"When all you have is a hammer,  

everything looks like a nail."

Abraham Maslow  

Every day I read from a book of daily meditations for practicing the Course in Miracles. I want to share this morning's reading with you because I think it's one worth pondering.

"Complicating our lives is so typical. We feel driven to analyze every feeling we or others have. We search for the hidden meaning in a co-worker's comments. We fearfully assume that our 'job' in this life is enormous and we probably can't succeed. We think that others lie in wait for our mistakes in order to judge us.   The list goes on. Yet how wrong our perceptions are!

"We don't have a grand assignment, and others aren't watching us. The only task is a small one, and it's the same for all of us: to speak, think, and act lovingly at every moment. We need not write the definitive book or discover a cure for cancer. We aren't expected to solve a neighborhood's crime problem or settle a three-generational feud. Giving and receiving only love fills the bill.

"If all the people we meet actually fulfill this assignment and everyone they meet does likewise, the experience of the entire human race would be quite different. The change can begin with only one. Let it begin here, now, with me."

In peace and love,        

Rev. Karen Wylie

A Beautiful Mother's Day

I hope you had a great Mother's Day because we sure did at the Symphony of Life! Rev. Maisha Hazzard was our speaker and she did a great job of reminding us that everything is already here......everything. We just need to be willing to accept and allow, raise our arms up to the skies to receive the download from the Universal Presence. We were also blessed to have visiting practitioners Bob Dalton, Kimberly McGinnis and Nanette Thomas pray for our congregation after the service.

Rev. Maisha and Rev. Karen

Then many of us went over to Papa Lennons in Meiners Oaks for our May lunch bunch at 12:30 to continue our Mother's Day celebration. The afternoon was filled with wonderful friends and great conversation.....what a combination! We are so grateful for the blessings in our lives!

Free Spiritual Cinema Night

Our Spiritual Cinema Night this month will be held on Friday, May 25, when we screen "Seven Days in Utopia." Join us for an inspirational story about golf and life, both of which turn out to be far more meaningful than just a game. When a talented young golfer (played by Lucas Black) suffers a humiliating disappointment in his first pro tournament, he finds himself stranded in the town of Utopia, Texas. There he meets an eccentric rancher (Robert Duvall), whose profound perspective on life teaches his young protégé how to examine his part and reconsider his future. Doors open at 6:30 pm; show starts at 7:00 pm, Casa de La Luna Retreat, 710 S. La Luna Avenue. It's FREE, thanks to the generous partnership of Casa de La Luna Retreat. Donations are always welcome!

Dances of Universal Peace

Volunteer of the Month

We continue to hold Bob Quinn in high honor as our Volunteer of the Month for the month of May. Bob is currently the team leader of our Hospitality/Greeting Ministry. From the very beginning when Bob first joined us, he has been a wonderful service angel to the Symphony of Life. Whenever anything is needed, Bob is there to serve and to assist. Pictured below are Bob, Tiese and Jake Quinn. 

On Board with the Board

Our featured board member this week is Randee Vasilakos. She is originally from Baltimore, Maryland. Her grandfather on her father's side came from Greece. He spent a few years in a monastery to become a priest, only to realize the Orthodox path was not his life's calling. However, he was one of the original founders of the first Greek Orthodox Church in Baltimore City. Randee attended the University of Maryland College Park where she met her future husband, an Engineering candidate there. They married and had two children, Scott and TJ. Randee and her husband divorced 12 years later. Realizing that she was gay, she became active in the gay movement in the 70's. Randee completed graduate studies from the California Transpersonal School of Psychology in Boulder, Colorado. After graduating, Randee traveled to England and Ireland and later lived at the Siddha Yoga Ashram in up state New York for three years. Later returning to Baltimore, Randee worked with the homeless. She found her way to Southern California in 1999 and the Agape International Spiritual Center where she became a licensed spiritual practitioner active in co-facilitating classes and holding workshops. In 2010, Randee moved to Ojai where she currently has a private counseling practice. She conducts weekly meditations and various transformational workshops and serves as practitioner for the Symphony of Life Spiritual Center. We are grateful to have her loving presence on our board.

Open Invitation  

This is an invitation to singers and musicians out there who would like to perform at the Symphony of Life.  Contact Rev. Karen, (805) 640-3743, or Patricia Cardinali, (805) 646-2098, if you are interested.

New YouTube Video 

Check out the home page of our website to see our YouTube Video!  

Visit our SOLSC Website

Please go to www.solsc.org to visit our community website.

Visit SOLSC Facebook