The Creative Field Conference has just concluded at Sunrise Ranch. It was a remarkable time. Here are some of the comments from participants in the event:

Compassion, love and safety were present in all that happened.

Super presenters and loving participants, with warmth and a sense of community. The conference was spiritually transformative.

The diversity and complementarity of presentations were awesome.

The unity was great. Matthew Fox’s creative mastery brought me to a new awareness of my own mystic connection.

All of the presenters brought their unique talents of deepening communication, energy and spirituality.

I found the whole experience joyful and energizing.

The culmination of the conference was a worship service in the Dome Chapel that included a presentation from Matthew Fox, author of Christian Mystics and The Coming of the Cosmic Christ, followed by Tuck & Patti, who sang their powerful anthem to love itself, “Heaven Down Here.” (Yes, the Jim Carey really did cowrite the song.)

What follows are David Karchere’s words at the conclusion of the service:

So we reach the end of a cycle, which I sense very strongly is the initiation of a new cycle. And at the ending of things, it’s certainly an appropriate time to give thanks—to give thanks for those who have come to be with us: all of you here, and Matthew Fox; Tuck & Patti; Maryse Barak; Katie Hendricks; and Lynne McTaggart, who spoke to us by streaming video this morning. Thank you.

And as we’re giving thanks, it’s always good to acknowledge where it call comes from. I do think there’s an affliction that we have as humanity, which is the belief that we have nothing to give back to the universe, nothing of value—that our songs don’t matter, that our creations don’t matter. But I don’t believe that’s true. I think our joy and our celebration is our giving back. It’s our way of saying, “We’re here!” doing what we’re supposed to do—apparently something quite unique in the universe, as best we know.

So I’m grateful. And I’m grateful for the community of Sunrise Ranch, meaning particularly those of us who live here. And I’m also grateful for the extended community of Sunrise Ranch, all who touch this place in whatever way—all who visit here, all who know about us and are with us in prayer and in spirit. Together, this community is a creative field, a creative field of consciousness and energy. And the field is there not only for itself and for the enjoyment of those of us who participate. The field is like the membrane of a drum that can be played by the universal vibration that comes into it. It takes both the drum and the vibration, both the community and the openness to that vigor that would come into it and create, and allow to manifest in this world the power of love that’s present everywhere else.

In this world, that power of love depends upon people. Apparently the sun doesn’t need that. The power of love works fine on the sun without people. But apparently here, at this level of things, to work right the power of love needs people—and people who are letting it translate through their own capacity in a clear and strong way; people who care that when that vibration gets released into the world through them, it stays intact, it doesn’t turn into something else; that our self-concern, our acedia, or gluttony, as Matthew has been saying, doesn’t twist it into something else. Love needs clear translation to come out as something life-giving, life-giving for the field that we’re holding, which ultimately includes the whole planet—and who knows what beyond.

We’ve been hearing many wonderful things over the course of this conference, and here this morning. And I thought, somewhere in the middle of it, that it all means nothing to a person until something happens, and that is that the human heart has to say yes. All the brilliant ideas and all the inspiring things that may show up in a person’s life go noplace until the heart says yes. I’m feeling that “yes” opening up big-time through me, and I’ll say through us. Yes!

In the Book of Revelation, there is talk of a sea of glass, clear as crystal, mingled with fire. Water and fire—we need both, don’t we? That sea of glass is community, sharing a common heart, in a place of peace. That allows the fire of the universe to come into that heart and work through it in powerful and creative ways that bring life.

So I’m so happy to have participated in that in a very special way over these last few days. Our goal was to build a creative field of consciousness and energy, knowing that as that happens for any person, and as any person participates in that, they are changed, and that we are changed together in community as we do it together; and that what comes into such a community and emanates through it changes the world.

So thank you for being a part of that. Thank you for being part of my creative field, spoken from the standpoint of one among all of us who holds this drum and is a part of it.