Holy Temple

I had this great realization a couple weeks back when I was remembering my time in Los Angeles. The place I miss most is The Lake Shrine Temple in Pacific Palisades. For years, on Fridays and Sunday evenings, I would go to their 2 and 3 hour silent meditations. The way it was set up was for people to enter the Temple grounds without talking and leave without talking. I never met a single person in all the years I attended, yet the sacred stillness of that time and place, still sings its intimate song in my heart.

I am a minister in an organization where 2 of the primary responsibilities of the minister are preaching and teaching. I appreciate the need for both, and what I have discovered for myself is, the foundation of a spiritual community grounded is silent communion with God.

I love the preaching and musical celebration of Spirit on a Sunday morning and I have even more passion for the classes, for understanding, teaching and learning spiritual principles. And yes, I love spiritual community and friendship too. Yet, without that structured foundation of silent communing in God, there is an emptiness that pervades my experience of a spiritual community.

Thus, it is not a surprise that the Vision for my ministry begins with a temple housing this silent, holy, sacred communion. We will have daily morning meditations and longer meditations on weekends and special occassions. This meditation chapel is central to the spiritual community center that is to evolve here in Livermore, CA. It is here to celebrate, educate and nourish spiritual awakening, spiritual community and living one's unique Vision.

If you want to start by catching God's Vision for Its' Life as you, come join me this Monday morning - 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Anchor in the stillness of The Infinite, Unconditional Love-Intelligence of the universe, to see and hear what human eyes and hears cannot see or hear. You are a miracle...not in concept...but in living Spirit. Come commune in this Living Ground of All Being, and be renewed. Email me at revharriet1@yahoo.com if you're interested.



Oh and...I've been thinking about charisma lately. It's a joyful, fun, inspiring and often electrifying energy to be around. It can be used to inspire millions of people, or just a few, to do things beneficial that people wouldn't normally do. In service to the Infinite, it can push people past their limitations to heights never before realized.

At the same time, it's shadow can range from being empty calories to extraordinarily dangerous (think cult leaders and Hitler). In this time in our spiritual culture, I am noticing so much hype that goes along with most marketing of spiritual teachers, workshops, processes, theories, etc. etc., charisma seems like it's becoming an essential commodity to sell one's spirituality.

Again, when charisma is in service to enlightenment, it can be wonderful...but it will never be as powerful or transformational as direct communion in Spirit. This direct contact is more powerful than any class, talk, workshop, process...just you in that sweet stillness, allowing the Love of God permeate your entire Being.

Spiritual community committed to that Stillness opens my heart to that Love even more...why Lake Shrine has had such a profound and intimate impact on my spiritual journey though I never had a conversation with a single person, or heard a single inspiring talk, the whole time I was there. God may use charisma, but She certainly doesn't need it...His Isness is All.