Welcome...here, at the Center for Spiritual Living, Paradise, we acknowledge a deep place that exists within each of us that yearns for deeper meaning to life, and asks the oldest and most profound question we all have, "Why am I here?" This Center, and the teachings we embrace, are dedicated to exploring that question on a collective level, but more importantly, a personal level. What teachings? We ground our personal and collective journeys of understanding and illumination, in the metaphorical teachings of all the great spiritual philosophies and religions. We know that profound wisdom exists in the eastern ideas, as well as those found in the west. We expand our search to native traditions, as well as earthen, in order to gaze deeply into the origins and workings of the universe while acknowledging the place science has at our spiritual table. We are a metaphysical teaching, distilled, down through the ages, and organized, by mystics like Buddha, Jesus, Lao Tzu, Meister Eckhart, The Transcendentalists, Emma Curtis Hopkins, the Fillmore's of Unity and Ernest Holmes of Religious Science, among a host of many great past and contemporary writers, thinkers, teachers, leaders, and speakers. We are a teaching that believes God is right where you are. We believe your greatest gift is creativity. We believe the most profound wisdom, you're looking for, lies within your intuition. Shall we take the journey of EMPOWERMENT, together? We'd love to.

We believe in God, the Divine, the Creative Force, the Living Spirit Almighty; One, indestructible, Absolute, and Self-Existent Cause. This One manifests Itself in and through all creation (including you), but it is not absorbed by its creation. The manifest universe (including you) is the body of God; it is the logical and necessary outcome of the Infinite self-knowingness of God. We believe in the incarnation of Spirit in everyone, and that all people are incarnations of the One Spirit. We believe in the eternality, the immortality, and the continuity of the individual soul, forever and ever expanding. We believe heaven is within us (as our Divine birthright) and that we experience it to the degree that we become conscious of it. We believe the ultimate goal of life to be a complete emancipation from all discord of every nature, and that this goal is sure to be attained by all. We believe in the Unity of all Life, and that the Highest God and the Innermost God is One God. We believe that God is personal to all who feel this Indwelling Presence. We believe in the direct revelations of Truth through the intuitive and spiritual nature of the individual, and that any person (including you) may become a revealer of Truth who lives in close contact with the Indwelling God. We believe that the Universal Spirit, which is God, operates through a Universal Mind, which is the Law of God; and that we are surrounded by this Creative Mind which receives the direct impress of our thought (consciousness) and acts upon it. We believe in the healing of the sick through the Power of this Mind. We believe in the control of conditions through the Power of this Mind. We believe in the Eternal Goodness, the Eternal Loving-kindness, and the Eternal Givingness of Life (god) to all. We believe in our own soul, our own spirit, and our own destiny; for we understand that the life of all is God.

This morning, while driving to the Center, I saw a group of deer standing in a grassy area. They were bucks, as the beginning of their antlers was evident. A deer’s antlers are fully realized in the fall, in all their glory –their maturity. But here, in the beginnings of the summer, their “youth” was evident.

This brought to mind that “all” of life; beginnings, middle age, autumns, are always existent at any given time. If you look closely into an infant’s eyes, you’ll see ancient acquired wisdom; if you look that the posture of an older individual, you’ll see glimpses of a kid standing on a play ground.

I attended a special honoring ceremony, recently, for a middle-aged person. While the ritual was under way, I looked into the face of the one being honored. What I saw was a young child –proud –feeling fulfilled –eyes gazing out on the festivities with wonder.

We’re told, by great mystics that, “…eternity is in the here and now of every moment”. After you comb your gray hair, moisturize your beautifully time-sculpted face….skip out into your day, with Spirit by the hand.

"Personal Angels"

"Manna" is metaphysically defined as the very "bread, substance, or Word of Life".  Often, in our lives, this "substance" of life is delivered to us in interesting ways-a book, a conversation, a teacher-just exactly what we're looking for to feed and sustain our journey at any given time.  Let's celebrate the Angels of Manna.

Affirmation:  I know Spirit shows up for me in every way needed to sustain my journey.