people. He became highly accomplished in yoga and meditation and attained remarkably advanced levels of consciousness. He exuded an aura of calmness and equanimity and was considered to be a saint.

    As the story goes, one day — after thirty-five years — the yogi decided to venture down into the nearest town. As he entered the streets of a very crowded bazaar, he was inadvertently bumped and jostled by a pedestrian who was passing by. The yogi angrily wheeled around and began screaming insults and obscenities at the poor unsuspecting pedestrian, who had intended no harm. He had merely bumped into the yogi by accident.

    The question the story raises is, “What did the yogi’s years of practice really accomplish?”

    What most of us want — more than anything — is Love. More than money, more than possessions, more than fame, more than fortune...we want Love. We want Love because, in

the depths of our being, we know that Love is the only thing that can make us happy. Every path we take to find happiness is really a search for Love.

    This book is the culmination of forty years of reflection on what we often call “the spiritual path.” Those years have included study of most of the world’s major spiritual traditions and holy books. I have sat with and learned from a variety of amazing teachers. I have visited churches, temples, mosques, zendos, ashrams, monasteries, and spiritual centers around the globe. I have practiced various forms of meditation, contemplative prayer, yoga, and methods for inner awakening.

    Throughout the course of this exploration, I have seen that — while forms and methods may differ — many of the goals of spiritual practice are the same. I have also seen that there is one essential ingredient in spiritual life without which all other forms of practice fall short. That ingredient