young gymnast named Dan Millman. Twelve years later, on a lonely San Francisco street, two young men clad in black, one armed with a metal pipe, closed in to attack a young writer named Doug Childers.

    Back then, Dan and Doug did not know of each other’s existence, or that years later their lives would intersect, or that they would become the best of friends. Nor could they perceive a hidden thread that would connect their own turning points to the transformation of other lives.

    The experiences related in this book have changed the course of lives and in some cases transformed entire cultures. The value of any experience, whether it seems positive or negative at the time, is best judged not by its drama, but by its fruits. Whether it strikes like lightning or takes

root over time, any experience can become a bridge to an unseen reality, a wake-up call that expands awareness, awakens insight, heals wounds, bestows uncommon gifts, unleashes creative abilities, relieves the fear of death, and gives new meaning to life.

    Mindfulness teaches us the nature of the shadow; heartfulness teaches us the nature of the light. Without these two qualities in balance, we will evolve either eyeless in the darkness, or blinded by the light.
— Stephen and Ondrea Levine

    Within each of us lives a mindful skeptic inclined toward reason, and a heartfelt believer drawn to faith. When asked to choose between these two apparent opposites, the wise embrace both, seeing in each a