threads of meaning

Playing Catch Up

UU Soul — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 16:28:56 +0000

Life has a funny way of moving forward whether you are ready for it or not. I’ve been wishing for a pause button ever since the semester started. I can see myself saying, “Wait, wait, just give me a sec, I’m coming!” Of course, my tendency towards perfectionism isn’t helping. Gotta do it right and not skip anything. Hah! Talk about futile.

As with many things, I’m out of sync with one of my favorite TV shows, Religion & Ethics Newsweekly. I watched the September 25 episode this morning while bustling around the kitchen and eating breakfast. The segment on the retirement of Harvey Cox particularly caught my interest during the interview:

ABERNETHY: Meanwhile, especially in Christianity, Cox sees a shift away from beliefs and hierarchies to an emphasis on individual faith.

COX: I call it an age of the spirit, the yearning for some kind of personal experience, even the yearning for some kind of, let’s call it, an ecstatic encounter with God or with the divine.

A labyrinth walk at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Long Beach, CA

The indoor labyrinth at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco was among the images being shown and those walking included Lauren Artress of Veriditas. I was excited to see this spiritual practice included both because it means so much to me personally but also because I think it is a wonderful spiritual practice for UUs to embrace. Harvey Cox refers to the general trend in religious life as toward ecstatic encounters, however, I would call it embodied spirituality which I consider a welcome trend. Labyrinth walking provides a wonderful opportunity for UUs to experience an active meditation practice that shares our commitment to welcoming people of all faith traditions. I included labyrinth walking in my recent article on gratitude as a spiritual practice.

Seeking the simple life

UU Soul — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 05:17:30 +0000

In the process of planning a cross-country move, simplicity soon became a major theme. Extreme simplicity. As you get quotes for the cost of shipping your stuff, it is easy to begin to question how much you really need it. Like is it $3,400-shipping-cost worthy?

I had been itching for a new wordpress theme and this one seemed to fit nicely with my focus on simplifying. It is also netbook friendly which is important to me since I transitioned to a netbook.

This was actually part of the seeds of my simplicity quest. I love the idea of affordable, mobile technology. I have Linux (Ubuntu) installed on my netbook but have thus far been only booting the Windows XP which involves no learning curve. But just using XP is a simplification from my miserable Vista laptop. It’s funny how the 15 inch laptop now seems humongous compared to my 10 inch netbook.

Speaking of mobile technology, this seems like a win-win trend: Mobile gadgets threaten in-flight entertainment.

Lean Mean Seminarian

UU Soul — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 17:17:14 +0000

I knew that my first year in seminary would be a challenging transition, but my personal life became unexpectedly complicated. The overwhelm I have felt hasn’t been that unique though. It is a common topic of discussion among students that resurfaces throughout the year. A recent point of extreme overwhelm became the catalyst for me to “get organized.”

Besides clearing my desk, I finally instituted some organizing tools I had found that are designed for “pilers” or those with a more visual style of organizing. I also returned to the Zen Habits blog which I discovered while reading Getting Things Done by David Allen. I like the ZTD spin on the GTD system. I also found a few blogs discussing the topic of organization and seminary:

GTD and Clergy Workflow at Entangled States
Seminary Time Waster #5: Disorganization at SeminarySurvivalGuide.com

Of course, I recently posted to my Twitter that I couldn’t find something because it was exactly where it should be in the new system. Oh well, it’s a journey.

Priceless Gifts

UU Soul — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 04:36:54 +0000

Seminary studies and life have kept me busy and I have found it hard to “indulge” in blogging. How can I justify taking the time when there is so much to do! Also, much of where my heart is right now relates to my concerns about my elderly parents (at almost 82, I think my mom still doesn’t appreciate being labeled as elderly). If you’ve read my blog in the past, you know that my mom reads it. I haven’t been sure how to venture into this subject area without being overly concerned about offending her.

Tonight thanks to my husband (aka great spiritual teacher), I came face-to-face with the fact that I possess the same trait that is driving me crazy in my mom. He offered to head off to the laundromat by himself with our laundry while I stayed home and studied. Rather than happily accepting his generous offer, I was plagued with both guilt and “but you won’t do it like I do” thoughts. I was the only one who was surprised by this. He took my feeble protests in stride and didn’t have too big a smile when I admitted my wrong thinking. (I did remind him not to get on a high horse, that he isn’t perfect either.) So he’s off doing the laundry and I’m realizing that even if something comes back a tiny version of itself, it is well worth the gift I have received. Amen.

Go in Peace

UU Soul — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 02:11:15 +0000

Today we released our beloved cat, Tao, from her suffering. We are grateful for the blessing she was in our lives for the short nine years she has been a part of our family. I post this prayer in honor of her passing and with the belief that she died in the embrace of our love.

May all creatures be freed from their suffering
May all creatures be freed from their illness.
May those in fear be comforted
And those bound be set free.

May all creatures lost in this wilderness
they do not know
be guarded by the love of celestials,
and may they be led to a place
of everlasting peace.

Buddhist Prayer, adapted by Lynn L. Caruso
Blessing the Animals: Prayers and Ceremonies to Celebrate God’s Creatures, Wild and Tame

P.S. Reading this old post (with favorite Tao photo) is giving me comfort. I had forgotten about the night she brought a dragonfly in from the balcony. I was laying on the floor and heard a strange buzzing sound as she ran past me. Then when the dragonfly got loose, my husband and I showed our true colors as we both ran for cover!

The Sounds of Creation

UU Soul — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 21:21:54 +0000

As my class in Theological Reflection comes to a close, I am feeling grateful for the introduction to theological perspectives that I have found very exciting. I am continuing to explore process theology and liberation theologies (look in My Library to see what I am reading). One of the most meaningful class discussions was about religious perspectives about Creation. Feminist and process theology understandings of all Creation as interconnected and Sacred particularly resonate with how I see the universe, from the magnificent trees that share my walks to the smallest creatures that I admire from afar to the animals with which I develop close relationships. All are Sacred to me and fill me with awe as I feel not only connected, but changed by my experience of them. As I prepare to leave for my second two-week intensive class, I anticipate the healing presence of the forest in contrast to the stressful environment of urban life.

I have a habit of listening to radio show podcasts on most of my daily walks. Speaking of Faith is one of two my favorites. After writing the last paper for my class, I decided to finally listen to the podcast of “Whale Songs and Elephant Loves.” The stories of whales sharing their songs and of elephants communicating beyond our ability to hear took on new meaning in the context of theological perspectives based on an interconnected Creation that is calling us to deeper relationship. I loved hearing the sounds of the whales singing and the elephants rejoicing as they reconnect with their family members.

Also this week, one of the barrage of Twitter posts in my TwitterFox stream had a link to this wonderful video of musicians all over the world lifting up their voices in the same call to community (excerpt from the documentary, “Playing For Change: Peace Through Music“).

First Tender Shoots

UU Soul — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 05:38:38 +0000

In contrast to the sad things going on in my life at the moment, I gave my first sermon on Sunday. It was short and of course only mediocre. However, once I got past the nausea, I was thrilled by the fact that I could envision myself giving the same sermon in the future. I could see myself improving the sermon each time and could see my own ability to engage with the congregation improving. It was wonderful to get past my own insecurities and be able to see that moment as the first awkward step on a journey. The first tender shoots sprouting from the seed of my calling.

I even kept my sense of humor through the immediate “loving” criticisms of a few congregation members (including from a theater director). I decided that my diamond-in-the-rough-self can be a group project. It takes a village, right? Besides, the people who gave me positive feedback said some really wondeful things from the heart. They were the ones who helped me to catch a glimpse of what I hope to become.

Feeling Helpless

UU Soul — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 20:58:29 +0000

I’ve been meaning to post but I’ve had so much going on that I haven’t managed to get back into the swing of it. I really shouldn’t take the time with my final paper to write. But I’ve been sad this week over my sick kitty. I’ve had to watch her crouched with a look of suffering and sometimes, like this morning, drool coming from her mouth. I’m afraid the antibiotic we’re giving her is not working and that at the vet tomorrow morning we’ll be faced with a decision we dread. I’m not ready to say good-bye to Tao, but I can’t bear to see her suffer. We have three other kitties to love, but each one is special. My grandmother is quoted as saying that she would never get another animal when hers died, because it was too painful to lose them. She always did get another of course.

Obsession and Fungi

UU Soul — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 06:21:33 +0000

Earlier this year, I fell in love with a radio show on Pacifica station KPFA, the Visionary Activist Show. I’ve been happily amazed by how so many of my favorite subjects and authors get woven together on Caroline Casey’s show. I love the mix of mythology and social justice issues. The day she quoted from both Zora Neale Hurston and Loren Eiseley, I was hooked. I listen to the podcast when I go for walks, and after obsessively working my way through the archives I am finally caught up. The guest on last week’s show, Paul Stamets, will be a presenter at the upcoming Bioneers conference. I had heard of his amazing work with mushrooms (video below) but this was the first time I heard him speak about it. His research includes cleaning polluted soil, creating new insecticides, and treating smallpox. Van Jones, the 2008 Ware Lecturer will also be at the Bioneers conference, as will Atema Eclai, Director of Programs at the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee. Attending the conference is definitely on my list of things to do, when I have a few bucks to spare.

6 ways mushrooms can save the world

Resurrection!

UU Soul — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 17:54:32 +0000

I am celebrating that my blog is back! Okay, the content was always there, but the layout and design functions stopped working when I upgraded WordPress about a month ago. Just plain text on a white page.

But no more! A WordPress support forums moderator came to my rescue and I’m back in business. I’m noticing a few minor modifications to my theme that got lost in the upgrade. I just have to remember how I did them in the first place. My brain has been taken over by theological pursuits but it is starting to come back to me.