By Victoria Tanski
Forman, N.D.
Friday, July 14, 2006; 4:37 PM

There are few moments in my life in which I have had an overwhelming spiritual experience. One summer's afternoon, visiting the Oregon coast, I found myself having an unexpected moment of clarity. I stood at a rocky shore with the ocean spray against my cheeks and the sun beaming down, glorious in its intensity. A chant rose from my throat only to be lost in the sound of breaking waves. It was the earth that seemed to speak to me, filling me with a peace I seemed to have lost.

When words and melody came tumbling out of me, I knew that I was in a place of enlightenment. Nature became my refuge and my mistress. I think it was in that moment when I began to fully consider myself Wiccan. It may have been the absolute presence of nature and universe that overwhelmed me. I don't even recall the chant that came to mind, but I knew that my spiritual life would be centered on finding that feeling of completion and trying to tap into that wellspring of natural harmony once more.

Whenever people look down upon my spiritual beliefs, or berate me for not having seen "the truth," I remember that afternoon and know there is not one person on the planet or god in creation that can take the gift of that experience away from me. I am forever chasing the feeling from that sunny day, but I have caught glimpses of it whenever I leave my modern life behind and surround myself with Mother Nature.