Aug 27 3-minute Weekly Insight: "What is Shamanism? And how can it help us with our spiritual problems?"

"What is Shamanism?  And how can it help us with our spiritual problems?"

(The 3-minute Weekly Insight from Spirituality U.)

What is Shamanism?  And how can it help us with our spiritual problems?

Shamanism has been practiced for as long as 100,000 years by indigenous peoples in places as far flung as Siberia, Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia, Greenland, and native North and South America. And though it may be the oldest continuously practiced form of spirituality, it still offers tools that can help us mend our spiritual and psychological wounds.

Shamanism does not focus spirituality on a creator God. Instead, according to longtime shamanism educator Sandra Ingerman, “Shamanism teaches us that everything that exists is alive and has a spirit.  Everything on earth is interconnected and any belief that we are separate from other life forms including the earth, stars, wind, etc is purely an illusion. And it is the shaman’s role in the community to keep harmony and balance between humankind and the forces of nature.”

What is a shaman? Ingerman says that a shaman (male or female) “sees with the heart” and “…interacts directly with the spirits [inherent in all things] to address the spiritual aspect of illness and perform soul retrievals, retrieve lost power, as well as remove spiritual blockages.”

One of shamanism’s core beliefs is that when we fall ill or descend into depression, it is because some portion of our soul has been lost or wandered away, often as a result of trauma. Even though shamans perform a wide variety of functions and rituals, a key practice related to “soul retrieval” is shamanic journeying.

Shamanic journeying involves the use of rhythmic sound (e.g. drumming) to place us in a state in which we can undertake a type of creative visualization in which we connect with a power animal (serving as something like a guardian angel), or with a wise human being, both of whom can give us the advice we need.

Through conversation with these beings and through the posing and answering of questions related to our loss of soul, the power animal or wisdom figure can help us understand why part of our soul fled (usually as a protective measure) and what we need to do to restore our souls to wholeness. For many people this practice seems to be just as effective as month—or even year—of psychological counseling.

For more information about shamanism and shamanic journeying, 

visit http://www.sandraingerman.com/abstractonshamanism.html

Aug 20 Weekly Insight: Om Sweet Om

Om Sweet Om

(The August 20 Spirituality U. Weekly Insight

 from Interfaith Paths to Peace)

The chanting of the word “Om” has become so common in popular culture that we sometimes overlook the deep, spiritual implications of this simple sound.

So, what does Om really mean?

The Mandukya Upanishad (a Hindu sacred text), says, "Om is the one eternal syllable of which all that exists is but the development. The past, the present, and the future are all included in this one sound, and all that exists beyond the three forms of time is also implied in it".

According to an article by Subhamoy Das, “Om is a sacred syllable representing Brahman, the impersonal Absolute of Hinduism — omnipotent, omnipresent, and the source of all manifest existence. Brahman, in itself, is incomprehensible; so a symbol becomes mandatory to help us realize the Unknowable.”

OK, but how does the chanting of Om actually work in spiritual practice?

 According to Das, “Om is not a word but rather an intonation, which, like music, transcends the barriers of age, race, culture and even species. It is made up of three Sanskrit letters, aa, au and ma which, when combined together, make the sound Aum or Om. It is believed to be the basic sound of the world and to contain all other sounds. It is a mantra or prayer in itself. If repeated with the correct intonation, it can resonate throughout the body so that the sound penetrates to the centre of one's being, the atman or soul.”

What is the benefit of chanting this sound? For one thing it helps our rational minds move to a level at which they can encounter the world and the transcendent more directly, without words, without thought.

Das says, “During meditation, when people chant Om, they create within themselves a vibration that attunes sympathy with the cosmic vibration and they then start thinking more universally. The momentary silence between each chant becomes palpable. Mind moves between the opposites of sound and silence until, at last, it ceases the sound. In the silence, the single thought—Om—is quenched; there is no thought. This is the state of trance, where the mind and the intellect are transcended as the individual self merges with the Infinite Self in the pious moment of realization. It is a moment when the petty worldly affairs are lost in the desire for the universal. Such is the immeasurable power of Om.”

For more information about Om, visit:

http://hinduism.about.com/od/omaum/a/meaningofom.htm

Aug 13 Weekly Insight: Pope Pius XII pronounced it Dogma; Psychologist Carl Jung embraced it. What was it?

Pope Pius XII pronounced it Dogma; Psychologist Carl Jung embraced it.

(The August 13 Spirituality U. Weekly Insight from Interfaith Paths to Peace)

Pope Pius XII proclaimed that all Catholics must believe it; Carl Jung said the Pope’s words were the most momentous spiritual pronouncement of the 20^th Century.

What was it that could bring together such radically different thinkers?

It was “The Assumption of the Virgin Mary” which is celebrated on August 15 each year as a day of “Holy Obligation” in the Catholic Church. On this day all Catholics are required to attend Mass.

In November of 1950, Pope Pius XII made it a matter of official Church dogma that the Virgin Mary (believe by Catholics to be without sin) was “assumed” body and soul into Heaven at the end of her life. The Assumption had long been a popular belief among Catholics. Pius XII made that belief not only official, but mandatory.

But why did Carl Jung think this was the most important spiritual event of the 20^th Century?

Because, in a sense, it restored the Divine Feminine to the Godhead. Much of Western religion for millennia had been almost entirely patriarchal. Until recently theology in the Abrahamic religions generally conceived of God as male. There was no room for a feminine aspect of Divinity. Of course, there were hundreds of female saints in the Catholic and Orthodox religious world; but, God was decidedly male.

And in another way, the official pronouncement of the Assumption as dogma reached even farther. It symbolically brought Heaven and Earth back together. Here’s what Catholic scholar Eugene Kennedy says about Jung and The Assumption.

“As a master of the mythological river that nourished what he termed our ‘collective unconscious,’ Jung grasped the profound and fitting symbolism of such a declaration at mid-century.

The Assumption proclaimed the Mystery of the century, the return of Mother Earth to the Heavens and the end, therefore, of the split between Earth and Heaven and all the divisions, such as between flesh and spirit, that flowed from that. It heralded the unity of the universe and the unity of human personality. That is the richest and perhaps least plumbed aspect of this feast. The wonder is that the Assumption is rich and deep enough a Mystery to accommodate these various levels of understanding all at the same time.”

For more information on The Assumption and Jung’s response to it visit:


http://campus.udayton.edu/mary/resources/theassumption.html

July 30 Weekly Insight: What Makes Unitarians “Unitarian”

What Makes Unitarians “Unitarian”

(The July 30 Spirituality U. Weekly Insight from Interfaith Paths to Peace)

Actually, the people we call Unitarian are, to be accurate, usually called“Unitarian Universalists” (or UU’s). We’ll get back to the Universalist part in a minute, but first, what makes Unitarians “Unitarian.”

In a word, it is their belief that God (or whatever is Holy), is one; they don’t accept the Christian concept of the Trinity and do not acknowledge the unique Divinity of Jesus. 

According to the UU’s of Bloomington, Indiana, “Some of us would say that Jesus was the son of God, as we are all sons and daughters of God, but not the same as God. Generally UUs regard Jesus as one of several important moral and ethical teachers who have shown humans how to live a life of love, service, and compassion. Our concern is not with how he was born or how he died, but with how he lived.”

In fact, most Unitarian Universalists while gathering in churches, would not describe themselves as specifically Christian. Their teachings and religious services embrace teachings and practices from many religions, including Christianity. UU’s also welcome atheists and agnostics and embrace their wisdom.

And what makes the UU’s “Universalist?”

Historically, Unitarians taught the oneness of God, while Universalists taught

that ultimately all would be restored to oneness with God, i.e., universal salvation.  The Rev. Thomas Starr King, who served both Universalist and Unitarian congregations in the mid-1800s joked that the difference between the two traditions was that Unitarians believed that people were too good to be damned forever, while the Universalists believed that God was too good to damn anyone to eternal punishment. 

Debbie Horvay and Barb Friedland from Thomas Jefferson Unitarian Universalist Church in Louisville add, “UUs believe in a never ending individual process of discovery  guided by reason, rooted in love, and honoring diversity, rather than the acceptance of revealed truth.  Guided by seven key principles, UUs respect the inherent worth and dignity of all beings and value the interconnected web of life of which we are part.”

For more information about Unitarian Universalism visit:

http://www.uua.org/

July 23 Weekly Insight: Why Grace is Like Grits

Why Grace is like Grits

(The July 23 Weekly Insight from Spirituality U.)

I think that anyone who orders breakfast in the Deep South has a head start on understanding the Christian concept of “Grace. “ Why? Because in at least one dramatic way, Grace is like grits.

When you order your eggs in Mobile or Atlanta or Jackson, grits show up on your plate, whether you request them or not.

That’s the connection with Grace. Because, whether you ask for it or not, whether you are worthy or not, Grace shows up. But Grace doesn't come from a server; it comes to you as a gift from God.  According to Wikipedia, Grace is "the love and mercy given to us by God, because God desires us to have it, not because of anything we have done to earn it." This definition appears many places on the web. But grace isn’t a gift-wrapped empty box. According to the Encylopedia Britannica, “the gift of Grace comes from God to sinners as a divine influence operating in humans for their regeneration and sanctification.”

My friend, Episcopal Deacon Mary Abrams, explains this a bit more clearly when she says, “…this thing called Grace is an invitation to be in relationship with God….And God gives us the desire and the ability to enter into this relationship.” She goes on to remind us that when we accept God’s gift it is important for us then to be God’s Grace for other people by doing God’s will.

Here’s a link to find more information about the Christian concept of Grace from the online Encyclopedia Britannica: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/240435/grace

July 16 Weekly Insight: How the mystical concept of Tikkun Olam can help us mend our broken world

(the July 16 Spirituality U. Weekly Insight from Interfaith Paths to Peace)

The 16^th Century Jewish mystic Isaac Luria gave us a wonderful way to understand how God created our world, how it became broken and what we can do to repair it.

According to Luria’s version of the creation story, in the beginning God was everywhere. In order for there to be room for creation, God had to withdraw, leaving a dark, empty space. God created the world by casting Divine Light into this void. After creation was completed, there remained an excess of this light of Divine Creative Power. The excess was stored in crystalline spheres. But the spheres were unable to contain the power of God’s Light and they shattered, sending sparks of holiness and shards of darkness throughout our world.

According to a document shared by Rabbi Joe Rooks Rapport, “Tikkun Olam, (pronounced tee kuhn’ oh lahm), or “repairing the world,” is Luria’s system for repairing the brokenness of the Universe and the brokenness within God which has existed since the first moments of creation. With each mitzvah [or good deed] we do, we gather a spark of the Divine trapped here on earth. [This spark] builds a flame of God within us and within the communities of which we are a part. If we could ever gather all of these sparks we could bring about the messianic age.” It is important to remember that no single individual, nor any single generation can complete the task of Tikkun Olam, but all of us must do our part by performing acts of kindness, justice, and peacemaking.

Rabbi Rooks Rapport goes on to say, “Luria infused the simple acts of doing good deeds with cosmic value—healing ourselves, healing our world, and healing even God with every act of goodness and righteousness done with the intention of Tikkun Olam.

For more information about the concept of Tikkun Olam, visit

http://www.myjewishlearning.com/practices/Ethics/Caring_For_Others/Tikkun_Olam_Repairing_the_World_.shtml

July 9 Weekly Insight: What exactly is Ramadan? What is an Iftar dinner?

So, what exactly is Ramadan? And what is an Iftar dinner?

(The Weekly Spirituality U. Insight from Interfaith Paths to Peace)

What is Ramadan?

Ramadan, which begins on Tuesday, July 9 this year, is a month-long period of fasting undertaken by observant Muslims throughout the world as one of their five key spiritual practices*. Ramadan is a “lunar” month, a 28-day period on the calendar that moves around during the regular calendar year. During Ramadan, Muslims refrain from eating and drinking from daybreak until sunset. They do this as a way of purifying their souls and refocusing their attention on God. It is a time to make peace with those with whom we have disagreements, strengthen ties with family and friends, and give up bad habits.

One of the special things about the Ramadan fast is that if practiced fully, it involves every aspect of our body and soul. According to a Muslim named Huda, during Ramadan, “every part of the body must be restrained. The tongue must be restrained from backbiting and gossip. The eyes must restrain themselves from looking at unlawful things. The hand must not touch or take anything that does not belong to it. The ears must refrain from listening to idle talk or obscene words. The feet must refrain from going to sinful places.”

What is an Iftar dinner

Iftar is a dinner at which Muslims break that day’s fast on any one of the 28 days of self-sacrifice. Iftars sometimes are held in a family’s home or at a mosque or other public space and can bring together a number of families. These dinners often include non-Muslims who are invited to share in the food and socializing.

Here’s a link to more information about Ramadan and Iftar.

http://islam.about.com/od/ramadan/f/ramadanintro.htm

*the other four of the  "Five Pillars of Islam" are 1) profession that there is no god but God (Allah) and that Muhammad is his Prophet; 2) making a pilgrimage to Mecca, 3) praying five times a day at set intervals; and, 4) required charitable giving.