Two Sides of One Coin
Sunday, June 14, 2026
Rev. Diana Johnson, IM, RScM, with Lucinda Alton, RScP, Chris Johnson, RScP and musician Dalton Fitzgerald.
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: |
| 17:37 | Guided Meditation | |
| 48:24 | Conscious Conversation |
Taizé
Call to Awareness – 3 Bells
Lucinda – Opening Prayer
Rev. Diana – Good morning, and welcome. If you’re new with us here this morning, my name is Rev. Diana Johnson, Pastor and Spiritual Director here at Mystic Heart. Let’s begin our Taizé Experience this morning with a couple of deep breaths… letting go…settling in… fully arriving in this moment… and joining our voices in musical prayer.
Dalton – Taizé Chants
- Welcome Home to Your Mystic Heart, written by Diana & Chris Johnson
- I Am Remembering
Rev. Diana – We settle more deeply into Taizé…sitting for a moment in the silence…sensing our Oneness with our Global Community…envisioning a web of Consciousness, Intelligence, Sentience, surrounding and infusing our planet…seeing and feeling ourselves to be a radiant point of Light in that web…acknowledging every human as an expression of that same Light…each one glowing with the Light of Spirit…every creature, every plant, every rock and grain of sand…the soil…the water…the clouds and wind…the heavenly bodies…all expressions of the Sacred, enlivened by the Divine Spark…there is no telling where my Light ends and yours begins…We are One.
Sensing our Unity, we acknowledge our role as conscious, self-reflective beings…we commit to caring for one another…for all life forms…for the planet that sustains us all.
Rooted in our Oneness, we center our hearts in this month’s theme, The Play of Spirit, and we explore Sacred Study and Celebration as Two Sides of One Coin.
We talk about the Seven Pillars of a Spiritual Life. Prayer and Meditation can be compared to Breathing In and Breathing Out, and Self-Reflection to the pause between breaths. Of the Seven, they are the three foundational Practices that support the rest of the Journey…they help us to know and accept our humanity and our Divinity.
The Practices of Circulation and Sacred Service are also crucial to a full and fulfilling Spiritual life. The cycle of giving and receiving is forever at work, whether we know it or not. We start the cycle in motion by our giving. As we make the conscious choice to engage in Circulation or Sacred Service, we let go of expectations. We do not give in order to get. We do not give in exchange for what we have been given. We give for the sheer Joy of giving. We acknowledge that it is the Spirit of the giving that is returned to us a hundred-fold.
This morning, we spend time in contemplation of Sacred Study and Celebration as the two sides of the Conscious Opening Coin.
Many of us are so intellectually oriented that we can easily misunderstand the purpose of Sacred Study…it is meant to inspire us to change, and to offer us tools for growth.
Some spiritual books are written to be inspirational. They bring us the beauty and diversity of life, and the unchanging principles that stand behind the diversity, irrespective of time and place. Inspirational writings are uplifting and help us to find our Unity with Life.
Other books are intended to be instructional, to guide us in finding psychological exercises and reflections that might benefit us, or Spiritual Practices that suit us.
Sacred Study causes us to open our minds, or to witness where they are closed…where we already know what we know. It stretches our compassion, our empathy, our understanding. It offers us a Spiritual Education. Education, from its Latin roots, means to lead out. A Spiritual Education, or Sacred Study, offers our human self a chance to be led out of the misunderstanding that we are only human…it offers an opportunity to further explore our Divinity.
Krishnamurti asks us to consider…What is the purpose of education? Is it to prepare us to understand the process we call life? He says,
…life is something extraordinarily wide and profound. It is a great mystery, a vast realm in which we function as human beings.
The birds, the flowers, the flourishing trees, the heavens, the stars, the rivers and the fish therein – all this is life. Life is the poor and the rich; life is the constant battle between groups, races and nations; (Pause) life is meditation; life is what we call religion, and it is also the subtle, hidden things of the mind- the envies, the ambitions, the passions, the fears, fulfillments and anxieties. All this and much more is life. But we generally prepare ourselves to understand only one small corner of it….education is meaningless unless it helps us to understand the subtleties of life – its extraordinary beauty, its sorrows, its joys.
It is the function of education to cultivate intelligence in you. And what is intelligence? The capacity to think freely, without fear, without a formula, so that you begin to discover for yourself what is real, what is true…
Krishnamurti goes on to say that “Most of us have fear in one form or another; and where there is fear, there is no intelligence.” We take this into the silence… Where there is fear, there is no intelligence. Silence – one minute
Guided Meditation
Sacred Study has many benefits… We may receive instruction that deepens our spiritual practices… We may find a new understanding of a familiar spiritual principle… or perhaps a concept that is completely new to us… We may find meaningful phrases that we incorporate into our prayers… Or we may simply find Divine Inspiration…
Eknath Easwaran told us, “Mystical literature differs from other writing in that as our understanding deepens, we draw more from it… but there is no limit to the profundity of spiritual writings, because they have come from those whose consciousness has merged with the Infinite. We take away as much as we can carry…”[i]
In reading the mystics, we draw upon the experience of those who have climbed the mountain before us… those who know the path, and the trials we may face… We hear from those who have committed to their journey… Their challenges and obstacles provide perspective on our own… and their victories give us hope…
When we read the writings of the mystics, any of the world’s Sacred Scriptures, or mystical poetry, we are given an atlas for our own journey… a choice of myriad paths into the Divine Mystery… Some may attract us… others may not… It is ours to choose a path with heart… the one that calls us most strongly… All paths lead to the same mountaintop…
Sacred Study also gives us phrases to contemplate in meditation… As we enter the Sacred Silence, I invite you to reflect upon one of these quotes: “Be still, and know that I am God…”[ii] “What you seek is seeking you…”[iii] “You were never born; you will never die…”[iv] “Stand guard at the portal of your mind….”[v] “Indeed, the mercy of Allah is near to the doers of good…”[vi] “With God all things are possible…”[vii]
Silence – 3:00
Bringing our awareness back to the here and now, we celebrate our time together in the Silence… Grateful for the mystics and the inspiration they provide… the Truth they reveal… their example of the Spiritual Life… And grateful that their work is so readily available to us… 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…
As Rev. Diana speaks to us of Celebration, we listen with open hearts and minds… Our Sacred Study has prepared us to Celebrate our Divinity together… They are truly Two Sides of One Coin…
Rev. Diana – We practice the discipline of Celebration inwardly when we take time to reflect on God’s presence in our lives, when we acknowledge that every day is a gift from the Unseen hand. We recognize that the world we live in, the beauty we see, the food we eat, the companionship we enjoy, all the blessings we have, come from the One Source. We rejoice in the flow of Grace that moves through our lives. We live with peace in our hearts, knowing that our needs are always met
Our inward Celebration, rooted in our Faith, Joy, Peace, and Gratitude, also brings about outward Celebration. This outward display of devotion can take form as worship or praise. Some take part quietly while others may use words, music, dance, and the lifting of arms to express themselves.
Sometimes we celebrate outwardly by joining together with friends, family, or Spiritual Community to share the joys, victories, and milestones that we experience, or simply for the Joy of knowing and experiencing our Oneness. The Practice of Celebration grounds us in a deep sense of belonging.
We need not complicate the Spiritual Journey…its Practices are simple. In fact, when the Indian guru known as Neem Karoli Baba was asked what the fastest way to enlightenment was, he simply replied, “Love everyone, serve everyone, remember God, and tell the truth.” These tenets appear too simple for those who look for the difficult. A committed undertaking of these directions is often met with complicated justifications for resistance. Doesn’t enlightenment come from a more arduous and lengthy sacrificial practice? No, it is simply this:
To “love everyone” means to see them as they truly are – a soul, a divine emanation of the One, just as are we. They are not their identity, not their personality. In Truth, there is only one of us.
To “serve everyone” means to find what is yours to do and offer your abilities to feed, clothe, shelter, and support one another. In the words of Rabbi Yeshua, “Truly I say to you as you did it to the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.” Again, there is only one of us.
“Remember God” means to reawaken to the one Principle at play. God is all there is. It is our own perception that causes us to close our heart. The theme continues; there is only one of us.
And “to tell the truth.” Telling the truth contains all the elements of faith, trust and unwavering knowing. There is no need to manipulate or control the other for there is no other. So simple…
“Love everyone, serve everyone, remember God, and tell the truth.”
Dalton – Musical Meditation
- Love, Serve and Remember, written by John Astin
Rev. Diana – Let’s close in prayer…hold these words as True for you, as they are for me.
There is only the One…one Source, one Life, one Heart, one Divine Intelligence…expressing and experiencing Itself, Themselves, as all of creation. And so I know that I Am, you are, a perfect, intentional and irreplaceable expression of the One. As I allow this Truth to infuse every aspect of my being, I Am at Peace.
Here is what I know today, in this holy moment…I commit myself to a life of Sacred Study and Joyous Celebration, that I might come to know myself as the God that I AM…that I might come to know all beings as the Divine Spark that They ARE. I seek only to Love, to Serve, to Remember God, and to tell the Truth, knowing that this is what I’m here for. It’s really that simple.
I offer myself in ways that serve the Highest Expression of Life…my life, the lives of family and friends, and ultimately the lives of my global community. It can only be this way because there’s only one of us here. I willingly express myself in all of my Radiance as I grow and evolve to become ever more mySelf. I Am so grateful…
As I know the power of heartfelt prayer, I trust and know that the Creative Presence that I call God is already moving into action, bringing my words to fruition. And so, I relax…let go…let God do Its Thing. It is done…And so it is. Amen!
Love Offering
As we prepare to close our Taizé Meditation, we offer the opportunity for you to share of your financial good in support of the work we do. Circulation is a Sacred Practice that supports your Mystic Heart.
It is by your generous gifts that we can continue the Good Work of supporting you and engaging in the greater Community.
If you’re joining us online, at mysticheart.org you can use a Donate Button, a Venmo qr code, or our mailing address to make your contribution. We thank you in advance for your heartfelt generosity.
As we pass the basket, please enjoy The Adventure by Gary Lynn Floyd, and performed by Dalton Fitzgerald
Dalton – Offertory Music
- The Adventure, written by Gary Lynn Floyd
Rev. Diana – Blessing for the Offering
Brief Invitations – Just a heads up for those who won’t be here for all of the invitations:
- There is a new Summer Bulletin, so be sure to take one home with you.
Dalton – Taizé Closing Song
- A Soul’s Blessing, written by Chris Johnson.
Conscious Conversation
Lucinda – Opening Prayer
Rev. Diana – Welcome or welcome back… and thank you for joining us this morning. If you’re new with us here this morning, my name is Rev. Diana Johnson, and I am the Pastor and Spiritual Director here at Mystic Heart Spiritual Center. We are an Independent Interfaith Community that teaches Universal Principles and Practical Spirituality, tracing the common threads of Truth that run through all the world’s great spiritual traditions. I pray that something you hear this morning will point you in the direction of the Wisdom that lives within your own Mystic Heart.
Let’s get our Conversation started with some upbeat music and give our bodies a chance to move!
Dalton Fitzgerald – Opening Music
- Welcome to the Mystic Heart, written by Diana & Chris Johnson
- One Big Family, written by Robin Hackett & Gary Lynn Floyd
- I’m a Believer
Rev. Diana – Okay, all you Powerful Believers, let’s take a deep breath, move into our hearts, and direct our Creative Energies toward our Vision of a Love Soaked World…where all humans are living from their deepest Wisdom and Generosity, and their most Loving nature…thoughtful of the impact their thoughts, words, and actions have on one another, the community, and the planet…a world without greed, where there is abundance in having enough…where nutritious food, clean water and air are readily available to all beings…
…where warm, comfortable, and affordable housing is a given…where all beings feel a sense of safety, belonging, and contribution…To these blessings, we say Yes!
Ours is a world where mental/physical health, education, and healthy relationships are ensured by social systems grounded in Integrity, Honesty, and Wholeness…where all beings work and play at whatever feeds their soul and are well compensated for their Service…where authenticity and vulnerability are not only welcomed, but celebrated…where the Peace we cultivate within ourselves shows up as a world free of violence, hatred, or indifference…ours is a world where the Love that we are here to share is given freely to whomever our hearts are called to love…where we have moved beyond all lines of separation, and live as one human family, caring for one beautiful planet with the reverence she deserves. To these blessings, we say Yes!
We recognize that transformation is an on-going process, and especially in times of great change, people benefit from working, playing, and simply being together. And so this Community stands as an open and welcoming place for all who seek support, belonging, and a sense of Family. …it redefines Church as a place of Self-Discovery, Authenticity, Kindness, Radical Inclusion, and Love. To these blessings, we say Yes!
It is by the Power of the Great Mystery moving through each one of us that this prayer is acted upon, answered even as it is spoken…as one by one, we live into and from this Vision, it cannot be otherwise. And so it is with deep faith, profound gratitude and great Joy that I release my Word to the One Who Gets It Done…And so it is!…Amen!
Bringing awareness back to the body, to the room, to this beautiful life, and to the amazing beings who share this space with us this morning…
There has been a shift in energy… We have just created a ripple of Grace that has made an imprint of Peace, Love, and Re-Creation. It is done…and you were a part of it. Doesn’t that feel good?
Our theme this month is The Play of Spirit and the topic of Conversation this morning has been Two Sides of One Coin. If you were here for Taizé, you’ll remember that we spent time contemplating the idea that Sacred Study and Celebration can be seen as the two sides of the Conscious Opening Coin. In Sacred Study, we’re opening to new concepts, ideas, practices, and ways of viewing life…opening our minds. And in Celebration, we are opening our hearts to one another and to God. We looked at the simplicity of the Spiritual Life, and at how we try to complicate it. If you missed it, you might want to take a peek on our website to fill in the gaps.
But for now, I’d like to begin the Conversation by asking…
What is the purpose of spirituality?
You mean it’s not so that we become so enlightened that all unwanted circumstances disappear?
If we look at the mystics and masters of every age and tradition, their spiritual connection is what helped them to walk through unwanted circumstances as the Light of the world. Sacred Study and Practice help us to walk through unwanted circumstances the same way we walk through wanted circumstances, shining the Light of Truth, Love, Equanimity, and Wisdom.
Take a moment to think back over your week. Call to mind one welcome circumstance. Anyone want to share?
How did you walk through that situation?
Now call to mind one unwelcome circumstance. How did you walk through that situation?
Can you imagine walking through the unwanted circumstance with the same poise and equanimity as with the wanted circumstances?
Take a moment to visualize yourself doing that. The Seven Pillars, practiced on a regular basis, will help you to move in that direction.
Okay, another question:
What does it mean to study something? (To learn more about it.)
So what is Sacred Study? (To expose ourselves to a variety of concepts, ideas, and practices that people use to deepen their understanding, and connect to the Divine. To deepen our understanding/practice of our chosen Spiritual Path.)
Earlier this morning, we said that it is the function of education to cultivate intelligence in you, and we defined intelligence as the “capacity to think freely, without fear, without a formula, so that you begin to discover for yourself what is real, what is true.
We took this quote from Krishnamurti into the silence: “Most of us have fear in one form or another; and where there is fear, there is no intelligence.” I’d like to talk about that.
What do you suppose he meant by that quote…where there is fear, there is no intelligence?
(Fear causes us to see through distorted lenses. When we are looking through distorted lenses, the facts can get scrambled, the truth can be blurred.)
Does spiritual study help to dispel fear? How?
So is it building your intelligence?
Scott Edmund Miller, in The User’s Guide to Being Human, suggests that there are three levels of Study, whether Sacred Study or otherwise.
First there’s basic study. What do you think this might be? ( It’s where you simply read the material, including any questions, exercises, and practices, and let them float around in your mind.)
Then intermediate study…How might this be different than basic study? (This is where you take time to actually answer the questions and engage in the exercises and practices. This deepens your understanding of the material.)
The author says that “You will develop greater effectiveness in using your innate capacities and will empower yourself to more consciously shape your own life” when you engage at an intermediate level.
And finally, collaborative study. What might this look like? (You’re sharing, listening to other people’s experiences and views, seeing yourself reflected in others, which can only deepen and enrich your Sacred Study.
Miller says that “By milling about through various daily experience and interacting with other people and things, our inner thinkers continually ponder everything under the sun, including the nature of self, relationships, competition, cooperation, values, spirituality, the laws of the universe, and so on. These thoughts lay the groundwork for every detail of how we live our lives.”
Three more quotes from this book serve as reminders where Sacred Study is concerned:
“To know something in-and-of-itself is of little value. To apply what you know is to give your knowledge actual, concrete value.”
What do you think? Is that true?
Okay, another quote: “We tend to get overly caught up in the “truth” of a thought or idea, making it rigid and inflexible, halting its development. The real value of any idea is not in its degree of truth, but rather in its degree of usefulness…” What do you think about that?
And finally, “The best thinking…is the kind of thinking that is always evolving.”
Thoughts?
Okay, enough about Study…let’s talk a little bit about the Spiritual Practice of Celebration, shall we?
We spent time contemplating this morning…What is Celebration?
(Inward – gratitude, seeing the Divine in everything, all is Blessing)
(Outward – praise and worship, spending time with loved ones, being fully attentive, honoring of a date, occasion, or person with festivities)
What does the Practice of Celebration do for our faith?
What are some ways we can practice Celebration?
Be grateful. Henri Nouwen said that “Gratitude goes beyond the ‘mine’ and ‘thine’ and claims the truth that all of life is a pure gift. In the past I always thought of gratitude as a spontaneous response to the awareness of gifts received, but now I realize that gratitude can also be lived as a discipline. The discipline of gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated with joy.
Don’t take yourself so seriously. Laugh a lot. See the humor in any situation. Laugh at your mistakes. Laugh when something is funny. Laugh when you’re happy.
Worship fully…get into it. Sing like nobody’s listening. Dance like nobody’s watching!
Smile! Celebrate everything and everyone. When something good happens in the world, celebrate it. Show your joy for even the small things.
Here’s what it comes down to…each one of us is a perfect and intentional expression of the Divine. Each of us is God in form. When we Celebrate, we are allowing Spirit to Celebrate through us. If we refuse to find the Joy in living, there is no way for God to experience what it feels like to be a Joyful human.
The Sacred Scriptures encourage us to Celebrate. In the Psalms…
“Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight…Clap your hands, all you nations shout to God with cries of joy,” and in the book of Philippians, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”
Do you think of Celebration as a Sacred Practice?
What are some of the ways you can make Celebration a Sacred Practice?
Is there anything else that wants to be spoken right now?
I’d like to close today with a couple of short pieces. The first is called The Summer Day, by Mary Oliver. It is one of my favorites; it speaks to me of Celebration, and of the Sacred.
Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean—
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down—
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
Isn’t that lovely? It’s a good question, isn’t it?
And by author Shauna Niequist:
I want a life that sizzles and pops and makes me laugh out loud. And I don’t want to get to the end, or to tomorrow, even, and realize that my life is a collection of meetings and pop cans and errands and receipts and dirty dishes.
I want to eat cold tangerines and sing out loud in the car with the windows open and wear pink shoes and stay up all night laughing and paint my walls the exact color of the sky right now.
I want to sleep hard on clean white sheets and throw parties and eat ripe tomatoes and read books so good they make me jump up and down, and I want my every day to make God belly laugh, glad that he gave life to someone who loves the gift.
Isn’t that a great image…making God belly laugh every day?
Let’s close in prayer…
There is only One Source of all of Life. By whatever name I call it, I know that I Am That…that each one of us is a perfect and intentional expression of Spirit. And so as God’s hands, feet, heart and voice, I jump in, all the way in. Heart, mind, body, and soul, given over…for the Highest Good of All…and I remember that I am part of the All.
To enrich my experience, I choose a life of Sacred Study, that I might be in a constant state of conscious evolution. I choose a life of Celebration, that I might know that I Am blessed…that I Am a blessing…as is each one of us.
I give thanks for Friday night’s Celebration and the generous offering of time and talent by Marsh, and all who helped set up, clean up, prepare food, and those who attended. What a blessing to our Community!
I give thanks for my growing awareness…my growing willingness…my determination and dedication to all that I love, and that love me in return. These blessed gifts serve me well. And in serving me, they serve the world.
I give deep and profound thanks for this Spiritual Family, and for the support it offers…for this beautiful, safe space for our Gatherings…for the delicious and nutritious food that comes to our table every week, like magic! I am so thankful for the countless hearts and hands that it takes to bring the food into our experience…may each one be blessed and know they are a blessing in the world.
Feeling full to overflowing, in humility and with profound gratitude, I release this prayer now…it has done its work. I trust that The Great Mystery is bringing it into form even here, even now. And so I simply let it be …it is done. And so it is! Amen!
Love Offering
Thank you so much for joining me here today. We’re going to bring this part of the morning to a close, but before we do, we’d like to invite you to join in the celebration of the work we are doing in the world by sharing of your financial Good. If you are at home, you can go to mysticheart.org to use our Donate Button or to find our mailing address. We also have a Venmo qr code.
We are an independent, self-supporting organization, and your financial gifts are what make it possible for us to do our work and provide this beautiful and safe space to gather. We thank you in advance for your generous hearts and gifts. We acknowledge and give thanks for the Infinite Abundance of Spirit moving through you.
Offertory Music – God is Loose in the World (Live by Dalton)
Lucinda – Blessing for the Offering
Lucinda – Invitations – a quick bullet point list of the regularly-occurring activities
- The Mystic Heart Book Club is reading The Shack, Tuesdays at 2:00 – 4:00pm.
- Shining Light on Scripture meets on Wednesdays from 11:30am–1:30pm. We are currently reading The Upanishads translated by Eknath Easwaran.
- On Grief and Grieving by Elisabeth Kubler Ross and David Kessler. Wednesdays from 2:00-4:00 pm This is a book study and support circle.
- Fast Track to Wellness meets on Thursdays from 11:30am – 1:30pm. This is a body/mind/spirit support circle.
Coming up next Saturday…
- Be a part of the celebration! NorCal Outreach Project invites you to the Redding Pride Festival on Saturday, June 20th, 2026, from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm in the Downtown Promenade. Mystic Heart will have a booth. Contact Rev. Diana if you can help out.
Looking Ahead…
- Mexican Train Game Day, Monday, June 22nd from 1:00-3:30 pm. Contact Chris Netto for more information.
Watch your email or get on the WhatsApp Group Chat for more information this month. There is a new Summer Bulletin, so be sure to take one home.
Information Cards
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.
Dalton – Closing Song
- Love Be With You, written by Lainey Bernstein, RScP, & Gary Lynn Floyd
Notes:
[i] Meditation, by Eknath Easwaran
[ii] Psalm 46:10
[iii] Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī
[iv] Bhagavad Gita, 2.20
[v] Ralph Waldo Emerson
[vi] 7:56 Quran
[vii] Matthew 19:26; Mark 10:27
©2025 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.
