Category Archives: Personal Growth & Spiritual Development

Feeling the Presence of Spirit in Times of Loss

river - change heron_dance

“There is a river flowing now very fast.

It is so great and swift that there are those

who will be afraid.

They will try to hold on to the shore.

They will feel they are torn apart, and will suffer greatly.”

~An unnamed Hopi elder

into-the-light-maciver
“With all your science can you tell how it is,

and whence it is,

that light comes into the soul?”

~ Henry David Thoreau

At the Interfaith Center we receive many wisdom teachings to help us through the inevitable losses in life. But sometimes, the river of change feels like a torrent. Then, despite all we have known in steadier times, we can be hard pressed to let go and allow the river to carry us. Continue reading Feeling the Presence of Spirit in Times of Loss

Metaphysics Class Tackles “Life’s Persistent Questions”

What is God? This class looks at the science of the invisible to answer life's perennial questions.With both daytime and evening options (1 pm and 7 pm Wednesdays), Senior Minister Dave Bell’s new Metaphysics class is underway. Here are the questions the class explores, plus a Metaphysics Reading List Dave developed from his personal library. The class runs 8 weeks and tuition is $35 for the entire class. Email dave@interfaithspirit.org if you have questions 🙂

THE QUESTIONS
  • What is Metaphysics?
  • The Nature of the Divine
  • The Nature of Creation
  • What is Reality?
  • Does Evil Exist?
  • Are there Unforgivable Sins?
  • What is a Soul?
  • What is Consciousness?
  • What is the Role of Scripture?
  • What is the Role of Compassion and Forgiveness?
  • The Three Phases of Mind
  • Prayer and Meditation
  • Prosperity
  • Does Reincarnation Occur?
  • The Near Death Experience
  • What is Mysticism?
RECOMMENDED READING

Books by Dr. David Hawkins Continue reading Metaphysics Class Tackles “Life’s Persistent Questions”

Whatever Happens Can Be Interpreted for Your Own Good

Image showing how perception is malleable - a key metaphysical principle in A Course in MiraclesHave you ever wondered about the name, “A Course in Miracles,” which is often quoted at Interfaith? The “miracles” refer to tiny shifts in perception which give us the power to transform suffering into blessings. Here is a reading about Perception shared by member Jan Peacock at a recent Sunday service. Continue reading Whatever Happens Can Be Interpreted for Your Own Good

Believe in Yourself

Yesterday, Dave Bell showed us how our own beliefs about ourselves (often old, subconscious beliefs, ingrained from childhood) create our experience. Isn’t it amazing that our  Divine soul’s expression is empowered, or inhibited, by what we believe? Yet it’s true. As Henry Ford say, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t…. you’re right.

What if you allowed yourself to express your soul’s essence, right here, right now? Here’s a little encouragement from an unexpected source: neuroscientist Jill Bolte Taylor.

What it Means to “Hold Space” for People, Plus 8 Tips on How to Do it Well

Reblogged with permission from Heather Plett, a teacher, writer, and coach whose work fosters mindfulness, growth, and positive change.

Heather Plett reblogged by the Interfaith Center for Spiritual Growth, Ann Arbor's alternative church experience.
When my mom was dying, my siblings and I gathered to be with her in her final days. None of us knew anything about supporting someone in her transition out of this life into the next, but we were pretty sure we wanted to keep her at home, so we did.
While we supported mom, we were, in turn, supported by a gifted palliative care nurse, Ann, who came every few days to care for mom and to talk to us about what we could expect in the coming days. She taught us how to inject Mom with morphine when she became restless, she offered to do the difficult tasks (like giving Mom a bath), and she gave us only as much information as we needed about what to do with Mom’s body after her spirit had passed.

“Take your time,” she said. “You don’t need to call the funeral home until you’re ready. Gather the people who will want to say their final farewells. Sit with your mom as long as you need to. When you’re ready, call and they will come to pick her up.”

Ann gave us an incredible gift in those final days. Though it was an excruciating week, we knew that we were being held by someone who was only a phone call away.

In the two years since then, I’ve often thought about Ann and the important role she played in our lives. She was much more than what can fit in the title of “palliative care nurse”. She was facilitator, coach, and guide. By offering gentle, nonjudgmental support and guidance, she helped us walk one of the most difficult journeys of our lives.

The work that Ann did can be defined by a term that’s become common in some of the circles in which I work. She was holding space for us.

What does it mean to hold space for someone else? It means that we are willing to walk alongside another person in whatever journey they’re on without judging them, making them feel inadequate, trying to fix them, or trying to impact the outcome. When we hold space for other people, we open our hearts, offer unconditional support, and let go of judgment and control.

Continue reading What it Means to “Hold Space” for People, Plus 8 Tips on How to Do it Well

Letting Go

Each Sunday, members of our Interfaith family lead portions of the service.  Last Sunday Rod Rodriguez shared wisdom from Rumi and Osho to highlight the topic “Letting Go.

The Tent, by Rumi

The Tent, an allegory for meditation practice.

Outside, the freezing desert night.
This other night inside grows warm, kindling.
Let the landscape be covered with thorny crust.
We have a soft garden in here.

The continents blasted,
cities and little towns, everything
become a scorched, blackened ball.

The news we hear is full of grief for that future,
but the real news inside here
is there’s no news at all.

~Translation by Coleman Barks (italics added for emphasis)

Continue reading Letting Go