I like to get to the 2101 Wilshire building in Santa Monica early on Q&A nights with John Morton. I watched as the group assembled — first one or two, then whole herds of folks coming up the staircase to the Brentwood Ballroom where the event takes place. Almost every chair was filled in the ballroom. John Morton stood in the back of the room for just a few moments, while Mark Lurie, one of MSIA’s Presidents, began the evening.
Sporting a good-looking jacket and a yellow silk tie, Mark noted that listeners from all around the world were up past their bedtimes to participate in the global broadcast. It was 3:30 AM in London, 12:30 AM in Rio de Janeiro, and 3:30 PM on Wednesday for the Aussies in Sydney. Mark called in the Light, and we chanted Ani-Hu, “Hu” being an ancient name of God and “Ani” invoking empathy.
Singer-Songwriter Clea Rose sang for us, her own composition called “Something Sacred, Something Bright,” a swinging expression of Clea’s own youthful spirit. She was wonderful as usual and the audience responded with enthusiastic applause.
John responded to a number of questions, alternating between participants in the ballroom and questions posed by folks on the Internet. John covered a wide range of subjects, including: caring for elderly parents in self-less service; how to handle being picked on and called names; where to do good works for the greatest effect; advice at the crossroads of life; what is “right livelihood”, and how does that work with service and money; handling the illness of a spouse, and getting out of fear; how to make more of the True Self; how to know when we are accepted by our peers; a parable concerning the biblical story of Abraham and Isaac, and their test of faith; parenting children who are making “bad” choices; and staying in the present, rather than worrying about the future; the process of guilt, and beating oneself up; and another parable from the story of Romulus and Remus coupled with a few comments about the Prodigal Son. You can listen to the Q&A session in its entirety on the Internet at www.msia.org/live/archives.php
Spirit was present in the room and on the Internet throughout the event and John Morton was at his best. After about 2 hours of questions and answers, the evening closed with another sweet song by Clea Rose. Then there were refreshments served during the “social hour” following the seminar. Many thanks go to Genie Ford, head of Outreach for MSIA, for holding the vision for these Q & A evenings with John. It is a pleasure to behold Genie’s dedicated service, and for so very many years. (The 2101 Tuesday night seminars are an extension of the seminars Genie used to hold in her home in Los Angeles, beginning in the 1970’s.) And a HUGE thank you goes out to all of the volunteers, without whom the Traveler’s work would not be known in such excellent ways. Through the excellent work of the NOW Productions team, MSIA Webmaster Deborah Martinez, IT Emperor Robert Peake, and a whole raft of masterful technicians, the live webcast went off without a hitch.
The next Q&A with John Morton on the Internet is scheduled for Thursday, March 14, at 7:30 PM pacific time. Go to www.msia.org/live for all of the info on how to participate in this event online or come to 2101 Wilshire in Santa Monica and participate in person!
