by Valerie King • One recent Saturday I was reflecting on an extremely intense week. Work was so stressful, and my body wasn’t feeling well either. In short, I felt exhausted mentally and physically. It seemed that there was no end to the trials and worries of life.
But it was a beautiful spring day outside, the grass was vibrant and green, and the tiny wildflowers were starting to show. I decided to try walking our labyrinth as a healing practice. I took my shoes off so I could feel the wonderful life and presence of Mother Earth underneath me.
I remembered that a sanctuary guest had told me she liked to start her labyrinth walks with a question for Spirit, and that often she would get an answer while walking. So I looked at the radiant sun shining in the east and asked, “How can I find healing and balance?”
As I walked my bare feet gladly felt the cool dark earth and the soft wild grasses and flowers now growing in the pathways. All Earth seemed to be singing a deep hymn of gratitude for this beautiful morning. My heart began to lift and I started softly singing a song I remembered from my childhood.
It was a hymn based upon Saint Francis’ poem about Brother Sun, Sister Moon, Mother Earth, and all the creation. The chorus simply says, “Oh praise Him; Oh praise Him; Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!” This song echoed the gratitude in my heart for the joy I was beginning to feel.
As I came close to the center of the labyrinth, I was singing a verse about humankind: And all ye men of tender heart, Forgiving others; take your part. Oh praise Him, Alleluia! Ye who long pain and sorrow bear, Praise God and on Him cast your care….
And I smiled when I reached the very center as I sang these words, for I realized they were the answer to my prayer. How can I find healing and balance? “Praise God and on Him cast your care.”
I don’t have to try to carry all the worries and burdens of life alone. I just have to do my best with the responsibilities given to me, fill my heart with gladness and gratitude for God, and cast my cares into the brilliance of his light. That light can take much better care of my worries than I can! Thank you, Divine One.
Light on Sunburst Sanctuary – Opening the Gates Once Again! •
Appropriately for the change in seasons, Sunburst opened its gates to participants in two gatherings this past weekend. On Saturday, the Sacred Geometry Workshop delighted participants with various activities that opened eyes and minds to recognize the divine signature found throughout nature.
Craig Hanson, Sunburst’s Sacred Geometry specialist who has studied this subject for over 45 years, offered a slide show, a walk in nature, exploration of divine patterns in Sunburst’s Permaculture gardens, a drawing activity, and other educational demonstrations.
On Sunday, the public was once again invited to services in Sunburst’s meditation temple. In-person Sunday meditation services had been paused since Covid became an issue. It was a glorious day to meditate and receive inspiration together, as well as visit with old friends, welcome new friends, and enjoy some time together. Everyone also had the opportunity to take home organically grown vegetables from the Sunburst Permaculture gardens.
Let’s greet that Light.
Let’s embrace the diversity of all cultures,
of all God’s children
for truly that Light within our souls,
which is the pure Self,
is the light in every created being.
The sun we see outside of us today,
winking at us through the clouds,
is that same inner sun,
our divine Companion that likes to play with us,
hiding in and out of the creation,
enjoying life.
In meditation we touch divine Love and Joy.
In the stillness between two thoughts
—any two thoughts—we come to know.
We come to get blasted by the Light,
like seeing the gap between cars
on a speeding freight train.
If we penetrate the gaps between the cars
with one pointed focus and concentration,
time stands still,
and we behold Light that was always there,
but we saw it not.
by John Kiddie•When we’re dependent upon external factors such as relationships, jobs, finances, etc. for our sense of well-being, we naturally have a strong investment in things turning out a particular way. By doing this we most likely create suffering for ourselves.
“Things turn out best for those who make the best of the way things turn out.” – Art Linkletter
For the person who has found an inner source of happiness through the spiritual practice of meditation, observing non-attachment becomes much easier. In fact, unfavorable circumstances can be seen as gifts in disguise, to deepen our inner experience.
“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” – Albert Einstein
In a universe where nothing is a miracle, mistakes are possible. In this world, I am a victim of circumstances, and others are the cause of my unhappiness. This is the world of should-haves, could-haves, and why-me. Someone who views life in this way will invariably have a strong attachment to outcomes.
On the other hand, if you subscribe to the view that everything is unfolding perfectly according to a flawless divine plan, surrender and non-attachment are not so difficult to achieve. Instead of asking, “Why me?” when trouble hits, every event can be viewed as our own perfect creation, to learn and grow.
You’re ready to ask: What is the gift in this situation for me? Or, you realize since that didn’t work out, there must be an even better situation just around the corner. When we put all of our eggs in one basket as far as happiness goes, whether it be a special relationship, getting a job promotion, or our income, we are setting ourselves up for suffering.
“What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.” – Richard Bach
Happiness is How You Arrange Your Mind • Anonymous
The 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud lady, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock with her hair fashionably coifed and makeup applied (even though she is legally blind) moved to a nursing home today. Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary.
After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready. As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, I provided a description of her tiny room, including the eyelet sheets, and the blue curtains that had been hung on her window.
“I love it!” she stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.
“Mrs. Jones, you haven’t seen the room…just wait.”
“That doesn’t have anything to do with it,” she replied. “Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged…it’s how I arrange my mind. I’ve already decided to love it. It’s a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice. I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.
“Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I’ll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I’ve stored away…just for this time in my life. Old age is like a bank account; you withdraw from it what you’ve put in. So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories. Thank you for your part in filing my memory bank. I’m still depositing.”
Remember five simple rules to be happy: 1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.
Grasping at Happiness is Futile • by Cain Carroll
Feelings come and go like changing seasons. It’s our reluctance to fully appreciate all of them that makes us feel divided inside. We were taught to feel bad about not feeling good. We learned this from a neurotic culture that is pathologically addicted to unattainable ideals (flawless beauty, eternal youth, perfect happiness). We can un-learn it! Like removing corrupted software from our CPU…Delete program!
When we are in harmony with our life we feel happy much of the time. But it’s also possible to be at peace when dissatisfaction, pain, loneliness, confusion, sadness, or any challenging feeling comes along for a visit. It requires that we simply let go of our resistance to feeling what we feel. In other words, if we can fully accept whatever comes without judgment, criticism, or the need to understand why, then we find a sense of ease opening up inside us.
That way, we can be free to feel dissatisfied without being anxious about it. Feeling less anxious, we have less dissatisfaction. The whole thing unwinds itself.
Admittedly, this takes quite a bit of courage, and the willingness to get comfortable feeling uncomfortable. But if we do this repeatedly, moment after moment, day after day, our inner conflict melts like a chunk of ice into a flowing stream. We discover a basic joy and peace that is available to us all the time, even amid the changing tides of our thoughts, feelings, sensations, and circumstances.
“Normality is a paved road; it’s comfortable to walk, but no flowers grow on it.” – Vincent van Gogh
Life has certainly not felt very normal for a while. But we can still make nourishing connections for ourselves.
Often, when we’re on a spiritual path it can feel a bit isolating. I’m so grateful that I have the Sunburst Community, both near and far, to rely on for friendship, companionship, and spiritual sustenance. – Missy Collier
“The decisive question for man is: Is he related to something infinite or not? That is the telling question of his life. Only if we know that the thing which truly matters is the infinite can we avoid fixing our interests upon futilities, and upon all kinds of goals which are not of real importance. Thus we demand that the world grant us recognition for qualities which we regard as personal possessions: our talent or our beauty. The more a man lays stress on false possessions, and the less sensitivity he has for what is essential, the less satisfying is his life. He feels limited because he has limited aims, and the result is envy and jealousy. If we understand and feel that here in this life we already have a link with the infinite, desires and attitudes change.
…Looking outwards has got to be turned into looking into oneself. Discovering yourself provides you with all you are, were meant to be, and all you are living from and for.” – Carl Jung
