A Spiritual Publication
|
Issue # 4
OCT - DEC 2000
Durham, NC
Editor’s
Welcome
Welcome to our fourth issue
and to my favorite time of the year. Hopefully this issue finds you
all well, having survived the personal hurricanes and storms that September
brought. Most everyone I know has had some real interesting things
happen in the last month. Diane's Guides, Serione', warned our congregation
one Sunday that this was coming, in an unusual spirit message, but I can
explain what an unusual spirit message is in my "Chapel News" article.
If you like what you find in this newsletter, and have internet access,
you can read all of the articles from the first three issues archived at
our very own website:www.serenityshop.net. There you will also
find more spiritual stuff from Diane and I. But for now please
enjoy this issue, and as always it is our honor to serve.
NAMASTE
Jeffrey
Diane’s
Welcome
I really like
this fall weather in North Carolina. It is still warm, kinda of like
the summers I became accustomed to in Washington State. We just get
a longer summer here :-).
As Jeffrey mentioned,
there has been personal and real hurricanes for many people in one form,
fashion or the other.. September has been a particularly chaotic
month in a lot of ways. Hang in there, it is the beginning of wind
down time. Jeff and I enjoyed our vacation this summer. We
spent time with some of our friends and family. Cheryl and Steve
are our boating buddies. These two taught us how to love from the
heart and PLAY. Pat and Duane are a part of our Spiritual quest...they
have a ranch in Oregon...and it is such a beautiful, serene place.
All kinds of wild life are abundant on this property and of course they
love their animals, in which I thoroughly enjoyed. The best part
of our trip was the relaxation and spending time with our friends and families.
These memories will be cherished forever :-).
In closing, I wish you
all a safe, enjoyable holiday filled with wonderful memories
With love, Diane
 |
And the angel said unto them,
"Fear not!
For, behold, I bring you
tidings of great joy,"
Luke 2:10-12 |
With
Love, From Spirit
The stage has been set for much
reward within the next few months. The last couple have shown many
where there heart desires are not. We would wish that within your
hibernation period, you give the gift of life to self regardless of your
traditional festivities that are upon you. Pay particular attention
to your truest desires during this time. Enjoy that which is upon you with
the greatest reverence. Life has much to offer for those that are
willing to see. When you get caught up in the robotic states of society,
traditions, and obligation - the smallest of life events and gifts will
by pass you. These next few months will show you who you are, what you
want and what you no longer have the energy for. When you honor that
part of your creation to the fullest, life will benefit you in all ways.
It is much like the autumn on your planet. The colors have a magnificence
and mystery all of their own. This is such with each of you and the
uniqueness that you possess. As all of creation begins to change
it's colors - in the simplest form - it will create atomism with a profound
existence. As these words may seem of general connotation we ask
you to search within the depths of humanity and expand your mind and heart
to play the melody of the essence of your own being. The uniqueness
and lightness of your ways will bring a sense of peace in its wake.
As a candle ignites and begins to dance within each heart - there will
be UNITY......
.
We wish you Love, Light,
Peace and Joy.
Serione'
Hope is the pillar of
the world.
-- African (Kanuri) Proverb--
Spiritual
Chapel of Inner Light
In the Editor’s welcome column, I mentioned a Spirit message from Diane’s
Guides. For those of you, new to our church, something in the way
of an explanation is in order. To some, the concept of Spirit
messages may be odd, or even unsettling, but it is a fundamental part of
our worship, of ALL of God’s creation.
At the Spiritual Chapel of Inner Light we offer an interfaith, non-specific
worship, in the name of Love. We are currently not aligned with any
church or organization so we are truly congregational in nature.
If we tend toward Christianity in some of our platform it is born of familiarity,
not an out and out bias. This is not to say there are not those among
us who believe absolutely that Jesus the Christ was the literal incarnation
of God on Earth. But, likewise I would hope that some day we should
have members who insist that Mohammed is the Seal of the Prophets and the
Koran the single best Book of God’s laws. I know we have a few closet
Buddhists and Taoists who frequent us. We welcome all who would share
their light and wisdom in a loving manner.
Our Church shares some common features of the Modern Spiritualist
and Spiritual Science movements. We, for example, believe in and
practice communication with non-corporeal Spiritual beings. By careful
application of natural/spiritual laws and personal discernment, we communicate
with those beings who have always been there to assist, comfort, and teach
humans since we first began incarnating on this Earth.
These Spiritual beings go by many names in many belief systems
and there are several types of beings as well. Many are called Angels,
Spirit Guides, Ancestors, etc. We can also communicate with the souls of
deceased loved ones. The communication likewise goes by many names,
and many modalities. Some call it channeling (both conscious and
unconscious), divination, mediumship, etc. One important and beautiful
part of our Sunday service, generally after the lecture, is Spirit greetings
or messages. In Spirit Greetings one or more of our Ministerial staff
will offer for Spirit, be it Guides, Angels or Loved ones, a link
to deliver messages to anyone present in the room, think of it as a spiritual
internet. Diane, usually performs this part of the service,
though I am starting to receive and deliver some messages as well.
Diane will typically call out a name, with the preface that if they want
to receive the message, they need simply say yes, if they for any reason
do not want the message given out in this manner, they need only say no.
It is worthy to note that some who feel they want the message later
in private do usually get it if they just ask after the service.
Diane’s message one particular Sunday was unusual because Spirit
wished to give only one large blanket message that covered all present.
Wewere informed to expect the month of September to bring some personal
turmoil, though no particular Hurricanes or general disasters were due
for us. Indeed most of us have had some such individual storms in
our lives, but this was not a warning to scare us. It was an admonishment
to see the meaning in these lessons, and to learn from them. In fact
the guidance was more positive than I in my poor recollection am making
it sound. Pity is that we have not yet taped a spirit greetings session,
and for reasons of privacy probably won't and Spirit gave us no forewarning
that they were going to do this. Still it was a very uplifting service
and welcome message.
To return to the object of the church, I will warn you not to expect
too much normality from us. Our platform decorum, like our dress
code is loose and casual. The scheduled service shown in the pamphlet
the day of the service, may change at any given moment based on what we
perceive serves the best for the congregation. Our focus is on what
works and what we are guided to offer in that moment. In our
service, we may borrow exercises, prayers, thoughts and gestures from any
of Love’s beautiful religious embodiments. Besides, I
don’t personally care much for a stagnant church service where it is always
the same. After all, we live, we learn and we grow, so it is natural that
our forms of worship should evolve as well. Evolution of our church
is really a natural event especially given growth and diversity of our
congregation.
If you are interested in what we have to offer, and want to add
your unique energy to ours and see where it takes us, you are welcome
on any first and third Sunday of each month, to attend our services. So
welcome all children of God, and may the light of Spirit fill your day,
your heart and your soul. Namaste.
Special
Olympians, Special Teachers
Some folks call some of these people "retarded"... A
few years ago, at the Seattle Special Olympics, nine contestants, all physically
or mentally disabled, assembled at the starting line for the 100-yard dash.
At the gun, they all started out, though not exactly in a dash,
but with a relish to run the race to the finish and to win. All,
that is, except for one little boy who stumbled on the asphalt, tumbling
over a couple of times, before in shame and disappointment he began to
cry.
The other eight heard the boy cry, slowed down and looked back.
Then they all turned around and in unison went back. One girl with
Down's Syndrome bent down and kissed him and said: "This will make it better."
Then all nine linked arms and walked together to the finish line.
Everyone in the stadium rose to their feet and cheered for several
minutes. Many, who were there, were so moved they are still telling
the story today. But why are we so moved and what did these beautiful
masters show us that day?
We were moved because they touched something our Creator planted
deep inside of us. Deep down we know that what matters in this life,
more than winning for ourselves, is helping others win, even if it means
slowing down and changing our course.
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