Author: Maria Schuchardt

God and Grace Endure By Rev. Rhoni Tretsven

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Shift and change are part of our human experience as a soul here on this earthly plane. Many of us anticipate change when we flip over the calendar and see not just the month has changed but the numbers representing the year we are now entering. I have often stared at that blank January page and then quickly flipped through the rest of the pages, wondering what events will shift and change within me, not just my existence of what I name as a life lived. Beginning the new year I have written promises to myself, resolutions and half of them already are up for renegotiation. I have experienced a change in leadership not just nationally, but locally and set the intention to trust the process of these changes. When my life has felt uncomfortable, it is because I know there is a transformation that is wanting to give birth to a new idea, or a new lens of life to look through and be a witness to. All too often I know each of us has felt that uncomfortable and painful poke of what is trying to emerge, through us as us. Instead of pushing it away or down and saying to myself, “not now I’m not ready” Unconditional love of Spirit/God initiates the process of, “oh yes you are.” This is when we surrender and open our hearts and truly sense the reality of God. The unseen in the seen, love. All that is transposing, transforming, and transitioning for my highest good and yours as well. God’s grace endures.

One of my “teachers”, philosopher Paul Tillich said, “Grace strikes us when we are in great pain and restlessness. It strikes us when we walk through the dark valley of a meaningless and empty life. It strikes us when we feel that our separation is deeper than usual, because we have violated another life, a life which we loved, or from which we were estranged. It strikes us when our disgust for our own being, our indifference, our weakness, our hostility, and our lack of direction and composure have become intolerable to us. It strikes us when, year after year, the longed-for perfection of life does not appear, when the old compulsions reign within us as they have for decades, when despair destroys all joy and courage.”

The essence and great power of love I will name as God is always for us and never against us. Grace is a good and God thing when it strikes us. Grace is our continual conversation with It. Grace strikes us in multiple ways but the easiest is to simply embrace God’s acceptance of us. Each one of us IS accepted as a soul and as a continual presence of how God receives us unconditionally. God does not withhold acceptance, It is I, until some moment when I finally change in some way. God accepts and loves me right where I am, now, and It is the love that continues so that I may lean into it, rest if I have to, and begin again.

“Sometimes at that moment a wave of light breaks into our darkness, and it is as though a voice were saying, ‘You are accepted. You are accepted, accepted by that which you do not know. Do not ask for the name now; perhaps you will find it later. Do not try to do anything now, perhaps later you will do much. Do not seek for anything; do not perform anything; do not intend anything. Simply accept the fact that you are accepted!’ If that happens to us, we experience grace. After such an experience we may not be better than before, and we may not believe more than before. But everything is transformed” *

I ask that we all take a few moments this week to be in the silence and allow Spirit/God to speak through us and take/receive a spiritual inventory of our conditions for a life well lived. To breathe and breathe into our life and the possibilities ever before us.

For Reflection:

• How have you experienced God’s gracious presence in this difficult year?

• When you thought you were separated from it, how did it show up for you as love?

• How has God/Spirit shown up?

• What have you experienced, or what has been demonstrated that you always know God is in and through you?

• Why not talk honestly with God about anything in our life, you can talk to God and It will always give you an answer.

Thank you for all that you are, and all that you are becoming.

*Paul Tillich, philosopher

In gratitude and love, Rev. Rhoni

Compassion Practice by Sharon Whealy RScP

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“Only in an open, nonjudgemental space can we acknowledge what we are feeling. Only in an open space where we’re not all caught up in our own version of reality can we see and hear and feel who others really are, which allows us to be with them and communicate with them properly.” Pema Chodron, When Things Fall Apart p. 97

I began a twenty-one-day Interfaith Compassion Challenge through ServiceSpace.com on September 8th. There are people from over 50 countries participating and almost 200 people post their thoughts on the daily prompts. Each day there are readings for the head, a practice for the heart, and more resources for the hands that “challenge” us to experience compassion through various religious views. Below are the first ten days of of the challenge:

• Baha’i – our first day and I was moved by the song “See Me Beautiful” by Red Grammer – having compassion for others begins with having compassion for myself.

• Indigenous Traditions – this was primarily centered around North/South American traditions. The parable of the Eagle (male energy) and the Condor (female) reminds us that balance is required in our compassion practice

• Jain – our grounding parable was the 6 blind men and the elephant, each “seeing” the elephant according to their perspective. We have compassion when we recognize everyone has a unique perspective.

• Judaism – finding the sparks of infinite light in everyone. A beautiful reminder that everyone is a divine spark of God and when we see that spark in another we find our compassion for them and lift us both.

• Taoism – Wu Wei or effortless action. This practice was about allowing and being in the flow; where doing nothing is getting out of the way and allowing the all that is to do the heavy lifting.

• Hinduism – seeing God in everyone. The practice was to share what we have selflessly, knowing that as we give to another, we are giving to God/Brahman.

• Quaker – the practice of Holy Silence. This compassion practice was all about being still and listening for divine inspiration.

• Sikhism – Seva, or selfless service. The Sikhs spiritual foundations are 1) Remembrance of God 2) Mindful Living, and 3) Share with others. When we live by these values, compassion naturally flows.

• Christianity – Loving your enemies. One reading offered the idea that we need “enemies” to practice loving those unlike ourselves. Another reading moved beyond this, saying finding a middle ground and releasing dichotomies of us/them, neighbors/enemies is the true practice of compassion.

• Atheism – Self-Directed compassion. Having compassion for another just because it is the good and human thing to do. The practice was to make someone happy today.

I have been enjoying viewing compassion through different lenses and practicing being a gentler, more compassionate person as I move in the world. It has been interesting to see what has bubbled up over the past ten days, and I look forward to the next eleven as we complete our challenge.

For more information about Service Space

To watch the See Me Beautiful Song

-Sharon Whealy, RScP

Welcoming The Divine Feminine

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The Valley Spirit never dies.
It is the woman, primal Mother,
Her gateway is the root of Heaven and Earth.
It is like a veil, barely seen,
Use it, it will never fail.
— Lao Tzu

I have been participating in a 21-day Meditation practice with Alicia Keys & Deepak Chopra that has made me aware of the Divine Feminine, which is a part of every being, and has often been pushed aside by a more Patriarchal view of many religions.

The Divine Feminine is grounded in spirituality and represents the connection to that part of our consciousness that is responsible for nurturing, intuition and empathy, regardless of our gender.

It is the aspect of ourselves that is associated with creation, community, and sensuality (in a experiential or felt sense rather than in a thinking sense) and collaboration.

The Sacred Feminine is the aspect of the Divine that brings the spark into being through the currents of love that reveal an ocean of Oneness into the multiplicity of all creation.

Through honoring the Sacred Feminine we can find a natural access to spiritual qualities like receptivity, patience, the ability to enter and to care for all of life.

I need to tap into this Divine aspect of my own being and am studying how to do it.

Isn’t it something that we all need to tap into in order to become more balanced and centered in this ongoing Pandemic?

I don’t know about you, but I need all of the above.

–Namaste, Janie

 

It’s a Wrap!

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For the third time, I am completing my term as a sitting Board member for CSLT, and this is my last newsletter article as such.  I must admit, it’s frequently been a challenge writing these columns, but I’ve also grown a whole lot through doing so, so it’s definitely been worth it.  What to write about this time?  Being on the Board, of course!

Since I’ve been on the Board three times but none of those times has been a full term, Rev. Janis dubbed me a “pinch hitter,” (I like it!)  For one reason or another, three different board members were unable to fulfill their terms, so I was asked to step in and finish their duties until the next election.  I recall the first time, when out of the blue, Pat Masters asked me if I would consider being on the Board. I was stunned.  Surely, she had me mixed up with someone else, i.e., a competent, courageous, experienced person.  But nope, she meant me.  So, I braved my fears and insecurities, and stepped up to the plate, and it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

There was a learning curve involved and it took some time to build up confidence that I had anything at all to contribute to the meetings and my spiritual center.  But I kept showing up and giving it my best shot, doing what was asked of me and sometimes even volunteering for an extra something I felt comfortable taking on.

Being on the Board is so much more than the monthly meetings and newsletter articles.  The only other time I’ve ever felt a real ‘part of’ anything was at AA meetings, but being a CSLT Board member has provided me with a sense of community and belonging I never knew was possible to have.  I’ve witnessed integrity at a very deep level, learned how to have respectful conversations involving differing viewpoints, and been a participant in supporting the Highest Good of the Center being the primary objective.  I’ve watched us ebb and flow; I’ve seen new people come, others leave, old-timers return, and I’ve had an opportunity to not make anyone wrong for their choices.  Everyone is welcome to walk through our doors, and I love that about us.

Over the years I’ve been on various teams around the Center (still am) and have taken numerous classes, but nothing has given me the clarity of who I am, who we are, and what we have to offer as much as being on the Board.

If you have completed Foundations and have been a member for a minimum of six months, you meet the minimum requirements to be a CSLT Board member. Is this yours to do?  I promise you growth, a sense of belonging to something incredibly special, and joy beyond my ability to express.  Elections for new Board members is immediately after First Sunday Potluck on October 6th – might you consider taking your turn as a contributing member at the most amazing level?  If you don’t like it, don’t worry – I’ll pinch hit for you, LOL!

“If we search for it, happiness usually eludes us.  Absorption is the key, but absorption with something outside ourselves:  a craft, service, creation – these functions allow us to become enthralled and lovingly involved with what we do, take us out of our mind’s preoccupation with our own interests, and lead us to a fruitful state of being.”

Elegant Choices, Healing Choices by Marsha Sinetar, p. 77

–Renée Mercer, September 25, 2019