During this third trip, however, I wasn’t quite yet experiencing that deep sense of sacred presence. Thinking North Beach might be where God was hiding, I set out on my own after morning service at the Abbey.

I found myself deeply moved, realizing that these worshippers represented seekers and the faithful from every continent on the globe. Individuals from all walks of life, women and men, mature and young, singing in diverse languages, shaped by our unique cultures were present.