Excerpt from Sunday Service, August 3, 2003

The classes that we have at Light Haven are about opening new areas of mind. You see we have been trained to be linear thinkers. It's as if we have blinkers on and we don't see what's on the left or right. We become so focused on a goal, on an objective, on this linear process, on this way of thinking, on this way of approaching life, on this way of being with Spirit, that we miss the magic. So if class is about anything, it is about moving away from the linear approach, and opening up to new areas of mind, new possibilities, and new ways of perception. And if I do my job, if I do the job of Spirit, then you will often leave here dizzy, and we know we have accomplished something. Because you see, it is like the whirling dervish, because as you whirl, you go into that place where Spirit moves. We do have an overall plan, and we also probably won't follow it. I do the preparation for class, which is like putting file systems in my mind, and then the communications will come through and Spirit will go through the file system and will pull something out, and we'll talk about that and then we will proceed from there.

We have just returned from a pilgrimage to Mexico. This is a land that has endured many conquests, many cultures, and has every outward appearance of poverty and lack of basic necessities of life, like good air to breathe, food that has the capacity to nourish, and a clean water supply. Yet wherever we went, we realized that this is a country that manifests believers. I cannot speak for every person that lives in Mexico, but regardless of their outer circumstances there appears to be an intrinsic level of belief in life, and a belief in a spiritual connection, whether it's manifested through the predominant Catholic tradition or through their indigenous rituals, and an intrinsic belief that there is something beyond the obvious.

This is also a country where there have been more UFO sightings than any place else in the world, sightings that were captured on film and shown on the news. I was with people who grew up in Mexico who told me that most of the population believe in aliens and this is not an issue for them. They believe, based upon their cultural history, that there have been those who have come to visit them in the past from space, and that there has been a small minority that came with a personal agenda that was less than positive, but that overall, their visitors came to be teachers. And they feel that their culture and their ancestry have been enriched because they were taught. They hope that there will come a time again when the teachers will reappear and teach them even more. It's an intrinsic belief. And while I'm not here today to talk about the truth or untruth of contact from other realms, although I have to say, I can't imagine why we think we're the only ones in the galaxy, but what I am saying is that why, for example, did they not come to Charlotte, North Carolina?

It is perhaps because we don't believe. In this culture we have been taught to not believe, to question, to be the nay-sayer, to argue, to feel everyone is trying to trick us, to wonder what they are trying to get from us. Why would they come here when you've got a people who intrinsically believe that there is good, and who are open to the possibility of these visitors, and who say, "I will open my ears, eyes and heart to you." We would go down our list of "you're out to get me, I'm out to get you, what can I make out of this, how can I exploit this, how can you exploit me, it's not real anyway, let's shoot it down." Don't we do that with our lives? Don't we constantly evaluate ourselves and our world around us, and draw conclusions, most of them based on a belief system that cannot be trusted?

In the original languaging of the Buddhist tradition there is one word that is used for the concepts of trust, confidence, and faith. When you translate that word it means "that which sits upon your heart." A huge aspect of trust involves beliefs, because if beliefs take you to the door, then trust takes you over the threshold. Faith defines what it is you are going to see when you go over the threshold. Belief, faith, trust, confidence, are all verbs, they require action. Our beliefs take action. So, if you have no belief, you have no action. And if you have no action, you have no life. You have existence but you don't have life. So being the linear thinkers that we are, most of us say, "I don't have a problem with belief as long as I have proof."

This brings me to Our Lady of Guadalupe whose image we have on our altar today. This was the third trip that I have taken to Mexico and the second time that I was called to her physical temple. Her energies are of the world, and based upon the translations I have read, beyond. For those of you who are not familiar with the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the story begins near what is presently known as Mexico City, on December 9, 1531, about 10 years after the conquest by the Spanish Conquistadores who had almost annihilated most of the native population. The few males who survived were hidden in the hills, the females were being used in servitude, and the children were being used in labor camps. They were allowed to live only if they converted to Catholicism. The Aztecs were the predominant group at the time, and they refused to convert.

At dawn on the morning of December 9th, an Indian called Juan Diego was walking over a hill when he saw a Presence. He recognized her, and addressed her using several titles, the first being Noble Woman, and also Mary, Mother of God. She instructed him to go down the hill into the village to see the Bishop and to instruct him to build a temple at that place.

Now let us look at this picture. By some accounts Juan is considered to be an Aztec priest, or he may just have been a poverty-stricken Indian who had this chance encounter with an apparition, and is now being told to go to the Bishop, who is not big on the natives. Not only is he told to go to the Bishop, but he is told to petition for a temple! His response was that he would go and humbly excuse himself. He didn't just remain in her incredible, glowing presence, nor did he explain to her all the reasons why he shouldn't go into town and talk to the Bishop. He thanked her and immediately took on the task and went to the home of the Bishop. The Bishop was not impressed, and said they would talk about it some other time.

So Juan returned to the Presence to tell her that he was not able to accomplish the task, and he suggested that she find someone who had more eloquent speech and a higher social status. He did not ask why she did not step in and change the outcome. He took responsibility, even suggesting that as he was not eloquent of speech, and someone else might accomplish the task better. She reassured him that he had been chosen to do this, and instructed him to go back and inspire the Bishop. Now consider this, he was lucky he didn't get his head whacked off the first time he went. By the way this is not a myth, it is a true story and a significantly documented event. Because he believed, he agreed to go back and inspire the Bishop. He never asked, "Who are you really? What do I get out of this?" He went, and out of his belief and out of his intensity, he inspired the Bishop enough that the Bishop thought there might be some truth in the story and he sent Juan off with the request that he bring back proof. But he not only required proof, he also sent spies to follow Juan Diego because he wanted to see how he got the proof. But along the way, the spies lost him.

Juan Diego's intention was to return to the lady, but he got word that his uncle was seriously ill with the plague and was dying. His uncle asked him to bring forth a priest, and because Juan Diego felt that his death was imminent, he was in a quandary because of his promise to the noble woman. His intention was to bring the priest to his uncle, and then side-track back around and find the lady. He had been meeting her in the east, so he tried to slip around the hill to the west. Well, lo and behold, she appeared before him and asked where he was going. He told her he was trying to avoid her because he had this other agenda. She said, "Why would you think that I am not everywhere, and why do you think that you have to carry this care and concern by yourself?" It had never occurred to him to tell her his dilemma. He had made a decision on his own. How many times have we done that? We decide what is best, but we say we have surrendered to Spirit. At that moment the uncle had a miraculous recovery, and this was one of the first recorded miracles out of this event.

She sent Juan Diego up on the hill to gather flowers. This was in the middle of a bitter winter, and there should have been no flowers blooming, but there were. He gathered the flowers in his cloak and returned to her, and she told him to hold them close and go and present them to the Bishop. The Bishop's servants had been telling him to kill Juan Diego, and when Juan returned, they attempt to take his cloak from him to see what was in it. Every time they grabbed for it, it disappeared. The story goes that when he went in front of the Bishop he opened his cloak and not only did the flowers fall out, but there was an image imbued upon the cloak that is not unlike this image of Our Lady of Guadalupe that you see upon our altar. That same cloak is one of the things that you can see at the Basilica. It is said to be one of the most scientifically verified miracles of the church. I stood in front of it just a few days ago, and this statue is exactly what the image on the cloak looks like. It is a full image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

I want to bring up several points here. Even after all the incredible proof of this miracle, the establishment of the church kept this incident very low-key for almost 250 years. It was over 100 years after the event before word got out enough that they finally had to acknowledge it. They had requested proof and they had received proof, but the proof had been brought by an Indian, a native, and it had not been brought by a Spanish intellectual or someone of rank in the church. It also resulted in something that was inexplicable, which is that after 10 years of the church trying to convert these people to Catholicism, within a month the few tens of thousands of remaining Aztecs, men, women and children, converted to Catholicism, or shall we say they came to acknowledge the Mystical Guadalupism, which is what it is called.

I do not purport to be an expert in this arena, but it is my understanding from several things that I have read, that in the Aztec tradition it was recognized and believed and known that their civilization was completed. They saw the cycles and they had several portents that told them this. It was the time of what they called the Fifth Sun, and the birth of the Sixth Sun. They believed that they would be given a sign when their civilization was almost complete, when most of their people were almost completely destroyed. That sign was a continuation of the forces that had guided them, which included the Cosmic Mother whom they saw as a continuation of the Mother of all Mothers, and part of that which is not bound by any religion, by any culture, or by any definition. It is that which is the continuousness of God/Goddess, and they were waiting for that sign. And for them she was the embodiment of that sign that it was now time to begin their part in the process of rebirth of the Spiritual Sun. They see her as one who is part of Mary, but she is also part of the great Cosmic Mother who goes by many names.

She has upon her a belt that is recognized as a pregnancy belt in their tradition, which is another reason that they didn't want to talk about it for over 100 years, because they were trying to get around the fact that she is depicted as pregnant. Some would say she is pregnant with the new consciousness that is being birthed, and that she is the forerunner of this consciousness.

There are many things about this cloak that have been scientifically documented. The image was not painted on it, and there are no color pigments. But that isn't really why people take a pilgrimage to this site. They go because it is, for many, about a continuation of an intrinsic belief system. And when I say that, it is literally taking action, which is one of many actions, that is about being and truly living in a state of belief and trust. There are many aspects within the construct of this story that have been told and retold and they have been documented and written and are actually in the church archives. They speak of formulas, one of which is called Getting to know the Mother, and it is when we can truly, profoundly, operate from the heart in the belief that there is Spirit, and that we are not alone. It matters not whether we call that Spirit God, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mary, Krishna, or the Christ, we are not separated from it. We are not alone, and because we are not alone, that intrinsic level of fear that comes from our sense of separation becomes more and more diminished, because we sit in our heart. And as we sit in our heart, that heart grows and it connects with all the other hearts, and then we know that that phantom that we have called fear is not unlike the phantom that Juan Diego experienced when, after these incredible encounters, he still felt that he had to take control and make a decision that was separated and go around the hill to avoid the contact. But she appeared to him, because there's no place we can go where we are alone, and there's no thought we have that isn't known.

I will read to you from the transcript what she says to him when she catches him in this act of avoidance:

"Comprehend and know, my youngest child, nothing should scare or concern you. Don't worry. Don't be afraid of the sickness or any other illness or hardship. Am I not right here who is your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Am I not the foundation of your being, your sustenance, your happiness, peace, and effortlessness? Are you not in the fold of my garment? Do you need anything else? Don't allow anything to worry or disturb you anymore." *

And so with that I would like us to prepare for our Pathworking. We use pathworking not unlike a guided meditation, but it is beyond that, for it is in symbols. It is imagination that unlocks doorways to states of consciousness. Be aware of your breath, and become aware of the space between your breaths. Attune to this space. And now, take a moment to become aware of your body, and if there is any place that is holding tension, simply breathe into that space. Be aware of your hands, and relax your hands. Again, be aware of your breath and the space behind your eyes, the base of your skulls, and the top of your head.

We call to you, the forever whole and perfect maiden, Saint Mary, honorable Mother of the true God, honorable Mother of the giver of life, honorable Mother of the creator of men and women, honorable Mother of the One who is far and close, honorable Mother of the One who makes the heavens and the earth. Are we not also unlike thy messenger? Are we not unlike the one of Juan Diego?

Come with me my brothers and sisters, for we are moving in the pre-dawn before the light rises, and it seems dark and cold, and we take our cloak and pull it close over our shoulders. And in the dark and in the cold we make our way up toward the hill, and we believe, and with every step and every breath, we believe. And in that belief, we do not define, we do not command, but we accept the truth. And before us in the darkness, a light is emerging and she stands and awaits, for she has never left. And we come before her, and she reaches out and enfolds us in her garments. And she whispers into our inner ear, "Inspire, believe, trust." She is calling us to action, for we are her children, and she is our Mother, our life, our death. She knows our hopes. She bears our fears and does not turn away. She takes all of our suffering and holds it in her sacred heart and knows it and does not discard it. And she invites us now to rest our weary heads in her bosom, to rest our weary hearts in her lap. Place your thoughts upon her chest and in and on her lap that is pregnant and full with the birth. Place your heart, for it is a true and loving heart, it is a light heart, and she loves us so. And in that love we believe, we inspire, we act, and we are sustained. And in that love we have confidence. And in that love is truth. And just as she imprinted herself upon that sacred cloak that is still in its pristine perfected form after much misuse and abuse, in 2003 she invites you, she asks you, she beseeches you, to let her essence be impressed, be engraved, be imbued on you, that you become the living cloak of proof. And she continues to hold us, to love us, and we are never alone, and we are never lost, for she has chosen us and she believes in us. And I would invite you to know that she is very present and always is present, but I would encourage you, several times a day to embrace her and let her embrace you. And as you are ready, holding that consciousness and feeling the imbuing, the imprinting, allow yourself to be in this time and space.

I am going to be putting on some music that is from the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and it is done by the native magicians in Mexico in honor of her, and I'm using the word magicians purposely. And I would ask you to take your offering in your hand as I read another passage from the transcript, where Our Lady is confirming to Juan Diego his purposefulness in the mission:

"My will and desire are to come through your hand. I firmly appeal to you, my youngest child, and I order you, go to the Bishop again tomorrow, teach him for me, help him to completely understand my intention and my desire." *

There are many bishops in this world that are full of fear. When we go forth, it is not that we proselytize, although that may be part of it if we are called as teachers, but what we do is we bring ourselves just as Juan Diego did, without fear, without doubt. And we take this offering now and we ask for blessings upon blessings upon blessings to all of those in fear, to all of those in poverty, to all of those in doubt, to all of our brothers and sisters, to all sentient life.

This week we go into the time that is traditionally called the Gate of Inspiration. It is a fire gate, and it is one of the cross-quarter days. It is a time of great potency, and so I would invite you in this time to take these understandings that have come forth and to use that Gate of Inspiration, to inspire every fiber of your being and to walk forth in inspiration by your presence in this world.

* From "The Aztec Virgin" by John Mini.