Service and Volunteering: Seeding Your Time
One of the requirements of a Prana resident is service. So that’s been taken care of for me — it’s built into my life. It is also a part of each MSIA minister’s ministry. It makes perfect sense. It’s not only the giving back in terms of what you have received from MSIA, but it also an action of supporting the spiritual organization out here on the physical level. It puts more of the intention of availability of the spiritual source out there, so that more is available for both yourself and others. I see it as seeding your time into the repository of Grace which then becomes available to everyone. Those that have volunteered at Prana seem to have one thing in common: they have truly benefited from the service. As you read these accounts notice that the benefits are unique to each person.
Serving at the Spa’s: Some Mini-Interviews
With this month’s accent on service and volunteering, we focused on the experiences of volunteers who assisted at this spa day.
NICOL JAMESON
NDH: Is this your first time volunteering at Spa Day?
Nicol: Yes, it is.
NDH: What was it that interested you in doing this?
Nicol: Well, I actually love spas, first off, and I thought, “What a neat concept — to have a spiritual spa experience”. So, actually the title is what grabbed me to want to do this. And I just felt I had a calling to be of service. I’m not quite sure what that was for me but it was just something inside that felt like I needed to be here.
NDH: What other things do you do in service to MSIA?
Nicol: The other way I assist is through Insight… and I’m also a(n) (MSIA) minister… and I always feel I’m a minister just being present and really listening to people. And I also have a son and I minister to him. He’s getting older and I’m teaching him how to be a minister to others.
NDH: What is it that made you want to volunteer for MSIA?
Nicol: There’s something that happens when I volunteer. I feel like not only am I volunteering for other people, but I am also doing it for myself. When I assist, there is something that fills my consciousness. I don’t really know what that is, but I feel real warm and fuzzy inside (laughs). When I assist I always end up learning more about myself.
NDH: Did you know about MSIA before you came to California?
Nicol: I was born into MSIA.
NDH: Wow!
Nicol: So was my son. He was actually born during (MSIA) Conference!
NDH: A family tradition in the best sense.
Nicol: Yeah. He’s twelve now. He did Teen Insight and says that he wants to volunteer to assist there next year. And it’s really nice to have my son wanting to volunteer and participate in a number of events. We do a lot of Heartfelt projects together, too. It’s just great to have a partnership in that. He’s just so awesome!
NDH: You’re both amazing.
Nicol: Thank you.
PRYOR NUNN
NDH: Pryor is an MSIA minister and Prana resident. Pryor volunteers at the sound table at many of these events at Prana. Pryor, what is it that attracts you to service with MSIA, with volunteering?
Pryor: I look at it several ways: I love doing the sound back here and I get to see all the new people. Sometimes as much as fifty percent of the people have never even been to Prana and have never heard of MSIA or PTS. I look at them and then I look back at myself when I first got involved. I’ve gotten very few people into the Movement because I don’t go out and proselytize or preach, so whenever someone comes to me and asks (about MSIA), then I will talk to them. I’ve had so many people come up and ask “Where did you get that music,” “Where can I find that,” and then they just start opening up. I open up right with them. So, I get blessed by them and just by the serving. I have a great time back here. I do it for me, too. Otherwise, I’d just sit in my room and play on my computer. I especially like talking to the people who have never been here. I like to let them know just what it is that’s here for them. I get to see people being really happy.
TRACY GING
NDH: We are with Tracey Ging who is an MSIA minister and who frequently volunteers at events at Prana. What is it that gets you interested in service and volunteering?
Tracy: Someone else just asked me this question and it surprised me how hard it is for me to answer this question. I get so much, yet it is so difficult to describe. I found a word… I just get to feel elevated. I get an extra boost. I get to feel happier at the end of the day than when I got here. I get to see great people. I get to take part in a great event.
NDH: What is your favorite thing to do, service-wise?
Tracy: I like to make coffee! (both laugh)
NDH: What’s the feeling you get?
Tracy: It’s like one of the basic pleasures. People get so excited about their coffee, and I like that. I like to be the one to deliver that “little drip of happiness.” (both laugh)
NDH: Keep the “brown juice” flowing!
Tracy: Yeah.
NDH: Anything else you can tell me about the joy you get serving?
Tracy: It’s all very enjoyable, but the thing that’s particularly sweet about Spa Days is that there are so many new people that come into the Movement and it’s really a blessing to get to share my experience and watch people get introduced to the teachings. I get to assist that — especially here in Products. I am often the one that’s helping them get their first book or sign up for Discourses. Touching to all the new people… I really like that.
NDH: Making the teaching available to them.
Tracy: Yeah, yeah.
MARC ROSENBLUM
NDH: Marc is an MSIA minister who has very recently become a resident at Prana West and is eager to talk about some of the things he’s discovered through serving and volunteering with MSIA.
Marc: In general, it’s giving back, and the joy of seeing people grow. It’s like what I’m meant to be doing. It’s knowing that you are making a difference in people’s lives. I’m involved in a project… the intention is that the people in MSIA… I like to see them realize more of the benefits they’ve gotten from being in the Movement and what it’s meant in their lives and know that they can be an agent for other people to be involved in this wonderful path and to grow and to learn and they can be a part of that. I’ve gotten people into the Movement and just to see the extent of their growth and development — it’s wonderful, it’s wonderful! It’s having that intention to have more people involved. It’s really a nice thing to do for another human being — to assist in putting them on a path of transformation. The new people that come here — they’ve been attracted here — they come here for a reason. We should go out of our way, in a warm, loving way, to make their experience better while they are here.
NDH: What is your favorite type of service with MSIA?
Marc: I’m really new here, so I’m just trying this out. I’m an innovator. I’m a consultant. I get paid for walking into a situation and seeing what needs to be done. This organization has such beautiful materials and such a beautiful physical space, both here and at 2101 . I’ve never been in a group that has this much to offer physically and, of course, spiritually. We have so much to give, and the presentation is beautiful. I would just like to see more people take advantage of that and be part of that. And also, for us as ministers, it does something inside of us when we can be a part of another’s transformation. So, I see my service as fostering and encouraging people to get involved in the movement who haven’t been involved yet.
TATIANA JIMENEZ
NDH: Tati is an MSIA minister who has had a first today. She has served as both the team captain of the assistants and the Spa M.C. What is it that excites you to participate in service and volunteering?
Tati: The first part is knowing that I am being of service to the Lord. It’s a very beautiful way for me to align with God’s will, that I am just letting go and letting God. So I find myself participating and cooperating and co-creating with Him. So, it’s this opportunity for me to discover my partnership with God. The other aspect is that it helps me align with who I am by being so close to the teachings of the Traveler. And number three — because it’s lots of fun! It’s a great opportunity for me to choose into the joy of the Spirit. It’s graceful and easy although things do come up. It’s a place where I am taken care of and everything is for my upliftment.
NDH: Do you usually get to do what you like to do, or is it a situation where anything could come up and you are going to blend into that?
Tati: That’s a good question. I would think it’s probably more the second part and… it’s whatever comes… I hold an attitude of…”I’ll take on whatever God wants me to do because that’s how I go into service.” The first part — the liking of it — is more an attitude that I ask God to bless me with throughout the work that I do even if it’s something I might feel uncomfortable doing or perhaps, feel inadequate doing. I welcome the loving of the Christ by asking Him to embrace me with that attitude of joy. And, quite honestly, I like working a lot in teams and, at the same time, take leadership. This is a great opportunity for me to do that.
NDH: Anything else you want to add?
Tati: I Love J-R! And John, and all the Travelers. This is a beautiful blessing and I am very grateful for being here and sharing with other ministers and volunteers and new people. Just welcoming them to the teachings of the Traveler is such a blessing and a privilege to be in that place where we are actually creating that space for people to come. So it’s a message of gratitude and love.
MARY ANN SOMERVILLE
NDH: You are very busy. You have a lot of projects and I was wondering how you feel taking the time to volunteer to do something like this for MSIA?
Mary Ann: Volunteering for MSIA is one of the greatest blessings in my life. It’s an opportunity to be more present with both God’s and my own loving. Although there are ways to do that when I am committed to a project or when I am getting paid for something, there is something about being of service that tends to open me more to the awareness of Spirit and to Grace.
For More Information
If you feel moved to participate, please contact us and let us know if you’d like to come and play at a Spa Day or any other form of volunteering that might call to you. You can email us at volunteering@msia.org or call Tatiana Jimenez at 323-737-4055 ext. 1132.
