SGM October, 2011 ~ Quest

Readings

I go in search of a great Perhaps. ~ Francois Rabelais

Many go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. ~ Henry David Thoreau

There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time.  This expression is unique.  And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost. ~ Martha Graham

Time is the coin of your life.  It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent.  Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you. ~ Carl Sandburg

Wherever you go, there you are. ~ Jon Kabat-Zin

The spiritual path – is simply the journey of living our lives.  Everyone is on a spiritual path; most people just don’t know it. ~ Marianne Williamson

Like billowing clouds, the longing of the soul can never be stilled. ~ Hildegard of Bingen

Spiritual Exercise
Literature is full of Quests…Ulysses had his Odyssey. Winnie-the-Pooh went on Expotitions. Robert Frost took the road less traveled.  Dorothy followed the yellow brick road to discover that there was no place like home. The Grinch set out to ruin Christmas in Whoville and returned home with a heart that had grown 10 sizes.  King Arthur and his knights crossed Britain in a quest for the Holy Grail. Don Quixote tilted at windmills. Countless other heroes and heroines have embarked on quests to discover who they truly are.

Every day, people travel the paths of their lives, some in an intentional spiritual quest, some unaware of where they’re headed but following their heart wherever it leads them.  Some go on extensive worldwide travels as in Eat, Pray, Love, while some join a Small Group Ministry in a journey to find their inner selves.

What about you?

Are you on a spiritual quest?

Was there a time in your life that you took something on, followed your heart down a road not knowing where it would lead?

Or is there something you want to take on, to discover more about yourself?

In our quick-fix society, how do you sustain yourself along your journey?

This month, follow your heart on a quest - take a day and go out and do something you always wanted to do but didn’t think you could. 

What do you need to make this happen?

Make a plan, schedule one day, and take the steps to do it.

What did you do?

How did you feel?

Did you get closer to your inner self?

Even if you don’t feel you can start your quest now, what would it be?  How would you get started on the journey?  Does it feel less daunting or demanding of time and/or resources if you break it down into small steps? Sometimes in our lives we get so busy that it seems a challenge to carve out a few moments into a hectic day to just sit still and breathe, but this seemingly simple act is a great first step on a quest to your inner self. 

Session Plan

Chalice Lighting
At any moment you have a choice that either leads you to your spirit or further away from it.
~ Thich Nhat Hanh

Check In Please take a minute or two to share briefly the high and low points in your life since we last met.

Reading
We are having experiences all the time, which may on occasion render some sense of this, a little intuition of where your bliss is.  Grab it.  No one can tell you what it is going to be. You have to learn to recognize your own depth.  All the time.  It is miraculous… if you do follow your bliss you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. ~ Joseph Campbell

Sitting in Slience

Sharing and Deep Listening Consider and respond to the Spiritual Exercise above.

Reflection This is a time to supportively respond to something another person said or to relate additional thoughts that may have occurred as others shared.

Singing  #1003, Where Do We Come From?  Paul Gaugin and Brian Tate

Where do we come from?
What are we?
Where are we going? (x2)

Where do we come from? (x2)

Mystery, mystery.
Life is a riddle and a mystery. (x2)

Extinguishing the chalice
Ask not what the world needs.  Ask what makes you come alive…then go do it. 
Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. ~ Howard Thurman