Monthly Archives: March 2018

Pray. Wait. Trust.

Pray

Wait

Trust

Pray for Peace to find its way into your heart, into the world.

Wait with Perseverance as your companion in the dark still moments.

Trust that Love shall spread its wings in flight toward the spoken and unspoken desires of the heart even as it accompanies peace unto thy shoulders and surrounds the world in its beloved embrace.

Pray

Wait

Trust

written December 2016

Photo of Trees – March 2018 – Prince Edward Island, Canada

The VUU Episode #214 – Featuring a UU Earth-Centered interview with Catharine Buck Clarenbach

I deeply appreciate The VUU taking time to begin a conversation about Earth-Centered UUism. I would love to see more of these types of conversations as there are many aspects of our Sixth Source manifesting in the hearts, minds and lives of Unitarian Universalists all over the world!

A great reminder that we have SIX Sources. The sixth is not merely an add on, rather, it is meant to be an integral part of our Living Tradition. I believe each source is meant to be active and accessible… and accepted. Yet, the whole of our sources are often left out of (or showing up more than moderately-diluted in) our “religious” services in exchange for the secularization that affirms our justice and social action principals with the reciting of profound logical quotes, psycho-political analysis, and calls to action for public witness on behalf of the most popular claimed causes.

I wonder what our Faith would look like if we went to Church on Sunday mornings (or Wednesday afternoons, or Friday evenings – – or each of these times every week) to be transformed? I wonder how many of our children would remain active members in our Faith Tradition if they were included in our now mostly adult services, rather than segregating them and hosting only a few intergenerational gatherings each year? I wonder if those among us who are taking up the mantles to be active in social justice activities would have more strength to do so if fortified by spiritually-centered community practices?

I suspect we would be stronger and more united in The Beloved Community if our worship services were rooted in the kinds of rituals, liturgy and ceremony found within the sources we are called to draw our faith from. There is so much benefit to be derived by incorporating authentic ritual into our services as well as including our children in the practice of worship. I believe there to also be benefit in having group-identified places of gathering, sharing and nurturing such as found within the sacredness of affinity and covent groups, as well as youth camps, etc. Yet to completely segregate our children from the core religious services seems at odds with our motto of “inclusion.” And in opposition to expressed desires for our children to claim this Faith as their own when they advance into maturity.  If we want to pass the torch of the Unitarian Universalist Faith Tradition to the next generations, we need to include them in the Unitarian Universalist Faith Tradition.

I also am grateful that Catharine named the Women’s movement as pivotal to bringing our Sixth Source to life in our Living Tradition.UU Women and Religion (UUWR) is still active and accessible, dedicated to lifting up Women’s spirituality in our faith, preserving archives, creating curriculum and programs that honor our lived experiences of the divine.

I encourage you to join Catharine’s The Way of the River Facebook group – – and be prepared for how special Mondays are as group members are prompted to share “Beloved Selfies”: a beautiful way to witness and honor each other where ever we are in the world and on our journeys.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheWayoftheRiver/

And be sure to open the above video up in YouTube so you can access all the other links, such as CUUPs.

Welcome Gabriel!!!

My daughter Morgan was finally able to return home to the Island with her son Gabriel. She gave birth on March 11th @8:47am on PEI and that night the doctors had him flown to Halifax hospital where he received wonderful care. He is doing well now and we are so very grateful. Welcome to Earth Gabriel! You are loved by so many <3 #Blessed 

Johann Hari – addressing paths out of depression and anxiety

Johann Hari suggests that depression isn’t caused by a chemical imbalance in our brains but by crucial changes in the way we are living. For Johann, this opens up 7 new potential paths out of depression and anxiety – ones that are very different to the paths we have been offered before.

During the Q &A he explores these within ever expanding and focused frames from failures of so-called “self-care” to political evolutions and critical education reforms.

Offers many resources to turn to from people to books to technologies and treatments.

an excerpt from “Tattoos on the Heart” by Gregory Boyle

“Allowing our hearts to be broken by the very thing that breaks the heart of God. In the end, what needs to get disrupted will find its disruption in our solidarity and in our intimate kinship with the outcast – who too infrequently knows the peace of a white dove resting on a shoulder. ”

“Tattoos on the Heart” by Gregory Boyle

 

Castles on Lancey

 

This song has been a regular tune in our home so far this year. To be seen, to be known, to be loved and to always have a place to call home – some of the gifts to my son and his friends as they grow up in our community of friends. He and his friends will experience both joys and sorrows here. They will make ridiculously impulsive mistakes, cause us worry and frustration, and they will light up our lives with their creativity and amaze us with their unbelievable talents. May we remember the latter when they do the former. May we protect them and keep them safe even as we guide them and allow them room to grow.

#LifeOnLancey #WeHaveTheVillageItTakes

 

 

Seek Not Unconditional Love, but rather Undoubted Love.

A life of abiding love, deep peace, tangible happiness and absolute acceptance is not found in the oft sought-after fictional “unconditional love,” but rather the deeper “undoubted love.” The kind of love where friendship and gratitude, mutual values and loyalty are the cornerstones.  To love and be loved, actively, daily, undoubtedly, is the seed, the roots, the stem, the bud, the blossom and the flower of true love.