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Brian Sattler
I would have to say that my first remembrance of choosing to "stand alone" was when I was being educated in a Catholic school. Whether I was in mass or in class or at home the direct impression of my Catholic upbringing was that this was the one and only true religion. One day I was descending the steps of our church--it was a school day and the whole school had to go and perform the "stations of the cross." A thought came to me that it was ridiculous to believe that out of all the world religions, where each one says that only they have the truth, how could I say that Catholicism was the only true path to the same truth. I was about ten at the time and I never let go of that thought.

I wandered through life looking for answers that could bring me peace of mind. Paths were easy to find but seldom did they deliver what they preached. A friend brought me to New Renaissance one day and I instantly fell in love with this store and spent many a day here trying to find that book that could give me the answers I was looking for. I read some channeled books and books on ascension, but still felt empty. A deep feeling had been with me for years to read some of the eastern books especially Hinduism, however I felt that they were all frauds that came to America to make money. Well, I got over that one day for my hunger was growing stronger and I had to taste East Indian food-nothing else was going to fill me.

I decided to read a book by a Hindu saint--I just didn't know who was out there. I kept going by the books of one particular Indian guru at NRB and he always seemed to pull me to at least stop and look at the books but I would end up rejecting the books thinking he probably wasn't a true saint. Well, he won this battle-when I was ready he was the one I read to learn about my relationship with god. Paramhansa Yogananda is his name and the book, Divine Love, started it all for me on the path of devotion. Other important steps along the path were Autobiography of a Yogi also by Yogananda and a course offered by Ananda called 14 Steps to Higher Awareness. Then, I was guided toward Advaita, the non-dual philosophy of Hinduism. My favorites from this line are I Am That by Nissargadhatta Maharaj, The Essential Teachings of Ramana Maharshi, Truth Is by Poonjaji and The Final Truth by Remesh Balsekar.

From the western approach toward truth I was lead to read Power versus Force by David R Hawkins, MD, PhD, and instantly fell in love with this man's work on consciousness. His latest book, Eye of the I, is incredible. His next book which will complete the trilogy is titled I and is due out late in 2002. It is sure to be as incredible as the others.

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