I’m so thrilled to be sharing what is most meaningful to me…this transformative path! It is a path of learning to love and be loved, to see and be seen, to open completely to God who wants to know all parts of us. It is hope made manifest, faith turned into reality, love expanding from within.

The first time I visited the Center of Light in Seattle I literally felt the Truth happening. With the purifying aroma of incense lingering in the air and the light pouring in through the chapel windows, I could feel parts of myself that had been asleep for 28 years beginning to warm and wake. The priest talked about real things with a depth of understanding of the human psyche and soul that I hadn’t before experienced. Receiving communion and taking in the words of the blessing felt like the beginnings of resuscitation. Whatever was happening inside me in response to this simple 90-minute Sunday service was alive and fresh and life-giving enough to know that I had to know more.

I came to this path searching for something to make my life better. I wanted to be healed from my past and saved from myself. My life was ‘fine’ but I knew something was missing. I knew there were things inside me that I couldn’t seem to heal on my own and they wouldn’t just go away. I wanted to be a better mom and wife. I wanted to be freed from my addictions. I wanted to know there was a purpose to my life. I wanted meaning. I wanted to be giving to others rather than just thinking about myself.

I only hoped that it was possible to know and feel and be peace. I wanted it so badly. I heard over and over again that I just had to be willing and open, that I just needed to relax and let the love in. I could hardly believe that God was asking these simple things. It was so different than all the ideas I had about God being a mean, cruel judge and taskmaster who wanted me to learn things the hard way. It pretty much blew my mind!

The process of fleshing out these requests to relax and let the love in continues to be a process of unfolding, of learning about myself and about what’s Real. It is new each day, each moment. It feels like daily exploration of the land within, of places I didn’t know and couldn’t see before. It’s simply putting one foot in front of the other. Sometimes it’s hiking glorious mountain peaks, sometimes excavating caverns, sometimes trekking through flatlands. But, regardless of the terrain, it is always good and I am so grateful for the opportunity to be walking along the Way.

By Rachel, Deacon, Seattle