"Man without God is a seed upon the wind.....It means that such a man has no sense of center. He is at home nowhere because he is not at home somewhere."

Howard Thurman, For the Inward Journey

When I read this writing from Howard Thurman, I realized that this is the journey most of us take as we consciously evolve. Most of us begin as a seed upon the wind without God and if we continue our spiritual practice long enough and earnestly enough, we become a seed upon the wind with God.

Very soon after our arrival in human form, we forget who we are, thanks to the intense domestication (Don Miguel Ruiz's word) we experience from our parents, teachers and others in our outer world. We are then at the effect of the outer world. If things are good there, we are good. If not, we suffer. We are at the mercy of forces beyond our control.

If we stay with our spiritual work and practice long enough, however, soon enough there comes a complete surrender, a commitment and a yielding to God at the core of our being and our life takes on new meaning. We become an open vessel for God's expression. We become God's own. We are not afraid then; the fear of living is gone. We are now motivated by faith, not fear. We are in a continual state of love because we become it. Our lack of attachment to outcome makes us as a seed--we may be here or we may be there, as the God Presence moves through and as us. Life is good because God is good. Our life takes on a greater purpose than our small ends.

This is the nature of our conscious evolution. It does not come without struggle, but being a seed upon the wind with God allows us to experience love, joy and absolute freedom unlike anything we have ever known before. We are here to wake up to the Divine potential within us. We can be born again.

Our affirmation for the day: I am a seed upon the wind with God. I am love. I am joy. I am free.

In peace and love,    

Rev. Karen Wylie

Appreciation and Thanksgiving 

The creative energy of God is certainly moving powerfully through our sanctuary lately. This past Sunday, we were blessed to have Kerri Anne LeBlang and Phillip Taylor, along with Patricia Cardinali for our musical inspiration, and once again, our roof was lifted off in joyous celebration. Our sanctuary was filled with their beautiful music, spirit and enthusiasm!  

Appreciation to Practitioner Susanna Woods

Thank you, Susanna, for driving up from Los Angeles every first Sunday of the month to be of service to the Symphony of Life. We love you!

Susanna Woods

Honoring our Volunteer of the Month

It was a pleasure to honor our Volunteer of the Month for the month of September, Amira Webster! Amira has served the Symphony of Life is so many ways, we are grateful for her presence. It was my privilege to present her with the "Who I Am Makes a Difference" blue ribbon for excellence.

Amira and Rev. Karen

Nathalie Raijmakers Photography

Nathalie, we are sending love your way. Many of the photos you see in today's newsletter were taken by Nathalie. She did a fabulous job of documenting our Sunday morning service this past Sunday. If you would like to have her take some photos of you or your loved ones or anything else, give her a call at (310) 570-7977.

Special Guest Speaker  

Put Sunday, September 18, on your calendar. On that day, we will be welcoming Rev. Greta Sesheta from the Agape International Spiritual Center.  Rev. Greta teaches the classes on prayer at Agape. You may recognize her from her many appearances as an actress on television and elsewhere.  She is the sweet presence of love itself, and we are blessed to have her with us.  You won't want to miss this.   

Rev. Greta Sesheta   

New Fall Class

Rev. Karen will be teaching an 8-week class, Science of Mind 102, The Nature of Effective Prayer, on Thursday nights beginning on Thursday, September 15, 7:00 to 9:30 PM. Registration: $50; Tuition: $125 (payment plans are available).  Location in Ojai TBD.  The two books that will be required reading are Prayer by Ernest Holmes and The Science of Mind also by Ernest Holmes.

This is a class that will facilitate individual spiritual growth through reading, exercises and personal interaction. You will be given tools in this class that will become part of your Conscious Living Tool Kit. We will examine the creative nature of thought and develop a greater understanding of life and of our individual relationship to God.  

Please plan on having your books by the first night of class.  (No prerequisite required.) Contact Rev. Karen at (805) 640-3743 for more information. Sign up now.

Symphony of Life Book Club

Our Symphony of Life Book Club will be meeting Friday at Donna Elam's home at 6:00 p.m. where we will be discussing our current book of the month, Breakfast with Buddha, and choosing a book for the coming month. Our meetings are open to everyone. Bring food to share; we always have a potluck. Donna's phone number for directions is (805) 649-1442.  

Creative Adventures Summer Program

A deep and profound thank you to Rev. Marilyn Miller and Todd Chandler who facilitated our children's program this past Sunday. We welcome children 3-11 years of age to enjoy prayer, story telling, visual arts projects and/or music and movement. Our program is enriching and appropriate for young people regardless of their religious backgrounds. Please call Rev. Marilyn Miller, (805) 640-0498 if you are interested in assisting with the children.

Birthday Babies for September

Here are some of our beautiful birthday babies for September.

Special Request

We would like to start making CD's of our service. If you, or someone you know, would be interested in helping us with that project, please give Rev. Karen a call at (310) 968-8928. We know you are out there!

A Joyful Departure

We live and leave in joy!

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