At high noon on December 4th, a full house convened to call in the Light and partake of spiritual exercises (SE’s) together. People working with all of the organizations founded by John-Roger gathered at Prana, the headquarters for the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness (MSIA), to celebrate and renew themselves for the coming year. What better way to begin than with an hour of SE’s?
The staff party is an opportunity to honor the Beloved—to honor J-R, to honor John Morton, to honor the work of the Traveler, to honor all of the organizations supporting that work, to honor each other and ourselves. We were blessed with an exquisite and precious day, with full-on sunshine, warm temperatures, incredible food, loving service from a legion of volunteers, heartfelt entertainment, and sacred sharing from the Traveler.
After calling in the Light and our time in SE’s, we moved to the labyrinth on the Prana grounds to call in the Light again before our meal. It was a lovely way to come full circle: the circle of the labyrinth, and a circle of many, many people all sharing a focus of Loving, Light, and Sound.
John Morton called in the Light and asked a blessing for our meal and time together, and we flowed into the dining room for a gorgeous buffet. A full cadre of talented chefs were with us. David & Kelly Funk came as guest head chefs, joining Prana chefs Claudie & Guillaume Botte and new Prana chef Victoria Ross. A full team of volunteers assisted at full capacity, from prep work to changing out buffet trays to cleaning up, with smiles and humor all the while.
Would you like to see a menu? The highest quality beef, hand-sliced to order, wild salmon (the salmon disappeared so fast—talk about heading upstream!), butternut squash ravioli (described as a full-on wheat & dairy experience), and a tofu vegan dish were topped only by a full-service omelet bar, where you could have an omelet lovingly made to order by none other than our Traveler, John Morton, and his friends Leigh Taylor-Young and Nick Segal. Prepared salads, roasted vegetables, and rice medley accompanied the main courses, along with fresh La Brea Bakery breads.
And for dessert… Every manner of chocolate, pie, cookie, and fruity thing to make the season even more bright: Brownies, mousse, pumpkin pie, apple pie, berry crumble, cheesecake, and an adorable tray of chocolate flowers (fine dark chocolate covering corn flakes!! The sublime meets the ordinary).
After eating, we were definitely in a sweet, warm, family way of feeling with one another—and all the more because we had the joy of John-Roger’s presence with us. This set us up perfectly for the entertainment that came next, announced by our dapper MC for the day, MSIA President Mark Lurie. A very joyfully pregnant Carolyn Freyer-Jones led the University of Santa Monica (USM) staff in a comedy routine of pregnancy puns, followed by a songs all focused on the ups and downs of pregnancy—and life in general (Carolyn and husband John are expecting their first child on New Years Day!).
Kim Guisinger followed that act with a beautiful rendition of “The Christmas Song.” Kim’s lovely voice carried us deeper into sweetness, and all the more as she adapted the lyrics in celebration of the Traveler’s love. Guru Baba Gee, also known as Peter Leighton, took the stage next with a stand-up routine that culminated with a brief Q&A from the audience (on his mission: “to share the teachings of the Traveler in a way no one will understand”). Andr
