Changing the Past

            It’s funny how my perspective on things can change so much, especially on things I was once absolutely convinced about. If only I can remember that when I become so convinced about an opinion or perspective that I make someone else wrong!

For instance, I used to ridicule the idea of changing the past. In fact, whenever I taught a workshop or class on forgiveness, I’d invariably say something like, “When we choose not to forgive someone, what we’re really doing is attempting to change our past.” The idea was, since the past couldn't be changed, it was important to forgive so we could move on in the present. That’s a good idea, yet what I didn't realize then was that not only is it possible to change the past, but also that it is almost impossible to forgive until I do.

Before I talk about how, wouldn't it be nice if it was possible and it really did make forgiveness easier? I realize that the wounds I carry from the past are probably the major impediment to my enjoyment of life and my spiritual unfolding right now. That’s probably why forgiveness is recommended so highly in every faith tradition I've studied. Somehow I continue to not only carry those wounds, but also to replay them over and over in my mind. In a book I’m currently reading, A Spiritual Renegade’s Guide to the Good Life, the author Lama Marut, a Buddhist monk (motorcycle enthusiast and surfer), equates this behavior with running with scissors. We know it’s not a good idea, it hurts, and yet not only do we refuse to drop the scissors, we stab ourselves with them again and again.

In no way am I intending to minimize or negate the horrible things that happened in your life and mine. When I work to change my past, I endeavor to start with the “small stuff.” I run with scissors of every conceivable size and sharpness, and it makes sense to start working with the smaller and duller ones. As I practice and my forgiveness muscles get stronger, I can work more and more with the gnarlier ones. But before I can do any of that, it’s important that I actually believe it is possible to change the past.

Certainly it isn't possible to change the events, the circumstances or the hard data from the past. But it is equally certain that I can change my perspective on what happened, the meaning I assign to it, and my understanding of it. When I do these things, in a very real way I am indeed changing the past, because the past only exists in the form of what I think about it now. The past isn't really “what happened”, but rather “what I think happened” in this moment. I tend to think of my memories as solid and etched in stone, but that’s just what I tend to think!

Hey, history books change the past all the time. Hollywood, too. When was the last time you saw or read about Native Americans being ignorant God-less savages, who only served to provide target practice for John Wayne? Did the events from that era change, or did our perspective and understanding change? History books even have a name for this—they call it “revisionist history.” What I’m suggesting is that we wrote our own history book, and have every right to revise it.

Have you even been absolutely convinced of something, only to find out you were wrong? This happens to me quite often. I wonder how many times I was wrong and didn't find out! A perspective is simply a perspective, and it doesn't necessarily reflect reality. Can you and I look at the same thing and have a different perspective? Can I look at the same thing I looked at yesterday and have a different perspective? Of course. So, can I look at something in the past and have a perspective that’s different than the one I've always held? Of course. And when I do, the past is revised.

I don’t know about you, but I’m not the same person I was in the past. I've grown. I've evolved. I have more tools, more faith in the Divine, more gratitude, more understanding, more awareness, a greater capacity for love and compassion. When I look at the past from my current viewpoint, it looks different. And that’s my major tool for changing the past and forgiving—looking at it from my current viewpoint. So I’m not talking about turning my back on the past, rather, I’m working on “turning the other cheek” to it, meaning I can look at it more and more as the spiritual being I am. I can look at it more and more from a place of wholeness, of love, of my innate divinity. When I do that, it changes.

Forgiving isn't forgetting. It isn't condoning or losing and it isn't a sign of weakness. It has nothing to do with whether or not the person I’m working to forgive deserves it. I choose to change the past and forgive for ME, because as soon as I change the past I've improved my present. As soon as I stop running with any of the scissors I've carried around, I experience less pain. I am freer to unfold my deepest desires and intentions. I am freer to suffer less. I am freer to experience joy, and freer to know God. It’s as simple as that.

Author: Stew Bittman,  M.I.T. ISIS Class of 2013

With his wife Hillary, Stew is the Spiritual Leader at Unity at The Lake in South Lake Tahoe, CA. Their blog and full bios can be found here: http://bittmanbliss.com/wordpress/

The One Who Will Never Leave You

Last week when I was assisting and observing a yoga class, a palpable sense of peace and security enveloped the room.  It was such a gift to be able to witness the integrated and quiet practice of other yogis set to inspiring music with sunlight pouring through the windows.  One song really drew me in and focused my thoughts on the deeper meaning of the practice.  The song became popular in the 80's and it's one we all know, by Cyndi Lauper, Time after Time. The version played in class was the slower, acoustic cover by Eva Cassidy. The refrain is, "If you're lost, you can look, and you will find me, time after time.  If you fall, I will catch you, I will be waiting...time after time." 

I thought about how we come to yoga to find our true selves, to connect to our essence.  When we come to class, or when we come to our mats at home, or really in any moment of the day when we come back to ourselves and make a connection, then in that act we are showing up for ourselves.  We are leaving everything else to the side and reconnecting with that part of ourselves which never changes: our light, our essence, the true self.  This is a great comfort and source of strength, knowing first of all that we have an immovable, eternal part of our being, and secondly that we have a way to connect to that part anytime, and whenever we need it most.  "If you're lost, you can look, and you will find me. If you fall, I will catch you, I will be waiting."  I saw people looking deeply, and finding the true self, balancing in a posture and catching themselves if they fell out of it, coming back home to themselves, eyes closed, during savasana.  And they have done this before, and they will do it again, time after time.  

I thought about yoga, and the meaning of the word: union.  Generally we think of the union of mind, body and spirit, and the unity we seek with one another and sometimes with a higher power.  But on this particular day, right before Valentine's Day, when I heard this love song I thought about union within the Self.  I thought about the wholeness we experience when we connect the parts of the fragmented Self and experience the essence of our being.  For me, that is yoga.  

We read and speak often of mistaking the false self for the true self, the ignorance that is referred to in Sanskrit as Avidya.  Through our practice we are confronting this ignorance: we are moving from the false self to the true self, from the gross to the subtle, from darkness to light.  Sometimes this feels like a struggle, and it can also look that way from the outside.  Other times it feels sweet, it feels like peace, it feels like coming home.  However it may feel for you today when you practice, try to find that sense of connecting with your true self, with your essence, and take comfort in being there for yourself...time after time. 

Author: Michelle Garrison Hough, ISIS Class of 2013

Michelle Garrison Hough is currently completing her yoga teacher training with Living Yoga in Cold Spring, NY, in addition to working through the second year of interfaith ministry training with ISIS.  She worked as a teacher and a lawyer prior to moving to the Hudson Valley with her husband and two sons.

Namaste

As an ordained interfaith minister I believe that there is one truth and that truth is that we are never separate from Spirit – or separate from each other. The truth that I believe is that our nature is DIVINE and that we are more than this body – more than this time and space –that we are one with All that Is! – I believe that I am a spiritual being having a human experience.

Coming home refers to a knowing of who I really am – that which is connected to the One Source.  In knowing this truth – I also recognize that we are all connected to one another.  When we say Namaste we are saying that the Divine in me recognizes and honors the Divine in you.  The Cherokee Morning Song, Wen day Aho, affirms “I am of the Great Spirit.” If I really believe that I am of the Great Spirit and so are you– then in serving and loving you I am serving and loving the Divine in myself. It is a transformative concept.  The alchemy of love and service is really what this life –this lifetime is all about.  It’s actually why we’ve come to this earth.  It’s our mission – to love – to serve and remember who we really are.  I recognize that there is this APPARENT reality – here on earth – this “life” - our Practical Reality -our day to day existence –and then ……..there is ABSOLUTE REALITY. That which is DIVINE. 

This Absolute Reality is known by so many names. Hindus call it Brahman, In Judaism it is known as the Shechinah (Divine Presence). It is called the Tao in Taoism and Muslims recognize that there is only one Absolute Reality. Jesus spoke of this Absolute reality when he said "My kingdom is not of this world,” and when asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them, "The kingdom of God is not coming with a visible display – It can’t be seen by the human eye –the Kingdom of Heaven is within you!"

But how do I live or should I live in this PRACTICAL REALITY?  I know that my nature is DIVINE but my body and my mind are still human and I get caught up in all that is visible. So how can I get more connected to ABSOLUTE REALITY? How do I get more in touch with the Kingdom of Heaven within me? How do I access it?  

Recently I was  watching a show on the sci-fi channel about the static on a radio which is actually reverberations from the “big bang”. Isn’t that amazing?  That made me think about the process of accessing a particular radio station in order to hear music and how we have to “tune in” to a particular frequency otherwise we will get static.  On a spiritual level I believe that we are being called to tune in and access Absolute Reality.

In order to get the right spiritual frequency and connection to the Absolute Reality I have to turn the dial. I know that Divine Grace helps me get there – but I have to make the decision to access it. You know when you're flowing in that connection with the Divine – there’s no static!  And interestingly – it’s all Divine!  Even the “static!" When we are acting according to our true nature – which is spiritual - we access Divine Grace and we move and breathe and have our being in Absolute Reality.

When we are thinking, speaking and acting according to our Divine nature, when we are pure of heart – we are on the right frequency!  

At the Sermon on the Mount – in the Beatitudes – Jesus said “Blessed are the Pure of heart for they shall see God.”  Divine Grace can penetrate when we are thinking speaking and acting with a pure heart – manifested in our thoughts, words and deeds. Hindus describe a Satwic nature as acting with a pure heart to be good and do good – at all times! 

In purifying our thoughts, words and deeds we become clear channels for Divine Grace and then we are propelled to a Higher Frequency. 

So how do I live this Satwic way of being? I think it starts with the word.  The words that we are thinking, the words that we are hearing, and the words that we are speaking.  We don’t even realize how much we are exposed to negative impressions and negative vibrations on a daily basis – from the words we hear in our head – to the words that we hear from others.  Over and over again words – which have energy – are filled with vibrations that fill our minds and send us powerful messages about how we think about ourselves and others. If these words hold positive vibrations we will manifest that which is good. And the opposite of this is so dangerous because if the words hold vibrations that are negative – that will be what manifests as well.  And there you have the STATIC.  Limited to no connection – limited to no access to Absolute Reality.  It starts with our words. “In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God” (Johns gospel). In Don Miguel Ruiz’s four agreements we are reminded of the importance of being impeccable with our word.  That our word is the power we have to create – the gift that comes from God and is God. 

In the Buddhist eight fold path the precept of “right speech” is a path to enlightenment. It consists of refusing to lie, refusing to talk meanly, refusing to gossip, refusing to command everyone’s attention – yes - interrupting people.  Right speech should be wise, kind and minimal.  Buddhists believe that you should talk only when necessary. The Shinto believe that the origin of all trouble lies within a single word spoken in haste. 

And the Sufi Gates remind us that our words should first pass the criteria of; is it true? is it kind? and is it necessary?  Mindful speech as blessings rather than curses – words that are heartful rather than hurtful - allow us access to a higher frequency of ABSOLUTE REALITY and that Satwic nature provides a clear channel to Divine Grace.  So let our words be our prayers and our deep listening serve as our meditation.  In this moment by moment awareness of the sacred – regardless of what we are doing, we can be vessels and instruments in the hands of the Divine. 

We can remain in a state of surrender to God – in the spirit of gratitude – recognizing that Spirit is flowing through us in our thoughts, in our words and in our actions.  Then Divine Grace is able to operate at our highest frequency – because we are accessing ABSOLUTE REALITY! 

 Author: Rev. Dr. Grace Telesco

Rev. Dr. Grace A. Telesco, Ph.D., B.C.E.T.S., is an ordained Interfaith Minister and on the faculty of the International Seminary for Interfaith Studies (ISIS). Rev. Grace is an Associate Minister at Interfaith Community International in New York and The Oneness Temple in Hallandale, Florida and serves as a regular Guest Minister at The Shepherd's Bridge in Davie, Florida and the Metaphysical Chapel in Wilton Manors.

Rev. Dr. Grace Telesco is also a Professor of Sociology, Social Work and Criminal Justice in South Florida and a graduate of The New Seminary for Interfaith Studies in New York. She has also been initiated in the Sanyassi Order in the lineage of her Guru, H.H. Sri Swami Jyotirmayanda in Miami, Florida.

To contact Rev. Grace for information on ceremonies/rituals (weddings - including same-sex weddings, unions, funerals, memorials, pet crossings/transitioning rituals, pet memorials), speaking engagements, or spiritual counseling and direction sessions please call 917-579-3750 -or- DrTelesco@gmail.com

Sssshhh

December 2012, the month predicted by seers and soothsayers, present and past, to herald a cataclysmic change, perhaps even...the end of the world?  Sssshhh. 

 

To the credit of certain prophets, humanity witnessed such great violence in the past millennium, a dire prediction seems in order.  During the 20^th Century we experienced the most devastating wars in history. World wars, cold wars, a sharp rise in civilian casualties and weapons never before imagined shook the core of our most basic securities. Yet, it was also the century of great peace movements. Mahatma Gandhi won a war against the British Empire using only ahimsa, non-violence, and satya, truth. Dr. Martin Luther King defied the Jim Crow laws with Christian love and non-violent actions. Solidarity in Poland and freedom fighters in Czechoslovakia helped bring down the Soviet Union with non-violence. When the Nazi occupiers asked Demark to prepare Jews for transport to concentration camps, the Danish government instead transported them to neutral Sweden saving the lives of many Danish Jews and Jewish refugees from Germany. 

How did they do it? They each said “sssshhh” to the forces that seemed, at the time, to be overbearing. The power they possessed and used far outreached the force of those regimes. Their foundations reached far deeper into a solid sense of Self. They were grounded in their true identity, their true essence.  

Traditions throughout the world implement sssshhh in their scriptures, albeit in different languages. In the “Yoga Sutras of Patanjali,” the major text for Classical Yoga, ethical precepts are predicated on ahimsa. It is mentioned first in the list of ethics delineated in the text and it is followed by satya and the rest. I heard Swami Satchidananda, instrumental in the founding of the interfaith movement, say “It all goes through ahimsa.” I took this to mean that ahimsa is the ground of Patanjali’s ethics. We practice truth without harm. We even say sssshhh to the call for factual truth to allow heart-truth to blossom.

There is a Vedic proclamation often used by Gandhi, “Ahimsa Paramo Dharmha.” American Hindu community leader, Anju Bhargave, explains that this powerful statement means, “Non-violence is the foremost duty to the extent that it supersedes all other duties.”[i]

In the last decade a great deal has been written and said about Islam, much of it demeaning. Islam means “surrender,’ but according to Huston Smith embedded in the word is the root s-l-m, “which means primarily ‘peace’ but in a secondary sense ‘surrender.’” ‎ Smith goes on to write; “Peace comes when one’s life is surrendered to God.”[ii] So, Islam has a sssshhh inside its very name.

In March 2006, World War II veteran, Desmond Doss, of Piedmont, Alabama, died at age 87. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the Pacific theater as a combat medic. Many people received the Medal of Honor in that war but what made Doss' honor so special is that he was a conscientious objector. Doss, a Seventh Day Adventist, was opposed to killing. He was not Mahatma Gandhi or Dr. Martin Luther King, nor did he lead a great peace movement. It is doubtful anyone will write a biography of him, but what he did was exemplary. He merely followed his principles of non-violence while serving in a horrific engagement. In Okinawa he saved over fifty wounded soldiers stranded on top of a 400-foot-high ridge while in the line of fire.[iii] Despite what other soldiers said to deride his beliefs, Doss’ actions answered clearly, “sssshhh,” as he followed his principles.

Yoga is an ancient spiritual and physical discipline, and many of the techniques go back thousands of years and were used to train young men as soldiers, hence the name "warrior" in several basic postures.  In my experience practicing Hatha Yoga, the Warrior postures begin to take shape when I am firmly grounded; my feet solidly planted with inner ankles lifting. This is the first action before I move into the openness of the posture. In Warriors One and Two the front part of my body, my most vulnerable area, is wide open. In Warrior Three I stand only on one well-grounded foot, leaning forward and stretching back the other leg. Here again I am vulnerable. My mind negotiates these small movements to create each posture and it also squabbles over certain aches and wobbles as I enter this strengthening posture. This is a good thing, because the mind is where Yoga really happens. I can resist and grit my teeth saying, “Oh, my damn calf muscle!” But I would no longer be in the posture, even if on the outside I look like the posture depicted in the book. I enter the posture truly when I tell the mind “sssshhh” so I can be true to my experience and ground myself in my authentic being. 

Another of our sacred Yoga texts, The Bhagavad Gita, tells the story of a great battle. Our protagonist, Arjuna, has his charioteer, Krishna, drive into the center of the battlefield to assess the situation before the conflict begins.  Looking across the field Arjuna sees his family members, teachers and dear friends and he falls despondent, dropping his bow. The entire text is a conversation between Krishna and Arjuna in which Arjuna is told to fight. This battle is a representation of an inner conflict, a metaphor for the internal battlefield. 

Now, in the midst of our holiday season, we are reminded of the routine battles we are accustomed to fighting. Across the festively laden dining table we witness in the faces of relatives and old friends the relationship dynamics which became our conditioning. This is where the rubber hits the road in our spiritual practice. Are we able to put our lessons into practice,  internally saying “sssshhh” to those dynamics, connecting to presence and consciousness?  This is our way to fight, but instead of fighting people, we are fighting our individual worn-out patterns, telling them to  "sssshhh."  Along these same lines, the apostle Paul wrote in the book of Ephesians, chapter 6 verse 12, that our wars are not against flesh and blood, but instead are spiritual in nature.  When we quiet our inner demons, we defy negative predictions--the ones made about us by others and the ones we make about ourselves.  Aunt Betty doesn't have to fly off the handle when the Scotch comes out, like we think she will, or she thinks she will.  Maybe there doesn't really need to be a holiday apocalypse this year?

The word for “peace” in Sanskrit is “Shanti,” often spoken or chanted not only to wish peace in the world but to elicit it internally. Many Yogis chant Om Shanti before meditating. Shanti is possibly related to the Hebrew word “shalom, the Arabic “salaam,” the Maltese, Sliem, and Syriac šlama. They all are related to the sound “sssshhh,” a cooing sound we make when we want to quiet a baby; a sound both soothing and directive. It is a way to shush the mind which does it beautiful work of thinking. Thinking leaves the mind to over-plan, over-analyze, over-litigate, over-judge, parse and market. Nothing we can do about the mind thinking, but if we live solely in the realm of thought we live solely in the calculating part of ourselves losing our ability to perceive and sense the world around us as it is. Ram Dass and Paul Goman in their work, “How Can I Help,” describe it well. “There is more to the mind than reason alone. There is awareness itself and what we sometimes think of as the deeper qualities of mind.”[iv]  Sssshhh does not stifle thinking but allows us to open to the vastness of consciousness. 

When we say “sssshhh,” we are planting the seeds of non-violence in our consciousness. Om Shanti, Shalom, salaam, slama, silence, shhhhh.

 Author: John Hawkins

  

John Hawkins, a 2^nd year student in ISIS, is a Yoga teacher and co-owner of The Metta Center in Bellingham, Washington.

 TheMetta Center - http://www.themettacenter.org/

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[i] http://onfaith.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/panelists/anju_bhargava/2010/09/invoking_ahimsa_non-violence_and_shanti_peace_globally.html

[ii]  (Smith, Huston; “The World’s Religions” Harper Collins 1991, p. 222)

[iii] http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/25/national/25doss.html?_r=0

[iv] Dass, Ram; Gorman, Paul (2011-12-21). How Can I Help? (p. 94). Random House, Inc. Kindle Edition.

Thankful for the Leftovers

      Years ago I heard or read somewhere that the average American family eats Thanksgiving leftovers for 6 days. I haven’t been able to confirm that, but it’s a staggering thought, especially when you figure that quite a few people only have them for 2 or 3 days, meaning some families are annually pushing the limits of safe refrigerator hygiene. More to the point, regardless of how many turkey sandwiches I might endure, my intention this year has been for the thanksgiving in my heart to last at least as long as the leftovers. 

      Without a doubt, of all the spiritual and life-enhancing practices I’ve engaged in, cultivating a practice of thanksgiving has been the most valuable in terms of my day-to-day happiness level. Indeed, to this point anyway, according to the scientists who actually study happiness (I wonder if they’re happy studying it?) the only practice that has been objectively measured to increase prolonged happiness is doing a daily gratitude list. Wow, and such a simple thing, too. Gratitude opens my heart, brings me right smack dab into the present moment, has me focusing on what I want (rather than what I don’t want), and instantly raises my consciousness; all the things most of us are looking for in a daily spiritual practice. Your grandmother and mine knew what they were talking about when they told us to count our blessings! This is probably why every faith tradition contains prayers and rituals that represent gratitude and appreciation for the Divine, for life, and/or for all creation.

       Eric Butterworth, a famous Unity Minister and author, wrote, “Thanksgiving is not just a reactionary emotion; it is a causative energy.” Gratitude isn’t just something I feel only when I get what I want; it’s a state of consciousness that allows me to create my experience of life based on my core values and intentions. It’s an attitude of mind I can develop that allows me to see the good in myself and in life. It’s a causative energy that has contributed greatly to the realization of many of my dreams.

      When I first started developing a thanksgiving practice, I began with the “small” stuff—those everyday blessings and gifts that I was taking for granted. Immediately I discovered, to paraphrase A Course in Miracles, that there’s no order of magnitude among blessings when I notice and acknowledge them. It was hard at first to list what I was grateful for, but forcing myself to do it seemed to grease the whole mechanism to the point where I could soon take a 15-minute walk in the morning and rattle off things I was grateful for the whole time.

        

        The next step was developing gratitude in the face of things it was harder to be grateful for. In the Bible, Paul writes, “Give thanks in all things.”  No small feat. Thankfully, he doesn’t say, “Give thanks FOR all things.” The Buddha put it this way: “Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful.” For me both Paul and the Buddha are suggesting something possible and extremely powerful, namely, when the schmootz (Yiddish for “dirt”) hits the fan, I don’t necessarily have to be grateful FOR it, but IN the situation, I can still keep at least one toe firmly ensconced in gratitude, because I can choose to remember all the countless things that aren’t schmootzy and be grateful. This allows me to stay grounded, present, hopeful and connected to my inner resources—those things that will help me through the schmootz and possibly even see a blessing in it.

This brings me back to leftovers. I’m working on being thankful for my leftovers, which in this case I’ll define as those issues I’ve worked on/with, ad nauseum, for eons. You know; the negative labels I’ve stitched deeply into the collar of my self-image? The ones that still, after all these years, show up and spoil the fun like red ants at a picnic? Do you have any of those? Can I really be thankful for those leftovers when they emerge from the fridge and show up in my awareness?

In many ways I believe that until I do develop gratitude for those leftovers, they continue to return like relatives I don’t like. In Jewish scripture, after Jacob wrestles all night with an angel who finally asks Jacob to let him go, Jacob responds, “I will not let you go until you bless me.” What a beautiful metaphor for those issues I’ve wrestled with for years. In the past I tried denying them, hating them, resisting them, feeling victimized by them, cajoling them, inquiring into them and generally focusing on them so hard and so long in an attempt to get rid of them that I was able to expound on them backwards and forwards in several different languages. When I started to simply be OK with them, to notice them and accept them, they started to let go of me a bit. They lost some power over me because I stopped giving them so much power. When I actually started blessing them, they let go of me even more. 

There’ve been other gifts in giving thanks for my leftovers. I’ve noticed that in some way my leftovers have served me and still serve me, and I’ve been able to identify the needs they serve and work on meeting those needs in healthier ways. I’ve also noticed that I’ve been able to reframe some of my negative labels into things that empower me. For instance, instead of calling myself lazy, I now enjoy and understand the value of rest and recharging. Instead of thinking of myself as a “good little boy” or “people pleaser”, I’ve become a compassionate being who touches people with my kindness and love. And instead of stressing over my tendency to obsess over things that never happened and never will happen, I now have one-pointed focus and attention on my deepest intentions. Is that cool or what?

I’m turning my issues into allies. Just like Gandhi did with his alleged greediness, I can use my leftovers as compost for growing what I really want for myself and for the world. I’ll need them as allies in my journey. When Jesus was tempted by Satan, his last “test” before taking on his ministry, he repeated several times, “Get thee behind me, Satan.” Perhaps Jesus was being tempted by the leftovers in his own consciousness and not necessarily banishing them, but telling them to get behind him, to support him, to get on his team. He undoubtedly knew he’d need every aspect of his wholeness to do what he needed to do in this world, and I can do the same. I’m thankful for my leftovers, and I’m thankful the Thanksgiving leftovers are gone!

Author: Stew Bittman, ISIS Class of 2013

With his wife Hillary, Stew is the Spiritual Leader at Unity at The Lake in South Lake Tahoe, CA. Their blog and full bios can be found here: http://bittmanbliss.com/wordpress/