Hello ! Are You There ? Can You Hear Me ?

                                  Hello !

                                   Are You There ? 

                                         Can you Hear Me ?

Years ago, I was having a rough time; felt depressed, and needed someone to talk to.  Wanting to keep my struggle private, I went to visit a close friend, Reid Surrett.

Reid was a man who had retired at fifty, remarried and had a new baby.  He was ecstatic, full of joy and enthusiasm at the prospect of raising his newborn in a loving family environment. 

Unfortunately, Reid caught a bug; a virus, I was told.  His immune system defeated the intruder; but, did not stop. It turned on him and destroyed his whole nervous system. When I visited his bedside, he was in what is called a vegetative state, breathing and pumping blood through is veins artificially. 

I spoke to my friend as a friend does.  The doctor told me that I could talk to him; but, that there was minimal brain function and that he was virtually dead.  I continued the one sided conversation, happy at just being present.  When I left the hospital, my own problems seemed so tiny and insignificant.

Years later, I met and married an extraordinary lady; just back from living in California, having a PhD and full of new and creative thoughts.  She introduced me to a whole lot of unconventional thinking and behaviour.  To me, at that time, though thinking of myself as open minded, I could, sometimes, hardly keep from giggling.  However, the door to my mind must have been open, a crack; because I dwelt on many of the new ideas to which I was exposed.  My own beliefs changed.  I became profoundly aware of how little we know about life and the universe, beyond what we address with our five senses. 

Last week, doctors reported having communicated with a Canadian man, solely through witnessing his brainwave responses to statements and questions put to him.  Everyone had deemed him to be in a vegetative state, effectively dead.  The man communicated and reported that he was not in pain.

We know so little.  In this context, when I am in meditation, I am saying:

                                Hello !

                                     Are you there ?

                                             Can you hear me ?

The answer just might be “Yes”.