Centre for Spiritual Living - White Rock

Freedom Road

Rev. Terry Shea — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 15:05:27 +0000

“Why do you stay in prison? When the door is so wide open? Move outside the tangle of fear thinking.” -Rumi

I came across an image this morning and a quote from Rumi on a Facebook page of one of my friends. Thanks to Francois LaMothe. It’s now posted on our fan page. Last week I spoke about the Hero Path itself with specific reference to a progression from Innocent to Orphan and then to Martyr or Warrior and then on to Wanderer and eventually Magician. Then of course it all begins again. This Sunday I’m speaking specifically about the path from Innocent to Orphan. The classic representation of this trajectory in our culture is the Myth of the Garden of Eden and the Fall. But what if the exit from paradise were not an expulsion but a flight? What if it were a bid for freedom; a stand for the ability to choose one’s life; make one’s own decisions. In that respect wouldn’t it look like all of our stories about leaving home and the safety of our families to become householders and parents ourselves with all of the opportunity and challenge that represented. I remember Luke Skywalker sitting outside his farm house gazing up at the two suns setting and the strains of the Hero Journey theme swelling. His was a bid for freedom and a greater life. My spiritual path with all of its twists and turns has always been an expression of my desire for a greater life. We were never kicked out of paradise. We dared to open the door and step out into a greater life, into the realm of opposites, the domain of choice. I’m looking at this picture and thinking of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha looking out through the door to the castle and asking himself, “What’s out there?”

The Hero Within ME

Rev. Terry Shea — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:51:55 +0000

I’m glad to be back. Rev. Marilyn was GREAT and what a great start to this series. Now I get to talk about one of my favourite subjects. I watched the Bill Moyers/Jos. Campbell series more times than I can count; watched Star Wars more times than I will admit to; read and reread Siddhartha, the Secret Sharer, the Peaceful Warrior and others more times than you would believe. I still never tire of thinking about this subject. Carol Pearson’s wonderful book added an entirely new dimension to it when she embedded the archetypes with the mono myth of the Hero/Heroine. It was just what I was looking for to take this to the next level. The next level … deeper, higher? I guess that is still to be revealed. What I know about the telling and retelling of this story is that I continue to discover aspects of my hero within as I contemplate it. I’m grateful to Marilyn for a perfect set up for this series. Watch for a podcast of her lesson along with all of the lessons in this series on this website in the next few days.

My hero path …

Rev. Terry Shea — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 14:24:31 +0000

When I stepped into my first Religious Science Church, the Celebration of Life Centre in 1990, I wasn’t looking for a new church. It was the first Sunday of the New Year and I WAS looking for a new adventure and as it turns out, a new life. Though my career was satisfying, my life within it was a lie. My relationship was going nowhere. My finances were in a shambles and I had yet to heal any of the wounds of my messed up childhood. It’s said that when the grail knights entered the forest in their search for the Holy Grail that the forest was so dense that it closed in behind them so that they were unable to turn back and return the way they had come.

With my background in spirituality and the fact that I was teaching Religion in a Catholic School you would have thought that I would have been on a spiritual path, or at least searching for one. This was far from the case. I was thoroughly “over” church. Initially, the Celebration of Life Centre was not a comfortable fit but Rev. Marilyn Knipp was. I recognized in her what I had seen in Terry Cole Whittaker many years before. Here was an intelligent woman with an absolute conviction, a certain knowing that Life was for her. She was on the planet to enjoy life and to live to the full. I WAS tempted to refuse the call to adventure but I had found my mentor … and the entry to the “dark wood” had closed behind me. There was no turning back!

Taizé: Final Approach …

Rev. Terry Shea — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 17:03:05 +0000

“Where there is no vision, the people perish,” Prov. 29:18

Almost 10 years ago, the United Church of Religious Science, as it was then called, was facing what is known as “organizational death.” As an institution it was about 6 months away from the financial insolvency which would lead to its ultimate dissolution. The leadership came together and it was decided that what was required to save it was a new Vision. What came out of this realization and the hard work that followed was the Vision of the Global Heart. That vision now informs The Centers for Spiritual Living of which CSL Whiterock is a part.
The Vision of the Global Heart inspired me; moved me to tears the first time I heard it and still does EVERY time I read it or hear it read. It seems to speak from a place deep within me and I believe with all of us that is longing to be heard. The words from Proverbs at the top of this post are prophetic in the truest sense. They do not predict the future but rather speak the Truth. Without a vision, we cannot thrive; without a vision of a world that works for everyone we cannot survive.
We have that Vision and tonight at the Taizé Service the traditional Easter Proclamation, the”Exultet”, will be replaced by CSL’s proclamation of a “New World Order”, the Vision of the Global Heart.

The reading that immediately follows that proclamation reminds us that we come out of a planet that as designed to work for everyone and everything in it, that Gaia is a perfectly and elegantly functioning organism that knows how to support life.
Through the series of readings, chants and opportunities for silent reflection that follow we will walk through our collective and personal history until we can finally declare that we’re ready to work for this new world and this is how we plan to do it.

In a world mesmerized by action; convinced that you change the world by doing what you did before only harder and better and spending more money doing it; where change comes out of waging war on drugs, poverty or one another, we will declare that all change comes from within, from a change in consciousness. We will conclude the evening by declaring what that changed consciousness looks like as embodied in the Principles we live by as individuals and as a community.

The reading from Isaiah from the Taizé service concludes, “so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” Speaking one’s truth is a powerful thing. Hearing yourself say what you believe in has always been one of the most empowering things we can do for ourselves and the author of the book of Job has God says to Job, “You shall also decree a thing, and it shall be established to you: and the light shall shine on your ways.” The Declaration of Principles recited by us all IS that word that establishes in consciousness what I am to do and how I will do it. It will light my path as “a point of inspiration and influence for the benefit of all expressions of life.”

Taizé Lead Up: Day 4

Rev. Terry Shea — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 20:58:15 +0000

I want to begin by placing Taizé and the Vigil in a context that may seem a bit strange. I say strange because I’m about to compare the Taizé Service to yoga.

First let me say that this points up something VERY curious and even troubling that the only access we have to our own story is through the spirituality of another culture. It is a fact however in Canada that there are now more people going to yoga studios weekly than to church. How far removed we have become from our own spiritual tradition is sobering, especially for someone like me who’s business is western spirituality. Probably that is a discussion for another day but the point I want to make is that the activities of Saturday evening can be easily understood without prejudice in terms of Bhakti and Karmic Yoga. Yoga means uniting body, mind and soul. Yoga also means uniting with other souls. This to me is where Karma Yoga comes in. Beyond just performing hours of karmic duty to fulfill training requirements, the student is also thinking a lot about how so many small and daily actions can be considered Karma Yoga, and to what extent he/she is in service to the planet and other beings.

Likewise, in Hinduism Bhakti is religious devotion in the form of active involvement of a devotee in worship of the divine. Within monotheistic Hinduism, it is the love felt by the worshipper towards the personal God. The Bhakti movement has become an integral aspect of Hindu culture and society in the modern era. Christianity is very bhakti in its approach to the Divine. This is clearly the understanding Christians have of their relationship to God, Jesus and, if you extend this to Roman Catholics, to the Virgin Mary, the saints and angels. Out tradition is bhakti!

We, as humans, WANT to be in relationship with the divine. We want to have an experience of Its action and activity in our lives. We want to know ourselves as greater than the small concerns we have. Further we feel called to act for the benefit of our fellow man, the other inhabitants of the planet, the birds and animals AND for the planet itself. So our path is karmic as well.

The appeal of the Taizé Service and the entire Taizé movement is that it takes those who engage with it to both of those places, devotion and service. Don’t be surprised at how devotional the Service is on Saturday but allow it to move you. Don’t be surprised that, hidden with in it, is a very clear “call to action”.

I’ll conclude this conversation tomorrow with some thoughts on the Vision of the Global Heart and the Declaration of Principles and examples of that “call to action”

Taizé Lead Up: Day 3

Rev. Terry Shea — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 15:18:39 +0000

Yesterday I spoke about the rituals and readings associated with the Easter Vigil as examples of how we share our common myth and re-enact those myths through ritual.

What is absolutely essential to the Taizé aspect of our celebration is the music. It is the music of Taize, now translated into most languages and avaialble on youtube and iTunes that draws the tens of thousands of pilgrims to Taize every year. The melodies are simple and the short phrases easily committed to memory. They allow the mind to float free almost on the melodies themselves while the body engages in the rhthmic breathing necessary for this type of singing. It is a truly powerful experience to chant with a group, to breathe all at the same time in precisely the same cadence. The Schola Cantorum (latin for the “school of singers”) that we have pulled together for this event is made up of well known and respected professionals, musicians, teachers, performers, recording artists who have been rehearsing and preparing for this event for the last couple of weeks. Their job is to draw you deeply into the well of your Essential Self. When the chanting stops you are left in a silence pregnant with meaning and possibility. The silence is the space between the notes and is as important as the music and singing. Monks and nuns from all spiritual traditions have understood for centuries the power of chanting together, the power of sitting together in silence and waiting …

Taizé Lead Up: Day 2

Rev. Terry Shea — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 19:26:44 +0000

Think about the Easter Vigil Celebration itself like the “timeline” on your facebook page. It is certainly supposed to have a general theme and a direction but it also serves to remind you of where you have been, the path you have walked who was with you and what has happened to you along the way.

I have purposely retained all of the rituals associated with this “life walk and adapted them to address who we are today. The criticism leveled at mainstream Christianity is that it has failed to keep pace with the change in how we view the world, God and ourselves in the postmodern age. The rituals of the lighting on the “new fire” the “paschal candle” and the “baptismal water” come out of our sense of the mythic and so are as valid and true today as they were 5000+ years ago. They are only useful to the extent that we can connect them to who we are and what we care about today.

The true value in Taize and in this Vigil is that it is theatre and as “sacred theatre” is like any experience of theatre. You bring yourself to the space. You sit in the dark with loved ones and strangers and the action before you meets you where you are and by its Truth invites you to be changed at depth. On Saturday you will take part of ritual acts, you will hopefully sing along with chants and you will have an opportunity to contemplate ancient stories and ask yourself, “What does this have to do with me?”

There is a way of asking that question that is not even rhetorical. There is a way of asking it that it purely dismissive of any possible answer. This is not the way to approach a Taizé evening. There is also a way of asking that question that goes something like this.

“In some very real way, this is my story; the story of my people, the story of my path through life and the story of who I am and what I believe. The people in these stories are ME. What do these stories have to tell me about me?”

Taizé

Rev. Terry Shea — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 01:49:32 +0000

Preparing for this Taizé Service has been a dream come true for me. And I was just informed that it will take place on the 10th anniversary of my arrival at CSL. On some level, I believe it has taken me 10 years to get up the courage to do this. Does that surprise you? What’s the big deal you might ask.

I know I was already an adult when I attended my first Easter Vigil at the the Abbey. I was struck forcibly by the beauty of it and by the “sacred theatre” unfolding before me. The blessing of the “New Fire” clearly came from our pre-Christian roots; the Baptismal motif was definitely an underscoring of the old testament account of the Hebrews passing safely though the Red Sea and finally the triumphant ringing of all the monastery bells at midnight while the community, 120 men strong sang Alleluia over and over made the hair stand up on the back of my neck. If there was anything I missed from my RC past it was that wonderful night. What I determined to do this year was to bring this experience to my community within the radically prayerful context of the Taizé model.

Taizé is a priory in France. The priory, an ecumenical monastic community, was founded by Brother Rogér Schutz after the 2nd War. He was its leader until his death in 2005. Still tens of thousands of pilgrims, many of them young people, make their way to Taizé every year to participate in the experience of the prayer of Taizé. Many communities around the world now offer “Taizé style” services. It is my belief that the service we will be offering on Holy Saturday night is VERY faithful to the original intent of Taizé in that it calls those in attendance to a deep level of engagement with the “God within” … this engagement is about a cathartic opening to the Authentic Self, and a “YES” to Its call to transformation

Differentiation

Rev. Terry Shea — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 13:57:19 +0000

I’ve been asked to post the “working points” of last Sunday’s Lesson to the blog. It was kind of funny to find myself “putting homework on the board” again after all these years, different classroom, different board. This time it was on a Keynote slide. So here they are.

Differentiation is that process by which organisms grow change and evolve. When a higher organism chooses to differentiate it insures its survival and thrival (I know I made that word up). Should it resist differentiation, it will probably still change but suffer in the process and may not survive.
The subject of the Lesson was The power of Intention and how making it my expressed intention to differentiate would upset the delicate balance within my life. I asked everyone to set an intention to address one of the following points of emotional balance this week. “Just do one,” I said. “That will already be plenty.” So here are the 4 Points of Balance a presented by Dr. David Schnarch in his book Intimacy and Desire

A solid but flexible Self
A quiet mind – A calm heart
A grounded response
A meaningful endurance

It is my belief, that if I consciously address even one of these points of balance for a week, I will be a different person. I will have differentiated myself from who i was and, in so doing, will have advanced the evolution of our species. That’s how this all links back to the theme for this month, Evolutionary Enlightenment. Strange how both books I’m working from right now are about evolution.

… your tithes and gifts

Rev. Terry Shea — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 00:59:30 +0000

I’m often asked where we stand on giving to charity. I usually respond in this way, “Giving to need is always possible but tithing is never optional.” What’s the difference.
Last month we split CSL’s tithe between two organizations, The Youth of CSL and their Malawi Schools Project, http://malawischoolproject.org/ and the Canadian Food for Children Foundation. I’ve included my letter to Mr Krentz of Canadian Food for Children as an explanation of the difference and to let you all know how far reaching your generosity is. Thank you!

Mr. Joseph Krentz
Canadian Food for Children Foundation

Dear Mr. Krentz;

It is with a deep sense of gratitude for who you are and what you do that we offer you this tithe of $709.89

As a tithing organization we seek to offer our gift not to need but to those persons and places that are meeting those needs out of a conviction that they are the instruments by which good can come into the world. It is my (our) profound belief that this world is a good place, where there is abundance and enough for all. As much as a shift in resources is absolutely necessary a shift in consciousness is essential.

You, sir, are an example of both. I understand from your work and my conversations with Marlene Day, one of your most steadfast supports, that your life and your work for a cause you believe in are example of Go(o)d at work on the planet.

Again thank you for your example and your devotion to the children of the world.

Respectfully

Rev. Terrence O. Shea
Spiritual Director