UU A Way Of Life monthly book discussion.

The UU A Way Of Life will begin a book club this fall beginning on September 1, 2017. We will read one fiction and one non fiction book per month. UU A Way Of Life blog readers are welcomed to read along and post comments on the blog articles which discuss these books. Guest articles are encouraged and should be sent to davidgmarkham@gmail.com.

The books for September, 2017 are:

Fiction - Heroes Of The New Frontier by Dave Eggers.
Non fiction - Here If You Need Me by Kate Braestrup.

We look forward to your comments throughout the month of September. Suggestions for upcoming books are welcome in the comments and to me by email at davidgmarkham@gmail.com.

 

What are you afraid of?

Be careful and mindful of what you fear. Your fears have consequences especially the unreal which are far more worse than the real.

Of course, at the spiritual level, as Universalists know and teach, there is nothing to fear but, as Frankin Delano Roosevelt said, fear itself.

Q & A about UU and mysticism

This Q & A about UU and mysticism can be used for your own reflection and/or in a small group discussion group.
 

Do UUs believe in mysticism?

George you asked about mysticism and whether it is real? It seems that you doubt that there are people who have tuned in to a higher frequency. The question is not only whether people have tuned into that frequency but whether there is such a frequency.

We Unitarian Universalists recognize and acknowledge such a frequency in our seventh principle which is a respect for the interdependent web of all existence. What do you suppose that interdependent web of all existence is? No one can say because it is undefinable and yet we can intuit it from time to time and there are witnesses to it which can enhance our appreciation of it.

Some might say that we experience the interdependent web when we join our minds with others and seem to rise above the everyday drama of the ego plane. This happens sometimes when we have an aesthetic experience stimulated by a work of art or at worship or in being of service to others in such a way that we are moved with them to something greater than just our immediate circumstnaces. I sometimes have these experiences in talking with people about intimate experiences and there is a deep rapport where we communicate beyond the words. It is rare, George, but it happens and I feel that we are loved by existence beyond our understanding. In A Course In Miracles this experience is called a miracle, and we are taught that it is our natural inheritance.

When a miracle occurs we need to turn it over for the use of the Spirit Of Life and who knows where it is going? It is like throwing a rock in a pond and watching the ripples, or nowadays the popular metaphor is a butterfly flapping its wings in South America generating a hurricane in North America or a cyclone in Asia. Can our science account for such things, George, or is it something beyond our understanding as we stand in awe of the mysterious workings of Mother Nature and the universe?

One year, a local church in Brockport, NY at Christmas time had a saying on its sign in front of the church which read, "You, too, can hear the angels sing if you tune into the right frequency." No need to limit this tuning in and listening to just Christmas time. Mystics do it all year around and we all are called to be mystics and share in these mystical experiences if we are open to them.

Have a mystical day,

Uncle David

One way of living the sixth principle

One way of living the 6th principle of achieving the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all.

 

Q&A about the Holy Spirit as a guide to compassionate action

These discussion questions refer to the article below entitled " Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in acting compassionately". Use this quiz for your own reflection or in your small group discussion group.
 

Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in your acts of compassion

Dear Heather:

You asked me whether you should help your demented mother or not and I replied why would you want to help and you started to cry and get upset and I decided to wait to listen to what you would say. You cried all the harder and I continued to wait and then you calmed down and said to me, "I'm pretty messed up aren't I?"

I said, "What do you mean?" And you said, "I don't know what I'm doing so I drink and you must be so disappointed with me."

I didn't know what to do so I asked the Holy Spirit to help me know what to say to you. I thought of the second UU principle which asks us to affirm and promote justice, equity, and compassion in our human relations and I wondered what this principle would have me do in this situation to help you.

The thought that came to me was that whatever I said or did should be to strengthen your sense of empowerment and well being and not weaken it. I think you are stronger than you give yourself credit for and that deep down you already know what the right thing to do is. You just have to get past the drama in you life, ask the Holy Spirit for guidance and then follow your instincts.

I finally said, "I'm not disappointed in you. You got to do what you've got to do and if drinking is your way of dealing with your confusion, grief, anger, and fears then what I want to ask is 'How is that working for you'?"

I remember what you said to me. Do you remember? You said with gritted teeth and half laughing, "Shitty."

I laughed with you and asked, "What else could you do?" You started to share some other ideas you had.

Then I had to go, said goodbye, and have wondered ever since how things have been going for you. If you are interested and willing, drop me a line or give me a call because I'd like to know what happened next.

I wish you the best,

David