I could never have imagined!

When I met my first spiritual teacher, Charles Ahart, I was participating in American Craft Council Northeast Craft Fair, the most prestigious craft show in the United States. I was working with the coil technique in clay with one-of-kind pieces. At that time five thousand artists applied and only 500 were accepted. It was my third year at this wholesale/retail show and I was also selling in galleries across the country. Charlie must have heard that I was a professional potter, because one day when I called him, this conversation unfolded.

Charlie: “I heard you do something with clay…make pots?”
Victoria : “Yes…I work in pottery.”
Charlie: “Why don’t you do something useful with it? Why not set up some clay classes for the children of the people in the Foundation. I suggest once a week, for three weeks. And don’t go with the current trend of “open education”. Be the authority and show them how to make a pot. You can show them how to make a pot, can’t you?”
Victoria : “Yes, Charlie I can.”
Charlie: “Great sweetheart. Let me know how it goes.”

I forget to tell you that Charlie was very direct and the suggestion he had ever given me had led me to miraculous awakenings.

Did I want to do what he asked? No! My personality did not like working with children. I had never had children in my studio. It was pristine, and I liked it that way. Even when neighbors found out there was potter living next door and would ask if I would give some lessons, the answer was NO!

Also my philosophical ideas about education definitely resonated with the “new trend” so you can see I was challenged.

However, I followed his instructions and set up the three lessons.

There were 5 children ages 5 to 7. The first class was uneventful, and I would say it had a neutral quality. The children made clay baskets (I showed them how to do it) and they seemed satisfied. The second session was livelier, and I could actually say it was sort of fun for both me and the children.

The Third lesson was an altogether different experience. I walked into the studio and the children were already there. I don’t remember why or how that happened, but when I saw them, it was as if I was seeing wonderful magical companions with whom I had been reunited and with whom I had a destiny and a mission. The children also seemed to recognize me in a new way. I was no longer the adult teacher, but rather an accepted and loved leader. I had entered the Magic Kingdom of childhood as myself, and it was a mature real place, full of creation, intense doing, laughter and connectedness.

When it was over there was a sense of satisfaction and a presence of Self that was amazing. I called Charlie immediately and enthusiastically expressed what had happened. He grounded me with this statement, “Oh don’t be so surprised. I opened a door and you were willing to walk through it. It’s your destiny. You are channel for children. Now read some Rudolf Steiner and tell me what you think.”

Then followed 8 years of working with the children, and under Charlie’s guidance I received original stories based on metaphysical principles; I learned to intuit what kind of event/project would make their hearts leap, and I learned how NOT to discipline, but to be present.

During all that time Charlie encouraged me saying:

“You are not to teach children how to make pots!!! If that is your intent you will fail. You are to see their True Nature and what stands in the way and through your Being bring that out.”

I asked him years later how he knew to ask me to work with the children. His answer was an analogy. He said…

“You know the packages with seeds inside them for planting? Well, the children are like those seeds. If you see the seed on its own you might not know what kind of a flower it will become. But the package always has the picture on the front, and the directions on the back that tell where and how to plant and care for the seeds. When I look at you, I see the flower and the directions for its growth and blooming. That’s what you will be able to do with children.”

His vision for me turned out to be true. I founded ClayWay studio and worked with almost 70 children a week for 10 years. Three years ago a group of mothers asked me create a spiritual program for their children. Spirit Club was born! The Magic never leaves!

After years of participating in a Teaching that emphasized efforts, character building, developing, transcending, we came face to face with the living Presence of the Non-Dualistic Standpoint–Kenneth G. Mills, a Canadian metaphysician, musician, poet, composer and Renaissance man. He spoke of how Realization does not take effort, that there is nothing to do and there is no process. For us, it was metaphysical whiplash!!
To be in Dr. Mills’ Presence was to witness the non-dual Standpoint in action. Nothing took time around Dr. Mills. Spontaneous lectures flowed transporting us into the reality of True Identity (Dr. Mills gave over 30,000 hours of spontaneous UnfoldmentsTM). In Rehearsals with the Starscape Singers, a flick of a finger from the conductor and music and sound soared into our souls. Keyboard musical compositions, poems emerged out of The Silence. Decision- making was instant. Procrastination was seen in a larger sense as the avoidance of accepting that “I and my Father are One Now and not shall be.”

After studying with Dr. Mills for some time we felt we could share our knowledge and experience and offer a new structure for some of his study classes. One day at Arinaka, his center in Arizona, while sitting in a beautiful garden by a pool, he asked us about our ideas for restructuring the classes. After we spoke for about three minutes, he called in his executive assistant and asked her to listen to what we were saying. We spoke for another two or three minutes. At that point he asked what would be our first step. We said we could start with just a few people. He asked “How many?” We immediately answered…”7.” “Who would they be?” he asked. We named them right away. “Then what would you do next?” he asked. I responded, “we could start with a few meetings.” “How many?” he questioned. “Three,” I answered.
He turned to his assistant and asked her to schedule the meetings in Connecticut and to arrange for all the 150 people in his Canadian group to participate. Then we went to have lunch. I was amazed that a decision of that magnitude could be made so instantaneously. Being around Dr. Mills was a continuous lesson in Immediacy. He often warned us that “procrastination is the onset of the deterioration of the will.”

www.kgmfoundation.org

We canceled the Meeting because the weather did not seem conducive, however I feel there is more to this than meets the eye/I. There is a sense from within that we need to start TOGETHER and that tonight that may not have been the case. Usually I go with the trust that whoever is there, is present, but not tonight! Please listen for your soul’s answer as to why we did not begin this evening. Share by adding a comment and I will post them for all to consider …..The way in is beginning. Thank you, Victoria

The events that culminated with the rescue of the 33 trapped Chilean miners touched the entire world with its story of cooperation, sharing and support that a group of individuals provided for each other when placed in a circumstance that threatened their very survival. Beyond survival, a higher vision was touched that warmed the heart of any observer. This vision that lives within each of us is of the power of a brotherhood and a Unity that can accomplish miracles. As one miner observed, there were 34 members in the group underground, the 34th was God.
When we come together aligned in intention to grow as human beings and to serve a larger Whole, something happens. We can do things together that we could not do alone,we borrow will and share compassion to face the forces that obstruct our spiritual journey. We realize that beyond our individual presences, a Field of creativity and intelligence seems to have joined us with its uplifting energy and tolerance. Above all, a new sense of ourselves emerges, a heightened sense of individuality which in some mysterious ways embraces all the others at the same time. This invisible Field that we at Vistar call Collective Consciousness accelerates our spiritual journey and helps us deal with the challenges which face us on our journey to become conscious beings.

Through Sara Reeve

Through Nina Baiardi

Through Jordan Googins

_______________________

You’re turning gray
It is the day
To find yourself
To find your way
The trees outside
Are synchronized
Their colors warm
No longer hide
The green’s a mask
Just like your own
To be yourself
The greater task

__________________________

Come hither friend
Into this tree
And spend a little
Time with me
The leaves are gold
The trees are old
But you within
A tale yet told

Through Norris Wakefield

To enter into the doorway of fall
is to open to the direction of wind
as you open to the Fall Breeze
You allow life to spring from its knees
the gentle of forceful wind can move thee
but to open to it
you give space for the soul to breath

To enter into the doorway of fall
is to open your arms
and receive the changes that occur
and even in life when the wind gently blows
the soul in us grows
when our hearts let the open of doors
like the green in the leaves they always return
let the beauty and richness of color concur
for the changes in life
are the journey
and while letting go may be hard
or maybe not
This Autumn season like the leaves colors
the soul can come out.

Through Stephanie Sarasvati Miner