by Jake Collier • Our founder and teacher, Norm Paulsen, used to refer to everyone as soul travelers. Truly we are spiritual beings traveling at this point in time, in these bodies, at this place. How precious is this process of spiritual evolvement. We must try to live our lives in a way that creates an environment around us which stimulates our higher selves, a way that motivates us to continue with our inward journey of discovery.
Years ago, in the late 70s, I was working at Sunburst’s organic wholesale produce warehouse in Los Angeles. One of the guys there had season tickets to the Dodger’s Stadium. I’m not that into baseball, but in the midst of L.A. and far away from the rural lifestyle I was used to, it sounded like fun, so I went with a good friend.
One of the first things we noticed was that we were surrounded by very boisterous people. But while looking out at all the thousands upon thousands of people in that stadium, I found myself talking to Spirit, saying, “Wouldn’t this be incredible if all these people had a common focus on you? What if all these people were chanting AUM together, if they were all meditating at this moment? How powerful that would be!”
It will happen. There will come a time when the majority of the brothers and sisters walking this earth will know God, and will realize that God is alive in them. We all hope that we are there to experience it, to feel it, to be a part of it.
As we do our spiritual work each morning and evening, as we sit down and meditate, we create future opportunities for more meditations, for more spiritual understanding. We take that vibration with us. When we look into someone’s eyes, or we hug someone, we pass on a little bit of that vibration, that awareness. Hopefully it falls on fertile soil and others will begin to awaken and begin the process of peeling back the petals, so that we may all find out who we really are, why we are here, and where we are going when we leave.
I Am That I Am
Please help us on our journey here,
That we may discover our true selves In our relationship with you,
That we may walk this Earth With you living through us,
You experiencing this life
And all that you have created.
You are our divine companion,
Our true friend,
And we love you.
Amen
So many times when I feel or see Spirit, whether in form or simply pure light, it is so filled with intense joy and laughter, waves upon waves of laughter. I am reminded of a video I once saw called Life After Life, which showed interviews of people who’d had near-death experiences. They all mentioned that the Being of Light they encountered during these experiences had a really good sense humor. I thought about how our sense of humor is truly as spiritual gift, one of the things we can carry with us beyond this life.
I remembered a story from my own life. I hope this won’t sound sad, because to me it’s very joyful. I had the opportunity to help care for my beloved sister Susan just a couple days before she died. She was very sick and had a lot of intense pain. Her husband and I took turns every couple of hours giving her a shot of strong pain killer. She seemed to be almost in a coma. She would wake up slightly when it was time for her medicine and reach a trembling hand to her forehead to let us know she needed it, but she couldn’t speak.
At one point when it was time for her shot I began reading the label on the medicine bottle. It said, “Warning, do not drive after taking this medicine.” Somehow this struck me as funny because this medicine seemed to totally knock Susan out. I couldn’t imagine someone driving after taking it.
I said to her husband. “Paul, look, it says do not take this medicine and drive!” Paul chuckled too. Then we heard a sound from Susan. Looking down, we realized that she was laughing. It was so amazing to me that here she was in such pain, at death’s door, and she still had her sense of humor. I knew that Susan was going to be able to take that sense of humor with her beyond this life.
As it turned out, a couple of years after she died, Spirit blessed me with an incredible visitation in which Susan came back to me as a blazing, brilliant light. At first it was just the pure light to me, my divine Beloved. I was swimming in that ecstasy, and then at the very end of the experience, I noticed that there were two blue eyes inside the light, and I recognized them as Susan’s eyes. I recognized them from her unique vibration and from the sense of humor coming out of those eyes, and the laughter and the joy.
She said, “See how incredible, how joyful, how blissful it is to be One again with the Father of all fathers, and the Mother of all mothers?” And she laughed in pure delight.
I was reminded of a beautiful vision that came to me years ago during a Sunday service. I found myself standing out in space, looking upon a gigantic galaxy with huge rings and a shining center. An angelic being next to me was holding its hand out toward the sight, as if to show me. Then the being began to laugh deep within so joyously, so infectiously, that I almost laughed aloud.
The cosmic joke was this: Look upon the beauty, wonder and majesty of this creation. The secret is: It’s all you! You think that you are all these separate images and faces, but in truth there’s only one Spirit. It’s all God, the most beloved, the most high. There’s no separation between you and this gigantic galaxy, and all the stars.
In Christ consciousness there can be no desires, for everything that exists is already ours. So let us be joyful, thankful, and light-hearted!
As the Covid-19 pandemic moves into its fifth month, Sunburst has settled into a routine of both quiet reflection and active improvements around the property.
The permaculture garden is flourishing thanks to Sean Fennell, who joyfully now offers an organic CSA, and continues to develop a fruit orchard and greenhouse. What a joy to see the land being so well cared for by our brother Sean!
The new New Frontiers store in Solvang has adapted to the changes by offering curbside pickup and prepackaged deli food for easy purchase. It is truly a sanctuary for shoppers, with its spacious friendly energy and gourmet offerings. Hats off to Jake and Missy Collier who keep the store spinning in a positive direction.
Resident Craig Hanson has been hiking the Sunburst trails regularly and keeping them cleared. He has been increasing his knowledge of the local flora and looks forward to resuming Sunday hikes as soon as it’s safe. He also works to keep the landscaping in the Sunburst lodge area looking beautiful.
Missy, Dawn, Greg, Ischa and Letha have been responsible for contributing inspirational quotes, talks by Norm, and meditations by Sunburst ministers to the Sunburst Blog and Facebook page.
Elena and Emily are still running the Sunburst office, answering calls, coordinating zoom meetings, preparing for the prayer circle each week, and staying abreast of the current pandemic guidelines. We are anxious to reopen our doors, once the restrictions are lifted. If anyone cares to check in with Sunburst, please email the office at [email protected]. We would love to hear how everyone is doing!
Heiko, Sean, Curtis, David, and Al are staying very busy keeping cows and horses fed, the roads and fences in good repair, the hayfields producing, and the water systems running smoothly, while juggling a whole host of other projects and ongoing ranch maintenance.
One recent project was the Sunburst kitchen being painted and the cabinets refinished by Paul Custer and Craig.
Sunburst spiritual director Patty Paulsen has been working hard on the Nojoqui Farms property to ready it for the next phase of development, which will hopefully lead to the next perfect owner of our beautiful farm. Please help us project success for this important Sunburst venture!
Last but not least we want to acknowledge Dr. Greg Anderson for his tireless work in recording the Sunburst ministers for online viewing of their Sunday meditation talks. Be sure to also check out his podcasts, as he offers insights of Life-Love-God, written by Sunburst founder Norman Paulsen.
As we move forward into the great unknown of the future, we move forward with faith, knowing that everything is happening in God’s time, that we can relax and enjoy this journey, relying on our connection to Spirit and to each other, for guidance, support, strength and inspiration.
