Adult Spirituality Group notes, 6/24/2012

We're trying something we've never done before --> reading an intense and vivid novel, The Red Tent, by Anita Diamant.  On the back cover is synopsized:

     "Her name is Dinah.  In the Bible, her life is only hinted at in a brief and violent detour within the move familiar chapters of her father, Jacob, and his dozen sons in the Book of Genesis.
     "Told in Dinah's voice, this novel reveals the traditions and turmoil of ancient womanhood--the world of the red tent.  It begins with the story of her mothers--Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah--the four wives of Jacob.  They love Dinah and give her gifts that are to sustain her through a hard-working youth, a calling to midwifery, and a new home in a foreign land.  Dinah's story reaches out from a remarkable period of early history and creates an intimate, immediate connection.
     "Deeply afffecting, The Red Tent combines rich storytelling with a valuable achievement in modern fiction: a new view of biblical women's society."

For June 31, please read to discuss:

1. Bible:  Genesis 34 1:31
2. Red Tent:  Chapters 5 & 6, pp 147-179

Adult Spirituality Group notes, 3/16/2012

I'm making a note that I've taken a sabbatical from the Adult Spirituality Group while you folks read the current book. Please let me know when you finish and what books you plan to read next.

Just as I have found taking notes of and reflecting upon our group discussions of great help to remember and consolidate the scintillating gems into my life, I can recommend the process for others.

Adult Spirituality Group notes, 12/11/2011

(10 people participated)

In the Bible (John 6:62), Jesus is described as the “Son of Man”, the human one who lived as the archetypal model for humanity. His actions and perspective are studied in this light:

1. For example, in the Bible (Luke 7:44), it is noted that Jesus washed his disciples' feet. To frame the cultural context, the group discussed different forms of showing reverent respect in the West and around the world.

In Western society, people are used to shaking each other's hands as a way of showing humble respectful personal attention. Jesus' action of washing his disciples' feet goes one step beyond how people in India frequently show great respect to each other. They bow to touch each others' feet as a practice of the awareness that God is everywhere and in all. This deeper more careful attention also helps to remind the recipient person of his or her own divine essence and helps to cultivate an earnest response.

All in the Adult Spirituality Group agreed that it's very important to give respect in culturally appropriate ways that the other can understand and appreciate. Day M. attended a Devi Bhava in San Ramon, CA.
* Please see the program details of a Devi Bhava at - http://www.ammanewengland.org/blog/ammatour-boston-home/devi-bhava-program-details. (One reason why I think that the program details are on the Web is so that people can open their minds beforehand to this culturally exotic event.)

2. We also chatted about the notion of Holy Communion, that we are sampling the body and blood of Jesus Christ through the wafer & wine. As a symbolic action, this seems an intimate way to experience the Christ’s teachings and example. As a literal action, this seems cannibalistic, a poor example for our young boys to learn, just as they often learn to respect discrimination and bullying among their friends.

What ever happened to softness and kindness? (Francis & Rose B.)

For next week, please finish reading Chapter 8, entitled, “Compassion”, in which Jesus’ role as a game-changer is discussed. Try to respond to the question, “Do you really want to make a change?” (Pastor Dan)

Adult Spirituality Group notes, 11/6/11

TODAY - We completed questions of interest in the rich Chapter 2, in Questions of Jesus:

Jesus asked, "Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?" (Luke 12:14, see p. 30)
"Jesus does not want to get involved in our family feuds or divide up land and possessions. Rather, he is trying to get us to see beyond ourselves, our material goods, our brief lives. He wants to save our souls, to change the world, and to inspire us to lay down our lives on behalf of the human race as nonviolent martyrs for justice and peace." (see p. 31)
Day - Jesus is a heart/soul/identity doctor. Us humans are so easily distracted by our egoic notion of "I am the body", and forget to raise our consciousness to realize how God is our true living self and identity "I". With this higher perception, "Jesus rarely loses his patience. he is like Buddha, like Gandhi, an icon of peace and serenity, even as all hell breaks loose around him." (p. 33)
Bob - Jesus' whole goal was to empower people to do what he did, to lift people's eyes to a new level.

Jesus inquired, "Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me?" (John 14:9, on p. 39) "I am the way and the truth and the life," Jesus explains. "If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him." (p. 39)
Day - At a certain level, it's fairly easy to revere and honor God. It seems that Jesus wants us to go deeper, to learn from him and do the work requisite to achieve his miracles ourselves. In the following quote, I'm curious about Mother Theresa's center of awareness -
"As Mother Theresa washed the vomit and vermin off the face, chest, and legs of a dying man, the reporter watched in horror, appalled that she would go near such filth. "I wouldn't do that for a million dollars," he said.
"Neither would I," Mother Theresa answered." (p. 36)

Rose Bailey asked - Would we still be interested in what Jesus said, without him showing his miraculous powers? This led into a discussion about how humans clamor for material possessions:
"Our context today is characterized by a glaring disparity between the rich and the poor." (p. 37)
Tom Ward - In the U.S., the gap between the rich and poor is widening. The U.S. has the most radical extremes among almost all countries on Earth."
Gudrun - "I just came from China and was positively impressed. Democracy isn't efficient. In the U.S., we're too focused on capitalism for the creation of material wealth, without using our government to direct it for the people's benefit. We need to use the counter-balancing powers of our representative democracy to provide justice and righteousness."
Pastor Dan - Most of the wealth nowadays is gotten from usery, or making money off other people's money. (See http://www.occupytogether.org/)
Gudrun - "It is important to set up a good will to protect children's inheritance and future relationship with each other."

NEXT WEEK - We'll discuss:
- Chapter 3, Purity of Heart (p. 410->)
- Chapter 4, Conversion (p. 49->) Giselle thinks this chapter is superb!

Adult Spirituality Group notes, 10/23/11

Today, the nine attendees discussed Chapter 2, entitled "Identity" and posed the question to ourselves that Jesus posed to a wealthy young man, "Why do you ask me about what is good?" (Matthew 19:17, that we read on p. 15 of our book, Questions of Jesus).

Why do we ask Jesus about what is good? Do we expect a direct answer?
This question is not simple and requires long-term personal introspection. What are our expectations of a so called God-man who is to "save" us and answer our life existential questions? The group discussion, by elucidating the complex nature of this question helped map the path towards a meaningful answer:

Day - Nowadays, the Internet and other entertainment is a form of material wealth that can be very distracting from what Buddha has called the Middle Path, which best balances one between the delusions and distractions of material wealth as well as the hardships of poverty. The Middle Path is best to discover and deepen one's spiritual perspective and realization over the long-term.
Bob - People have an early basic sense for right and wrong, just by sitting and naturally listening to what is going on.
Francis - Ignorance is bliss. The more you know and perspective you gain, the more clear and responsible you become to understand and manage the complex ethics of mature adult reality.
Pastor Dan - It is our responsibility to have the discipline of love.
Bob - In the bible, the blind Bartimeus had a lot more to benefit from by immediately dropping his possessions before Jesus. The rich man has more external responsibility and a complex set of priorities that made him more attached and thus slower.
Rose - I think we get bogged down by our nuances of the questions - "What is good?" and "Who do you think I am?"

FOR NEXT WEEK: Please continue to read Chapter 2, focusing on the questions on pp. 19 & 23.

List of possible after New Year 2012 readings:
1. The Red Tent (novel)- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Red_Tent
2. The Poisonwood Bible (novel)- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Poisonwood_Bible
3. Everything Must Change: Global Crises and a Revolution of Hope, by Brian McLaren – http://www.gci.org/book/mclaren.

Adult Spirituality Group notes, 10/16/11

With love, respect, and hope, Jesus repeatedly inquires of his followers, “But who do you say that I am?” (Mark 8:29; Luke 9:20; Matthew 16:15) At some point along our faith journey, Jesus turns to each one of us as well, and asks us this same question. “Who do you say that I am?” (p. 13)

And so we responded:

Charles – Jesus was a humanization of God so people could relate, to make humans in God the focus.

Rose – What’s the difference between Jesus and humankind? I see Jesus as a mentor, showing people how to live. Jesus was fully human and divine. I give my all to work. How much energy at the end of the day do I have to ponder who I am?

Bob – We, in Western society, can’t help but anthropomorphosize ourselves.

Day – It’s an identity question. Are we the body & our set of relationships? What are our potentials and potencies? I’ve been reading about the concept of divinity in humans. Check out “The Spark of God lives within the Heart - http://ebookbrowse.com/guidance-the-spark-of-god-lives-within-the-heart-pdf-d54467180.

Pastor Dan – The kingdom of God lives within. God is everywhere. The Dalai Lama, Bishop Tutu, and Mother Theresa cleanly see divine reality everywhere.

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Bob – E.g., Mother Theresa says that Jesus’ pronouncement to seekers of the divine to give up our material wealth truly means to give up the veil of our egos.

Charles – It’s important to understand our use of the word “ego”. As we use it, “ego” is actually “Id”. The id comprises the unorganized part of the personality structure that contains the basic drives. The id acts according to the "pleasure principle", seeking to avoid pain or displeasure aroused by increases in instinctual tension.^[2] Ego is trying to make reality fit us. Instead, God wants us to serve others as a vessel of the divine reality.

Bob – People learn separation over time to survive in the world.

Charles – The ego helps us relate to the world. Jesus wasn’t appealing to the ego, but to the reality of our divine source.

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For Next Week (10/23): Reread Chapter 2, as we only got through a few questions.

Adult Spirituality Group notes, 10/9/11

We're just starting to read the book, The Questions of Jesus - Challenging Ourselves to Discover Life's Great Answers, by John Dear.

On the back cover is written:

This illuminating examination of the Gospels reveals how the questions Jesus asks of his followers lead the way to a deeper understanding of the meaning of life and the mystery of God.

The Gospels are filled with stories, parables, miracles, commandments, and dramatic incidents that trace Jesus’ life and recount his teachings. A close reading of the Gospels reveals, however, that they are also filled with questions. As John Dear points out in this remarkable book, Jesus, like any great teacher and rabbi, “has a question for everyone he meets, for every occasion, for every experience, for every potential disciple.” Dear uses these questions as a starting point, an invitation to readers to discover the lessons they contain by searching their own hearts and minds for answers.

Throughout The Questions of Jesus, Dear interweaves insights from ethical and religious teachers ranging from Buddha to Gandhi to Martin Luther King, Jr. Using recent events as powerful and poignant examples, he shows why a renewed commitment to Jesus’ message of nonviolence, compassion, justice, and peace is essential to healing a world torn by violence and war.

* There's a decent book review at – http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/books/books.php?id=9503

FRANCIS reflected that Jesus not answering some sorts of questions is a kind of answer itself. That way Jesus doesn’t just prescribe simple answers to complex problems, but he leads people to find answers in their own lives, which is more useful. In this way, Jesus manages to put bridges between the cliffs in people's life. Often what we need is to get the assurance of love to lead on through life.

TOM mentioned that since God is the ultimate reality, spiritual seekers aren’t necessarily finding solutions via analytical logical answers, but instead through contentment and repose.

BOB – For example, a man in a grocery store asking “What are you looking for?” is easier to answer. But, regarding meta questions, one can’t so easily answer.

GISELLE revealed “Jesus helps me to get guidance regarding my own expectations. It’s one of the strongest questions I can ask my kids.”

* Day suggests our next book to read and discuss be, Everything Must Change: Global Crises and a Revolution of Hope, by Brian McLaren.

What do you think? Please check out a review – http://www.gci.org/book/mclaren.

FOR NEXT WEEK: Discuss Chapter 2 – “Identity” (30pp.)