It’s a Setup!
- Joy Sagar
- Jul 20
- 9 min read
In my world, the spiritual journey and the creative journey share the same laws. Whether I’m standing on a platform, wiring a studio, or designing a print‑on‑demand piece for a mug or t‑shirt, the same truth keeps showing up: everything must be put to use. This reflection grew out of a very ordinary morning and turned into a philosophy of “setups,” boiling points, and spiritual inventory—offered for fellow Spiritualists, makers, and sensitive souls who suspect their detours might actually be precise arrangements for growth.
It’s a Setup
I was getting ready for today since yesterday—just going about my usual rhythm. This morning especially, I felt I needed some extra stellarness, so I was really gung‑ho in my own spirit and charged with it.
And then, as I was picking up clothes from the rack, all I heard loud and clear was:
It threw me off for a moment.
A setup? I was just here last month. I spoke here, finishing up June and the first six months of 2026. Some of you were here; some of you were not. So when I heard “it’s a setup,” my first thought was:
“Am I missing something? Did I mess something up?”
I knew I’d have to unfold that part of the story—how this is going in the small and big scheme of things.
I’m always amused by how Spirit speaks when I’m serving as a speaker. Notes have come and gone as part of my preparation. The spirit and the energy of the room and participants is always much bigger than whatever outline is on the page.
Everything Must Be Put to Use
Yesterday’s thought was:
“Everything must be put to use.”
I had work set up for me. I had other activities planned. But that thought was almost like being in a blender:
“Everything must be put to use.Everything must be put to use.”
It was so strong.
In life, we’re told not to have too much clutter. So when I heard “everything must be put to use,” I had to wrestle with it:
“Are we recommending holding on to everything?Or are we saying something else entirely?”
The idea—philosophically and in terms of natural and spiritual law—is that the operative phrase is:
“Must be put to use.”
Those last four words are where the operator lives. If something is not usable, then it has to be exiting out of the inventory somewhere. But if it is being put to use, you really can’t do away with it.
Right now, my speech and my thought are being put to use. I cannot do without them at this very moment. Divine intervention may happen and take it where it needs to go, but as long as it’s here, it has to be used.
And I thought:
“What a beautiful way of reflecting in my own life.”
Believe me, I have a lot of things that are not being put to use. I don’t think Spirit was simply telling me what I “should” be doing. I was investigating, philosophically:
“What parts of my life—emotional, mental, spiritual—collected over time are just taking space?”
It’s not only about creating “lightness” in our journey. It’s also about this:
When the glass is full, you cannot make it fuller.
To learn something new, you may have to unlearn something that is redundantly sitting in that box of learning.
So the thought—“everything must be put to use”—became an engagement of thought. And then the next thought was:
“It’s a setup.”
Natural, Physical, and Spiritual Laws: No Discounts
From there, my idea moved from that comical moment of getting my ducks in a row to something deeper:
We live under natural, physical, and spiritual laws—even the laws of physics are constant. They operate under the same conditions as they are set up.
None of us gets any discount or preferential treatment.
I tested that many years ago. I went above and beyond; I tried to grow around things. My real growth came from going through them, not around them.
I want you to investigate:
If something has been carrying on for years and years, day after day, without proper outcome—What is your participation with it?Are you really not looking that thing in the face?
Natural law of consequence—cause, effect, and exchange—is the same for everybody. Things will continue to show up, in different forms and configurations, until we learn what needs to be learned in managing them… or, more often, managing ourselves.
That’s part of the setup:
“This is here for you to say:Have you done your part?You said those words a few weeks ago—where is your follow‑through?”
My thought is rooted in the philosophy of natural and spiritual laws. Even at the precipice of what people call “law of attraction,” we can quicken certain experiences—but we cannot bypass law.
Your own alignment is what allows an experience to arrive. Even when you receive something, it does not mean everything you had to go through is done. You will go through it.
So:
We don’t really have a choice to mitigate that part.We might as well take the hard road and the high road and work through whatever we need to work through.
The Boiling Point Setup: Go for Expansion
Here’s where the boiling point analogy came in.
Imagine a liter of water. At a set temperature, it has a fixed amount of time it will take to come to a boiling point.
And then the thought came:
“Joy, this is a setup.This is a setup. There’s going to be a congregation—They have cooked more than you’ve ever eaten. This is going to be a setup.”
I had a moment of hilarity there.
How do you bypass bringing something to a boil?
If the container is the same and the contents are the same, it usually takes the same amount of time. Unless:
You have a bigger pan that gives more surface for the temperature to work, which reduces the time to boiling.
Or, you narrow the pot and increase it in height, which makes it take longer to come to a boil.
If you really want to get through something, go for expansion. Go for the bigger field of experience. Then the process can be in and out in a moment’s notice.
Where in your life are you operating like water in a tall, narrow pot—contracted, isolated, taking longer to boil?
And where could you expand:
Through service.
Through engaging with others.
Through trying something new in your spiritual practice.
1982 and the Shelf Life of Experience
Think of your own life.
Is there something that happened in 1982? Most of us have seen 1982. Are you still holding on to it?
We were supposed to be angry or upset at that point. We dealt with life and moved on. But:
Has that thing moved on from us or not?
We may carry bitterness, or some personal version of it. The question is:
What are we willing to use from those boxes of experience?What needs to be released?
Everything must be put to use doesn’t mean we maximize or optimize for productivity. It means:
Everything we have ought to be used, or consciously released.
So ask yourself:
What in your inventory are you using regularly?
What in your inventory has potential use along the way of life?
And what should have been let go or released a long time ago?
What is the shelf life of this product?
A little recognition of that shelf life lets us move things along.
Gifts, Talents, and Byproducts
Your gifts and talents are there, just like anybody else’s. The real question is:
Where is the willingness to bring them forward and put them to the best possible use—for yourself and others?
It’s impossible that none of us is good at anything.It is very, very possible for all of us to be good at something.
Are we putting that “something” to use?
For me, spiritualism started as exploration. I grew up sensitive. Coming to spiritualism felt familiar and workable.
Through role models like:
Rev. Marilyn Awtry,
Rev. Janet Nohavec,
Mavis Pittilla,
Diane Davis (whom you’ve heard from this platform),
I was inspired into service—offering what I can, where I can.
Here’s the key:
Whatever gifts you have, when you bring them into rightful use, the byproducts will show up: money, recognition, visibility, whatever you desire.
But they are byproducts.
As long as your attunement is in rightful use and proper replication, these things continuously show up.
If there’s burnout—“I’ve done the same thing for 30 years; I don’t want to do it anymore”—at least honor your awareness. That’s what gets you moving.
Balancing and distributing your gifts over time activates the law of harmony and the law of balance:
“I need to pace myself.”
I know I’ll reach a point where walking is my most preferable choice, and running and trotting are getting away from me—unless I choose to keep those muscles in use.
Our gifts are always present. How we exercise those muscles is very important.
Internal Kindness Before External Kindness
External kindness is very different from internal kindness.
You cannot be genuinely kind externally unless you choose to be kind internally to yourself.
Forgiving yourself, being kind and graceful to your own spirit—these are vital.
There’s a beautiful saying:
“You cannot be a wonderful giver if you’re not a good receiver.”
If you don’t receive your own kindness and compassion, investigate that idea.
Sitting in circles, you may suddenly notice:
“Oh, I missed that part. This is showing up in the conversation.”
That’s self‑discovery.
Not everyone in the movement has taken the philosophical stance. Some of our role models are demonstrators, bringing communication from the other side of life. Others live the philosophy day after day—no performance, just natural law.
Could it be both? Absolutely, if that’s your driver.
Inventory, Workspace, and the Rule of Total Utility
Let me take you back to yesterday.
I watched a football match. The team won. It was exciting.
The thought “everything must be put to use” was roaring like a big wave in the ocean—so strong I couldn’t ignore it.
So I got up and rearranged my workspace completely upside down. Broke everything apart. Put it back together.
I had to put everything I own to use. I had to put everything out so it wasn’t “out of sight, out of mind.”
My setup for this coming time frame turned out to be:
“I will put everything I own to use. It has to be of purpose and usefulness, otherwise it will find a new home.”
It’s a commitment.
I did something similar in 2015. It worked out beautifully. I felt so light—physically and otherwise.
I have to test my own theories. I cannot walk the talk and not talk the walk. I have to do both. That’s how I learn.
You learn your own way, whatever your way is.
From 4:00 PM to 11:38 at night, I didn’t stop until it was done. I moved things, rewired everything—because rewiring takes more time than moving objects.
Something in me was just driving me to the task.
Putting Your Gifts to Use
These things happen in all our lives.
We have that desire to push forth and create an outcome.
So:
Put it to use.
Put your gifts to use.
Put your ability to heal to use.
If you are a good listener, put that to use rather than leaving it idle.
Our skills are valuable. Our empathy and compassion are priceless.
I’ve seen people who sit with end‑of‑life patients who have no family. They go and sit with them.
That’s service. There is no exchange. The patients may not talk or do anything. But there is vicarious servitude—being present with those who simply need someone there.
Could you do that?
We all cry for time. And I remember Rev. Marilyn Awtry saying:
“We all have the same 24 hours.What you do with it is your job.”
The Unknown Setup and the Soul’s Journey
Yesterday I was fighting whatever needed to be done. I don’t think it was about this talk specifically. But this morning, again:
“It’s a setup.”
I’m still cherishing that thought.
I don’t know how the rest of my day is going to go. I’m looking for the setup. And it’s exciting.
If we go in with a plan and a detour hits our experience, we might not be ready. The unknown setup is exciting—it keeps you moving.
Think about yourself:
You planned a life. You wanted an outcome.Maybe it didn’t go the way it was supposed to.You still have to put that experience itself to use.
As I conclude:
We are here to have a great time in the soul’s journey and the spirit’s experience. We’re bound with each other’s energy, whether we know it or not.
The law of oneness talks about this.
The law of interconnectedness talks about it.
If you want more, there are spiritual law books in many bookstores. Help yourself. Investigate everything. Even silly thoughts are fantastic—put them to use too, because you never know who needs them at that exact point of experience from you.
It is a pleasure to be here. I’m always grateful. It is such a graceful feeling when I leave from places like this.
If you have read this far, here is the link to the video, where this talk was presented.
If this resonated with you—whether as a Spiritualist, a creative, or someone quietly rearranging their inner inventory—I invite you to notice where your own “setup” is already in progress. The laws don’t stop at the edge of the sanctuary or the print shop; they carry through every design, every service, every choice to release or reuse. May you put your gifts, your experiences, and even your “silly thoughts” to real use, and may the byproducts of alignment—joy, clarity, and maybe a few beautiful prints—find their way to your doorstep.
Thank you very much.
Joy Sagar
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