As I welcomed the morning in open arms, I was so embraced by so many dear ones; heart to heart, the heart of God manifesting in loving. Off to a royal start. I was informed before the workshop there was a magnificent orchid for me in reception, and sure enough my own son John, who lives in Florida, sent me a blessed happy Mother’s Day gift.
Our MC for the day, Amanda Weiss, welcomed everyone to Peace Awareness Labyrinth and Gardens. She shared about MSIA, our spiritual adviser John-Roger and spiritual director John Morton. Amanda soon was giving us all the logistics for the day and then introduced our facilitators, Susan Frye and her mother, Mary Lou Jacoby. And as I looked around the room, my heart warmed at the other “mothers and daughters” I recognized in the room.
Susan Frye started by telling us the theme for the day was “Receiving Unconditional Love”, and how we need to bring ourselves present for receiving the love of God. She explained about the source of the chant, Ani-Hu, the oneness that comes present, and Hu being an ancient name of God. Then Susan called in the Light as we all chanted the Ani-Hu in response.
Susan shared definitions: that receiving is actively taking in and unconditional means without conditions or limitations. She explained that love is the core of our being and is God’s unconditional loving. She related a few memories, and how she came to learn to love and accept her mom, “Just as she is.”
Mary Lou Jacoby shared for us to appreciate and to take in the loving of the Mother-God. The truth is we need to learn how to take in and receive the love. She shared with us how she was raised in Africa as a child of missionaries, and when it was time to go to school she went away over 300 miles to attend a school there. Later, when Mary Lou was a teen, she traveled to the United States to attend school, over 3000 miles away from her parents. Though they missed her, she learned early God’s unconditional loving and how to trust in God all along the way.
Then Susan confided about her experience eight years ago, when she went through the passage of cancer, and learned how to go much deeper into the nurturing and loving of the Spirit in her life. And to love herself even more deeply. During that time, she did a painting of a nursing baby, and displayed it to all of us.
Mary Lou shared a personal story too, of finishing up the editing of her new book, and the difficulty working with the computer before sending it off to the publisher. She is so not a computer techy. Mary Lou told us how much Susan just held for her in accepting and loving devotion for her mom; and then Mary Lou experienced so much loving. The quality of this unconditional loving that came forward for Mary Lou was endurance. Endurance, acceptance and more patience was received.
Next Susan led us in a closed eye meditation about memories and then the experiences of loving. She invited the participants to share their experiences of the loving, and the qualities that came forward from that exercise. She read a quote from John-Roger about “Love can appear in all sorts of forms”, from his book, Loving Each Day.
Then the participants shared with one another in pairs, about their loving experiences. Afterwards Susan reminded us about the beauty and loving essence of how we are all loved so much and accepted so much. “How much you are all loved.”
Mary Lou also shared more of the beautiful qualities of loving we can receive, and then introduced a short video by John-Roger, from the Living Love packet. The video short is called, This Is Love. He ended the video saying, “All of us that are love, are one.” Then Susan explained that one of the places where we need to practice unconditional loving is with ourselves.
Mary Lou explained how we need to make allowances for others and for her, “one of the best ways to do that is remembering what we did with our little kids. Then when we’re with others, we can always remember the unconditional loving, with them, and all their little foibles.” She shared how her husband keeps feeding the elderly over-weight cat little treats, as a way of loving him. So she just accepts and loves him unconditionally. “He’s my dear husband, and I love dearly so I make allowances for that.” Mary Lou explained that we always have choices as God’s children to learn and love ourselves and we can choose to do that in our loving hearts.
Susan led us in another closed eye process too. These were to give us the experience of going deeper and deeper into receiving the unconditional loving. Mary Lou explained how each loving and compassion for her self was such a silken balm now, and especially for things like her failing eyesight, etc. She said the most important mothering we need to do is for ourselves.
Once again our facilitators asked for sharings from the audience of their experiences as we did the exercises. Then Mary Lou read a prayer from John Morton’s book, The Blessings Already Are.
We were all by now in a sort of cozy, intimacy and wrapped in the loving essence as Susan next introduced John-Roger’s “Meditation of Understanding.” This meditation comes from the Joyful Meditations packet.
As we were almost ending the morning session, Susan invited us all to keep continuing with this focus of Receiving Unconditional Loving. Then Mary Lou asked in prayer for grace for our spiritual nourishment and the luncheon that had been prepared for us.
During lunch I chose to sit outside, and reconnect with another long time dear friend, and what a joy to join Gavin Frye, Susan’s husband. Yes, my dear ones, “Mother’s day” IS about the family you know, and I was getting to receive of this delightful loving family.
As we all gathered after lunch back in the seminar room, Mary Lou called in the Light once more and we all chanted the Ani-Hu. Susan read us information about the labyrinth and suggested that when walking it, to remember the theme of “Receiving Unconditional Loving”. The room was set up with a “paper labyrinth” on each chair, and some could stay in the room and hear the Labyrinth meditation and use this “finger labyrinth”, or join the others outside to walk the big labyrinth on the lower courtyard in a silent process.
I walked in silence following the others down the steps, quietly in single file. I stepped onto the “Hu” first stone, and noted the breezes in the air, hearing the wind chimes sounding in harmony with the waterfall sound of the fountain near the labyrinth. And in this sound, I stepped forward as the clouds parted and out came the sunshine — the Light fully present in all ways. I walked slowly chanting the sacred names of God the entire way to the center. There, I stepped around on the 6 petal rose that is in the center of the labyrinth before stepping into the very center. This time, I sang the Lord’s Prayer as I stepped on each petal, and then stepping into the very center, dedicated to the Beloved J-R, I raised my arms as I sung the end of the prayer. “For thine is the Kingdom, and the glory and the power, for ever and ever.” Slowly I walked out singing silently still. On the last step before leaving the labyrinth, I became aware again of the birds singing with the waterfall sound of the beautiful fountain.
We all gathered together in the large seminar room and foyer for the end of the day’s sharing with our beloved facilitators Susan Frye and Mary Lou Jacoby. So many participants were aware of the divinity we are all, and that we are all one. As the workshop ended, and these beautiful Souls were leaving, three of us stood at the Prana front door, and handed each one a beautiful long stemmed rose …. in glorious colors: purple for the Traveler, gold for the Christ, and white-pink for the Mother essence. We all learned about mothering ourselves, and the Mother-essence of God.
Baruch Bashan.
