You Can’t Fool Mother Nature! Sunday, May 9, 2021 Taizé
Rev. Diana Johnson, with Prayer Practitioner Sherri Dotter, RScP, and Chris Johnson, RScP, leading the meditation.
Call to Awareness – 3 Bells
Opening Prayer – Sherri will set the intention to open heart and mind, welcoming whatever is to be awakened today.
Introduction –Diana
Happy Mothers’ Day! My name is Rev. Diana Johnson, Pastor and Spiritual Director of Mystic Heart Spiritual Center. I begin today by welcoming you Home to our Beloved Community, and Home to your own Mystic Heart. I thank you for joining us in celebrating motherhood, the Divine Feminine in each of us, the Creative aspect of our humanness, and the beauty of our Beloved Mother Nature.
For the next hour or so, I invite you to let go of all that has come before this moment…taking a full and cleansing breath and fully arriving in this moment. Gently closing your eyes if you are comfortable doing so, and allow your body to relax…letting your mind relax…allowing yourself to settle into the Peace that dwells within you…where the Still Small Voice might make Itself known as we invite Its participation. Now take a moment to ground yourself…imagine a root extending from the base of your spine down into the earth… connecting you to the Sacred Mother, offering you stability and connection. In this state of connection with Life, allow yourself to be held and carried by the experience of Taizé…feel the words and music wash over you as you drop down into the depths of your soul…
Chant – Dropping Down by Karen Drucker
Rev. Diana –
This year’s overarching theme is Connection. During the month of May we take a look at being Care-full, Not Cautious. Today’s meditative journey will serve as a reminder that We Can’t Fool Mother…Infinite Intelligence is everywhere present, both within and without. Join me in taking another deep breath in, feeling the Presence of New Life entering your being…and then breathing out, and allowing anything that is not Life-enhancing to be released back into the atmosphere where it is transformed…
Breathing in Vibrant Energy and this time holding it for a moment as it builds Power, and then sending that Energy out into the world on the outbreath, creating an atmosphere of Love, Peace, and Wholeness, both within and without…Taking another moment to follow the breath as it settles into its own natural flow, and then slowing it just a bit… and now allowing your awareness to move away from the breath, grounding even more deeply into the silence, into the eternal nature of your being, where you feel and know your Oneness with the Creative Intelligence of the Universe. Together, we are attuning ourselves to a higher vibration as we co-create this experience with the Infinite…take a moment to feel the Energetic Vibration of Spirit in your body.
This month, we are focusing on the Spiritual Quality of Power. There is a Power, greater than anything we can imagine, and that Power moves through us, through all of Creation…we recognize and honor the same Power in everyone and everything. As one by one, each of us acknowledges and learns to consciously direct that Power for Good, our lives and the life of our planet is being transformed. Each of us is a conduit for Spirit’s Power. “The minute you call upon Divinity, you summon forth that energy…” (David R. Hawkins) and It works on your behalf.
We take a moment to sense the Spiritual Power that connects us…to feel the Oneness of our global community…to envision a web of consciousness that is everywhere present, each of us a Powerful point of Light…each one connected to all others. (Pause) As we now acknowledge all beings, all of creation, we see that there are no spaces between us…our web has become one continuous field of Consciousness, of Infinite Potential, each of us an individualized expression…we sense that there is no beginning, no ending…we feel it extending out beyond our beautiful planet, into the cosmos…
As we come together this morning, we share a heartfelt intention…to spend time, as Spiritual Family, in deep communion with that which is beyond time and space, beyond definition and description…from deep within, we feel the impulse to grow and evolve, choosing to do so consciously.
Acknowledging our connection with all of life, our collective Work here is empowered…Our collective prayer and meditation leave an imprint of Peace, of Love, of Grace, on the world, on the cosmos, for all time…transformation is under way…Wholeness is being revealed.
What comes to mind when I say Mother Nature? (Pause) As I guide this journey today, I am speaking of the receptive, nurturing and sustaining aspect of the Divine…the counterpart to the Holy Father, or the volitional, generative aspect.
In ancient Chinese Philosophy, we find the Yin Yang symbol. It represents the seemingly opposite forces or aspects of Life, of the All-That-Is. Rather than opposite, these forces are actually complementary, interconnected, and interdependent in the natural world. Each gives rise to the other, Spiritual Power flowing between them, as they interact. Each of them is present in every one of us. Today I am speaking of Yin…allow yourself to acknowledge and experience the Yin Energy in you…
SILENCE – 2 Minutes – Bell
Rev. Diana
In other traditions, there are other names for the receptive, creative energy of the Universe. A Christian might call It the Holy Spirit…ancient mystical traditions might call It Sophia or Lady Wisdom…the New Thought traditions might call It the Soul, or the Creative Medium. By whatever name we call It, we know It as the foundational Principles that govern the Universe…and so, they govern our lives.
What do we know about Spiritual Principles? They are predictable…we can depend on them. They are impartial…they work the same way for everyone, all the time. They respond by corresponding to whatever we give our attention to…whatever we put out, we get back…we create a cause, and according to Principle we get a corresponding effect. They are invisible, and so we tend to forget they are always working…whether we know it or not…whether we like it or not.
We might be familiar with these Principles as the Law of Expectation…what we are looking for is what we find…the Law of Being…what we are in the world, what we bring to the world, is what we experience…or the Law or Faith…what we have faith in is what we perceive or draw into our lives.
It is reassuring to know that there is a Power at work that we can tap into, that we can use to make our lives more Peaceful, more Abundant, more Beautiful. In fact, once we are conscious that this is so, Its Power seems to grow. This can be the good news or the bad news…As long as we remember that it is always working, and align our thoughts, words, and actions accordingly, our lives become more Graceful as time passes.
We can consciously call on the Divine Feminine to assist in our creation of a more Beautiful Life, and a more Beautiful World…call her name and she will answer.
Musical Meditation– Mother Take Us There by Jonas Magram
Rev. Diana
(Summarized from Caroline Myss’s Holy Language)
The invisible world is so well organized…it is not carelessly put together. Quite literally, everything we think, say, feel, and do leaves an imprint…sets a cause in motion.
We are all part of one living Consciousness…there truly is no separation between us. And if this is so, then what I am thinking is no longer private…it affects the world around me, every person who crosses my path, and beyond…
“All life breathes together.”
As I become more Care-full about the way I live my life, I might spend time in daily reflection…
What is the quality of my choices?
What am I thinking?
Caroline Myss speaks of how some people are afraid that through technology, they are being watched…listened to. Her advice is to “never mind the government, it’s heaven you should worry about.” We are all part of one Mind…
Every word you say is a prayer, every choice you make makes a difference.
Here is another point to contemplate…anything that exists in the material world is already history. (Pause) It would behoove us to realize that the stuff of the physical world is the end product, the result of our collective choices, not the beginning. If we base our choices on what we see, on the conditions in our lives, we’re responding to what has already happened.
Why not give our full attention to a Vision…to what we want to experience, to who we want to be moving forward? Real change begins in the invisible world…in our faith. We choose to consciously place our faith in the Love (or self-givingness) of the Infinite. We place our faith in the Law, or Divine Order and Process that is always at work. We place our faith in the purposeful nature of everything that happens, trusting that it moves us toward a Higher experience of ourselves…that it serves our soul in some way as it makes its evolutionary journey. The Infinite Intelligence of the Universe uses everything for Good. Nothing is wasted.
SILENCE – 2 Minutes – Bell
Chris – Meditation
Please join me as we take a moment to feel the Presence of the Holy Mother… We know that God is fully present, but let us now bring that Divine Presence into our heart… We create Sacred Space by opening the doors and windows of our heart, and welcoming Spirit’s movement in our life… The place where you are is Holy Ground… let your awareness of the Presence of God grow in this Sacred Space…
As we practice maintaining our awareness of the Divine Presence, we are – as the psalmist would say – dwelling in the Secret Place of the Most High… We remember that God is always here, within and around us… responding to each of our thoughts and feelings with a little ripple of Creativity… And we remember that that ripple expands outward, making subtle changes in the world around us… God is still creating Heaven and Earth, and we are active participants…
All our thoughts and feelings are constantly sending out little ripples of Creativity… even when we forget… In that sense, we are always praying without ceasing – God never stops responding to the call of our heart… But what exactly are we continually praying for? … Do our habitual thoughts and feelings reflect the kind of world we want to live in? … As we take these questions into the Silence, remember – we are on Holy Ground… dwelling in the Secret Place of the Most High… The Holy Mother is right here to guide us and empower us to create a New Heaven and a New Earth…
Silence – 5:00
In this Sacred Space… on this Holy Ground… dwelling in this Secret Place with the Holy Mother, we are deeply grateful… We give thanks for this holy communion with Spirit and with our Beloved Community… With gratitude we accept the insights and even the challenges that come our way… It all feeds our soul…
Thank you, God, for everything…
Please affirm with me that our thoughts, words, and actions align with our deepest spiritual intention, and that we are all inspired daily to give full expression to the gifts given us. The light of our souls shines brightly as we express powerful spiritual qualities in this world.
In this Secret Place, we leave open the doors and windows of our heart, that the Divine Inspiration guiding Rev. Diana’s message this morning may find a welcome place to dwell…
Rev. Diana – Invitation to Practice
Happiness is not created as a result of certain conditions existing…certain conditions are created as a result of Happiness.
Love is not created as a result of certain conditions existing…certain conditions are created as a result of Love.
Compassion is not created as a result of certain conditions existing…certain conditions are created as a result of Compassion.
Abundance is not created as a result of certain conditions existing…certain conditions are created as a result of Abundance.
Freedom is not created as a result of certain conditions existing…certain conditions are created as a result of Freedom.
Happiness, Love, Compassion, Abundance, and Freedom are all states of mind; one can choose which state of mind to adopt.
No matter what state or quality we choose, we find the same Truth. Beingness precedes experience and produces it.
And so, right here in this Sacred Moment, I breathe in all that has been spoken. I allow it to change me, so that I might become more and more open and responsive to the Creative Life of Spirit moving through me. I realize that there is only One Thing going on here and that is God expressing and experiencing Itself as all of creation; how else could It express Itself? And so, It must be living Its life as mine. It beckons me to give It permission to live fully and completely…and so I do. I say Yes to all of the Good that Life has to offer. I open fully to welcoming and receiving the Joy, the Peace, the Beauty, and the Grace that so easily flows to me and through me as I let go of all that has come before and start anew. I Am made new by the renewing of my mind. I am so grateful for this realization, and for the chance to begin again, in every moment. I have absolute Faith that my Powerful Word is creative and moving into form and experience right here and now for each one listening; I release it fully and completely to the Loving, Lawful Presence, calling it done. And so it is. Amen!
Musical Meditation – Oh Mother, God by Karen Drucker
Rev. Diana – Moving into Ceremony and Celebration
Remembering the creative Power of our thoughts and intentions, let’s take a moment, with eyes still closed, for our Joyful Practice of Envisioning a Love-Soaked World, a world impacted and transformed by all of the good we are doing, individually and collectively…really see in the mind’s eye…a world that is peaceful, joyful, abundant, and free…where Divine Mother is in perfect balance, respected and cared for by all humans everywhere…where everyone has plenty of nourishing food to eat, a warm and comfortable home, medical care, opportunities for education and creative contribution, and a sense of belonging…a world in which every being is valued for his or her inherent Goodness, Beauty, and Perfection…a world created by our willingness to practice Radical Love and Compassion, Integrity, Forgiveness, Kindness, and Generosity. Let this Vision become crystal clear in your heart and mind. Let it be a felt experience, within you and all around you. Trust and Know that God is bigger than any apparent lack or limitation…that all things are possible in Spirit.
Do you feel it raising your vibration? Now hold onto that Vision…feel it happening…and let it bring a smile to your face as you gently bring your awareness back to your body…to your senses…to the atmosphere in the room. As you feel ready, allow your eyes to gently open and take in whatever is before you.
Holding a shared Vision is a powerful prayer. Thank you for joining me in this Vision every week. We are building our belief…we are building our Faith.
Please join me in affirming…Our Vision is moving into form…We can do this thing…We are doing it here…We are doing it now…And so it is!
In the final few minutes of our gathering, we practice Gratitude and Joyful Expression as a way of celebrating one another in Community. We are so grateful to have this loving and committed Spiritual Community.
I like to share a little bit each week, for those who may be joining us for the first time, about who we are and what we’re about. Mystic Heart is a group of individuals who are consciously seeking to be the Love and the Peace that we desire for all beings…together we are learning to be the change we wish to see in the world. We are an Independent Spiritual Center that is self-governed by Community Agreements, which means it is free to grow and change according to the needs and desires of its members and friends.
It welcomes all who are drawn to be here. It is open to all faith paths, philosophical points of view, and ways of life that acknowledge and honor the Divine, and support and uplift the growth and evolution of the planet and its beings. We see Evolution and Creation as two aspects of one process that is forever moving life toward its next yet to be, and we understand that each of us is an integral part of that process, leaving our direct imprint on the evolution of humanity.
We consider ourselves to be Spiritually Independent. We draw from the New Thought and Transcendentalist philosophies; the teachings of the Rabbi Jesus and other evolved Masters; and the Perennial and Indigenous Wisdom Traditions of ancient times. On the cutting edge of Spirituality for the 21st century, we are exploring the philosophies of living visionaries, bringing evolutionary spirituality and mysticism into our studies and prayer life. We recognize and celebrate the common Truths that connect all Wisdom traditions; from these we draw principles and practices that are free of dogma and serve as tools for our modern lives.
Our Vision is:
Practicing the Possible through Prayer.
Our Mission in the world is:
Living from our Divinity, we empower our lives as we create loving and authentic community through heartfelt study, service, celebration, and prayer.
Specifically, our Purpose is this:
We endeavor to…
- to live physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually
empowered lives…
- to bring our most authentic selves in service to others…
- to honor and experience the Divinity of all beings…
- to experience the miraculous nature of our world and
everything in it…
-
to recognize and live from our Unity…
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to practice Love in order to bring Peace to our world.
AND…we love to have fun. We’re serious about Celebration…it is a vital part of our Spiritual Practice. We understand that by celebrating the Good in our lives, we bring more of it into our experience. I celebrate your choice to be here and your willingness to be present for this gathering of Beloved Community. It is in community that we come to know who we are.
Rev. Diana – Blessing for the Offering
Each Sunday, we offer you the opportunity to share your financial Good, in support of the Work we are doing in the world. You can go to mysticheart.org to use our Donate Button or to find our mailing address.
We also have a Gracious Giving Program for those who would like to make a heartfelt monthly commitment of support so that we can more effectively plan for our growth and our monthly spending. I would be happy to give you more information.
As we move into this time of giving, please feel the Truth of these words, and know how much we appreciate your gifts:
As I awaken to the God within me and all around me, I see Abundance everywhere I look. I consciously step into that flow of Abundance by this act of giving. I bless this gift, sending it forth to heal and prosper. It is evidence of my deep faith. It does good work in the world and blesses all of Creation. I give from a consciousness of Abundance! And so it is! Amen!
Don’t hesitate to get up on Higher Ground…and dance! This Mother’s Day music is dedicated to my mom, Lottie Estes, who absolutely loved to sing this song.
Offertory Video – Your Mama Don’t Dance by Loggins and Messina
Rev. Diana – Closing Gratitude and Benediction
Lucinda, Prayer Practitioner: Invitations
- Tuesdays – Deep Spirit by Christian de Quincey – an on-going book club facilitated by Michael Bordeaux. Beginning on June 1, we begin a new book. Join our lively discussions as we jump into Communion with God by Neale Donald Walsh. Books are available on Amazon Smile (link on our website).
- Thursdays, 3:00-5:00 pm – Metaphysical Bible, an on-going circle.
- Also on Thursdays, Chris Netto is offering Tai Chi via Zoom. Please contact Chris at standingfirmfitness.com for more information.
Saturdays:
- May 15, 10 am – 4 pm – Praying in Color…Spring Garden Party! A prayerful and playful day of Creativity and Celebration with Ellie Thompson and Rev. Diana. Spend time in community on the 3rd Saturday, due to Mother’s Day. This month’s Praying in Color with be in-person only, in an outdoor setting. Please RSVP for your ‘Planning Ahead List’ and so that we can plan enough materials and food 😊
- May 22, 10 am – 5 pm – Mystic OAKS Adventure to Hat Creek SETI Observatory and Potluck Picnic. Please RSVP for more information.
- June 5, 10 am – 1 pm, Mystic Morning Brew with Prayer Practitioner Lucinda Alton…yours truly!
Planning Ahead:
Friday, June 11th from 6:00-9:00 pm – The State of the Heart Annual Gathering, outdoors in the Johnson Backyard. This is the Mystic Heart version of the Annual Members Meeting. First hour – Updates as to how our community is thriving, plans for growth, opportunities for input. Second hour – Barbecue and potluck. Third hour – Music by in2it!
All are welcome, families with children, too! Bring a friend! RSVP will be required. More details will be sent as responses are received.
Sunday Taizé Meditation Experience, 10 am each week.
Keep your eye on our newsletter. Check our website, mysticheart.org, for more information and for all of our Zoom links.
We want to share what we have with others, so please invite folks to check out our website. The power of invitation is one of the ways we grow our community.
Closing Song: Love Be with You by Lainey Bernstein, RScP & Gary Lynn Floyd
Close of Service