Spiritual Direction

The mystic Meister Eckhart [1260-1328] once remarked, “If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough.” A little boy was overheard praying, "Lord, if you can't make me a better boy, don't worry about it. I'm having a real good time like I am. Thank you!" “Thank you!" is also my prayer as I share these 360 Mirrors of Wholeness with you. I am grateful to the power of Integral Being, the macrocosm present in me, for the gifts of delight: life, law, love and light.

-Life with family in Aquem, Goa Portuguêsa

-Law with the Salesian Constitution in India

-Loving Vivian in San Bruno, California

-Light with SpiritualDirection.org in cyberspace.

“Pray for Me” embraces interfaith and neuroscientific perspectives and describes my passion in life - to reach out with laughter [Mirror P325] and joy[1] to the little, the lonely, the lost, the lousy [living with a diagnosis in DSM5[2]], the lowly, all lovers and learners, their leaders and communities.

“Let My Light shine through you, now”

As I write these Autobiographical Sketches I hear a gentle 7-syllabic whisper or a crystal “Let My Light shine through you, now.” According to Ira Progoff in Intensive Journaling, a crystal or prayer mantra follows the rhythm of the breath, in and out with 3 or 4 syllables at a time. Humbled, I want you to know that this gift, which I share with you, captures the essence of my experiences and expressions. I hope you find in them delightful and transparent glimpses of your own mirrors of being, doing, having and reaching out to others gracefully, gratefully, peacefully and playfully while on this pilgrimage on Earth.

The various chapters of my life as unfolded in this book enfold other 7-syllabic crystals: ‘May your life in Aquem grow’ [Chapter 3]. ‘May you/th shine with Don Bosco’ [Ch 4]. ‘May Vivian’s love glow with you’ [Ch 5]. ‘Let My Light shine through you, now’ [Ch 6 & Ch 7]. My mantra prayer ‘Om, Viva, Xanti, Moima’ or ‘Simply free, fully empty’ [Ch 1] grows and glows with the Breath of the Risen Christ [Ch 2] as ‘Father, forgive, harmonize’ and ‘Mother, give thanks, harmonize.’

If I were to choose a word to describe harmony with the Universe while on Earth, it would be grateful laughter. When we are thankful and laugh our bodies, minds, hearts and souls experience oneness within and without. We become whole! We grow physically healthier, mentally balanced, emotionally resilient, socially connected, culturally productive, spiritually holy and environmentally one with the Universe.

Finding Perfection in Imperfection

As I discover my imperfections and write about perfection or oneness with the Universe, I am amazed! I agree with the innocent prayer of the little boy and with what Albert Einstein [1879-1955] wrote in Living Philosophies, “The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. … this knowledge, this feeling is at the center of true religiousness.”

May my successes, challenges, conflicts and failures along the path to true religiousness, inspire you to take delight in the most radiant beauty hidden in or manifested through you. As you awaken your highest wisdom may you realize that life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by those moments that take our breath away. I hope to share with you not only a few graceful, grateful, peaceful and playful breaths but also the many heartless, restless, painful and scandalous moments.

Beyond my narcissistic Inclination and self-promoting Instincts,

I am glowing like a many faceted diamond with a billion reflecting edges

1. Inspired by my growing Interests to selfless service and

2. driven by my Intention to experience and share Happiness as

3. acceptance with Infinite abundance and trust, -faith

4. resilience with Intimate guidance and truth, -hope

5. the fragrance of Integrity with forgiveness, -love

6. the radiance of compassion In-harmony with

7. Impermanence as the rhythm of my breath and

8. Innocence as perfection of goodness, beauty and order in the Universe.

Spirituality for the Contemporary Soul

In ordering my expressions chronologically I followed my instinct and reason. Since there is no way to capture every single event and person while writing about one’s life, I have left out those experiences that I did not recall or were unimportant for the purpose of this book. What is important to me is that God be praised and the reader’s heart be raised to newer heights of appreciating the mysterious workings in my life and in the lives of those who touched my life. If they touch your life, I’ll be more than happy, grateful! Thank you for picking up and reading this book.

Since I have designed Pray for me as “A Book on Spirituality for the Contemporary Soul” I would recommend the reader to follow my experiences in a way that makes sense to you. Even though I am a Catholic, my intent is not to promote any religion but only to enhance the spirit. The arrangement as 360 mirrors can help you select the mirror you desire. Here are the 12 themes into which I have classified each mirror with a letter before the continuous and sequential numbers in the Contents pages.

If I were to add a 13^th theme it would be Tipping Points or Moments of Transformation. I came across many such moments throughout the 66 years of my life on Earth. Some of them were planned and anticipated like the day of my First Holy Communion [G58], Religious Profession [G91], Priestly Ordination [E129] or Marriage to Vivian [A209], while others were spontaneous and sudden [E10, E11]. These moments tipped the scales and I sought a new balance in my life. Many times these new balances required re-centering my life by accepting unprecedented changes that called for transformative options. Often, these transcended my cognitive patterns and rational distortions and were accompanied by corresponding emotional choices and socially acceptable ways of behaving and communicating.

One unanticipated moment or tipping point that changed my life in ways I could not have imagined took place in Chicago. On August 6, 1988 the Universe embraced me as never before. This experience made me question my beliefs, values and calling, nay, my very existence. In A170 I have described it as follows:

My most memorable experience was at the Adler Planetarium in downtown Chicago on August 6, 1988. As I discovered my address in the Universe, I left the Earth behind and toured some of the most intriguing destinations in space. This cosmic journey expanded my horizons from Earth Orbit out to a billion light-years beyond the Milky Way galaxy. I wondered why the Son of God became man and came to Earth!

Eighteen days later in the company of my friend Adolph Furtado I visited Niagara. As we approached the waterfalls in a boat called The Maid of the Mist, we became wet - there was no water but only mist. As I left Niagara and the USA, I questioned my values, beliefs and dogmas as taught by the Catholic Church. I was in a cloud of misty confusion- unknowing, that lasted for a while. After my vocational discernment with Fr. Alphonso, SJ, in Rome the misty Cloud of Unknowing became the mystical Void of Nothingness.

Whether you are open, a seeker, dweller, doubter, denier, none or uphold the values of your cultural generation [Interbellum, Greatest, Silent, Baby Boom, X, Y or Millennial, Z or the Internet iGen], and whatever your personal preference, family tradition, cultural background, faith affiliation, sexual expression and ethnicity, I would remind the reader to awaken the eternal energy[3] present throughout the Universe. This energy vibrates in every human being. I’ve grown to call it “the Risen Christ.”[4] As you balance this limitless energy with your limited power, may you center the Mysterious, the Unconscious or the Unknown Gap, which for millennia religions and history have invoked as God.

While on my way to Alaska at the end of July 2016, I asked my biggest admirer and severest critic, my wife Vivian, for her comments on this book. Her only comment was “for whom are you writing this book?” Here’s my response. For God, in gratitude as I discover His perfection in my imperfections! For family and friends, as an expression of our common experiences and shared history. For you and all interested in life, law, love and light.

As you take delight in my integral experiences and poetic expressions written with the mind of a teacher, the heart of a healer, the soul of an artist and the zeal of a priest, may you realize the power experienced by the disciples at Emmaus. "Did not our hearts burn within us as He talked to us on the road?" [Luke 24:32] May our souls glow and grow as we travel blissfully with discipleship[5] all the way to heaven.

I am grateful to my wife and all who made this book possible for enriching my life with their unique energy, frequency and flavor of being.

[1] “JOY is Jesus first, Others next, Yourself last.” This was Fr. Dennis Duarte, SDB’s prayerful toast to me in Aquem, Goa on December 21, 1977. [E129]

[2] The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) is the 2013 update to the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) classification and diagnostic tool.

[3] As breath, air or gas, and figuratively as material energy, life force or energy flow, it is called for example prana [India], chi [China], ki [[Japan], gi [Korea] mana [Hawaii], lung [Tibetan Buddhism], chi [Nigeria] ruah [Hebrew culture], pneuma [ancient Greece] and vital energy [Western philosophy]. Over time these concepts developed into practices, often with an esoteric flavor.

[4] In Christianity the study of the Holy Spirit is called Pneumatology. God’s Breath moves over creation [Genesis 1:2] and fills the Universe with the Breath of the Risen Christ at Pentecost. “He breathed on them and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost,” [John 20:22] the Spirit of Truth or the Breath of Life [E19].