It was a lovely rainy day in Los Angeles. Something about the rain and gentle overcast hue of the sky brought an energy of cleansing and opening, as if the heavens were parting to sprinkle graces upon us. A sweet group of people came together at Peace Awareness Labyrinth & Gardens, also known as Prana, to explore and learn more about receiving from Spirit through God’s energy of grace.
A hostess with the mostest, Carole Austin, welcomed everyone and served as our MC for the day. She served up loving and Light with her usual clarity, humor, and all the flair of a former southern belle (Carole grew up in Mississippi). Rachael & Justin Jayne served as our facilitators, and they set a beautiful tone of sweetness and attunement with Spirit throughout the day.
After calling in the Light and spending some quiet time in spiritual exercises together, we moved into the theme for the day: Receiving through Grace. The workshop flowed from a key quote from John-Roger. Here it is:
“To receive, you must be active. Keep in mind your purpose. You will receive in direct proportion to your clarity of vision, your definiteness of purpose, the steadiness of your faith, and the depth of your gratitude.”
– John-Roger (From: Forgiveness, The Key to the Kingdom )
Both Rachael and Justin shared about how the quote has touched them personally, and supported them in living life from the foundation that God is our partner. There is so much in the quote—a complete methodology for receiving through grace constantly.
Rachael and Justin shared with us about how we can use the quote to connect with Spirit’s energy in any life situation. We can apply the keys: What is my purpose here, now, in this situation? What is my faith? What am I grateful for? Living life in this way is a way to claim the deeper truth that we are receiving through grace, right here and now. There is mystery and magic in the method: the kingdom is at hand.
Our spa day was a moving meditation through the actions of the quote. First we spent some time in a guided meditation with Rachael to clarify our vision and identify our purpose. If our vision was something like health, this was an opportunity to really experience that clearly inside: what it feels like, looks like, etc., and then to identify the purpose for our health, such as to serve more fully.
We then explored steadiness of faith, which can often be where our tests and challenges arise. Maybe we feel fear, or stress, or in some other way forget our solid foundation with God and that everything we need is already present and abundant. Exercising steady faith involves being active in some way. We have the opportunity to act “as if” our vision and purpose are already here and now. Acting as if gives us a way to overcome doubt and step into the true reality of our lives here with Spirit.
Justin shared an example where if we want to experience more connection with people, being steady in faith may mean overcoming hesitation or fear of rejection, and reaching out to say “hello” to someone or starting a conversation. It may be smiling at people while walking down the street rather than looking only at the pavement or straight ahead.
When we move into stress, doubt, fear, or lack, we are looking through eyes that function like a false witness, not seeing the truth that we are already receiving through grace. Our acts of faith align us with the truth that part of God’s purpose for us is to know his presence and his love. We can receive it through our everyday experiences in the world. The challenging times we are living in today also give us opportunities to claim these deeper truths and hold the Light with ourselves and others.
We then moved into a partner exercise where we shared our visions and purposes, and brainstormed potential acts of faith we can take to move toward them. We also identified potential challenges or blocks to our receiving (My vision is greater health, yet I really love my chocolate bars…), and practiced forgiveness for anything we had judged about ourselves or life.
Gratitude came next, the perfect capstone to this divine process of receiving. By connecting with gratitude, we open up to the felt reality of God’s presence. Gratitude is a natural by-product of the process. If you take a moment inside now to envision grace in your life and claim it as fully real, present and true right here and now, see if gratitude just naturally follows. It’s a great time to soak in that gratitude, and express it and share it with God in oneness.
Sharing came next, and as always it was such a lift to learn from each other and receive the blessings that flowed from open hearts. It was also the perfect appetizer to set us up for brunch, an edible act of receiving through grace. Spa day brunches at PAL&G have become legendary in their own right, featuring a menu of whole grain pancakes, eggs, chicken sausages, spinach salad, steamed asparagus, and a fruit salad so alive with color your eyes would pop. The beverage bar was well laden with freshly brewed organic Urth Caff
