“Sacred moments, peak experiences, visions, or revelations of the Divine are always described on the basis of what a man sees, smells, hears, touches, or tastes. Though an element of the sacred moment is ineffable, the Divine -- whether it be God or Nirvana -- manifests Itself in the sensual. Men not only report a revelatory state of mind, but a heightened experience of the physical. I placed special emphasis on the physical experience of the Divine because the sensual element of spirituality has long been repressed. It is easy for anyone to proclaim that 'God is Body and Mind,' but difficult for a person to physically experience that unity. In twentieth century American society, we're often trapped inside a labyrinth of thought processes from which we can't escape to experience the simplicity of the Divine in an acorn, a leaf, or a snowflake.

"After years of reading about God as Omnipotent, All-Knowing, and Pure Being, it was refreshing to discover men who experienced God in oil fields in Alaska, in the woods, and in traffic. In each story, God is manifested in things, animals, and smells. From these revelations of God-in-the-World, we all can feel a new reverence and respect for this world and the body which has often been ignored in favor of the invisible world of transcendence. The sacred moment reveals the divinity of little things, a white lace collar on a nightgown, an orange, or the smell of a cigar. Truly, the divine does not exclude but includes the world and its minutia.

“If, in the beginning, God created the sea and land, the sun, grass, herbs, seeds, fruit trees, and saw that it was good, then only through loving the world and earth do we love and experience God. If a man turns his back on the earth and his world of everyday things, he will not face God in an unadulterated environment. He will face a void empty of children, wind, moon, and leaves.

“The path to God may literally be a dirt one, lined with trees, ruts, and wildflowers, or it may be the paved highway we drive, while listening to Mozart on the radio and noticing a glint of sunlight reflected off a car bumper. We've often heard that God is out there, beyond, in the heavens, but the men in this book are speaking about God's presence here, now, and on this earth.”