posted Jul 24, 2009 5:46 AM by Rev Paul
Right now I'm in
the middle of my first lent. You might think it strange for someone who
didn't grow up Christian to end up living in a Mystic Christian
spiritual school. A year ago, the only thing I knew about the Center of
Light was they had some non-denominational meditation meetups there,
which I thought sounded remarkably progressive for a Christian church.
I grew up going to a Unitarian Church, every week, against my will. In
Sunday School, we talked about the beliefs of other religions, but
mostly the outer practices - none of the deeper truths were ever
discussed.
When I got to college at UW-Madison, I studied Psychology, and for
a brief period bought into the strict materialistic-Newtonian viewpoint
espoused there. They had constructed a universe that had no need for a
God to make it run, and I thought the "scientific" viewpoint was the
most practical. One day I was doing some research for an experiment I
was designing and came across a book called "Explaining the
Unexplained" by Hans Eysenck. He was a researcher I really respected,
and I was surprised he had written a book about ESP, psychokinesis,
reincarnation and other phenomena that were "unscientific". The book
was about all the legitimate scientific research that has been done on
these subjects, which the mainstream scientific community essentially
ignores.
The book didn't really offer much theorization about God, but it
did get into how quantum physics could possibly explain some of the
phenomena. Reading the book caused a chain reaction for me. I realized
I had always wanted to believe in something more than the materialistic
humdrum of everyday 21st century American life. Even though the book
wasn't focused on spirituality, it brought up a lot of questions for
me, and I soon began devouring books on parapsychology, spirituality,
meditation, religion, metaphysics, shamanism, and anything I thought
could bring me a new piece of the puzzle. I realized at the esoteric
core of every major religion, they were essentially saying the same
thing. The Islamic Sufists, the Kaballists, the Zen Buddhists, and the
Mystic Christians - they all believed in reincarnation, they all
believed in the unity of everything, and the more I learned about
quantum physics, the more it started to sound like another way of
arriving at the same truths divulged by the great prophets thousands of
years before particle accelerators.
I read many great books, and often after a new one, I would think
"Now I've really got it figured out. Fear is irrational, God is love,
and everything is great." The only problem was I didn't get much
happier. Loving everyone wasn't as easy in practice as it was in
theory. I'd like to think I made some progress over the 5 or 6 years
when most of my teaching came from books, but if I did, I still wasn't
exactly basking in the infinite love of God. It was about a year ago
that I first found a real spiritual teacher. He could see things about
me that I couldn't see myself. I found him through a martial arts
studio I was attending. Even though there was a teacher there, there
wasn't really a community, and I realized my current social network
wouldn't support the type of consciousness I was trying to cultivate. I
decided to check out some activities at the Center of Light, and was
surprised by how similar the spiritual work they did was to what I was
doing with my other teacher, who did not have a Christian background.
The more time I spent at the Center, the more the clarity, love,
and integrity of the priests became apparent to me. About a month after
I completed the Intro to Christian Mysticism class, I went on the
bi-annual spiritual retreat. I had some great experiences there, and it
was at that point when I really became devoted to this path. Shortly
after retreat, my other teacher abruptly moved to a different state. I
feel blessed that he was here just as long as I needed him.
So, now I've been in the novice program for a little over five months and I'm participating in lent for the first time. As a novice,
I have a regular 40 hour/week job, in addition to all the spiritual
work we do here. There are two other novices who live here (and two
more are moving in soon), as well as two priests. The intensive
spiritual work is great, but what I really didn't expect is how much
fun we have here. There are times when it is really challenging too,
but that's where the greatest rewards are.
A couple weeks ago, the Milwaukee novices took a trip to
Minneapolis to see one of the Master Teachers of our order Mother
Clare, and to visit the novices in Minneapolis. It seems like there's
an instant bond with the other novices I have met in the order. It's
rare to meet people in today's society who are devoting their lives to
knowing God. The world makes it seem like that's a crazy thing to do.
Bonding with other people who are vibrant, young, intelligent and also
on this "crazy" path helps to affirm the truth of the choice we've
made. They get it. They want to KNOW.
So, that's a little bit about the life of a novice.
We meditate and take communion, we go to work, we eat dinner together
and talk about our day and what came up for us. We work on clearing the
crap out of ourselves that is blocking the energy of God from flowing
through us unimpeded. We watch a lot of movies. We change and
transform, becoming more functional and capable in the world while
simultaneously less attached to it. We experience and give more love
than we previously could. We ride rollercoasters at the Mall of
America. I know, it's crazy.
By Caleb (a novice in Milwaukee)
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posted Jun 19, 2009 6:47 AM by Rev Paul
I feel grateful to be writing this blog with enthusiasm and joy in my heart as it wasn’t that long ago that I was living a very sad and depressed life. I had “bottomed out” several times and, for those who haven’t experienced depression, it is literally a feeling where you don’t think you can go much farther down. I dreaded getting up in the mornings and even though I had a fair amount of success (two great kids, a devoted husband, career, etc.), life held little meaning and the depression was getting worse year after year.
I had given up on life – until one day, I found hope at the Center of Light. I felt peace in the teachers and priests and learned of the possibility of having this for myself. I realized then that this was what I had been searching for without really knowing it. I began to attend classes and services and life began to take on new meaning. I found myself smiling in the mornings instead of dreading getting out of bed. I became present to my children and began to reconnect to my husband. Life got better.
And as I have traveled this path, I have learned that I am a soul with strength and power to do whatever it is I choose. I have learned that my joy comes from a real and meaningful relationship with God, Jesus and Mother Mary. I have experienced this as reality and it has changed my life.
I now experience peace daily, moment to moment, wherever I am. I live in the present without fears of the past weighing on my hopes for the future. I know myself to be a soul that is eternal. And I am in love with my God who brings me the greatest joy I have ever experienced.
I am blessed!
By Deacon Leona
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posted Jun 12, 2009 10:08 AM by Rev Paul
Here they are, in no particular order, the top ten reasons why I love learning about Life at the Center of Light:
#10: The energy of peace (yes, it has an energy, it's not just a wishy-washy concept) - better than any high.
#9: Pray for anything! It's fun to get your prayers answered.
Newbie tip: parking spaces are good easy prayers. (Tip: learn *how* to
pray.)
#8: Start resolving that nagging feeling that "there's got to be
something more" with a spiritual community that's doing the same and
priests who know how you'll find it.
#7: Feeling things I've never felt before. Gratitude is heart
melting. Fireworks popping up through my body to get me out of bed are
neat, too. Oh, and learn to chop out fear and anger while you're at it.
#6: True priests whose lives are a continual outpouring of
blessing to those around them. They feel like miniature suns. (This
isn't a metaphor! I can actually feel sunshine coming from them.)
#5: "For as the true grail gives life, the false one takes it from you." The transformed wine is liquid Energy.
#4: Being in my heart feels totally cool and different than being in my head. It feels ALIVE!
#3: Moving around as a lightweight spirit is like breathing pure
oxygen rather than breathing the usual lead of thoughts and emotions.
My spirit likes coming out at the mall (who knew!).
#2: Learning how to hear God. (p.s. when God says "move the car"
that means NOW - the parking attendant is right around the corner!)
#1: The Word dwells among us. Now. Today. Here. In *you*!
By Simon ( A novice in Milwaukee) |
posted Jun 6, 2009 10:28 AM by Rev Paul
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updated Jun 6, 2009 10:31 AM
]
By Gabriel (a novice in Milwaukee)
To me, being a novice is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The Order of Christ/Sophia is something I never knew could exist and is exactly what my soul longed for. The priests here are real. They live a God-centered life and I feel my own growth being quickened just by being around them. Living in the same house, I get opportunities that I never would have had if I had stayed living on my own. Old, stubborn ways I block God now get revealed to me through their help. It’s an incredible feeling to have things that I've struggled with for years being brought out into the light so I can heal them. It feels often like getting out of jail! No matter how difficult or messy the process is, I always feel loved and supported through it by them. That alone has healed my heart.
The other joyful surprise is that the priests are so much fun. Since joining the Order I have laughed more than I ever had previously in my life. They constantly blow my mind because I never expected to meet such clear, transformed people who live in their integrity. Frankly, I never believed such people existed. Not only do they exist, but I share a roof with them!
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posted Mar 29, 2009 7:26 PM by Rev Paul
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updated Mar 29, 2009 7:36 PM
]
What an exciting day! Yesterday, we received a light snow and it wasn't certain that everyone would be able to make it for the Easter sunrise service. However, overnight the storms cleared and this morning was perfectly clear, with not a cloud in the sky. At 7:06 exactly, our service started greeting the first rays of the sun. What a fantastic feeling of new life and renewal!
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posted Nov 28, 2008 9:21 AM by Rev Paul
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updated Nov 28, 2008 9:23 AM
]
We had a fantastic Thanksgiving day at the Kansas City Center of Light. After our usual holiday communion start time of 8 AM, we fired up the smoker and began smoking turkey on the back patio. Everyone brought their cooking supplies from home and we spent a few hours preparing for the afternoon meal. We had sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, homemade stuffing, apple pies, pumpkin pies, homemade whipped cream, corn, peas, and of course, smoked turkey! It was so much fun to prepare all of this food which God had given us in such a warm and loving environment. While we were cooking, several of our members composed impromptu haiku poems about the experience. These were actually pretty good.
One of our students, who works for Northwest Airlines, was servicing of flight to Bombay when the terrorist attacks of the day before Thanksgiving broke out. She was in Bombay as the local authorities struggled to contain the attacks and rescue the hostages. This caused a lot of chaos in Bombay, and although the airport where she was staying was secured, it was still nerve-racking to know that she was there so close to all of the activity. We prayed for her throughout the day and sent out prayer requests to the other Centers of Light around the country. By 1 PM, we heard the news that her plane had finally lifted off for its return trip through Amsterdam, and that she was okay. This is just another example of the blessings that God gives us when things get tight.
Before lunch, we played various games including hearts while some of the kids played video games on the Wii. It's always fun to shift gears and play games with the community. This always reminds me of growing up in a large family where we played lots of games around the holidays. In the afternoon, we watched the movie Young@Heart which is about people in their 70s and 80s, at various stages of retirement, singing pop songs in a choir. The movie is really inspirational. It shows how even with the struggles of old age, people can come together and lift their spirits and accomplish great things. After the movie, we sat down for dinner and while we ate, every one shared what they were most grateful for in the past year. Many people were grateful for the center and for the spiritual community that we all share here. I was personally grateful for all of the grace that God has shown us as we've made several transitions in the last year here at the Kansas City Center of light. There's always been enough time, energy, and resources to make the adjustments that we need to move on to the next chapter in our development.
After dinner, we voted on the evenings activities and decided to go for a walk around the Kauffman Foundation's geese pond. We then came back home, did all the dishes, and sat down to watch Bill Murray in Scrooged. Several of the kids were shocked by the 80s clothing and hairstyles (as this movie was first released in 1988). Still, it had some great themes and Bill Murray's character was definitely a jerk that was ripe for a ton of transformation. Even for the 80s, the effects were really good and you got a sense of the peril that his character was in. When the movie was over we broke down and said goodnight to everyone.
It was an incredibly warm and beautiful day at the center! |
posted Aug 23, 2008 8:53 PM by Rev Paul
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updated Aug 27, 2008 8:10 AM
]
It is with great joy that I write the first blog entry for our new Kansas City website. I hope that this website becomes a way for everyone in our community as well as everyone who is interested in what we do here to learn more about our center and the exciting things that we are doing.
As many of you know, we had Mother Clare Watts here last weekend to give three wonderful lectures. There were around 20 people who took advantage of this opportunity to meet with and listen to a real spiritual teacher. Anyone who has attended these events in the past knows how life changing and impactful such an interaction can be.
This morning, I had the opportunity to participate via video conference in a workshop that Mother Clare was teaching in Milwaukee. This workshop had live video and audio running in both directions, so that I could see and hear her and she could do the same with me. The workshop itself was on the qualities of spiritually evolved men and women, and it was amazing; both for the information presented, and also for the lively interactions from the Milwaukee center.
This technology opens up awesome possibilities to get to work with and interact with Mother Clare and Father Peter much more often as they teach at the 15 centers around the country. In the very near future, it may be possible to attend events at the Kansas City Center of Light on a Saturday morning that are linked into other Centers of Light across the country. I expect that not only will the Master Teacher’s programs be broadcast, but that we will also be possible to participate in other classes of all subjects using this technology.
Here is a screen shot from the workshop this morning:
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