| Elvis Presley's life and career are legendary, and | | | | term spiritual conjured up strange, weird and alien |
| the facts and fables have been covered | | | | ideas and images to many of them. This led to |
| extensively: from his humble birth and | | | | years of confusion and conflict. |
| impoverished childhood in a tiny wooden shotgun | | | | Like the word "God," "spiritual" has become a |
| two-room house in Tupelo, Mississippi; to the | | | | loaded term with many connotations, separating |
| beginning of his musical career when he was | | | | people from one another and causing much |
| discovered as a teenager by Sam Phillips of Sun | | | | confusion and dissension. People who have never |
| Records; to his meteoric rise to international fame | | | | lifted their eyes above the earthly world, who |
| launched and managed by the flamboyant Colonel | | | | have never even glimpsed the realms of the |
| Tom Parker. Despite this wealth of details, even | | | | sacred, talk about the concept as if they |
| the most dedicated and ardent fan who can | | | | understand its significance or they minimize the |
| discuss the tiniest bit of information and trivia | | | | idea as if they recognize what they are denying. |
| about his personal and professional life is unaware | | | | Just as with the word "love," the whole concept |
| of the most fascinating and important insight into | | | | of spirituality has been tossed around so casually |
| him: the very heart and soul of the man born | | | | that its meaning has become devalued. We love |
| Elvis Aaron Presley, his deeply spiritual quest for | | | | our family, we love God; but we also love movies |
| meaning. | | | | or hot dogs. Love is more than an emotional |
| The Elvis I knew, the private Elvis, was an | | | | feeling; it's a deep, profound spiritual frequency, a |
| intelligent, thoughtful man who embarked on a | | | | unifying force that connects everything. |
| lifelong quest for purpose and enlightenment. I | | | | The essence of spirituality is the search to know |
| was privileged to share that journey with him. | | | | our true selves, to discover our relationship with |
| Together we explored the world's great esoteric | | | | God. This quest has been the foundation of all the |
| philosophies and religions. Elvis and I read many | | | | great wisdom teachings, and the goal of all the |
| hundreds of books together. We studied and | | | | great mystics. Spiritual is an attitude, a way of |
| discussed, searched and probed, always looking | | | | being, a deepening of our perceptions and our |
| for answers to the unanswerable, each looking for | | | | dealing with life; it is the art of meaningful living. |
| his own purpose and helping the other along the | | | | The underlying motif of Elvis' search for meaning |
| way. Together we studied ancient wisdom and | | | | and purpose in his life was to understand what |
| philosophy, religions of both East and West, | | | | was asked of him, what he was called upon to |
| exoteric and esoteric. Nothing was off bounds for | | | | give to the world. He knew his God-given talent |
| our inquiring minds. We practiced meditation and | | | | and the music he created were a great gift he |
| spiritual healing. We loved to play with numbers | | | | offered to his fans, and most people in his position |
| and words, creating new ways of finding mystical | | | | would have thought that's enough, that's what I'm |
| meaning in the ordinary. Mysticism spoke directly | | | | here for. But it wasn't enough for Elvis; he |
| to Elvis' fundamental desire to know what life was | | | | believed he was chosen at birth and he suffered |
| about, and thus it emerged naturally from the | | | | in his longing to do more, to give more. |
| very marrow of his being. | | | | The people sense there is more to him than they |
| Most of Elvis' entourage and handlers couldn't | | | | know, an honesty and innocence that shone |
| accept or cope with Elvis inner voyage. The very | | | | through the glitz and glamour. |