11:11 AM

I was asked to write a recap of the interfaith conference I attended June 23 – 25. Here is the article for Nazareth College’s Hickey Center for Interfaith Studies and Dialogue blog that covers the Sacred Texts and Human Contexts conference. It was very interesting.

http://blogs.naz.edu/shafiq/2013/07/sacred-texts-and-human-contexts-conference.html

9:43 PM

My computer and I are at the back corner of the hotel bar. Captain and Coke is our companion. A few guests of different age ranges are milling about. My parents are at the room getting ready for bed. A platinum blonde woman has looked over at me a few times haha.

As we get older, life gets faster. For me, that means the opportunity to spend quality time with my parents has gone down. I currently live in the same city as them, so we usually have Sunday dinner. I may see them once more during the week. And we are always together over the holidays. But I don’t get focused time with them very often.

I would say that today’s 9.5 hours in the car with them today qualifies as both quality and focused time. We are on a road trip, just the three of us. We are en route to Myrtle Beach, SC (my brother’s family is on the way from Memphis and my sister and niece are flying down later). It’s been forever since my parents and I have been on the road (it was usually four of us: my younger sister, them and me. My older brother is ten years older and was in college by the time we were all ready for road trips). I think the last time the three of us went on a trip of this length was when they were taking me to college in Arkansas.

We are all older now so the roles have reversed a bit. I packed the car. I drove most of the way. I was not hungover today (they were never that way, but I would always get a big sendoff when leaving for a year of school). And I was the one who decided we should veer off the path slightly to stop in my dad’s hometown.

We saw the street he grew up on, the church he grew up going to, the houses of family members, where he had his first drink, the river he and my uncles would ice skate on. And he told stories. About soccer being his best sport in high school. About his first drink. About his days in college. About his parents. About he and my mom. About us kids.

Today wasn’t craziness like the trailer I’ve seen for that move with Seth Rogen and Barbara Streisand, The Guilt Trip. Today we just road tripped. We snacked (sandwiches, M&M’s, Fritos, pretzels). We listened to music we all were happy with (Beatles, James Taylor, Simon and Garfunkel, and a cool Christian one I don’t know the name of). We talked. We had quiet. And I got to think about myself and my life.

One thing I learned about me on this trip is that I don’t think I could ever be a commuter, especially in Washington, DC. The traffic is insane! It took us 90 minutes longer than what Lady Garmin had predicted when we were outside of DC. I could not imagine a 90 minute commute each way to work. A lot of people do it, but I can’t.

Anyway, here we are in Virginia. Part two is tomorrow (hopefully in the six hour range – bring on the beach!).

The Captain may be making me a little nostalgic, but the moral of the story is that life is short. 9.5 hours in the car with my parents has been a great thing. We laughed. Granted, I lost patience with them a couple of times. They did the same with me. But most of all, we bonded. Having this kind of time together is a rarity.

If you can’t take a road trip, clear some time on your calendar for your parent(s). Make a phone call. Schedule a lunch. Take them on a date. Do something out of the ordinary. In the grand scheme of things, later on down the road, you will cherish that time with one another…

11:25 PM

It’s been a busy day (two interviews to start and end the day, and emails along with phone calls). My brain is full and I’m tired (but I’m typing).

I had a breakfast interview with a friend of mine from high school. It was very interesting to talk with him. Back in the day we ran in similar, but not the same, circles. He isn’t someone I’ve stayed in contact with on a routine basis over the years, but he is someone I was always glad to see when I’d bump into him. I didn’t know much about his life since high school other than what I heard from mutual friends and Facebook.

Last week I posted something about my book and video on my Facebook page. He commented and said he would be happy to talk with me about being Born Again. Because I knew him back in the day, and because I have family who is Born Again, I was excited to talk.

I arrived at a diner in Greece at 9 AM and we caught up on a lot of different topics. We had a lot of similarities from our past. As time went by, and as is the case in my interviews, he had something I was looking for: a calm and peace that comes with faith and ceding control. He shared his story and it is a great one. He still has struggles just like any of us, but I could tell he was a different person from who I knew in high school and my early college years.

I’m not sure if was the timing or his words or because I knew him, but he had me thinking. Luckily my tape recorder was going, because I was having a conversation with myself. “Andrew, you may be making this whole research thing much more complicated than you need to. Religion and faith are massive topics, but to be Born Again you just have to profess your faith. You just have to say you are a sinner and you believe in Jesus and God, and you are on your way…”

I realize those aren’t the exact words and it’s not that simple or cut and dry (or is it?), but he had me thinking in a different way than I have thus far. I did not act on it and the thinking was a short blip (we actually spent three hours together), but it stayed with me as we said goodbye, as I drove home and as the day went on. “Am I making this whole thing too complicated?”

After some work, some food and the gym, I went to a 7 PM interview at a local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon). My thinking and questioning had subsided some, but not fully. It turned out I was talking with a local leader of the church. He was the president that oversaw four or five counties.

Walking in, I didn’t know that much about LDS other than I had played in a Mormon basketball league one year as a kid, I had a few friends from high school who were Mormon and a good friend who did a Mormon mission. I had heard about Mitt Romney, no caffeine and alcohol, tithing 10%, and the past way of multiple wives, but I didn’t really know what it was all about. I also knew that the founding of the religion took place not far from my hometown, in a town I used to play in basketball tournaments: Palmyra, NY. It’s pretty cool when a religion with over 14 million followers is founded near your backyard.

Now is not really the time to go into depth on what I learned about the Mormon faith (I found it very very interesting and there is still a lot to grasp). But as we talked and I listened (I was there for two hours), I felt like the research and the interviews I’ve done up to this point made sense. They felt right. Sitting there felt right. I was listening, but I was also soaking up how cool it was to be able to learn about the different religion and beliefs.

I guess as I type tonight, I’m not yet ready to decide. I’ve only scratched the surface. I feel like I need to learn more and share what I learn. It’s going to be an interesting journey (and one I’m trying to truly appreciate).

10:20 AM

The time is now. Today is the day. I’m about to unveil the book website (and video) to my network as well as the Facebook and Twitter world. Sharing new ideas and projects is incredibly exciting, but also a little nerve-wracking.

It’s January 31, 2013. Let’s see what kind of ripple we can make.

8:02 AM

Being a traveler, the starts to a visit are always filled with such anticipation, excitement and potential. The end of the trip always brings the downer of saying goodbye (today I have to return the rental car [VW Passat = nice] and catch my return flight). Charlotte has been great. I spent a lot of time with my aunt, uncle, cousin and his two girls. We went bowling (I rolled one game = sub 100 = frustration), chowed down on an awesome dim sum feast and I even stepped out of my comfort zone to take on one of the girls in Just Dance on the Wii (she won – and they posted a video on Facebook of my smooth moves haha).

The main reason the trip materialized was to be at the surprise birthday party of my former roommate. I spent a lot of time with him and his family. His oldest daughter got an early birthday present – a trip to the Justin Bieber concert with her mom. Great seats too. She loved it. It was fun shooting indoor bow and arrow with their son and playing imaginary Power Rangers with their daughter.

I also caught up with a lot my NC friends. We all have so much going on in life, but it’s nice when you catch up and it feels like yesterday. Bookwise, I interviewed a good friend about his spiritual journey and may have some leads into some cool places.

And energy wise, I’ve soaked up the sunshine. The weather was not warm by Charlotte standards (40’s and 50’s), but being based in Rochester, NY, having sunshine every day has been a great change from snow and grey sky.

So now it’s time to pack up and head back to the northeast. Travel is always good for my brain and creativity. I see things in a different perspective. Airplanes and being out of the office gives me new ideas and angles: I’ve noticed this happen with a lot of entrepreneurs. I’m not sure if that is the same with writers too. Taking those ideas and executing them is another conversation, but my notebook is filled up with some good stuff.

To the airport I go…

9:10 AM

Time does not stop. It’s hard to believe that it was 2004 when I packed up a storage shed and my car to go on the road. Every time I come back to Charlotte, I am filled with all sorts of emotions. Gratitude for the adult that I became while living here. Awe at all that I have been able to experience since going on the road. Happiness for my friends I met when I was here. Joy for the couples who met when I was here and have since gotten married and had kids. Smiles at the growth of their kids and my cousin’s kids. And, I must say, there is a little bit of what-if in me right now.

“What if I had stayed? Would I be married? Would I have kids? What would I be doing for work? Would I still be a Seeker? How would my life be different if I didn’t take the fork in the road that I did?”

But those questions are just what-ifs. I have gone with my gut. I have done what I felt that I needed to do. I am where I am supposed to be. And it’s been such an awesome journey. Life is, and continues to be, very good.

As I type in the spare bed room of my former roommate’s house, I can hear him, his wife and their three kids talking and laughing in the other room. It’s so great how their life has evolved. I’m glad to be a part of it. And I’m glad for the next chapter of my life. A big part of it will be the spiritual seeking I am undertaking. There is so much to see, to learn and to experience. I can’t wait for what comes next.

More to come from On the Spiritual Road…

10:22 AM

It’s fun to be back on the hunt for interviews. A few years ago, IamOntheRoad.com got passed all around the country (and some pockets of the world). This caused my inbox to get the always cool emails that included, “I know someone you should interview…”

Just to name a few, those emails took me to NASA to interview an astronaut. To meet the founder of the 401k program. To Arkansas and their first ever female Supreme Court Chief Justice. And to talk with the Founder of Jet Blue airlines.

My training and career in sales has been a huge help for this part of the process. But I’m hoping we (that means I need your help) can snowball the new book in ways that can get me inside some huge doors (check out the video for who I’d love to talk with)…

http://youtu.be/71bTRVuWX54

6:15 PM

My brain and my gut are revved up. I’m getting exposed to all sorts of great stuff: Interfaith, Islam, Hindu, and biblical interpretation just to start.

As I get into it, this project is seeming to be bigger than I imagined. The first book (Love Your 84,000 Hours at Work) was pretty broad (people who love their career), but it had one central theme (work). On the Spiritual Road has one central theme – religion, but learning about and then explaining 12 of them is not going to be simple. Each religion seems to have so much depth to them. And branches.

Yet, I know and trust that when you have a vision, you can find ways to make it happen.

I’m just scratching the surface, but glad at what the excavation is unearthing.

4:24 PM

I just got back to my office after conducting the first interview for my new book. It’s been a couple of years since I’ve sat down with someone and had my ears as wide open as I can make them.

The meeting took place at Nazareth College with Dr. Muhammad Shafiq. He runs the Interfaith Studies area and is also a local Imam. Prior to a few weeks ago, I didn’t know the word interfaith. Now I see it as a growing word, idea and way of life. I’m not sure how textbook this is, but I gather interfaith to mean trying to learn and understand other religions. I think it also is dialoguing with people about their religions. So I guess I am on an interfaith journey.

There are always questions in your mind when you do something out of the norm. I think deciding to spend a year learning about different religions and how people chose their religions is not the most traditional thing. Therefore I’ve been grappling with a lot of should I’s and what if’s over the last few months.

But after sitting with Dr. Shafiq, I know I’m on the right path. The smile that was (and is) on my face. The energy in me as I asked and listened. The way things seem to come together when you feel like flow mode is abound. It’s there. Now is the time.

One last thing. I try not to believe in coincidence, but in convergences (things happen on purpose). I parked my car in Lot R, put on my winter hat and gloves and then grabbed my computer bag. The car door shut and I looked up at the mammoth building in front me. But I was no longer the Seeker I am today, I was ten years old. I was in a familiar place. It was summer and my family was there to see “Auntie.” She was my great aunt who used to live in the mammoth building. She was a nun, part of the order of Sisters of Saint Joseph. This used to be their building and infirmary where the sisters lived. Auntie passed away quite a while ago.

My younger sister and I had probably been fighting in the car. Or maybe I sat in front and my mom in back to avoid our infighting. But this was the parking lot we parked when it was Auntie time. There was less grass now, this is where we used to run around and play, but it was the same spot. I pictured Auntie and her hobbit. Her genuine smile. Her osteoporosis. Her quirkiness that I can’t explain in a paragraph or two. The smells of the building – a mix of a church, hospital and kitchen. I saw my parents and my sister and myself (even the blonde hair with the bowl cut – oh the days with hair haha) sitting with Auntie.

My cell phone buzzed with an inconsequential text message and I was back in the now. I was walking up the sidewalk to the center of the building. The sign above the huge doors said Golisano Academic Center (that sign wasn’t there when Auntie was). I opened the door and now flashed to 2006. This is the same door I walked through to be in my sister and now brother in law’s wedding. They were married in Auntie’s building, at the Linehan Chapel. The chapel doors greeted me as I entered the building. My mind ran through the scrapbook of all of the different family and friends that were there (and who are rarely in the same place). The reddish hue of the bridesmaids dresses. My nieces. Helping my dad with his boutonniere. Doing a reading as part of the ceremony. So many images and memories.

As I set my computer bag down at a table just outside the chapel, I couldn’t help but smile. I knew I was going to Nazareth, but I didn’t know I was going to see Dr. Shafiq in Auntie’s building and where my sister got married. It gave me a weird feeling down my neck and back, a feeling of energy. And peace. A new journey brings a lot of unknown and nerves, but this familiar spot made me calm. And feel purpose.

I took the stairs up to the third floor for my meeting. On the Spiritual Road was officially underway. Call it coincidence, call it convergence, call it whatever, but it’s go time.

Auntie, I’m not sure what your nun training and work would think of this journey I’m on, but I felt nothing but positivity in your building. And that was how you lived – ever positive and upbeat. If you don’t mind, stay with me for a while…

12:22 PM

It’s one thing to have an idea in your head. It’s another thing to share it publically. But, in the spirit of Rochester, NY’s PBS TV station’s tagline, “Go Public,” — it’s time.

The new book I’m going to research and write is called, “On the Spiritual Road: Seeking Faith and Religion in the United States.” My first book, “Love Your 84,000 Hours at Work,” shared the stories of how people came to find a career they loved. This book will explain the stories of how people came to find a religion they love, why they believe what they believe and how they practice their faith in today’s society.

They say, “you shouldn’t talk about religion or politics.” Well, I’m going to talk about religion. I’m a mix of nervous and excited as we go from an idea inside my head to an idea that the outside world gets to weigh in on. But it’s time. I have religion questions I’d like to try and answer. So do a lot of other people.

The Seeker is back. It’s time to learn and then share what I learn. The passion button has been pushed! I’ll see you on the spiritual road…