Oneness and Diversity

Treatment by Ed Preston, RScP

 

Wow, it’s already 5:30pm on my day and I’m just thinking about my prayer for the first time.

So, I simply begin:  I am late and lately I have had several words dominant in my conversation and thinking.  I’ll use them all in treatment:

I just pause in this moment, my moment, and I look out at a clear blue, late afternoon sky, and feel the cool fall air coming through my partially open window.  I am so privileged to just be sitting here right now just thinking and writing what I think.  It is sort of like Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages, except its late afternoon.  But I recognize the divine diversity of all around me and I feel it inside and I know it for all who read this treatment.

As we all become One in this moment of celebration of our diversity and our privilege, we unite in knowing our Oneness and see the Unity in our Diversity.  We are One and All.

I realize that life itself is so varied and diverse.  I accept that the word “Oneness” had no meaning by itself.  It needs our “Manyness” or “Diversity” as a contrast so we can understand our Oneness more deeply.

I say, simply, thank you God, Thank you Oneness, Thank you Diversity, and I am so grateful for the blackness and whiteness of this page that allows my words to move out into the Universe of Love and to be read by all of you and included in your lives.

So, I just let it all be and accept it all in its ups and downs, blacks and whites, ins and outs, and rich diversity.

And so it is Inclusively, Amen.

Treatment for October 9, 2016

 

A Time for Change

Treatment by Rich Kurasiewicz, RScP
       We’re into Fall now—leaves are starting to turn and temps are cooling, kids are in school, days are shorter in daylight, election season is in full swing, incidents in Tulsa, Charlotte, Burlington, etc. continue unabated. It is a time of change and there may be discomfort. Yet, it is by raising our consciousness through communion with Spirit in daily spiritual practices, we are healed, as God is revealed, and we are in a good place and in peace, joy and harmony with the world. This harmony transcends our lives to all others as a blessing since there is only one Mind, one Body and one Spirit. We are practicing the presence. And so we pray…. 
       God is all there is–the One Power and One Presence, the Living Spirit Almighty: in all, over all, around all, through and throughout all. God is the Alpha and the Omega, the entire Universe, the Creator and the creation, all Life and everything there is. And, I am that I am! I am of the One Power and One Presence; I am the activity of God as Love and Joy in the world. I am perfect, whole and complete and I live, move and have my being in Pure Spirit, God—I am divine. 
       And just as I am perfect, whole and complete, each and everyone is perfect, whole, complete, eternal and immortal.  I declare that each and everyone is conscious of the Truth that sets them free—the Power and Presence of God is in each and everyone and everything. I know that through this recognition of God in and as our lives, we are at Peace, Love, Joy and Harmony which transcend our lives to the lives of all.  I know that each and everyone is divinely guided, directed, led and protected to their highest Good and Greatest yet to be as the activity of God as Love and Joy in the world. I declare that this knowing and revealing is healing for all and a blessing to all as spiritual healing is manifested in the world. We are the light of the world. 
       I am so very grateful for the Light that shines brightly in each and everyone and the Truth that sets us free.  I am grateful for all the Good that is manifested and the healing that occurs in each and everyone and in the world around us.  I am so grateful that this time of change is a time for Joy as Goodness is manifest everywhere. And I release my word unto the Law where it is already known in the mind of God. I know that my word will not return unto me void. I do give thanks that this is so and so it is!
Treatment for September 27, 2016

God Has Made the Day

 

Treatment by Suzanne Delahaie, RScP

 

 

This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalms 118 v.24

This beautiful piece of scripture, came to me just as I was sitting down to write this prayer,  It reminds me to  see that God has made the day, and that I can and do rejoice in this day.

As I know that there is only God, God creator, God in all as all.  I see the God in all, the actions of God in all, the being of God as all. I know that as God is all and that therefore God is in me as me, in all that I see, and know.  I know that God is joy, and I can rejoice with God in the creation of the day.  As I know that I am glad for this day,  I know that as I am joyful, God’s joy fills me fully.  As I release concerns of the day, I am realized of the experience that is God:  The Joy, the love, the beauty.   I am so filled with the experience of  being,  the love that fills me to overflowing, I am filled with gratitude, and as I know this for myself I know it for all who read this prayer.

I am so grateful.  I give thanks.  And know that it is so.  AND SO IT IS.

With Love

Treatment for September 20, 2016

Love and Light

Treatment by Tim Phares, RScP

 

Night sets in and we approach the 15th anniversary of 9/11.  (Wow, 15 years!)  This was one of the most dramatic events of our time.  Every year, we stop and remember.  We remember those who perished, we remember the first responders, we remember the devastation and anger, and the resolve.   It is important that we do so.  It is also important that we take time to contemplate what drove this terrible incident.

Martin Luther King reminded us that “darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.  Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”    And we know that what we focus on expands.  And so we fill that dark space with light and fill that space of hate with love, remaining ever vigilant to ensure that love and light  triumph.  We do what needs to be one to keep that space of love and light open and full.

We pray.

There is only One Life.  It is Love.  It is Light.  It is Freedom.  It us peace.  It is the life of each of us now.

As the expression of that One Life, I am love, light, freedom, peace.  I radiate these things in every circumstance, in every moment, in every encounter.  They shine forth.  I am vigilant to make sure that I reflect these qualities as fully as possible.

I accept and affirm that they fill my life and the lives of all I meet.

I am thankful for these things, for this knowing, for every moment.

In gratitude, I let go and release this to the Divine Law, knowing that all is well and it is done.

And SO it IS!

Treatment for September 10, 2016

Interspiritual Connections – 5th Sundays at 6:30 pm

Join us in an infinitely meaningful time that draws from many traditions and faiths.

Interspiritual Contemplative Circle offers an opportunity to share, draw from, honor, and abide in faiths and traditions, while we see each other as an instrument, a mirror, a channel, in Agape love, with receptive hearts and minds.

The Sanctuary opens early for those who would like a time of silent meditation. Our time together includes melodic chanting, brief silent meditation, and reflective writing. You are invited to take part, reflect, contemplate, listen to one another, and to share as you choose.

2018 Dates: April 29, July 29, September 30, and December 30

Love offerings welcome.

rev-channasorah

The Facilitator: Interfaith-oriented since birth, Rev. Channahsorah is an ordained Interfaith Minister and a graduate of the Shalem Institute’s Transforming Community: Leading Contemplative Prayer Groups and Retreats – Going Deeper. Her callings are in bridge-building and fostering mutual understanding among people from various cultures, faiths, and traditions. Invited for 5th Sunday:  Lata & Ganesh of Mohanji Group.

Celebration Center for Spiritual Living is a multi-cultural spiritual community with shared commitments to love, service, and authenticity—all working towards a world that works for everyone.

Interspiritual Connections – 5th Sundays

Ah, My Blank Mind

 

Treatment by Ed Preston, RScP

 

Prelude
Well, I sit here with a blank mind trying to think of what to write a treatment about.  I love a blank mind when I am going into meditation, but when I am trying to think of what to write about, a blank mind does not help…….unless I just write about a blank mind.

Treatment

I see the One Mind as a blank mind, not because it is empty, but because my small, finite mind cannot embrace the giant Thoughts and Ideas of the One Mind.  I accept its blankness as a beautiful aspect from my individual perspective.  I know its blankness as a Divine aspect of Mind.  I call it my Mystery.  I recognize my own blankness of mind is a doorway into the One Mind of my mental and spiritual Universe.

I accept my blankness as both a doorway and a viewing window into the One Mind.  I allow my blankness to lead me into that beautiful feeling of Oneness with something so much bigger than myself.   I allow a Peace to emerge from my blankness, which is truly the Peace that passes all understanding.  I unify with the One Mind through my Blankness.  It is also Divine.

I realize that I am joined by a nearly infinite number of other minds who also can celebrate both our blankness and our individual pieces of Big Thoughts.  I return from my Blankness with new thoughts about what to do in my life.  I know we all do this also when we return from Blankness.  I accept it as a form of Visioning.  We find Divine insights in the Blankness.

So, right now I am very grateful for the blank mind that I began with and for the wonderful Blankness of the One Mind in which we all share.  I thank my own mind for its blank times and just gratefully walk through that blankness into the One Mind.

So, I just release these words into the Law of Blankness knowing that they bring a wonderful power into all of our blankness as we simply accept it as our path to inspiration and insight and Divine Instinct.

We are one in the Blankness and so it is.  Amen.

Treatment for September 9, 2016

 

 

Express Something

Treatment by Jenn Fay, RScP
Greetings,
   I’ve been reading Elizabeth Gilbert’s book
Big Magic. It’s about creativity & all the lore 
around this seemingly elusive experience.
If you feel a creative nudge or have a curiosity,
follow it, go for it! She & I agree that’s a Divine
Nudge towards something. I call it following the 
thread. It has lead me to such Wonder. 
 
   Following her advice that rings true to me,
I’m putting my words out there in a nontraditional
prayer-poem. Not everyone likes poetry, but I’m 
not hear to please everyone, thank you, God for
that! 🙂
Express Something
Beloved knows All that Is
All that I am
Together, we craft Life, make changes, plod along
Then, sprint towards the Rapture, the Wonder
========
My feet land on firm ground
Then, confusion….
Sacred stepping stones strategically placed
 in every direction
Eeny-meeny-miny-moe
Sustain or create a new status quo
 ========
Momentarily, the “same old” creeps in…
Heart broken, open with disappointment
Heaven shouts, EXPRESS SOMETHING!
For God’s sake!
No… for God’s Delight!
========
Finally, my Compassion for Being human
Even when I miss the mark,
the Urge celebrates the perfection within
my missing, my falling, my failing, my crying…
 ========
For God’s Delight… ah, there, I see it, I feel it
I am cradled in the hammock
 The Sacred Bolts of fabric
wrapping me in hues that soothe, sparkle, and comfort
 ========
It’s just a poem
Just a creation allowed to move through Life
Let loose of it! It’s the Divine’s!
Let the next, the next, and the next Inspired Idea come
 ========
One Life – Together Expressing
Sacred Mystery moves to… 
Another Idea, another poem, another piece of art,
piece of God, another something
Infinite Joyful Creations, always being released
And so it is!
Treatment for September 7, 2016

Florence Foster Jenkins – The Power of a Dream

There is an old joke: “How do I get to Carnegie Hall?” “Practice, man, practice.” Apparently, not if you’re Florence Foster Jenkins.

Oscar Hammerstein wrote,
You’ve got to have a dream.
If you don’t have a dream,
How you gonna have a dream come true?

Florence Foster Jenkins, based on a true story, is the story of a woman with a dream, one that would seem ridiculous to most other people. She dreams of being a singer, even though she has a terrible voice.  What she does have is determination.

Jenkins (played by Meryl Streep) was a piano prodigy from Pennsylvania who married, contracted syphilis, inherited the family fortune, and became a patron of the arts. She was a major patron of the classical music scene in New York for many years. But she wanted to be a performer, and she simply did not have a good sense of either pitch or rhythm. (Her insistence on adding operatic coloratura to her performance only adds to the effect.)

Nonetheless, her second husband, St. Clair Bayfield, a failed actor, would try to book concerts for her. She performed an annual recital at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, in the Grand Ballroom. In the movie, she is also seen performing occasionally at the Verdi Club, an arts club she helped found. But her dream is to perform at Carnegie Hall.

The movie takes place in 1944. With America at war, Florence is still in pursuit of that Carnegie Hall concert. Eventually, she and St. Clair book the place, partially by giving a thousand tickets away to members of the armed forces. Unfortunately, unlike her engagements at the Verdi Club or the Ritz-Carlton, tickets to her Carnegie Hall performance are available to the public. One ticket buyer is the New York Post critic Earl Wilson, who gives a devastating review in his column, “It Happened Last Night”. But Florence has had her performance at Carnegie Hall.

Although it’s played somewhat as comedy, Florence Foster Jenkins is the story of getting where you want to go by guts and a dream, even when nobody else believes in your dream and everyone says it can’t be done (and perhaps shouldn’t).

What dream are you deferring because people said you can’t do it or perhaps shouldn’t do it? What have you stepped back from trying because you “don’t have it”? Remember Florence and her concert at Carnegie Hall. If Florence Foster Jenkins can sing at Carnegie Hall, then what can you do that you’ve been dreaming about doing?

I think you’ll enjoy this movie, and watch for the power of determination and a dream.

Prayer for Those Experiencing Hard Times

Treatment by Rich Kurasiewicz, RScP
       Wow—we’re already into the dog days of summer, the heat is relentless, vacations are ending, and Labor Day and the start of school are coming soon. There is so much change and so much to be grateful for. What we are grateful for tends to increase because it is what we are focused on. Focus on the good to experience more good and do your daily spiritual practices to know the Truth that sets you free. As we do this, we have more to be grateful for. At the same time, remember to pray for people in Louisiana, Italy, California, etc. who are experiencing hard times—prayer works! And so we pray….
       God is all there is–the One Power and One Presence, all Good. Life fills all space and Spirit animates everything. God is eternal and immortal—omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent.  God is Pure Love and perfect, whole and complete. And, I am that I am! I am one of the Father and the entire Universe. I am created in the spiritual image and likeness of God and I am one of the the Power and the Presence. 
       And just as I am perfect, whole and complete, each and everyone is perfect, whole, complete, eternal and immortal–a divine, spiritual and individualized expression of the divine. I know that each and everyone expresses the immense gratitude they feel for Life and the Power and the Presence of the divine in everything and everyone around them. I know that good manifests more abundantly in each and everyone’s life as we focus on the Good in Life and the Truth that sets us free. I know that each and everyone is a blessing to themselves and to everyone they come in contact with—each and everyone is the Light of the world and a divine expression. I declare that peace, love, joy and abundance are multiplied in our lives and that we live a life in constant gratitude.
       I am so very grateful for the Truth that sets us free.  I am grateful for all the blessings of Life and Spirit present everywhere and in our consciousness.  I am exceedingly grateful for each and everyone who goes within to commune with Spirit and the entire Universe—for it is all One. And I release my word unto the Law where it is already known in the mind of God. I know that my word will not return unto me void. I do give thanks that this is so and so it is!
Treatment for August 27, 2016