Viktor Frankl
This video will be shown as a part of the Sunday gathering on July 18th, at 11 AM. It is from a conference in Toronto with students for search for meaning.
Practical Mysticism Class
The Practical Mysticism class took place between March 4 and May 6, 2010. Joanne Biewald facilitated the class with the help from assistant, Carla McKim. There were ten enthusiastic students.
It was an enriching class with a good workbook. The texts used were: Carolyn Myss’ Entering the Castle: Finding the Inner Path to God and Your Souls Purpose and Joel Goldsmith’s The Foundations of Mysticism
We explored our individual mysticism by getting in touch with the mystic which indwells each of us. One highlight of the class was when each student gave a report on a mystic or mystical group. The reports introduced subjects from Toaism and I Ching to Reverend Ike !
Here are a couple comments from students:
“Well, it was great fun and now I know we have a lot of practicing to do. Looking forward to the next class. Joanne is a great teacher and has very few dropouts. I am aware that the general public is not quite aware of this, so nice to have our group to discuss things freely and openly. A great support group.” Dee Ray
“Another interesting OSC Class. Joanne puts a lot of thought and care into her classes.”
My Truth, or Just My Story?
This is an article penned by a friend who has been ordained at Asilomar as a minister for Centers for Spiritual Living this past summer - Jim
We all have a story. This story may or may not accurately reflect our life path, but it is our story none the less. It is how we have come to think of ourselves, and how we choose to present ourselves to the world around us.
Our stories are our beliefs about our lives, about life in general. They are compilations of what we have learned along the way, the experiences that have shaped our minds, how we think, act and present ourselves to the world.
Many people firmly believe that they are their stories. We can become so attached to it that it defines us, and limits our experience of life. We forget that it is our past, not our present. This does not necessarily have to be so. We need not be bound by our past, or defined by our story. We are what we believe ourselves to be. And we are free to be anything we choose.
I invite you to think about liberation from the story, the possibility that many of the beliefs that we have accumulate along the way are not in fact The Truth. Not our Truth and not God’s Truth. I believe this to be so, and I have spent more time unlearning than I have in accumulating new information. I have stepped out of my story, and into my present.
We each have the power to change our story at any time we choose. We have the choice to release our story completely, to free ourselves from our accumulated ideas of who and what we are, and what we can and cannot do with our lives. The fact is that the present moment represents our Truth much more accurately than our stories ever did, ever could, or ever will.
We are as free as we give ourselves permission to be.
I invite you to look at your story. I ask you to be more honest with yourself than you have ever been in your life. I ask you if your story is your Truth. I invite you to consider letting go of what you were, in order to step into what you are.
What if you were to release old thoughts and beliefs, old patterns and anxieties and fears that have limited your experience of life, indeed that continue to limit your experience of life today? What would it feel like to wake each day with a blank canvas before us, upon which we could create anything we choose? Can you even imagine the possibility?
Our ego likes things just the way they are. Even if we are miserable, there is a certain comfort in the familiar. We know how to be when we are how we have always been.
I invite you to step out of the familiar, to trust yourself and your God, so that you might come to know the real you as you are today, in the present moment, to see yourself apart from your story. This may bring up feelings of fear and resistance. Ego may even now be standing firm in your mind saying, “Of course I know who I am.” I invite you to have the courage to look again.
You are, quite probably, different than you have come to believe. Perhaps it is your time to come to know who and what you truly are today. Perhaps it is your time to become liberated, free to be authentic, to embody your Truth, regardless of your story.
We all have a story. There may, however, be a significant difference between our story and our Truth. If you can get past the fear, past the sureness, if you can just for a few minutes ask yourselves if your story, and the old beliefs that go along with it is in any way limiting your experience of life today, the answers you find may surprise you.
We are what we believe ourselves to be. And we are free to be anything we choose.
Rev. Jeffrey R. Anderson
Jill Bolte Taylor
Recently, Rev Barbara Bur Sr Minister at Creative Living Church of Greeley, CO had an interview with Jill Bolte Taylor on her radio program. You can listen to it if you are enjoying her work at:
http://memosfromlife.com/062308.html
They spoke a great deal about living in the state of bliss - our right brain, rather than returning to living in the land of the left brain.
Barb and Viv talk with Jill Bolte Taylor, author of My Stroke of Insight. Recently recognized as one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People, Dr. Taylor is a trained and published neuroanatomist. She specializes in the postmortem investigation of the human brain. Because she has a brother who has been diagnosed with the brain disorder schizophrenia, Dr. Taylor served for 3 years on the board of directors of the national NAMI organization (National Alliance on Mental Illness) between 1994-1997. Currently she serves as President of the Greater Bloomington Affiliate of NAMI.
As irony would have it, on December 10, 1996, Dr. Taylor woke up to discover that she was experiencing a rare form of stroke, an arterio-venous malformation (AVM). Three weeks later, on December 27, 1996, she underwent major brain surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) to remove a golf ball size hemorrhage that was placing pressure on the language centers in the left hemisphere of her brain.
For the past ten years, Dr. Taylor has been successfully rebuilding her brain - from the inside out. In response to the swelling and trauma of the stroke which placed pressure on her dominant left hemisphere, the functions of her right hemisphere have blossomed. Join us as we explore the magnificence and reslience of the human brain with Dr. Taylor.
Aama’s Hiku
This poem was written by our dear, departed OSC family member. It is published here in remembrance of Marylou on her birthday.
Aama’s Hiku - May 1991
By Marylou Fitzmurphy
Rippling Water
Wind Dancing about my face
Holding the Silence
Clouds in Formation
Above Statuesque Mountains
Against Clear Blue Skies
Desperation Passes
Sun Reflected Straight to Me
Healing Core of God
Observing and Aware
Connected to True Self
Freeing Beliefs and Feelings
I Touch God Everyday
Listening to nature Sing
It’s All Within Us
News - Holiday Letter
Dear OSC Family and Friends,
Today, right now, is when the seeds are being planted; your thoughts and actions today are creating our tomorrow. As we prepare for the holidays and participate with loved ones in the festivities, let us be self-consciously aware that it is we who are creating Life-through the energies we entertain and give forth.
In this season that so generously honors gratefulness and love, please remember Our Spiritual Center with your prayers and gifts. Celebrate in thanksgiving with us for our new home, our growth, our philosophy for living life in a way that honors and deepens spirituality without dogma, judgment or separation from our fellows, and for our community of beautiful, conscious seekers who make up OSC.
The new year promises to be a dynamic one for OSC, as continued growth will send us to even larger quarters, the ideas of Barbara Marx Hubbard regarding conscious human and spiritual evolution deepen our awareness of how awesome we are and can be, our children’s program is built, and we expand our teachings with more classes, workshops and activities.
We are glad for your presence in our community and in the world. Have a blessed holiday season!
With warm appreciation,
Rev. Nancy & your Core Council
PS: Our new home is The Banks Bldg, 615 First Ave N, Minneapolis-on the corner of Central , 1st Ave & 7th St.–a block from the juncture of Hennepin & Central, just a few blocks from the river. (map…)