This recording features the Sunday Talk portion of the service. For the full service watch here.
Harmonious Living; As Fruit, Not Goal – Rev. Rainbow Weldon
DESCRIPTION
We are bringing our October series full circle: what began as a shift in perception in Week 1 now shows up as visible fruit — in relationships, in generosity, in what flows toward and through us. Demonstration is not proving God to others; it is the natural evidence of a life lived from presence.
The summary and transcription were auto-generated, please excuse typos, errors and omissions.
SUMMARY
Rev. Rainbow Weldon delivers a spiritual talk on expanding consciousness and moving from a mindset of lack and scarcity to one of abundance and fulfillment. Drawing from Joel Goldsmith’s teachings, Weldon emphasizes that “God has nothing to give us. Everything God is, we already are”, explaining that divine qualities like love, wholeness, joy, and peace are already present within us waiting to be embodied and expressed. The talk explores the paradox of spiritual desire—distinguishing between wanting (which creates a sense of lack and separation) and having (which recognizes what already exists). Weldon shares personal experiences of transition, including leaving a long-term relationship and spiritual leadership role in Lexington, Kentucky, to illustrate how shifting perspective can reveal new possibilities without requiring physical relocation. The message encourages attendees to stop seeking validation or fulfillment from external sources and instead radiate the qualities they wish to experience, recognizing that “we are generative beings” with the power to shape our world through consciousness.
TRANSCRIPTION
Rev. Rainbow Weldon:
Yes. Good morning, everyone. Can you feel the love? I’m feeling it. Chicago is welcoming me back with such beauty today. Yes. So here from Lexington, Kentucky. I know last time I was here, some people got confused, so I just want to be really clear. I do still live in Lexington, Kentucky, but hope to be with y’all a few times throughout the year because I mean, come on. So happy to be wrapping up this series this month. Jonathan, I love that you said that about the talk title. So something a little behind the scenes is the talk title was provided to me, right? Because I think it was Reverend Amy that created the theme looking for cohesiveness throughout the different speakers. And I got it and I was like, okay, I get it. What does that mean? And it literally, I wrote something. I prepared a whole talk.
This morning walking on the lakefront at Sunrise, I was like, oh, I get it. I got it, but now I get it. And something else came through. So I’m going to share that with you and a little bit of what I prepared. So let’s start with a quote from Joel Goldsmith here. God, I’m going to pause there because when we say God, the word love, life, universe, spirit, whatever works for you, right? It’s just a word. So if that word makes you go, use whatever word works for you. God has nothing to give us. Everything God is, we already are. All that God has is already ours.
So God is itself fulfillment. God is love, God is wholeness, God is joy, God is peace, and God is fulfilling itsself through us. This very presence of spirit itself and all these divine qualities gets to know itself more fully through each of us as we embody and open up to these qualities to be magnified and multiplied through us, allowing us then to break free from the mindset of doubt and lack and scarcity that is so common in our human mind. Yes. But the truth is that abundance is our natural state. It is the natural state of things and it is so evident in nature, yes? These beautiful trees, there’s such an abundance. And if it is true of nature, it must be true of us because we too are nature.
And we are always at choice. We have free will to choose and our choices therefore also have an impact, set out a radiant vibration, not only in our own lives, but in the world around us. Our thoughts, our words and actions create this ripple impacting the collective consciousness. And we are here to talk about expanding consciousness. So what does that mean? We’ll get into that. But unfortunately we see a lot of evidence of human nature that leans towards that lack and scarcity mindset, right? Greed based on fear and the lie of separation, that there’s not enough for all. And so therefore we have to hoard and take what is ours.
And that has very real impacts in our lives and the lives of our friends and neighbors, but it’s not permanent because it’s not the ultimate truth of our experience. We can choose to move back into integrity and alignment with that flow and the belief that God is ever present even now, even in this circumstance, even in today’s world and political climate. God is here. Spirit is here, ever available, waiting for us to know it and express it more fully. So we can choose to allow this moment, this situation to be a jumping off point for opening up to more flow and a greater expression of these qualities of spirit fulfilled and to break free from the false reality by taking back our power and affirming the truth of the infinite nature of the universe and working to change the systems that no longer serve our collective good by expanding consciousness.
So let’s look at some more wisdom from Goldsmith. He reminds us that it may be necessary for us consciously to open out specific ways for it to flow. Money is not the only way to start the flow, but it could be one. We can begin spending love, forgiveness, cooperation and service. This is the application of the principle that no good can come to us. Good must flow out of us.
So what avenues are you opening in your life for spirit to use you to bring more of this life giving energy of abundance and joy and peace into the world and into your own sphere of influence? And here’s the moment that I got a little bit of clarity around, that it seems so paradoxical in a way, some of these teachings that we first have to be aware of what we desire and get clear on our intention, but yet we also want to be open to the fullness of spirit flowing through us and not limiting that. And the distinction to me is the difference between wanting or being or having, right? So wanting something isn’t having, but this doesn’t mean we don’t have desires of our heart to then embody and express. The energy of want puts us in a place of we are here, something, person, place, job, whatnot, money is there.
And there’s a gap between who I am and what that thing is if we want something outside of us. And goldsmith reminds us that it’s all right here. So to shift from instead of what I want to listening to what is seeking to be expressed through me, what qualities would I like to embody and express more fully in my life because it is already who I am. That is how we take back that power within us. Want really comes from more of a energy of lack. And if we want something and we need something desperately, even I talk about our hands cling to something, we’re not open to receive. It can energetically push away that very thing that we want.
And in the midst of a situation or experience of lack, doubt, hurt, pain, whatever it may be in your world, I know for me, I can get very tunnel vision to where that situation seems in my perspective in that moment like all that there is and all that there ever will be. But I need this, I want this, this isn’t working out, blah, blah, blah. When we’re in it, it feels like this. A shift of perspective, an expansion of consciousness or our awareness widens our vision to see what is really already there all along. Expansion of consciousness expands our awareness to see the bigger picture and the unlimited potential and possibilities that exist all around us. It’s kind of like the difference of shining, going into a room to look for something and with a little pinpoint light and you’re like, okay, I got to find my keys.
It will take you forever if you had this much light to look for your keys.
Expanding our consciousness, shifting our perspective, opening our awareness to know that, oh, all that I am is right here. All that I desire already exists in some other dimension or form that maybe I’m not seeing right now, but it is there. And that is flipping on the light and allowing it to be illumined and noticing all the sudden everything that is there. And it was always there. We just didn’t have the eyes to see it or the perspective or the vision. When we shift our perspective in that way, it’s the difference between wanting and having. Having puts us in the consciousness that it’s already here. We have it. And how do we know we have something when we share it, when we express it, right? Think about any of these qualities, joy, love. How do I know that I have joy in my heart? Because I’m skipping down the beach and it feels fun.
I’m like, woo, I’m expressing it and it’s contagious.
So we began to live in harmony with these spiritual laws of the universe and to commune with or tabernacle with the divine. We can transcend the consciousness of lack and limitation and fear and not enoughness, self-doubt, unworthiness, all that human nature stuff. It’s very real, but it’s not permanent. It’s not real with a capital R. We experience it as such, but we can turn on the light and choose to see more by sitting in that space of remembering the truth of who we are, expanding our container for good through the realization of these spiritual principles, that God, spirit, life, universe is the source and begin to open that flow by affirming all that we desire is who we are and to share it, be that avenue of opening the flow and expressing it.
So another subtle nuance around this that I see that can sometimes be a trap, especially with a oversimplified understanding of this spiritual principle or this new thought idea, which is the tendency to want to then, okay, I’m going to go do this because I want something. I’m going to give to get. I’m going to tithe to because I need more money. I’m going to be more loving and friendly because I want more friends. If we’re coming from that mindset, that’s a trap because we’re looking outside of ourselves for that which we already are. And we start to identify, we may get it, right? We may experience something by opening that flow, but it’s kind of like having an ulterior motive, right? A little quid pro quo, I’m going to give so I can get. And the first experience of that, of manifesting something, okay, I’m going to open the flow.
I’m going to be more this and I’m going to notice, oh yes, now I’m attracting more of this. But what can happen is we can then attach that good to that place or that person or that situation that we first manifest and think that well really now it’s that.
So for example, Chicago, Chicago and the lakefront is my happy place. And this was the insight I had this morning, right? So let’s see if I can explain this in a way that gets the nuance, right? So I’ve been in a place of transition. Those of you who have been following my journey some, right? Lots of unknowns. And as I was driving up for this trip, I really was like, I am going to open up to that space within me that was the 21 year old that first moved to Chicago and stuff happened like this. Met this person the first day, got this job opportunity, found this apartment, this other connection, this person said, come do this, work for me here, do this thing. And it was literally within a first week of just like boo, boo, boo, boo, boo, boo, boo. And there could be a way, and perhaps there have been some times where I can reflect on that experience and think, oh, well, Chicago is this magic place that when I’m there, everything works out.
Or I can choose to see, oh, that was me in alignment and creating that experience. But what I chose to do on this drive up here was I’m going to bring in the energy and remind myself of that young 20 something that just moved in the world of possibility that hasn’t had then 25 years plus of this, stories and experiences and all of that that can lead to sometimes blocking that flow. So I consciously chose to, okay, I’m going to show up and I’m going to invite in that energy, but not looking for something outside of me, but knowing that it was me and reclaiming that.
So what are you seeking? Goldsmith ask us, is it God that we are seeking or are we seeking something from God? Let us not seek the forms of God, but seek the allness of God. And in seeking the allness of God, we shall have all the forms necessary to our own unfoldment. I’m done. I’m just kidding. I need a little tea. Let you take that in a minute. Are we seeking God or are we seeking something from God? Are we begging? Are we thinking that there’s this God thing outside of us that if we’re good enough, maybe we’ll get something from? Or are we just seeking to know ourselves as spirit knows us?
So I have moved and traveled a good bit. And another insight I had this morning was how that physical movement, whether it be just going on a little road trip or literally moving, which I have like seven times, allows me to experience a shift from being in the of this to new possibility because all of a sudden it’s a new environment, literally all new possibilities. And where I’m at right now in my life is that next level of really getting what it is to experience a shift in perspective, but staying where I am and not needing things outside here to change, but to change within me first and then see what opens in my life.
To remember the vastness and the wholeness of our divine nature and to look at a situation and see it through the eyes of spirit. And so to be honest, it was really tempting after being… I’ve been in Lexington for seven years now, which is the longest I’ve lived anywhere since I was raised and went to college in Georgia and then moved off. And it was really tempting after so much change. My mom died, she was living by us there in Lexington, ended a 17 year relationship, left my role as spiritual director of the center, the job, the thing that brought me to Lexington to say, “Okay, well, I’m done with this place. What’s going to be next? Where to go next?” But because of this beautiful being, my daughter Cadence, my brain said, “You can’t do that this time. You’re going to stay here because you want to be by your daughter and sit in the discomfort of the grief and the pain and seeing the same people and places and things that bring up some memories and allow yourself to rediscover who you are.” So that’s the journey I’ve been on the past couple of years.
And it has reminded me that nothing outside of me gets to dictate how I view my experience or my life, that I’m always at choice. I make the meeting, I can shift my perspective. And I don’t always know. There’s been a lot of, I don’t know. I’m not saying this is like an easy journey all. There’s just been a lot of deconstructing everything. But I, we, are always at choice if we’re willing to sit in that discomfort long enough to transform and to transmute it and to have the opportunity to remember that what we desire and who we are has been with us all along and we can open to new possibilities.
So I’m now flipped on a light over this city of Lexington where I live. And instead of seeing the pinprick view of my world that I thought it was going to be that brought me there and what it looked like then, there’s a whole new community of creative, artsy, queer, cool folks in Lexington. And those are the people now that once I set with who I am and what energy do I want to be around and realizing that I love myself enough to get clear on that and to stop being around people in places that do not match that vibration and trying to fit in and all of that, now I get to see this whole new world. That was always there, but now I’m the resident match for that and making those new connections and new opportunities because wherever I am there, I am with a capital I am.
And I can bring that energy with me, the love, the light. It’s like experiencing a rebirth or a renewal, but yet the same materials. So instead of just new life, no, no, no, new life, it’s sitting in the same materials and like a collage creating from those pieces and those scraps and those things, but reshaping them and piecing together the life I desire of fulfillment, of joy.
And I’m still me and I’m still free and I’m still becoming. So we’ll see. Spirit speaks to me all sometimes in these really funny rhymes. Literally, I came out this morning and started typing. I was like, “That just came through.” And I laughed out loud at myself. So I just want to end with a moment that I had yesterday walking around just enjoying this beautiful weather. And we were walking down the street and past these two Chicago guys, you know what I mean? Like just, I don’t know, maybe 60 something just Chicago guys. And as we’re crossing the crosswalk, you hear one guy going, “I’m just mad as hell.” And then the other guy was like, “You got to be positive, man.” And he goes, “It is what it is.” And we just heard that bit of conversation as we crossed them. And I was like, “That right there was a whole little message, right?
Spirit is speaking to us anywhere and everywhere if we expand our minds and our hearts and our awareness to hear, to see, to look, to listen.” And that was an example of living the teaching right there, like those two dudes. It was just like, “Yeah, and how can you shift your perspective and know it is what it is? Both and.” So I invite you… Oh wait, I think I have another quote. Let’s do that and then we’ll wrap it up. “The moment we realize this, good begins to flow to us from outside. “This was from the reading,” From sources all over the globe. Always it is the activity of God, not of a person. Every person comes bearing gifts because everyone is an instrument for the outflowing of God. But if we look for some specific person for our good, we block it. “So again, just to reiterate, to stop looking outside of ourselves for the validation that we seek, the love that we seek, stop looking for some thing or person to make us feel whole or complete, but begin to radiate, to practice the presence, the vibration of joy and abundance and peace and creativity and wholeness and all that you desire because we are generative beings.
We have imagination to create and to shape our world through our deeply held thoughts and beliefs. We are sourced by the one because we are one with all, and it’s from that awareness that we get to attract all that we are and all that we desire. So I invite you to notice in your life where you may be attaching something, something you may want or being in that place of want instead of having or attaching your good to something, a particular job, place, a person outside of yourself. And just notice without judgment, not here to beat ourselves up, but just with a curiosity to see how that may or may not be benefiting you if there’s room for an expansion or a shift, a perspective. What if sitting in the discomfort of just that awareness for a little bit perhaps provides the insight and the clarity on those next steps, knowing that right where you are, love is, God is, peace is, joy is, and the infinite potential awaits.
And the shift needed to move from wanting to having is within our own locus of control. We’ve got the power. Our hearts desires are always calling for this greater good to be expressed in experience as spirit knowing itself through us.
So let’s take a deep breath, starting from the only place where we truly have authority over, which is our own lives and turning within to this truth to then allow it to ripple forth upon this world as we move into a moment of prayer. And then after I speak this prayer, I’ll invite the practitioners to stand and for you to receive a one minute miracle prayer with a practitioner if that is calling you. So again, taking this moment just to breathe, knowing and recognizing the one life that is love, that is peace, that is wholeness, this one life expressing itself in as and through all life, so evident in the beauty of nature, so evident in the beauty of this community.
For all that there is, is love, is God, is who I am. I am that I am. So I take this moment now to affirm this truth, to know right where I am, all is truly well, to shift my perspective, to see, to expand my consciousness, to see all the good that awaits, to call forth right here, right now, infinite potential, divine love and opportunity, allowing spirit to know itself more fully through me now. So I’m so grateful, so grateful to know this truth, so grateful to speak this word now. I release it into the great cosmic law of the universe that always says, “Yes, my beloved, it is done and it is so.” And now I invite the practitioners to stand in this field of prayer and consciousness. And if there’s something on your heart to this day, please let it be witnessed through the power of love and prayer.
It’s not the practitioners that do the work, it is spirit within, but they have chosen to say yes to committing their life to seeing the wholeness in you. So allow them to know this truth for you now.