• Facing fears

When you make the commitment to live life as a sacred experience, many fears arise, either to pull you back to the past, or to keep you from your destined future. You will explore those fears and the challenge of facing them with courage, and in the knowledge that you are not alone.

• Belief and Faith, Trust and Integrity

You explore these four states and the fine distinctions among them. As you understand each state more deeply and clearly, you reveal the power they bring to your life. Animating states such as these bring both power and grace into your life.

• Humility

You examine your attitude towards humility, what it means to be humble on the spiritual journey, and how healthy humility is essential to everyone on the mystical path.

• Reciprocity

We are constantly exchanging energy with others and with Life itself. We are, is has been said, “students and teachers to each other,” (A Course In Miracles). We give and take, teach and learn, fill up and empty on a daily basis. You explore reciprocity in your life and learn how better to balance the flow, be it with other people, your work, your thoughts and in your prayers.

• Presence

None of this is possible unless you are present to the moment. You explore the many distractions that keep you from this state of being, and learn how to regain your center and your spirit.

• Forgiveness

Little needs to be said about the healing power of forgiveness. You explore the paths you may take towards forgiveness in different situations in your life. The road blocks you may face come forth for examination and prayer. You allow yourself to open up to the grace of forgiveness and of forgiving.

• The Body: The Temple of the Spirit

We experience life through our five senses, our bones, muscles, sinews, glands and organs. We live our faith in and through this vehicle and yet it is often ignored as an article of faith. It reflects our every mood and emotion. Without it, nothing is accomplished. And yet we pay it little attention as an essentially spiritual entity. You are meant to know your body as God’s instrument. You will explore the meaning of this concept, and the ways you can become more mindful, more skillful and more effective in living the spiritual life you so desire.

• Inner Peace and Acceptance

This topic connects intimately with the topic of Presence. Through the present moment only, is peace available to you. You’ll learn how the mystics approached and developed this state, and how they speak of its place in the spiritual life. You’ll explore your history with acceptance – what do you accept and what do you resist? You’ll develop practices to use every day to make sure that you are becoming mindful of how you are doing in this essential act of faith.

• Lightness and Humor

It’s a mark of the true mystic that they take life lightly. It’s a matter for love, joy, acceptance and laughter. Amidst the inevitable tears and heartbreak, come moments of happiness and humor. As humans, we have this capacity – to laugh at ourselves. Although this is not usually listed among the spiritual capacities, I believe it’s essential. You’ll take a look at your capacity to laugh and be light, and your ability not to take yourself too seriously.

You may wonder why Love is not a topic. Love pervades the whole spiritual journey. Without Love, this journey is nothing. The Love of which I speak is not love as we ordinarily understand it; it’s the Love of a Mind that is now, and will remain, a mystery to us. It’s a Love that we cannot fully understand. Mystics often experience a moment or two of intimate contact with that Love, and it lasts them a lifetime, transporting them continuously to realms that most of us can only dream of. And yet as mystics in the modern world, we too can touch this love and open ourselves to its beneficence. Love, therefore, is in, through and around everything that we shall touch or explore together.