Austin Area Interreligious Ministries Book Club

Working until 8PM is not always conducive to participating in the range of events that occur between the 5 o'clock and 8 o'clock hours.  Events I typically miss include book signings, church dinners, early concerts, trivia night, and happy hour, .  So while I get to sleep in every day, I miss a lot of the good stuff that goes on in Austin, including the Austin Area Interreligious Ministries Spirituality Book Club that I have always wanted to go to, and finally got the chance this past Monday!

If you haven't heard of AAIM and believe in any sort of divine presence, whether as an abstract, theoretical concept, or a blue man with lots of faces, you should consider their mission statement and visiting their website: "Think globally, grow personally / AAIM unites faith and cultural communities to foster respect, partnership and transformation in service of the common good."  Congregations of all faiths and beliefs participate in AAIM events, lectures, and holiday celebrations, and the book club on Monday was a great example of that: thirty-seven people from a wide spectrum of religious backgrounds (some of them straight and narrow, others meandering, and everything in between), gathered on the top floor of Book People at 7PM to talk about the Bhagavad Gita with three representatives from the Austin Hindu Temple.

I've read the small book three times between high school and undergraduate school, but that was several years ago, so I was sadly rusty on my memories of the book's substance, aside from the notes I'd penciled in the margins of my copy during a professor's lecture.  The basic "plot" of the book is this: there is a Hindu warrior about to go into battle, when Krishna, the avatar of a Hindu god, appears beside him and gives him a semi-lengthy talking to about life and how to best live it.  Gandhi was a fan.  Most of the questions and discussion centered on the concept of Karma Yoga, or the result of a person's actions, and the necessity of balancing action, inaction, and knowledge.  I personally related this to my slothfulness/inaction at getting out of bed in the morning - a few good prostrations with gratitude to the Earth after the alarm sounds might get the blood flowing. 

The Gita scholar who led the discussion was Dr. Madhi P. Godsay, and if you have any questions about the Gita or Hinduism, I highly recommend contacting him.  His email is: mpgodsay@yahoo.com.  The pastor of my church, Greg McDonell, facilitates the book club and to reach him or get on the AAIM book club email list: greg@cpcaustin.org.


The next book club meeting will be February 8th, and the book selection is What's Right with Islam is What's Right for America.

Pastor Greg sent this clip from Karen Armstrong's forward:  "Imam Rauf's book has a positive message. It helps Muslims and Western peoples see a way out of the present impasse, in which atrocity leads to retaliation, attack to counterattack, to preemptive strike and a new spate of terror.  If we are to break out of this vicious cycle, we must learn not simply to tolerate but to appreciate one another........The blazing towers of the World Trade center symbolize, perhaps, our collective failure to pass this test.  This book shows that the only possible way forward is by the assiduous cultivation of mutual respect.  It should be read, but then - even more important - it should be acted upon."

Also, this just in from Pastor Greg: "I am so excited to report that good friend and founder of the Institute for Interfaith Dialog  (www.interfaithdialog.org), Gunar Arslan, Ph.D, will be joining us for our discussion on Feb. 8th.  I am also in hopes that some of our Muslim neighbors will join us as well."

I doubt I will have that Monday evening off, so please someone go and then report back to me on your thoughts and incites gained from the discussion!

Speaking of mutual respect and karma yoga and loving our neighbors, here is a list compiled by CNN of ways to help Haitians and all affected by yesterday's earthquake: Impact Your World.

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If you haven't entered the contest for my bird and jewelry lover's necklace giveaway and want to participate, do so by leaving a comment here! 

 

Sunday Services at Central Presbyterian Church

One of the reasons I love going to church on Sunday is because it forces me to get up early(ish), which gets my week started off on a good, productive foot.  I especially love going because it's incredibly grounding, after six crazy days of work, fights, spending money, being too self-focused, and too tuned in to my cell phone and twitter, to sit, attentive, for an hour focused on something greater than myself.

And I'm not always sure just what that bigger thing is.  Christianity says it's an entity with a human counterpart we can paint pictures of.  Ok.

I went through a year where I wasn't sure if I wanted to be called a "Christian" because the labels seem arbitrary when my only real belief is that there is a divine presence in (of?) the universe, which is the common thread of most religious practices. One of the stories about the Dalai Lama that has always stuck with me, is where he told a spiritual seeker to focus on the religion she grew up in, Judaism, to channel her spiritual practice.  For this reason, I made the decision to "stick with" (so to speak) Christianity, because the basic fabric of its theology encompasses my beliefs, and it gives me a specific, familiar practice to focus my own energies on.

Lennon and I had anticipated a lengthy search for a church when we moved to Austin, but we loved Central Presbyterian the first time we went.  The byline "deliberately diverse and fully inclusive" was the initial bait, but seeing it actually in place in the church's population was the determining factor of our decision.

That, and when the head minister came to our house to meet us, aside from being very kind, he excitedly told us how one of the pastor interns had got him a gift certificate to a tattoo parlor, and he was already set on the large piece he wanted done on his arm.  He's like 60.  I love it.  It's also great to be at a church that works with seminary student interns.  Kasey, the tattoo giver, has one of her own: a portrait of Calvin.  If you've seen Lennon's Calvin tattoo, you know we are fans. 

One of our church friends, Elizabeth, also has a neat tumblr account, and writes for the Austinist.  The list goes on.

Lennon told me he hates this dress, but he didn't tell me till after church, because he said he didn't want to wait on me to change.  I'm going to wear it a lot now just to spite him.

Dress with belt: Banana Republic, bought for 70% off
Cardigan: Anne Taylor Loft
Tights: Target
Ballet flats: Target
Feather pin: from Parts &Labour on South Congress

Cute puppy tied up outside the convenience store.  I really wanted to pet it.

2009: Goodbye, Good Riddance, & Let The Good Times Roll

How is this year over?  I'm fairly certain it just started.  I welcomed New Years 2009 in this brown Banana Republic dress at Little Rock's Ferneau Restaurant, where a bar patron can savor the best basil martini of their life.  The tennis shoes did not go with me to dinner, but now I like them in this photo as proof that I actually used to exercise.  Ferneau was appropriately followed by a trip to the dive bar of all dive bars, Midtown, (how I miss thee - I'm yet to find a comparable Austin substitute).

To summarize 2009 briefly: I frequented many a Cool Shoes dance party, started the Cabot High School slam poetry team, decided to leave teaching, decided to leave Little Rock, started and ended a relationship with Michael for the third time,  lived in three different houses, remembered I have hobbies other than cuba libres, waitressed, learned I will never miss Mom any less, sang with a band, adopted a terrible sleep schedule, got braver, realized I actually hate PBR, ended up in a place I am happy to be.

This holiday, I would like to make a map for the future, rather than resolutions, so that I have a few ending points I can meander towards.  Having mile markers will help make sure I get where I'd like to be.

For example, I want to write more in 2010.  To insure this happens, I will post regularly on my blog, devote time to fiction writing, and seek out opportunities such as guest blogging and article posting.

I also want to be a calmer, less reactive person.  To insure this happens, I will focus on detaching from stressful moments, walk away from tense situations until I am calmer, and use kind words towards people - boyfriends, roommates, students, etc, in order to project positive energy onto a situation.

At least, I will try to abide by these things.  I often feel wound so tight that I am sure I put off the same welcoming atmosphere as an approaching storm cell.  A book I am reading says that everyone manipulates their surroundings, and no act goes into the world without affecting it.  A person can't say "I hate something" without the negative energy beyond those words going out into the world, in some sort of cosmic cause and effect.

And not to start the year out on the wrong foot, but 2009, for all of it's surprises and lead-up to my life in Austin, also had a lot of heart ache, not as much as 2004, but no ten year relationship/friendship is damaged and changed without significant emotional repercussions.  For that, here's my message to you, 2009, (and tell 2010 that I'm an excellent tiger tamer, and that I'm not afraid of sharp teeth or a loud roar - IE, bring it):

 





What are your New Years plans? Parties? Resolutions? Hibernation?

Restructuring A Belief System

Sara Beak from The New York Times

I used to be a closet horoscope reader, until I became a fan of Sara Beak and other "New Gurus," (so dubbed by the New York Times).  Luckily for myself and the other mystic-curious out there, spirituality now seems to be evolving from the oft-laughable genre of "new age" to the wildly popular "new enlightenment."  I'd conjecture the sweeping popularity of spiritualism, eastern religion, mystisicm, etc., is an obvious next step in a consumer culture that has started collapsing in on itself.  And this is a good thing.  While taking a stab at "yuppies" can be a quick way to attempt establishing one's own intelligence over the middle class (although, if yuppie is in your vernacular, you probably are one), I would like someone to point out the negative of people becoming more enviornmentally conscious, more thrifty with their spending, and more excited about handmade, homemade goods.  If there's a line at the door outside of Ten Thousand Villages verses Pottery Barn, I'm all about it.

Natural soaps from Ten Thousand Villages

I also don't see any downside to women (who seem to be the largest adherents to modern spirituality) wanting to find balance in their life beyond being super woman (very stressful endeavor) and following fashion magazine dictates (is the gloss ceiling finally broken? ...sorry).  Dr. Neralich always repeated to his classes that we are spiritual beings having an earthly exprerience, not the other way around, so ignoring the essential nature of humanity because it seems "silly" to many westerners, really just makes us the silly ones.

Back to horoscopes, I've taken to watching the Soul Garden videos that are streamed onto Gala Darling's web site.  The "forecast" for Aquarius in the month of October discusses the importance of restructuring my belief system, which I feel has been a task I've undertaken since moving to Austin.  I've decided to go back to church after a long hiatus which I began when I decided that it was not reasonable to invest in a religion that I don't entirely believe in.  And by that, I simply mean that I don't think any one religion is right, and that  religions are humanity's interpretation of divine events and inspirations, so why recite creeds that I don't buy 100%? 

Not going to church, though, created a "spiritual void," that has left me feeling disconnected from a part of myself that, in verbal irony, keeps me grounded.  When I'm cultivating my spirituality whether through church, yoga, meditation, books, etc., my stress is lowered, my breathing is deeper, and things in life take on a deeper importance. 

I used to have a Jewish boyfriend who I loved very much and wanted to be with for much longer than we ended up being together.  Members of his family were not pleased that I didn't come from a similar background, but at the time, my understanding was that I just needed a God who wasn't abstract.  And Christianity gives that to people by putting a human face on God, and considering that idea again in recent months, I decided to return to the church fold I grew up in.  It's not a sprititual make over, but it's a start.

Dr. Neralich also said that whenever he went into people's homes while traveling through parts of Asia who practiced Buddhism, he was always met with the same answer when he asked how to follow the spiritual path: "sit down, practice." 

One of the awesome things about Austin is the Austin Area Interreligious Ministries.  The church I've been attending participates in programs put on by this organization, and a look at the calendar gets me excited about all of the things I want to become involved in beyond Sunday worship and yoga classes.   

Things coming up include the Spiritual Book Club that next meets at Book People on November 9th, and the Interfaith Thanksgiving Celebration on November 22nd. While I know attending things doesn't equal a well practiced spiritual life, it still opens the channels of dialogue, prayer and reflection that are necessary for cultivating a calm and open mind.  I can get so tense that I forget to breathe, so anything that puts me on the track of spiritual mindfulness and keeps me on it is a positive, and I'd like to fill my life with far more positives than I typically make room for.  I'm always open to stories and advice about how to go about this. 

Dave, a great human being. 


On Pandora, appropriatley: God Made The Automobile
 

The Unlikely Disciple

When I find a book I really like, it doesn't take more than a maximum of five days to read it. If I'm struggling to enjoy a book then I usually don't get more than a quarter through, over the course of several months, before I abandon it forever. The Unlikely Disciple took me about a week to finish. I picked it up at Barnes & Noble after being intrigued by its premise as an undercover outsider's view of an evangelical university. Specifically, Jerry Falwell's evangelical university.

I fall into the spectrum, regretably, of people who are equally prejudiced against fundamentalists as some fundamentalists are against "liberals." I once read an article that said even the word "liberal" sounded like the biological name for a squirmy worm. Clearly there is animosity on both sides... anyway.

The author's task of humanizing a group of people that are often estranged socially as well as religiously and politically seemed like a good read. Having been a teacher in a small, white-flight bedroom community where I got asked at least once a week if and where I went to church, (I didn't), and working with students who wanted to insist that reading the bible, again, should count as outside reading (it did, but only for first-timers), as well as having factions of my family divided by the conservative/liberal split, I've had to do a lot of tongue biting and jaw clenching. The problem with myself, and a lot of people I'm sure, is that I/we tend to be drawn to reading and consuming material that only expounds upon things already believed. This must be old news to everyone else, as no one should be shocked by the fact that I'd be just as hard pressed to get some of my cousins to read Harry Potter as they would be to get me to crack open Left Behind, (although I hear there's a movie version coming out, which my curiosity may compel me to watch). Point being, reading this book was like baby stepping my way into getting the other side's perspective while still having it gently fed to me by someone of similar persuasion. And it was funny. Really funny. What could be banal about naked skateboarding? Nothing.

The author, Kevin Roose, spoke extensively about his concerns towards the possibility of conversion after being immersed in conservative, evangelical culture. Spoiler alert - he didn't convert, but he did expound upon his spiritual growth through incorporating prayer and fellowship into his life. This is one of the aspects of Judaism that drew me in so deeply that I even got up early on Saturdays to attend Torah study for a while... there IS something spiritually satisfying about making a place for God, (or what/whom ever) in your life daily. I have sort of let this knowledge slide over the past couple of years, and it's something I would like to rectify. Very few days go by that I don't remember Dr. Neralich hammering into his classes about the importance of meditation, and practice, but I never actually do it. Tomorrow, God and alarm-clock willing, I plan to try attending an Austin church, to try and bring back some of my wayward focus in life. Maybe the book is responsible for this, maybe the universe is, or maybe I've just exhausted my spiritual supply stores and feel compelled to replenish. Either way, great book. I'm glad it was serendipitously found while going to purchase something else... but then, (can't resist), isn't that a great metaphor for most things in life? (sorry)

I'd also like to note, just for posterity, how jealous I am that this guy researched and wrote a book at nineteen years old. At that age, I was still scribbling Bright Eyes lyrics into my journals every night. I have author envy, and it's dangerous. Although watching Texas Roller Derby tonight was a suitcase full of inspiration as far as character development is concerned... just a mental note.