Love Without Reason… Sunday, May 23, 2021 Taizé
With Lucinda Alton, RScP, Prayer Practitioner and Chris Johnson, RScP Leading the Meditation.
Call to Awareness – 3 Bells
Opening Prayer – Lucinda will set the intention to open heart and mind, welcoming whatever is to be awakened today.
Introduction – Rev. Diana
Good Morning. My name is Rev. Diana Johnson, Pastor and Spiritual Director of Mystic Heart Spiritual Center. Welcome Home to our Beloved Community, and Welcome Home to your own Mystic Heart. I thank you for joining us this morning for our Taizé Meditation.
For the next hour or so, I invite you to let go of all that has come before this moment…taking a cleansing breath and fully arriving in this moment. Gently close your eyes and allow your body to relax…let your mind relax…allow yourself to settle into the Quiet Stillness within…where the Inner Light shines…where the Voice of Spirit whispers only Truth as you listen for Its Guidance. There is Power in the silence. Take a moment to experience that Power, the Power of God, as it courses through you…this Power brings strength, courage, stability, and constancy. Taking another slow, deep breath, let go one more time and 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 we are talking about Connection, and during the month of May we are exploring the process of being Care-full, Not Cautious. Today’s meditative journey will serve as a reminder to Love without Reason. Love is a Quality of Spirit, inherent in us, available in every moment. It is a sense of self-givingness…Love carries no conditions. Love is all that is. So, Love is who we are…and what we are here to do. That is all. Breathe that in for a moment.
Breathing in Love, and then sending Love out into the world on the outbreath, creating an atmosphere of Absolute, unconditional Love…both within and without…
As the breath settles into its own natural flow, allow it to slow just a bit more… and then gently move your awareness away from the breath, and into the Silence, into the Love, into the eternal nature of your being, where you feel and know your Oneness with a Loving and Lawful Presence. Together, we are attuning ourselves to a higher vibration as we co-create this experience of Communion…take a moment to feel the Presence of Spirit in your body…it may be a tingling, a warmth, a vibration, a sense of comfort…or something else. (Pause)
There is a Love greater than anything we can imagine. It is that Love that infuses the Evolutionary Process…the same Love that poured forth as all of Creation…as the heavens, the bodies of water, the vast expanses of land…as the minerals, the plants, the animals, and the humans…It is the same Love that chose to express and experience Itself as you. And it is the same Love that is evolving human nature Itself. We recognize and honor the spark of Divine Love in everyone and everything. As one by one, each of us acknowledges and learns to consciously direct that Love, life on earth is being transformed. Each of us is a conduit for Spirit’s Love.
We take a moment to sense our connection with all of Life…to feel the Oneness of our global community…to envision a web of consciousness that is everywhere-present…knowing that each of us is a Radiant point of Light…(Pause) And now we recognize that all beings are part of that web…we see that in Truth there are no spaces between us…our web has become one continuous field of Awareness, of Intelligence, of Infinite Potential…the very fabric of existence…each of us an individualized expression…and we sense that it extends out beyond our beautiful planet, into the cosmos…there is no beginning, no ending…
As we come together this morning, we share a heartfelt intention…to spend time, as Spiritual Family, in deep communion with the Great Mystery, with that which is beyond time and space, beyond definition and description…from deep within, each of us feels the impulse to grow and evolve, and chooses 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 occurring…Wholeness is being revealed.
Eastern cultures have many words for Love. Sanskrit has 96 words, each representing a different aspect or stage of Love. Ancient Persian has 80. Western culture has unfortunately given less attention to the nuances of Love. Greek names seven types of Love, and English has only one word – Love.
Metaphysicians and Mystics alike often define Love as self-givingness. Each of us has the capacity to give of ourselves, to offer our gifts in the world. Each of us has the ability to Love. Why else would we have been given our unique qualities and talents? Certainly not so that we can keep them to ourselves…to hide our Light under a bushel. So it is our purpose in this lifetime to pour out our gifts…to give unconditionally…to Love without Reason.
Now the questions become…what calls to my heart? What do I love? St. Thomas Aquinas suggested that “The things that we love tell us what we are.”
Next, we might consider…how will my loving, my self-givingness, take form in the world?
SILENCE – 2 Minutes – Bell
Rev. Diana
Love…self-givingness…is a discipline. It takes practice, just like everything else. Remembering that Love is our Nature…while it is our choice whether or not to think, speak, and act from Love, Love Itself is not based on conditions.
Neale Donald Walsh, in his book Communion with God, says that:
Life always was, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. So, too, with God. For God is what Life is. So, too, with Love. For Love is what God is. Love, therefore, knows no condition. Love simply is…conditional Love is an oxymoron…the two are mutually exclusive. The experience of Conditionality and the experience of Love cannot exist at the same time in the same place. (I will repeat that.) The experience of Conditionality and the experience of Love cannot exist at the same time in the same place. Your idea that they can is what is destroying you.
When I place conditions on my Love, on how I give of myself in the world, I am limiting how Life can show up, how my Good can show up. When I say, “I will love you if…”, or “I will give this much of myself unless you…”, I am limiting how others can show up in my life…I may even be limiting which others can show up. Here is the invitation as we move into our musical meditation…please know with me that There is Only Love.
Musical Meditation – There is Only Love by Karen Drucker
Rev. Diana
I was reading a Facebook post this week…something I don’t do much of…a group of 30-somethings, some of whom I have watched bloom into adulthood, discussing their frustration at not being where they thought they would be or should be in life. Some mentioned the challenge of finding right livelihood that could support them well, despite having a college education…some mentioned not yet having life partners or families…there was a general consensus that the expectations they were given by society did not encourage them to share their gifts…did not honor who they truly are as human beings…did not invite them to follow their hearts. I’m sure that most of us have had such feelings.
Author, philosopher, and theologian Howard Thurman spoke some of the wisest words I have ever heard: “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
It is so important that we begin to infuse this idea into our education system, into our parenting practices, into our infant and childcare programs. It starts with the children.
Again, excerpting from Communion, Neale Donald Walsch invites us to:
Teach your children that they need nothing exterior to themselves to be happy…and that true happiness is found within. Teach them that they are sufficient unto themselves…
Teach your children that every failure is a fiction, that every trying is a success…
Teach your children that they are deeply connected to all of Life, that they are One with all people, and that they are never separate from God…
Teach your children that they live in a world of magnificent abundance, that there is enough for everyone, and that it is in sharing the most, not in gathering the most, that the most is received…
Teach your children that there is nothing that they are required to be or to do to be eligible for a life of dignity and fulfillment, that they need not compete with anyone for anything, and that God’s blessings are meant for everyone…
Teach your children that they will never be judged; that they need not worry about always getting it right, and that they do not have to change anything, or ‘get better’, to be seen as perfect and beautiful in the eyes of God…
Teach your children that consequences and punishment are not the same thing, that death does not exist, and that God would never condemn anyone…
Teach your children that there are no conditions to love, that they need not worry about ever losing your love, or God’s, and that their own love, unconditionally shared, is the greatest gift they can give to the world…
Teach your children that being special does not mean being better…that mine is not a better way, mine is merely another way…
Teach your children that there is nothing that they cannot do, that the illusion of ignorance can be eradicated from the earth, and that all anyone really needs is to be given back to themselves by being reminded of Who They Really Are.
Teach them [these things] and you will have taught them grandly.
Teach these things not with your words but with your action; not with discussion, but with demonstration. For it is what you do that your children will emulate, and how you are that they will become.
SILENCE – 2 Minutes – Bell
Chris – Meditation
Let us now bring ourselves into a more conscious awareness of the Presence of Spirit… God is fully present and available to us in this Sacred Space… right here… right now… Let us align ourselves with this Divine Presence by making ourselves fully available to Spirit… <pause>
Opening ourselves to the Divine inflow, we allow the Unconditioned Love of Spirit to fill our heart, mind, and soul… We free our emotions to feel God’s Presence all around us… and deep within us… We are immersed in Love… We are One with that Love… We are made of Love… <pause>
The teachings of the Rabbi Yeshua of Nazareth describe a fierce Love… a radical Love… a revolutionary kind of Love… Yeshua taught – and demonstrated – that Love is inclusive, not exclusive… unrestricted, not conditional… freely given to all… Indeed, he taught his disciples to Love Without Reason… <pause>
Is it reasonable to give our Love indiscriminately? … no… Can our human hearts and minds love and forgive our enemies? … no… Divine Love can only spring forth into the human realm through the Christ Consciousness… through your consciousness and through mine… Of ourselves, we can do nothing – we must allow Spirit to love through us… And so, as we move into the Silence, we ask, “What is preventing me from expressing Divine Love? … How can I clear the obstacles away and become a clear conduit for God? … What are my reasons for not expressing Radical Love? …
Silence – 5:00
With hearts filled to overflowing with Divine Love and profound gratitude, we give thanks… Thanks for the Unconditional Love of Spirit… for the inspiration of this day… for this time of communion with the Divine and with our Beloved Community…
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.
Encouraged by the inspired insights flowing through Rev. Diana today, we allow Divine Love to empower us to love fiercely… to love radically… to love freely… to Love Without Reason…
Rev. Diana – Invitation to Practice
As you move into your week, I invite you to a most challenging Practice, again from Communion. Again, excerpting from the author’s powerful words:
Go now and teach these things not only to your children but to all people and all nations. For all people are your children, and all nations are your home, when you set out on the journey to mastery.
This is the journey on which you embarked many centuries and many lifetimes ago. It is the journey for which you have long prepared and that has brought you here, to this time and place.
This is the journey that calls you more urgently now than ever before, on which you feel yourself proceeding with ever-increasing speed.
This is the inevitable outcome of the yearning of your soul. It is the speaking of your heart, in the language of your body. It is the expression of Divinity within you. And it calls to you now as it has never called before – because you are hearing it now as it was never heard before.
It is time to share with the world a glorious vision. It is the vision of all minds that have ever truly searched, of all hearts that have ever truly loved, of all souls that have ever truly felt the Oneness of Life.
Once you have felt this, you can never be satisfied with anything less. Once you have experienced it, you will want nothing but to share it with all those whose lives you touch.
Closing in prayer, I gently guide my mind into my deepest, most silent place…into my heart, and there stand in the presence of God. (Pause) I enter willingly into true solitude…
It is here, in the depths of my heart and soul that I find my Divinity infusing my humanity…entwined as One. As I sit in the silence, I touch the place where Spiritual Understanding dwells…and I Am filled with a sense of deep communion.
It is in this place that I feel the Presence of the One Loving and Compassionate Source. It is here that I sense and know that I Am a perfect expression of the Divine…that I Am intentionally created so that God might experience Itself as me.
And so, I grant this opportunity to the One…to experience and express Its inherent Love and Compassion. As this invitation to serve as an example for all people is before me, I know that it is for me. There are no accidents. This is the time. I Am the One. And so, I accept this Call.
Thank you, God, for Your many gifts and for my growing understanding and willingness. There is nothing but Love going on here, and that Love is boundless. It fills my life with all of the Good my heart can hold, and by Your Grace, It flows out from me, back into the world. I know that it is by Your Grace that I Am lifted, that my mind is purified, and my heart is opened. Recognizing our Oneness, I quietly receive Your Love today. It washes through me with Its mighty Power and Wisdom, guiding me from this moment forward. In deepest gratitude and Absolute Faith in the power of prayer, I release my Word to the Loving and Lawful Presence that I call God, in full expectation that it is coming into form and experience by means of my life in this instant. I call it done…I let go and let God…And so it is…Amen!
Musical Meditation – God’s Eyes by MaMuse
Diana – Moving into 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…Visioning together…a world that is peaceful, joyful, abundant, and free…where the Earth is in perfect balance, respected and cared for by all beings 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…a world where Loving without Reason is what we do, it’s who we know ourselves to be. Let this Vision become crystal clear in your heart and mind. Feel it…know it…within you and all around you. Trust and Know that the Infinite Intelligence that created the cosmos and everything in it is so much bigger than any apparent lack or limitation…God knows what God is doing…and with humanity as Its hands, feet, voice, and heart, all things are possible.
Do you feel it raising your vibration? Now hold onto that Vision…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 form of 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…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 be a part of 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.
We are creating a new story. Together, we practice seeing the Divine in all that is, and in seeing a world where all human gifts are shared and appreciated.
Our wide-scale Vision is
Practicing the Possible Through Prayer.
We know that Peace is possible, Love is possible, and living from our principles is possible. This is our Work. We are committed to
Living from our Divinity… empowering our lives, and creating authentic, loving Community through heartfelt Study, Service, Celebration, and Prayer.
AND…we are committed to having 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!
Feel free to get up and dance to…
Offertory Video – Everyday People, written by Sly Stone & performed by Playing for Change
Rev. Diana – Closing Gratitude and Benediction
Lucinda, Prayer Practitioner: Invitations
- Tuesdays – Join our lively discussion, beginning on June 1 as we jump into Communion with God by Neale Donald Walsh. Books are available on Amazon Smile. If you enjoyed the readings today, you won’t want to miss this.
- Wednesday, June 2 – 2:00-5:00 – The Gratitude Formula by May McCarthy, with Prayer Practitioner Lucinda Alton. Books are available on Amazon Smile. Contact Lucinda for more information.
- 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.
- 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.
- Selected Saturdays:
- June 5, 10 am – 1 pm, Mystic Morning Brew with Prayer Practitioner Lucinda Alton…yours truly!
- June 12, 10 am – 12 pm, Praying in Color: Coloring with Mindfulness with Ellie Thompson, available in person and via Zoom. Please contact Ellie at 515-6793 for more information.
- Save the date… Please join the Mystic Heart Beloved Community in our first annual Fall Meditation and Prayer Retreat led by Rev. Diana and Chris Johnson at the beautiful Coram Ranch in Shasta Lake. When? September 16-18 (Thursday through Saturday). Cost is $175. Place your reservation with a $50 non-refundable deposit. Spaces are limited…contact Rev. Diana for more information.
- 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, written by Lainey Bernstein, RScP & Gary Lynn Floyd, performed by in2it.
Close of Service