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I had just gone to bed late one Saturday evening when I clearly heard
the calm yet joyous suggestion, "Tomorrow would
be an excellent day to go to church!"
This may not have been so surprising if I were one of those people who
regularly go to church, but I am not. In fact, with the exception of
weddings, funerals, musical concerts, and cathedral tours, I have not
attended a regular church service in my life. This would be my first
time.
I replied to this joyful voice by asking, "Which church? I don't know
any churches around here." The voice cheerfully suggested a Unitarian
church not too far from my home. I thought to myself "Well, it isn't
the closest church, but it's not too far away". I then thought, "I bet
the service is too early tomorrow morning. I'd rather sleep in." To
my surprise, the little voice answered, "The
service is after ten in the morning."
I asked, "But how will I know for sure what time the service begins?"
and the voice replied, "The service time is
printed in your phone book."
This was a rather amazing revelation, and something I could easily check
right away... after I'd had a good night's sleep. If the little voice
was correct, I'd have plenty of time to make the service the next morning.
When I awoke the next day, I remembered the entire conversation I'd
had the night before, and sat down with my phone book and breakfast
to see if the service time was printed there. I was astonished to see
that indeed, the time for the service was after 10 AM, and it was actually
printed in the phone book! I also noted that the other churches on adjacent
pages did not list their service times in the phone book. I looked more
closely to notice that the advertisement for the Unitarian church had
a note of invitation that stated "visitors always welcome" -- which
had been my one remaining concern. I was flabbergasted at this turn
of events, and decided to get myself ready for church immediately.
As I selected a purse to match my shoes, the small happy voice suggested,
"Be sure to bring along some kleenex and a
small note pad and pen." "Ah, yes!
I need kleenex for my allergies", I thought to myself, as I made sure
to pack some along. "But I don't have a purse-sized note pad." No sooner
had I thought this, than the cheery little voice replied, "Yes,
you do," and directed me to a cubby-hole
in my desk where it said a small note book rested. I was shocked to
find a beautiful small notepad there in my desk -- something I'd purchased
the year before and left sitting alone and unused and forgotten! I was
so surprised and pleased to discover I had such a useful thing that
I didn't even ask, "Why the note pad?"
I arrived at the Unitarian Church just as the service was about to begin,
and received a printed program with the title, "Coming of Age Recognition
Service". I felt my heart begin to flutter as the realization dawned
on me that one of my life-long wishes was about to be granted. All my
adult life, I'd wished to participate in a community's coming-of-age
ceremony, and I'd managed to walk right in on one!
As I strolled down the center aisle of the church, I had the distinct
impression that I was walking into my favorite scene from a movie. I
felt totally and completely present in a setting that was so clearly
larger-than-life. An overpowering sense of love washed over me, as I
found a seat about six aisles back from the front -- close enough that
I could see the faces of people seated wearing robes on the stage. I
felt awed by a beautiful painting of a tree of life that was slowly
raised by the artist who had created it, and by the gorgeous songs that
we sang together. The ministers of the church explained that this Coming
of Age ceremony was the culmination of a program which began months
earlier, and included mentoring and spiritual retreats.
One at a time, young teenagers walked forward to the front of the church
with their mentors who lit a candle and introduced them by saying their
name aloud. Each youth then walked to a podium facing the congregation,
and read a statement of beliefs aloud into a microphone. I was impressed
with the courage that these young people had to come forward and share
their most personal feelings about the meaning of life in front of about
one hundred people.
What touched me most of all was the way that these young people knew
that whatever they said would be greeted with love by the people listening
in the pews. Some of those reading their credos spoke of not believing
that our spirit survives when we die, and that there is no special place
like heaven when we go -- that this life is all we have. Others shared
feelings of hopefulness, even when their lives had been very difficult.
"I believe in possibility," said one young woman, adding, "I'm going
to play my parts on the stage of life and do the best that I can do."
"I believe in Confusionism," stated a young man. "Believing in reality
is a prison in itself. Only if one believes or knows nothing are they
truly free. Yet, I believe this, so I am confused." The congregation
laughed along with this young man, not at him, and I felt tears of love
well up in my eyes.
I cried as more young people shared their credos... beliefs they had
spent the entire previous year working on. I felt so much love I could
barely keep my eyes dry. I was deeply grateful that I'd been told by
that small, cheerful voice, "Bring kleenex and a note pad." Boy, did
I ever need them! My sniffling and nose-honking was in fact creating
a "crying pocket" in my immediate vicinity. Many parents in the pew
ahead of me sniffled sympathetically after I'd been crying uncontrollably
for several minutes, and remembered to jot down notes in my tiny note
book.
"We each have the power to give someone the world, or to take it all
away with the words we say. Be careful what you do with that power,"
stated a young woman. "Whatever goes around, comes around," was a young
man's credo. "When I was washing cars for a fund-raiser, the organizer
told us to wash every car as if it was a limousine." said a young woman
who added, "Everyone should be treated as if they were royalty... everyone
can help the world." Another young woman said, "I often found that when
I was asking questions of a supreme being, I was actually asking them
of myself. Each of us has a supreme being within us."
As this exquisite Coming-of-Age ceremony of sharing credos came to an
end, all of the young people gathered together on the platform in the
front of the church. There followed a time of singing -- for the mentors,
the parents, the congregation, and the coming of age youth group. As
the ceremony ended and I honked my nose into yet another kleenex, the
man seated to my left asked me in a very caring way, "Did you participate
in this kind of ceremony when you were growing up?" and I managed to
reply, "No, but I'm so glad this exists. It was more moving than I thought
it would be."
I cried more tears of gratitude in my car before I drove home from the
service; tears of thanks for the divine intuitive guidance which had
led me to be at this church at this most auspicious time. I felt blessed
to receive exactly the kind of guidance I most enjoy - the kind that
opens my mind and heart to new possibilities of experiencing love and
wonder in this world.
© Cynthia Sue Larson, July, 2001
 
 Cynthia
Sue Larson holds a bachelor's degree in physics from UC Berkeley (1982),
earned in conjunction with her pursuit of a more complete understanding
of reality. Following completion of her MBA degree in 1984, she worked
as a project manager at Citibank for seven years at the California Data
Center. She is the author of the forthcoming books, Shift Your Reality:
How to Create Miracles in Your Life, with preface by Dr. Fred Alan Wolf,
and the young adult novel Karen Kimball and the Dream Weaver's Web.
Cynthia writes articles for Magical Blend and Parabola
magazines, and Enlightenment.com, Conscious Creation Journal, and Themestream
on the internet about reality shifts. She teaches reality shifting workshops,
and has been interviewed by Elliot Stein for his Stein Online talk show,
and Charles Grotsky on the Technology Trends television show. Cynthia's
passion is helping people realize how we all create reality, and that
we can consciously improve our lives and the world around us to make
our favorite dreams come true. Check out Cynthia's website,
where you can subscribe to her fascinating (free!) RealityShifters News
monthly ezine.
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