Flower A. Newhouse
Flower Arlene Newhouse (May 10, 1909 – July 8, 1994) was an American Christian mystic and spiritual teacher.
Early life
She was born Mildred "Mimi" Arlene Sechler in Allentown, Pennsylvania on May 10, 1909. She had one brother and one sister. Her father, Richard C. Sechler,[1] had a heart attack when she was six, and shortly thereafter divorced her mother, taking brother Clayton Leo[2] with him. Her mother, Jennie Matilda Romig, told the girls that their father had died of a heart attack.[3] Jennie was a milliner and entrepreneur. Her sister, Beatrice Jennie Sechler, (Oct. 10, 1903 - March 9, 1994) was born with eye infections and had her eyes removed surgically at the age of five and went to live in a school for the blind. She married Albert William Carson (June 13, 1893 - Jan. 6, 1975) on Dec. 22, 1933 in Los Angeles, California. According to her mother, as a child Flower first began to reveal the abilities of clairvoyance, which were prevalent throughout her life. From childhood Flower revealed that her life purpose was to live and teach the way of Christian discipleship and Christian mysticism through a greater experience of God and a deepening reverence for and service to Jesus Christ. Her many other teaching and writing interests included Angels, the spiritual purpose of life, the Hierarchy of perfected souls, the ongoing ministry of Christ, and what she described as the inner worlds. Her life's work was dedicated to furthering Christ's mission, as she described it in her quote: "Christ's mission is to release the divine into our conscious knowing. He awakens the impulse in persons to rise above their lower nature and be aware of their higher nature that dwells within."
When Flower entered high school, her teachers gave her a series of writing assignments. This provided for her the opportunity to begin sharing some of her spiritual insights and wisdom. Her teachers, impressed by her writings, invited Flower to their homes, where she began a speaking and writing career at the age of 13 – a career that would last the ensuing 68 years.[4]
Career
In 1924, Newhouse, along with her mother and sister with whom she enjoyed a close and affectionate relationship throughout their lives, moved to Los Angeles. Flower soon became a guest speaker at a number of churches and lecture halls. Word soon spread of her unique gifts of clairvoyance, her natural ability to inspire others, her love, service and devotion to Christ, and her convincing sincerity and authority as a speaker.
Flower’s work emphasized the need, as she described it, to consistently live the Christ-inspired life through a mystical union as one with the living Christ, and to directly experience God through living love, and by a steadfast active expression of God's presence from within.
Before long she was traveling regularly to Santa Barbara and San Francisco, as well as much of California and the Pacific Northwest. Eventually she would travel all throughout the United States and Canada as an invited speaker. It was on one of these lecture engagements that she met her future husband, Lawrence George Newhouse.[4]
Flower and Lawrence were married on October 31, 1933. Flower and Lawrence would eventually travel to over 126 cities in North America, many of them multiple times, teaching and answering questions from spiritual students seeking a greater understanding of life’s purpose and the mysticism of Christ. In 1940, Flower and Lawrence founded Questhaven Retreat[5] and the Christward Ministry (initially 440 acres in the rolling chaparral-covered hills of northern San Diego County—now 655 acres), which continues to be an active ministry and nature retreat consecrated to the living Christ. According to her students, Questhaven was and continues to be a refuge for the Spirit, a place of indescribable peace, and a spiritual training center of Christian Mysticism to teach the Ways of Christian Discipleship and the Wisdom Teachings that underlie "Living the Life" and following the "Christward Way". At Questhaven, Flower wrote and lectured extensively for 50 years on:[5]
• the Kingdom of the Angels
• the Hierarchy of Perfected Souls
• the path of Christian Mysticism as the endeavor of the soul to draw closer to God
• the purpose of physical life as a school for spiritual growth
• the spiritual laws of life and human evolution including reincarnation and karma
• the importance of character and consciousness in growing Godward
• humanity’s goal of achieving masterhood and illumination…Oneness with God
• seeking and finding God in nature
• the importance of our love for the creatures
• the meaning and value of the Holy Days and the Sacraments
• spiritual growth achieved through silence, worship, prayer and meditation.[6]
Writings
Flower A. Newhouse was embraced by her grateful students as a true Christian mystic whose life, teachings and deep insights into the spirituality of life reveal a path to an ever-growing awareness of God that gives unparalleled hope and faith in the future. She described her teachings not as doctrine, but a practical guide to the direct, immediate experience of God. Her first book, written about the Angels in 1937, was followed by numerous published writings and recorded lectures.
Published Writings of the Reverend Flower A. Newhouse:
Christian Mysticism: The Collected Works of Flower A, Newhouse Vol. I
Esoteric Teachings: The Collected Works of Flower A. Newhouse Vol. II
Rediscovering the Angels
Kingdom of the Shining Ones
Touched by Angels
Angels of Nature
Disciplines of the Holy Quest
The Holy Quest Vol. I-VI
Wellsprings of the Holy Quest
The Journey Upward
Insights Into Reality
Gateways Into Light
The Sacred Heart of Christmas
The Drama of Incarnation
Through Lent to Resurrection
The Meaning and Value of the Sacraments
Seven Paths Upward
The School of Life
The Seven Bodies Unveiled
Natives of Eternity
Songs of Deliverance
Here Are Your Answers Vol. I, II, III
These Too Shall Be Loved
The Measure of Days
The Christward Way
Prayers of a Mystic
Travel with Inner Perceptiveness
References
- ↑ http://person.ancestry.com/tree/90940188/person/240006188403/story
- ↑ http://person.ancestry.com/tree/90940188/person/240006188415/story
- ↑ http://person.ancestry.com/tree/90940188/person/240006188407/story
- ↑ Songs from the House of Pilgrimage
- ↑ http://www.questhaven.org/ The Christward Ministry at Questhaven]
- ↑ Songs from the House of Pilgrimage
External links
- Questhaven Website
- Songs from the House of Pilgrimage - Biography
- "Questhaven Retreat has been a spot for spiritual growth for almost 70 years" - San Diego Union-Tribune