ONE OF THOSE SPECIAL MOMENTS IN NATURE.

Did you ever have one of those sublime experiences while in a forest or meadow? There are times when we witness stunning sunsets, astonishing cloud formations, or touching scenes of wildlife interactions. While on a self-improvement retreat in February of 1984, I experienced one of those precious moments.

Part of our daily routine at the retreat was silent meditation. We were allowed to find a quiet place in the forest or the camp to do this. I happened to be standing at the top of a path that went down to the beach. As I watched, a female deer walked along the shore. She turned her head and gazed at me for a few seconds. I stood still, not wishing to frighten her and ruin the moment. Then she turned her head and continued her journey along the beach.

When the time came for us to leave, I snapped a photo of the place where this awesome encounter happened. It doesn't look like much to the casual observer but it holds a special memory for me.

Perhaps I'm mistaken but I've often felt that most people don't treasure such sublime moments. They seem to hurry through life, oblivious to the wonders of God's creation. I, on the other hand, treasure even the small pleasures that the Lord has provided. My photo albums are filled with lovely landscapes, pets, and experiments with photographic composition. When I could, I've taken photos of wildlife or domestic animals living their lives as God programmed them to do.

I've also written about these special experiences in my three books. When a Man Loves a Rabbit: Learning and Living With Bunnies and Deliverance from Jericho: Six Years in a Blind School are featured on the left side of this page. I also have a newly-published memoir called How I Was Razed: A Journey from Cultism to Christianity. Please check it out at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Virtual Bookworm.

ONE STRANGE RETREAT.

Imagine staying on an isolated island off the west coast of America for five days. Imagine some authority figure ordering you not to use any sort of cologne, makeup, or similar cosmetic product. Imagine not being allowed to smoke, drink, or eat your fill of whatever you liked. Imagine not being permitted to talk to the other camp inmates except during supervised meetings. Imagine having to jog a mile along a gravel road first thing each morning before eating a meagre breakfast of oatmeal. Imagine having no coffee to drink either.

It certainly sounds like some sort of mind control cult or religious commune. In actual fact, it was a self-improvement retreat that my Amway sponsor and I went on in February of 1984. Having previously attended the week-long introductory seminar, we felt eager to learn more about human psychology and how it would improve our businesses.

The Pursuit of Excellence organization, sponsor of the seminars, rented a campground on Orcas Island in the state of Washington during February of 1984. Our isolation from the haste and pressure of society was meant to help us focus on the lessons.

As I wrote in my upcoming How I Was Razed: A Journey from Cultism to Christianity memoir, both of us had qualms about this strange place once we arrived there. My Christian convictions immediately posed a problem. How could I pray aloud without breaking the "no talking" ground rule? I decided to petition the Lord during the periods when we were sent into the forest to meditate. I whispered my prayers, all the while glancing around for any spies who would report me to the facilitator of the retreat.

After working on their lessons, performing their relaxation exercises, and obeying their restrictions that week, all twenty-plus of us participants cheered the arrival of the school bus that would soon take us back to the ferry. Though Orcas Island was lovely and I enjoyed the solitude, returning home to my routine felt wonderful.

I've expressed my love of solitude in my previous memoirs, both of which are displayed on the left hand side of this page. Details about them are available by clicking my books link. You're also welcome to contact me directly for more information.