It is my firm belief and conviction that the spiritual heartistic vortex that is created centering on the small group dynamic will lead to the rebirth and transformation of thousands of brothers and sisters. As it was pointed out through many of the excellent presentations by those who have already experienced renewal through the small group, the intimate setting of sharing and reflection that takes place in the best of these experiences is-why many of us joined the Unification Movement. Somewhere along the way many of us got lost. We forgot. The intimacy of small active centers (small groups) fed our impoverished souls.

I want to extend my deepest appreciation and gratitude to all of those who worked so hard to create and develop the retreat that about 30 souls attended. The heart and spirit that was invested was evident from the moment we entered the main hall. It was reunion. Catching up with long lost friends of the "trenches". The relaxed and casual atmosphere was the fertile soil in which small miracles would grow and become transformational revelation. I also appreciate "those souls" who had the courage and openness to allow God to minister with His love and truth by making the effort to attend this retreat. I am sure all had their respective obstacles placed in the way to deter their efforts. Nonetheless we arrived.

To share the depth of all that transpired (seen and unseen) over this short day and a half of fellowship, reconnection, and renewal would fill the pages of a short novel. I have neither the time to write it nor do you have the time to read it. Besides you will write your own story, appropriately so. I would, however, like to share a brief snapshot of my experience of the day that began Sunday October 1st. I offer this for your encouragement and further testimony of the importance of what you are creating in your lives. May God continue to inspire you and others in this path.

Sunday morning 7:00 am the service was given in a beautiful room almost completely surrounded by glass that gave the impression we were meeting outdoors. Except outdoors it was raining and we were inside dry and cozy. The tranquility and peace I felt upon entering was only a precursor to the multiplication of peace and love and power that would be manifested in that room to the benefit of all who attended. The service was given by our brother Jack Lavalley who was already in a relaxed meditative pose as we entered the beautiful setting. I was given the feeling similar to that one feels when observing our dear brother Hyun Jin Nim (Bald Head and Strawberry) of late. The feeling of absolute peace and love. Being in the presence of God. I credit this service as being the catalyst of the nearly 24 hour period that would follow.

But first, the highlights of that incredible, honest, liberating soul-searching Sunday service. The service was given from a series of notes, words on a page, that came to life in the true-life confession of our brother who had done his "work". He was brutally honest about his personal struggles, questions and even his rejections of the "status quo".

In his quiet straight forward pull-no-punches delivery, he gave us a brief glimpse of his inward journey of several years of tears, (yes tears) insecurities, doubt and personal turmoil. And he also shared some honest realizations and conclusions after coming through this dark period in his life. His presence was illuminating-I strongly felt that God speaking through him.

He explained very straight forwardly the meanings and differences of spirit and religion which are often confused. Simply said religion is about the structure and organization of a belief system relating to God and spirituality.

Spirituality is "being awake". What I take from that is, it is the journey inward, the examination of belief and the reflection of self in relation to the oneness of the universe (Universal Truth). Spirituality is an unending journey of self discovery and soul evolution. I loved his metaphor of religion as a train heading down the tracks toward a specific destination. Each station (destination) is a stop along the way. But only a stop. The train keeps moving forward, merely being on the train (finding a religious path) is not our ultimate destination. There are further destinations ahead. The final destination is our "arriving" at our true self. . He concluded his message with some suggestions of spiritual disciplines and practices that had given him strength. One of which really struck me. "Give up all sense of struggling and fighting".

After the service, which was closed by a short period of personal meditation, we all prepared for breakfast and the day’s further unfolding. After breakfast, we reconvened in the main hall for another short presentation and then met in our small groups. Our group had been reassigned to meet in the same room that we had morning service in. Our facilitator began by saying that he wasn’t quite sure how to open the session and asked if anybody had anything on their heart to share. There was a moment of uneasy silence (we were told earlier at one of the presentations -- not to be afraid of silence -- sometimes it’s good).

I raised my hand to speak. I explained that I was going to be leaving the retreat early, as I had a previous commitment in New York City. I shared my appreciation for the experience of the weekend and of the members of my group. I expressed (sincere) gratitude for their years of investment, faith and dedication to our True Parents in spite of the fact that, perhaps, some may not have felt very satisfied with their circumstances or the place that they were in their lives. Someone started to share how, yeah they weren’t very fulfilled in their spiritual life and that they were feeling overwhelmed with day to day activities. Others talked about difficulties with communication with spouses from different cultures. A lot of sincere heart was expressed around the circle. I won’t try to report on all that was said but the point is that after just two meetings (possibly the equivalent of two weeks of a typical small group meeting) we were sharing at a very honest and intimate level.

My feeling is that things were shared amongst our group that probably had not been shared -- ever -- before. Some shed deep tears of pain and struggle about issues in their families that, up till now, they could not resolve. It was a painful yet moving experience to be in the presence of such honesty. At the finish of the meeting we shared heartfelt sincere hugs. Our small group had "broken new ground" and each of us would never be the same. It seemed a new "door" in our lives had been opened.

My meeting in the city was with a friend with whom I was doing a video project. I had to drive into the city, pick up my friend, and then go to another destination to pick up the video camera. Later we were to meet another person, a Confucian scholar Mr. Yu, in Staten Island to do the filming. All, within an hour. After meeting my friend we continued on to the pickup the camera. The traffic was typical Sunday city traffic (not too bad) as we proceeded to our destination which just happened to be 1 block from 5th Avenue. All of the sudden we had hit a traffic jam. I looked ahead and noticed that the cars ahead of us were not moving and we had a green light. I looked again and realized that the street was blocked off and they could not move! Oh my god; there was a parade on the very street on which I had to turn! I thought surely I would be marooned there for the whole day. I was becoming discouraged and starting to feel like this day was going to be a complete loss. I had not heard about a parade! My friend, who was a little more optimistic than I, immediately said, "I’ll jump out and find out how long it will be going on". And he did. He came back a few moments later with some bad news it was probably going to last for an hour. I couldn’t go back I couldn’t go forward. My friend decided to jump out and walk a few short blocks to pickup the camera. I began to think, "maybe this (the filming) is not supposed to happen today".

Then I remembered "Give up all sense of struggling and fighting". I thought "ok". A few minutes later the traffic started to move! The police had stopped the parade to let a few cars cross the road! I was the last car to make it through. I called my friend who informed me the lower block was open. I drove around to meet him there. It looked like we might make our destination after all. Hmmn.

Yes in fact, we had retrieved the camera and were on our way to Staten Island to meet our friend. Right on schedule. Free of the parade. The next challenge (obstacle?) was to find out where the Scholars Garden in Staten Island was. We didn’t have a clue how to get there. Enter the miracle of cell phones, my friend called his wife who looked up the directions on the internet at her home and gave us the directions. There was no traffic.

We got to the park where the Scholars Garden was located on time to meet Mr. Yu. We found a parking place and got the equipment out and proceeded to the meeting place. When we tried to go into the Scholars Garden we were stopped at the gate and told we were not allowed to film inside without previous authorization. Oh no, another obstacle?

(No struggle -- don’t fight) My friend tried to convince the "gatekeepers" to allow us to film anyway, to no avail. The security guard appeared and it looked like a "scene" was starting to develop. It seemed as though the authorities were dead set against us going into the garden to shoot video. Then to make matters worse, the publicity director (who just happened to be in the park on a Sunday) showed up. She seemed very indignant at the idea that we could just march in and start shooting a video for a TV program without notifying them. (Who did we think we were!?) She asked who we were and at that point my friend, who was a university professor, Mr. Yu (and another of his colleagues who -- just showed up) explained with great earnestness the scope of the TV project. Instantly the PR person’s expression changed from one of irritation and disdain to -- extreme interest!

She explained that if we were just willing to wait, she would get us an interview with some VIPs and give us exclusive access to the garden. She made it clear that we could not do filming today but we could contact her and they would "eagerly" help us with our project. It seemed that once again, unseen forces had rallied to our assistance and what was once an obstacle became a wide open gate. We were, however, allowed to go into the Garden to walk around and scout for possible filming "locations". It was so beautiful and peaceful, like being transported to back to a Confucian garden in China. The sun was warm and the wind whispered through the bamboo. Hmmn, "Give up all sense of struggling and fighting".

It just so happened that the colleague of my friend, Dan, was visiting his in-laws who just happened to live a few blocks from the park in Staten Island where we were. He invited the Professor, Mr. Yu, and me to his parents to relax and have some refreshments, it was clear no filming would be done today. We all agreed to meet there to discuss future developments for the project. Unknown at the time, at Dan’s in-laws we would soon be a witness to another testimony one of the presence of God’s love, peace, and energy -- a presence that began the day.

As we sat around the table in his parent’s dining room sharing our refreshments and the events of the day, we started to explain to Dan’s parents about our project we called "the Happiness Project". They were very interested and asked deep questions about the project. Why happiness? What do you hope to do through your film? What do you mean by "happiness"? All good questions. We proceeded to discuss (share) our ideas, thoughts, and hopes with our new friends. Perhaps the combination of the Professor, (teaching a college level class on happiness) Mr. Yu, (a rare Confucian scholar living in the United States) Dan, (a martial arts instructor and Asian studies scholar as well) and me (a crazy visionary artist with impossible dreams) was a rare mix (a small group?) that fostered spirituality and openness. We proceeded to have a profound conversation of the mystical nature, as well as the very practical aspects of -- happiness. Dan’s father-in-law, well into his 70s, with the quiet still voice of a sage, was sharing the hard fought realizations of his life and what he had come to understand was the meaning of happiness. Mr. Yu would respond with an equally profound, but simple Confucian message. We would all ask pointed questions to draw out the simple meaning. To get to the essence. I decided to film the discussion. What started out as simple question and answer between strangers end as an intimate moment discussing the deep questions of life and -- what is happiness? I got it all on film. It seemed that we did just have a small group meeting! I was amazed as I thought about the series of events of that day that brought us to this place. It continues.

We left our friends and the Professor and I headed back to Long Island and home. Feeling a bit overwhelmed we stopped on the way for a bite to eat and to reflect on all that had happened. It was late in the evening when we arrived back at my house where the professor proceeded on his way to his home. I was anxious to share the richness of my weekend with my wife who had already gone to bed but, honestly, she didn’t seem that interested. I was saddened and disappointed that she didn’t seem to have missed me all that much. My energy was high and I had no one to share the amazing (seemingly miraculous) events of the weekend.

My oldest daughter was away for the weekend visiting friends at her old college and my younger daughter was also sleeping over at a BC friend’s in Long Island. I decided to just relax, unwind, and try to sleep. As soon as I was in bed I heard the phone ring. It was my youngest daughter. She was outside the front door. She had changed her mind about staying over at her friends and had decided to come home. I opened the door and gave her a big hug. I could tell clearly that she "had been thinking a lot" and had a lot on her mind so I put on the teapot and invited her to sit a while and tell me what was going on with her.

What followed after that is still amazement to me. My wife was awakened and got up and joined us for a late night cup of tea. We each proceeded to "talk about our day". At first it was just reporting (this happened and that happened, etc). As we continued, our conversation became sharing of deep concerns and feelings. Things we’d been wanting to say for a long time. We talked deep into the night. It was so liberating as we shed tears and expressed heartfelt struggles. We had never had such a night of intimate sharing of our hearts. It was honest. It was real. We were having a small group meeting! God was moving in such amazing ways to heal us and bind us together even stronger than we were. We talked like this for 5 hours! We closed with a deep tearful, sincere prayer as we held hands around the table. I thank God for all that has transpired over this weekend that brought us to this place -- and for the power and the grace that God seems to manifest in small groups.

With deepest gratitude,

Sincerely Gregory Davis

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