A Living Master

I was delighted to see my old friend Master Charles tonight at a talk he gave in Los Angeles entitled “One Source – Honoring the Sacredness of Life.” I wouldn’t otherwise wax philosophical here, except for being reminded again what an impact he had on becoming the person I am today. We met 19 years ago when I was a recent college graduate working for Paladino & Associates Public Relations in Hollywood. Master Charles (then Brother Charles) Cannon, is founder of The Synchronicity Foundation and creator of high-tech meditation, audio technology that induces the same brain waves created naturally in meditation.

I was a 22-year-old recent college grad from Missouri when Phil Paladino took me to meet my new client for the first time. That particular evening the program also featured a channeler, which I admit was a bit freaky, but set the tone for an unforgettable job that would provide a colorful start to my career – welcome to LA!

Paladino had a profound effect on my life in his own way as mentor and father figure, but unfortunately became ill and died in 1993, only a short few years after I met him. It is our shared connection with Phil that ceratinly binds my relationship with Master Charles. But he too had a lot to do with both shaping my belief system and eventually my discovery and passion for the Internet.

His talk tonight was consistent with the message of oneness and the celebration of life he spoke of nearly 20 years ago. Our idea for a “one world network” preceded commercialization of the Web, but the idea and execution fell flat at the time, largely because his focus was on his successful meditation foundation and retreat in Faber, Virginia. Mine was on establishing a foundation for my career.

What then was a message about our universal connectedness and a Buddhist philosophy that we are all one, tonight he expressed as a call to spread the conversation about “life’s sacredness and beauty.” He quoted Confucious and Buddah, and spoke of how the mind so often gets in the way of our hearts. He spoke about finding balance by accentuating the positive and living in the “essential now” and reminded the group of  approximately 100 attendees how that life is in fact supposed to be pleasurable. Naturally participation in his meditation retreats and buying his CDs are another way followers can find bliss!

Imagine my excitement when I first learned of the Web in 1993. I was instantly swept away by the possibilities. Here, plainly written in the pages of the Wall St. Journal, was was promise of everything Master Charles had been talking about! The Mosaic Browser being developed at the  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, it said, would connect the world’s computer networks via the Internet with a new world of pictures, video and sound. Wow! The connectedness of humanity brought to life on a global computer network! In that powerful moment, I decided to shift all of my professional energy toward a career on the Internet, whatever that meant. I still get goosebumps thinking about it today.

That experience led me to follow a mantra of “making a positive impact on the world through media.” Whatever that means, it has become a personal mission statement for my life, and tonight Master Charles helped me remember that everything I do is leading me toward that end.

His parting words to the group tonight were “we can transform the world, and now is the time.” An inspiring conclusion to an enlightening evening.