What can I say about the Oakland Center for Spiritual Living and all the love, light, and learning I've received and given by becoming part of this welcoming and inclusive community? Maybe it's best to share a poem written by me in one of the classes offered at our center.
My name is Sally.
Surrender: Acceptance: Listen: Love: Yes!
SURRENDER: There is a Power greater than I am and It intends only Good for me. ACCEPTANCE: I accept my place - home - belongingness in this One. I am one with Spirit, God, Life.
LISTEN: I go within to know God. Listening for that still small voice, I know I am Divinely guided, guarded, and protected always and in all ways. All is well.
LOVE: I am called to be Love in all situations with all people, place, and things. That is my purpose. Love, like the Creator Itself, takes many forms: daughter, lover, wife, mother, friend, stranger. Each embodies the Whole. There is unity within the diversity.
YES!: The only "proper" response to Life. If I forget this, I am to return to the beginning, Surrender.
A spiritual practice is about as personal as anything can possibly be and a place where you feel you can create, develop, and enhance that practice is a gift beyond measure.
That is what I found at the Oakland Center for Spiritual Living!
Inviting, inclusive, joyful, energetic, encouraging, and challenging are all applicable descriptors.
I went to The Oakland Center looking for solace, connection; I found a home, a family.