Monterray

I love Monterrey Bay.

The bay calmness after the powerful Big Sur Coast is soothing.

I pulled into Monterrey and felt a familiar, relaxed presence around me.  This central part of the coast has its own unique atmosphere and vibration about it.  The sea cliffs transform from mountains to large boulders and tied pools where the water meets the land.  The bay is very calming and relaxed.  The ocean is calm and the water very clear.  It is a wonderful place for snorkeling and diving.  Not only does the forest on land become abundant in these parts, but the kelp forest off shore is enormous.   This of course creates the habitat for much sea life in all shapes and sizes.

Dakota and I greeted Monterrey by taking a long sunrise walk along the beach near the Pier.  There are many dog friendly beaches from Carmel to Monterrey.  I have many wonderful encounters on these beaches.  With humans and all earths creatures.  One experience I would like to share happen here in Monterrey.  While walking near the waters edge I noticed two larger dogs heading our way.  They were young adults and full of life energy.  The two canines were all over the beach sprinting in huge circular patterns.   There seemed to be something particular and peculiar about there motions that made them seem connected.  They never really separated to far from one another, flowing like they were one.  As they got closer they greeted Dakota and I with excitement.  Jumping, bouncing, and circling us as if we were a new pack in the area.  The two that were one were very friendly and looked as if they were smiling and laughing.  I then noticed one of the two was not seeing us, but hearing and smelling us.  He approached us with his ears and was listening for us to reveal ourselves.  You see, one of the two, had no eyes.  Apparently his eyes had been gouched out at and early stage in his life.  He was not seeing us, but o how he was sensing us through his ears, nose, and brothers reactions.  This was one of those spectacular moments in my life where I felt a calm peace overcome me.  The sun seemed brighter, the sky more blue, and the earth around me was beating with a pulse.  I cannot put into words the happiness and high vibration I was feeling coming from this dog with no eyes.  This wonderful, four legged, god spelled backwards, life, was a perfect example of living joy and peace.

I so wish I had a picture of these two (dog) brothers.  I don't however.  I will start caring my camera everywhere. Just in case.


After a day or two in Monterrey Dakota and I decided to go check out Carmel.  A few miles south of Monterrey.  Carmel is very peaceful and beautiful.  Carmel-by-the Sea is a bunch of high end local artists and upscale shops.  As I walked around the hilly town I notice a garden shop that was a potential customer for my hanging sculptures.  I stopped in and made a sale.  This is very encouraging for me because I would like to establish many customers up and down the coast.  This way I can sustain myself and Dakota while traveling up and down the coast each year.  After the garden shop, I stopped in a local coffee shop.  I met this old seaman named Abalone Joe.  He had been traveling up and down the California coast for the last 25 years.  He was a very nice man with a good clean honest heart.  Abalone Joe and I talked for awhile on the ins and outs of making it on highway 1.  He gave me lots of good advice for traveling the coast.  Abalone Joe doesn't drive anymore, so he told me to keep a look out for him, as I travel up and down the coast.  He may need a ride.  I promised.  The last place Dakota and I checked out before leaving Carmel, was a beach down a hill at the edge of town.  It was one of the best legal dog beaches I've ever been to.  The beach was almost a mile long with white sand.  It seemed to have dogs running up and down it, as far as the eye could see. Dakota was in doggy heaven.  He played long hard. 
Carmel is a nice place to stop and take a short break.       

Back to Monterrey

I made my way back to Monterrey to explore the spiritual and market setup possibilities.
I have setup on the pier before so I can always try that again.  I also found out, one day a week, at the  Downtown Farmers Market, I can legally setup up in a 10 by 10 space for $40 bucks.  Great news for me to find out !  Even though I don't consider myself a criminal for setting up in public areas (prohibited) , it still causes me to much stress.  I will have to find places. like the farmers market, where I can setup without having to worry about getting a huge fine.  Its the constant having to look over my shoulder, while I'm trying to work, that taxes me.
The next place I stopped into at Monterrey was the Hostel.  Great place.  Warm, inviting, set just off the coast.  I would recommend staying at the hostel for a night or two if your ever in Monterrey.  Even if your a millionaire.  It has a great atmosphere that is setup for friendly interaction among guest.  Cozy, relaxed, and peaceful.  You can chat with people from all around the world or just relax in a big cushion chair and read a book from there library.

Again, didn't take pictures.  I'm starting to think I need to have my camera strapped onto my waste. 
I will eventually do this.  Better to carry around the camera than the cell phone.  For the most part I don't take my cell phone anywhere and stay off it as much as possible.   Why ?  for the same reason I ground myself while on the computer.  Electrical inflammation in the body.  I feel the heat and negative energy coming from these devices almost immediately when starting to use them.  I can tell you this !.  They don't contribute to happy cellular health.  That's another topic I will dive into later on.  Creating a happy body from the inside out. 

 While checking out the info at the Hostel I came by some literature on the, Center for Spiritual Living.    
Part of my journey from now on, in life, is to expose myself to as many different religious and spiritual practices, as possible.  I want to interact with others and share beliefs based on the original teachings and truths.  As I have mentioned before, all these are similar in any real religion.
So I attended a prayer morning meditation at the Spiritual Center for Living.  It was astonishing.  One of the few times I really connected with like minded people.  There beliefs are aligned with my own.  They don't believe that Jesus was god, rather a human being connected to the great spirit, as much as any one has ever been.  There perspective on things is very similar to Buddhism and Taoism.  The people I interacted with were white eyed and high vibrations.  Turns out they have ministries throughout the US and world.  I am very grateful for this and plan on attending there meet ups as often as possible.  Here is a little tidbit on, The Center for Spiritual healing.

The Center for Spiritual Living is the place for people from all walks of life and spiritual paths to come together to learn more about themselves, about Spirit and how to use spiritual principles to build a better life and world.

VISION We are a spiritual community of thriving individuals committed to making the world a better place.

MISSION We teach people spiritual practices to live by.

The early 1900’s marked the emergence of New Thought philosophy and its first churches in America. Seattle was no exception and Netta Holmes was a serious student and advocate. More than anything she wanted a church and in 1921 she came across a building in downtown Seattle and said "this is the place." That small building became the first home of the Seattle Center for Constructive Thinking which today is known as the Center for Spiritual Living. From this beginning many generations of spiritual seekers built a foundation for us to become who we are today–a robust, passionate, loving and involved community.
Looking for more information - Click for our Visitor page.

FIND a Center for Spiritual Living near you: Click Here! or Click Here!

I recommend to all, to find a ministry near you and check it out.  After all its great way to spend your Sunday morning in meditation and prayer.  Why ?  To stay focused and practice your spiritual connection.  If you don't take the time to do this, you will not evolve spiritually.  It takes practice to calm the mind and hold the light.  This is also a great way to change up your routine and keep it fresh.

Definition of Ministry - I pulled this of line and it makes me think ?

How do you define ministry?

In one of my first classes of my first course of seminary the professor stood up and said: “How would you define ministry?”

That’s easy, I thought. It’s… um…well… it’s….
It seemed like I should be able to answer this quickly and easily, but I couldn’t. I knew what ministry looked like when I saw it in action. I knew people involved in ministry. I knew what ministry wasn’t. I knew somewhat how to do ministry. But I couldn’t actually define it in my own words.
I was stumped.
Our professor let us get into groups with our classmates for several minutes and come up with our own definition, which we presented to the class. We all stumbled through our definitions with very little clarity or confidence. Then our professor stepped up to the board and wrote:
“Ministry is meeting people where they are at and taking them to where God wants them to be.”


Riiiiiight… that’s what I was thinking all along…
At first glance, the definition seems extremely simplistic. Nothing earth-shattering, right? However, since I first heard that definition a few years ago I’ve yet to find a better one. But it still needs some explaining, because what I have believed ministry was in the past is quite different from this definition. Unfortunately, for many of us we (me included) have to unlearn what we thought ministry meant.
“…meeting people where they are at…”
Meeting people. Ministry is always relational. Faithful ministry isn’t a project. Ministry is people. The administrative elements of ministry should only be tools that lead us to building relationships with others.
So many times I want people to meet me where I am at. Churches have had the Field of Dreams mentality – “If we build it they will come” – and a generation or two ago, that worked. But culture is changing. A theologically robust understanding of ministry is meeting people where they are at. On their terms. In their context, not ours. This premise is the basic tenet of the missional mindset. We can’t move people closer to Jesus if we aren’t first meeting, loving, listening, caring and connecting with them on their turf. Incarnational presence and proximity are huge. (Even as I write this the spell check program places a red squiggly line under the word incarnational… fitting, isn’t it?)
“…taking them…”
We go with people. (Notice the two arrows leading to God – that’s me and you). Jesus always had his disciples with him wherever he went. In ministry we don’t slap people on the butt and send them on their way into the great unknown. We journey with them. Love journeys with.
“…to where God wants them to be.”
This seems to be the most difficult. North American culture would finish the sentence “to where they themselves want to be” but following Jesus is not about my wants, my preferences, my desires. North American leadership and management gurus would say, “take them to where you the leader want them to be.” This is not right either. Healthy ministry isn’t controlling people. Simply telling people, “God loves you and I have a wonderful plan for your life” is not Spirit-guided ministry. It’s self-guided ministry. There is guidance and direction and processing that occurs in a space free of control.
Which means as ministers we have to be yielding and listening. Yielding to the work of the Spirit.

       
Anyway that's enough for this blog posting. There is so much to do and so little time to do it. That's why its important to focus and stay focused.

Lo Ve - Peace

Jaysun and Dakota.