"He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe is as good as dead; his eyes are closed." - - Albert Einstein

Excuse Me,

The Universe Is Calling

Last September I attended a marvelous retreat in Big Sky, Mont., where I was honored to be one of the presenters. I am compelled to tell you about what a transformative experience it was.

Seldom have I spent time in nature- - we were at an altitude of 8,000 feet- and been as deeply moved by the experience. The other presenters were brilliant, and the retreat itself was deeply moving.

Over the period of a week I completely fell in love with everyone there. However, the real highlight of the week came as I was leaving the retreat center to catch a very early morning flight.

My wife, Diane, and I had managed to hitch a ride to the airport with one of the other couples attending the retreat, and we left with a good comfortable margin of time to make it to the airport, figuring it would take about an hour and ten minutes if we didn't run into any problems along the way.

While descending the mountain in the total darkness of the predawn hour, about 15 minutes into our drive, without a word, our host driver suddenly slowed down, pulled over and parked alongside the road.

In a momentary panic I thought to myself, What on earth is he doing stopping here? Doesn't he know we are on a strict time schedule? Can't he see it's totally dark out here?

He opened the door and stepped out into the pitch-black night, in the middle of this wilderness road, drew a deep breath and looked straight up at the sky, and, in awe of the canopy of constellations overhead, said, "Excuse me, but the universe is calling.

"You see, we always take time to do this before we leave the mountain, because at this time of the morning and at this altitude with no lights around, you will seldom see the stars this bright, clear and beautiful," the driver continued.

So we all got out of the car, stood directly in the middle of the road and gazed skyward in absolute silence. Our friend was right. Indeed, the universe was calling.

It was without question one of those peak-moment experiences where, for me, all sense of separation from the absolute wholeness of God's presence momentarily dissolved. I will never forget that feeling of unity with the Whole.

That two-minute "delay" made the entire trip worth the effort, and, if my friend had not insisted on pulling over to pause and ponder the wonder of the universe, I would have missed the whole thing.

Why? Because my mind was already at the airport, while my body was on the mountaintop.

I think Einstein's quote above says it all, doesn't it? My eyes were closed to what was, in that moment, an attempt by the entire universe to tap me on the shoulder and say, "Hey, Dennis, you are part of something infinitely larger than what you realize, so be here now, and be in awe of the precious gift of the mystery of this moment."

How about you? Have you been missing the universe's gentle taps, inviting you to simply pause and ponder and be in awe of the immensity of the gift of life and your relationship to it?

Those taps are quite easy to miss if your mind isn't present with your body. With our daily lives so full of doing, we seldom take conscious and intentional time to simply "be."

While I strongly recommend the Big Sky Spiritual Retreat for everyone next year, you don't have to wait until then to have that mountaintop peak experience.

Just take time to bring your spirit, mind and body into alignment and pause long enough to ponder the mystery of it all.

Every precious minute of every day the universe is calling, tapping you on the shoulder and offering you a most amazing glimpse directly into the face of God.

Dennis Merritt Jones is the spiritual director for OneSpirit Center for Conscious Living in Simi Valley. His website is www.OneSpirit.org.