Three Ways to View the Sunset



Photo by Treena Duncan

 From "The Naked Now" - Richard Rohr

Three men stood by the ocean, looking at the same sunset.
One mas saw the immense physical beauty and enjoyed the event in iteslf.  This man was the 'sensate' type who, like 80 percent of the world, deals with what he can see, feel, touch, move and fix.  This was enough reality for him, for he had little interest in larger ideas, intuitions, or the grand scheme of things.  He saw with his first eye, which was good. 
A second man saw the sunset.  he enjoyed all the beauty that the first man did.  Like all lovers of coherent thought, technology, and science, he also enjoyed his power to make sense of the universe and explain what he discovered.  he thought about the cyclical rotations of planets and stars.  Through imagination, intuition, and reason, he saw with his second eye, which was even better. 
The third man saw the sunset, knowing and enjoying all that the first and the second men did.  but in his ability to progress from seeing to explaining to "tasting", he also remained in awe before an underlying mystery, coherence, and spaciousness that connected him with everything else.  he used his third eye, which is the full goal of all seeing and all knowing.  This was the best.

Which eye do you view the world with? Are you ready to see and taste the full sunset now?

River of Love

I believe that faith might be precisely that ability to trust the river, to trust the flow and the Lover.  It is a process that we don’t have to change, coerce, or improve.  We need to allow it to flow.  That takes immense confidence in God, especially when we’re hurting.  Usually, I can feel myself get panicky, I want to make things right, quickly.  I lose my ability to be present and I go up into my head and start obsessing.  I’m into goal-orientation, trying to push or even create the river- the river that is already flowing through me.

People who know God well- the mystics, the hermits, those who risk everything to find God—always meet a lover, not a dictator.  God is never found to be an abusive father or a tyrannical mother, but a lover who is more that we dared hope for.

-Richard Rohr  from Richard’s Daily Meditations, March 28, 2011, caradicalgrace.org

This day, may you know and enjoy the river and the flow.

Lori

Blessings,

Lori Megley-Best

Squamish United Church: Crocus-Minded

Squamish United Church: Crocus-Minded: "Crocus-Minded by Jo SorleyIt takes courage to be crocus-minded. God, I’d rather wait until June, Like wise roses, When the..."

Sole Journey

So here we are in the third week of lent.

I am thoroughly enjoying the lenten series we are engaging in at SUC

"Soul Journey (off the beaten path)."

We have a path down the centre of our aisle that I and a lay member created with our painted feet. We have spent the last couple weeks talking about and living into spiritual practices that connect our soles are to our soul. We are discovering the ways and the places in which we walk are connected with our life desires. We are taking a sole journey together so that our souls might be refreshed and renewed.

I am loving this theme - I have been daily touched by how others have become more connected with The Holy through this.

And yet today I have sat in my office and taken notice that I am much better at leading others into practice than spending time in it myself. How is it that I fell back here already? Throughout the season of advent right up to January 1st I was in daily practice. I was creating balance. I was reminded of the peace it brought and then....

Well... one of my lenten practices has been to take at least one day off a week. I missed the first week but I have succeeded at two days off now and am aiming for a third on Monday (I nearly slipped up by agreeing to lead a community prayer vigil but a half hour later I called back with a 'that's just not going to work.' - Oh the guilt I carry over saying that. Who else is going to hold a prayer vigil for Japan now (Someone joked - 'well if they have a nuclear disaster now we know who to come to' - If only I was able to see the humour in that a little more clearly).

I am not proud of this. I am ashamed and yet I feel guilt when I say 'no.' I have found myself back in a place of feeling like I don't measure up the expectation of people and 'the church' (at every level). (Now there is my classic #3)

I hate saying I'm busy. I don't want to be busy. I don't want to be exhausted. It's not what God wants of me either (I do believe that).

So here it is. Starting this week. I am giving up trying to live up to false expectations. I am giving up feeling guilty when I say no.

I am not looking for sympathy.

I am calling us all back to living into who God has created us to be. "Whole" And I am pretty sure 'whole' does not look like a guilt-ridden, over-worked, dishonoured, exhausted clergy person. I look forward to being reminded of what at least glimpsing 'whole' does look like.

I hope you join me in giving up those things that are keeping you from 'wholeness.'

(And on that note it's lunch time and the sun is shining - I'm going for a good long walk before I have to be back in the office)

Blessings on you 'Soul Journey'

Restoring Wholeness

This spiritual practice is described in the book made for goodness and why this makes all the difference by Desmond Tutu and his daughter, Mpho Tutu.

...pick up a stone.  It should be one with some heft and texture.  But it should not be too large.  It should be something that fits easily into the palm of the hand.  For a whole day, keep that stone about your person.  Tell the stone the whole story of the outrage, in as much detail as you can recall.  Throughout the day, if you find your mind returning to the hurt, hold the stone and tell that stone your thoughts and feelings.  At the end of the day, find a sacred space to set the stone down...  perhaps in a churchyard, under a favorite tree, or near a river.  As you set the stone down, set down the burden of hurt that you have been carrying.  Know that the burden is in a safe place; you can reclaim it if you need it.  But know also that you don’t have to carry it.  Laying down the burden of pain is one way of returning to goodness. It is a gift that we can give to ourselves...

We do not need to carry the burdens of the world.  Thanks be to the One who is the Maker of All Life and the Source of All Love!

Posted by Sharon Copeman

The Guest House

This being human is a guest house

Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,

Some momentary awareness comes

As an unexpected visitor

Welcome and entertain them all

Even if they’re a  crowd of sorrows,

Who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture..

Still, treat each guest honorably,

He may be cleaning you out for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,

Meet them at door laughing and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,

Because each has been sent

As a guide from beyond.

~Rumi

An Irish Blessing

May God give you...
For every storm, a rainbow,
For every tear, a smile,
...For every care, a promise,
And a blessing in each trial.
For every problem life sends,
A faithful friend to share,
For every sigh, a sweet song,
And an answer for each prayer.

Our longing ... God's longing

At the recent Spiritual Care Network gathering together, assembly, (or versammlung - as Murray Groom liked to call it) of the co ordinating committee and Presbytery 'network builders', we took time to name something of our desires for ourselves and our colleagues. The sharing that went with these was from the heart and there was a positive longing in all of us that we all experience this quality of life.

The question was:

What qualities of ministerial life do we want among us?

(and this is my playful rendering of these into the image offered in an earlier post)

Alive

Trust Authentic

Vitality Laughter

Hope Physical health

Joy Financial security

Forebearance,

tolerance, patience,

grace-respect

Vision Resilience

Inspired commitment Adaptable

Risk together Humility - being ‘right sized’

non-competitive Doing my part

Balance

Support

Serenity / Courage / Wisdom

I’d ask you to participate in 2 ways with this post.

1. When you next gather with some other ministry folk ask the same question ... and see what happens.
2. “Sit” with this question in an intentional way and write down your desires for being filled with ‘life abundant’. Then come back to this post and add something to the list using the ‘comment’ button. (It is very simple to use the anonymous category, but please add your name in your comment)

Fast From-Feast On

Some guidance for Lent that has been making the rounds in Victoria Presbytery:

Fast From-Feast On

Fast from judging others; Feast on the Christ dwelling in them.

Fast from emphasis on differences; Feast on the unity of life.

Fast from apparent darkness; Feast on the reality of light.

Fast from thoughts of illness; Feast on the healing power of God.

Fast from words that pollute; Feast on phrases that purify.

Fast from discontent; Feast on gratitude.

Fast from anger; Feast on patience.

Fast from pessimism; Feast on optimism.

Fast from worry; Feast on divine order.

Fast from complaining; Feast on appreciation.

Fast from negatives; Feast on affirmatives.

Fast from unrelenting pressures; Feast on unceasing prayer.

Fast from hostility; Feast on non-resistance.

Fast from bitterness; Feast on forgiveness.

Fast from self-concern; Feast on compassion for others.

Fast from personal anxiety; Feast on eternal truth.

Fast from discouragements; Feast on hope.

Fast from facts that depress; Feast on verities that uplift.

Fast from lethargy; Feast on enthusiasm.

Fast from thoughts that weaken; Feast on promises that inspire.

Fast from shadows of sorrow; Feast on the sunlight of serenity.

Fast from idle gossip; Feast on purposeful silence.

Fast from problems that overwhelm; Feast on prayer that [strengthens].

—William Arthur Ward (American author, teacher and pastor, 1921-1994.) 

Posted by Murray Groom, Spiritual Care Network Committee Chair and Minister at Sylvan United

Balance Rock

Did you know that there is a 'performance art' of Rock Balancing?  Apparently there is a community of people who spend their time trying to balance seemingly impossible things on top of each other! 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chriscorrigan/sets/72157594486006613/show/

I attended a Prince Rupert Presbytery meeting last fall on Haida Gwaii, and this is a photo of Balance rock that I took while I was there. 

Balance Rock: Another one of the Queen Charlottes' spiritual wonders is Balance Rock. A large bolder left behind from the glacial retreat of the ice age. Many decades later it still sits perfectly suspended on another rock's pointed head, guarding the shores of Skidegate, Graham Island.
Defying all odds for many centuries, one must scratch their heads and ask, "How come not even the powerful forces of a Queen Charlotte Island storm, with its thundering waves and high winds, are still not able to knock the rock from its magical perch?" Huh ... why is that?
There are some who refer to Balance Rock as the centre of spirituality. It is one of the many natural spiritual forces at work on Haida Gwaii.

This is a very interesting image for me, and one I've held in my mind for the past few months.  It looks like this rock could be moved with the lightest of touches, but yet it holds fast.  You can climb on it, play on it, even try to move it, and it holds fast. 
I wonder... An image of our church?  Of our lives?  Of our approach to self care?  An image of God?
What is that holds me/us/this church fast? 
I am planning to reflect on this image through the season of Lent and see what wisdom it offers.
Blessings, Treena