The Grace in Belonging
Sunday, November 3, 2024
Rev. Diana Johnson, with Chris Johnson, RScP
Video Chapter Index
| 0:00 | Taizé | Clicking on a chapter link will play the segment in a new YouTube tab. Your link to this page will remain open in this tab, but the video will play in the new window. Clicking on the Play arrow in the video screen above will play both Taizé and the Conscious Conversation on this page. To make the picture bigger, you may click the full screen icon in the lower right corner:  To cast the video to your Smart TV, click the Play on TV button:  . Also, we now have Closed Captioning available! To access Closed Captions, start the video and click on the CC icon next to the gear in the lower right of the video screen:  |
| 17:50 | Guided Meditation | |
| 47:40 | Conscious Conversation |
Taizé
Rev. Diana – Good morning. Welcome to our new Home. If you’re new with us here this morning, I am Diana Johnson, the Spiritual Director here at Mystic Heart. We are an Independent Interfaith Community. We share Universal Principles and Practical Spirituality, finding the Common Threads of Truth that run through the world’s spiritual traditions. We begin our Taizé this morning by joining our voices in Musical Prayer.
Rev. Diana & Chris – Taizé Chants
- Welcome Home to Your Mystic Heart, written by Diana & Chris Johnson
- Thank You God, written by Eddie Watkins, Jr.
Rev. Diana – We come together this morning as a Community, bringing the Power of collective prayer and meditation to bear on the world. Settling into the stillness, I breathe…bringing awareness to the breath…allowing it to ground me…fully present in the here and now…feeling the Presence of the One Life, moving through and all around me…sensing and knowing that I Am an expression of that Life…intentionally made, and here by design…part of an Infinite Field of Awareness, a vast web of Consciousness that surrounds and infuses the planet. It is alive…and within Its Life, and by Its Power, I live.
I Am an expression of Spirit…connected to everything and everyone else. Every human and other-than-human creature, every plant and microbe, every rock and grain of sand, every drop of water…part of one Sacred Whole…a thread in the tapestry that is Creation…all necessary, all Holy, all a part of the one Light, the one Life, the one Source. As I sense my connection with all of life, I Am empowered…as we gather together, that Power increases…
We offer the benefit of our time together to the Good of All. Peace, Harmony and Grace are sent forth into the world. By our every thought, word, and action, we are contributing to the conscious evolution of humanity…the conscious evolution of the planet, and all that lies beyond.
This month, we are contemplating the presence of Amazing Grace. This morning, we spend our time reflecting on The Grace in Belonging.
What do we mean by Grace? I believe that Grace is the Goodness that is always available…the very Nature of Spirit or God Itself. (Pause) We experience Grace to the degree that we place our faith in…truly believe and live as if…that Goodness is the Guiding Principle of our lives. From my perspective, Grace is not a gift bestowed upon a few by a capricious God. It is freely given to anyone willing to practice Radical Faith in Goodness, no matter the appearances in the world. (Pause) That is the real reason that Grace seems to appear for some and not others. I say seems because Grace does not always show up as ease and comfort. When we’re feeling a bit too comfortable, it may appear as a challenge, a difficult person or situation. It is said that Grace comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable. (Pause)
There is no fault implied for those not experiencing (what we think of as) Grace…we are where we are, on our own perfect Spiritual Journey. We can, however, choose to begin to shift our beliefs, and eventually we, too, can attain that kind of Faith, and therefore Grace. I believe that this is what Jesus was trying to tell us…that the Kingdom of Heaven, or Grace, is both within and all around us if only we have eyes to see and the Faith to believe in the Goodness.
So, what is The Grace in Belonging? What do I mean by that phrase? As human beings, no matter our background or current beliefs, traditions, or roles in the world, we are all basically seeking the same things…
…peace and harmony in our lives and homes… To love and to be loved…to find meaning and purpose in our lives…and to find a sense of belonging. We are social creatures, born into families for a reason. We all need to belong.
The Perennial Wisdom…the thread of Truth that runs through all religious and spiritual traditions…holds to four basic principles and tells us that All diversity is part of a greater unity…that my sense of being separate is a functional necessity, not an absolute reality. In other words, I live in a material world, so I have to have a physical sense of self in order to interact with the material world. But on the spiritual level, I am part of the Whole, I belong as part of the Unity.
It also tells us that all of my suffering is the result of my thinking I am separate from my Source. I have somehow forgotten that I belong. (Pause)
And finally, my sole purpose on this planet in this lifetime is to shift my awareness, so that I can come to accept and know myself as a unique expression of God…inseparable from my Source, and one with all that is.
The Wisdom of the ages points towards this understanding, this awareness– that there is a special Grace in Belonging and my entire life’s purpose is to find it.
Chris – Guided Meditation
Amazing Grace… Those of us who were raised in one of the traditional Christian religions may associate grace with manna falling from heaven to feed the Israelites during their Exodus from Egypt… Abraham and Sarah giving birth to Isaac in their old age… Rabbi Yeshua’s healings… Grace seems miraculous and mysterious…
Grace has been defined in religious dictionaries as, “a supernatural gift of God…” but there is nothing supernatural about Grace… Spiritual laws are completely natural, though they work invisibly… Grace is “the givingness of Spirit to Creation,” a gift freely given… We cannot earn Grace, we can simply accept it and cooperate with it…
The word Grace shares a root with Gratitude… gratis, meaning free… Our very Life is freely given to us… and the appropriate response to this gift is gratitude… Living gratefully aligns us with the Grace that is always available… Gratitude aligns us with the Law of Grace, and allows it to inspire and bless us…
Rabbi Yeshua taught that “It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom…” And St. Paul wrote that Yeshua appeared to him in a vision, saying, “My grace is sufficient for thee…” The Spirit within – our Christ Consciousness – is always aware of the omnipresence of Grace… and of its sufficiency…
I invite you now to think of a time when you were touched by Grace… when something unexpected suddenly made things better… It may have been a challenge that simply disappeared… a spontaneous healing… an accident “miraculously” avoided… Remember the relief, joy, and gratitude you felt… Where did that feeling reside in your body? As we enter the Sacred Silence in gratitude, focus your attention on that body area, and invite that feeling to return… This is how we align with Divine Grace…
Silence – 3:00
As our awareness is gently guided back into the present moment, we retain that grateful feeling… We are centered in the Divine Flow of Grace… This time of Blessed Communion has brought us into a deeper alignment with Peace… with Love… with Grace… Thank you God for everyone and everything…
I invite you to know with me now that Spirit is moving powerfully through each of us, and through our Beloved Community… Individually and collectively, we are a powerful spiritual influence on our world… As we evolve in consciousness, the benefits of our growth ripple out, blessing the entire world…
Remembering that Spirit within us is the same Spirit that inspires Rev. Diana’s message this morning, we have created a clear conduit for that inspiration to fill our hearts with Amazing Grace.
Rev. Diana – My sole purpose in this lifetime is to remember Who and Whose I am…to come to know a sense of belonging to and with my Source…and to duplicate that sense of belonging in this physical realm.
And that’s where we get into trouble. We have come into this existence in a culture that rewards us for our independence. Even here, in our community, we like to think of ourselves as Spiritually Independent. In our culture of rugged individualism, deep in the race mind, lives an idea that we need to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps.
As human beings, we grow up with this expectation of being independent and taking care of ourselves. Of course this is a useful skill. But what happens when we fall? What happens when we can’t do it alone? We feel isolated…sometimes ashamed of not living up to the expectation, and we tend to withdraw.
The human ego, or belief in itself as separate, has a purpose…to protect and sustain the body and mental capacities so that this physical body can exist. It is protective by nature. But in its desire to protect, it can have mistaken assumptions. It can see independence as the opposite of belonging.
It can think that independence is real, rather than a fallacy.
We are not built to be independent. We are social animals, born into family units. And as humans, we are inter- dependent with all of creation. We belong as part of the whole.
Here is the Truth…we already belong. There is nothing we can do about that. So why waste the effort trying to be independent and separate?
We’ll continue exploring this theme during our Conscious Conversation. But for now, let’s close our Taizé Meditation in prayer.
I have chosen the words of John O’Donohue as my prayer this morning…
The hunger to belong is at the heart of our nature. Cut off from others, we atrophy and turn in on ourselves. The sense of belonging is the natural balance of our lives. There is a child-like side to the human heart that is always deeply hurt when we are excluded…when we become isolated, we are prone to being damaged; our minds lose their flexibility and natural kindness; we become vulnerable to fear and negativity. The deepest nature of the soul is relationship. Consequently, it is your soul that longs to belong; it is also your soul that makes all belonging possible. No soul is private or merely mortal. As well as being the vital principle of your individual life, your soul is also ancient and eternal and weaves you into the great tapestry of spirit that connects everything everywhere. There is a lovely balance at the heart of our nature: each of us is utterly unique and yet we live in the most intimate kinship with everyone and everything else. Belonging is not merely shelter from being separate and different.
Its more profound intention is the awakening of the Great Belonging which embraces everything. Our hunger to belong is the desire to awaken this hidden affinity.
Then we know that we are not outsiders cut off from everything, but participants at the heart of creation. Each of us brings something alive in the world that no one else can.
This is the Grace in Belonging – we are participants at the heart of creation, breathing life into something that no one else can.
Musical Meditation – One Breath at a Time, by Karen Drucker
Rev. Diana – As we continue to breathe in that Grace, while our hearts are wide open, we know this Truth…that there is One Source of all of Life…One Spirit back of all that exists…One Power moving through all of Creation. I Am one with That…an expression of Divinity…I belong.
I am so grateful for to know and accept this Truth…so grateful for this space to gather with Chosen Family, and for each one sharing this space this morning. I give thanks for the thousands of tiny blessings that grace our lives every day. Thank you, Spirit, for this day and for this amazing life. In closing our Taizé this morning, I know and fully accept the graceful unfolding of my Word in form and experience, as a prayer imagined, spoken, and felt is a prayer answered. And so, I release it now to the Power and Presence that I call God, simply letting it be. And so it is! Amen!
We gently return our awareness to our bodies, connecting once again with our senses…noticing the sounds in the room…allowing the eyes to gently open and taking in whatever is before you.
Feel free to look around at our new space, at these beautiful souls who are here with you, and say good morning to everyone who is here celebrating with you this morning. These are members of your Spiritual Family…
Rev. Diana – Love Offering
As we close our Taizé Meditation, we offer the opportunity for you to share your financial good in support of the work we do in the world.
If you’re joining us online, you can find a Donate Button and our mailing address at mysticheart.org. We thank you in advance for your gifts. We acknowledge and give thanks for the infinite abundance of Spirit.
Offertory Video – Things I’m Thankful For, by JJ Heller
Rev. Diana – Blessing for the Offering
Rev. Diana & Chris – Taizé Closing Song
- A Soul’s Blessing, written by Chris Johnson
Conscious Conversation
Chris – Opening Prayer
Rev. Diana – Good morning… and welcome, or welcome back…and welcome to those joining online. If you’re new with us here this morning, I am Diana Johnson, the Pastor and Spiritual Director here at Mystic Heart. We are an Independent Interfaith Community. We share Universal Principles and Practical Spirituality, and we welcome you to join us in exploring the Guidance and Wisdom of your own Mystic Heart. Let’s set the tone for our Conscious Conversation with some music.
Rev. Diana & Chris – Opening Music
- Welcome to the Mystic Heart, written by Diana & Chris Johnson
- One Big Family, written by Robin Hackett & Gary Lynn Floyd
- Amazing Grace, written by John Newton & William Cowper
Rev. Diana – Join me in a creative journey…together we envision and call forth a Love-Soaked World.
See and feel with me now, a world in which all beings are living from Kindness, Generosity, Peace, Compassion, Joy, and Beauty. Imagine what that looks like, what it feels like…
All people honor, respect, and care for one another, for all of the life forms that share this beautiful planet with us, and for Mother Earth Herself. Again, see it…feel it…
We remember that we are connected to all of Life… that we are dependent on the planet to sustain us, and on one another for our very lives, and for our sense of belonging
By aligning every thought, word, and action with our Vision, we are creating a world in which all people are well-fed… have the safety and comfort of home and a deep sense of purpose and belonging…a world in which health, education, and healthy relationships are supported by social systems grounded in Integrity, Compassion and Wholeness.
Valuing every being for its uniqueness, we practice living truly Authentic lives where vulnerability is celebrated… there is no need to defend or protect. The work we are doing within ourselves shows up as a world free of hatred and violence.
We recognize and appreciate the abundance that surrounds us… greed is a thing of the past, generosity is the norm, and all beings are receiving all that is needed to live physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually fulfilling lives…
We walk in gratitude, respect, reverence, and humility as we recognize the sacred in everyone and everything…there is a general sense of thriving and it is Good. See it…feel it…
We have come to understand that it is through our hands, feet, hearts, and voices that positive change happens. And so we choose to align our actions with our Vision, living these changes in our own lives, with our families, friends, and neighbors. From the ground up, a new world is being born. In this process of profound change, this Beloved Community stands as an open and welcoming place for all who seek support, belonging, a sense of Family.
By the power of our deep faith, clear Vision, and inspired action, this prayer is acted upon, answered even as it is spoken. In full expectation of its Graceful unfolding, and with the deepest humility and gratitude, we release our Word to the Creative Power and Intelligence that I call God…And so it is!…Amen!
Our theme this month is Amazing Grace, and the topic of Conversation today is The Grace in Belonging.
This morning during Taizé, I led us through some contemplations…that Grace is the Goodness that is always available…the very Nature of Spirit or God Itself. That we experience Grace to the degree that we place our faith in…truly believe and live as if…that Goodness is the Guiding Principle of our lives…that Grace is not a gift bestowed upon a few by a capricious God, but a gift, freely given to anyone willing to practice a Radical Faith in Goodness, no matter the appearances in the world…that is the real reason that Grace seems to appear for some and not others…that Grace does not always show up as ease and comfort, but sometimes when we’re feeling a bit too comfortable, it may appear as a challenge, a difficult person or situation…that Grace comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable.
Then we reflected on The Grace in Belonging…that as human beings, no matter our background or current beliefs, traditions, or roles in the world, we are all basically seeking the same things…peace and harmony in our lives and homes…to love and to be loved…to find meaning and purpose in our lives…and to find a sense of belonging. We are social creatures, born into families for a reason. We all need to belong.
And finally, we sat in contemplation of the four principles offered by The Perennial Wisdom…First, that all diversity is part of a greater unity…that my sense of being separate is a functional necessity, not an absolute reality…that all of my suffering is the result of my thinking I am separate from my Source…and that my sole purpose on this planet in this lifetime is to shift my awareness, so that I can come to accept and know myself as a unique expression of God.
The Wisdom of the ages points towards this understanding, this awareness– that there is a special Grace in Belonging and my entire life’s purpose is to find it.
Let’s use that as our jumping off point for our Conversation today.
Anybody in this room own a pair of boots? Do they have straps?
We live in a culture of rugged individualism. We are taught to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps. Try to picture doing that…does that ever work?
Isn’t that the silliest metaphor?
But it’s prevalent in our western culture. We grow up with this expectation of being independent and taking care of ourselves. And it is ultimately our responsibility to get our needs met.
But what happens when we fall? What happens when we can’t do it alone? (We feel isolated…sometimes ashamed of not living up to the expectation; we tend to withdraw; the ego becomes protective, and in its closing down, it makes assumptions – It can see independence as the opposite of belonging.
Is that true? Is being independent the opposite of belonging?
The ego can think that independence is a real thing.
Is that true? How does it feel to think of independence as a fallacy, as something we’ve made up, and tried to live by?
We are not built to be independent. We are social animals, born into family units. And as humans, we are inter- dependent with all of creation. We already belong as part of the whole. There is nothing we can do about that. So why waste the effort trying to be independent and separate?
So let’s wrap up our Conversation by bringing the two together…
What is the Grace in Belonging and in knowing that you belong?
One of my early teachers defines Grace this way: “Grace is the givingness of Spirit to Its Creation and is not a special law, but a specialized one. In other words, Grace is, but we need to recognize it. It is not something God imposed upon us but is the logical result of the correct acceptance of life, of a correct relationship to the Spirit. We are saved by Grace to the extent that we believe in, accept, and seek to embody the Law of Good…” (Ernest Holmes, The Science of Mind Textbook)
Does correct as it’s used here mean that there’s a right and wrong way to do this? This sounds a little like dogma…I thought we didn’t do dogma.
So what does correct mean here?
(That which is life-affirming, that which supports us. So it is saying that when we listen to our Highest Wisdom and act according to it…when we are in the Divine Flow, we experience Grace.)
So, we are seeking to embody The Law of Good…that sounds pretty serious. We’re talking about embodiment.
What does embodiment mean?
(to bring it into your body…to live as though Goodness is the Truth, is always unfolding…it means walking our talk)
So as we learn to embody the Law of Good, we experience Grace. But this still doesn’t tell me exactly what Grace is.
I would like to share a reading with you from The Sacred Yes by Rev. Deborah Johnson. She is addressing another belief that is alive in the race mind on our planet.
Has anybody ever heart, “Life’s a bitch and then you die”?
Here is what Higher Wisdom has to say through Rev. Deborah. Feel free to close your eyes if it helps you to take it in.
Read from The Sacred Yes, by Deborah L. Johnson, page 68-69, section 1.
Do we have this false belief, that life is supposed to be hard…filled with pain and suffering…hard work…lessons to learn?
Where does this come from?
It is embedded in the race consciousness…part of our long history on the planet…probably rooted in the dark ages when humanity went through its dark night of the soul.
Before that, when human beings lived in tribes and hunted and gathered for their food, I think they understood Grace. They allowed themselves to be supplied and cared for by the Divine Mother.
This feels like a good place to bring our Conversation to a close. I invite you to take this question into your week…
Do I have the false belief that life is supposed to be hard…filled with pain and suffering…hard work…and lessons to learn?
Let’s close in prayer…
Holy One, Source of all that is…I am so grateful to know that You are here…now…ever-present, All-Knowing, and All-Powerful. You are what I Am…each one of us here today is a perfect and intentional expression of You…serving as Your heart and Your hands…giving You the experience of being human, in all of the Infinite forms that can take. And at the same time, I know that each of us lives, moves, and has our being in You, in the very atmosphere of Spirit… surrounding, supporting, and infusing us in every moment.
I Am so grateful to know that this is so…so grateful to know that You are predictable, that You act according to timeless and infallible Principles. This means that as I make changes in my thinking and acting, I can count on changes in my experience.
And so right here, right now, I call forth a deep sense of gratitude for the many gifts of this life. I Am so grateful for this time here today. I give thanks for each one here and for the time, attention, and intention it has taken to be here. I give deep and profound thanks for all of the blessings of this beautiful day, releasing this prayer in absolute certainty that it comes into form and experience for each one, exactly as spoken. For I know that a prayer spoken is a prayer answered. And so we let it be…And so it is! Amen!
We gently return our awareness to our bodies, connecting once again with our senses…noticing the sounds in the room…allowing the eyes to gently open and taking in whatever is before you.
Feel free to look around and reconnect with your Spiritual Family.
Diana – Love Offering
I invite you to join in the celebration of the work we are doing in the world by sharing of your financial Good, should you choose to.
If you are at home, you can go to mysticheart.org to use our Donate Button or to find our mailing address.
I invite you to consider joining our Gracious Giving Program by committing to a monthly gift of any size to help us in our budgeting and financial planning. We are an independent, self-supporting organization. We appreciate every dollar that comes our way, and every pledge of support.
As we receive your gifts today, we feature Faithful…Take Off Running.
Offertory Music Video – Take Off Running, by Faithful & Janice Gaines feat. Leslie Jordan & Rachael Lampa) https://youtu.be/u1PTZDMyeik
Chris J. – Invitations
- The Mystic Heart Book Club meets on Tuesdays from 3-5 pm. We are reading Conversations With God, Book 2 by Neale Donald Walsch.
- Fast Track to Wellness and The Gospel of Thomas, will be another week off and coming back together on November 14th.
Mark Your Calendars…
- Gratitude Drum and Music Circle – Please join Mystic Heart on Friday, November 22nd from 6:30 – 8:00 pm in our new Sanctuary. Contact Rev. Diana or April Jimenez for more information.
- Namaste Café! Friday, December 6th, 6:30 – 9:00 pm at the Mystic Heart Gathering Place. Join Mystic Heart for its first Open-Mic Night. Mark your calendars…tell your friends. Check the bulletin for more information.
- Share the Light – Join Mystic Heart for our annual Candle Lighting Ceremony on Wednesday, December 18th, 6:30-8:00 pm. This year’s celebration brings lots of music, a bit of message, and closed with our ritual of Sharing our Light with the world. We will have child care this year for this Sacred Time.
- Please remember, now that we are settled…bring in your socks, gloves, and hats this month for our 12 Days of Kindness. We’ll add the smaller items early in December. I already have a commitment for the bottled water. We have a tub in the Practitioner Room to receive them.
- And finally, we are taking part in Giving Tuesday again this year. Please let your friends and family know and consider offering a gift online to Mystic Heart on December 3rd at https://www.northstategives.org/organization/Mystic-Heart-Center
There is more information available in the November Bulletin and on our website.
Information Cards only if new people
Prayer Requests: I am available after service for prayer, in our beautiful Prayer Room or fill out a prayer card and I will get your request to our Prayer Team for daily prayer.
Rev. Diana & Chris – Closing Song
- Love Be With You, written by Lainey Bernstein & Gary Lynn Floyd
©2024 Mystic Heart Spiritual Center, All Rights Reserved
Permission is granted to duplicate for non-commercial educational use only.
All rights to music performed remain with the copyright owners.
Diana Johnson’s music is © by Barefoot Angel Publishing, ASCAP.
Chris Johnson’s music is © by SeaJay Music & Publishing, ASCAP.