Sunburst residents and visitors enjoyed a joyous, and relaxing weekend celebrating Music and Nature. It was fueled throughout by wonderful organic vegetarian meals. Events included devotional music in the Temple, a group hike through the woods to a vista, fireside sing-along, labyrinth walk, group meditation, and a Medicine Wheel ceremony. Enjoy the photos.
• by Dawn King – photos by April Juels & Dawn King • After many months of Covid restrictions, Sunburst hosted a well-attended Kriya I Retreat (May 12 through 15).
Sunburst’s Kriya II retreat is planned for October. Call the Sunburst office if you’re interested, or want to reserve your place in the next Kriya I retreat, January 2023.
Spring has blessed the Sanctuary with normal rains. Flowers gardens are blooming and Sunburst members are revitalizing the produce garden.
Deer can be seen caring for their fawns. Bluebirds are in abundance, and the hay field is growing daily. Each Sunday, 10:30 a.m. group meditation is followed by refreshments and fellowship, offering wonderful opportunities for enjoying the beauty of Sunburst Sanctuary and those who attend.
By Dawn King •  My feet hardly seemed to touch the warm earth during my first months at Sunburst in 1972. Performing simple daily chores—from expanding gardens to cooking in the rustic kitchen—I floated over rocky hill and murmuring creek at sunny Sunburst Farm. I floated into the spiritual embrace of the divine incarnate in Norman Paulsen, whose words and deeds quickly revealed that he was qualified and worthy to be my teacher on my journey into Christ consciousness.
In wondrous delight, I opened my eyes while sitting in group meditations. Flickering light revealed a room full of divine lovers—sincere seekers of God and a God-conscious world—my spiritual brothers and sisters. Tears of joy were frequent. How blessed I felt.
Major changes have taken place in the world and life in America since 1972; no one or thing on earth remains untouched. Governments, industries and religious organizations, as well as you and me, find today’s pressures and demands pushing us to reexamine our very mode of survival.
Today, humanity is rocked by unrest, clashes, and fear. Yet, despite prophets of doom, we are each ever more blessed. The invitation and the way to make sense of life—to find inner peace, purpose, and joy—is more available to us than ever.
Fifty years have passed, yet the heavenly portal of a Sunburst meditation remains available daily. Meanwhile, its breadth has only grown—souls across the planet meditate with those at Sunburst, thanks to Zoom and their own dedication. Brother Norman outlined a clear and simple way for each of us to find inner calm and direction in this world—to embrace our own pure Self and develop a personal relationship with the Creator of all.
The portal is open to you. Special events such as Sunburst’s Kriya Meditation Retreats are a wonderful opportunity to reenergize your life with spiritual strength, direction and camaraderie. Every Sunday is a joyous celebration of our growth and unity with divine Spirit. Some individuals find a deepening renewal in personal retreats. Abundant blessings, peace, and grace are yours to embrace in our current era. Seize the Light!
For more information, or to attend Sunburst’s next Kriya Meditation Retreat, contact the office at [email protected] or by phone at 805-736-6528.
Light on Sunburst Sanctuary – Opening the Gates Once Again! • Â
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.
Light on Sunburst Sanctuary – Yoga Retreat of June 12
By Letha Kiddie • There couldn’t have been a more beautiful day for the Sunburst Yoga Retreat, led by Nicole Hoperich (shown above).Â
A comfortably spaced group gathered in front of the Sunburst Lodge under the blue sky and warm summer sun for a welcoming and introduction. The participants were invited to choose a word that was important to them during the pandemic and made it a focal point of their labyrinth walk, which took place next. The Labyrinth design, which was a gift from Hopi Chief White Bear to Sunburst, is a perfect place to focus on an intention and enjoy a walking meditation.
After the walk, Nicole led the group in a wonderful yoga class, perfect for all levels. Breath-work, heart-opening exercises, and yoga poses, warmed our bodies and our hearts. The class ended with a silent meditation and the gift of a gemstone heart. A picnic lunch in the shade of the Cottonwood trees allowed time for visiting and enjoying the beauty of the Sanctuary, serenaded by birdsong.
The Yoga retreat ended with a gratitude circle, full of gratitude for Nicole’s wonderful class, gratitude for everyone who participated, gratitude for the peace and beauty of the sanctuary, and gratitude for the hopeful future of more Sunburst gatherings. Â
by Sibylle Custer • When we sit together to sing to God and to meditate at Sunburst Sanctuary, something very special is going on. We disengage ourselves from the world we live in. Our daily jobs fall behind us; our relationships fall away—they are not that important now. The skills that we have learned or that we were born with are not important, they are not with us right now. Our personality falls away, too. If we are assertive or gentle, have a short fuse or can endure a lot, it doesn’t matter at all. What is left of us, when we let go of this ego? Who are we, if none of that counts?
If we put our fingers on the pulse of our wrist, we feel something moving in there. It is life energy inside of us, life that we have not created, life that we receive. This doesn’t come from anything that we are doing. While we are living our daily lives, we are sustained by divine energy every day, and in this very moment. We are created beings. We would not exist if it was withdrawn. None of us!
Meditation is making the effort to get in contact with our Creator, to reach out to the energy that feeds us, that is our true being. There is a way to see God right now, right here, and we have the chance to make that contact. We are thankful, created beings that want to get in touch with our Creator. We are thankful we know how to do it. It doesn’t matter how much we have meditated before. It doesn’t matter if we are new at trying to do it or we have practiced a long time. Here and now is our unique effort, our unique chance.
Dearest Spirit, help us to be still.
Give us ears to hear you now.
Give us eyes to perceive you.
Give us abundant love that we let flow back to you.
Amen
