Rev. Cassandra Rae began this month’s theme, Our Sacred Yes, with her talk titled “Connect with Yes” referencing her chosen book of the month, The Sacred Yes: Letters from the Infinite, Volume 1 by Rev. Deborah L. Johnson.
During a dark night of the soul, Rev. Deborah had what she describes as an out of body death experience. Her life flashed before her eyes, like a slide show. Each scene reflected a moment in time when she could have been kinder, more thoughtful, more genuine, and more loving. These moments were not shown in judgement or as a punishment but rather to give her an opportunity to grow and be a conduit for Spirit. It was a moment of truth and rebirth paving the way for Rev. Deborah to write letters from the Divine.
Rev. Cassandra challenged us to think back to the last time we experienced something that excited and delighted us, the last time we came alive and said Yes! She pointed out it is at these moments we are open to accepting the Divine, allowing it to unfold in our lives, and help us become who we are meant to be in this lifetime.
When Spirit connects with us, it speaks to our heart. Rev. Cassandra referred to Rev. Deborah’s letter “I Speak to Your Heart” as she explained that our heart is the complete essence of our mind, body, and soul; it is our life force. Spirit wants to give each of us love, guidance, wisdom, and clarity through our thoughts, our emotions, our body, and our creativity.
In The Sacred Yes, Spirit says, “I am always standing ready, I am available, I am accessible, you have my full attention. And this is my full intention.” Spirit also says, “I speak to your heart always. I need you show up with a certain degree of availability.”
Rev. Cassandra provided us with three questions for reflection to make ourselves available:
1. What would you say to Spirit if you had Spirit’s full attention (because you do!)?
2. What adjustments might you make in your daily schedule to make yourself more accessible?
3. What activities make you more available to Spirit?
You can make small changes to our day, our schedule, for that connection with Spirit. Rev. Cassandra gave examples of how she makes time for Spirit. She journals, meditates, walks, and contemplates. She participates in activities where her mind, body, and soul are open to hear the messages Spirit is sending.
Our heart is a tremendous indicator of our availability to Spirit. How we think and feel emotionally and physically will increase or decrease our availability to receive, understand, and follow Spirit’s Divine Love and Guidance.
Rev. Cassandra explained that our feeling, thinking, and sensing is deeply impacted by the functioning of our brain. The functioning of our brain is deeply impacted by interactions we had with our original caregivers, our ongoing life events, as well as any trauma that we may have experienced.
Rev. Cassandra referred to Sarah Peyton’s book Your Resonant Self: Guided Meditations and Exercises to Engage Your Brain’s Capacity for Healing. Peyton uses Interpersonal Neurobiology and Mindfulness to help us heal our brains so that your inner voice is one of warmth, tenderness, and care toward ourselves and others.
Rev. Cassandra recommends setting a clear intention of warmth towards ourselves which will carry on in all our interactions as we Connect with Yes!
Watch the entire replay of Rev. Cassandra's talk here or listen to it on our Podcast. There are many more nuggets of truth, lessons to learn, and actions to take.
About Nicola Archibald
Nicola Archibald joined the Centre for Spiritual Living White Rock in 2020 when a health challenge forced her to stop, evaluate her priorities, and consider her authentic life’s purpose. While she had always held Spiritual Beliefs, she had never taken the time to explore her Spirituality until she found the Centre for Spiritual Living, a community of like-minded individuals who support her Spiritual Journey. Nicola is proud to be able to use the skills she developed in business (i.e. writing, graphic design, and social media) as she continues to learn and give back to the Centre for Spiritual Living White Rock.
About Our Spiritual Director
Reverend Cassandra Rae is an unexpected minister! She was raised evangelical Baptist and spent her twenties as an angry atheist. Then she had a medical crisis, which launched her onto a spiritual journey of healing and self-discovery. Now she's an advocate for an empowered spirituality that embraces your humanity as the path of knowing your divinity.
About the Centre for Spiritual Living White Rock
Our vision is a loving, vibrant world that works for all. We create sacred opportunities for personal empowerment and collective transformation through wholehearted experiences of Truth and Spirit. We believe that spiritual community is key in living a life of purpose and meaning. We gather every Sunday for spiritual practice, live music, and inspirational messages at 10:30 AM Pacific - check our events calendar for details. Hope to see you soon!