We don’t define our spiritual home by the location or
even the teaching, rather it is the people, the community, that make it
special.
As we look forward to celebrating 50 years together, I
spoke with one of our longest standing members, Lisa Spinelli. Lisa lives in
San Clemente. She moved here in the 1970s from the East Coast. Raised in the
Congregational Church as a child and with an interest in all religions, Lisa
found our Center from an ad in the newspaper.
How did you find the
Center?
When we first moved here in the mid-70s, I looked in the
newspaper and saw a tiny little ad. It said something about Ralph Waldo Emerson
and of course Ralph Waldo Emerson was one of my all-time heroes. Being from the
East with Thoreau’s Walden Pond, Emerson and all those guys I thought, “Well
this has got to be a place to go check out.” It was an ad for the Science of
Mind and the service was down at the old Masonic Temple in San Clemente. That
was with Dr. Jackie and Leslie Harrold. Later, they moved to another space on
Serra and I went there, and then they moved to San Juan to that space where
they were for a very long time.
What do you remember
about when you first visited our Center?
The first thing I ever got as a newcomer in my little kit
was a cool cassette tape. It was Ernest Holmes’ radio broadcast from the 1940s
in LA on Sunday morning and he started his broadcast, “There is a power for good
in the Universe and you can use it.” He said, “And I can use it now and we can
use it now.” That was the greatest thing; that little speech of his. He was a
strong teacher. This Thing Called You is my favorite book.
Was the Center’s
congregation very big?
In the early years there were about 50 to 60 people in the
congregation. It was enough to fill up the Masonic Temple. There were classes
then too. When we moved to San Juan, the membership really started to pick-up
because it was more centrally located and it had a bigger space. You have to
remember that there wasn’t a Congregational Church and Unity was all the way up
on Ridge Road, so there wasn’t much for people seeking a New Thought church.
I lost most of the people I did go to church with in the beginning.
They are gone now. People don’t realize what comes before you. It’s so
powerful, all these people that kept this place going for so many years.
What’s changed?
Of course, what’s changed is the service; the addition of
more music, more professional musicians, and the need for this kind of thinking
in the world. I think that the idea of Universal Oneness is pervasive. We are
all growing together. Now we’ve got Deepak Chopra, Louise Hay, Wayne Dyer. I
think this teaching is more attractive to people. It seems more sensible.
Have you taken any
classes?
I’m not the most intellectual Science of Mind student but
one of the things on my bucket list is to get up to the Science of Mind
Founder’s Church, which is only around the corner from where my twin sister
lives in Los Angeles. That’s one thing I would like to do because Ernest Holmes
may actually be a relative. I’ve got 10 or 12 generations in New England where
I came from and Holmes is one of our family names so I always think that
between Emerson and Holmes I might really be part of the family. I might have
to break down and take some classes. I have the SOM book, I read it here and
there. I’d rather do things for other people with my time than study it, but
you never know.
How do you incorporate
this teaching into your life?
The Science of Mind magazine just squares away my day. I
don’t always buy a new magazine but I keep a pile of them and I play Science of
Mind magazine roulette. I pull one out, open to the number of the date and there
it is. They work. I give away a lot of the old magazines. They are very
powerful for people who need help with their thinking.
Are you happy you
found us all those years ago?
I think it’s been a very powerful contribution to my life,
especially to stop myself from getting wound up in drama. It’s allowed me to be
there for my friends for one thing. I think that’s one of the most important
things you can do for someone; be there with good thinking.
Thank you Lisa for sharing your story with us!
