As I walked up the stairs at the 2101 Building in Santa Monica, the first thing I noticed was that all of the wall-to-wall carpeting had been replaced. Not that this is such an unusual occurrence (especially in a building that sees so much activity each week), but the smell of the new carpeting reminded me that every once in a while, we all need to upgrade and refine our presentation into the world.
It was with that in mind that I entered the Brentwood Ballroom, and immediately saw the exquisite bouquet on the stage — purple irises and yellow tulips — high contrast, high fashion, and a vibrant reminder that Spring is, indeed, once again upon us. (My personal thanks to Marjorie Eaton who provides such floral wonders for these events).
This evening, March 23rd, Peace Theological Seminary and College of Philosophy (PTS) was presenting the class “Spiritual Warrior,” facilitated by John Morton, with Internet access for participants all over the globe. Our MC for the event Dr. Paul Kaye, co-author with John-Roger of the books Momentum: Letting Love Lead and What’s it Like Being You?, was in rare form, delighting all with his inimitable British wit and humor.
After lampooning most of Hollywood, Paul called in the Light (an invocation) and led us in the Ani-Hu chant, a tone of empathy and Oneness with God. He gave an introduction to the trailer for the upcoming film, “Spiritual Warriors,” and also introduced Jsu Garcia, the film’s producer and actor, who reminded us that the Premiere screening of the film is scheduled for mid-May. For further information, click here or go to www.spiritualwarriors.com.
Paul Kaye reminded us to be open, and to give the evening’s experiences our “best shot.” He then introduced a video Moment of Peace from John-Roger, founder of the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness (MSIA), PTS, and a number of other related organizations.
After a video Moment of Peace with John Morton, Paul Kaye introduced John as the facilitator for the evening’s class. John first called our attention to the Spiritual Warrior book by John-Roger, which was the basis for the evening’s class. He added as an aside that being a Spiritual Warrior has nothing to do with violence.
John listed the qualities of a Spiritual Warrior: Intention, as in the direction one wants to travel; Impeccability, as in using energy wisely; and Ruthlessness, which he described as the Sword of Truth that eliminates what is illusion and not useful.
John went on to describe more qualities of a Spiritual Warrior: Dedication, Commitment, Discipline, and Focus; and then he detailed five attributes of the Spiritual Warrior: Acceptance, Cooperation, Understanding, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
Then John asked us to answer for ourselves some general questions: Who is my role model for a Spiritual Warrior? What are the qualities that I admire about them? How can I demonstrate those qualities myself? Several people stood up and shared their answers, and there were answers as well from those attending class via the Internet. We listened to several audio and video excerpts by John-Roger concerning Spiritual Warriors. And then, John Morton led us into an exercise regarding the Petty Tyrants in our lives.
Following that there was a Questions and Answer session. Among the questions were, “How can I work with computers as my Petty Tyrant?”, “How can I create spiritual protections for myself?” , “Can I be a Petty Tyrant to myself?”, and finally (from a teenage participant in the ballroom), “How can I do better at holding the Light?” John answered each question with grace, humor, loving, and clarity, demonstrating several of the qualities and attributes of a Spiritual Warrior. He closed with one of his dear Blessings upon us all, ending with the words, “Baruch Bashan,” which mean, The Blessings Already Are.
Paul Kaye came back up to the stage with a few final announcements, reminding us that the Spiritual Warrior book, and other PTS study materials related to the class at 25% off, are available online at www.msia.org/store.
The next webcast will be an Easter Eve Seminar with John Morton and will take place on Saturday, April 15th at 6:30 p.m. pacific time at 2101 Wilshire Blvd in Santa Monica, CA, and live on the Internet at www.msia.org/live. Please join us!
To participate in an archive of the “Spiritual Warrior” class online, go to www.msia.org/class. Enjoy!
