ARRIVING HERE

As we near the end of January, it's quite possible that you, like many other people, have already fallen somewhat short of your intentions for the New Year. If so, please don't be discouraged. Remember that Thomas Edison famously conducted countless unsuccessful experiments for many years before inventing the light bulb. "I have not failed; I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work," he said.

 

MAKING CHOICES

I choose to remember that soul growth is not a linear, orderly process. Much as we like to make plans and projections for how we wish our future to unfold - and as powerful as such aspirations can be - each of us is on a unique path, containing challenges, contours and detours that are only visible in hindsight. In the words of renowned Spanish poet, Antonio Machado, "Traveller, there is no path, the path is made by walking. By walking, the path is made. And when you look back, you'll see a road."

 

COMING BACK

Rather than comparing whatever you have/haven't done to what you wished you'd done (or measuring what you have against what you'd rather have), I invite you to consider taking a deep, loving look at yourself and your surroundings and embrace your life with gratitude for everything and everyone that exists within and around you, right here and now. There is great treasure to be found in this precious, present moment, if only you'll embrace it fully, just the way it is, rather than compare it to some theoretical construct of how you wish things were different. And right now is the perfect time to do so.

At least, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

With 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.

LOGGING ON TO THE INNER-NET

  Last Sunday, as we were gathered at SAY Sí for our Morning Circle, a Circle friend living deep in the woods of northern Minnesota, Rev. Jo Campe, was tuning in on to our Facebook Livestream video on his iPad, participating in our prayers, songs and silences alongside us in real-time, while simultaneously waiting for a nibble on his fishing line while sitting next to a hole he'd sawed in the ice inside his little ice shack out on the middle of a lake near his home, out in the middle of a forest, just five miles from the Canadian border, where the temperatures were hovering somewhere around zero degrees.

TUNING IN

     The following day, he sent the photo shown above to help illustrate his surroundings, and said how much he appreciated the warm words and loving vibes being broadcast from the Celebration Circle in San Antonio (and how he chuckled to hear that South Texas was virtually shut down by winter weather when the "Ice-pocalypse" sent temperatures plunging into the mid-20's). Living on that distant lake shore in relative cultural isolation, far from the nearest city, he enjoys feeling spiritually fed by the Circle across the many miles through the miracle of the Internet.

 

TUNING OUT

     I, in turn, am grateful to have received his graphic, visual reminder of how "cyber-reality" has made it possible for us to be connected beyond time and space. Being a Baby Boomer, born well before the Internet was popularized, I spend relatively little time online, because I'm not a digital native, so I don't really feel comfortable there. It gives me little pleasure to stare at my computer, absorbing random bits of information from others, no matter how fascinating, educating or scintillating those images and info bytes might be for others..

    Just as I was among the very last of my friends/peers to buy a fax machine or cell phone, I've been reluctant to use social media for anything more than the bare necessities. It's quite possible that if you are Gen X-er or Millennial (or a fellow boomer, for that matter...) reading this paragraph you're chuckling at my naiveté, just as my friend Jo might grin at the idea that 25-degree icy weather would bring the city to a near halt in SA.

 

TURNING AROUND

     I'm glad that photo of Jo's has finally enabled my Grandpa Rudolf persona to reframe his perception of the light at the end of the proverbial internet tunnel.  From now on, I look forward to refining and enhancing the Celebration Circle's presence online, in order to maximize the energy circulating through the Inner-Net, the sum total of the rapidly evolving processes involved in Online Presence and Awareness.

 

TURNING WITHIN

     I'm not at all sure how that will look, sound or feel - but I'm pretty certain that over the next month or two, the Circle's online programming will evolve in some interesting ways. I hope you'll Stay Tuned for details - and consider supporting this initiative with you time, talents and treasure.

 

Wishing you a blessed day, with many more to come,

     Rudi Harst

PS: There's also been another wonderful addition to Circle community:  a monthly Circle Celebration that will be happening one evening a month, beginning tonight, January 19, with Ecstatic Dance and Dinner at 5 Points Local.  See further down this page for details. We are grateful to several members of our Council of Stewards, for initiating this series of events, including Angel Santiago, Lynxie Henry, Sarah Gabriel, Tonka Wright and Kassi Tyson Wright. Thank you, friends!

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.

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER CHOICE

Today I choose

to be at peace with all that Was,

open my heart to all that Is

and welcome all that is Becoming.

 

The When's and How's will be revealed

soon enough

Now is not the time to make a plan

or measure myself (or anyone else) against

some imagined yardstick of success or failure.

 

Now is my chance to stand fresh

in the fullness of who I AM:

the Divine made manifest

Whatever my mind may have to say

My soul trusts that regardless of what test(s) 

may come my way

I am free to choose:

To Be at peace with all that Was,

open my heart to all that Is

and welcome all that is Becoming...

 

This is my choice.

What's yours?

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 SACRED INTENTIONS

Last Sunday, a friend made a point of coming up to me after the Circle to report that "the best Christmas present I got this year was the New Year's Letter of Intention I wrote to myself in the Circle last January." And then, just a few minutes later, a different person approached and used exactly the same words to describe the Letter of Intention as her "best Christmas present" as well!

 

Both of them said they're looking forward to taking part in our annual guided meditation letter writing process again this Sunday. Me, too! Because receiving and reading my own letter of intention in late December has always been one of my favorite Circle activities.

 

I really hope you'll be there with us in this Sunday's Circle, so that you can take part in our 25th annual experience of forming positive intentions collectively for the coming year. Of course, it's something you could do at home alone, too. But it's just not the same as feeling connected to a large group of people who are aligned in consciousness, supporting ourselves and each other in tapping into the Field of Unlimited Possibilities. Whether you're physically present in the room with us, or participate via our Facebook Livestream video, your co-creative energy would be most welcome and helpful. It just wouldn't be the same without you.

 

In any case, I hope your New Year is off to a great start, with much more goodness headed your way throughout the coming year.

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.

BLESSINGS and GRATITUDE

As the old year draws to a close, may you release all that no longer serves you, letting it burn in the Sacred Flame. And as the New Year unfolds within a field of Infinite Possibilities, may you, may we and All Beings be blessed by 

being Present, Prospered and Peaceful.

With best wishes for a Healthy, Happy and Harmonious New Year

 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.

JOY TO THE WORLD

I hope you will be able to join us for our uniquely inter-faith celebration on Christmas Eve this Sunday morning. I, for one, am feeling deeply grateful for the simple joy of being able to gather with friends and family to celebrate the Holidays, because our car wreck in October has given me a renewed sense of joy and gratitude for the gift of life itself. Plus, the enormous outpouring of kindness and generosity we experienced has radically shifted the way I see the world and I am reminded even more of this field of infinite possibilities. Now, more than ever, the story of the Nativity speaks to me personally as a miraculous story of Divine Manifestation in the midst of the most humble circumstances.

It would be wonderful to share the space with you in person this Sunday, to see the light shining in each others' eyes as we celebrate that meaning of the Nativity story with our blend of multi-faith songs, poems, meditations and reflections. But whether you are there at SAY Sí in person, or tune in on FaceBook Live, or simply open your Divine Imagination to join us in consciousness wherever you are at 11am on Sunday, I hope you, too, can feel the power of our connection across time and space as we affirm once again, "We Are One."

With best wishes for a Blessed Holiday Season,

     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.

A PIECE OF THE PUZZLE

     I recently found a single piece of a jigsaw puzzle in our grocery store parking lot. There was no one else nearby, and it brought lots of questions to mind, so I couldn't help but pick it up and take it home. How did it come to be there, separate from all the other pieces in the puzzle? What did the rest of the puzzle look like? Who dropped it? And will s/he find herself feeling frustrated when she tries to complete the puzzle without it?

     While it's still an interesting, colorful piece of cardboard in and of itself, it doesn't have nearly as much meaning or value now as it would if it were connected to the larger picture. Nor can the whole puzzle ever be completed without this piece sitting on my desk.

 A PIECE OF THE WHOLE

     Similarly, should you find yourself feeling overwhelmed, confused or out of sorts in the middle of all the hustle and bustle of the Holiday Season, it's entirely possible that you have temporarily forgotten that you are part of a much larger whole. Perhaps you've succumbed to the illusion that you are isolated, alone and a victim of the circumstances that surround you. If so, won't you take a few moments to reconnect with Spirit, with the Sacred Mystery that binds us all as One. The same Divine Source that gave birth to billions of galaxies and the infinite complexities of life on Earth certainly has a sufficiency of resources to support you, too, if only you will pause, reflect and reconnect with that Source.

 A PIECE OF THE PEACE

     Of course, you are a valuable and powerful individual, too. But you don't have to have all the answers, don't have to figure out the best way forward, don't have to handle everything alone. In the words of the late Jesuit mystic, Anthony De Mello, "Life is not a puzzle to be solved, but a mystery to be contemplated." And, a gift to be received - if only you are willing to receive it in Peace. At least, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

      With best wishes for a Blessed Holiday Season,

     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.