e-zine for November 22, 2006
How Do You Practice Gratitude?

"For a moment I lost myself – actually lost my life. I was set free! I dissolved in the high dim-starred sky! I belonged, without past or future, within peace and unity and a wild joy, within something greater than my own life...to Life itself! To God, if you want to put it that way. For a second you see – and seeing the secret, you are the secret. For a second there is meaning!" ~Eugene O'Neill

An Attitude of Gratitude

It’s easy to be grateful for sugar and spice and all things nice. Who amongst us doesn’t feel appreciative and appreciated, when fortune is smiling down upon us? This seems like a limited sort of gratitude, too dependent on circumstance and perception. How much more profound to come to a sense of appreciation for all Life, even the slugs and snails and puppy dog tails.

The reality is that life feels tough; for all people some of the time, and for some people all of the time. How can we move beyond gratitude that is circumstantial and therefore changes with the wind? How can we expand our sense of gratitude, so as not to be insensitive to others who don’t have the same fortune?

Americans celebrate Thanksgiving this week, and all of us might reflect on gratitude, that great attitude of acceptance towards all of life.

This Thanksgiving, one family will gorge themselves on poultry and pumpkin, while another will scrape together a meal that will be just plain paltry. Between the two is just a fine line of difference; part choice, part chance and part circumstance.

This Thanksgiving, one family will immerse themselves in conversations of ease and acceptance, while another will tear each other apart with generations of dis-ease and judgment. Between the two is just a fine line of difference; part choice, part chance and part circumstance.

This Thanksgiving, some will enjoy a break from the pressures of work, while others will feel the pressures of a forced break from looking for work. Between the two is just a fine line of difference; part choice, part chance and part circumstance.

Circumstances are so changing. Take for example my first draft of this article. After two hours crafting my words, I read it over and felt pleased with it. I even felt gratitude that I was nearly done. Within seconds, through a computer glitch, my work vanished before my eyes. My thoughts were far from pleasant, I can assure you. The error was part choice, part chance, and part circumstance.

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to feel gratitude for the beautiful Life energy that transcends circumstance. This is a time to revel in the wonders of a planet that spins on its axis without any help from us. This is a time to fall deeply in love with the movements of Life that come and go in perfect balance, with or without our help and whether we understand the patterns or not.

Thanksgiving is also a time to reflect on the fine line of difference. How many of us have at some point observed a homeless person and wondered what choices, chances and circumstances led them there? How many of us have wondered at that moment what fine line of difference separates us from them; maybe just one choice, chance or circumstance? Perhaps this reflection leads us to blur the very distinction between the life of privilege and homelessness.

Give thanks for all of Life; that which has ease and that which feels tough. Give thanks for the tough moments, not because they are pleasant but because they are opportunities for growth and new perspective. Give thanks for the ability to be surprised by Life, and to pay forward this gratitude in actions of love and acceptance that blur the very lines of difference.

Practice gratitude. Practice shifting perspective. Practice immersing yourself in the flow of Life. It transcends giver and receiver, cause and effect, past and future. This is the full appreciation of something unearned and unshakeable. It can’t be given to you and surely can’t be taken away. It comes from deep within, in the quiet spaces of acceptance. Practice non judgment. Practice gratitude for Life.

Don't Miss Bishop Spong's trip to Western Michigan

Best-selling, provocative, Christian author and world-renowned speaker Bishop John Shelby Spong will be coming to Western Michigan for a weekend workshop at Christ Community Church, December 9 & 10.

If you are looking for a new way to experience Christmas you will not want to miss Saturday morning's lectures as Bishop Spong uncovers the magic beneath the myths of the traditional Christmas story.

As our concepts and ways of relating to God evolve, so do our spiritual practices. If you are looking for a new experience of prayer you will not want to miss Saturday's afternoon session as Ian Lawton leads in us "Big Mind" an active, participatory, meditation technique.

The weekend will conclude on Sunday as Bishop Spong leads our morning Advent gathering, followed by our Alternative Gifts Market, and wrapping up with a dialogue between Bishop Spong, Rollie Stanich of Integral Institute, and Ian Lawton, on the future of Progressive Christianity.

Biography info on Bishop John Shelby Spong

John Shelby Spong, whose books have sold more than a million copies, was the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark for 24 years before his retirement in 2001. His admirers acclaim his legacy as a teaching bishop who makes contemporary theology accessible to the ordinary lay person— he’s considered a champion of an inclusive faith by many both inside and outside the Christian church. In his latest book, The Sins of Scripture: Exposing the Bible’s Texts of Hate to Discover the God of Love (Harper San Francisco, April 2005), the visionary thinker seeks to introduce people to a proper way to engage the holy book of the Judeo-Christian tradition.

A committed Christian who has spent a lifetime studying the Bible and whose life has been deeply shaped by it, Bishop Spong says he was not interested in Bible-bashing. “I come to this interpretive task not as an enemy of Christianity,” he says. “I am not even a disillusioned former Christian, as some of my scholar friends identify themselves. I am a believer who knows and loves the Bible deeply. But I also recognize that parts of it have been used to undergird prejudices and to mask violence.”

A visiting lecturer at Harvard and at universities and churches worldwide, Bishop Spong delivers more than 200 public lectures each year to standing-room only crowds. His bestselling books include Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism, A New Christianity for a New World, Why Christianity Must Change or Die, and Here I Stand. His next book, Jesus for the Nonreligious, is due out in April 2007.

His extensive media experience includes a profile segment on “60 Minutes” and other appearances on “Good Morning America,” “Fox News Live,” “Politically Incorrect,” “Larry King Live,” “The O’Reilly Factor,” William F. Buckley’s “Firing Line,” and “Extra.”

Bishop Spong and his wife, Christine Mary Spong, have five children and six grandchildren. They live in New Jersey.

Bishop Spong's official website

What Is Big Mind?

Big Mind is an interactive exercise that offers an insight into the heart of all spiritual traditions, including Christianity.

Dennis Genpo Merzel Roshi, one of the preeminent Zen Masters in the Western world, developed this unique and revolutionary exercise that combines Voice Dialogue and shifts in self awareness. It’s a simple and fun process that is well suited to our western, inquisitive minds. Anyone can do it.

Big Mind is a unique opportunity to get to know different aspects of who we are, as well as offering a glimpse of the divine seed within. This is a great opportunity to enter a dialogue with yourself and others, and deepen your divine awareness at the same time.

Ian Lawton is a student of Genpo Roshi's and has trained in the facilitation of Big Mind. Grounded in the Christian tradition, Ian brings a unique perspective to the Big Mind process.

The Big Mind session has sold out. If you purchased your ticket by November 22 you are assured a reservation and will receive your ticket in the mail soon. If you would be interested in future Big Mind workshops please email Allison for more information.

click here for the official Big Mind website

Don't Miss the Alternative Christmas Market on December 10!

The Alternative Gifts Market at C3/CCC is an annual event run in conjunction with Alternative Gifts International (AGI). AGI is a nonprofit, interfaith agency. AGI provides education for people of all ages about global needs and raises funds each year in its Alternative Gift Markets and from individual donors to respond to those needs. Designated grants then are sent to the established international projects of several reputable nonprofit agencies for relief and development.

Alternative Gifts Markets provide an appropriate non-profit response to consumerism, which can become very excessive at Christmas time. Gifts such as providing therapeutic feeding for Indonesian children or purchasing a solar-powered computer for a rural school in Honduras, can be made in honor of family and friends at this festive and celebratory market setting.

The market is designed for people of all ages and can be a perfect opportunity for parents to bring a global consciousness to their family's traditions. Feel good this Christmas as your spending goes to making the world and better place while getting your Christmas shopping done early without having to fight the crowds at the malls!

Alternative Gifts International website

Information on Integral Institute

We are so fortunate to have Rollie Stanich, of Integral Institute, participate in our dialogue on Sunday morning, on the future of Christianity. Rollie brings an excellent perspective as Integral Institute's resident Integral Christian.

Integral Institute is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing the Integral Approach to bear on personal and global issues. Integral Institute was founded and is inspired by the work of Ken Wilber.

What's "Integral"? It simply means more balanced, comprehensive, interconnected, and whole. By using an Integral approach—whether it's in business, personal development, art, education, or spirituality (or any of dozens of other fields)—we can include more aspects of reality, and more of our humanity, in order to become more fully awake and effective in anything we do.

Check out the website for Integral Institute

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