I Don't Want to be Your Guru, But I Have Something to Say
(A Conversation with Old Bill) from Amazon

Enjoying a Cup of Coffee with A.J. and Old Bill
Posted Mar-1-2006
Spirituality, Quantum Physics, and Fundamentalism
If a well-dressed man (or woman) rang my doorbell this morning intending to have a doorstep discussion with me about what I believe in regards to how life got here, what our purpose is, God, higher powers, spirituality, and the rest of the topics that fall under that one big "R" subject people warn about discussing "along with politics," I would like to respond with "I believe in many vast possibilities," and leave it at that.

I emphasize like because today (March 1, 2006) I am okay with this abstract (noncommittal) answer, but I suspect the evangelist wouldn't be. Unknown people who knock on your door usually have something to sell and would like to do so before they wish you a nice day. Believe me, I know. As early as second grade I was knocking on all of the neighborhood doors trying to sell bottles of overpriced spices for a school fundraiser (and might I say that $75 worth of bacon bits and oregano yielded me one fine cheap Yo-Yo).

My visitor probably wouldn't come right out and say it, but his purpose for coming to my door is clear: to bring me into alignment with his point of view, his belief system. And based on experience, my visitor would try to overcome my conversation stopper with skillful questions or scripture, leading me towards a path he hopes I will join him on. How do I know? Because I also spent the sum of my youth on the "other" side of the door as the evangelizer.

Yes, I was a door-knocking proselytizer because it was what I was raised with, the only thing I knew, and I had many doors slammed in my face before I entered my 20s. Not anymore. And probably not forevermore. It's okay, I totally understand why door-slamming happens. What right did I have to force my beliefs on anyone else? Yeah, I consider waking people up out of their beds on Saturday morning or interrupting their private family dinners with my agenda door presentations an intrusion. They didn't invite me over. I assumed a lot of things because frankly, I didn't know any better.

It's noteworthy to realize that one needn't be a religious evangelist to feel the urge to bring others into alignment with a specific point of view. Around every corner of life you can listen to accelerating dis-bates on everything from religion, politics, alternative medicine, celebrities, diets, and donuts in the office, on the radio, TV, and Internet. We can literally spend all of our waking hours engaged in tug-of-wars over who is right and what is ultimately true. And some people do — a number of them making a profitable living at it.

But back to me...

Ten years ago my answer to "what I believe in" would have been very different from today's answer. In fact, the answer not only would have been about what I believe in, but also what you should believe in. And then I would have responded with what I thought was the only "truth" about life, God, heaven, hell, angels, demons, universal sovereignty and the rest of it — based on nearly three decades of living enveloped in a belief system that required that same doorstep 'evangelical zeal' in spreading the word to others.

Could all of that really be true? How does one know for sure? Still, I believe in many vast possibilities.

Living a life where everyone is a potential convert to one point of view stopped working for me in my mid-20s. Maybe it never worked to begin with, but that's when my awakening began. Somehow I realized that, depending on where you're standing in life, the view is different from the next person and you will have a different perspective on any given subject. What is true for me may not be true for you. Multiple truths can co-exist and overlap, can't they?

What does this have to do with my Enjoying a Cup of Coffee with A.J. and Old Bill and Joyce Shafer's book I Don't Want to be Your Guru, but I Have Something to Say? Plenty, for me. The layers of symbolism I personally found in the book's title, its back-story, and frontal message is truly relevant to my journey. When Joyce invited me to read her book, which is categorized on LuLu.com as "New Age & Alternative: New Thought", my curiosity led me to read the 54-page book from cover to cover in one afternoon (with a short nap in between).

Here's a description of the book from the LuLu site:

In the tradition of fables like The Little Prince, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, and other perennial best sellers which backlist for 20 and 30 years, this book takes us on a journey. Readers are invited into a relaxed, but meaningful conversation that explores not only a few of the deeper questions about our existence, but some of the every-day ones that often intrude on our flowing more smoothly through life experiences.

Some who have read the book described it as a "parable, an allegory or fairy tale", and that it "integrates the wisdom of sages, scientists and philosophers with clarity, conciseness and creativity." One reader commented:

It's a thought provoking read that essentially translates quantum physics into everyday language and then tucks it all inside a heartwarming story about people reaching out to others and making a difference.

What will a book like this offer people? A new point of view, perhaps. A different way to think about life, spirituality, higher powers, and what we can do while we're alive here on this planet to enjoy our lives and contribute to each other's happiness — making the world a better place for all of us. It's hard to argue against 'change begins where each of us lives — inside ourselves.' Reading the book was an uplifting experience for me that didn't impress upon my mind the urgent need to latch onto one single way of thinking. But it did make me think.

Again, I believe in many vast possibilities. Approaching life with a "take what's useful and leave the rest" kind of attitude makes me continually find myself before a banquet of useful tools and paths to experience that makes my life richer and more meaningful. I consider Shafer's book to be one of those tools.

One last thought — the book title "I Don't Want to be Your Guru, But I Have Something to Say" not only sums up how Shafer's enjoyable story unfolds in the book, but demonstrates a powerful lesson in relating to others with respect to where they are on their own journeys. Even for those who believe in many vast possibilities. •

© 2006 Chris Dunmire www.chrisdunmire.com. All rights reserved.