YOU ARE MY OTHER ME

     Every Sunday our Children's Circle engages in activities from the curriculum published by Spiritual Playdate, an educational organization with which we are affiliated. This Mayan-inspired poem by Luis Valdez is a moving example of their response when children see or experience hate in our world, such as the latest example in New Zealand. A quote from their email, "We at Spiritual Playdate firmly believe that we are all part of a human family and that we are all profoundly connected. When hateful or violent acts are committed by one human being against another, we maintain it is because that person sees themselves as separate from the rest. When we understand that we are deeply connected, we grow to understand that loving our neighbor is an act of self-love. It is the Golden Rule and it is not a transaction, it is a transformation!" Reading this, you can see why we are proud to be a part of sharing this consciousness with the next generation of the Circle.

     We are grateful to the many individuals who have taken the time to nurture the Children's Circle over the years. We are particularly thankful to Ava Hawthorne who is currently guiding them each Sunday, as well as parent, Krista Delgado, for taking the lead in preparing lessons for the Spiritual Playdate.

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.

CREATING OUR SPACE

The website says that our Sunday Morning Circle starts at 11AM, but in fact, it really begins at 8:30AM, when Leslie Goddard arrives to unlock the building, begins the setup process, and gets the first pot of coffee ready for all the other volunteers and staffers about to arrive. By 9AM, Sebastian Siller is hard at work, putting out signs in the parking lot, then hauling in all the tables and chairs we use from other rooms, while Jake Mylnar has begun the hour-long process of setting up the sound equipment in time for the members of the Circle Band to move in all their music gear, and be ready for the 10AM soundcheck with Rudi.

 

EACH ONE IN PLACE

     Meanwhile, the Circle Singers have begun arriving for choir practice, and the band is rehearsing their tunes, while Jose Mojica, Kassi Wright, and/or another one of our Board members sets up the Lobby Shop table, and Marie Koenig, is laying out her amazing array of Essential Oils and diffusing an invigorating oil blend which fills the air with healing, harmonious scents.  Across the room, Ava Hawthorne begins preparing for the Children's Circle, while two ushers and a greeter arrive to set out the various handouts, and greet other folks as they filter in, while Karl Franklin sets up the Facebook Live video feed. All the while, Zet Baer has been circulating throughout the space, touching base with each person and aspect of the preparations, making sure everything is in place before 11AM.

 

CLEARING THE SPACE

     From week to week, the names might change at bit, but it always takes about 15-20 people every Sunday morning to set up the space beforehand -- and then it takes all of them (with at least half a dozen others) pitching in for almost an hour afterwards to pack up and clean up (thanks to Joe & Penny Shinners for cleaning up the coffee room each week!), put everything back in place and leave SAY Sí looking like we found it, or better.

 

EXPERIENCING GRACE

     It truly takes a community to create the container for our larger Circle community to gather each Sunday. To transform an art gallery into a Sacred Space where people feel welcome, safe and free to drop their guard and turn within to encounter their Inner Selves. So... the next time you enter the room where Sunday Circle meets, I invite you to take an extra moment or two to step into that space consciously -- and really let yourself bathe in the vast tide pool of Unconditional Love created by the many hands and hearts who helped make this space available to you. May you experience the feeling of grace which is your birthright, and may all who are involved in co-creating our Circle space be blessed by our willingness to do this.

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.

GETTING BACK IN TOUCH

     It was wonderful to visit with my dear friends, David and Karen Hendley, last weekend, and to have David play a couple of his songs in the Circle. In addition to being a talented singer/songwriter and nationally-respected ceramic artist, David was my best friend at Trinity University in the early 1970's. We went our separate ways after graduation; in short order, he moved to California, earned his MFA, became a professional potter and built an amazing homestead and studio on 74 acres of forest land, deep in the Piney Woods of East Texas. Meanwhile, I drifted around, following my musical inclinations to London, New York and San Francisco, before settling back in San Antonio and co-founding Celebration Circle.

 

LOSING TOUCH

     We completely lost touch with each other for over 20 years, but reconnected instantly when we met again by happenstance at the Kerrville Folk Festival in 2002, as if it had been just a few weeks instead of two decades. While we still don't see each other as much as I'd like, time and distance don't seem to matter that much in our friendship. Although it's usually a year or so between visits, each time we get together, the conversation just picks up right where we left off.

     As usual, last weekend's re-union felt all too brief, although we did have time for a couple of meals and some heart-to-heart talks. One of the things I treasure most about our relationship is the long pauses that often arise in our conversations.  Neither of us has a need to fill the void with social niceties; we simply allow silence to resonate in the space between us until the next topic emerges at its own pace.  Our many years of friendship have taught us to trust the silence, to know that something of real interest will arise in the gap between our words, if we will just give it time.

 

FEELING TOUCHED

     I mention this aspect of my relationship with David as a metaphor for the similar presence of silence and willingness to trust that I am cultivating in my relationship with Spirit.  At the risk of over-simplification, I believe the process of spiritual growth requires me to turn inward, enter the sacred silence and trust the profound sense of mystery I encounter there.  Not just once or twice, but continually, time and again, day after day. Sometimes it's easy, sometimes not -- as was the case with the story of my thumb and surgery, which I discussed in last week's newsletter.

 

STAYING IN TOUCH

     This week has brought a different set of choices and challenges; but my underlying story remains the same. I'm so grateful for my deeply personal relationship with this impersonal and infinitely mysterious Source that is beyond naming or explaining, but remains unfailingly Present. However often I may forget, I have an abiding faith that I will always be led to the next right step, and that the perfect person, place or thing will always emerge, as long as I can resist the urge to make it happen "my way" or according to my time line. At least, that's my story, and I'm glad to be sharing it with you.

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.