• by Valerie King • When I was seventeen, I fell in love with God. The taste of Spirit had come to me in meditations, and I had to have more! I prayed for a guide who knew the way up the mountain of God. Miraculously, I was led to Sunburst and its founder Norman Paulsen, who was to become my brother, teacher, and friend.
Norm’s profound love of God kindled my desire one-hundredfold, to behold the Divine One within, to feel no separation from that presence, to know it in every particle of my being.
How does one describe a true teacher, and the gifts God brings through him? The depths of spirit-joy, sitting in meditation together, quenched lifetimes of soul thirst.
With amazing humility, Brother Norm shared his own spirit-journey with so many; its times of trial and times of blessings. His heart’s true desire was—and still is—to see all of God’s sons and daughters awaken and realize who they are, and become true caretakers of one another and this precious garden world.
The other day, my heart was missing the physical presence of my dear friend. I felt inspired to open a book of Rumi’s poetry, and my gaze fell upon these perfect words: “I am your deepest being. Quit talking about wanting me!”
I had to laugh, as I felt Norm smiling along with me. I am blessed to have such a teacher. You, too, can have Norm as a teacher, brother, and friend. Norm is very present and available, having been released into the place beyond time. He joyfully continues Spirit’s work of encouraging all souls to discover their divine home, the heart of God. You, too, are invited to join in this endeavor.
Walt Whitman wrote about this sacred work in his poem To Him That Was Crucified, “…we all labor together, transmitting the same charge and succession…till we saturate times and eras, that the men and women of races, ages to come, may prove brethren and lovers, as we are.”
Editor’s Note: And so, too, has Valerie moved on to those rarer dimensions from which she is still teaching. Photo is of a class she taught at Sunburst Sanctuary in 2017.
