the person appears upset - maybe crying or even screaming. His eyes are usually wide open, but he is not awake. He is going though is own ordeal in his own mind and is not fully conscious of where he is or who you are, or if you are even there. He might mumble things that don’t make any sense, and maybe move his arms as if to interact with an environment that only he can see.

So what can you do about night terrors?

This is what psychologists currently understand:

• Night terrors usually occur in the early part of the night, about 1 to 4 hours after going to sleep.
• It is a partial arousal from non-REM sleep, so the person is not in the middle of a dream, is not fully conscious, and yet somehow is acting as if he is awake.
• Most children outgrow night terrors as they get older.

When you encounter someone having a night terror, your first instinct might be to talk to him so that he’ll be comforted. But that doesn’t work. You should just hold him gently to make sure he doesn’t hurt himself, and then ride it out with him. And it’s best not to try to wake him up, as that only creates confusion. The episode usually doesn’t last too long and soon he falls back to sleep. Most of the time he won’t even remember what happened.

Most children eventually outgrow them, but there are a couple of things you might try in order to minimize the occurrence, especially if there seems to be a time when it’s happening frequently:

• Make sure the child is getting enough sleep. Children who are overtired are more likely to have night terrors.
• Try waking the child an hour or two after he’s gone to sleep. This is typically just before night terrors occur, so the idea is to interrupt the process before it happens.

Night Terrors and Consciousness

Conventional science would say that during these episodes the person experiences a confused and distorted perception of reality. But there are alternative conclusions. Recent experiments with the mind altering substance DMT provides hints that our brains might in fact be interacting with alternate “realities”.

When large doses of DMT were administered to test subjects, most reported common experiences such as being visited by other beings, and also felt strongly that the experiences reflected a reality that was not just in their heads.

DMT is a substance produced in our brains, but there appear to be mechanisms in place to prevent our brains from producing or releasing large quantities under most circumstances. While not yet proven, it’s hypothesized that the brain releases larger quantities of DMT at various stages in life - such as birth, death, and sleep. Could some release of DMT at a certain stage of non-REM sleep be responsible for night terrors? If so, then perhaps the experience involves an awakening to another reality.

Another clue is the similarity in behavior I’ve noticed between those experiencing sleep walking/night terrors and those under the influence of another mind-altering substance - salvia divinorum. Salvia divinorum has been compared to DMT in its effects, and recent studies have demonstrated how quickly the active ingredient, salvinorin A, is processed by the human brain - just like DMT. In both the salvia and the night terror experience, the person is unaware of his surroundings, and many on salvia are distressed to some extent. Having experienced both (many do not remember their night terror experience), I can say that the feelings are very similar. You find yourself involved in a story-like environment that is not this reality and your brain has a difficult time making sense of it.

And I can attest to the unmistakable feeling that this alternate world is real.

Note to any salvia “sitters”: treat the salvia user as you would someone experiencing a night terror - let him ride it out quietly, making sure he remains physically safe during the trip. Don’t try to interact or engage with him in any way, other than to be quietly reassuring if needed.

Science may one day discover the link between sleep processes and substance-induced altered states of consciousness, leading to a better understanding of our minds and our perception of reality.

Reference: DMT: The Spirit Molecule: A Doctor’s Revolutionary Research into the Biology of Near-Death and Mystical Experiences

Apparently, the forces for progressive change in California are strong. Bear in mind that there is a Republican majority in the California Supreme Court. I watched some of the arguments put forth before the court and was suprised at how - for the most part - open-minded and objective the judges were as they probed both sides of the issue.

Many fear that allowing gay marriage will result in a breakdown of tried-and-true family values. This fear is unfounded. Has Canada, where homosexuals are allowed to marry, suffered such a breakdown? Yes, change is frightening, and I’m sure the concepts of interracial marriage, civil rights for African-Americans, and women’s rights were also frightening during their times of transition. And yet our society has been the better for it.

If the idea that marriage is an institution that involves two people, no matter what their gender, becomes accepted across the US - what are the consequences? Heterosexuals will still marry, will still have children. Society will continue on. But the notions promoted by organized religions will be challenged, which in turn challenges the religions themselves.

Perhaps this is the basis for the fear?

Without really understanding much about the plant, both are making ridiculously false statements. And recently, overzealous law enforcement officials in Kansas have targeted an innocent grocery store in the drive to rid the area of this new drug threat.

While there are many arguments against making ownership and use of the plant illegal, I noticed yet another reason why it is just a bad idea. Already, many people are getting the false idea that any sage plant can produce hallucinations. Unfortunately, this is being encouraged by the media. At the very least, both the media as well as law enforcement agencies are getting caught up in the confusion.

Take a recent example I saw in a video from an online news report:
New Drug Warning For Parents.

This report involved a city in the state of Kansas, where salvia is banned. The Garden City Police Department searched the area for stores that might be selling the stuff, and found one. The police stated they wouldn’t press charges, but will only try to educate the store owner and clerks.

The problem is - I find it incredibly hard to believe that the stuff they found is salvia divinorum!

The type of shops that sell salvia divinorum are smoke shops and head shops - you know, the places that sell smoking paraphernalia and other legal items of interest. But, based on the images in the video, this place is basically a grocery store - Mi Costenita!

Here is the package:

Perhaps this is why the reporters stated that salvia divinorum was available in local grocery and health stores. This statement was made just for effect, as I seriously doubt that smoking the stuff from this store will give anyone hallucinations. And I can’t believe this corporation is knowingly (or even unknowingly) including salvia divinorum in their stock of herbs, snacks, and spices for human consumption. Not even the head shops do that! On their packaging (for real salvia divinorum), you’ll typically find the CYA warning - “for incense use only, not for human consumption”.

But after being educated by the police about their supposed violation, the store owner and clerks are either going to be more confused, or more likely just have a good laugh at the overreactive authorities.

As the war on salvia picks up steam, how much more time and resources will be wasted pursuing false leads and harassing innocent store owners? And how can you enforce a law against use of a plant that is incredibly similar to the legal varieties, does not show up in a drug test, and where there is only a window of about 15 minutes where the user is obviously under the influence?

And if anyone can confirm that Mi Costenita really sells salvia divinorum, let me know.

[Check out more alarmist news videos on the Salvia Divinorum News page.]