I,too,was raised in the liberal,democratic tradition.Let me share with you two events that helped me wake up.This is from long ago-1975 precisely,for Chantal that means before you were born lol.The first event was in San Francisco.It was the beginning of an interesting but flawed movement called Est seminars(Erhard Seminar Trainings) and they had some legitimate insights.The trainer (that’s what they called the leader) stood up at the board(yes there were no computers and projectors at that time!) and wrote down the “Hierarchy of Spiritual Development).The lowest level,just above animality, was Reason.The trainer underlined the point.”Rationality is the lowest level of spiritual attainment” he reiterated.It was all uphill from there.My entire liberal education was put into question and Alhumdulillah for that.Studying the Hindu and Buddhist concepts of “mind”(as illusion) confirmed my understanding.

The second event occurred at “The Abode of the Message” in the Berkshires at The Abode of the Message “with Pir Vilayat Khan.We did practices called “The Songs and Dances of Universal Peace”.In one of the practices ,the men and the women were separated into two concentric circles.Alternatively we would do some kind of circular movements and chanting”.When I heard ,one after the other,the two collective sounds,I was moved to tears.I felt the sublimity of the Creation.Vive la Difference!The feminist bubble, in which I too was raised, was beginning to burst,Alhumdulillah.Everything after that was a confirmation of what I had realized in that moment.Sublime!