Diagnosed with cancer last year, Professor Guthrie Ramsey instinctively knew that creating music would be important to his healing. What he didnt know is that his composing and recording project would unfold during a global pandemic and an uprising against racial injustice.

Everything Im working on right now is so pertinent to what we are all feeling right now, says Ramsey, the Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Term Professor of Music in the School of Arts & Sciences.

Ramseys new album, A Spiritual Vibe, Vol. 1, is filled with songs that pay homage to musical partnerships throughout his career, from interpretations of hymns and spirituals he has sung since he was a child to a new original composition.

And publishing this month is a book he edited and wrote the forward for, The Heart of a Woman: The Live and Music of Florence B. Price, a first-ever biography of a pioneering African American composer. The book was researched and written by Rae Linda Brown, a mentor and friend of Ramseys who died before completing the work, so he managed the publication.

The album and book are the latest in Ramseys body of work, which includes previous music albums, music videos, books and articles, art exhibitions, as well as a podcast series that is part of the Musiqology blog he founded.

More and more what this moment is about for me is legacy, recovering the American Black histories that have not been told. This goes for the book and for the spirituals that have managed to be so durable through the years, he says.

This year, Ramsey, a professor at Penn since 1998, was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. That election is perhaps no better measure of his stellar career, says Timothy Rommen, chair of Penns Department of Music. We are all so fortunate to have been able to work, think, and teach alongside him these past years.

Guys career at Penn has seen him establish himself within the broadest possible range of music studies. He has also been a consistently supportive colleague and interlocutor across multiple departments here at Penn.

Ramsey often teaches the American music history course he taught in the spring semester, although it wasnt until the last meeting that he shared with the 17 students that he was going through a cancer treatment.

A lot of what we talk about is what music means and how it expresses sentiments for us when words fail, says Ramsey. So, for them to be in the midst of a pandemicthe entire semester moved onlinethey could really relate to the role of music in keeping their souls together, keeping their minds together, keeping them connected to one another because of the music we share.

A Spiritual Vibe brought Ramsey, a pianist and a baritone, back to his roots as a performer. He threw himself a birthday party at a recording studio two days before surgery last August. Family, friends, musical partners were all there, and he started laying some tracks.

The period of radiation treatment and recovery he decided would be the perfect time to think about the music.

I know my process. I knew I would be listening to things and figuring out what to add while I was down. It was a gift to occupy myself, he says. If I couldnt be teaching or writing a book, I would write my own music.

Although he was also gathering material for an eventual book about the experience. Every time he went for one of his 39 radiation treatments, he kept a log, listening to the random Pandora playlist piped into the room. He already has a working title: 39 Days of Black Radio.

The course of treatment ended in February, and just as he was gearing up to finish the album the pandemic restrictions went into place, followed by the Black Lives Matter protests. With social distancing required, he had to take a new approach to the unfinished tracks.

He reworked the song Motherless Child as a solo piece instead of the planned performance by four singers and a full band. He created the piano accompaniment on his home computer with music software. A solo vocalist, Vince Anthony, who has been a main musical collaborator and is featured in several songs on the album, laid his track in a recording studio. A sound engineer pulled it all together.

The traces of the pandemic are in that piece. It was one of the last I was going to record, and when we shut down I could no longer do that, he says. We worked out a way in real time for me to hear what they were doing. They sent the final track back, and I loved it.

The album is deeply personal. I wanted to document my musical partnerships, Ramsey says. Music is about our human desire to feel social relationships, and music is one of the ways we experience that.

His relationship with his daughter Bridget, a trained classical soprano, is central to a signature piece on the album, Oh, What a Beautiful City, a song Ramsey says is special to him because it was the first song I heard as a child that made we want to go to heaven.

And the song also includes his son Robert, a tenor. Ive done music with my family from day one. Even now I direct my granddaughters choir at church. It is a family and relational thing with me, Ramsey says. Its very spiritual. Its who I am and who we are as a family.

The music video features Ramsey wearing a mask, driving alone in his car and stopping to take photos of historic locations throughout PhiladelphiaGirard College, Uptown Theater, Temple Universitys McGonigle Halland juxtaposing photos from protests in the 1960s and 1970s. I wasnt comfortable being the only one in front of the camera, and it wasnt my first choice, but it is a pandemic, and we had to do a socially distanced video, he says.

His original composition, Think on These Things, featuring vocals by his daughter with him on the keyboard, is a musical response to a line of scripture, Philippians 4:8, sent to him from a friend who knew about his health challenges. Everything becomes significant, he says. So, I set it to music.

The track Wade in the Water he describes as my favorite Negro spiritual, one I heard as a child as a choir student in high school. The 12-performer arrangement is based on a live performance featuring singers, poets, and dancers interpreting the first three chapters of a book he is writing about the history of Black music in America titled Soundproof: Black Music, Magic, and Racial Intimacies. He created the performance as the Provosts Lecture on Diversity he gave at Penn in 2018.

St. Pauls Baptist Church in North Philadelphia is a community central to Ramseys life, led by Pastor Leslie Callahan, a former assistant professor of religion at Penn. While putting together a virtual church service during the pandemic, Ramsey reached out to several musicians, including his roommate from Northeastern Illinois University, Rod McGaha, a trumpeter who has been his friend for 40 years. The solo of Amazing Grace is the centerpiece of Ramseys interpretation.

The Spiritual Vibe album, Ramsey says, represents persistence. And Volume 2 is already in the works. It represents that I am as of March cancer free. It represents total victory for me, he says.

I love that it is speaking to people at a moment where nerves are frayed, and people feel hopeless, and people need reasons to fight for freedom, and they are listening to my music and looking at the videos and getting strength and inspiration. It is all I could have asked for and more.

Continued here:

Guthrie Ramsey's creative journey of healing, collaboration, and persistence - Penn Current

3D reconstruction of the thin multislice CT, covering human heart and lungs; Semnic, November 10, 2015; Creative Commons 4.0

It is hard to keep ones guard up all the time in public by making sure the face masks on and social distancings in place during a pandemic. Some will tell us that the Coronavirus is not such a big deal, not much different than the flu, and that it will soon pass from the scene by natural causes. Something similar can occur in the spiritual realm, when it comes to false teaching, as in the case of the Colossian heresy. It is all too easy to let down ones guard over the heart and mind. As with the Coronavirus, one has to guard against myths, rumors and misinformation. One must remain vigilant and take the necessary precautions to guard against infection (Refer here as well). In no way, shape or form did Paul consider the Colossian Heresy merely a spiritual flu. It was far more dangerous and devastating.

The Apostle Paul warns the Colossian church to remain vigilant. As noted in part 1 of this two-part series, Paul writes from house arrest for the faith in Rome to this church in danger of cardiac arrest in Asia Minor. Please refer to that first entry here at this link for the backdrop to the context, including the heretical teaching that could kill the Colossian church spiritually. As was noted in that first article, even with Covid-19, some who are experiencing respiratory distress are also enduring heart damage and dying of cardiac arrest. Whether on the physical or spiritual level, being able to breathe is vital to ones health.

This leads us to the point we wish to emphasize in part 2 of this series. To contextualize Pauls words to our present context and imagery, Paul exhorts the Colossian church to breathe in Christ rather than inhale the false teaching that could suffocate and lead to cardiac arrest. Paul exhorts the Colossian church not to let anyone suffocate them. How might suffocation occur? By allowing people to pass judgment on them and disqualify them. For Paul, the ultimate safeguard against contracting the spiritual Coronavirus is immunizing believers by capturing peoples imagination through Christ. In what follows, we will unpack what such judgment and disqualification might look like and what captivation of the imagination by Christ involves.

Paul writes in his letter to the Colossian church:

Therefore let no onepass judgment on youin questions of food and drink, or with regard toa festival ora new moon or a Sabbath.These are a shadow of the things to come, butthe substance belongs to Christ.Let no onedisqualify you,insisting on asceticism and worship of angels,going on in detail about visions,puffed up without reason byhis sensuous mind,andnotholding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God. If with Christyou died to theelemental spirits of the world,why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulationsDo not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch(referring to things that all perish as they are used)according tohuman precepts and teachings?These have indeed an appearance of wisdom inpromoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they areof no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh (Colossians 2:16-23; ESV).

Paul warns them not to allow others to pass judgment on them in matters pertaining to food and drink, a festival, new moon, or Sabbath. (Colossians 2:16) Why? They are but a shadow of the things to come. The substance belongs to Christ (Colossians 2:17).

Paul warns the same believers not to allow anyone to disqualify them with ascetism and worship of angels, going on and on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind (Colossians 2:18). Why? They are not holding fast to the head, who is Christ, from whom flows spiritual nourishment for the entire church body (Colossians 2:19).

Why would we fixate on shadow matters of external religious observances when the substance belongs to Christ (Colossians 2:16-17)? We are dead with Christ to the elemental spirits and world system (Colossians 2:20) and alive to Christ. Do not handle, taste or touch regulations appear profitable to self-made religion, ascetism, and the severe treatment of the body (Colossians 2:21-23), but they have no impact on stopping fleshly indulgence (Colossians 2:23).

Perhaps today you are not dealing with dos and donts religious observances. Perhaps you are not focused on ascetism and angel worship, at least not in some obvious manner. But as F. F. Bruce and others have argued, the fallen principalities and powers or elemental spirits manifest themselves in various other secular ways in the modern period.[1] The world or elemental spirits cause us to fixate on externalities of appearance, like lighter and darker pigmentation, facial structure, weight, and body shape. What drives many of us to value or devalue people based on these external features? While we should see such things as color, and not be color blind, for example, we should see more than color. We should understand people in the fullness of their lives and complexity of their stories.

How often do we view people based on what we can get or extract from them, sizing them up based on their perceived market value? As Martin Luther King, Jr., argued in Beyond Vietnam, we need to move from a culture of things to persons. He goes on,

I am convinced that if we are to get on to the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. We must rapidly begin, we must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.[2]

The need to move from a culture of things to persons has only intensified since Kings day. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks speaks of how the market ideology has impacted Judaism negatively. The same could be said for Christianity when he writes,

The concept of the holy is precisely the domain in which the worth of things is not judged by their market price or economic value. And this fundamental insight of Judaism is all the more striking given its respect for the market within the marketplace. The fatal conceit for Judaism is to believe that the market governs the totality of our lives, when it in fact governs only a limited part of it, that which concerns the goods we think of as being subject to production and exchange. There are things fundamental to being human that we do not produce; instead we receive from those who came before us and from God Himself. And there are things that we may not exchange, however high the price.[3]

Speaking as a Christian, when we view one another through the eyes of Jesus, we see people as created in Gods image. When we view one another in relation to him, we see everyone, and every member of the church body, as indispensable (1 Corinthians 12:22). People are far more than what the markets suggests is their value. Such market valuation is always in flux, never constant, ever fickle. When we operate by market standards to evaluate one anothers worth, we cannot rest or breathe. Our value is always in flux based on how well we perform.

No human is chattel. Every black life matters. We must nail racism, economic exploitation, and militarism to the cross. We must not allow the elemental spirits of the world to cause us to find our worth and dignity outside of Jesus. The principalities and powers may manifest themselves today in secular forms of ascetism and angel worship, including perhaps such things as anorexia[4] and facial cosmetic operations to look more western, the worship of fame and celebrity, youth, income, and professional position. We can get lost in apocalyptic visions and conspiracy theories that parallel gnostic cults, like QAnon. As Paul argues, we so easily go into vast details on all kinds of things but miss out on Jesus Christ in whom all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form. We only find fullness in him (See Colossians 2:9-10).

If we wish to breathe freely, we must find our worth in and through Jesus. He has nailed to the cross those laws old and new in whatever religious or secular form that devalue and dehumanize us and that lead us to devalue and dehumanize others. Jesus has cancelled the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.He disarmed the rulers and authoritiesandput them to open shame, bytriumphing over them in him (Colossians 2:14-15; ESV).

Paul would have us contend against the spiritual version of the Coronavirus today by seeing our value through identity with Christ Jesus. Those who find their identity and worth in him, and not in their perceived market value, or how others perceive us, is critically important. Otherwise, we will allow others to judge and condemn us as being worthless, as disqualifying us as not measuring up to whatever fickle and fictitious standards they happen to put in place. You are persons, not things. You are created in Gods image and have infinite worth. Dont live in the shadows and fixate on externals or on visions of the sensuous mind. Dont reduce others to means to ends whereby their value is perceived in terms of what you can get from them. Build relationships and communities where we see everyone as indispensable through Jesus who shares his life and worth with us. Hold fast to Jesus, who is the head. The substance belongs to Christ.

_______________

[1]F. F. Bruce contextualizes the discussion of the principalities and powers in Colossians 2:13-15 to the modern period when he writes, The elemental spirits through whom the law was held to have been mediated may mean nothing to modern man. Angles and demons may be unknown to him by name. But is not modern man unprecedentedly aware of powerful and malignant demonic forces operating against him, which he is quite unable to master, whether by his individual strength or by united action? These forces may be Frankenstein monsters of his own creation; they may be subliminal horrors over which he has no conscious control. F. F. Bruce, ed., The New International Commentary on the New Testament, vol. 10, Commentary on the Epistles to the Ephesians and the Colossians, by E. K. Simpson and F. F. Bruce (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1957), page 241.

[2]Martin Luther King, Jr., Beyond Vietnam, in A Call to Conscience: The Landmark Speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., edited by Clayborne Carson and Kris Shepard, with an introduction by Andrew Young (New York: Warner Books, Inc., 2001), pages 157-58.

[3]Jonathan Sacks, Markets and Morals, inFirst Things, August 2000; https://www.firstthings.com/article/2000/08/markets-and-morals. See also Michael J. Sandel, What Money Cant Buy: The Moral Limits of the Markets (New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2012).

[4]The Mao Clinic observes, Anorexia isnt really about food. Its an extremely unhealthy and sometimes life-threatening way to try to cope with emotional problems. When you have anorexia, you often equate thinness with self-worth.

See the article here:

How to Conquer the Spiritual Coronavirus: the Colossian Heresy (Part 2) | How to Conquer the Spiritual Coronavirus: the Colossian Heresy (Part 2) -...

By Dr. Jeff Mirus (bio - articles - email) | Jul 09, 2020

One of the great confusions throughout the history of the Church is the common misunderstanding that pious or spiritual thoughts and motives always come from God. In the fourth century, Arius was inspired by his own insight into the Godhead to conclude that Jesus Christ must be a creature and so could not be God. In the sixteenth century, Martin Luther was inspired by his special appreciation of the gift and power of faith to conclude that human works have no role in sanctification and salvation.

Alleged visionaries in many periods have fallen into swoons and reported great heavenly delights. But St. Teresa of Avila, who was herself a great mystic, had to discipline some of her nuns by ordering them to eat and sleep more, when they disrupted convent life with what she perceived to be uninspired ecstasies. In our own time, a great many people all around us are inspired by their experience of spiritual liberty to deny that God has revealed anything which cuts against the grain of our desires. On all sides, many who consider themselves Catholics are moved by an interior certainty of their sublime spirituality to rebel against the authority of the Church.

Ignatius of Loyola

This issue was brought to my attention again the other day through my reading of the autobiography of St. Ignatius Loyola, the sixteenth-century author of the famous Spiritual Exercises and the founder of the Society of Jesus (which paradoxically seems in our time to be particularly incapable of distinguishing one spirit from another). Ignatius autobiography was written at the insistence of some of his most treasured companions in the early days of his community. He was reluctant to write it, but finally did so in the hope that it would be useful to his brethren after he was gone. It covers a relatively short period of his lifeessentially the eighteen years from his initial conversion to his completion of the constitutions for the Society of Jesus in Rome.

Ignatius wandered about quite a bit during this period while he was trying to discern exactly what God was calling him to do. His fundamental way of drawing others closer to Christ was through a life of privation spent begging and making himself available to others in conversations about God and the Church. For some years he believed he was called to do this in the Holy Land, and while he visited there once, his efforts to revisit and remain there were always thwarted by circumstances. He also knew that he needed to complete a more formal program of studies in order to be well-grounded in his discussions and advice to others.

In fact, he was repeatedly questioned and sometimes even imprisoned for a time by representatives of the Inquisition who, in various cities, wanted to be sure that he was not misleading people. Ignatius was always exonerated, but his situation was a precarious one because his training and background were as a knight and his approach to others was through poverty, so it was difficult to believe he was really serving as a good Catholic influence in teaching everyone he met about the things of God. Moreover, while Ignatius knew he should get a better Catholic education, he found it extremely difficult to consistently pursue his studies, which he attempted at various universities.

Partly this was a matter of lack of resources. But there was another problem which he mentions in his narrative (where he always refers to himself in the third person, often calling himself the pilgrim). Here is one of the passages in which he describes this special problem:

Ignatius struggled with these distractions from study on numerous occasions in different courses at different universities, and for a long time he was deeply perplexed by them. But in this as in many other matters he was gradually given genuine insight by God. Here is how he describes that process:

This is expressed with all the starkness of a saint-in-the-making. His delightfully sublime insights weretemptations! His solution on this occasion was to ask his teacher to meet him in the nearby church of Our Lady of the Sea. There Ignatius explained the problem to him and promised never to miss any of the teachers classes over the next two years. The result? Since he made this promise with great earnestness, he never again had those temptations (#55).

Ignatius had routed the Devil; but first he had to recognize him.

Discernment of Spirits

It is no wonder that the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola deal extensively with the discernment of spirits. This is (or at least is intended to be) a key to Ignatian spirituality. We must always remember that Satan is the fallen Lucifer, or Light Bearer, and that he often masks his temptations in the aura of sweetness and light. Ignatius had considerable difficulty in separating the promptings of the Holy Spirit from vainglorious thoughts of grand achievements, first worldly and later religious achievements. But he was engraced through his own particular vocational path to become one of the Churchs masters of spiritual discernment. He learned the hard way how to separate the wheat from the chaff in the alleged inspirations he experienced.

There are many things that go into this, including attentiveness to the teachings of the Church, sound Catholic education and spiritual formation, the cultivation of humility and the recognition of habitual faults, a clear apprehension of ones present duty, constant prayer, frequent examination of conscience and confession, a willingness to seriously consider spiritual advice, and more. I am not an expert in the Ignatian method, but perfect discernment does not come naturally to anyone. Strong opinions driven by personal piety may or may not be the fruits of sound discernment.

That is what St. Ignatius had to learn. And if the great St. Ignatius had to learn to proceed with caution, then so do we.

For an excellent edition of the autobiography of St. Ignatius of Loyola, see A Pilgrims Journey (with introduction, translation and commentary by Joseph N. Tylenda, SJ): Ignatius Press, rev. ed. 2001; paper 204pp. $15.26

Jeffrey Mirus holds a Ph.D. in intellectual history from Princeton University. A co-founder of Christendom College, he also pioneered Catholic Internet services. He is the founder of Trinity Communications and CatholicCulture.org. See full bio.

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St. Ignatius: When are pious thoughts not from God? - Catholic Culture

The presence of the Holy One comes to each of us in a personal way, in ways we understand on a deeply unique level.

There is no one way to find God in our lives. Each person has a unique spiritual sense, a wisdom that gives life meaning and purpose.

Think about what gives your life meaning, what gives it purpose; think about what has kept you through life.

A search for the Holy, by whatever name we call it, is a spiritual journey to tie us to something larger than our present situation. No one elses life is an exact copy of anyone elses life.

Most of us find expression for our spiritual selves in organized religion, in the outward expression of worship with people who have similar beliefs, similar creeds, similar expressions of faith; some go further afield and that where is between you and your inner self; it is where you find your unique and beautiful connection to all that is.

Whatever you call it, there is a spiritual wisdom in each of us that reaches out to find meaning and connection in our lives. The journey is lifelong and changes as our life experiences change us. The beautiful truth is that God is with us wherever the journey takes us into the Holy.

I want to close with one of my favorite prayers.

We give thanks for places of silence and peace. May we find such places within ourselves.

View post:

There is no one way to find God - Arizona Daily Star

Was I deceived? or did a sable cloud

Turn forth her silver lining on the night?

I did not err, there does a sable cloud,

Turn out her silver lining on the night

And casts a gleam over this tufted grove.

- John Milton, 1634

We can all recite the litany of woes and ills visited upon us in this remarkable year of 2020. We recite it so often now, usually in disbelief, as in, How can so much bad happen in such a short period of time?

COVID-19 and a global pandemic. Shut down and lock down. Economic collapse. The death of George Floyd and the ensuing days and nights of rage and anger and heartbreak. A November election shaping up to be ugly and divisive and tribal and unprecedented.

And the year is only 190 days old or so! 2020 is barely half over. Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play? Heres a first-class ticket on the Titanic! Or as the perpetually downhearted and pessimistic donkey Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh might conclude, Were doomed.

Or maybe not.

Maybe we might be able to actually glean some silver linings from that which has been a train wreck of a year so far. Maybe we might actually find some good among all the bad, some hope among all the pessimism, and some courage among all the fear.

I want to do that. I need to do this: to find hope.

To see hopeful places and movements and ideas and people amidst all the wreckage. I have to do this, to be an explorer for the positive in the midst of all the negative. My faith compels me: my belief in the basic goodness of human beings and my belief in a God who is constantly pushing Creation towards redemption and renewal and rebirth. Im not denying whats broken. Not imagining it never happened. No. But always, to look for the light where it is tempting to only see the shadows.

I can do that. We can do that.

And so, I am grateful that the pandemic has reminded me of one great truth: how much we humans really need one another: for care and mutual support and love and laughter. Since mid-March when I first shut the front door and stayed in, Ive actually connected more deeply and more consistently with those I love.

There was the surprise 85th Zoom birthday party for my Mom last month. Thirty-five folks from across the country showed up to wish her the happiest of birthdays. Who could have imagined that party last January? Or my weekly Zoom connections: with my choir friends on Wednesday evenings every single week, as we laugh and joke and check in. How are you? Or my weekly Zoom meeting with grad school friends, friends Ive loved for more than 30 years. We never gathered so frequently pre-COVID.

COVID has actually connected me more to others, not less. I hear the same from other folks about socially distanced beer and wine gatherings in a neighborhood driveway. Precious time with children now that youth sports are on hold. We actually eat dinner together every night now, they tell me. In the church I serve we actually have seen an increase in folks coming to worship and classes and fellowship who knew the virtual might sometimes trump the face to face?

Silver lining: staying connected, one to another.

And I am hopeful, that the rising up of millions of my fellow citizens in anger and frustration at the sin of racism, filling the streets, pushing for real change, seizing this singular moment to imagine and hope; that maybe this time America will have the courage to face itself in honesty. To begin to redress that most original of civic sins: dismissing the other because they are different than you.

Who could have imagined Black Lives Matter signs appearing on suburban lawns and church yards, or folks of all ages and religions and classes and races, so many people, taking a stand, taking a knee? Statues representing an oppressive and violent history toppling over? Corporations committing to more diversity of voices and employees. Mississippi finally taking the Confederate flag off its state flag?

I know this movement is still in its infancy, that it will be mighty hard to actually move beyond symbolic acts and protests to actually achieve real and lasting societal change a just society but hope for this I must. We must. It will take long and hard work to begin to undo 400 years of injustice but what if we have finally begun this journey as a country?

Silver lining: waking up to the truth of who America is while also dreaming of who she might become someday, one great day.

Give me hope. Show me a silver lining in the midst of the storm clouds. Enough with the bad. Look for the good. Its out there. We just need to look for it with eyes of faith.

Onward.

The Rev. John F. Hudson is senior pastor of the Pilgrim Church, United Church of Christ, in Sherborn (pilgrimsherborn.org). If you have a word or idea youd like defined in a future column or have comments, please send them to pastorjohn@pilgrimsherborn.org or in care of The Press (Dover-Sherborn@wickedlocal.com).

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Spiritually Speaking: Silver linings from a dark cloud of a year - Wicked Local Framingham

Artists have a unique connection to spirituality though they are wary about talking about it, according to Dr Jackie Bailey.

Australians dont like the s word. We blush the second someone mentions spirit outside the context of a team, or soul other than as a descriptor of a particular genre of music. But if artists are to survive the current crisis, we need to swallow our secular pride and start talking about spiritual wellbeing.

Spiritual wellbeing is all about the stuff we, as artists, engage with every day. The term refers to a sense of meaning, purpose, connection and transcendence. As artists, so much of what we do is about connecting at a deep, spiritual level. We are knee deep in the business of making meaning.

If we are working at the level of souls (the other s word! No apologies!), then we must be mindful of our own spiritual wellbeing. To be spiritually well we need both the skills and the environment to nourish our sense of meaning and connection.

The skills of spiritual wellbeing

Good news! Three of the four skills of spiritual wellbeing are ones which artists have in spades: mindfulness, courage and reflection.

As we know, practicing mindfulness is about bringing ourselves to attend to the present moment. This allows artists to silence the inner critic and get to work. Mindfulness is also foundational to spiritual wellbeing because it re-connects us, however fleetingly, with the wonder of being alive.

Acknowledging the miracle of existence can just as easily lead to existential despair and despondency as it can to hope. Nobel Prize-winning physicist Steven Weinberg wrote in his book The First Three Minutes that, It is hard to realise that this [Earth] is just a tiny part of an overwhelmingly hostile universe [] The more the universe seems comprehensible, the more it seems pointless. This is why courage is the second skill of spiritual wellbeing.

Deciding to live as though life is meaningful is not a given, but something which has to be constantly and wilfully re-chosen. Viktor Frankl, psychiatrist and survivor of Auschwitz, built the branch of psychology known as logotherapy on his observations that the ability to live as though life is meaningful was the key differentiator, all other things being equal, between those who made it out of Auschwitz, and those who did not.

Courage is not an innate quality, but like mindfulness is something which can be cultivated. As artists, we are deft at practicing courage. Every time we tear up dozens of seemingly acceptable pages or sand down the canvas and start again, we are exercising the courage muscle.

Reflection, the third skill of spiritual wellbeing, is also one which artists excel at, integral as it is to a fertile artistic practice. We are adept at constantly interrogating our work hence the tearing up of pages and the sanding down of canvases. We pause and check in with ourselves and the work: is this piece telling the truth it needs to tell?

The fourth skill of spiritual wellbeing is one which we are good at facilitating for others, but not always fantastic at doing for ourselves: connecting. Our work is all about connecting ideas, people, thoughts, feelings, worlds. But sometimes in the process of doing our work, we disconnect from others and even the world around us.

We need to cultivate connection with people in our inner circle, as well as those we encounter in the business of daily life, and with the natural environment.

Practicing the skill of connection might involve a weekly phone call with a friend, going for a walk in nature, and chatting with the shop assistant at the local store.

Using the language of spiritual wellbeing

Even if you have mad skills in reflection, courage, connection and mindfulness, it can be difficult to maintain your spiritual wellbeing in a society which does not have a language to talk about spiritual wellbeing, and we are part of the problem.

We talk about widespread burnout in the arts. This is a productivity term which conceals the underlying, creeping dread that our society, our fellow humans, think that what we do is meaningless.

We talk about being exhausted from working on the smell of an oily rag, but what we dont mention is the loneliness, the isolation, the feeling that we have been cut off from the tribe we so lovingly and longingly helped to build.

We talk about the arts being under-valued, but what we dont say is how much it hurts to be told, over and over, that we do not matter.

We use these terms to be part of a political discourse which has become dominated by economic language over the last thirty-odd years. We compromise our value when we argue for it solely in the language of economics. We need to talk about the spiritual significance of what we do, as well as the spiritual toll that being consistently under-valued takes on our ability to do it.

This article is based on Jackies work-in-progress manuscript,Spirituality for Non-Religious People.

The Wellness and Recovery Resource is supported by the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas.

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It's time to talk about spiritual wellbeing - ArtsHub

The Northern Province is embellished with Hindu kovils. In the vast land of palmyrah trees, devotion to Hindu deities has dominated the lifestyle of the Tamil community for centuries. The most iconic landmark of Jaffna is the Nallur Kovil. It is perhaps the most visited kovil in the entire province. The month of August is synonymous with the famous festival that takes place in this kovil, often lasting for nearly two weeks. This year after the impact of Covid-19 on places of religious worship, the grandeur of this vibrant Hindu festival will be restricted as devotees cannot gather in their thousands. Yet, remembering the history and tradition of this magnificent kovil is a worthy narrative.

Five kovils

Ancient Ceylon once boasted of pancha ishwaram five kovils dedicated to Shiva along the coastal regions. Naguleswaram in the North, Ketheeswaram in the North West, Koneswaram towards the East, Munneswaram located on the West and Thondeswaram situated in the South. This bears testimony to the Hindu communities that once thrived here, before the invading Portuguese went on a rampage and destroyed these kovils.

The Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil is bestowed with sacred art and is an enduring icon of Tamil culture. For decades, this kovil has been a sanctum where devotees gathered in their thousands. Inside we see the depiction of Murugan, the god of war. Murugan is venerated as he makes manifestation in the form of the vel (chariot).

According to history, a kovil was built by Puvaneka Vaahu, a Chief Minister of Kalinga Magha. This is substantiated by the records of the Yalpana Vaipava Malai, a chronicle written in 1736 by the poet Mailvagana Pullavar. The ruler of Jaffna, Kalinga Magha supported the building of the kovil. The capital of Jaffna moved from Karanthodai, (Vallipuram) to Nallur and Pooneryn over the centuries. Years later, King Kanagasuriyan regained this area and administered the kovil. The prospering domain of Nallur was once the capital of Jaffnas rulers when the rajadhani was built with four gates, with a temple at each gate, to invoke divine blessings upon ancient Ceylon and all her citizens. The four kovils were Veyilukantha Pillayar Kovil in the East, Veeramakali Amman Kovil in the West, Kailaya Vinayagar Kovil in the South and Sattanathar Kovil facing the North.

A display of faith

The Hindu adherents of the Northern Province remained faithful and in 1734, work began with eagerness to restore the Nallur Kovil, which was being built for the fourth time, during the reign of the Dutch. The daunting task was accepted by Ragunatha Mudaliyar who worked at the kachcheri. The present land was commonly known as Kurukkal Valavu (Garden of the Priests). It is said that Krishna Aiyar became the first incumbent priest. The seventh custodian of the temple, Arumuga Mapaana Mudaliyar worked tirelessly to upgrade the kovil. He built the first bell tower in 1899. The fortified wall which demarcates the large kovil was built by him in 1909. Kumaradas Mudaliyar, the tenth custodian, is credited with restoring this kovil to its present position as the largest Hindu kovil in Sri Lanka.

I am a Christian but have visited Nallur Kovil on many occasions to understand the rich culture and tradition that it holds. The tranquil aura around the kovil is beautiful. I walked inside this amazing edifice, and saw four gopurams and six bell towers. By tradition, all males must remove their shirts before entering the Kovil.

The variegated designs on the ceiling are brilliant and Dravidian forms of architecture originating from South India are very much evident. Ancient temples were built with sandstone and granite. The Vastu Shastra describes in much detail about building temples with emphasis on spatial geometry. Every kovil has a garbhagriha (Sanskrit for womb) the innermost sanctum where the statue of the primary deity is venerated. The southern side has a pond and garden (poonthotam).

The temple has shrines for Lord Ganesh, Vairavar and Sooriyan. Kandaswamy Kovil incorporates the iconography of Hindu cosmology. The Vedas depict time in four epochs (yugam).The old Tamil word koyil (residence of god) is today used as kovil. Hindu temples have their boundary wall painted in red and white. There is a reason for this style of painting. It was explained to me by Professor Dharmaratnam. The white stripes indicate sattva guna (goodness and harmony) and red stripes indicate raja guna (passion and confusion). It is painted in this manner to remind the devotee that one must overcome life to be enlightened. As the Bhagavad Gita teaches us, Hell has three gates: lust, anger and greed.

Delightful festival

The Maha Raja Gopuram rises on the northern skyline. It is a commanding nine-storey tower adorned with many intricate statues. A gopuram is a monumental tower at the entrance to a kovil and is topped with a kalasam, a stone finial. The temple tower reaches to the sky seeking divine union. Sri Lankans of all religions know the splendour affiliated with the festival of the Nallur Kovil in August, when multitudes of devotees gather. I had to gently push past people to get a closer look. Some were immersed in forms of penance, enduring physical pain. This is a reflection of their personal belief.

The fragrance of jasmine flowers and burning incense permeated the air. The ceremony begins with the ancient ritual of kodiyetram (hoisting of the flag). The orange hue of the flag symbolizes the sun, which dispels darkness and the saffron shading depicts fire, which is an unblemished purifier. It was nice to see policemen and soldiers engaged in worship. The colourful festival laden with much pomp and tradition dominates the Northern peninsula for almost 25 days.

I saw a mlange of poojas pooja in Sanskrit means reverence and adoration. Commencing annually at 6.15 am, the flamboyant Ther thiruvila festival of the chariot is the highlight. Devotees venerate the simmasanam (silver throne) where the deity Shanmuhar and his consorts are placed. The silver throne was handcrafted in 1900 by the seventh custodian. A group of pious men are attired in saffron clothes, a colour that symbolizes renunciation. Joyous chants of aro-hara resonated around the kovil premises. According to Sathiyasuthan the phrase aro-hara originates from the words. A devotee explained that the phrase appeals to god to remove all evil.

The pulsating drum beats at the festival were almost deafening. The silver throne is reverently carried on the shoulders of hundreds of worshippers, amidst an oblation of flowers. The heavy ropes of the chariot were pulled with zeal. I felt lost within this ocean of devotees. The commitment of the devotees was awesome. This kovil draws all Sri Lankans together. It is a sanctum that generates reconciliation and acts as a cultural gateway for those who desire to understand Tamil culture. The Nallur Kovil festival will continue for decades to come, shining her spiritual beacon upon our nation.

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Nallur Kovil: Spiritual beacon of the North - Ceylon Daily News

ST. JOHN'S, N.L.

There are no prayers recitals, no reading of sacred scriptures, no religious customs to follow and no formalized worship practices inside a church.

For those who participate in Out in Faith NL, their faith is in each other and their celebrations, held in public spaces, are as spiritually uplifting as any other large religious denominational assembly.

Out in Faith NLs multi-faith services are designed to facilitate more faith-based groups getting involved in Pride. With members of other faith-based groups, the group promotes inclusion and fosters a welcoming and comfortable space for those of different faiths and sexual orientations.

We want people to feel like this is a place where they can come and tell their story and all stories are welcome, said Liz Ohle, a member of the groups planning committee.

A member of the Quaker Worship Group, Ohle played a key role in forming the group in 2015 after noticing no other spiritual groups besides theirs participated in the Pride parade.

She contacted people of many faiths and got a positive response.

It was so well received, they were over capacity at their first location, the chapel at Memorial University, with 75 people showing up in early 2016. With interest growing, the services moved to The Gathering Place and eventually to the large gathering room at The Lantern.

The service features speakers discussing issues of faith and the LGBTQAI2S+ community. There are also songs from the Spectrum Queer Choir.

We do the best we can to look at all the different aspects of spirituality, of faith and what brings meanings to our lives, Ohle said. As humans, we seek meaning in our lives. That to me is spiritual.

Father Paul Lundrigan, a Roman Catholic priest, has been involved with the Out in Faith NL group for four years. He said its all about loving one another, no matter what your personal beliefs may be about sexuality.

While we may not share the faith, we may not share the understanding of sexuality and gender identity, we do share a common love for people, said Lundrigan, who added he is blessed to have gotten to know the committee and people in the group.

We support people who are trying to be the best people they can be, people who are seeking goodness and love and understanding and coming together to help other humans and all of creation.

In that sense, I thought it was essential that weve come to this point. I want to be a part of this wonderful way of showing pastoral care, ministry and love to all people, especially people of the LGBTQAI2S+ community.

The fifth annual Out in Faith service is scheduled to be held Thursday during Pride Week. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the celebration will be online, starting at 7 p.m. The link for the celebration will be available on the Out in Faith NL Facebook page and can be seen on YouTube.

This year, participants are asked to show the group something that represents their spirituality, from photos and artwork to poems and songs.

rosie.mullaley@thetelegram.com

@TelyRosie

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Out in Faith NL welcomes people of all faiths and sexual orientation - The Telegram

BERKELEY HEIGHTS, NJ -The Mount Carmel Society Feast will look a little different this year, but the procession will go on at 8 a.m. this Thursday, July 16 starting at Mount Carmel Society located at 56 River Road in Berkeley Heights.

The Mount Carmel Society will continue the traditional feast and procession this year, with some adjustments to traditions in line with safety requirements put in place by Governor Murphy due to COVID-19. The annual, traditional Procession of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (the Parade) will begin at 8 a.m. at Mt. Carmel Society (56 River Road, Berkeley Heights) outside in the front of the building, traveling its usual route through town. Please note the change in the starting location due to the construction at Little Flower Church.

"The traditional morning bombs (which are in fact just fireworks) will still happen at the start of the parade to honor our blessed mother, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel," said Mount Carmel Society President Joe Franchino. After those traditional initial fireworks (bombs), as is tradition, they will continue throughout the parade route as the Mt. Carmel Society recognizes and salutes current and past members, those no longer with us, as well as in recognition of those impacted by the coronavirus.

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After the procession, at 11a.m., a mass will be held outside at the Mount Carmel Society, in the back of the building.There will be chairs available for those in need. It will be a shortened ceremony as it will be outside and most people will be standing. Parking will be available in the front and in the rear of Mount Carmel Society.

Later that evening, the Mount Carmel society will host an evening celebration from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m. featuring live music with the fan-favorite local band Missing Pieces, and a BBQ for members and guests.Local businesses and town residents are invited as long as the total attendance remains within allowable attendance limits. All attendees are asked to maintain safe social distancing (6 feet apart) or to wear masks where that is not possible along the procession route and at the evening festivities.

"Unfortunately, the famous and traditional nighttime fireworks show will be postponed this year," said Franchino. "The Mount Carmel Society hopes that the famous Feast and all the traditional fireworks displays will be scheduled safely at a future date. The Mount Carmel Society will let everyone know if and when that is possible. Thank you for your support!"

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Mount Carmel Society Feast Procession and Family Barbecue Goes On With COVID-19 Adjustments - TAPinto.net

Most of us are familiar with the concept that we were created in the image of God, but what exactly does that mean? Do we physically resemble the Divine? Does God have fingers, toes, and a belly button? Probably not.

In his book, Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, Trappist Monk Thomas Merton famously wrote,

In Louisville, at the corner of Fourth and Walnut, in the center of the shopping district, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that I loved all these people, that they were mine and I theirs, that we could not be alien to one another even though we were total strangers. It was like waking from a dream of separateness, of spurious self-isolation in a special world. . . .

This sense of liberation from an illusory difference was such a relief and such a joy to me that I almost laughed out loud. . . . I have the immense joy of being man, a member of a race in which God Himself became incarnate. As if the sorrows and stupidities of the human condition could overwhelm me, now that I realize what we all are. And if only everybody could realize this! But it cannot be explained. There is no way of telling people that they are all walking around shining like the sun.

Then it was as if I suddenly saw the secret beauty of their hearts, the depths of their hearts where neither sin nor desire nor self-knowledge can reach, the core of their reality, the person that each one is in Gods eyes. If only they could all see themselves as they really are. If only we could see each other that way all the time. There would be no more war, no more hatred, no more cruelty, no more greed. . . . But this cannot be seen, only believed and understood by a peculiar gift.

Is it possible that Thomas Merton had some rare insight into what it might look like-with eyes of the Spirit-to be an image bearer of God? Is it possible that every single one of us is radiating with the presence and glory of God at all times? I think he was onto something.

I believe that what Merton had eyes to see-at least in that moment-was humanitys true self. Just imagine how our lives would change if we could see ourselves the way that God sees us-beautiful, free, significant, whole, and healed. What would that do for our insecurities? How would that change the way we interact with others?

We carry our personal pain and trauma deep within and it manifests in a hundred different ways. Personally, I am often impatient, demanding, jealous, and resentful when living out of my pain. Obviously, this negatively impacts each of my relationships and creates stress and insecurity where there should be peace and freedom.

In this second half of life, I am finding that the more I intentionally center my thoughts and self around who I really am-an image bearer of God-the more freedom I experience from the imposter that I often pretend to be. Im grateful for those rare moments of clarity in which I see myself and those around me for who we really are-the beloved of God.

Im finding this meditation helpful in this season. Perhaps it will be of use to you as well.

I have the DNA of the Divine.Love is the fiber of my being.I have come from love, live in love, and will one day return to love.I radiate the love and presence of God.I am free from every weight of concern and hindrance to the purposes of love.I have eyes to see everyone I encounter today as a beloved child of God.I will celebrate the breathtaking image of the Divine in everyone I meet today.

May you have eyes to see the breathtaking beauty of you today.

Have you ever seen humanity as Thomas Merton described above?

Have you noticed any specific distractions that keep you from living out of your belovedness?

What practices have you found helpful in keeping you centered?

Id love to hear from you in the comments.

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The Breathtaking Image of God | Messy Spirituality-Finding God in Unexpected Places - Patheos

This is the book cover of Heartstorming: Creating a Place God Can Call Home by Robert J. Wicks. The book is reviewed by Kathleen Finley. (CNS)

By Kathleen Finley Catholic News Service Posted July 13, 2020

Heartstorming: Creating a Place God Can Call Home by Robert J. Wicks. Paulist Press (Mahwah, New Jersey, 2020). 158 pp., $21.95.

In these unsettling days, the prospect of talking with a gentle, listening friend about our relationship with God may sound appealing indeed. Thats what Robert Wicks, author, speaker and psychologist, provides here for the reader. His introduction sets the tone: Come Sit By Me: An Invitation to Prayerfully Experience Living with More Meaning, Inner Peace and Joy.

He describes his goal as to enhance the spiritual life so our approach to meeting God can become more powerfully incarnational, experiential and relevant. Heartstorming, as a process or attitude, is designed to help us move more deeply into the present with God in all of our life, in every encounter.

He suggests that to do this task well we need both clarity and kindness, which he goes on to embody throughout the book.

Although it was written well before the pandemic and its forced isolation, there is much in this book that can be helpful these days.

For example: Sadness, disappointments, rejections and other gray times in our day and life need to be brought to prayer and quiet reflection. In doing this, the themes can be taken to heart, pondered on a walk or shared in a discussion with an old friend. On another level, they will also prompt us when guiding others to encourage them to be more sensitive to the question of where sadness might be leading them in their lives as well.

Wicks suggests that our emotions, instead of getting in the way of prayer, may help us tune in more effectively to God. In seeking to appreciate the presence of God through an awareness of our emotions, none should be ignored. Both the positive and what we would term negative emotions are portals to experiencing both what God is trying to teach us and ways of intimacy that can only be touched through appreciating those feelings. Emotions serve as hints to look further to see how God may be sitting with us.

After a couple of general sections in the book, Wicks presents 45 examples of what he calls field notes, each a couple of pages of reflection on the ways he has noticed God at work in his life lately. An example is the inevitable feeling that we all have at times of loneliness, feeling a bit left out of the action.

He suggests: In each instance it is actually the beginning of a transforming experience. It awakens you to the sense of your own uniqueness in the eyes of God. Only God will ever really, completely get you. You remember at that moment of loneliness and separation that you are not really, totally alone or on your own. You feel at the core of your existence that your name is written in the palm of his hand.

You recall the messages from Johns Gospel: I wont leave you orphaned; I will come back for you. You are my friend. You are not really alone, he continues. Its a shame that periods of loneliness are often not unwrapped for what they can be: a chance to go spiritually deeper and to be a gentler, understanding presence to others when they are having a tough time in their own journey because of experience of feeling apart.

His final section invites the reader to make his or her own field notes and offers some ideas of how to begin. This book is especially helpful and geared toward those who are in a helping position, whether officially or just by who they are in their lives, although almost anyone could benefit from this warm, supportive conversation.

***

Finley is the author of several books on practical spirituality, including Savoring God: Praying With All Our Senses, Building a Christian Marriage: Eleven Essential Skills and The Liturgy of Motherhood: Moments of Grace, and previously taught in the religious studies department at Gonzaga University.

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Author's ideas on meeting God offer welcome antidote to isolation - CatholicPhilly.com

Growing up, sports were my life. When I got to high school, I realized that I had to train with more focus and intensity than previously acceptable. I needed to get bigger, stronger, and faster. Over 95% of an athletes time is spent training and less than 5% competing.

Training prepares us for game time. We make sacrifices in order to get better. Tim Tebow says, Hard work always beats talent when talent doesnt work hard. Some athletes want the results without the work, but thats not the way it works. Our desire needs to be matched by our doing.

Spiritually speaking, many of us spend very little time training for life on Team Jesus. Our spiritual growth is spotty at best, and we often wonder why we arent farther along in our walk with Christ. Many of us wonder, Why wont God put me in the game? Well, there are reasons. God knows when our spiritual growth is ready for game time (Jeremiah 12:5), and the Holy Spirit is ready to lead us into all Truth (John 16:13) if and when we make the time to train.

Sure, we call it devotions, but we arent very devoted. We call it quiet time, but how often do we rush through the calm to tackle the chaos of the day?

If were honest, most of us dont even have a plan. And, our hit-and-miss approach to spiritual growth is littered with excuses that were too tired or too busy. We need to put ourselves in position for God to do what only He can do transform us from the inside out.

We need to show up and put in some spiritual training time. Team Jesus cant just be a group of weekend warriors. If we want to experience real-life change, we have to train.

Make a sacrifice, get a plan, and show up for the workout. There are no shortcuts to godliness.

We must do the training and let God do the changing. Think about it.

So, Whats The Play call?

Prayer:

Father, give me the desire and discipline to begin and stick with a spiritual training program that increases the capacity of my heart and soul. When I show up and train, you will bring change from the inside out. Amen.

Post-workout stretch:

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.- 2 Peter 1:3-4

They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. Hebrews 12:10-12

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyednot only in my presence but now much more in my absencecontinue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Philippians 2:12-13

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There Are No Spiritual Growth Hacks, We've Got to Train - Team Jesus Magazine

Was I deceived? or did a sable cloud

Turn forth her silver lining on the night?

I did not err, there does a sable cloud,

Turn out her silver lining on the night

And casts a gleam over this tufted grove.

- John Milton, 1634

We can all recite the litany of woes and ills visited upon us in this remarkable year of 2020. We recite it so often now, usually in disbelief, as in, How can so much bad happen in such a short period of time?

COVID-19 and a global pandemic. Shut down and lock down. Economic collapse. The death of George Floyd and the ensuing days and nights of rage and anger and heartbreak. A November election shaping up to be ugly and divisive and tribal and unprecedented.

And the year is only 190 days old or so! 2020 is barely half over. Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play? Heres a first-class ticket on the Titanic! Or as the perpetually downhearted and pessimistic donkey Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh might conclude, Were doomed.

Or maybe not.

Maybe we might be able to actually glean some silver linings from that which has been a train wreck of a year so far. Maybe we might actually find some good among all the bad, some hope among all the pessimism, and some courage among all the fear.

I want to do that. I need to do this: to find hope.

To see hopeful places and movements and ideas and people amidst all the wreckage. I have to do this, to be an explorer for the positive in the midst of all the negative. My faith compels me: my belief in the basic goodness of human beings and my belief in a God who is constantly pushing Creation towards redemption and renewal and rebirth. Im not denying whats broken. Not imagining it never happened. No. But always, to look for the light where it is tempting to only see the shadows.

I can do that. We can do that.

And so, I am grateful that the pandemic has reminded me of one great truth: how much we humans really need one another: for care and mutual support and love and laughter. Since mid-March when I first shut the front door and stayed in, Ive actually connected more deeply and more consistently with those I love.

There was the surprise 85th Zoom birthday party for my Mom last month. Thirty-five folks from across the country showed up to wish her the happiest of birthdays. Who could have imagined that party last January? Or my weekly Zoom connections: with my choir friends on Wednesday evenings every single week, as we laugh and joke and check in. How are you? Or my weekly Zoom meeting with grad school friends, friends Ive loved for more than 30 years. We never gathered so frequently pre-COVID.

COVID has actually connected me more to others, not less. I hear the same from other folks about socially distanced beer and wine gatherings in a neighborhood driveway. Precious time with children now that youth sports are on hold. We actually eat dinner together every night now, they tell me. In the church I serve we actually have seen an increase in folks coming to worship and classes and fellowship who knew the virtual might sometimes trump the face to face?

Silver lining: staying connected, one to another.

And I am hopeful, that the rising up of millions of my fellow citizens in anger and frustration at the sin of racism, filling the streets, pushing for real change, seizing this singular moment to imagine and hope; that maybe this time America will have the courage to face itself in honesty. To begin to redress that most original of civic sins: dismissing the other because they are different than you.

Who could have imagined Black Lives Matter signs appearing on suburban lawns and church yards, or folks of all ages and religions and classes and races, so many people, taking a stand, taking a knee? Statues representing an oppressive and violent history toppling over? Corporations committing to more diversity of voices and employees. Mississippi finally taking the Confederate flag off its state flag?

I know this movement is still in its infancy, that it will be mighty hard to actually move beyond symbolic acts and protests to actually achieve real and lasting societal change a just society but hope for this I must. We must. It will take long and hard work to begin to undo 400 years of injustice but what if we have finally begun this journey as a country?

Silver lining: waking up to the truth of who America is while also dreaming of who she might become someday, one great day.

Give me hope. Show me a silver lining in the midst of the storm clouds. Enough with the bad. Look for the good. Its out there. We just need to look for it with eyes of faith.

Onward.

The Rev. John F. Hudson is senior pastor of the Pilgrim Church, United Church of Christ, in Sherborn (pilgrimsherborn.org). If you have a word or idea youd like defined in a future column or have comments, please send them to pastorjohn@pilgrimsherborn.org or in care of The Press (Dover-Sherborn@wickedlocal.com).

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Spiritually Speaking: Silver linings from a dark cloud of a year - Wicked Local Sharon

American Spirit is a campaign on the issues faced by the Native American Community in America. Over the next week, this column will feature stories of determination, triumph, legacy and redemption

While Native Americans represent a small percentage of the population of the United States, the community accounts for higher rates of alcohol abuse than other ethnic groups. For instance, the 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that 54.3 percent of Native Americans reported alcohol use a significantly higher rate than other ethnic groups. Nearly a quarter of Native Americans reported binge drinking the past month (to the survey) and the rate of Native Americans with an alcohol use disorder (7.1%) is higher than that of the total population (5.4%). Additionally, it was reported that one in six Native American adolescents (between 12 and 17 years old) engaged in underage drinking the highest rate for that age group among all ethnic groups.

Alcoholism has had a negative effect on Native American communities, however, causing emotional turmoil, physical health problems and economic burdens and has contributed to the false stereotype that a majority or all Native Americans have unhealthy relationships with alcohol. The consequences of alcohol abuse for Native Americans include increased risks for heart disease, cancer, gastrointestinal problems, pneumonia, tuberculosis, dental problems, hearing and vision problems, depression and other mental health disorders. Alcohol use is also a major cause of preventable birth defects and developmental disabilities in Native Americans with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reporting that the rate of fetal alcohol syndrome among some tribes is more than eight times the national average. Studies show that Native American men have the second-highest self-reported rates of driving under the influence, as well as the second-highest arrest rates for drunk driving, compared to men from other racial and ethnic groups.

Before the age of European colonization, while Native Americans did produce fermented beverages to be used for ceremonial purposes, the alcohol content in these drinks was reportedly much weaker and underdeveloped than that brought over by the colonists. When Europeans came to America and suddenly made large amounts of distilled spirits and wine available to Native Americans, the tribes had little time to develop social, legal or moral guidelines to regulate alcohol use. Moreover, among the European colonists, alcohol was consumed on a regular basis and often in high amounts. Numerous historical accounts describe extremely violent bouts of drinking among Indian tribes during trading sessions and on other occasions but at least as many accounts exist of similar behavior among the colonists. This rapid introduction to alcohol consumption may have contributed to the community's drinking problems. History may have sown the seeds as alcohol began to play a pivotal role as means of trade and money between the Native Americans and the colonists, thus helping shape the political and economic basis of early America.

Studies have attributed the high prevalence of alcohol abuse among Native Americans to a number of factors, including economic disadvantage, cultural loss and historical trauma, as well as other health issues. Native Americans suffer from high rates of unemployment. Over 20% of Native Americans live at or below the poverty level a rate more than double that for White people. Moreover, fewer Native Americans tend to complete high school or college, with less than one in five earning an undergraduate degree. The Native American community is also less likely to have access to insurance and adequate medical care. Additionally, Native Americans are at a greater risk of psychological distress and unmet medical and physiological needs. Many experts suggest that the brutality and loss experienced by Native Americans in the aftermath of the European colonization of the United States led to historical trauma. Native Americans also have higher rates of several diseases, including, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, obesity, liver disease and hepatitis. Research shows that illness leads to chronic stress which subsequently increases the risk of alcohol abuse and addiction.

The Firewater myth is the notion that Native Americans are more susceptible to the effects of alcohol and vulnerable to alcohol problems due to biological or genetic differences. However, there is no truth to this theory that has been linked to those wanting to attribute addiction to "weaker genes." Further, the presence of the myth exacerbates vulnerabilities to problems with alcohol. Studies show that the mythmay be harmful and have negative effects on attempts to moderate drinking.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), inadequate knowledge of the needs and culture of Native Americans in treatment programs may be among the main reasons for the underutilization of treatment by Native Americans, as well as low rates of retention in these programs. Community-based alcohol treatment programs targeted toward Native Americans often have a cultural or spiritual element to treatment. Experts agree that incorporating cultural traditions, spirituality and practices can help to provide a holistic, well-rounded care approach.

An example is the Tribal Healing to Wellness Courts, also known as drug courts, which have proliferated within Native American country during the last two decades. The drug court model, beginning within state courts, was later adapted for tribes to better allow for the diversity of cultures, languages, needs, governance structures and laws. Essentially, a Tribal Healing to Wellness Court, like a state drug court, integrates substance abuse treatment with the criminal justice system to provide substance-abusing offenders judicially supervised treatment and transitional services through the use of intense supervision, sanctions and incentives and drug testing in a non-punitive setting.

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American Spirit: Alcohol abuse in US highest among Native Americans but there is hope with spiritual treatment - MEAWW

Tah-Dah! Today is Paper Bag Day. On July 12, 1852, American schoolteacher Francis Wolle invented the first machine to mass-produce paper bags.

If you are saying to yourself, Thats interesting, but paper bags have nothing to do with a faith-based newspaper column that encourages above the sun thinking, you would be correct.

The reason I used that little known fact as my opening sentence was to illustrate that some days are just very average, nothing really exciting or unique about them. Judging from the trivia I found on the internet, July 12 is one of those ho-hum days in history.

There may be some of you who became a Christian on July 12 or re-dedicated your life to Christ on July 12. But I am guessing that spiritually speaking, July 12 represents a fairly average day in most of our lives. For me personally, I am okay with having a day where no news is good news. But for many Christians, having a boring day spiritually is a real downer, so to speak, completely unacceptable. For some of us, if we do not experience a spiritual breakthrough or have an incredible mountain-top moment often enough, our faith begins to dip, and our attitude begins to slip.

The purpose of this article today is to remind us that if we do not have an earth-shattering spiritual moment every day, that is not a bad thing. Maybe having a boring day is Gods way of encouraging you to do something you have not had time to do lately, like study Gods word, pray, or go strike up a conversation with a neighbor who could really use some human interaction. A boring day also gives us time to relax, reflect, re-evaluate, make new life strategies, go on a fast from TV and radio, or a social media fast. A boring day can be a valuable tool in helping you re-fill your cup.

Noah didnt get to build an ark and survive a worldwide flood every year. Abraham didnt have a direct encounter with an angel every day. Balaams donkey did not speak to him every day. Peter did not walk on the water every time he had a conversation with Jesus. And Lazarus did not rise from his grave every time he died.

Most days are just not that big of a deal by the worlds standards. And most days are not even that big of a deal spiritually, at least on the surface, in that we do not experience multiple wow moments each week, month, or year. But that does not mean God cannot be seen working in our lives, our communities, and in nature every single day, and that IS a big deal. God created the human heart to beat over 100,000 times in one day and about 35-40 million times in a year! The question is, what will we do to honor God with the beats weve been given?

Have a great week!

Barrett Vanlandingham is the Youth Minister at the Fort Gibson Church of Christ. Reach him at (918) 478-2222 or barrett@ftgcc.org.

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Above the Sun: Boring days are filled with opportunity - Muskogee Daily Phoenix

Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth (Matt 10:34).

Isa 1:10-17; Matt 10:3411:1

It has been said that the only permanent thing is change. The movement of time reveals constant flux, with periods of stability forming the next wave of change. One image of history is a pendulum moving one way until its own counterweight pulls it back in the opposite direction. When change does come, it is often most visible as intergenerational. One generation holds on to its own structures and sets of values while their children seek to adapt things to their needs and vision of life.

Jesus knew that his message of justice and love would be disruptive to people whose privilege was maintained on the backs of others. His vision of a more egalitarian society threatened those who used force to control society and extracted wealth from the land by the labor of others, including slaves and resident aliens. Beneath Jesus message of love and right relationships was an implied revolution of the heart requiring social transformation to create actual community.

So, Jesus words in todays Gospel about conflict between generations and within families are no surprise. The historical context heightened the urgency of the Jesus teaching. The early church witnessed epochal religious upheaval when Jerusalem fell during the Jewish-Roman War and a great diaspora flowed from the Middle East into the Mediterranean basin. Roman persecution of Christians further split families as some tried to accommodate Rome while others went underground.

While most of us have lived relatively undisturbed, we might wonder what stories will be told some day by millions of refugees and immigrants who are now struggling to rebuild their lives after fleeing wars, weather disasters and economic dislocation. And who can say for sure that profound instability and uncertainty does not await everyone in a world riding fresh waves of change caused by rising consciousness, institutional failure and ecological shifts?

Jesus words should disturb us. The underlying question is, if all else fails, what can we depend on? If family loyalties fail or cannot provide support, if national security does not afford us special treatment, if institutional religion does not lead us, what will we do in crisis? Jesus offers us himself as a compass by making our relationship with him central. If we take up our cross and follow him, we will not lose our way. Even if we lose our life for his sake, we will find it. Jesus is the continuity in change, the stability in transition.

He concluded his instruction to his disciples with the assurance that whoever receives them will be receiving him and the One who sent him Even a cup of cold water given to a disciple will be remembered and rewarded. Within these promises is a whole world of guarantee that if we keep faith, we will find life. If we make love our rule, we will be part of a blessed network of caring and giving that will meet our basic needs as part of historys great pilgrimage to the Beloved Community. Trusting that this is real and true is what faith is all about.

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Jesus and change - National Catholic Reporter

Mary Lisa is making counsel and mediumship available by phone, as well as Face Time and Messenger Video Chat. She will be available from 10am on weekdays and weekends.

Mary Lisa is a ForensicLevel Psychic - that means she has successfully worked with authorities to locate missing persons, and advance investigations that have run out of leads. In this and other ways she has demonstrated her remarkable ability of CLAIRSENTIENCE (to remote view and perceive) - time and distance are no obstacle.

This is a time of great upheaval, pressure and tensions are mounting. It can be felt all around you. The negativity one continues to encounter while simply trying to shop is a perfect example. Consciously or unconsciously many are experiencing mistrust from, and ofothers. Sadly this new climate is taking its toll. The suicide rate and violence have been steadily climbing.

With that in mind, there is no better time than now to give yourself, or a troubled friend/family member the gift of messages from one's guides. Guides can help bring you safely and more calmly through this critical time. Just 15 minutes can be life altering and is a great way to start if you've never had a reading.

Testimonial:I've had quite a few readings over the years. They have been helpful at times but Ioften got the feeling Iwas being told what Iwanted to hear. Not with Mary Lisa! She shot completely from the hip. Nothing was sugar coated. Basically she told me Ineeded to get my "S" together and then listed five specific messages from my guides which she had already written down before Icalled! Can't go into details but after just a half an hour Ihad an entirely new outlook. There's only one way she could have known about the things she mentioned. Iwas stunned. After getting off the phone Icried my eyes out. It was needed. Irealized Ihad lost my faith. That's what she gave me back that day. Thank You Mary!

Mary Lisa's insights are not vague. They come from "Source" and thus she is able to validate messages. She is also very skilled at helping interpret what comes through and outline the best way to incorporate spiritual information into real and lasting change.

Advanced notice when booking a session is key to a positive outcome. This gives both medium and client time to prepare mentally and spiritually. One should try to arrange for a quiet space free from interruptions or distractions (to the extent possible of course). It is also very helpful to think about two or three questions or areas of concern in your life. This will help focus the session and make for the most efficient use of limited time.

Psychic Reading vs Mediumship: Readings of 20 minutes or less will be Psychic Readings. This means relaying of messages from guides and focus on most immediate life issues. Mediumship, where more in depth messages from loved ones and other ancestors can be brought forward, require thirty minutes or more to allow time for identification and validation of of those who come through.

REMOTE LONG DISTANCE REIKI SESSIONS ARE ALSO AVAILABLE. If you are a returning client for distance Reiki or are considering it, Mary Lisa must have at least 30 minutes notice to allow for client and medium to set up and prepare for the session. Instruction is given at the time of booking.

To schedule an appointment email LisasLifeLine111@gmail.com or text 860-759-2340. You can also log onto LisasLifeLine.com for more information.

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Mary Lisa Reaches Out To Help In This Time Of Spiritual Need. - Patch.com

By Sheri McIntosh, Saturday at 1:38 pm

Avoiding stress is usually on the list for living a healthy lifestyle. It is typically behind eating healthy and exercising. I feel like eating healthy and exercising is in my control. Stress comes looking for me. Most of us do not intentionally place ourselves in stressful situations. Life circumstances bring stress into our lives.

Stress is a physical and mental response to life experiences. Everyone has stressful events in their life at some point of time. We have life events involving work, family, or health that may cause stress.

When you experience stress, your body responds by releasing a hormone that increases your heart and breathing rate. This is okay when you experience short-term stress; however, if you are experiencing long-term stress it can be detrimental to your health. Long-term or chronic stress can cause several health issues including depression, anxiety, obesity, high blood pressure, and heart disease. With short-term stress you can feel the change in your body. Some people under chronic stress have experienced it for such a long time they ignore the impact on their body. They have insomnia, anxiety or are short tempered and do not realize that stress is at the root of their problem.

There are things you can do to help you cope with stress. It is okay to admit that you feel stressed. Practice self-care and do not feel like you are being selfish. There is nothing wrong with taking some time out for yourself. Find time to relax. Try deep breathing exercises, prayer, and meditation. Take a bubble bath. Listen to your favorite music. Use a journal to write down your feelings. Do not make unrealistic goals that you will pressure yourself to reach. (This also includes not letting other people create unrealistic goals for you.) You want to use positive activities to cope with stress. If you feel overwhelmed and cannot get a handle on your stress seek professional help.

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Beat Stress | Spiritual and Physical Wellness - ChicagoNow

Today's Topic U.N. AGENDA 2030 EXPOSED What does this mean from a Spiritual Perspectiver? The War on Terror is NOW The War On US! Tune in today at 2:30 pm.To listen to the SpiritualProphesy Message for the Mass and Call in to get your own psychic reading

Helping people shift and Expand Conscious Awareness for over twenty five years

Psychic Awareness radio presents information, experiences and news to expand consciousness and evoke full human potential.Touching on a multitude of holistic and spiritual topics that heal and balance the body, mind and spirit with various healers, psychics and holistic practitioners

Laura Schwalm is a modern-day Spiritualist who incorporates holistic and spiritual practices to balance and heal the body, mind, and spirit. Laura was named Laura the Voice of Truth by her clients, for her accuracy and authenticity. Laura is a psychic medium and certified Holistic Health coach, master healer, Conscious wellness Coach and Metaphysical speaker and educator in the art and alchemy of healing. She specializes soul readings and removing emotional imprints that cause undesirable life experiences, such as bad health, financial and relationship issues. She helps clients achieve optimum balance in all areas of their lives by bringing the body, mind, and spirit back into alignment.

The podcasts will provide a modern day spiritualists point of view on healing, personal growth and transformation. Laura speaks about the importance of looking in, understanding spiritual laws and transforming spiritual wounds into spiritual gift for ones souls purpose and spiritual evolution. Laura also shares practical techniques for healing into consciousness so that we can awaken to our true purpose and potential.

To read about the services Laura offers, read testimonials and find out about Laura's upcoming showings and events go to http://www.pureenergyhealer.com

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Psychic Awareness & The Art and Science of Spiritual Alchemy - BlogTalkRadio

The Foundation has also released several yogic practices for free download such as Isha Kriya, Simha Kriya, Chit Shakti meditation and Upa-yoga among other simple practices that can bring stability and harmony between body, mind, emotion and energies enhancing ones immune system, emotional balance and stability.

Unconscious human beings are the only problem you have on this planet, Sadhguru said speaking about the Conscious Planet initiative that was set for a global launch in March this year but has been pushed back because of the pandemic.

Even now, this pandemic flying around the world like this is basically because of unconscious human beings. If only human beings were a little more conscious, very easily we could've contained this, Sadhguru added.

Speaking about Cauvery Calling, an ecological initiative to revive river Cauvery, Sadhguru said, In spite of the pandemic, the work on the ground has been happening as it should happen, and that tree-based agriculture, the model promoted by Cauvery Calling, would ensure long-term well-being for the farmers.

On the recent death by suicide, of a young Hindi film actor, Sadhguru said that the education system offers nothing, nothing means absolutely nothing at all, in the whole process of growing up as to how a human being should handle his or her faculties, how they should address themselves. It's all about fixing the world. For that, we're paying a price as a generation. Stating that 800,000 people commit suicide annually, Sadhguru added that every forty seconds somebody is taking their own life. This is the worst tragedy that's happening in the world.

This is the first time in the Foundations history that Guru Purnima, the most important event on the Isha calendar, was an online event. It was streamed live from Isha Institute of Inner-Sciences in the United States.

Watch Sadhguru's special address on Guru Purnima here.

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'One drop of spirituality' to every human being: Sadhguru shares vision for the planet - Free Press Journal