I almost thought about leaving this part blank, as the title says enough. However, a lot of people would probably think that they already know what it means to have a direct experience of God, but it might not be in the same way we teach people to have these experiences. What I mean when I say that one can come into a direct relationship with the God at the center of your being is, in essence, extremely literal: you can learn to see and experience God inside of you. An experience that is real, unwavering, as solid as the ground you walk upon...perhaps more. Everyone has God inside. Everyone has the capability to know God in this intimate way. We all need to peel away the layers of hurt, anger, fear, resentments that encrust this Divine part of us. This takes patience, love, humility, and the assistance of someone who has walked the way themselves, otherwise we'll get lost.



At the Center of Light, all of our priests are Self-Realized and have allowed themselves to be humble before God enough to find God and be loved into wholeness by God. We offer a direct relationship with a spiritual teacher that can guide you inside, through all of your hurts and blocks, in order to come into your own connection with God. It is an amazing journey and finding God inside is the most satisfying and fulfilling thing there is! I honestly and sincerely say that I would not take back one day on the Path, despite all of the struggle of letting things go that I went through; despite seeing things about myself over the last eight years that have been humbling and painful. Now, teaching people to find their own connection and relationship with God is so beautiful and such a gift to be a part of!

This past week, through New Year's, myself and four other priests led the teen retreat in Minneapolis with 14 teens from our Centers of Light around the country. It was so amazing to watch each one grow and open into developing close and meaningful relationships with one another and with God, Jesus, and Mary. In some ways, the younger we are, the easier it is to clean ourselves up and get closer to God because we're not so stuck in our ways. In other ways, there's still a lot of growing up and learning a bout the world to do. It's the teenage curse: being in the in-between stage of not quite being a kid and not quite being an adult; the place of thinking they have the world figured out and not having spent enough time in it to declare it being figured out. And in other respects, there is something simple about being younger: often it's easier to feel connected to God, to see light, to move into new patterns. The blessings of simplicity! On several occasions, my heart was so overwhelmed with love for each one as they were sharing truly challenging and vulnerable parts of their heart and lives with us and their peers. Adolesence is a hard time in life for most and the pain can be so real and deep that it seems hard to think that anyone can understand. That's why these retreats are so powerful for these teens: they actually get to spend time with the priests and their peers that aren't afraid to go there and come back out again a changed person. I look forward to the next one, as I know they do, too. (Oh yeah, and we went to Mall of America and skiing!)

All of you who are spiritual seekers should come to these seminars this weekend with Father Peter. This is the most real thing out there. I, myself, looked for years before finding this Order and was floored by the reality, integrity, and light of the Master Teachers. I had asked several international, so-called spiritual teachers and guides questions about the spiritual world and Father Peter and Mother Clare, our two Master Teachers, were the only ones who could answer the bigger questions of "Who are We?" "If God is so good and all love, why do all these bad things happen in the world?" "What is the purpose of life?" If you have wondered these very questions and not received any answers to your satisfaction, come and ask! Find out for once from someone who actually knows, rather than someone who just claims to.

I once heard that makeup was created thousands of years ago by Egyptians who were trying to recreate the glow that they recognized in the priests. What they were noticing was that the light the priests were carrying made them look beautiful. And thus, we have makeup: the substance for those who don't carry as much light. This video was sent to me recently and it's actually quite amazing the messages we, as a society, send about what makes someone beautiful. It's not about how much light they carry, or how compassionate and loving they are, or even how close to God one is, or how much transformation has been had...It's about trying to fit a mold of beauty that doesn't even exist! Check it out.

Advent started yesterday! Advent marks the weeks before Christmas, where the light increases on the earth. People might feel uncomfortable or more irritated as that happens, which is why we sometimes see ourselves getting caught up in shopping and holiday chaos. Throughout the years, it seems as if things are getting worse. People are getting more impatient, more self-focused, farther away from God. One of the great gifts of this season is that it pulls inside for more self-examination, so we can clear out our negative and self-destructive habits. Let's all take advantage of this joyous season, so we can actually be of service to our brothers and sisters on this planet!

I hope you all had a blessed and grateful Thanksgiving. There is so much to be thankful for if we only open our eyes and hearts! Thanksgiving this year arrived on the anniversary of my priest ordination, which was an added blessing for me, personally. As I'm heading into my fifth year of being a priest, I am continually thankful for the gift of spiritual teachers and all of those who have travelled the Path before me, for all those who have held the reality of God for me before I could hold it for myself.

This Thanksgiving, part of the Lansing community spent holiday at the Milwaukee Center of Light with the Milwaukee and Chicago communities (and with Father Peter!). It was like a mini-retreat, with teaching and love for all. Father Peter watched a movie with us called "Sun Seed" about the spiritual teachers and guides of the 60's and 70's (teachers li ke Sufi S.A.M. and Ram Dass, etc.). What struck me especially about the movie was a couple of things: how there were many more guides back then compared to now; also how some of them weren't really teachers at all, at least not in the way I know real Teachers to be. I'm especially grateful for the fact that even though there are very few REAL Spiritual Teachers today, that I know two of them and they have both trained, loved, and taught me; that I have also witnessed them teaching and loving hundreds of others. What a huge gift! And how sad it is that people don't want to grow like this.


"I am thankful for life itself. I am grateful for my Teachers who taught me everything about what is real, what is important and what lasts. They taught me love and integrity and honesty. They introduced me to God in the center of my being. They came through on their promises and did not fail me as so many regular people have done. My Teachers were wise because they were truly humble before God and allowed themselves to be taught and led through all of the trials and tests so they could be introduced and come to know God. They were courageous in defying the whole world in order to stand for the truth. They did not compromise or make bargains with anyone. They could not be lobbied or influenced by p ower, ambition, pride or fear. They were steadfast and obedient to God, Jesus and Mary. They earned my trust because of their love, not because of a desire on my part to be like them, although more and more I wanted to be like them in the ability to love. Their wisdom and spiritual sight guided me through the stages of initiation and spiritual gr owth to enable me to become the Teacher I am and to be one of the wise ones on the earth. This is not a pompastic statement. (Pompastic is pompous and bombastic together = pompastic). I have attained God consciousness because of the sacrifices and prayers of my Teachers. Their prayers and love for me made it possible for me to rise up and do what they did. And now that they are passed into the spiritual world, they continue to support my work here and I continue to honor them for the love they had for me and the opportunity I was given to be able to learn from them. I am thankful to Jesus for being my Teacher and calling me from the world and crushing my human ego so that I could actually take direction from God. Jesus' love is beyond anything you can imagine as it is so deep and wide that words cannot express. Jesus is real. Mary is real and Her love is so still and powerful and deep that one can only be in awe of Her. I am thankful also for all of the souls I have been able to inspire over the many years of teaching and training people. They are joy to me. Their development and unfoldment has been astounding and continuous and I want to thank each of you that has had the guts to allow the Teachers to teach you. I am thankful for our spiritual community which is growing larger and larger and stronger and stronger for their willingness to give and love. They make all of this work on this planet worth it. Blessings to all of you in this Thanksgiving season." ~Father Peter from his blog (can be found at www.themysticalpath.blogspot.com)

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I'm always inspired to reflect on the gifts that life and God gives us! Here's my top ten for the moment:
1) God and how God gave us the gift of being able to feel, see, and know God inside of our beings
2) the peace that meditation brings
3) crispness of the air in winter time
4) beauty of the snow floating down
5) the Centers of Light around the country and the community of brothers and sisters that all strive to deepen in their relationships with God
6) the depth of connection with people who let themselves be open and vulnerable
7) being challenged and growing from it!
8) the dedication to improve all things all the time
9) learning new things
10) letting go.