In this book I have written many shocking statements which are to act as plumb lines against which we can measure the difference in our stories and truth. One of these shockers is that there are no accidents, that all things happen for a reason, that all things work together for good and that I can say "yes" to, and be grateful for, all things. However, such shockers are at such variance with our normal way of thinking that we then have to inquire as to what the incident itself really means. Otherwise, it is marked up to a fateful meaningless costly experience in a dangerous and irrational world.

Right after I put my website online, such an incident occurred. I was driving home on the interstate after dark one evening just after I had finished my therapy sessions for the day. Suddenly out of nowhere, a medium sized deer crashed into my new truck with a big "Whammm". Traffic was on all sides of me and I had nowhere to navigate except straight ahead. I only got a split second glimpse of the deer just as it hit me, with no time for brakes or avoidance. The truck was not so damaged that it couldn’t run and so I just kept going. My mind was full of judgments about how and why this happened, and how lucky I was that no one was hurt and how unlucky I was that it even happened. I was catastrophizing about my new truck being damaged and about the probable death of the deer and about the big deductible I would have to pay. It all seemed such a useless waste: my new truck damaged, I would no doubt lose the use of my verhicle for a week or two, I had no loaner car coverage on my insurance, a beautiful deer was killed, and it would cost me an extra $500 I didn’t really have at the time. What a waste! How unlucky!

But I called upon my plumb line truth which said "There are no accidents." I challenged my judgments and catastrophizing. I asked myself what possible value or meaning could such an apparently wasteful accident have? I opened up, quieted my mind and listened. Immediately my mind flashed back to a half hour earlier. I had given one of my colleagues the web address of my new website at which you are now looking. I had not seen him since then. I was about to leave the office on that "fateful" evening, and I thought that I would stop in and speak to my colleague and maybe he would give me some feedback on my website. But I decided not to stop in and make small talk. If I had, then I would not have hit the deer.

Why didn’t I stop in and speak to my colleague? Because I was timid, because I was anxious about his possible criticism of my new website and of my "spiritual psychotherapy" approach. It hit me like a ton of bricks: I lacked courage!

Immediately I realized that all of these strange and unlikely events conspired together to bring me a powerful message, that I need courage to proceed with the work that had been given to me to do. Out of the ashes of fear, doubt and timidity was born the new Phoenix of courage. A new sense of power and boldness came into me. Not the bravado of arrogance or blind bullying, but real courage and boldness. I could see immediately that the deer played his valiant part in this drama, giving his life to wake me up to my inner strength. The truck had volunteered to take quite a hit for my self-realization. My bank account would give up $500 for my new awareness. Two weeks of inconvenience without my truck was a small payment for my new insight. Could I have gotten the message without this dramatic accident? Perhaps, but it was really driven home. What I realized was that what has been given to me does not need outside corroboration. I was fighting with a false, manipulative timidity. This timidity was false and futile, entrapping me in some kind of a security operation. Without this courage I would be settling for less. I would be discounting my revelation not to mention my well-tested research. I was called upon to walk the walk and not just to talk the talk.

I learned that by following the plumb line (there are no accidents, there are no victims, all things happen for a reason), I was able to challenge my conventional thinking, to re-gain my courage, and realize anew that every event is guided by an intelligent, compassionate, and purposeful universe, and its creator. The accident and my reactions to it, were my symptom. My boxed-in conventional thinking hid the fact from me that I was allowing doubt and fear to usurp and mis-use my inner power. When I summoned the presence of mind to inquire into what this "accident" meant, I was blessed with a revelation and a discovery. The plumb line was validated directly and clearly. I realized that with the proper tools and inquiry attitude any person could ask for the input of their Higher Wisdom and receive it. Anyone could make good the years the locusts have eaten, the locusts of fear, doubt, meaningless, timidity, negativity, cynicism. A lifetime of self-deadening judgments were suddenly called into question, judgments which boxed me into my story of separateness, deficiency and victimization, and robbed me of Infinity Awareness.

I took my truck to the body shop to be repaired and learned that it would be six weeks before I could get it in the shop. I was shocked to think that numerous "accidents" besides mine had occurred that same day, and I wondered how many of those would go unprocessed and would remain stuck in the consciousness of those involved as meaningless, frustrating and wasteful!

I shared this event with a therapy group that I conduct, and one member asked: Why do you always bring everything back to self-blame?  I explained to him that it is not a question of blame but an opportunity to see incorrect thinking and to correct it.

Another member said that I was being shown by God that accidents do happen and that I shouldn't write such things.  I told him that I am trying to challenge my thinking that accidents happen by asking myself if everything happens for a reason.  To correct and expand our thinking is the whole purpose of life. 

Another member said that he is very curious but that he is scared to allow his curiousity to lead him into unknown places. I said that this is a very common fear, but that we are safe only in a process of growth and change.  Another member said that curiousity killed the cat.  There are so many superstitions,  threats and barriers to self-knowledge.  You can never kill curiousity, and if you don't  allow it, you will deaden yourself in the process. 

Spiritual Psychotherapy is summoning the courage to get outside of the box of your conventional self-limiting thinking into your spiritual awareness.