DAVIE, Fla. -- For 23 minutes in a darkened room, I meditated with Ricky Williams.

Never conscious the man helping me achieve transcendence is one of the NFL's most spellbinding figures, I sat, palms up and serenely, in an intimate group of eight. Golden flames appeared on our heads. Brilliant light pulsated from us into the earth.

Not literally, of course. That might take a few more sessions to master.

Yet for a moment here and there, I actually felt it.