Holy Tourists

A delightful thing happened as we were leaving our preconference event yesterday, tired but feeling full from a powerful all day gathering of New Thought leaders from around the world, including Religious Science, Unity, Divine Science and Church of Truth. Before I go into it, I should share that we had the privelege here of listening to an Aboriginal didgeridoo opening prayer and song that sent collective chills up and down our spines, and was the warmest welcome to this country we could have received. And did you know that Australia is the oldest living land on this planet? Never experienced the "ice age." The idea of New Thought-Ancient Wisdom just vibrates from the very ground we are walking on.

This gathering was the first time all of the New Thought ministers and group leaders in Australia were meeting, and of course the first time we were ALL under the same roof. And to raise that same roof, our beloved Agape Choir lifted us up out of our seats and had us all dancing and singing together as one. I get how the tent revivals healed and converted, it's a group love fest that gets down into your bones.

After all of our presenters filled us with prayer and inspiration in preparation for the Parliament itself, we headed back to the hotel to regroup for another adventure in downtown dining. We were walking from the auditorium, down the LONG wide hallway, in the vast glass and steel exhibition center, and ahead of us was a large group of Tibetan Buddhist monks in their traditonal red and gold robes, seated cross-legged on the floor at the foot of a monk that appeared to be their leader. He was murmuring softly to them.

It reminded me of how kindergarten children gather on the floor to listen to a story-teller. And like children, the monks were paying rapt attention to what the group leader was saying. Next to the head monk, who was sitting on a long concrete bench, another monk was holding a tall ornate umbrella, red with gold fringe, and beneath the umbrella on a small stand was a gilded shrine with a glass-covered front holding a smallish golden Buddha inside.

We wanted to sit in their energy field without being disruptive so we settled on another bench a short distance away. Thinking I was on the edge of a holy gathering, and feeling just a little bit of awe, I sat quietly, appreciating the day, the meditative presence of the monks and the beginning of this world event. Suddenly I noticed something just too funny...I saw the leader was reading something to the group and as I looked more closely, realized it was the same colorful fold-out map of Melbourne that we all had! Apparently we dropped in on their "holy tour planning" and not a prayer session at all. Like I said, too funny.

We're all tourist on this planet, and I guess we all have to use a map when far from home :)