Unity and Prayer

There is a great article on the Unity Prayer service in the NY Times this week.

What the World Needs

"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." -- Howard Thurman

Andrew Harvey Interview

Here is an interview with Andrew Harvey that you will find interesting.

Feel free to talk about it in the comments section below.

The Nagging Idea

This is from a daily reading book called, A Cherokee Feast of Days, by Joyce Sequichie Hifler.

Have you ever had an idea that just keeps coming back to you? Maybe you don't quite know what do to with it. When you try to push it away, the idea keeps coming back. When that happens, it's time to pay attention! There a reason the idea keeps coming back to you--probably because Spirit keeps bringing it back to you.

Try talking with it. You may be amazed at what you'll learn. Take a notebook and simply ask the idea, "Why do you keep coming back to me?" and then wait for an answer. Write that answer down and ask another question. Before long, you have a regular conversation going with the idea. Some call this intuition, some simply an urge, and some believe the idea speaks from their own subconscious. Wherever it comes from, pay attention--because this idea may be leading you to new and better things.

Slowly I perceived that a voice was trying to tell me something. It was a bird cry, but I tell you, I began to understand some of it. - John (Fire) Lame Deer, Lakota

Wisdom

From DailyOm:

The Truths WithinValue Your Own Wisdom

Throughout our lives, we will encounter individuals who presume to know what is best for us. The insights they offer cannot compare, however, with the powers of awareness and discernment that already exist within us. From birth we are blessed with wisdom that cannot be learned or unlearned. It exists whether or not we acknowledge it because it is a gift given to us by a loving universe before we chose to experience existence on the earthly plane. Yet for all its permanence, it is vital that we value and honor this incredible element of the self. It is when we do not use our inborn wisdom that we begin to doubt our personal truths and are driven to outside sources of information because we are afraid. What we know to be true in our hearts is invariably true, and we discover how intensely beautiful and useful self-trust can be when we recognize the power of our wisdom.

Inner wisdom is not subject to the influences of the outside world, which means that it will never demand that we surrender our free will or counsel us to act in opposition to our values. We benefit from this inspiration when we open ourselves to it, letting go of the false notion that we are less qualified than others to determine our fate. The wisdom inside of us is the source of our discernment and our ability to identify blessings in disguise. When we are unsure of who to trust, how to respond, or what we require, the answers lie in our inner wisdom. It knows where we are going and understands where we are coming from, taking this into account though it is not a product of experience but rather a piece of our connection to the universal mind.

In the whole of your existence, no force you will ever encounter will contribute as much to your ability to do what you need to do and be who you want to be as your natural wisdom. Through it, you reveal your growing consciousness to the greater source and discover the true extent of your strength. If you heed this wisdom with conviction and confidence, the patterns, people, and fears that held you back will be dismantled, paving the way for you to fulfill your truest potential.

What do you think?

Shine!

From Daily Om:

Burning Brightly: Allowing Your Soul To Shine

At times, we’ve all wanted to crawl under a rock and hide away from the world. We may have preferred to be invisible rather than let other people see us or notice that we exist. This desire not to be seen often happens when we are feeling very hurt, angry, or simply weary of the world. And while we may console ourselves with the defense that we are shy, an introvert, or a loner, we may actually be hiding.

When we hide and make believe that we are invisible, we can think that we no one sees us even though, truthfully, we are only really hiding from ourselves. And while we may try to live life as inconspicuously as possible, we only succeed in becoming more conspicuous because people can’t help but notice that we are trying to hide our light. None of us are meant to hide; each one of us radiates a unique brilliance that is meant to illuminate the world. When we try to dim our light, we diminish the natural radiance of the Universe, and we deprive the people around us of the unique gifts and talents that we are here to share.

Stepping out of the wings and letting your light shine is actually a way to serve the planet. We each have a responsibility to contribute to our community, and we do this when we let ourselves be seen. It doesn’t do anyone any good when we try to hide. We are all beings of light and we are here to light the way for each other. When we let ourselves shine, we become a bright mirror that others can see their own reflected brilliance through, and they can’t help but want to shine also. Shine your light out into the world, bless those around you by sharing your gifts, and watch the universe glow.

Eckhart Tolle

Hi all,

This is one of the best interviews I have seen with Eckhart Tolle. Part three of this interview speaks directly to what we have been working on.

Blessings,Dave

From the Bakers - Week 2

We have the most wonderful group! It was hard to keep our week-two discussion down to two hours. Only one member attended the service last week and took the $10. He used the money to invest in Kiva.org, an organization that allows you to lend to a specific entrepreneur in the developing world, empowering the recipient to lift themselves out of poverty. It has a 98% success rate – unheard of from traditional lending sources. This is a great example for using our Helping gifts! Until next week… Vickie

Mike Betot's group

In my study this week one of the members gave a great example of the difference between person oriented and task oriented. They are part of a gala to raise money for abused children. Would you rather be the person out soliciting money and donations, or would you rather be setting up the tables and chairs? Both are valuable, and both need to be done. I know we had some discussion around this subject and I thought this cleared it up pretty well for me.

Love & Light,Mike

Week 2 from Paula

Our spiritual gifts group met this morning. We started by listening to the first track of Andrew Harvey's Meditations for Sacred Activists CD. A couple of people had their own copies of it and said that they thought it was worth listening to. So, I think I will use it each week from now on to set the tone for our discussion.

We shared stories about how folks used their $10 from Sunday to pay it forward. Only a couple of folks had used theirs as of today. This generated a lot of discussion on ways to use the money.
It also brought up a discussion on who is most worthy of receiving the money in each person's eyes. Some thought that you should do a little research about the organizations that you might donate to. Others felt there shouldn't be any strings attached to what the person or organization
used the money for. All in all it made for a good discussion about just what is the intention when you are making a donation.

The group has made name tags with their name and the top three spiritual gifts listed below their name. Each week we are going to try to learn what each other's gifts are so that by the end of the study we have learned more about each other than just a name and a face. We took turns talking about their specific gifts and the ways it showed up for them. The stories were heartfeld, meaningful and affirmed what they seemed to already know about themselves.

One person thought that it would be a good idea to look at your spiritual gifts and see how they are expressed through your Myers-Briggs assessment. According to the Myers and Briggs foundation, "Perception involves all the ways of becoming aware of things, people, happenings, or ideas. Judgment involves all the ways of coming to conclusions about what has been perceived. If people differ systematically in what they perceive and in how they reach conclusions, then it is only reasonable for them to differ correspondingly in their interests, reactions, values, motivations, and skills." So, a person who might have creative ability as one of their gifts may actually perceive creativity in very different ways. Someone mentioned that one might be good at "decking the halls" at Christmas while another might think of new ways to celebrate Christmas by bobbing for apples We decided that each person's gifts are truly unique to them and could be manifested differently according to their personality type.

Once we started into the workbook to learn about creative abilities and the serving gifts we ran out of time to completely discuss them all. We did not break into groups but will try that next week. James Taylor was playing in Moores Square today so some folks wanted to get to the concert. I received lots of thoughtful comments about the assessment and the workbook as we went along. They are relatively minor things that I have noted in my copy. I hope you will share comments that you had about the material, too.

I enjoyed reading about how your groups are going so please continue to write and share your ideas. Especially, post any stories about the $10 pay it forward.

Gifted

A thought from Hazelden:

All of us are gifted. Every person has a gift that can bring great joy and light to those who encounter it. Our task is to stand in the sun and create a climate that will develop and nurture our gift.

Sometimes we are afraid to let ourselves believe that we have anything special to offer or contribute to the world. We think of ourselves as plain and untalented, with no gifts or special potential. But if we believe we are limited, we act in a limited way. We take few risks and follow few paths that might develop our special talents and gifts.

To fully believe in our talents , we need only step from the darkness into the sun. We will take this first step, trust enough, and start believing that YES, we do have special gifts.

Prayer: Today let me be aware of my deep and unfulfilled desires, dreams, and wishes, which is the first step on the way to accepting my gifts.

What breaks your heart

Susan Tingley has sent this follow up to her earlier email (and the subsequent post here) about finding the thing that breaks your heart:

What follows is the best of our memory of what Andrew suggested as a method of identifying your heart-break that will open you to activism:

Set your alarm for the middle of the night, 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. Get up then, and pray or meditate. Then ask to open your heart. Allow the wounded parts of the world to come into your heart and mind. Feel the hurt, fully. You will find the one that hurts the most.

Week Two

We're looking forward to hearing from you about week two. Maybe some stories about how people used their $10 or are thinking about using it?

I've already gotten an email from a choir member suggesting that several people put their money together for greater impact.

Have a great week.

Joann talks about her group

I concur - our tidy group is excited about the study as well. They said they really wanted to hone in on their gifts and use their energy wisely and effectively. The only thing we did not finish was review of the Creativity characteristics/obstacles.

This group also decided to fill out the office worksheet at the end of the study. I gave them the option after reading Paula's post.. plus they kind of groaned when I brought it up. Regarding the evaluation: they brought up a valid point that besides the gifts we hold, there is also the matter of personal preference at how easily/or hesitantly we get involved in things. So while the evaluation determines gifts, there's the additional aspect of how willing/determined/hesitant a person is in interaction. The evaluation may not be the right place to put it, but it is worth considering.

I would be interested in further postings to learn from the other groups if they address the disappointment that people feel if they didn't score higher in a category as they expected. I suppose the conversation could focus on the obstacles that hinder their development. Joann~

Vicki and Steve talk about their group

Our group met on Wednesday night. It lasted two hours and we didn’t get through the week-one handouts (probably the fault of the facilitator…that would be me J). Everyone did the survey then we had a lively discussion about the results. Our group felt that some of the questions may be confusing or could be worded differently to arrive at the ‘correct’ answer. For instance, two in our group love teaching yet they scored very low on the gift of teaching. Some felt that question #86 which referenced the Bible would have had different answers without the Bible reference – perhaps ‘spiritual teachings’. We may need to find a way to assess the accuracy of the results and make changes if needed.

I would be interested in hearing the feedback from other groups. Thanks Mike for your comments – very helpful. Overall our group is excited about this study.

Love, Vickie

Finding your special light

A daily reading from October 11:

We are each gifted in a unique and important way. It is our privilege and our adventure to discover our own special light. Mary Dunbar Hewlett

Many of us have no clear idea of what our special light is. We feel as if we are no good at all, and nothing we do is worth much. Yet somewhere, deep inside, we can also feel the smallest belief that there is something we can do very well--something that is our special gift.

In order to find our special light, we need to be open. Perhaps our gift is something we already want and know, but it may come as a surprise.

Prayer for the Day: What special light, what important gifts have you given me so that I can share it with others. Please help me find it.

Today's Action: Today I will make a list of things I know about myself and things people say about me. Then I will look for clues in this list that might point to my special light.

Special Talents

In the synchronistic way that things have of happening, this is from the Daily Om website today:


October 15, 2008 Sharing Your GeniusYour Special Gift

Each of us is born with a specific genius that was bestowed upon us so we can do our part to make this world a better place. All of us have a role that we’re uniquely suited for. Imagine our planet without trees, oceans, or clouds. In this same way, when one of us doesn’t develop or use our special gift, a cosmic void takes place. This unique talent or ability may be hidden from your own sight like a golden treasure buried under shifting sands.

Often, we spend so much time dazzled by the talents of others that we can overlook our own gifts. It may even be that our unique ability is something we view negatively. Perhaps we find it difficult concentrating on any one subject for long; meanwhile, others are thrilled by our ability to weave various ideas throughout our conversations. Or, you might think of yourself as “frivolous,” when it’s likely your charming approach to life casts a light of inspiration that others can’t help but follow.

It’s important for all of us to try to find our special gift and discover how we can best express it. Ask others to name what they think is your most overlooked talent or character trait. Their answers may change your life. Explore these riches that are yours to express, and you may find yourself helping others discover and develop their own blessings. Acknowledge and appreciate the gifts you see in those around you. Tell your neighbor that loves to garden how much her green thumb enlivens the whole block. Thank your coworker for always greeting your days together with a smile. Tell your close friends that their ability to listen makes your world a better place. Our unique gifts are like golden rays of expression that can encircle the world with light.

Week One, Tuesday Night

From Mike Betot:

Hello everyone,

We just finished our first week and it went really well. It was about 2 1/2 hours in length, and that is about a half hour longer than our past book studies.

There were some flaws in the handouts and some questions along the way. Since I had the handouts last, and was the one to review them, I will take the blame for that one. Please note, the two boxes next to the Experience/passion section on the back of handout #6 should be one check box and then blank space. I used the grid for both and it looks wrong and lends to confusion. There are also two topics on that page, G-Spirit and G-Service. I believe those were left over from the original material and relate to ministries not at our church.

I left Handout #5 completely out of the syllabus, but I do have it in the trainers manual. We did read it in session and everyone enjoyed it.

Someone thought question #53 on the assessment could be better worded by asking the question "Do you feel good with the choices you make?"

We had some nice conversation involving the similarities and differences in the Fillmore work we read with Eckert Tolle's works. Regarding the word redemption, and bringing yourself into alignment with God.

Our group did have Bibles and they were used, along with the discussion of the scripture work in the appendix.

Several people mentioned the large response there was to this book study and they found that interesting since this one would seem to be more work than past book studies.

Everyone was very enthusiastic about it and it left our house very energized for the rest of the night. A great evening with old friends and the addition of several new ones.

I did see other typos and inconsistencies, as I am sure you did too. I think I have the last copy of all the materials, so if you want to send me changes and comments we can bring them up at our next design meeting and I will make the changes for future generations of Spiritual Gift Students.

Love and Light,Mike

Week One Notes from Paula

Hello Facilitators,

I met with my study group today and it was a great experience. Everyone was very receptive to all that we talked about. There was much excitement about Andrew Harvey's talk. People seemed to feel that they were up to the challenge to do more outreach.

There is a lot to cover in this first week. We did not get through all of the agenda for week one. Highlights were the actual assessment, the Nat King Cole story, and the Andrew Harvey discussion. I did not use the facilitator's manual much at all except to read through it before our meeting and highlight some of the talking points during the meeting.

It took about half an hour for folks to fill out the assessment and accompanying worksheet. There was some confusion about the worksheet - like what numbers to use 1-5 or their totals. (I think it says the totals.); what to do if there is a tie for some of the gifts (we put them both down since there were two lines for each
of 1-5; the back of the worksheet had two columns and people were not sure what to put in the columns (we picked a column and added checkmarks); and we are not sure what s-gifts and s-service near the bottom of that page meant.

Some folks thought they would rather be asked at the end of the study whether they wanted to volunteer, it seemed a valid point. Also, one suggestion was to take a look at the data, once it is entered, to see as a congregation what our top five gifts were. I thought that sounded interesting.

I also heard a comment that the assessment still sounded too religious. They had trouble answering some of the God/Spirit questions. Another couple of people thought that the statements that corresponded to creative abilities were too focused on handicraft and needed to include other forms of creativity like computer software designers, creative problem solvers, dancers, writers, poets, etc.

Finally, we agreed that the answer sheet should definately be on a separate page so there is less flipping back and forth to write out the answers.

I hope you will respond to this and share what you've learned so far.

Thank you, Mamie, for organizing this blog.

Enjoy the journey.
Blessings,
Paula

Heartbreak

Susan Tingley and Mona Garrett sent me the following emails:

From Susan: Hi book study leaders! Mona Garrett and I were so inspired by Andrew Harvey! As many of you know, he asked us to choose one area of activism among the many worthy causes to work on so we could focus ourselves, and so our efforts would be optimized. He also explained that the best way to choose our area of activism would be to choose the one that our hearts were breaking the most over, because this is the source of our passion.

We had this cool brain-storm! Wouldn't it be neat if we could see what other's "heart-breaks" were? We thought that it could be very helpful to be able to connect with other like minded people regarding what breaks our hearts the most in this world of ours. The idea would be to publish this list (strictly voluntarily, of course). We would also assure people that just because they had a particular area of heartbreak, that that didn't mean they necessarily had to commit to any activism, at this time.

There are many reasons why individuals could or could not engage in activism at a particular stage in their lives; for example, that they were already caring for their families, or that they were struggling with an illness, etc. The only reason for the list is to enable people to connect, not to create any guilt trips.

Would you leaders consider adding this topic to your discussion, and create such a list from your group? Mamie and Paula will create the master list, and publish it. Andrew also suggested a powerful way to connect and identify the heart-break that will open you to activism. His suggestion is below. Thank you so much!

Love, Susan Tingley

From Mona: I really do not remember him suggesting any techniques, however it seems to me that if you prayerfully set an intention to opening up to and finding the thing that breaks your heart before you watch the news, read the paper, talk to people, open your eyes as you drive past the homeless or open your heart as you think of those who are hungry, abused or imprisoned; you'd get a good idea the direction you need to pursue. Then once you've made that decision, look for local ways to get involved, there could be some organization in which to funnel your energy and would support and feed your passion.

I do however feel it is important, at least to me, to be sure to envision any situation/person/place as whole along with our activism and I believe Andrew said to be sure to act out of a full heart for everyone vs out of anger and disgust toward anyone.