In the big, bad universe in which we live, there are a zillion different spiritual paths to pursue and a ton of spiritual teachers just waiting to help you get enlightened to the cosmic truth. Some of these "experts" are hucksters. Armed with a few psychological insights and some degree of personal charisma, they're into mind control, not spiritual liberation. Many are simply spiritual smarty-pants; they know their stuff but they can't live it. Read their books, if you want, but don't hang out with them. Others are what I like to call the "real deal." These people, admittedly a very small minority, have a direct hook-up to Ultimate Reality and an on-going, unbreakable relationship to all that is. These are the folks who walk their talk and always seem to understand what you're saying, no matter how mundane or "out there." They're not teachers preparing you to pass your enlightenment exam. They're divine "supermoms" who will love you unconditionally for as long as it takes you to realize that you are already enlightened.

For over a year, I've been exchanging emails with Robert Rabbin, a self-described mystic and catalyst for clarity, whose website (www.robrabbin.com) I found one day while surfing the web. Rob's writing is powerful and liberating, but not in any ordinary way. He writes straight from his soul. It's so obvious that he has no need for the intermediary of his mind that I describe him as a poet. His stuff comes from a place that's so deep inside---that's so connected to the primordial energy that creates and sustains us all---that the words themselves are almost superfluous. It's feeling, passion, and direct knowing that come through his work, no matter what the subject. Go read Igniting the Soul at Work: A Mandate for Mystics (Hampton Roads Publishing, October 2002). I dare you not to feel like you've been punched in the gut and kissed on the lips all at the same time.

Rob's not like most people in the world. I met him in person this past May at a Truth Talk he gave at the Wainwright House in Rye, New York. Take it from me, he's not what you'd expect from a guy who spent 10 years living in ashrams with Swami Muktananda, and I mean that in a good way. He doesn't have the spiritually entitled, know-it-all attitude of some American-born, guru-trained teachers. He's humble, but very confident; hilariously funny and deadly serious; brutally honest and supremely compassionate. His love for people and his commitment to serving Life ooze out of him. And, he's good with kids.

I ordered Rob's CD and audiotape a few months before I met him in person. For some reason, my daughter Sophia, who was three at the time, wanted to listen to them. She climbed up onto the couch, folded her hands, and listened intently to Rob's voice. After a few minutes, she turned to me and asked, "Mama, when's he going to sing?" I immediately emailed Rob about Sophia's reaction to his spiritual brilliance and he insisted we bring her to Wainwright House so they could meet. I also brought a babysitter since I didn't think Sophia would be able to sit through two hours of mostly talking.

When we arrived, my daughter went into another room to play while I waited to meet my cyberfriend in person. Rob was happy to see me, but he really wanted to meet Sophia and off he went to find her. Sophia can be shy when meeting new people, but she was thrilled to meet Rob, so much so that about a half hour later she decided to sit through the rest of the program. Sitting on my lap, she shook her head in agreement every time Rob began to speak. Sophia resonated with him so intensely that the next day as we were coming back from school, she looked at me and said, "You know mom, I think Robert Rabbin is right." I have no idea what Sophia thought he was right about because she couldn't put it into words. But she sure loves him and there's no doubt that he loves her. Isn't that what it's all about?