Consent or Coercion – In this second of five sermons based on the Five Smooth Stones essays, Rev. Mark Walz addresses how right relationship, formed among humans, must always be built on mutual, free consent. ( (19:34)
Revelation Is Not Sealed. This is the first of five sermons based on a series of essays called the Five Smooth Stones. Rev. Mark Walz discusses how Revelation and Truth are not closed systems and shares how, like a beautiful new rose, the Universe is still opening its secrets to us.
I read an article tonight that inspired me & gave me pause. It dealt with the radical notion that children should be bored – from this boredom stems great creativity and innovation. It made me think of my own adult life, and how schedules, email reminders, and errands have taken much of the natural joi de vivre out of living. We can still attain that, but most of it must be manufactured – which is fine, as long as we’re doing it. Here’s a link to the article:
http://www.parentaltech.com/2008/06/technology-vacation.html
As adults, we are overly preoccupied with work, schedules, family life, (for some) school, house cleaning, etc., and far too easily distracted with television or horribly wonderful inventions like Facebook & MySpace in the event we do get bored.
It’s no secret that letting loose is good for the soul and the mind. So, I hereby challenge all you readers out there to an activity that will hopefully help you find your inner kid.
(I know tomorrow’s Monday, but roll with me on this.)
Turn off the TV. Shut down the computer. Leave your cell phone on the table. Take a bowl (any will do) and go outside. Not right outside the door – really outside. Go for a walk around your apartment complex, neighborhood, or yard. Look for interesting, weirdly shaped/colored/textured rocks & leaves. Seriously, stop to take 30 minutes (or 15, whatever) to really look at little things in your own little environment like rocks and leaves. Find ones with cool colors, weird shapes, odd textures…turn off the virtual reality, and defer for a quiet moment t othe wonder of nature all around us.
Bring the bowl back when you have plenty – no rules here, how many ever you like is fine. Take a moment to look through them again, all together. You can toss them back out, or give them to your kids to make a project with some glue, or save the leaves for homemade cards (seriously, I did this for a friend’s birthday once – it took maybe 20 minutes to do and meant more than any Hallmark).
I remember doing this type of stuff as a kid, when I didn’t have to dream it up as an activity – it was just a neat thing to do. I often find myself at odds with time wasted on the computer or sitting in front of the TV. Bored? Nothing on TV? Turn it off. Nobody commenting your latest status update? Log out.
The point here is, this costs nothing. It requires nothing more than what most of us used to naturally do. So, if you’re up for something out of the norm – DO THIS! And take/post a pic on the church’s Facebook Wall, or email them to oakcliffuu@gmail.com when you’re done and I’ll post them here! Let’s say, by next weekend.
I’m going to do this tomorrow, since I took the day off. Happy Monday, & happier trails!
I was reading over the archives of this blog, and a post that Jace made sharing “The Impact of Gratitude” really hit home with me. How often in our lives do we think over things that we are grateful for instead of focusing on the negatives? How much would our lives be changed for the better if we tried to remain optimistic and looked for the good things in life?
There’s a website where people can post things that give them hope – http://www.givesmehope.com/ – and I’ve been reading the entries daily. They never fail to make me smile and help me to look at the positive things in life.
What are things that give you hope? What are the bright things in your life?
It was the spring of 1997 and I was treating one of my dearest friends and colleague, after hours in my clinic after a long day of seeing very complicated orthopedic medicine and chronic pain patients. Ron was a 57 year old psychologist who was scheduled the following morning to have a thoracotomy performed in order to replace his congenitally leaking aortic valve. He was understandably nervous of his chances of surviving the next twenty four hours having been informed of all of the potential complications that might occur when his chest was cracked open to expose his body’s most vital and energetically mysterious organ. What happened most un-expectantly between us in that treatment room changed the course of both my professional and personal life’s forever.
I did not know it then, but I am what is called an “Indigo Adult” or “Star Seed” depending on whose label we choose to identify a new breed of human being that is infiltrating this dimension at this time in our collective astrophysical history. Our coming has been foretold by hundreds of ancient, shamanistic cultures and societies to be accompanying the changes that our solar system and galaxy are experiencing as our earth’s true north node completes what is called the “Procession of the Equinoxes.” According to ancient lore, this new breed of human has come to help hold and ground the energy as we traverse the “Shift of the Ages.” We are energetically wired differently, “cable ready” allowing us to do exactly this.
The Maya have been most associated with describing what is happening as we move ever closer and through the fabled 2012 end date. On December 21st , 2021 our earth’s north node aligns with our sun exactly in the middle of what is called the “Dark Rift,” or “Great Mother,” the actual center point of the Milky Way’s equator – otherwise known as “Galactic Center.” It is here where all life in our galaxy began. It is here, where the black hole remnants of the “Big Bang” reside. This is the time where each one of us will have the opportunity to choose chaos and disaster versus infinite possibility. We are now noticing many physical changes never before experienced by an advanced human society. Or so it is being said. Fore this occurrence only happens once every 26,000 years. What happened between Ron and I was one of those strange, yet unknown phenomenon that we, the Indigos are wired for.
I am a board certified family physician who specializes in orthopedic medicine where I utilize many treatment modalities to address diagnostic and treatment dilemmas of the musculoskeletal system. My most effective secret weapon treatment modality is osteopathic manual medicine. This is a dying art with in osteopathic medical profession of which I hold both a masters degree in Clinical Biomechanics and an academic teaching appointment in at Michigan State University, College of Osteopathic Medicine in East Lansing Michigan. Before Ron’s chest was to be pried open and held that way with aluminum allow retractors for over three hours, I wanted to make sure that the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine, along with the joints of the rib cage and soft tissues were moving and their in their most flexible states in order to reduce the chances of a post-operative pain syndrome later on. I treat the body in a defined sequence and always finish by balancing both the central and peripheral nervous system with cranial-sacral therapy. It was during this process that something completely unfamiliar to me came crashing down through the top of my head and circulated throughout my central and peripheral nervous systems, then came barreling out of my chest, arms and hands into Ron’s head.
What was even stranger was that he felt it the moment it entered his system which confirmed to me that it was real. We were chatting at the time when this surge of energy dropped through my occiput as I had my head and neck slightly flexed forward as I hunched over my stool holding the tempral bones on the side of Ron’s head. In my usual state of vacuous presence I felt it before Ron and immediately started analyzing what it could be. It felt like a rush of directional current flowing down my spine and legs, then circulating back up in the opposite direction once it reached my feet that were off the ground perched on the stool’s foot stand. It came careening up through my chest and felt as if it made a giant soap bubble between my chest, arms, hands and the top of Ron’s head. When it reached his head, he said in mid sentence, “I…I…don’t want to talk right now.”
I sat with it experiencing what most closely felt like a shiver running down my spine with a new added sensation of a reverse flow. Something I had never experienced before – or had I? My mind was reeling with the task of trying to “figure it out,” while my body was lost in its pure bliss of activated sensation. Then it struck me. It did somehow feel familiar. I checked in again. Yes, it was similar. But why now, how inappropriate and why Ron? We were friends. Never had our interaction ever contained hints of physical attraction. Concentrating, half believing what my mind had decided on, I succumb. An orgasm. It felt like it was running on the same circuits in my nervous system that of an orgasm. Yet, there was a clear knowing that it was simply a physical circuitry phenomenon without emotional or sexual content.
It lasted no more than 15 seconds then it vanished. We were both shocked as Ron literally jumped off the table and faced me. We spent a good part of the next fifteen minutes exploring what the hell had just happened. He described what he felt as pure bliss, a sense of warmth comforting him. He likened it to warm honey oozing down through his head and neck, surrounding his chest leaving him with the knowing that all is well, he is loved and supported and everything was going to turn out good and right with nothing more to question or worry about. He was not sure where this message was coming from, but he was absolutely sure about what he received. I on the other hand knew what ever it was simply came through me and not from me. It was not mine to create or modify. I was simply the connector between whatever it was that needed to get to Ron.
This physical sense of support, love and bliss lasted throughout that night and into the next morning all the way through his induction under anesthesia. This experience and the discovery that I, and other Indigos are “wired” particularly for this purpose set me off on a ten year adventure that incorporated at times unbelievable synchronistic discoveries that seemed more than a divinely guided curriculum that eventually led me to discover what it is, who I am and what is my true purpose for being here. I share the totality of what led to this particular experience and what came after in my book Indigo Awakening; A Doctor’s Memoir For Forging An Authentic Life in a Turbulent World. It is the first book written from the perspective of what it feels like to experience the world growing up with an expanded consciousness having access to knowledge that was not learned (at least in this lifetime) and having a vast array of fantastic traits and abilities not yet seen or appreciated by most of those around me. Part of the mission of my being here at this most unique time in our cosmos’ history is to share this story so that the others who have also chosen a similar missionary incarnation will awaken unto their true selves. This story will act as a reflective mirror to the reader demonstrating the similar themes and uncanny details that run through our collective experience. It is a story of perseverance never giving up in the face of what seems like insurmountable odds on the journey within to find what we are truly made of.
The following is from Amy, and is cross-posted here with her permission:
On Friday evening I was volunteering for Planned Parenthood at the Women’s Expo and learned that they will be hosting a discussion on sex education in the schools at our church on Sept. 17 from 6:30 to 8 pm. I posted a flyer on our Announcements board, but I was wondering if we could publicize this as well by mentioning it at the Social Justice movie screening, a ppt slide before the service, putting it in any and all appropriate places on our web site, and anything else we can do. Marcia is going to let the teens know about this event.
I believe that teen pregnancy is a social justice issue. Texas has the 3rd highest rate of teen pregnancies in the country and the highest rate of repeat teen pregancies. Having a child at a young age (before age 20) increases the likelihood of dropping out of high school. Boys who father in their teen years are more likely to father children with multiple women and are more likely to be incarcerated. Research shows that the most effective way to prevent teen pregnancies is to educate teens on how not to become pregnant. I have materials on the exact statistics at home if anyone is interested..
The link for the event at our chuch is here: http://www.ppaction.org/ppntx/events/whatyourkidsdontknow/details.tcl
The link to a webinar about the issue is here: https://uthconnect.uth.tmc.edu/p35149603/
If we could announce this meeting and give it a little publicity, this is a relatively easy way for us as a church to promote this social justice issue.
Unfortunately I will not be able to attend the meeting that evening, but I strongly support the cause. I have also sent the flyer to my dad for him to look into publicizing it at his church. If anyone knows of any organizations that might have an interest, please pass the information along or let me know and I will pass it along. They ask for RSVP to make sure there is enough food.
Thanks,
Amy
Creating a Shared Ministry – Rev. Mark Walz follows the recent sermons on Unitarianism, Universalism, and Unitarian Universalism with an exploration of how we can take this new Religion, formed from the merger of two great traditions, and change the world.
Despite spending vast amounts of money and helping to create the world’s largest nonprofit sector, philanthropists have fallen far short of solving America’s most pressing problems. What the nation needs is “catalytic philanthropy”—a new approach that is already being practiced by some of the most innovative donors.
Here is a thought-provoking article from The Stanford Social Innovation Review, which discusses the fact that despite having the world’s largest nonprofit sector, America’s social problems persist. This article presents a different perspective on helping to be part of the change we seek in our world.
By Mark R. Kramer Fall 2009
Thomas Siebel does philanthropy differently from other donors. As the founder of the software company Siebel Systems Inc., he is one of a handful of philanthropists who have the resources to devote substantial time and money to charity. His approach and the results he has achieved, however, dramatically distinguish him from most of his peers.
In 2005, while spending time on his Montana ranch, Siebel became concerned about the rampant local use of methamphetamine, or “meth.” Meth is a highly addictive and physically destructive drug, and it is a particularly acute problem in rural America. In 2005, Montana had the fifth worst level of meth abuse among all U.S. states. Half of its inmates were imprisoned for meth-related crimes. The direct cost to the state was estimated at nearly $300 million per year, and the cost in human lives and suffering was far greater.
Rather than writing a check to a local nonprofit, Siebel took the time to find out why people become addicted to meth. After learning that first-time users were typically teenagers who were unaware of meth’s risks, Siebel created the Meth Project to change teenage perceptions about the drug. He brought together experts and hired a major San Francisco advertising agency to develop a hard-hitting campaign that would reach 80 percent of Montana teens with at least three ads every week.
The ads were world-class: With production budgets of $500,000 to $1 million each, they were directed by leading Hollywood figures such as Alejandro González Iñárritu, director of the Academy Award nominated film Babel. The ad campaign has won 43 awards in national and international advertising competitions.
The ads were gut-wrenching: Tested in focus groups to capture a teenager’s attention, they were far more brutal than anything the community had seen on television before. The 30-second spots begin with an ordinary teen whom kids can relate to, and end by showing the badly scarred and disfigured ravages that come from using meth. Teens are shown attacking and robbing their own families, prostituting themselves, or dying from an overdose. In one ad, a boy describes how his mother has always been there for him, while the screen shows him stealing her purse, hitting her, and kicking her away as she screams and desperately tries to grab his leg while he runs out the door.
And the ads were pervasive: Because Montana is a small media market, Siebel’s $2 million annual advertising budget generated more than 45,000 television ads, 35,000 radio ads, and 1,000 billboards in the first two years. The Meth Project became the largest purchaser of advertising in the state. The results have been stunning. Between 2005 and 2007, meth use in Montana dropped 45 percent among teens and 72 percent among adults, while meth-related crimes fell 62 percent. The percentage of teenagers who were aware of meth’s dangers increased from 25 percent to 93 percent, and teenagers have even begun to dissuade their friends from trying meth. Montana’s ranking among U.S. states in meth abuse fell from fifth to 39th.
We have a calling. We are the people who know what we need. What we need surrounds us. What we need is each other. And when we act together, we will find Our Way. –John McKnight
There is a new worldwide movement developing, made up of people with a different vision for their local communities. They know that movements are not organizations, institutions or systems. Movements have no CEO, central office, or plan. Instead, they happen when thousands and thousands of people discover together new possibilities for their lives. They have a calling. They are called. And together they call upon themselves. This beautiful article by John McKnight celebrates the power of what our institutions cannot do — but that we can and must do together. [ more ]
Be The Change:
Practice the three universal and abundant powers that Mcknight outlines as the heart of a movement: the giving of gifts, the power of association and hospitality.
From a recent mailing from School of the Americas Watch:
Since June 28th, you have joined with our friends in Honduras to help return democracy to their country. As a result, your actions are now bearing fruit.
Earlier this week, the SOA graduate-backed Honduran military coup regime refused all diplomatic options to return democracy. The U.S. State Department responded by asserting that visas to Hondurans would no longer be granted under the coup. Late yesterday State Department officials made it clear that they are considering legally defining the situation as a “military coup.” This would create an automatic cut-off of all remaining aid to Honduras. The coup regime immediately responded by saying that they would allow the rightful President Zelaya to return with amnesty, but not as president. Clearly the coup leaders are caving to the pressure. We need you to act now to return democracy to Honduras. Please make two very important phone calls this morning!
1.) Call the State Department at 202-647-5171 or 1-800-877-8339 and ask for Secretary Clinton. Deliver the following message: “Legally define the de facto regime in Honduras as a military coup and cut off all aid to Honduras until President Zelaya is unconditionally reinstated.”
2.) Call the White House at 202-456-1111 and repeat the same message “Legally define the de facto regime in Honduras as a military coup and cut off all aid to Honduras until President Zelaya is unconditionally reinstated.”
You responded…