USM’s Founding Faculty and designers of the Graduate Programs in Spiritual Psychology, Drs. Ron and Mary Hulnick, with 2009 Commencement Speaker, Caroline Myss. To see more Graduation photos, click here.

USM Graduation 2009: A Soul-Centered Ceremony Honoring the 2009 Graduates!

The University of Santa Monica held its 28th Graduation ceremony on Sunday, August 30, 2009, at the majestic Royce Hall, located on the UCLA campus. 182 graduates received their Spiritual Psychology and Counseling Psychology Master's degrees and Certificates of Completion on this occasion filled with joy and celebration.

The auditorium was filled with graduates, faculty, trustees, students, volunteers, and honored guests. Even on this sultry day the excitement and tremendous joy couldn't be contained — and no doubt experienced by all who entered the doors of Royce Hall to attend this extraordinary event!

USM's President Challenges the New Grads, "Dare to Share Your Light"

After a warm welcome from the audience, USM's President, Dr. H. Ronald Hulnick, began his remarks by acknowledging USM's Board of Trustees and the Vice-Chancellor of the University, John Morton. He also was delighted to welcome USM's Chancellor and Founder, John-Roger, who was in attendance.

Dr. Hulnick read the Founder's Message to the audience as a tribute to John-Roger and to articulate the vision upon which the University of Santa Monica was founded some 33 years ago. What stands out as remarkable in this was that the message is as relevant today as it was at the time it was brought forward. "We shall bring in students who will go through the difficult but necessary transcendence of the mechanical level, and who will finally answer that inner call that shall evoke their beingness. If you participate in this process of transcendence, you will know what education truly is, because you as the student will then become education . . . and you become a wayshower to those who are looking."

"USM's Soul-Centered educational process is one where we learned about expressing our truth in the moment," said Dr. Hulnick. A baby's wail punctuated the air. Ron's response was, "Yes, like that!" He continued, "We learned that 'how we relate to an issue is the issue.' We learned that happiness is not found in physical world reality, no matter how much we may think it is. We learned that what we thought our lives were about was like going to the movies. It's an illusion. We learned to wake up to the reality, to the truth of it all, that our true nature is Love."

Dr. Hulnick concluded his remarks to the graduates in the form of a challenge: "Go forward into the world, daring to share your Light and your joy . . . even in a world that does not understand you. Sharing the experience of who we truly are is not so much a process of trying to put it into words. It's the act of Living as a Divine Being having a human experience and showing up in a compassionate, loving, and peaceful place. It may not be easy, and yet, it is what you signed up for. And, yes . . . may the Force be with you!!!"

Awarding the Degrees

Following his introductory remarks, Dr. Hulnick welcomed his wife and the University's Chief Academic Officer, Dr. Mary Hulnick to the stage. As the applause died down, she said, "What a joy and a blessing it is to be here," as she beamed a radiant smile to the graduates and guests in the auditorium.

She also shared her gratitude to John-Roger and to the students quoting from the blessing John-Roger placed on the University on the occasion of his installation as Chancellor, "When you get a degree from the University of Santa Monica, it won't be that you just passed a prescribed line of curriculum, it will be because you can do what the degree says you can do." She went on to thank the families of the graduates for the many ways in which they provided their support.

Master of Arts Degrees in Spiritual Psychology were conferred upon 148 students, with 21 more receiving Certificates of Completion in Spiritual Psychology. Master's Degree recipients were honored with the traditional hooding ceremony after which they received their degrees and stepped to the front of the stage to move their tassel from left to right, signaling that they were moving from the realm of "student" to "graduate."

The 13 graduates of the Master of Arts Program in Counseling Psychology were the last class to receive this particular honor. The University has made the decision to focus it's energies on developing distance learning Programs, which will be launched sometime during 2010.

After the 182 graduates of 2009 received their certificates and degrees, there were awards given to the Students of the Year and Angels of the Year. A special award – the first "John-Roger Award for Teaching Excellence" – was given to Johanna Jenkins for her 17 years of service with USM's Counseling Psychology Program.

Next, Caroline Myss was invited to the stage to deliver her address to the graduates and guests. Caroline is a prolific writer, scholar, and educator whose books include Anatomy of the Spirit, Sacred Contracts, Invisible Acts of Power, Why People Don't Heal and How They Can, and Entering the Castle, to name a few. Several of her books have been included as required reading for the Consciousness, Health, and Healing Program at USM. Caroline also offers workshops and lectures around the world and has a well-known and respected consultation practice as a medical intuitive with physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, and other health practitioners. She has developed the field of Energy Anatomy, a science that partners specific emotional/psychological/physical/spiritual stress patterns with the diseases that they create or influence.

"I get the impression that you were happy here . . ."

The themes of Caroline Myss' talk were Love and Forgiveness. Her essential message was one that resonated with the USM philosophy and teachings: Love and Forgiveness are processes that transcend the mind and are processes of a mystical nature. "The mind is an inadequate instrument to work with the mystical forces of Love and Forgiveness," she shared. "It recoils from the power of Love and Forgiveness, because it recognizes them as shattering forces. The mind is in love with reason, and there are no 'good enough' reasons to forgive. You have to shatter reason to get to forgiveness. Both Love and forgiveness are processes that bring you to your knees."

Her talk was straightforward, often times injected with wry humor, insightful, and very much in tune with the teachings of the University of Santa Monica. Caroline continued by saying that our world is going through a change of "axial proportions." She shared, "Change is now happening at the speed of Light. It is also Universal. This means, we are all traveling at the speed of Light together. The choices we make here can have a profound impact upon the rest of the world. This makes it so important that the choices we make be ones that are driven by Love."

In her challenge to the graduates, she urged them to continue in their practice of cultivating their relationship with the Divine. "The mystic is one who is called into the mystery of holy longing. Give yourself over to that holy longing by Loving and Forgiving. Make your choices with great clarity. Hold yourself accountable. To Forgive is making a choice to Love – it shatters the heart and gives birth to Love." Great advice, from our point of view!

Mortonette Jenkins "USM's angel," as Sherry introduced her, closed the ceremony with a song that reverberated throughout the hall and into the spirit of everyone present. "I believe you can fly . . ." was her parting gift in song to the graduates.

A Beautiful Day Ends and a New One Begins for the Class of 2009

The class of 2009 was encouraged to go forward, living their lives by demonstrating the ultimate competency of a USM Graduate: an unconditionally loving consciousness. At the conclusion of the ceremony, grads and their families celebrated in a beautiful and spacious outdoor location on the UCLA campus where light refreshments were served. It was a beautiful ending to a beautiful day.

Through the principles and practices of Spiritual Psychology, the graduates of the University of Santa Monica have been provided with opportunities for personal and professional transformation to equip them to make a meaningful contribution to their world.

Congratulations Class of 2009–YOU ARE THIS UNIVERSITY OF SANTA MONICA! Thank you for your wholehearted participation. We love, honor, and bless you.