12. RETURN TO BAJA
MOST GREAT INVENTIONS AND BREAKTHROUGHS HAVE ARISEN THROUGH DEEP COMMUNION WITH SOURCE.
– John Milton
I had been in touch with John Milton regularly over the years since my first trip to Baja and the birth of the Global Leadership Initiative. In a telephone call one morning, I told John about my intense interest in learning more about how people develop sufficient mastery to connect to Brian’s “place of deeper knowing.”
“If I ever write another book,” I told John, “it’s going to be about the extraordinary functioning of human beings, individual and collectively – and specifically how developmentally advanced leaders can learn to reliably sense and actualize new realities. This ability to actualize hidden potential lying dormant in the universe carries with it the power to change the world as we know it.”
John suggested I return to Baja for another wilderness passage to gain insight and inspiration for the next phase of my life and for the explorations I was undertaking.
At the conclusion of the first four days of awareness training, John began instructing us to select our solo sites. He drew a little map of the coastline, as he usually does. When he got to a remote point on his map, he said, “Now this site is one for the truly adventurous”
On impulse, I said, “OK, I’ll take that site.”
The next day, on the way to the trailhead, I began wondering if I had been too hasty in my selection. John simply said, “You’ll be fine.” I still had my doubts, but it was too late to turn back.
Late in the afternoon, as I made my way down to the site, I saw what John was warning us about. I had to climb over an immense line of boulders jutting far out into the sea. The only way across was next to a place where the waves were thundering up onto the boulders. I had a sixty-pound pack on my back and had to time my crossing to avoid being pounded by the surf and pulled out to sea. I had to cross this line three times going in and once going out – one time in with my pack, another time returning for my jerry can of water at the trailhead, and the third to my camp site with the water. Each trip, from one end to the other, was about six miles.
The solo itself was serene, deep but uneventful. I was a little disappointed that I did not have another breakthrough experience as I had had with the two whales. But at the conclusion of the awareness training, John had made the point that every passage in the wilderness carries its own rhythm. The experience is more like a time-release capsule in that the lessons tend to unfold over time – weeks, months, and even years.
On the final day of the awareness training, John spoke briefly to the explorations I was undertaking. He said, “The Great Mystery is the underlying reality out of which all forms, including you yourself, manifest. It is primordial and formless, yet gives birth to all forms, holds all forms. It is infinite and beyond all conventional measurements and descriptions. This is why I call it ‘the Great Mystery.’”
He continued, “The Taoists refer to it as ‘Source.’ The closer one approaches Source, the more synchronous events become. When Source is accessed, extraordinary creativity occurs. Most great inventions and breakthroughs have arisen through deep communion with Source.”
John said that he always reserves his further teaching about Source for his advanced awareness training and invited us to begin working toward that end. As he paused for a moment, I asked, “John, what’s the difference between God and Source?”
John reflected for just a moment. Then, with an almost imperceptible smile, replied, “Joseph, there’s a thin line between the two. At a later time, we can talk about it.” He then turned to the group to continue his teaching.
I returned home the next day, committing to exploring the latest research on knowledge creation and the relationship of the teaching of Tibetan Buddhist and Taoist masters on the subject.
Two weeks later, I received an invitation confirming a meeting that furnished the perfect vehicle for that exploration.