You don't need a label to be spiritual

Saint? Sinner? Christian? Muslim? You will be called many things in life but you are none of the things that you are called.  The labels, the words, the names that people attach to us are only a description of something about you and often an incomplete or inaccurate one.  The fish is more than the net it is caught in.  The rainbow is more than the colors within it.  You are beyond capture, beyond word, beyond phrase.

Protestant? Catholic? Churched? Unchurched? Too often we count ourselves as the boxes others try to place you in.  We waste our energy and passion in trying to find the best boxes.  We are not the collection of our parts, no matter how you describe or order those parts.  You are more.

In the reinterpretation we learn of the oneness of humanity with the unnamable One, the Divine. In life we can grow into that relationship with Divinity. Do not be limited by what you call yourself or what others call you.  Reach out, not to what "you are" but to what you can be.  Don't describe your journey by a spot in the road.  Life in spirit is not a place to be found, but a journey to undertake.  Have courage and know the capacity to travel that journey is within you no matter what limits, hardships, or hurdles the road may have. We are more than overcomers.

What's your purpose for being here?

Many friends of mine go about life everyday wondering what's their purpose in life. They suffer anxiety wondering if jobs, relationships, and goals are inline with or a distraction from their "true" purpose.

In The Two Agreements, I give a simple, clear practice -- enter the Stillness and enter the Silence as often and as long as one can. Then, Intuition provides guidance to a purposeful life. All one needs are "ears to hear".

quote:

“The purpose of a relationship is to decide what part of yourself you’d like to see ‘show up,’ not what part of another you can capture and hold. There can only be one purpose for relationships, and for all of life: to be and to decide who you really are."

Neale Donald Walsch -- Conversations with God

S.L. Brannon on DBSA Life Unlimited web site

http://bit.ly/1kEBzlZ

At times religion struggles with its own story

Here is an article I came across and want to share. It includes comments by men I can appreciate for standing by their values. It is healthy for open discussions to happen surrounding religion and science. Of course, folk can enjoy religion without science, science without religion, and religion/science. The world is big enough for all belief systems.

Pat Robertson implores creationist Ken Ham to shut up: ‘Let’s not make a joke of ourselves’
By Scott Kaufman
Wednesday, February 5, 2014 12:19 EST

Pat Robertson responded to the recent debate between Young Earth creationist Ken Ham and Bill Nye, a.k.a. “The Science Guy,” by reiterating his disagreement with Ham’s form of creationism.

“Let’s face it,” Robertson said, “there was a Bishop [Ussher] who added up the dates listed in Genesis and he came up with the world had been around for 6,000 years.”

“There ain’t no way that’s possible,” he continued. “To say that it all came about in 6,000 years is just nonsense and I think it’s time we come off of that stuff and say this isn’t possible.”

“Let’s be real, let’s not make a joke of ourselves.”

“We’ve got to be realistic,” he concluded, and admit “that the dating of Bishop Ussher just doesn’t comport with anything that is found in science and you can’t just totally deny the geological formations that are out there.”

Last November, Robertson raised the ire of Young Earth Creationists when he made
similar statements. The hosts of “Creation Today,” Eric Hovind and Paul F. Taylor, attacked Robertson for claiming that dinosaurs could exist, because the world isn’t, in fact, only 6,000 years old.

“Pat Robertson is claiming, then, that 6,000 years comes from Ussher’s book and not the Bible,” Taylor said. “The point is, where did Ussher get his figure of 6,000 years?”

To Speak or not to Speak . . .

In regard to the church sign below:

The feelings of fear, shame, and guilt are the fuel and mind's prison of organized religion, as evidenced here. Another major tool of control is a "belief in lack", i.e. God does not have enough Grace to cover all souls, God's forgiveness is not immediately and all-at-once forgiving of all "sins" for all time, etc.

Those of us who know God to be The God Without Any Limits of Grace need to "find our voices" and speak up for the Grace we know to be true. Today, we are needed in preserving the freedom to believe as WE choose. 

To speak up or not to speak up is the question?  . . . we choose or we loose.

IBF Webinar: Cheryl Magrini, DBSA National Board Chair

Spirituality And A Wellness Based Lifestyle With Those Who Live With Bipolar Disorder

Wednesday, February 5, 2014 - 09:00 to 10:00

Reverend Cheryl T. Magrini, MS.ED, MTS, Ph.D.

Why should we be talking about spirituality and mental illness? Many individuals understand the essence of what it means to be a human being through their spirituality, and I find that this is even more so for those who struggle, ones living purposeful life, and those who embrace their resiliency, all the while living with bipolar disorder. When living with a mental illness, it can be too easy to think one is weak, unworthy, deserves to be abandoned by "God– or a sacred source" or that the episode could have been controlled, or the individual healed of the behaviors of the mental illness if religious codes, or other sacred norms, were not violated. Is relying on the sacred – whether ultimate truth or transcendence – being strong or not being strong enough? At the center of these questions lies the way that an individual living with bipolar disorder defines their own spirituality, and there are persons who struggle with what this means at all. How then does spirituality inform and influence decisions and specific wellness practices? With spirituality being a central point of living with purpose, meaning, and resiliency, how and when is this integrated into the therapeutic treatment? These questions on spirituality and wellness were asked of twenty-two individuals in a one hour interview. Out of these interviews, through common themes and evaluating the differences as well, five insights have been identified that will be presented in the webinar, including quotes and comments from the individuals in the interviews. This research leads to additional questions to explore.

Reverend Cheryl T. Magrini, MS.Ed, MTS, Ph.D.​ is a United Methodist clergy, serving the Chicago metro area since 1998, currently with the First United Methodist Church in Chicago, an urban and diverse church. Cheryl publishes, researches, and speaks nationally in the religious education and congregational change fields; and since 2011 specializes in consulting with faith communities to develop comprehensive mental health programs in partnership with community resources. Her current research on resiliency is an extension of her spirituality and wellness study. The resiliency research focuses on identifying resilient qualities, how these can be developed, and the ways that individuals living with bipolar disorder draw on and rely upon resiliency to live with purpose, meaning, power, and strength. Individuals share their personal story of resiliency as the basis of the research. Cheryl is chair, Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, and on the IBPF Consumer Advisory Council, on the IBPF Consumer Advisory Council and President of the DBSA Chicago Loop Chapter.

Space is limited.Reserve your Webinar seat now at:https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/299258710 

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

- See more at: http://www.ibpf.org/event/spirituality-and-wellness-based-lifestyle-those-who-live-bipolar-disorder#sthash.4fM898CK.dpuf

Sent from my iPad

When you do it to the least of these . . .

Amy Simpson asks some serious questions in her blog. My work in helping to improve the lives of people living with mental illness placed me in a position to know the answers to her questions. The BOTTOMLINE is: Faith communities can treat consumers like other congregants. And when consumers need a bit of help they can make that happen.  " when you do for the less fortunate . . ."

"Spiritual experiences, promises of peace and joy, opportunities for community and for communion with God…these elements of church life are understandably attractive to many people with mental illness. Churches have a special responsibility to recognize this and respond intentionally.

-      Do you make people with mental disorders feel unwelcome? ignore them and focus on the more attractive new people who walk through your doors, hoping they’ll go away and other churches will meet their needs?

-      In sermons, Bible studies, and classes, do you send the false message that Christians should not expect trouble, pain, or sickness? that happy, comfortable, and “victorious” life is the norm?

-      When was the last time mental illness was mentioned in a sermon, in a way that normalized it?

-      Does your community expect people to have it all together when they walk through the doors?

-      Do you expect people to be “cured” before finding a place to serve?

None of us will ever be whole this side of heaven—and many people with mental illness suffer from chronic and repetitive symptoms that can be managed but not technically cured. These conditions do not cancel God’s purposes for them. They do not disqualify people from a place in the body of Christ. Just as much as other ill or injured people, they deserve loving acceptance, clear and consistent boundaries, and grace."

Does your church inadvertently hurt people with mental illness? Guest blogger Amy Simpson
Posted on May 5, 2013 by drgrcevich
Editor’s note: Our  Key Ministry staff and volunteer team is pleased to extend our congratulations to Amy Simpson upon her recognition as a winner of of one of Christianity Today’s 2014 Book Awards for Troubled Minds: Mental Health and the Church’s Mission.