4 Decades of Service

Is your human organism wired for "spiritual service?" Just ask your ego, which seems to be conveniently housed in the right parietal lobe of your brain.

Psychologists Brick Johnstone and Bret Glass of Missouri University recently found that this spot maintains your "self" knowledge: the awareness of your physical body, the clothes you wear, the possessions you own, and the behaviors you conduct. They also determined that this spot is the center of "self" criticism, so every time you mentally kick yourself for saying or doing the wrong thing, you do so through the right parietal lobe. [Their findings are published in the Zygon Journal of Religion and Science (December 2008).]

The strength of the ego is relative to the activity in this lobe. Brain damaged patients with less functional lobes exhibited less self-awareness, yet they were more prone to focus on others. In addition, these patients were more likely to report feeling "spiritual" or religious. (Less self makes for selflessness, the principle goal of most religious practices.)

The same was found to be true of subjects in deep states of meditation or prayer. Their ego diffused and gave way to a feeling of one with the entire universe. Selflessness is inexorably tied to spirituality, and the right parietal is the brain's link between the two.

Throughout the spectrum of human existence, we all have varying features and attributes - such as our ability to bake a birthday cake. Muscles grow strong and atrophy depending on their use. Over time, our abilities change according to our experience, and so it is with our ego. We may have the good fortune to learn selflessness from an inspiring source, whether in a church or temple, a mountaintop, or a museum. Or we may let our ego run rampant.

Today is my 40th birthday, an occasion for celebration (hell yeah!) and solemn retrospective. Not so many years ago, my right parietal was busy. I entered into projects with the mindset of self-promotion. I would lie, cheat or steal to get what I wanted, and I wanted to be rewarded for all my work. If it weren't for the efforts of many friends, I may have continued walking that path.

Luckily, some of them showed me a red road, one that led to a hilltop in North Dakota where I experienced two sundances with the Lakota Sioux. When I arrived, three eagles circled above me while I watched a triple rainbow form over the eastern hills. Three days later on a particularly hot and brutal day, the sun overwhelmed me, and I fell to my knees. Looking up, I had a vision that illustrated how interconnected I am to every living thing - the tree, the medicine man, my fellow dancers ... When I was finally able to stand again, I had been changed.

Today I am knee-deep in service to my community, and I have a hard time saying no to others in need. Most likely, this is because I am surrounded by a fruitful bounty of friends and family, and I don't want to upset the karmic balance I've worked for years to achieve. So in the eastern tradition of giving things away on your birthday, here are my gifts to bestowe.

To those of you who helped me get here, thank you so much. Drinks are on me!

To those of you who are looking for help, reach out! I am at your service.

To my right parietal, I'm working on your retirement package. You're going to love it.