Early in the morning on the day before Easter, as we flew along the freeway towards Santa Monica for the Spiritual Exercises & Soul Transcendence workshop with John Morton, I was concerned with the lowering clouds, and the potential for rain. (Not that we get all that much rain here in Sunny Southern California, it is a desert after all, but I was wanting an especially nice Easter.) There were multiple signs of Spring, however, in the abundant and over-flowing Products Department at the top of the stairs at the 2101 Building. And beautiful flowers graced the stage in the Brentwood Ballroom, blooms in yellow, rose, lavender and pink.
PTS Staff member, Linda Searle, called the Spiritual Exercises & Soul Transcendence Workshop to order, called in the Light, and began the Ani-Hu chant (which always has a calming effect). John Morton, Spiritual Director of the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness (MSIA), was then introduced as the facilitator of the workshop.
John began by saying that the day’s plans were designed for “basking”, creating a sacred journey, and that the protocol was “Come As You Are,” which suited most of us just fine. We then watched some video clips of MSIA’s founder, John-Roger, speaking about the value of and methods for doing spiritual exercises, and we heard some J-R audio clips regarding the same subjects as well.
When the lights came back up, John returned to the stage and stated that we do not deal in confinement, we deal in liberation. We began doing spiritual exercises (s.e.’s) in the quiet of the room. After a short break, John discussed how to overcome barriers to doing s.e.’s. This was followed by a one-on-one activity regarding things that distract us from chanting the name(s) of God.
The lunch break found most of us out in the brisk-but-brilliant sunshine, searching as hunter-gatherers for suitable fare. After lunch, John opened the floor to questions from the workshop participants, and the answers centered on some familiar themes: Be careful what you ask for, you might get it; Finding happiness and encouraging it; Having joy more abundantly; Simplifying one’s life; Courage; Gratitude; Openness; Ordinariness; Tolerance; Neutrality; Asking God to be a Partner; and Looking for the Good in All Things.
Just before we left for dinner, John announced that the technical difficulties that had been plaguing the Internet lines for two days (affecting the Webcast scheduled for later in the evening) had been overcome, and the Webcast was on (another “miraculous win” for NOW Productions). I meandered out into the evening refreshed and uplifted, thinking what a lovely and Holy Saturday it had been.
Read more articles from MSIA’s Easter Events in 2006
