Spiritual Growth Network Newsletter


October, 1996                    Volume VII, Number 10

AUGUST DAY OF RECOLLECTION

We will meet on Saturday, October, 19th, from 10:00 AM to 3 PM, for our Day of Recollection. This workshop will be on "helps for the journey". Each different tradition tends to emphasize some techniques over others. Some are dependent on study, some on prayer, liturgy or meditation. Some place emphasis on community practice; in others the focus is on individual work. This day will not attempt to give instructions in individual faith traditions but rather look at the helping practices that are common to many. We will also look at practices which can be adapted from various forms of psychological work. This day is for those of us just beginning to uncover the possibilities of a personal practice, as well as those who have been practicing for some time. There will be time for personal reflection. We will also share our experiences with each other and through discussion may discover or discern which supporting practices may be most effective in helping us on our spiritual journey at this time.

We will meet at the home of Paschal Baute, 6200 Winchester Rd., Lexington. Please bring pen and notebook for journaling. We will eat together at noon, (soup and bread provided), please bring your own additions, either for yourself or to share.

REPORT ON SEPTEMBER RETREAT

Our September retreat was held on the weekend of the fall equinox at Knobs Haven. It was very peaceful at this time of transition from summer to fall; there seemed to be an equal mix of summer's mild green and fall's closure and harvest. Our topic was paradigm shifts; and although we did some work on it, we tended to get side tracked into particulars in this rather large field. A paradigm was explained as a world view which both creates and defines. Just as our culture creates a matrix in which we live, it also gives definition to what and how we see the world. Different cultures create and define different `worlds'. A paradigm is often broader than an individual culture. The paradigm of the western world now effects the whole world. At various times, and our present may be one of these times, the paradigm in which we live shifts or changes. This is a process and takes a period of time. One of the main ways our world view is forced to change is through the encounter with anomaly, or dissonance. There are new discoveries that challenge a set of beliefs, or the old system ceases to explain fully what is brought to light. It may be that our experience stops conforming to the expectations which we have previously trusted. At this point, we begin to search out alternative theories which will provide a map for our deeper understanding. We may try several different ones, and each of these can push us farther along in the process of change. It can be confusing; there may be conflict and disturbance, a disruption of normal activities. At some time we find a new and more satisfactory way to view our world and things settle out for a time. Still, this is an ongoing cycle which may take a long or shorter time. Our world of the present seems in the process of a large paradigm shift.

We can also see our individual paradigm change over our personal lifetime. We may be at a time of change in our lives right now. One way to look at this is to look at the structure of our faith; that is, for example, how we view authority, how we make use of symbols or how we think. Another way is to look at the state of our mind, body and emotions. The state that we are in may not change or even be visible to us unless there are shocks in our lives. In resolving these shocks, our personal paradigm may change and we may grow. So paradigm change is not just something outside of us, found only in the halls of philosophers; it is found in our daily lives and how we deal with each other. Each time we understand our faith differently, we are growing and the world seems to change around us. 

                                                      A.S.

THE UNIVERSALITY OF REVELATION

by Rumi

I am neither Eastern or Western
neither heavenly or earthly
I am neither of the natural elements
nor of ther rotary spheres
I am neither from India or China
from neither Bulgaria nor Tabriz
From neither the country of Iraq
nor the land of Khurasan
My sign is without sign
My locus is without locus
It is neither body nor soul.
For I am myself the Soul of souls
since I expelled all duality
I see the two worlds as one
I see the one
I seek the one
I know the one
I call upon the one

CALENDAR

DAY OF RECOLLECTION
October 19th, Saturday from 10AM to 3PM
At the home of Paschal Baute, 6200 Winchester Rd., Lexington
Theme: Helps for the Journey

QUARTERLY RETREAT
December 6th, 7th & 8th
Theme undecided.


Last updated January 12, 1997

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