It was a nearly perfect day (we leave room for God’s further delights) in Santa Monica on March 21, 2007. Warm friendships laced the air with sweetness at the 2101 Wilshire Building, as it was time for the webcast class “Moving Into Higher Consciousness Through Service,” facilitated by John Morton. Brought to us by the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness (MSIA) and Peace Theological Seminary (PTS), these webcasts are a source of true sustenance for our spiritual hearts.
Our MC Nick Segal (and his Amazing FM Radio DJ Voice) opened the evening, welcoming everyone, with a very silly joke. He called in the Light, and chanting of the Ani Hu followed. Bob Tackney, soul singer of the country variety, gave us one his best, a simple, poetic song called “Be the Being of Light”. After the “M-m-m-m-s” and “Ah-h-h-h-h-s” died down, We heard from Milo Page, a jazzy, eloquent, upbeat song called “The Phoenix.”
NOW Productions presented a Moment of Peace, a short video clip of John-Roger with Mother Theresa, from October, 1984, describing the Five Fingers Gospel. Then Nick invited John Morton up to the stage.
After sharing that we had Internet connections with audience members in Hong Kong and the Cayman Islands, John offered another invocation of Light. He started by saying that service is the highest form of consciousness on the planet. And he began asking all of us, “What is our level of commitment? Are we willing to serve?” He called on PTS Staff member, Tonie Schultz, and gave his appreciation for the service work she does in preparing the PTS webcast classes.
John also talked about sacrifice, and discussed the ground rules that are well-known around MSIA: Take care of yourself, so you can help take care of others; Don’t hurt yourself and don’t hurt others; Use everything for your upliftment, learning and growth.
John then offered up another invocation of Light, and we listened to a John-Roger audio clip regarding service. John discussed an incident from his childhood, relating it to the act of serving another.
We were treated to an inspiring message from Earth Communications Office, a video clip entitled, “The Power of One.” John mentioned the Heartfelt Foundation , MSIA, and HeartReach, and how those organizations demonstrate that we do love one another. We gave a warm welcome to Patti Rayner, head of the Heartfelt Foundation and HeartReach, who discussed the work of the Foundation.
John led us into a partnership exercise, and suggested we write down our ideas about service: “What would serve me?” “How would I serve myself?” “What actions that represent service are ones in which I would like to be involved?” “How can I continue serving?”
John began taking sharing from the people in the room as well as from those on the Internet. The questions were focused on being of service: “How can I distinguish where my paid work ends and service begins?” “How can I teach someone to love and serve themselves first?” “How can I be sure of the Truth?” “How can I overcome or avoid judgments from a group?” In all of his answers, John spoke about fulfillment of our true needs, about the loving that is already inside of us. He focused on moving to the loving, working in partnership with God, and recognizing the opportunity in each situation.
To end the class, Nick Segal came back to the microphone to close the evening with a few announcements. We came away with new ideas and expanded imaginations as to how we can serve, both ourselves and others.
If you’d still like to participate in the “Moving Into Higher Consciousness Through Service” class, you can do so through the online archive at www.msia.org/class.
We offer a special 40% on select items related to the class topic, in our online store.
Join us for an Easter Eve Seminar with John Morton which will be webcast live on Saturday, April 7th starting at 6:30 p.m. pacific daylight time. You can come in person to the Seminar at 2101 Wilshire Blvd in Santa Monica, CA, or participate online at www.msia.org/live. For participants in the Seminar in person at 2101 Wilshire, the donation is: Adults $15; Children 13-17 $8; Children 0-12 No charge. To register online click here. There is no registration or cost to participate online.
Our next webcast class with John Morton will be “The Power Within You” on Tuesday, May 22nd, at 6:30 p.m. pacific daylight time. You can come in person to the webcast at 2101 Wilshire Blvd in Santa Monica, CA, or participate online at www.msia.org/live.
