One with the universe

There's a type of religion called transcendent idealism where the ultimate objective, through many years of meditation, is to rise above the daily foibles of man to become one with the universe. The most common religious belief system that embodies this principle is Buddhism.

Now I don't know if Stevie Nicks, the lead singer for Fleetwood Mac is a Buddhist or not. In fact, although I know she's always been very spiritual, I don't even know if she's religious. But two weeks ago when my son and I saw the band perform in Denver, she came back out on stage after the performance was over to have a heart-to-heart talk with her fans and it sure sounded either spiritual, religious or both.

She told us that Christie McVie had been absent from the band for sixteen years and that every day during those years, the first thing she did every morning when she woke up was to simply say that she hoped that would be the day Christie came back. According to her, she repeated this mantra not some days or most days but every day. And that when she did, the wish was propelled out into the universe and after making the wish 365 days for 16 years in a row, it became so powerful that it came rushing back to this world and compelled Christie to pick up the phone, call Stevie and ask her if she could come back.

Stevie said she made this wish every day because the band was best and she was best when Christie was with them. The people who filled in for Christie were expert musicians in their own right but they weren't Christie and for Fleetwood Mac to ever sound like it once sounded, no one would do but Christie. And, after 16 years, she said that Christie heard her silent call and returned to the band.

I'm not a very metaphysical person and I'm not someone married to a particular religious belief system or any form of spiritualism. I don't believe in ghosts or angels or flying saucers. I'm a social scientist and, consequently, only believe in those things that can be proven or disproven.

But I am aware of the power of the mind. It has the ability to do miraculous things, like allowing people to refuse to die, at least for a while. Research is rife with examples of people who died AFTER a significant event in their lives rather than before. It's as if they were holding on to experience that special day one more time and once they did, they were ready to go. I know there are certain physical and mental maladies we can cure just through the power of positive thinking. We all know people who became successes in life because they BELIEVED they could and those who didn't because they always expected to fail.

So I've long believed in the power of positive thinking and I've done something very similar to what Stevie Nicks did. I had something in my life that was very meaningful and very special. In fact, it was something that totally changed my life for the better and I thought it would always be there. But it wasn't. One day it was here, the next day it was gone. And so, every single day since that miraculous thing disappeared, I've requested that it come back. It's the first thing I think of in the morning and the last thing I think of at night. I haven't been doing it as long as Stevie did it so maybe it's going to take a little longer but I believe it WILL come back, just like Stevie did. That doesn't mean it will but it keeps hope alive in my heart.

I would imagine many of you who read this column go through the same kind of thing. You lost something you thought you would always have so you think about it every day. You may not specifically ask for it to return like Stevie Nicks and I have but by even thinking about it, you're causing it to stay alive in your heart and, because of that, who knows what might ultimately happen.

The Rolling Stones had a hit song that said we don't always get what we want, but we get what we need. That has always caused a discordance in my mind because the two are almost inseparable.

What we want IS what we need.