Chapter 1 – Broken Glass

It was the summer of 1978.  I was 15 years old and chubby.  Looking in the mirror I decided that this cannot be.  I must do something to lose weight. This started my passion for running.  I went downstairs and told my mom that I was going to run outside. She freaked out the way you would expect an overprotective mom to freak out.  Where are you going? With whom are you going? She proceeded to outline all the rules I had to follow in order to have permission to run. At first, I ran around one block.  This was the only way she would let me go. Slowly she started to trust me, or better yet everyone else, and allowed me to run in my neighborhood.

    My routine was to put on my sneakers, take a paper towel to blow my nose and proceed outside to stretch.  What I started to notice was that in order to have endurance I needed to control my breath. So, I learned how to slowly breathe in and slowly breath out, making sure to take deep breaths. This allowed me to last longer than if I took shallow quick breaths. I’m not sure what happened. But, not only was my body transforming, something else started to happen.  Perhaps it was the pin point focus and awareness of mind-body that was created by the focused breath. My awareness started to expand. I started to sense myself as an integral part of a much larger Universe that I was able to sense with a new perception.

     One day, I couldn’t help but sit under a beautiful tree that was located on my neighbor’s lawn.  I think this was the first time that I meditated. The sun was resplendent and everything seemed to twinkle. The breeze caressed my face. The grass welcomed me. I was completely present and in a state of grace. This was the initiation into the unknown.

      Although I didn’t tell my mom, once in a while I would run over to Sandy’s house, my best friend who lived about three blocks away from my house. I always made sure I ran, either before or after, but visiting Sandy was a hoot. One day Sandy gave me a book by T. Lobsang Rampa called The Third Eye. Lucky for me, my best friend’s mom, Vilma,  was a practicing Buddhist and she had all these interesting books which by the grace of something higher, I was at times the lucky recipient.  The book was fascinating and so out there but something about it rang true. For me, it was like reviewing something I was already familiar with.  

     The opening that I experienced in my runs and this book catapulted me into the search for answers.  I knew there was much more than the five senses could reveal. Much more!

     So, one day I came home from school.  At the time I was attending Maria Reina.  My sisters and I were the only Jews in this Catholic School. Oh wait, that is not true.  The granddaughters of the famous Samuel Morse (of Morse Code reputation) attended the same school. I ran upstairs to my bedroom and exhausted collapsed on my bed. I shared my bedroom with my sister Debbie. Our beds faced two large glass doors that led out to a balcony that overlooked our backyard and pool. I easily started to drift off into a light sleep when I suddenly felt my bed shake. At first it was a slight movement but quickly turned into a very violent shaking. I sat up and ran downstairs.  Earthquakes don’t occur frequently but I know they are possible. I found mom sitting at the dining room table. Freaked out I asked her if she was ok and if she was scared. She looked at me like I was nuts. Was she ok about what? Why would she be scared?

      I said, ‘The earthquake! Didn’t you feel the earthquake? It was a big one”!

     Again she gave me a blank stare.  What was I talking about? She said if there was an earthquake the chandelier would have moved, and better yet, the bells hanging from the liquor cart would have chimed. I swore to her that there was an earthquake and I was going to prove it.

     I went into my parents’ bedroom and turned on the radio.  After an hour I gave up. There was no news about any earthquakes. I was so perplexed not knowing how to digest what I had experienced.  I slowly walked back to my bedroom. Immediately I noticed glass everywhere. What started to reveal itself was that the glass door that was in front of my bed had exploded into the bedroom shattering all over the bed I was lying on. Shock took over. What would have happened if I was still lying on the bed? Could it be possible that only my bed shook and why? Was the shaking a warning to leave? Or did I experience a paranormal event, a contact with the Spirit world that was actually responsible for the shattered glass.  If so, what was the meaning behind it?

    The hair on my arms stood up and my intuition told me that I had an encounter with the Unknown. This moment marked the start of a long search for answers. What awakened in me was this curiosity and at some level an awareness that there was much that was ‘real’ or possible that was not detectable with the naked eye.

The Universe had initiated me into the world of the curious, the strange and all things woo woo.