"I have come to sow the seed of love in your hearts."*
Meher Baba
These excerpts from my forthcoming book entitled A Flower for God: A Memoir describe events from the years 1998 and 1999, when my awareness of God was continuing to deepen. Those years held pleasing surprises, amid surprising failures, all of which were teachers. Letting inspiration guide me, I used strong intent and courage to keep me focused on change and accomplishment. Thirty years later, I know surely that God is love.
"In February 1998 . . . I was eager to join the first group of an Alliance of Divine Love interfaith ministerial ordination class at Seraphim Center, beginning in April, attracted by its motto of 'The Greatest Degree of Love.' We were ordained the following December, and by January 1999, I had signed up for my ministerial internship. . . . Having my service work in place, I was ready to focus my attention on my private counseling ministry.
"My office was a surprise of newsprint drawing pads, fat crayons, big markers, Taos drum, turtle rattle, yellow pail with a nerf foot-ball and soap bubbles, hula hoop, jump rope, small girl and boy dolls with happy, sad, shy, confused, or angry faces, a family of stuffed animals, each a different animal to represent family differences, and children’s books all gathered and waiting to help people look at emotional health in a new and creative way.
"I was ready, but had no clients. I’d had a session with David* on de-cording.* . . . [H]e told me I had done de-cording in many lifetimes, and would be able to do it with others. First I had to practice on my own, requiring every morning for two months my determined search for those people and situations where I had conflict. I counted a total beyond sixty before stopping but afterward would return to the process when needed.
"By late January, I had made a flyer offering four de-cording sessions. Of the twenty people who came, all except one were able to follow my directions and feel their body and emotions relax as unneeded cordings dissolved. One of these people asked to return for regular counseling and remained for a year and a half, becoming the cornerstone as others followed, bringing my practice to life."
My realization is, "When more is asked of us than we have ever imagined, we may find ourselves as buds, until now hidden by leaves, suddenly flowering."
* C.B. Purdom, The God Man: The Life, Journeys and Work of Meher Baba with an Interpretation of his Silence and Spiritual Teaching (North Myrtle Beach, SC: Sheriar Foundation, 1964), 274.
* Prema Jasmine Camp, A Flower for God: A Memoir forthcoming in 2020 on Amazon.
* David Cousins, A Handbook for Light Workers, ed. Jean Prince (Bath, UK: Barton House, 1993).
* "Decording identifies damaging mental concepts and deep-seated emotions that with a minimum of discussion can be understood and corrected. By focusing on clearing out useless misconceptions, the mind and body become more relaxed and thus freer and better energized to use existing guidance, intuition, and love to rediscover the innate joy in life that comes with a clear and tranquil mind and heart.” Jesse Massa from an article entitled "Decording,” published in Touchstone, a small, spiritual information newspaper now discontinued.