A Living Legacy – Rev. Linda Jackson
This recording features the Sunday Talk portion of the service. For the full service watch here.
DESCRIPTION
As we close our month on Intentional Living, we explore what it really means to live your legacy. Legacy isn’t just something we leave someday—it’s what we shape moment by moment as we touch lives, express love, and allow abundance to flow through us. When we show up with presence, generosity, and possibility, we leave traces of our care, courage, and our contribution everywhere we go. Join us as we explore how intentional living ensures that every space, every relationship, and every experience reflects our highest self and becomes our living legacy.
SUMMARY
The summary is as follows:
– The speaker, Rev. Linda Jackson, discusses the concept of “living legacy” and how to embody it through the four E’s: enrichment, enchantment, engagement, and endowment.
– Rev. Linda emphasizes the importance of gratitude and focusing on abundance rather than lack, as it helps move one forward into greater abundance.
– She explains that living legacy is about the impact of one’s presence, leaving every space, relationship, or moment touched by more kindness, clarity, and goodness.
– Rev. Linda shares her own experience of expanding her financial endowment by purchasing a building with her son, which expanded her capacity for good and became part of her living legacy.
– She invites the audience to reflect on which of the four E’s they want to focus on expanding in order to live their legacy more fully.
TRANSCRIPTION
This transcription was auto-generated, please excuse typos, errors and omissions.
Rev. Linda Jackson:
So thank you all. Thank you Paige, Greg, and Nora as always, thank you so much. I appreciate your willingness to be part of our talk, to take that initiative, to learn a new song for us. It’s really something. So thank you. And in that Beyonce song I was here, our theme, living intentionally, it allows us to contribute in meaningful ways so that in every space, every place we go, every relationship we cultivate something is better because we were there. That’s one of the gifts of intentional living. So I am Reverend Linda. I think with our small and lovely group, you all know that already, but maybe someone new online today or later this week. I’m Reverend Linda. I use she her pronouns and we are completing our November theme, intentional Living using Lisa Nichols book Abundance Now. And part of her framework is the four E’s of abundance, and that is enrichment, enchantment engagement and endowment.
And so we’re invited to live from overflow and possibility with greater intention to make a greater impact. And for those of us who have studied earnest homes, the science of mind and spirit and many other new thought teachers and books, the things that we study here, Lisa Nichols, big Ideas. The philosophy isn’t really new, but she does frame things in a unique way and she offers so many helpful tips and tools. I found her very motivational. It was uplifting to, I was listening to on Audible and it’s very practical. She gives a lot of tools and tricks. So I would invite you to read and remember that you can always listen to our speakers from the last few weeks if you’ve missed any of that as I prepared for this talk, and I was also recovering from the busyness of planning Thanksgiving dinner, I reflected a little on the Thanksgiving story and not just the story that is linked to the early New England colonies, but the broader roots, that idea of a harvest celebration and that is far older and more universal than the American idea of Thanksgiving.
For thousands of years, cultures around the world, the ancient Egyptians, the Greeks, the Jewish Festival of Sukkot, all celebrate the end of harvest with gratitude and shared meals. So likewise, the pilgrims and the Puritans fasted in hard times and feasted in times of abundance. And we all know long before the Europeans arrived on this land, the native peoples held their own harvest ceremonies, they feasted together and gave thanks. So in this we see this rich history of gratitude woven into intentional living, intentional Thanksgiving. And in her book, Lisa Nichols writes, gratitude helps you move forward into abundance. So not only are we giving thanks for what we have received, we give thanks and from this raised vibration we become receptive to even more. Those of you who practice affirmative prayer, which is probably everyone in this room, we give thanks for what we are calling in. We accept it as if it is already done.
And Lisa says, the universal principle at work here is energy grows where energy goes. And she says, if you want great things to come into your life, you have to be very clear about the great things that already exist in your life. You have to give that your energy and your attention not focus on what you’re missing, right? Lynn Twist would say what you appreciate appreciates. So that’s an invitation for you, an inquiry. Where are you putting your attention? What legacy are you living? And I always like to bring Ernest Holmes in. So I have a number of Ernest Holmes quotes. In addition to that Ernest Holmes reading, he says, from 365 science of mind, if we make every day a day of praise and thanksgiving, a day in which we recognize the divine bounty and the eternal goodness, and if we live today as though God were the only presence and the only power there is, we would not have to worry about tomorrow if we just keep our mind on that, on the divine, on the infinite, on the bounty, instead of on what we think might be missing over here, right? So this is to say, when we expect good, when we focus on the qualities and the vibration of goodness, we become a match to it. We know this right? And then good takes care of itself, life takes care of itself. It multiplies. Likewise, if we focus on the negative, we get more of that. I always like to remember that. I don’t know who was the origin of this, but worrying is like praying for what you don’t want.
So what does it mean to live your legacy? Your legacy is typically understood as what you leave behind. But to live a legacy is to embody our values, our love, our purpose right now, John’s talk a few weeks ago was Your life is now. And that is the idea, right? It’s now living legacy is what we live moment by moment. As we touch lives, as we express love, as we allow abundance to flow through us, which is spirit expressing through us. When we show up with that level of presence, we’re in generosity, possibility, then we leave traces of our contribution everywhere we go. So then the legacy is not just personal success, not just financial giving. That’s part of it for sure. I heard someone saying, I don’t remember who. You can do more good in the world with money than without it.
So we have to appreciate the impact that has too. But it’s not just that. It’s also passing on the values, the mindset, the purpose. And this is where the opportunity for transformation occurs in sharing that authentic self, being an impact on everyone you meet, making an impact in every room you enter. And it doesn’t have to be dramatic. When every space we touch, every relationship and every experience reflects our highest self, then our impact is our living legacy. And I’m borrowing a little phrase from the founder of the Boy Scouts that leave it better than you found it. I’ve really been working with that as I have found myself receiving so generously from so many people as I’ve moved through this residentially fluid part of my life, I’ve stayed in a lot of people’s homes and it always feels to me like my charge is to leave it better than I found it.
In order to do this, Lisa says, your job is to fill your own cup so it overflows and then you serve others joyfully. You serve from that overflow, right? That idea of putting the oxygen mask on yourself, again, it’s not new. A living legacy comes from abundance within, not from depletion. You have to fill your own cup just as you can do more good with money than without it. You can do more good when you take care of yourself physically, mentally, emotionally. So living legacy is the impact of your presence, leaving every space, relationship or moment touched by more kindness, more clarity and more good, leaving it better than you found it. Living legacy is living fully. When we allow our lives to be big, when we shine, serve and love with intention, we become a blessing that ripples out beyond what we see even we don’t even know the impact we make. This is an act of generosity and then contribution as a daily practice. And she says, legacy doesn’t have to be achieved in grand gestures. It could be achieved in the small ways that we choose to show up being a contribution to life daily, moment by moment. And the last bullet there, your story matters. So embracing your purpose, using your gifts, showing up authentically, it all contributes to the collective good, your unique way, leaving your mark, the world is waiting for you to express your gifts. It’s not an option.
More from earnest Holmes in the science of mind, prosperity is the out picturing of substance in our affairs, everything in the universe is for us. Nothing is against us. We must know that everywhere we go, we meet friendship, love, human interest and helpfulness. Life is ever giving of itself that we have to receive this, we have to utilize it and extend the gift. Success and prosperity are spiritual attributes belonging to all people, but not necessarily used by all people. Prosperity belongs to each of us. Are you receiving? Are you open to receive it? How many times did someone offer you something and you’re like, oh, no, no, thank you.
I can tell you that five years ago had I been in the position I’m in and someone said, you can come stay at my, I would’ve been, oh, no, no, no, I can’t do that. And I wouldn’t have done it. I would’ve felt somehow that I was wrong for not being able to make it on my own through some kind of struggle and effort instead of saying, yes, the universe can provide for us in amazing ways if we don’t cut it off, if we don’t shut it down. So are you receiving and then utilizing and extending the gift, the world is waiting for you. So from the reading today, there’s a few points in here that I really enjoy to become alive and build the greatest lives we must become something more, something worthwhile. And he says there’s not a day in his life that he does not take time to unify myself in consciousness with big things to think I am one with all activities.
So he’s focusing on business here, right? I’m one with all activities, industries and commerce. But then that just feel that thought, reaching out and encompassing. When we talk about affirmative prayer, we talk about the conviction, the feeling it. So reaching out and encompassing the largest fields of activity in the world. You’re one with the infinite stars and heavens and that is to see things. And he says, it’s in our mental attitude that decides what we are to become and nothing else. If you can feel the mental concept of your business, of your life, of your relationship, of your whatever it is, if you can feel your mental concept, touch the universal. If you can tap into it, this is the magnificence of affirmative prayer. You all, you align with the infinite, you tap into it. And when you touch into that, he says, you would only have to speak the world at Word and it would come to you in ceaseless stream. So it’s the mental attitude that decides what we are to become. It’s how we are being affirmative. Prayer is such a powerful technology. You touch into the universal, you can fake it till you make it, but it’s when you have the mental attitude of abundance, when you have the conviction, the certainty that already done mindset, then abundance automatically flows through you. So we have to do the work to get our minds right. I often make that my prayer request. Please know for me that my mind is right.
Please know that I can believe this is possible. And again, another earnest Holmes quote in this thing called life the highest consciousness is not one of possession but of being. The greater your consciousness of being, the more automatically the law flow from this consciousness into the acquisition of the things you desire. So it’s not, oh, I’m going to pray to get this. It’s how am I being? I’m aligning with the qualities and the feeling nature of it, and it automatically comes into our experience. Lisa offers the four E’s for expanding our consciousness of being the first e enrichment of your whole self. Enriching yourself is the first step to success. It’s about expanding your mindset, your self-worth, your internal landscape. She teaches that abundance begins with the thoughts you think, the beliefs you hold and your willingness to stretch behind who you were yesterday. If you are sitting in this room or listening online, you are enriching yourself.
You’ve become available to new possibilities through enrichment, and that includes the self-care needed to live in your light as she calls it. Others call it your genius being on purpose. You can’t live in your light if you’re in self-sacrifice. Enrichment is really investing in your self. The second E is enchantment in your life, in your life relationships. So this is about deepening our relationships and the joy and the love and the authentic connection we experience with others when we are authentically ourselves. If you’re connecting with someone with some facade of who you are, there’s no depth, there’s no real connection. It’s a facade of who they think you are. So being your authentic self and really getting connected, and it’s the richness of these relationships that inspire us and nourish us and reflect our best selves. So Enchantment invites us to show up with curiosity and a willingness to be fully present with the people in our lives. Enchantment lets our relationships become a source of delight, not a source of depletion.
My own saying is it doesn’t matter so much where I am, it’s about who I’m with. And this has really moved me the last 10 years of my life. Nichols says, your quality of life is determined by the quality of your relationships. Reverend Jackie spoke beautifully to this a few weeks ago. If you want to go a little deeper in that one. The third E is engagement in your work for more than financial reward. It’s about aligning your work with purpose and meaning so that what you do is an expression of your gifts, of your values. It’s your contribution. She frames this with aligning your work, your purpose, and your service with your authentic self.
Abundance grows when you’re engaged in what lights you up. I spoke about that light in Jean Goodall’s eyes from Steven Cope last month or the month before. That light, what lights you up? When we engage from purpose and not just our paycheck, our work becomes a channel for meaning, service, and impact. And this is abundance through purpose. The fourth e endowment for a beautiful future. This is the financial side of abundance, how we manage our resources, making powered choices for circulating our good and give from overflow or share our wealth. Endowment is the stewardship of your resources, your time, money, energy and attention.
Using it in a way that creates stability and freedom and more possibility. It’s conscious management and generous circulation. I like that conscious management and generous circulation. Endowment reminds us that abundance is something we create and contribute to, and then we create a future that reflects our intentions and our impact. So these four E’s show us how to live as abundance, inviting us to enrich who we are, elevate how we love align, how we work and shape the future that we’re building. Legacy becomes less about achievement and more about alignment and everyday moments. It’s how people feel when they walk away from you. It’s the healing hope or inspiration that you leave in your wake. It’s the evidence of your love in word or action. It’s the choices you make to steward your resources for even greater impact. Saying yes where it matters and saying no, where it protects your peace and choosing actions that match your vision. So when we bring the four E’s together, we don’t just live with abundance, we become the presence of abundance in the world. To live your legacy is to embody that. I was here in real time. I was here not as a brag. It’s the legacy we create with our presence long before our lifetime becomes a memory and every moment gives us the chance to live it.
One of Lisa Nichol’s teachings that really resonates with me is that abundance requires us to move past where we would normally stop, not in a grind, harder, push through it kind of way, but in a spiritual sense when fear says it’s enough. But love knows there is more. When habit says I can’t or I don’t. Growth invites a brave step forward. When comfort says, stay here, our legacy whispers keep going. When we go a step past where we normally stop, something else becomes possible. A new channel is opened for good to flow through us. Abundance becomes that lived experience. So we expand our capacity to trust and to contribute. We expand our capacity for good, and that becomes part of our legacy. So there was a distinct moment in my life when I was at a place where I would normally stop my familiar edge, a place where a story in my head was like, no, I can’t do that.
But this time something in me. And I literally heard it. Just keep going. So of the four E’s, the endowment piece has been my weakest link. I’ve done a lot of work on enriching myself and my relationships. I live a life of service, but I’ve not been uber strategic financially. I always had faith that it would be okay. And it has been, and I’ve lived an abundant life, but I haven’t planned any kind of a legacy. And at the point of my life that I’m in, that has become more, it’s been more in my awareness of, Ooh, I certainly don’t want my kids to have to take care of me as I get older. What am I doing here? Right? So I know many of you have heard me talk about the fact that my son and I bought a building April of 2024, so a year and a half ago-ish, right?
My mom had passed a year earlier and I was finally kind of coming back to the living, if you will. And my son was looking at some real estate, potentially buying himself a condo or something. And I suddenly parked up and I said, whatever happened to us buying a property? Because we’d talked about that, buying some kind of a two flat, three flat, four flat where it would be become an investment and maybe get a couple buildings. It would help his future. It would help my future. And we needed each other. He still has a current bountiful income. And I had a little bit of money left and I said, whatever happened to that idea? And he said, we can do it, but you got to be ready to go now, which tells you, I hadn’t been ready to go for that. You got to be ready to go now.
He was ready. And in that moment, I just had to look around and I looked at this beautiful space I was living. I had made it very comfortable. I felt like I had a little sanctuary. I loved having people in my home and I had to decide if I would be willing to let that go in order to expand into something greater. I had to give up what I had. It doesn’t mean that I would never have something like that again. I just had to be willing. You can’t grip on what is if you want to expand.
And there was a shift in me in that moment. I literally heard the words just keep going. I thought it was my mom. I still think it’s my mom. Just keep going. As soon as I said yes to letting go of all the things that were making me comfortable, the universe conspired. It was wild. It was like a whirlwind in a month. We were closing on a building. We’d put in multiple offers, we’d been declined and accepted, declined, and all of a sudden, within a month we had a building. I knew people who’d been looking for nine months. So the universe conspired. But I had to be in a deep trust in life in God and go beyond my stopping point. This changed the entire trajectory of my life. I’ve been incredibly blessed by the generosity of people that I wouldn’t even have known if I would not have accepted that I’m living the legacy and I trust that through the work and the consciousness, the willingness to expand that, yes to creating stability and freedom, but also practicing more conscious management of resources to allow for more generous circulation, to have something tangible to leave behind.
It’s a yes and it’s not either or.
Lisa Nichols says, legacy is living every day being worthy of the story that’s going to be told about me one day. Again, not just about what you leave behind, but how you live now. So I’m going to invite you, what is the story that will be told about you? How do you become the, I was here in every room, every relationship, every moment, and I’m going to take us into some practice with that. So keep that in mind. How do I become the, I was here in every room, every relationship, every moment. So I invite you to center, take a few minutes, turning your attention within, just taking a few deep breaths, beginning to calm the nervous system, open the heart and the mind, and entertaining the question. Where in your life do you want to expand your container for good?
Legacy is living every day, being worthy of the story that’s going to be told about you one day. What is the story that will be told? How do you become the, I was here in every room, every relationship, every moment, perhaps one of those four. Ees is an area of growth edge for you. Maybe you have practiced in all four of them and just need to keep going. Enrichment of your whole self, enriching yourself, expanding your mindset, your self-worth, your internal landscape, or is it enchantment in your relationships, deepening the love, the joy, the authentic connection, developing relationships that inspire, nourish, and reflect our best selves.
Or is it engagement in your work for more than financial reward? Aligning with purpose and meaning, aligning your service with your authentic self and that endowment for a beautiful future. That financial piece of abundance is your growth edge, managing resources, circulating your good and sharing your wealth. Just allowing yourself to feel into which of these areas or maybe all of these areas that you want to give more attention to, expand your abundance. And as Ernest Holmes says, to become alive and build the greatest lives, we must become something more. To unify ourselves with big things, to let us unify with the infinite. In this moment, I recognize that the infinite nature of life, the unlimited potential, the generative creative nature of the power and presence that I call God is always here, always operating, always available, that we are individual expressions of it. And through affirmative prayer, it is one way that we align ourselves with it. That we remember, that we sort of open this portal to be the channel for good, to be the expression of the divine. That only we were here to be the unique individual expression of the divine. That each of you are here to be, to live your fullest expression, to be enriched, to have enchanting relationships, to leave the legacy that you are living now fully expressed in love, in peace, in freedom, in ease.
And I’m grateful. I’m grateful for each one who has says yes to tuning into this conversation today. Each one who has said yes to living their full expression, each one who says yes to making the world a better place because they are in it. And I’m grateful that each of you is saying yes to being that I was here in every room, every relationship, and every moment. I’m grateful for the fulfillment of this prayer. I’m grateful for all of the good that is moving through this. I’m grateful for the insights, the awarenesses and knowing the resources that are necessary are here right now. So grateful for the fulfillment of this prayer. I release it into the law that always says yes. I let it go. I call it good. And if it resonates with you at all, join me in saying and so it is. Thank you. Thank you, Reverend Linda.