Eye on Faith

Monday, September 30, 2013

Inner Wisdom Series: A Joyful Path

Nature (Public Domain)

For those looking for a more expansive Sunday School curriculum, the Inner Wisdom Series of

Progressive Christianity might be just the thing.

Described on the website as "a way to connect

children with an authentic spiritual experience that is inter-spiritual, creative, and multi-layered," A Joyful Path Children's Curriculum "helps children learn how to follow the path of Jesus in today's world."

Wholeheartedly endorsed by John Shelby Spong, this two-year (and counting) curriculum is designed for children who are six to ten years old. However, it can easily be adapted for those somewhat younger or older.

Each year contains a set of 38 experiential lessons that can be taught within the home or classroom. These lessons include a mix of Bible verses, wisdom quotations, spiritual affirmations, artwork, reflections or meditations, music, and discussion questions. Topics within the Year One series include the following: Prayer, Nature, Kindness, God Within All, Energy, Letting Go and Feelings.

Year Two's lessons delve more deeply into the Teachings of Jesus, Peace and Social Justice, the Integrity of the Earth and Inclusion. They follow the same experiential format as Year One's did.

There has thus far been much positive feedback regarding this curriculum. The Tippecanoe Presbyterian Church writes: Yes, we have enjoyed using the curriculum with its God Centeredness and Wisdom Images! It matches our worship and lived theology as community! A mother writes: My oldest son, Jacob, used to be very fearful, worried about the future and all the 'what ifs' in his nine-year-old world… But the Joyful Path lesson on 'Letting Go and Living in the Moment' became instrumental!

Resources

http://progressivechristianity.org/childrens-curriculum/

Mark Nepo: Where is God?

Salt (Public Domain)

If you were to ask Mark Nepo where God is, he might not point heavenward. Instead, he has poetically answered: …if you want to last, hold on to nothing. If you want to know love, let in everything. If you want to feel the presence of everything, stop counting the things that break along the way.

Nepo knows whereof he speaks. Having struggled with a rare form of lymphoma, he learned to experience life more fully in the moment while grappling with an unforeseeable future.

For pretty much all of us, the future is truly a mystery. Although a condition like lymphoma can zap us into the present quite forcibly, we can all benefit from a deeper awareness of the life we already have.

How to do this when suffering from the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" is something that Nepo expertly teaches. While a guest on Oprah Winfrey's Super Soul Sunday show, Nepo told an ancient Hindu tale about the tasting of salt. If a teaspoon of salt is placed within the average-sized glass, it will often taste unbearably strong. However, if that same amount is placed in a lake, the taste would become imperceptible.

If salt symbolizes the very real suffering that each of us endures, then it can become "right-sized" by widening the container that holds it. Viewing life through a broad perspective that includes the wonders of this creation can thus help us to cope with the suffering that life inevitably entails.

Resources

http://www.marknepo.com/index.php

Saturday, September 28, 2013

Lojong: The pith and the pendulum

Atisa (Public Domain)

The human brain - "plastic" though it may be – needs constant reminders of which path to follow.

The brain is constantly ruminating upon thought after thought – and it swings mightily from one mood to another. If there were a way to "steer" it into calmer waters, that would be a boon indeed.

The pithy slogans of lojong might just be that way. Wikipedia explains that lojong is a tried and tested method of "mind training" from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. It is based upon "a set of aphorisms" (now

known as "slogans") that were composed by Chekhawa Yeshe Dorje (a meditation master) in the 12^th century. He, in turn, drew upon the rich Mahayana lojong practice that had been developing in India from 900 to 1200 CE.

This original group of approximately 59 slogans includes the following ones: Be grateful to everyone. Self-liberate even the antidote. Examine the nature of unborn awareness.

These slogans are meant to be focused upon to the point of moving the brain's consciousness into a more enlightened state. They have been so effective that modern-day spiritual leaders (such as Zoketsu Norman Fischer and Pema Chodron) are still very actively working with their essence.

Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lojong

http://www.seattleinsight.org/Talks/BrowseTalks/DharmaTalk/tabid/90/TalkID/638/Default.aspx

Friday, September 27, 2013

Jim Carrey: Rolling right along

Big wave breaking... (Photo: Brocken Inaglory)

As Jim Carrey himself admits, many know of him "from a whole raft of fairly wacky movies… and quite a few pretty serious ones, too."

Born and raised in Canada, Carrey had to quit school at a young age in order to help his family to make ends meet. Things were so tough that they were "living out of a van" for a while. Wikipedia reports that Carrey not only worked full-time to keep them afloat, but also "helped care for his mother

who battled a severe, chronic illness."

Therefore, Carrey knows what it's like to roll with the punches. As does his alter-ego, Roland…

In literary lingo, Roland is the (wet and wavy) protagonist of author Jim Carrey's fable, How Roland Rolls. On the book's website, Carrey explains his purpose for creating this philosophical tale: I wrote 'How Roland Rolls' specifically as a way for parents and grandparents to enjoy some quality hang-time

[with their little ones]. I hope the message of this story will help them feel connected, worthwhile, and a part of something vast and grand.

In reading some of Roland's reviews, it seems as though Carrey has definitely achieved this lofty goal. Here's what fellow philosopher Deepak Chopra has to say: Philosphers and scientists struggle to understand cosmic consciousness, but Jim Carrey explains it with elegant simplicity to the child in all of us.

Resources

http://howrolandrolls.com/a-letter-from-jim/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Carrey

'Sipping' Martian soil

Life loves water... (Public Domain)

Those who believe that Earth does not have the monopoly on life may be one step closer to having their dreams realized.

The Indo Asian News Service recently reported that researchers from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York analyzed samples of "dust, dirt and finely grained soil" that were

collected by the Mars rover Curiosity "from a sandy patch known as 'Rocknest.'"

What they found is that surface Martian soil contains approximately 2% water. Because they also found that this "global layer" of

Martian surface soil "has been mixed and distributed by frequent dust storms," the sample that was analyzed might be reflective of "typical Martian crust."

What this could very well mean is that humans on Mars could 'sip' this soil by heating it in order to obtain water. RPI's Dean of Science, Laurie Leshin, stated: We now know there should be abundant, easily accessible water on Mars.

When heated, the sample also released significant amounts of "carbon dioxide, oxygen, and sulfur compounds…"

Resources

http://my.news.yahoo.com/rover-curiosity-finds-abundant-water-martian-soil-232004166.html

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Wedding day blues: Priest vs. photographer

(1929 Bride)

When you come right down to it, priest vs. photographer is merely a symbol of the larger dichotomy concerning weddings: spiritual vs.

worldly. In other words, are weddings simply the ultimate parties of people's lives, or are they instead sacred ceremonies?

Danielle Tumminio, an Episcopal priest, wrote an article for Huff Post Religion about the "battle" (gone viral) between priest and photographer at the recent wedding of Rob and Noelle Ruehle. As is the case with so many ceremonies, cameras started clicking as soon as the solemnities began.

At that point, the priest faced the video camera and said: Please, sirs, leave. The cameraman asked, "Where do you want me to be?" – and the priest answered: Anywhere other than here. I will stop the ceremony if you do not get out of the way. This is not about the photography, this is about God.

Tumminio points out that whereas priests often see themselves as spiritual guides, families often see them as "performers" of a carefully-choreographed "act one, scene one." She also explains that "the reception usually lasts four to eight times longer than the ceremony, and the priest isn't paid a fraction of what the photographer is." She reports that the cost of a "perfect" wedding day has now risen to an average of $28,400.

Tumminio emphasizes that this tension between the worldly and spiritual aspects of weddings needn't be

an either-or. Drawing from her own personal experience as both priest and wife, she explains that both the priest's guidance and the photographer's visual reminders could be seen as blessings.

She also points out that God works in mysterious ways, and you never quite know when a priest's influence

might be felt. Even within the context of a materialistic funfest, that influence might just shine through.

Resources

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/danielle-tumminio/rob-noelle-ruehle-wedding-priest-photographer_b_3989517.html?utm_hp_ref=religion

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Attacks on American Sikhs continue

Toronto Sikh Celebration (Joel Friesen)

The level of religious literacy in the United States today is often quite low. Stereotypes abound, and prejudices run rampant.

There are therefore those who staunchly believe that anyone who wears a turban is a Muslim, and that all Muslims are terrorists. These believers can be quite dangerous, as is evidenced by the ongoing violent attacks upon American Sikhs.

Liz Goodwin of Yahoo News recently reported that a "group of more than 20 young men viciously attacked a [Sikh] Columbia

University professor over the weekend, apparently because they

believed he was a Muslim." The attack was so bad that Professor Prabhjot Singh needed "facial surgery to

correct his jaw after the beating, which occurred near his home in Harlem..."

This is far from an isolated incident. Goodwin stated that there have been "more than 300 hate crimes

against Sikhs like Singh in the years following the Sept. 11 attacks..." A particularly destructive one was the 2012 attack by a white supremacist on a Sikh temple in Wisconsin that left six people dead."

Ironically, Singh had co-authored a New York Times op-ed article last year which urged "the F.B.I. to begin tracking anti-Sikh violence." The same article also urged that the F.B.I. "continue to vigorously combat bias

and discrimination against all Americans, including Muslims."

Resources

http://news.yahoo.com/sikh-professor-attacked-by-nyc-mob-in-what-may-be-hate-crime-165817696.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/24/opinion/do-american-sikhs-count.html?_r=1&