CELEBRATING THE COSMIC MASS

     We usually use this space to tell an uplifting story or share some spiritual insight. This time, YOU are the uplifting story and the spiritual insight is the one we'll experience together when you attend the first ever Cosmic Mass being held in San Antonio this Sunday night! Noted author and theologian, Matthew Fox and his Cosmic Mass production team are coming from California to share this powerful event, as they've done in scores of cities worldwide in recent years.

 

JOINING FORCES

     Together we'll harness our collective consciousness, dance our hearts open and engage in powerful ritual affirmation of our deep connection to the Earth and to the many other individuals around the world who are committed to co-creating a New Story of peace, possibility and sustainability. We believe this is one of the most important, empowering actions we can take in the face of the massive environmental challenges our culture faces. Tickets for the event are available here.

     Also, the San Antonio Express-News features an interesting article written by local scholar and journalist, Ed Conroy, about this event in Sunday's paper, and you can read the online version
now.

     Of course, we hope you can join us in person, but you can also tune in online for the live webcast by clicking on the following link, beginning at 7:00pm Sunday.

 

A VERY SPECIAL SUNDAY CIRCLE

     And, finally, we're very fortunate that Matthew Fox will be our guest speaker in our Sunday Morning Circle, sharing his deep knowledge of Creation Spirituality, developed in the 34 books he has written. What a day it's going to be! In a very real sense, it feels like we've spent the past 27 years preparing the rich soil of the Celebration Circle community together in preparation for planting these powerful seeds of consciousness this weekend. We're delighted to be working alongside you in this fertile garden, and deeply grateful for your support in getting here!

With gratitude and blessings,

     Zet and 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 POWER OF CONNECTION

     I'm standing in our backyard, bathing in the early morning sunshine, with the sheer beauty of nature blossoming all around, and the grounding energy of Easter/Passover flowing through me. Once again, I'm experiencing the sensation I wrote about in the following poem while hiking through the Ozark Mountains many years ago:

 

The cold clear creek

mumbles an ancient song

as it tumbles headlong through the mountains

 

I try to sing along, but my tiny human voice is swept aside

by the strong breeze stirring through the trees

by the sheer size of this majestic forest, stretching far past the horizon

by the strident cries of a zealous blue jay

guarding his wooded domain

 

There is nothing to do but remain silent

in the face of such a display of royalty

kneel on the spongy, green woodland floor

and swear a personal oath of loyalty, spilling up and out of me:

"I pledge allegiance to Mother Earth

and to all Beings which walk, fly, swim or stand

One Strand, indivisible,

With love and compassion for All"

 

THE POWER OF PLACE

     At the time, the feelings which this creek fostered and the solemn oath which it imprinted on my soul seemed unique to that particular "power spot" and its breathtaking vista. Since then, however, I've had similar experiences in a variety of locations: from the top of the Rockies to the bottom of the Grand Canyon; from the heart of the Yucatan jungle to the edge of the Bavarian Black Forest; floating on the Dead Sea, and wading in the river that flows through our neighborhood -- and right now, just standing in the back yard. Each is a sacred space in its own way, engendering a sense of awe and wonder. Each one forced me to release my tenuous grasp on the top rung of the "food chain" for a while, and remember that every creature is my relative, every spot is Holy Ground, and that our Oneness is not just a good idea, it is the very ground of our being. 

      As the global debate over climate change, like the climate itself, becomes ever more heated, it's vital that we find ways to release our old roles as dominators and manipulators of the Earth, and embrace new roles as her stewards instead. Such a shift in consciousness requires a massive change in orientation and acculturation occurring one person, one day, one decision at a time.

 

THE POWER OF CHOICE

     It is precisely this kind of incremental, individual shift in perspective that we seek to nurture and support in the Celebration Circle. Week after week, we meet to affirm our willingness to learn new ways of being and seeing. To free ourselves from the grip of our fears and become more compassionate with ourselves, each other and the Earth herself.

 THE POWER OF GATHERING

     That's why I'm so excited that the Circle is co-sponsoring the first-ever Cosmic Mass in San Antonio next Sunday night, April 28th! This upbeat, deeply experiential worship process combines elements of ecstatic dance, guided meditation and sacred ritual. Conceived and presented by noted theologian, Matthew Fox, the Cosmic Mass fosters a deeply spiritual encounter with the Four Directions and contains an urgent call for re-examining our personal and communal relationships to the Earth in the face of global climate change. I really hope you can join us for this important event -- as well as our Sunday Morning Circle earlier that day, where Dr. Fox will be our guest speaker, sharing his vision of the "Order of the Sacred Earth."

     In any case, let's keep meeting, meditating, praying, singing and ritualizing together as we share our strengths, heal our weaknesses, and feed our deep awareness of our connection to the "One Strand, indivisible - with love and compassion for all." 

With gratitude and blessings,

     Rudi Harst

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.

AWAKE TO THE NEWNESS

     Having moved to South Texas in 1957, I should be used to the ever-changing weather around here by now, but somehow I still found myself feeling astonished by the way spring arrived almost instantaneously this week. The temperatures had remained relatively cool until a few days ago, when a huge rain system brought weather that went from low 50's and stormy, to the low-90's under a brilliant blue sky in less than 24 hours! Today, walking through our neighborhood in the bright sunshine just two days after those dramatic thunderstorms, the plant life along the banks of the river looks outrageously lush and green, growing so rapidly that I can almost see the leaves inching upward in real time.

BEAR WITNESS NOW

     This sudden burst of vibrant plant growth provides a graphic reminder of how freely the creative power of Spirit moves through all of creation at this time of year, regardless of how dark and challenging things might have seemed in seasons past. I'm finding it especially helpful to experience this awareness of rebirth and renewal in the aftermath of my father's recent death, as well as some physical, emotional and spiritual challenges I've been dealing with over the past couple of months. 

      What a blessing it is that Spring magically calls forth the creative energy waiting to be re-awakened and expressed through each of us, whatever shape it may take: poem, prayer, dance, song, sculpture, story. Whether we choose to share our creativity publicly or keep it private matters less than partaking in the creative process itself. Not just for our own sake, but also for the sake of participating in that free flow of energy being re-born within and around us.

     May all beings be blessed by our willingness to see, hear and respond to this gentle invitation being hand-delivered by all of Creation, dressed in the colors of spring. 

With gratitude and blessings,

     Rudi Harst

PS:  Thank you to the many Circle friends who have written, called and reached out to me and my family in the aftermath of my father's passing. I haven't been able to respond to all of your messages personally, but am deeply grateful for this generous outpouring of love and support. His memorial service will be held at 2:00pm this Saturday, April 13, at Faith United Church of Christ, 970 Loop 337 in New Braunfels.

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.