JAMES REDFIELD: MY STORY – I grew up a searcher. From an early age, I can remember desiring a more complete answer to life’s more puzzling questions.
Sure…everyone knows we have to grow up, find a way to make a living, take care of our kids, and seek a better world. But there were larger questions and no one was talking about them: Why are we here in this life in the first place? And why is life, at times, so hard?
Is there a secret to being lucky, confident, and successful in the pursuit of our dreams that humanity had not worked out yet?
As I realized later, my home environment was Synchronistic to my search for an answer to these questions. We didn’t have much money, but we had something better – enough land to have a sort of homestead, with gardens and food stock, lots of trees, pastures, and overlook mountains.
I can tell you with certainty, growing up in the South during the Civil Rights era awakened my advocacy for positive social action. My father, being from California, put me on the correct side of that issue. Dad was an art teacher who struggled with some PTSD after World War II, and he valued the arts…especially writing. Not that I knew anything about Synchronicity back then or had any dreams of writing. Those ideas came to me when I was older.
As an older adolescent, I just kept asking questions about how to pursue life. I was beginning to find some answers given by religion and academic philosophy, but they seemed too intellectually abstract and incomplete. I knew the truth I was searching for might not be simple, but it had to be clear…and concrete enough to put into action personally.
Early on, some part of me believed this knowledge existed, yet rebelliousness hampered my adolescent life. Confusion sent me through phases of challenging the rules and took me very close to dire consequences. I often pacified myself with various distractions and a defended Aloofness (characteristic of the 5 in Enneagram terminology). I often went through alternating periods of frustrated self-isolation and deep research.
I’m sure I drove everyone crazy during this time. No doubt my family was pleased when I departed for college. There, I was finally in my element. I was able to pursue my education in comparative religion, modern physics, and the academic movement of the day: the “Human Potential Movement.”
This idea taught us that humans are not reaching their true potential and fulfillment and gave a name to my inner sense: there was more to life than we have fully discovered. It was an exciting time for me. I studied all the traditional expressions of human potential: Eastern and Western Mysticism, Humanistic Psychology, and Meditation, just to name a few.
As I continued my education searching for the truth, I found each area of research much too theoretical and abstract. Though lacking my clear direction, I went on to graduate the university with an advanced degree and years of profound experiences. My college education, though enlightening, left me wanting a straight explanation, and this further engaged my need to develop a study designed from authentic experience. It was this break-through that led me to realize a higher calling. I began a career as a therapist, hoping for continued growth through experimental studies.
After years of professional work, I realized that our human potential was being viewed too academically. I found the truth and wisdom so many of us were looking for to be in fact: Spiritual. However, it seemed religion had not yet defined this experience in practice. They were much too familiar with the alignment of individual doctrines.
As a result, I began to observe and then document the experiences of ordinary people who sought to live a Spiritual life in the early 1990’s. I thought this study would hand over profound evidence in view of how humans were evolving in consciousness. I also incorporated my experiences, observing a higher Divine presence in my relationships and career. As this study continued, I noticed we are coming to a higher Spiritual consciousness by way of steps or Insights. In turn, I found we were beginning to sense a heightened practical Intuition and precognition in forms of Synchronicity, purpose, or destiny.
