JOY TO THE WORLD

     For most of my life, I've been less than enthusiastic about celebrating Christmas, especially the part about Santa Claus, and the highly-commercialized, gift-giving thing. No doubt, that's partially due to the fact that my birth name is Rudolf, which has lead to lots of teasing every December about pulling a sleigh full of presents. And then there's the fact that I was born in Holland, where gifts were given on St. Nicholas Day (December 6), never on Christmas, which was strictly a religious holiday.

YOUNGER DAYS

     I was five years old when we had our first Christmas in America, too young to comprehend the difference between Sinterklaas and Santa Claus. But by the following December, I was definitely old enough to understand that my parents were struggling financially, and that there wasn't enough money for toys, like the other kids in the neighborhood received. Somehow, in the process, I skipped right over the whole Santa Claus myth, and got an early start on having a jaundiced view of Christmas presents.

     But the one thing I always loved about Christmas was singing carols. Our family faithfully attended the First Protestant United Church of Christ (Evangelical and Reformed) in New Braunfels, where I quickly became part of the Children's Choir. Much as I loved singing, most of those Protestant hymns felt pretty boring and hard to sing. But, somehow, the Christmas songs always seemed to turn the whole congregation into a choir that really made the rafters ring. Plus, going caroling around town was so much fun, even without the hot chocolate and cookies that we received in the process.

DIFFERENT WAYS

    I always took spirituality seriously, and by the time I graduated from high school, I'd already rejected many of the Biblical stories we'd been taught in Confirmation Class, including the Virgin Birth, the Nativity narrative and the Resurrection, which no longer made sense to my critical, questioning mind. Consequently, it became difficult to sing Christmas carols with any conviction, and I got pretty cynical about them, too.

    It was more than thirty years later, after I began working with the Celebration Circle and started taking the liberty of altering lyrics to traditional hymns to make them more theologically inclusive, that I was able to reconnect with the power of singing Christmas carols. Even so, I was never really able to recapture that joyful feeling of around singing them - until this year.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

    As a result of taking a class in New Testament history at Trinity University this fall, I have a renewed appreciation for the deep, abiding sense of mystery surrounding the Bible, and fewer judgments about it. That made it easier for me to include a few more Christmas songs than I normally would have in our Underground Sounds Solstice concert in the Cave Without a Name last week. And I couldn't help but notice how enthusiastically the audience sang along, and how much joy came with it.

     Then, a few days ago, I was invited to spend an afternoon playing guitar and singing with a band that the City of San Antonio had hired to perform Christmas carols on a riverboat on the Riverwalk. It was so much fun watching thousands of faces light up with pleasure, all up and down the river, as those familiar strains rang out across the water, catching random strangers off guard, making them smile and sing along in "merry measure." My heart was soaring!

    All of which is to say that I'm really looking forward to singing more of those favorite carols with my family around the dinner table this weekend, at my father's Protestant church on Christmas Eve and in the Celebration Circle this Sunday. In a world of all too many woes and worries, why NOT sing, "Joy to the World?"

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy, Healthy New Year,

     Rudi

PS: Please consider making a donation to our Year-End Giving Campaign, to help erase our budget deficit and end the Circle's fiscal year in the black. The wide variety of speakers, musicians, gatherings and programming we enjoy in Celebration Circle are funded solely by donations of all sizes from individual donors like you. You can make your donation now by clicking HERE. 

Thank you for your support!

CELEBRATING THE HOLIDAYS

This Holiday Season we have a lot to celebrate in the Circle, because for the first time since 2005, both Christmas and New Year's Day fall on Sunday mornings, and the Winter Solstice is on Wednesday. So, here's our schedule for the Holidays:

 

This Sunday, December 18   

Festival of Lights

Join Rudi and Zet for this unique, light-filled celebration honoring the Winter Solstice, as well as the winter holidays of several faith traditions, with words, music, meditation and creative ritual, along with a special poem and altar created by Don Mathis. We'll also enjoy the music of vocalist Kimberlyn Montford, and the Circle Band, along with a delightful, seasonal song from the Circle Singers.

 

Wednesday, December 21, 7:30pm

Winter Solstice

To celebrate the first day of winter, Rudi Harst will lead a special blend of guided meditation, music and sacred silence focused on the balance of darkness and light. This promises to be a particularly powerful Meditation Circle, and all are invited, experienced and beginning meditators alike.

Quaker Meetinghouse, 7052 N. Vandiver at Eisenhauer, 78209.

 

December 25

What Child is This?

Come celebrate Christmas Day with an upbeat interfaith service like you could only find in the Celebration Circle. The word on the street is that Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer will be making a special appearance to give his side of the story, which is rumored to involve spiritual principles. Plus music from vocalist, Sarah Gabriel, accompanied by the Circle Band. Afterwards, we'll be serving Pan Dulce (Mexican pastries), hot cider and coffee - and hosting our first-ever Recycled Gift Circle. To participate, simply bring a wrapped, new or gently-used item from home that you are ready to gift to someone else (along with the story behind it that you can tell the receiver, if possible). Joy to the world, indeed!

January 1

Something Old, Something New

Start the New Year on a v-e-r-y powerful, positive note! Rudi and Zet will conduct our annual Burning Bowl Ritual, in which you're invited to release old limitations and past events in consciousness, accompanied by the lively, pulsing sounds of the Circle Band, featuring vocalist, Sarah Gabriel. We'll also share an extended meditation focused on setting sacred intentions for the New Year, during which you'll write a Letter of Intention to yourSelf which will be mailed back to you at the end of the year. We've done this on the first Sunday of January for the past 18 years, and many people have reported amazing results from this process!

 

And, last, but certainly not least, please consider making a donation of any size to our Year-End campaign, to help the Circle erase our budget deficit and end our fiscal year in the black. The wide variety of speakers, musicians, gatherings and programming we enjoy in Celebration Circle are funded solely by donations of all sizes from individual donors like you. You can make your donation now by clicking HERE.  Thank you!

SEASON'S GREETINGS

     It's that time of the year, and once again a part of me sneers, "bah humbug!" each time I hear the syrupy seasonal soundtrack blasting from another store, or witness the waste of carbon-based electricity powering all those multi-colored light displays that have been sprouting up everywhere since the day after Halloween. Not to mention the over-hyped merchandise being peddled from every screen and storefront in sight. Happy Holi-Daze, indeed!

 

JOY TO THE WORLD

   Yet another part of me is filled with joy at the thought of the approaching Holy Days. I'm eager to sing those lively carols once more, even though some of the lyrics clash with my personal theology. It'll be fun visiting with family and friends at the various parties and potlucks we'll attend, as we celebrate the fact that we've lived through another year and make cheerful toasts to the future.

     This year, I'm particularly looking forward to hearing (and sharing) the re-telling of the Nativity story, that improbable-but-compelling tale of the Christ Child, who was born in mysterious circumstances two thousand years ago and died only thirty-three years later, but somehow is still being re-born again and again in our post-modern culture. I'll be listening with fresh ears, having just completed a fall semester course on the historical and sociological context of the New Testament at Trinity University. The more time I've spent searching beyond the shadows created by the "churching" of my strict Protestant childhood and delving into the mysteries surrounding Jesus' life and teachings, the more I appreciate how much I don't understand about Christ, much less Christianity - or Christmas.

 

FOLLOWING YONDER STAR

     The late Indian Jesuit priest and author, Anthony de Mello famously said, "Life is not a puzzle to be solved, but a mystery to be contemplated" - to which I've taken the liberty of adding "... and, the story of Christmas is not a puzzle to be solved, but a mystery to be contemplated."

     So, in the coming weeks I'll do my best to remember that these various parts of me don't have to be at war.  It's okay to be cynical about the commercialized trappings of the Holiday Season, while also feeling joyful about the possibility of integrating the mysterious lessons of Christmas more fully than ever before. To come to peace with my Christian upbringing, while welcoming what other spiritual teachers and wisdom traditions have to tell us about being more fully human at this time of the year, too. Why not?

     In any event, I wish you a blessed Holiday Season, too. 

With blessings,

     Rudi

THANK YOU for holding the Circle in your heart by visualizing a generous flow of financial abundance. Thank you for supporting us as we continue our work of fostering a creative, inclusive approach to spirituality. We are deeply grateful.

FIVE IMPORTANT THINGS YOU REALLY SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THIS SUNDAY IN THE CIRCLE

#1. This is going to be a very special Sunday, because Rudi will be leading a musical meditation in conjunction with our guest speaker, Dennis E. Noll. In addition to serving as President and CEO of the San Antonio Area Foundation, the largest philanthropic foundation in South Texas, Dennis is an engaging storyteller and inspirational speaker who will be sharing his insights into the process of soulful listening. 

 

#2. It's also the first Sunday for the Circle ArtsMart, when Circle artists and vendors will be selling their art and craftworks before and after Circle, from 10:00-11:00am and 12:00-1:00pm. This is a great place to buy your Holiday gifts and support local artists, too!

 

#3. You may need to take a different route to the Circle than usual, because many downtown streets will be barricaded for the SA Rock 'n' Roll Marathon. The ONLY sure-fire ways to get to SAY Sí will be via the South Alamo Street exit off Interstate 35, or the Probandt Street exit off Hwy 90.  You can check the race course map for details by visiting Rock 'n Roll Marathon.

 

#4.  This will be the last Sunday to bring toys for the Inner City Development Center Christmas Toy Sale. Your donation of non-violent toys allows qualified, low-income parents to buy toys with dignity, paying a 90% discount, with all funds going to support the ICDC Food Pantry program. So your donation(s) will do double duty!

 

#5.  The Circle Band will be serving up an extra big dose of hot tunes, featuring Sarah Gabriel on vocals and Adam Tutor on sax. Big Fun guaranteed!

 

So there you have it: lots of inspirational energy, an art sale, the rock-n-roll marathon, and an extra large dose of uplifting music - all being served up with a smile this Sunday. Rain or shine, it's definitely going to be a fine morning around the Circle!

With joy,

     Rudi

THANK YOU for holding the Circle in your heart by visualizing a generous flow of financial abundance. Thank you for supporting us as we continue our work of fostering a creative, inclusive approach to spirituality. We are deeply grateful.

BLESSINGS IN DISGUISE

     The Thanksgiving Day festivities are over. The guests have gone, the dishes have been washed, leftovers are stashed in the refrigerator, and the table decorations packed up till next year. But, an attitude of gratitude remains, and I find myself feeling grateful for the many blessings in my life as they flow through my consciousness: a kind and loving family, lots of amazing friends, a healthy body, a beautiful home, meaningful work, and an abiding awareness of Spirit as the ground of my Being.

 

EXTENDING BLESSINGS

     While it feels good to spend time feeling thankful for these wonderful, abundant blessings, I'm also doing my best to heed Ralph Waldo Emerson's advice: "Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you... And because ALL things have contributed to your advancement, you should include ALL things in your gratitude."

     The added emphasis on the word "all" is mine, because I'm doing my best to extend an attitude of gratitude to those people and circumstances that have seemed challenging and less than joyful in my life. For they, too, have contributed valuable lessons and areas of growth for which I am thankful.

 

REMEMBERING BLESSINGS

     As I revisit my list of blessings, it also includes those individuals who've helped me with my anger and control issues; the litany of aches and pains that have visited my body recently; the long list of repairs I "should" do on our house; the ways that my work has confused and confounded me; the times when I felt completely disconnected from Spirit...

     I don't need to dwell on the details of how and why these challenging blessings emerged in my life. In this moment, it is enough to embrace them in consciousness and feel thankful. I simply choose to remember that all of these people and circumstances have blessed me, whether or not they felt "good" -- or if I was even aware of them at the time. Right here and now, I see them in the light of love, and give thanks for this opportunity to embrace them ALL with gratitude. That's my prayerful blessing, and I'm sharing it with you in hopes that you, too, can embrace the wide range of blessings in your life with gratitude.

 With joy,

     Rudi

PS: I hope you can join us for our Giving Thanks potluck following this Sunday's Morning Circle from 12:15 - 1:30. Bring some food to share, a grateful heart, and a good story or joke, if you've heard one lately. Let us know if you're planning to come by contacting us at circle@celebrationcircle.org. Volunteers are also needed for set-up and clean-up, let us know if you can help!

THANK YOU for holding the Circle in your heart by visualizing a generous flow of financial abundance. Thank you for supporting us as we continue our work of fostering a creative, inclusive approach to spirituality. We are deeply grateful.

LEARNING WHILE BURNING

 

     My good friends, David and Karen Hendley, live deep in the Piney Woods Forest of East Texas in a cozy, three-story home with a ceramics studio they built by hand. I'm here because David invited me to help him fire his wood-fired kiln, which has two fire pits located on opposite sides of the brick enclosure. It takes two people to feed the two blazing fires steadily for 8-10 hours, in order to gradually increase the internal temperature until it reaches the scorching 2,000-degree heat needed to fire the clay works inside the kiln without cracking them.
FEELING THE URGE
    On one hand, it seems a little crazy to be taking a full three days out of my loaded schedule to drive halfway across Texas to do this. However, in addition to having a great opportunity to spend time with my friends, this time allows me to be able to appreciate the outdoors in this relaxing forest setting, far away from the demands of my desk.
    The work turns out to be even more taxing than my buddy had implied, but gradually, my arms and back warm to the seemingly endless loop of tasks at hand as I walk out to the wood pile, stoop, lift, carry, stoop, stoke the flames while being careful not to inhale any of the heavy black smoke in the process, and then walk back to the pile once again. David gets truckloads of free scrap lumber from a nearby pallet-making facility, but unfortunately, it's full of nails and splinters that could be very dangerous to the fingers and feet of a professional guitarist, causing each step in the process to require close attention.
WORKING UP A SWEAT
    Nonetheless, this feels like fun, too, especially for a desk-jockey who seldom lifts anything heavier than a dictionary. Additionally, David is a first-rate thinker with a keen eye for human foibles, and an endless supply of wry observations to share. The morning hours fly by, and pretty soon we've both worked up a big appetite. David offers to fix lunch, and asks if I'm up to the task of keeping both sides of the fire going by myself for the next half hour. "Sure," I reply, trying my best to sound more confident than I feel, knowing that we're at a critical stage in the firing process.
    I quickly learn that doing this job without his help involves w-a-a-a-y more than twice as much work. Keeping both fire pits fueled means there a lot more distance to travel, so I'm walking much faster, with no time for breaks. The additional work that comes from not having those two additional hands available to sort through the pile of dangerous wood scraps or to allow us to take turns stoking the flames makes my arms ache. Also, not having David nearby to lift my spirits with his stories and exhortations causes a big difference in my energy level.
WORKING IT OUT
    In short, working alone is much harder and much less fun. It's only been a few minutes, but it feels like hours. I'm exhausted, and only my pride keeps me going until David returns with lunch.  While taking a break to eat, relax and clear out my lungs, it occurs to me that this experience, in reality, is a lesson about how working together applies to both spiritual work as well as physical labor.  After all, in many ways, performing inner work is even more difficult than work of the physical plane. There's a reason why people have been gathering in temples, ashrams, churches and support groups of various kinds since time out of mind, making the inner work easier. Meditating in a group helps focus the mind; praying with others present is far more effective than solitary prayer; a vision held collectively is much stronger; hymns always resonate more deeply when sung together. Suddenly, I find myself feeling deeply grateful for all the individuals who have shared their time, talent and treasures so generously with the Celebration Circle community over the years...
    Putting away my lunch plate, I head back to the woodpile to prepare another load, feeling a heart full of love and gratitude for the task at hand - and for all that lies ahead. Happy Thanks Living, indeed!
 

With gratitude and blessings,

    My good friends, David and Karen Hendley, live deep in the Piney Woods Forest of East Texas in a cozy, three-story home with a ceramics studio they built by hand. I'm here because David invited me to help him fire his wood-fired kiln, which has two fire pits located on opposite sides of the brick enclosure. It takes two people to feed the two blazing fires steadily for 8-10 hours, in order to gradually increase the internal temperature until it reaches the scorching 2,000-degree heat needed to fire the clay works inside the kiln without cracking them.

FEELING THE URGE
    On one hand, it seems a little crazy to be taking a full three days out of my loaded schedule to drive halfway across Texas to do this. However, in addition to having a great opportunity to spend time with my friends, this time allows me to be able to appreciate the outdoors in this relaxing forest setting, far away from the demands of my desk.
    The work turns out to be even more taxing than my buddy had implied, but gradually, my arms and back warm to the seemingly endless loop of tasks at hand as I walk out to the wood pile, stoop, lift, carry, stoop, stoke the flames while being careful not to inhale any of the heavy black smoke in the process, and then walk back to the pile once again. David gets truckloads of free scrap lumber from a nearby pallet-making facility, but unfortunately, it's full of nails and splinters that could be very dangerous to the fingers and feet of a professional guitarist, causing each step in the process to require close attention.

WORKING UP A SWEAT
    Nonetheless, this feels like fun, too, especially for a desk-jockey who seldom lifts anything heavier than a dictionary. Additionally, David is a first-rate thinker with a keen eye for human foibles, and an endless supply of wry observations to share. The morning hours fly by, and pretty soon we've both worked up a big appetite. David offers to fix lunch, and asks if I'm up to the task of keeping both sides of the fire going by myself for the next half hour. "Sure," I reply, trying my best to sound more confident than I feel, knowing that we're at a critical stage in the firing process.
    I quickly learn that doing this job without his help involves w-a-a-a-y more than twice as much work. Keeping both fire pits fueled means there a lot more distance to travel, so I'm walking much faster, with no time for breaks. The additional work that comes from not having those two additional hands available to sort through the pile of dangerous wood scraps or to allow us to take turns stoking the flames makes my arms ache. Also, not having David nearby to lift my spirits with his stories and exhortations causes a big difference in my energy level.

WORKING IT OUT
    In short, working alone is much harder and much less fun. It's only been a few minutes, but it feels like hours. I'm exhausted, and only my pride keeps me going until David returns with lunch.  While taking a break to eat, relax and clear out my lungs, it occurs to me that this experience, in reality, is a lesson about how working together applies to both spiritual work as well as physical labor.  After all, in many ways, performing inner work is even more difficult than work of the physical plane. There's a reason why people have been gathering in temples, ashrams, churches and support groups of various kinds since time out of mind, making the inner work easier. Meditating in a group helps focus the mind; praying with others present is far more effective than solitary prayer; a vision held collectively is much stronger; hymns always resonate more deeply when sung together. Suddenly, I find myself feeling deeply grateful for all the individuals who have shared their time, talent and treasures so generously with the Celebration Circle community over the years...
    Putting away my lunch plate, I head back to the woodpile to prepare another load, feeling a heart full of love and gratitude for the task at hand - and for all that lies ahead. Happy Thanks Living, indeed!
 

With gratitude and blessings,

     Rudi

THANK YOU for holding the Circle in your heart by visualizing a generous flow of financial abundance. Thank you for supporting us as we continue our work of fostering a creative, inclusive approach to spirituality. We are deeply grateful.

MAKING CHOICES

      I've heard from a number of Circle friends who are feeling shocked, saddened and/or scared by the outcome of The Election this week. But I've also spoken with several other Circle friends who are happy because Trump won. Personally, I'm doing my best to simply listen to their feelings and opinions (to say nothing of the voices rattling around inside my own head...) without adding any judgments of my own for now.

     Regardless of who they voted for (or not), most folks find it hard to know what to do with the high levels of anger, anxiety and uncertainty about our country's future, much less the widening divisions throughout the country. I don't want to be a Pollyanna, ignoring the pain and confusion around me; nor is it helpful to stick my heart in the sand and pretend that I don't have my own feelings about the aftermath of The Election.

 

ASSIGNING MEANING

     But when one friend wrote to ask: "What does this election mean?" I found myself answering, "It means whatever meaning I choose to give it. And I, for One, choose to see this election as a pointed reminder to love and accept ALL the circumstances of my life, just the way they are."

     Granted, there are many other political issues and societal consequences involved. And, yet, seen from a metaphysical perspective, it's important for me to remember that any person or situation that bothers me because I think he/she/it is too angry, ugly, dangerous, or _________ (fill in the blank with whatever qualities I find upsetting) is just a mirror reflecting some part of me that I'm uncomfortable with, and is asking to be embraced. Whether the person who I'm having trouble accepting is the President or the person standing next to me on the street, my first task is to be courageous enough to deal with my own discomfort, to come to peace with that part of me which is screaming for attention, before pointing my finger at anyone else.

 

MAKING CHANGES

     Wanting to change the other person without being willing to change myself is a surefire recipe for living a life of anger and disappointment - because the outside circumstances can never do anything but reflect my inner state.  Moreover, what I focus on expands, so why stay focused on the external circumstances and give them power to disturb me, when I am free to align with the Peace that Passes all Understanding instead?

     And, no, that doesn't mean I need to be totally passive about politics, economics, environmental action or social justice. The question is, can I work for change from an inner space of peace and power, rather than feeling embattled and powerless?

     And, yes, I know that it's much easier to state these spiritual principles than it is to put them into action, but that doesn't make them any less true or important. That's my purpose and that's my story -- and I'm sticking to it.

  

 With gratitude and blessings,

     Rudi

THANK YOU for holding the Circle in your heart by visualizing a generous flow of financial abundance. Thank you for supporting us as we continue our work of fostering a creative, inclusive approach to spirituality. We are deeply grateful.

CAST YOUR VOTE FOR THE CIRCLE

     As the high-stakes, high-voltage national election rolls toward a hectic conclusion next week, I'd like to direct your attention toward a totally different kind of campaign. One in which you can elect to wield enormous power, with the potential for touching many people's lives in a positive way:  Won't you please vote FOR the Celebration Circle?

      For the past 25 years, the Circle has consistently fostered an awareness of our Oneness and sought to be a "respected model of co-creative community built on a foundation of shared prosperity, cultural diversity and inclusive spirituality." Won't you vote FOR sustaining this vital mission in 2017 and beyond by becoming a member of our Intentional Giving Circle?

      When you click on the link below and pledge your financial and spiritual support for our inter-faith community, you are casting your vote FOR a positive, creative and sustainable approach to integrating spiritual principles into your daily life. By stating your intention to support the work of the Circle community throughout the coming year, not only will you be enhancing your own life, but you'll help create a welcoming, nurturing space for countless others to feel supported in the future.

     This weekly newsletter, as well as our Daily Inspiration Circle, Sunday Morning Circle, Wednesday Meditation Circle and a variety of Celebration Circle events are offered free of charge, but they are not free of cost to produce. Please don't assume that someone else will take care of it! And don't think that your gift will be too small to make a difference. This work requires ALL of us. So...please take a moment to vote FOR sustaining the work of the Circle in 2017 and beyond by joining our Intentional Giving Circle HERE. 

      In any case, thank you for your past support, and for your consideration as we move forward as a spiritual community. It wouldn't be the same without you.

     With gratitude and blessings,

     Rudi

THANK YOU for holding the Circle in your heart by visualizing a generous flow of financial abundance. Thank you for supporting us as we continue our work of fostering a creative, inclusive approach to spirituality. We are deeply grateful.

DYING AND LIVING

    This week, our Sunday Circle will be centered on preparation for Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) as we contemplate the process of dying and honoring the deceased from a peaceful, powerful perspective. 

 

    Every year for the past 24 years, we have spent the Sunday before November 2nd (Day of the Dead) focused on this important topic by engaging in a special blend of creative ritual, poetry, music, meditation and contemplation. A central feature of this process is the communal altar we co-create to honor deceased loved ones in our community. Each year since 1992, Edward (Butch) and Ruth Sagebiel, have been generously sourcing this traditional altar in the Circle through their art and artistry, as well as procuring the traditional sweetbreads (pan de muerto), marigolds and folk art figurines. Due to other family obligations, this Sunday will mark the first time that Butch and Ruth won't be there to add their resources to this communal effort. But we trust that others will step forward to help us carry on this wonderful tradition by bringing their photos, foods and mementos -- and we hope that YOU will be among them. 

    We're also fortunate to have a special guest speaker, Rev. Grant Lynn Ford, 

who will be sharing his wisdom and insights on the intersection of conscious living and dying. Grant is an eclectic thinker who is both an Old Catholic Abbott, and a respected New Thought Progressive Christian teacher; a lifetime member of both the Hymn Society and the International New Thought Alliance (INTA). He is the retired Dean of Sunshine Cathedral in Ft. Lauderdale, which became the largest Metropolitan Community Church in the world under his leadership. He is currently working as a church health consultant, while serving as Texas Rep for INTA. He also likes to laugh a lot: "Take life earnestly but not yourself too seriously. Breathe!"

    And we're delighted to welcome back the wise lyrics and silky smooth voices of Chris Pfeiffer and Kelly Quinn, better known as Full Moon Eye, who are celebrating the release of their brand new CD, "Landing." It's always wonderful when they return to San Antonio to share their sweet harmonies and gentle melodies, especially when backed by the Circle Band. Plus, we'll enjoy a new song from our a cappella choir, Circle Singers.

 

    All in all, it promises to be a splendid day to join us for this heartwarming, soul-stirring celebration of living and dying, and we hope to see you there. 

With gratitude and blessings,

    Rudi

PS:  This weekly newsletter is offered free of charge, but it is not free of cost. Your donations help make it possible for the Circle to provide this, and all of our events and programming! Won't you please take a few moments to make a financial pledge for 2017 by joining our Intentional Giving Circle HERE

.

THANK YOU for holding the Circle in your heart by visualizing a generous flow of financial abundance. Thank you for supporting us as we continue our work of fostering a creative, inclusive approach to spirituality. We are deeply grateful.

CASTING MY VOTE

     Because Celebration Circle is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, it is illegal for me to use my position as Spiritual Director to advocate for a particular political cause or politician. I can have my personal opinions, but under IRS regulations, I'm not allowed to speak politically on behalf of the Circle community, nor can I try to influence how others in the Circle vote.

      But...because this is such a historic opportunity to bear witness to the healing power of love in the face of the extraordinary degree of divisiveness and vitriol being generated in the presidential election campaign, I feel I have no choice to but to step up to the microphone and send some love to... Donald Trump. And I invite you to consider doing the same. Why?

     Because, in my humble opinion, it is so easy to hate him, to judge him and to dismiss his candidacy as a brazen attempt to create an even larger market for the Trump brand. BUT...then I recently got an e-mail from Alan Cohen, that helped my change my perspective. Alan is a respected New Thought author and spiritual teacher that I've met and studied with over the years, and his thoughts about Trump's candidacy touched me so much that I'm going to share some of them here:

 

"If you have done some self-exploration, you understand that everything we see represents something that lives in our mind, and we tend to project our perceived shortcomings onto the outer world. We behold and fight evil outside us to avoid the evil we believe is inside us. We judge, attack, and fabricate separations to defend our shaky self-image. Everyone we hate is a scapegoat of the sins we seek to disown. Could the Donald be serving us as a massive projection screen we can use to heal ourselves?

 

Now here's the gold available to each of us, if we have the courage to dig for it: Ask yourself, "Do I exhibit any of the behaviors for which I judge and criticize Donald Trump?" I asked myself this question, and found some startling answers, as you might if you consider:  Do you build physical, emotional, or psychological walls against people you fear will infiltrate and undermine your world?  Do you harbor judgments and prejudices, spoken or unspoken, against people of a different religion or culture than your own?  Do you negatively label members of the opposite sex, and/or judge people who are overweight, including your own body? ... Do you make up stories to support the case you favor? Do you ever interrupt people while they are speaking? Do you avoid paying taxes or effort to pay as little as possible? Do you blame people, events, and things for your shortcomings?

 

If you answer these questions honestly, you may see, as I did, that Donald Trump is not just a big blowhard; he is a big blow-up doll who embodies pieces of all of us. He is the archetypical bad guy who demonstrates and even exaggerates the "sins" we all own but wish to purge from ourselves. As much as we hate to admit it, Trump is the us that we wish we weren't. What we hate in him we hate in ourselves. In that sense, he serves us well as a mirror to face our own limiting beliefs, prejudices, and shadows, and grow beyond them..."

 

     In short, The Donald is giving me an opportunity to vote for love, not just on Election Day, but every day. Reminding me to embrace, not just him, but all the disturbing people and situations I encounter, with a consciousness of Oneness and acceptance. Because, in doing so I am embracing the parts of myself that are asking for healing, while also helping wage peace on the planet.

     Thank you, Alan, and Donald, for helping me see a little more clearly. And thank you, dear reader, for your willingness to become more conscious of your thoughts, feelings and the co-creative power of making conscious choices, whatever they may be. 

With love,

    Rudi

PS: Zet and I also strongly urge you to get out and vote for having more FUN in your life by attending TONIGHT'S CONCERT  with Hambone Hendley at our house! He always makes me laugh (we can all use that!) and I'm really looking forward to making music with him... and you. See ticket info below.

THANK YOU for holding the Circle in your heart by visualizing a generous flow of financial abundance. Thank you for supporting us as we continue our work of fostering a creative, inclusive approach to spirituality. We are deeply grateful.

AGAINST THE ODDS

     The popular Hollywood film, "Good Will Hunting" is best known for being the vehicle that made Matt Damon and Ben Affleck famous.  But even more interesting is the fact that their script is based on a true story taken from the life of George Dantzig, a renowned mathematician and the father of linear programming.  When Dantzig was still a doctoral student at UCLA, he arrived late to statistics class one day and noticed two problems written on the chalkboard.  Assuming they were a homework assignment, he solved the problems and turned them in at the next class.  Late that night, his professor came knocking on Dantzig's dorm room door, shouting, "How did you do it?"  "Do what?" replied the dumbfounded student.

     "You have solved two classically unsolvable mathematic equations!" said the teacher, waving the pages in his hand.  "Oh, really? Dantzig replied, "I just thought they were homework."   

     You and I may not be mathematical geniuses, but I can't help but wonder:  What amazing thing(s) could we create if we didn't know it was "impossible" to do so?  Hmm...

DOING THE IMPOSSIBLE

     I also find myself thinking about this question in connection with my good friend, David "Hambone" Hendley, who will be performing a concert at our house next Friday night. Hambone is one of the most amazing, down-to-earth people I've ever met, with a "can do attitude" that has enabled him to do a number of  "impossible" things in his life. 

     He was my best friend at Trinity University, where we bonded over our mutual interests in psychology, pottery and playing guitar. He went on to get his MFA in ceramics, and became a professional potter who set up shop deep in the Piney Woods of East Texas, miles from the nearest city, determined to make a living on his own terms. He had - and has - a strong DIY work ethic, and an extraordinary ability to tackle new endeavors. Despite having no previous building experience, he and his wife, Karen, bought a large tract of heavily forested land, and set out to build a homestead where they could raise their two children. Over the course of five years of steady, arduous labor, David converted a dilapidated farmhouse into a home and studio, then built a huge wood-fired kiln, and a magnificent, two-story "cabin" in which each window, door and  drawer pull is a work of art. 

MIXING IT UP

            Meanwhile, not satisfied with using commercial glazes, he created his own. Then, unable to create the kind of pottery he envisioned with existing technology, he came up with ways to use an extruder that no one else had thought of, becoming a nationally recognized ceramic artist in the process, capable of getting folks to drive many miles out of their way to buy his pots.

            He always maintained his love for playing and writing music, and in recent years, took up playing ukulele with the same passion and "can-do" attitude which he has brought to all of his endeavors. He also created the character of Hambone, with a bone-dry, clear-eyed wit and wisdom, and an ear for a catchy melody.

     In short, he's one of my real-life heroes. Zet and I are delighted to be hosting a house concert and release party for his brand new CD. Tickets at CelebrationCircle.org. It's going to be a lot of fun making music with him, but more than that, he's got me thinking about what "impossible" things I could do... and looking forward to the possibilities.

 

With joy,

     Rudi

THANK YOU for holding the Circle in your heart by visualizing a generous flow of financial abundance. Thank you for supporting us as we continue our work of fostering a creative, inclusive approach to spirituality. We are deeply grateful.

The TOP TEN Reasons for YOU to attend the Circle Retreat next weekend:

#10  For three days, you can relax as deeply as you wish. And not only will no one judge you for it, we will totally support you in doing it.

 

#9  You'll be outdoors in a gorgeous Hill Country setting on the Guadalupe River with perfect weather, at the best time of the year, when it's not too hot, not too cold, but just right! The whitewater rapids at Slumber Falls are PERFECT for playing in at this time of year, with clear water flowing freely, and very few tubers to spoil the view.

 

#8  You'll eat five great, home-style meals, made with top quality, all-natural ingredients and served with loving care - and YOU won't have to cook them!

 

#7  But, if you love to cook and decide to help in the kitchen, you're guaranteed to have a LOT of fun, because the experience of cooking with a group of happy, fun-loving folks who enjoy cooking too is Big Fun!)

 

#6  You'll have multiple opportunities to feel the deep peace of meditating alone and together: sitting meditation, walking meditation, Tai Chi, yoga, Labyrinth, contemplative writing - or perhaps just sitting on the riverbank under a huge cypress tree.  Ahhhh...

 

#5  You get time to sit by an outdoor open campfire and be mesmerized by the colorful, crackling flames while listening to music, poetry and stories.

 

#4  You'll have more fun than a little kid in a candy store - because, in fact, you'll get to BE a Big Kid in a very special kind of Candy Store, full of sweet, soul-satisfying treats. Especially during our group nap-and-story time on Saturday afternoon, when you wake up to the taste of huge platter of freshly baked cookies and milk (or tea, if you prefer).

 

#3  You don't have to check your email, text, Facebook, Twitter or To-Do list during the weekend!

 

#2  If you register before Monday, the whole weekend costs just $175 - which is less than it would cost you to spend two nights at a cheapo motel and eat 5 meals at fast-food restaurants.

 

AND the #1 reason to attend the retreat is...

You'll have plenty of time to relax and re-connect with someone that you seldom get to hang out with in this way - Yourself! Register now at CelebrationCircle.org.

 

For all those reasons, and many more besides, I truly hope you'll come hang out with me and a bunch of other Circle folks at the retreat next weekend.

 

With joy,

    Rudi

THANK YOU for holding the Circle in your heart by visualizing a generous flow of financial abundance. Thank you for supporting us as we continue our work of fostering a creative, inclusive approach to spirituality. We are deeply grateful.

MAY YOUR LOVE BE LIKE WATER

May your love be like water,

falling like rain from the sky

flowing like a river, no force can defy

 

May your love, cut through the hardest stone,

in the course of time

flowing left, flowing right, carving through old lines

 

Even the mightiest mountain,

yields to water's way

tumbling down through a tiny creek,

with a quiet and humble display

but day after day, year upon year,

water flows over the stone

with its dance of time and space,

wears down thru the bone

 

And should your love turn cold and hard,

frozen by winter's wind

may it thaw and melt once more,

when spring returns again

 

May your love be like water,

flowing ever free

take you where you need to go,

and where you long to be

I wrote this song last week for my Monday Night songwriter's salon, where it was critiqued and gently re-shaped by a dozen fellow musicians. Then I shared it in the Sunday Circle, supported by the amazingly gifted and generous musicians who comprise the Circle Band (thank you, so much, Ray Palmer, Kevin Lewis, Kiko Guerrero, Michael Madison and Carl Rush!!!). The sound and video was recorded and produced by our talented production manager/videographer, Eddie Wise, with additional audio-mixing by Kiko, using photos taken by our deeply supportive friends, Gary O. Smith, Leah Damon and Dirk Magdahl. So...when you watch the video, what you're seeing and feeling is a sampling of the large, loving and creative community in which the Circle operates, day after day, year after year. 

As I watched this video (in the wee hours, after the closing reception of the Sacred Art of Altars show -- which was another AMAZING artistic/spiritual outpouring of love from a huge group of artists and Circle volunteers), I was overwhelmed by the renewed awareness of what a blessing it is to work and play in such an amazingly supportive setting.  

I hope that you, too, can feel the love surrounding you, as I do. And, may YOUR love be like water...

In the spirit of love,

Rudi

THANK YOU for holding the Circle in your heart by visualizing a generous flow of financial abundance. Thank you for supporting us as we continue our work of fostering a creative, inclusive approach to spirituality. We are deeply grateful.

TO EVERYTHING THERE IS A SEASON

     The thermometer says it's 95 degrees outside, and I'm sweating up a storm, but the calendar says it's the first day of autumn. Right on cue, the leaves on all our hackberry trees have started falling today, creating slow-motion showers of pale yellow each time a breeze blows, intermingled with the fluttering brown wings of those vast waves of migrating snub-nose butterflies passing through San Antonio this week. And as I write these words, a flock of ducks flies overhead in V-formation, heading south. No Hollywood director could have created a more picture-perfect illustration of the turning of the seasons, as if to telegraph the audience that something portentous is about to occur.

A TIME TO DIE

     Meanwhile, in the background I hear the NPR newscaster describing the disasters du jour: the latest terrorist bomb blast in New York; another grisly onslaught in Syria; another senseless killing of an unarmed African American by a heavily armed cop, followed by another night of senseless rioting in response to the senseless killing. And then come the strident voices of Donald and Hillary, each claiming to be able to put an end to all this chaos, if only the voters will entrust them with the power to do some vague, indefinable Something Presidential.

     Frankly, I don't trust either one of them, and as the polls clearly show, neither does the vast majority of my fellow Americans. To be clear, I'll still vote on Election Day, and I'll make some campaign contributions, but I simply don't have much faith in the ability of our over-heated, under-handed and small-minded electoral process to deal with the large-scale shifts that are underway in our social and environmental landscape.

A TIME TO BE BORN 

     But I do trust the falling leaves and the migrating creatures, the seasonal rhythms of death and decay that are unfolding before my eyes, making the cycles of birth and new growth possible. And I have faith in the ever-evolving, collective consciousness of Homo sapiens sapiens, guided by an Infinite Intelligence that I certainly don't claim to understand, but still trust fully, nonetheless. And that, in turn, lets me trust in the periodic feelings of struggle and chaos that touch our society, and me, personally, from time to time, knowing that they, too, are an integral part of this open-ended process of Life. All reminding me that there is no final result, no winning score awaiting us. No one point at which everything will be finished, fixed and secure, once and for all.

A TIME FOR GRATITUDE

     There is just this warm afternoon, with this one spider weaving an astonishingly intricate web suspended between two limbs, inviting me to slow down, pay attention and trust in the vast, interwoven web of patterns of our lives, our community, our planet. Reminding me to trust, and release my need to fix or change anything, just long enough to rest in the Peace that passes all understanding. Now. And now. And now...And for this, I am deeply grateful. 

In the spirit of awe and gratitude,

     Rudi

THANK YOU for holding the Circle in your heart by visualizing a generous flow of financial abundance. Thank you for supporting us as we continue our work of fostering a creative, inclusive approach to spirituality. We are deeply grateful.

 

 

BACK TO SCHOOL

 I'm back in college for the first time in many years, auditing a course on New Testament history at Trinity University. My primary aim in doing so is to re-read the Bible with new eyes, in hopes of re-thinking some of the perplexing teachings I learned in Sunday school during my devoutly Protestant childhood.

     The professor is a widely respected scholar in the field of early Christian narrative, who wields his extensive knowledge lightly, with a good deal of humor and humility. He's refreshingly quick to acknowledge how much he doesn't know - and how much is probably unknowable - in the realm of Biblical studies, and invites his students to engage in a deep, open-ended inquiry into the many layers of historical context and meaning to be found in the New Testament. It's a daunting and time-consuming challenge, and I'm doing my best to do justice to the task, in the midst of an already full life.

 

UP AGAINST THE WALL

     Sitting at my desk, plowing through this week's notes and reading assignments, I come up against a wall of mental fatigue in trying to absorb this new level of complexity involved in re-framing and reclaiming the Jesus story. There's just so much new information to learn, and so many old ideas to let go of that it literally makes my head spin. It's such a concrete reminder of how little I know, and how many layers of meaning underlie all the everyday assumptions of life, much less the spiritual teachings that I think I understand.

     Suddenly, all vestiges of linear time and logical thinking fall away, and I find myself reliving an old memory involving my very first encounter with the mysterious Bigness of Life, when I was just four years old...

 

     My family is still living in the Netherlands at the time, and my mother is making hot chocolate as a special treat, when I notice the brightly colored can of Droste Cocoa Powder sitting in the middle of our dining room table. On the label of the can is the image of an old-fashioned nurse, dressed in a traditional black and white nurse's uniform; she's carrying a tray that contains a cup of hot chocolate and that same can of Droste Cocoa Powder. That can, in turn, bears the image of that same nurse, carrying a tray that contains a cup of hot chocolate and that same can of Droste cocoa powder, which bears the image of that same nurse, carrying a tray...  The image floods my brain, with layer upon layer of reality, sending my imagination into an infinitely long, swirling tunnel made of chocolate milk, serving trays and nurses, that loops back on itself, over and over again.

     My body seems to have dissolved, leaving me floating free of everything I thought I knew with my four year-old mind. There's a part of me that seems to be hovering high overhead, up near the ceiling, looking down at little Rudolf, sitting in his chair, staring at that can of Droste cocoa powder. Somehow it all seems confusing, scary, exhilarating, powerful and wonderful at the same time, as I wordlessly experience this illusory glimpse of eternity and the enormity of life. The experience seems to last forever, but when I finally manage to bring the cup of chocolate milk to my mouth, it's still just as hot as it was earlier, so apparently only a few moments have passed. I do my best to explain the experience to my mom, who is kind and patient, but clearly puzzled by my story, so I just let it go and focus on the sweet, warm chocolate milk instead...

 

HERE AND NOW

     So, here I am, back at my writing desk, sixty years later, still trying to comprehend the Bigness of Life and communicate the mystery and meaning of the metaphysical realm, as I understand it. Whether it involves wrestling with my Biblical understanding, reflecting on the practical application of spiritual principles or having an out-of-body experience, it seems important to share it with others. Not because I think I'm special, or that my experiences are extraordinary. On the contrary, I'm convinced that such concerns are quite ordinary, and that we all have similar experiences from time to time, each in our own way, with our individual overlays of personality and perception. But we tend to dismiss or overlook them because we've been taught that our inner lives are not as important as our "real work" of making a living and being responsible citizens.

MOVING FORWARD

     I believe that this process of expanding our spiritual understanding and integrating it into our daily lives lies at heart of who we truly are. That's why I'm deeply grateful for the work of the Celebration Circle community, as we walk alongside each other on the ever-evolving path of spiritual growth in the post-modern world. In the words of the great 20th century mystic, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." Thank you for your companionship as we travel this path alone together.

 

With gratitude and blessings,

     Rudi

THANK YOU for holding the Circle in your heart by visualizing a generous flow of financial abundance. Thank you for supporting us as we continue our work of fostering a creative, inclusive approach to spirituality. We are deeply grateful.

DONATE HERE

LISTENING FOR A CHANGE

     I'm really excited about our Underground Sounds concert next Saturday night, when we'll be celebrating the Fall Equinox at one of my all-time favorite performance venues, the Cave Without a Name. The lineup of musicians is particularly stellar this time and I can't wait to play with them in this magical space, especially during the second half of the performance, when we'll be making music in total, pitch-black darkness.

 

LISTENING VERY CLOSELY

     I know from past experience that we won't be able to see our own fingers, even if they're just in front of our eyes, much less see the other musicians, which makes for a thrilling experience. Because, not having any visual cues whatsoever, we're forced to listen to each other with our hearts and our guts, as well as our ears. In order to do so, we've also got to let go of our preconceived ideas of where the music "should go" and listen deeply to where it "is" in the moment. Otherwise, the whole song could literally fall apart in the dark, and things could get discordant, quickly. On the other hand, presuming we're able to really listen closely, I know we'll create something fresh and special, and literally light up the darkness for everyone present.

 

LISTENING TO LEARN     

     I mention this because it feels important to do so at a time when the tone of this year's national election season seems to be becoming more bitter and divisive by the day, as is the public discourse surrounding it. This is about much more than just one day of voting; this is about a fundamental shift in the social norms of how we address each other. There is so much anger in the air, it's easy to feel hopeless, or worse yet, join in the chorus of indignant voices. 

     But I prefer to make another choice:  I affirm that the very same sense of aliveness, creativity and connection I've experienced repeatedly while making music in the Cave is available in everyday life, too, each time I listen deeply to someone else. This is especially true if they're telling me something that's unfamiliar or uncomfortable to hear, or using a tone that offends me. If I'm willing to let go of how I think the conversation "should go" and simply listen instead, it not only helps me move beyond my fears and limitations, it allows brand new possibilities to emerge in the space between us that I couldn't have imagined on my own. As I let go of my position, long enough to hear the sadness and fear that inevitably lies beneath another person's anger, the energy in the interaction almost always changes. Like my friend and teacher, Arnold Patent, often says, "It takes two to tango, but it only takes one to change the dance."

In the spirit of Peace,

     Rudi

THANK YOU for holding the Circle in your heart by visualizing a generous flow of financial abundance. Thank you for supporting us as we continue our work of fostering a creative, inclusive approach to spirituality. We are deeply grateful.

DONATE HERE