Toronto Retreat

I spent the weekend in Toronto, Canada, leading a spiritual retreat. What a wonderful city – friendly, beautiful and big! In the midst of this thriving metropolis, thirty of us stepped out of life’s hectic pace to relax, renew and retreat!

The retreat center is about a mile from Lake Ontario. After lunch on Saturday, a group of us walked downhill, sun shining and a light breeze wisping the hair off our faces. As we rounded the last curve in the road, we were greeted with a breathtaking view; the water as blue as the Caribbean, and a light haze blending the horizon, so you couldn’t tell where the water stopped and the sky started!

Off to the west of the beach, rugged cliffs jutted toward the heavens in a majestic white wall. They call it the bluffs. The air was noticeably cooler on the waterfront and this Florida girl felt rather chilled. Soon it was time to return; a bit more of a hike walking up hill! The old brick building looming up ahead was a welcome sight, just when I thought we’d have to call a cab or an ambulance! I may be exaggerating about the exertion, but not the beauty of Lake Ontario and the Bluffs.

Abundance in my life

I learned this neat prayer/meditation technique called, "Conversation with God". I sit down, write a letter to God, and let my thoughts just flow. When I'm done with that, I write again, this time the letter starts out, "Dear Gerri" and see what God might have to say. Sometimes just one word comes to mind. Other times, there are a lot of ideas.

I can't be sure it's God and not 'me', but when I'm trying to align my will with His, I would hope that He is there for me. So far, He's never told me to rob a bank or overeat. The messages have been subtle and quiet.

Throughout the day, I get back into Gerri's will. Hey, I have 43 years of experience with this. Of course, I'm better at it. As time passes, it is more and more apparent that God's will means abundance and my will means short-changing myself. In other words, God's will is the better deal. I'm really short changing myself when I'm not in alignment with Him.

This has caused an amazing shift for me. I never would have imagined that a spiritual life would be a desire of mine. Now that I'm living in one, I could not imagine a self-will-run-riot life again. Doesn't sound attractive at all.