Writing on Substack is a whole new experience for me and I am grateful for the platform so I can share the teachings I encountered in over 20 years of spiritual seeking and finding. My second book might never have been read if not for such innovative ways of publishing being available. And my paid subscribers made it happen with their support and encouragement. This particular post is for everyone. Share, share, share – that’s why I put it out there. My hope is anyone, no matter where they are, or how busy they are can have access to wisdom from many sources, that is why I created Inviting Grace In. Grace is wisdom, and wisdom is a form of Grace.
Inviting Grace In Spring’s opening quote is from Michael B. Beckwith, founder of Agape International Spiritual Center in Los Angeles, CA. I graduated from his live online Life Visioning Mastery class in 2020 during the pandemic. Michael Beckwith is quoted often in Inviting Grace In. His depth of experience coupled with his unique way of communicating profound wisdom makes him a rich source for any spiritual seeker. About Michael B Beckwith
Here is his quote - Spring ~ Week One
There's a divine, perfect idea about each and every one of you. There's a perfect idea about our society. There's a perfect idea about our global family that's in the mind of the Infinite. It’s called infinite potential. It's called infinite possibility.
It's already there—it just needs to be revealed in, through, and as us.
Quotes throughout the Spring season point back to his vision of Infinite Possibility. Below is a sampling of some of my Spring favorites, although all quotes included with Inviting Grace In resonate with my personal journey towards wholeness and awakening. In particular, Spring ~ Week Six is a poem by Portia Nelson that I encountered at a retreat many years ago that I cannot exactly recall, but the poem stayed with me and I used it more than a few times in my own teaching engagements. Wisdom comes in many forms and this poet makes a universal lesson perfectly clear. Enjoy!
A Sampling of my favorite Spring Quotes
Spring ~ Week Two ~~~~Day Six~~~~
What we find in life is based on where we put our attention. When we focus on the small worlds our thoughts create, we miss out on the beauty and possibilities we are meant to enjoy.
– Guy Finley
Spring ~ Week Three ~~~~Day Six~~~~
Every individual is an expression of the whole realm of nature, a unique action of the total universe.
- Alan Watts
Enabling Change, Spring ~ Week Four ~~~~Day Two~~~~
You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.
- Martin Luther King
Hope & Passion, Spring ~ Week Five ~~~~Day Two~~~~
There is hope – I’ve seen it – but it does not come from governments or corporations, it comes from the people.
- Greta Thunberg, Climate Activist
Change isn’t easy, it’s necessary, Spring ~ Week Six ~~~~Day Three~~~~
Autobiography In Five Short Chapters
Chapter I
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost... I am hopeless.
It isn't my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.
Chapter II
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don't see it.
I fall in again.
I can't believe I am in this same place.
But it isn't my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.
Chapter III
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it there.
I still fall in... it's a habit... but,
my eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.
Chapter IV
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
Chapter V
I walk down another street.
- Portia Nelson
Impossible!, Spring ~ Week Seven ~~~~Day Three~~~~
Being told it was impossible, we decided to begin immediately.— Unknown woman activist working to clean up the Ganges River
Encountering Each other, Spring ~ Week Eight ~~~~Day Five~~~~
Each encounter is unprecedented; each encounter is unrepeatable. Treasure each encounter.
— Eido Tai Shimano Roshi
Help! I Need Somebody, Spring ~ Week Nine ~~~~Day Three~~~~
The world doesn’t want to be saved. It wants to be loved. That’s how you save it.
— Richard Brendan
Gratitude, Spring ~ Week Ten ~~~~Day Three~~~~
What day is it?” “It’s today,” squeaked Piglet. “My favorite day,” said Pooh.
— A.A. Milne
Have a Heart, Spring ~ Week Eleven ~~~~Day Four~~~~
The human heart is surely a most precious and mysterious reality. It can be strong and yet it can be hurt. It can open and yet it can close. It can include others in love and yet it can exclude others because of fear. Such polarities need not discourage us. Instead, they can point us to our splendid evolutionary task: We humans are here to go beyond fear and limitation so we can become ever more open to love. Indeed, we were given a lifetime just for that.
- David Richo, Everyday Commitments
Mystical Eyesight, Spring ~ Week Twelve ~~~~Day Two~~~~
The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.
― W.B. Yeats
Sunday Spring ~ Week Thirteen, the last Spring week of Inviting Grace In, will be posted to paid subscribers. It will also be released to all subscribers on Wednesday as a way of saying thank you for inviting me into your digital mailbox.
Inviting Grace In Summer’s quotes will begin on Sunday, June 23. Summer will be focusing on how we see ourselves and our world and the questions that can arise when we slow down in the heat of a balmy afternoon and wonder if we might imagine and create our life another way, a way with more ease with less tension, anxiety and doubt. A life with joy, compassion and reflection. A life of belonging, sharing ourselves with others as we navigate and celebrate this journey called life.
Summer begins with some advice from Peter Russell’s Letting Go of Nothing
… pause, step back, and then pose the question, with an open, curious attitude, “Could there, just possibly, be another way of seeing this?”
If you are intrigued, please consider becoming a paid subscriber so you get all the seasons, 52 weeks with 7 days of wise folks’ wisdom and some dandy bonus quotes as well with Inviting Grace In.
Inviting Grace In Subscription
For more information about Inviting Grace In and its origins see 2 short reads below.
Inviting Grace In - The Origin Story
Tips for reading Inviting Grace In
With Gratitude,
Karyn