Interfaith Spirit Quest

"Some people have recently said some things that lead me to think there is confusion about me and what I do – so I want to take a minute to clear things up." (He does not walk alone.)

http://blog.hughlh.com/here-i-stand/

Passion, Sage, Roses and Time

Time to begin anew.  It's a brand new day.  The possibilities are seemingly endless and limitless.  Should I do more or should I do less, we think. 

What or where is your Passion?  Are you pursuing your passion with all your passion? 

Who is your Sage?  Who inspires and motivates you lately?  Are you acting on this inspiration, or are you just letting is float through your consciousness? 

Who is the person you think of when you think of giving Roses and Love?  Who deserves a flower and a bit of your love today?  Is not everyone worthy? 

How do you spend your Time?  Frittering away the hours in self-pity, in front of the tube or the PC, or out there somewhere looking for love in all the wrong places? 

PASSION is what makes an Olympian speed down a luge at 95 miles an hour, despite the risks.  PASSION is what takes you to the next level.  Passion is what God used to create your universe!  Be passionate about something good, something great!

SAGE - like a spice, Sages inspire us and motivate us to use our passion for good.  Good Sages love everyone - Jesus was a good Sage, a Divine Sage.  There are regular, normal, everyday people that are good Sages too, they use their time to bring out the passion in you to help you make your life a little bit better. 

ROSES are the world's symbol for love in material form.  Give someone a Rose or Flower - be it someone you love or someone who needs love.  God gave us a bounty of Roses - just look at this place, this Earth! Love is the universal language we all long to speak and hear. 

TIME is yours to use and to give.  Use your time wisely, set your sights on your passion and give it some of your precious time.  God gave us time, spend some time seeking the One who gave you this time.  Spend some time listening to the inspirational Sages of our time and times of old.  Use this time to show someone a little love, give someone a Rose today, or better yet - some of your time. 

Passion, Sage, Roses and Time.

Rev. Sheila Hansen

Interfaith Spirit Quest 2010

Body, Mind, Spirit & Service – Love, Fear & Attention

Interfaith Spirit Quest – Topics for discussion: Body, Mind, Spirit & Service – Love, Fear & Attention

Prayer for Spiritual Community: God of all creation, First Source, Force and Center of all things and beings; we yield our hearts and minds to you and we seek unity with the Divine Spirit within that is You, O God. May we feel your love, presence and guidance more fully today and every day, evermore. While we are here in human flesh, may we seek to do your will, may we seek to love others as you have demonstrated your love toward us. Thank you for this day, for keeping us safe and warm, and for providing for our sustenance. We ask for your blessing upon this meal and upon our fellowship here today. At this time, if there are any special prayer requests, aloud or in silent prayer, please mention them now for inclusion in this unbroken, connected chain of prayer….

Your prayers…______________________________________________________________________________________

…_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for hearing our prayer. In thanksgiving and in remembrance of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

~*~

Body & Spirit: Love & Fear: (The following section on Love & Fear is from an article written last year called 'What is Love' written by Rev. Sheila Hansen for Interfaith Spirit Quest – it's an excellent conversation starter!)

What is Love? If you could create love in your life simply by choosing right actions, would you? If you knew that your negative actions and reactions were the cause of your pain and misery, would you stop?

You can learn to recognize thoughts that lead to desirable consequences simply by choosing positive, love centered actions over fear or negative actions and reactions, which only create destructive consequences. In addition to creating love in your life, you will also deepen your relationship with God, because God is Love. If you fully understand who is walking beside you in your earth journey, fear would not be possible. You have extraordinary power, power to choose how you will think or act in any given circumstance. Your thoughts and your actions create your world.

Learn to act and react in loving ways by recognizing the emotions and physical sensations you are experiencing. For example, if you feel anger welling up inside you – react with tenderness. Are your relationships cold and distant? Warm them up by being warm and affectionate. Do you have a tendency to react negatively to almost everything that comes along? Try looking for the positive, bright side of things instead. It really works!

Actions and reactions based on love make you feel warm and beautiful inside. Try it, you'll like it! This is easier said than done, mostly because our previous ways of acting and reacting have turned into habits, and habits are hard to break. This is where you must realize the extraordinary power that is yours, this is the time to be selfish and use this power to make yourself a happier, more loving person. Trust me, the rest of the world will love your for it!

Interfaith Spirit Quest

Following is a list of words about Love and Fear. In the Love column are things we are and do because we are acting out of love. In the Fear column are things we do because we are frightened or feel threatened in some way. Learn how to use these emotions and/or actions to create a more loving life.

Love

(Consequences of love and loving)

 

Happy

Peaceful

Affectionate

Warm

Patient

Kind

Caring

Positive

Spiritual

Beautiful (inside)

Handsome (inside)

Giving

Faithful

Friendly

Truthful

Passion

Joyful

Romantic

Persevering

Pleasant

Tender

Protective

Grateful

Masterful

Creative

Free

~*~

 

Fear

(What we do when frightened or threatened)

 

Depressed

Restless

Distant

Cold

Impatient

Mean

Unsympathetic

Negative

Questioning

Ugly (inside)

Self-absorbed (inside)

Selfish

Cheat

Rude

Liar

Lazy

Vengeful

Jealous

Give up

Hateful

Angry

Obsessive

Sense of entitlement

Addictive

Exploitative

Enslaved

Interfaith Spirit Quest

Discussion: Mind

The quality of one's life depends on the quality of attention. Whatever you pay attention to will grow more important in your life.

— Deepak Chopra in Ageless Body, Timeless Mind

Mind - Attention: The following tips are gleaned from the following sources.

• Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School - by John Medina.
• Spirituality & Practice: Alphabet of Spiritual Literacy — practices that are common in the world's religions.

Brain Rule #4 - Attention: We don't pay attention to boring things, but sometimes we give our attention to things that are non-productive. Multi-tasking is a myth. While we think we can do several things simultaneously, we are really working sequentially – doing one thing at a time. If you really want to get a lot done – eliminate as many interruptions as possible. Turn off the TV, Radio, Email, Cellphones, etc. for a predetermined period of time so you can focus on the most important task of the day.

Everyone has A.D.D. (Attention Deficit Disorder). Generally, we can really only focus intensely for about 10 minutes at a time. So to enhance our focus ability, we need to give ourselves a break – every 10 minutes. Or at least vary your tasks every 10 minutes, even if ever so slightly. Are you preparing a speech? Break it down into 10 minute segments to maintain the attention of your audience.

Our attention is influenced by our memory, what we already know or have learned. We react to new situations from our learned perspective. We can control some of our reactions by getting more information from other sources – other sources besides our own memory. So, in situations where you have a little time to think something through, it pays to give new information some of your attention. We also tend to give our attention to things that we are emotionally connected to, so if you want to improve your memory, create an emotional connection to the things you most want to remember.

Spirituality & Practice: Attention is also known as mindfulness, awareness, concentration, recollection. It is a primary practice, and not just alphabetically. We must stay alert or we risk missing critical elements of the spiritual life — moments of grace, opportunities for gratitude, evidence of our connections to others, signs of the presence of Spirit. The good news is that attention can be practiced anywhere, anytime, in the daily rounds of our lives.

-Effort is its own reward-

Ben Hei Hei – in Wisdom of the Jewish Sages by Rabbi Rami M Shapiro

 

We are here to do,

and through doing to learn;

and through learning to know;

and through knowing to experience wonder;

and through wonder to attain wisdom;

and through wisdom to find simplicity;

and through simplicity to givn attention;

and through attention

to see what needs to be done…

Body, Mind, Spirit: Healthy Dinner Ideas – Rewiring the Brain

A Prayer for Spiritual Community: Creator and Sustainer, in this spiritual community, in this time and place, may we feel your presence ever stronger, ever deeper. As we gather in a spirit of fellowship, may your love, strength and Spirit of Truth bless us all in every way. Thank you for our daily sustenance, food and strength, we ask for your blessings upon this meal. May each one present here tonight receive a special blessing of insight, may we go on to encourage, love and support each other as you would have us do. At this time, if there are any special prayer requests, aloud or in silent prayer, please mention them now for inclusion in this unbroken, connected chain of prayer….

Your prayers…______________________________________________________________________________________

…_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for hearing our prayer. In thanksgiving and in remembrance of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

Body – Healthy Dinner/Supper Foods: Some of you may prefer a light dinner (supper) and heavier lunch, others may prefer to have their bigger meal in the evening – either way – we just need to pay attention to our bodies and do whatever works best. Parts 1 and 2 of this 3 part series may be found online at www.InterfaithSpiritQuest.com.

Healthy Dinner/Supper Ideas – Control your own portions and remember - everything in moderation.

• Soup or Chili, Hearty Bread/Crackers/Pita, Pickles/Olives/Veggies
• Big Salad Bowl, Loaded with Veggies, Light on Meat/Cheese/Egg/Beans, Hearty Bread/Crackers/Pita
• Grilled/Baked/Roasted/Boiled Lean Meat, Side of Stir-Fried or Fresh Veggies, Tossed Salad, Hearty Bread/Crackers/Pita
• Baked/Boiled/Grilled/Roasted Potatoes/Sweet Potatoes/Veggies, Fruit Salad/Fresh Fruit, Hearty Bread/Crackers/Pita, Pickles/Olives/
• Stir Fry Veggie Bowl, Lean Meat/Fish or Beans/Tofu, Brown Rice, Sliced Oranges or Fruit Salad
• Baked Fish, Boiled Cabbage/Carrots/Potatoes, Rye Bread

Interfaith Spirit Quest

Mind & Spirit - Brain Rule #3- Wiring: Every brain is wired differently. See Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School - by John Medina.

Every brain is wired differently and each brain can be re-wired to think differently – at will! Do you believe this?

In the book Brain Rules by John Medina, it talks about a Michael Jordan quitting Basketball to focus on a new challenge – Baseball. Michael Jordan failed miserably at Baseball, not even rising to the level of a minor league farm team! But this is Wisconsin and we love football, so today, we're going to talk about Brett Favre – our favorite NFL Quarterback and his 2009/10 NFL Football season with the Minnesota Vikings! J As you all know by now, the Vikings lost the NFC Championship game against the New Orleans Saints on January 23, 2010. Had they won, Favre would be playing in his third Super Bowl this year, his first two being with his beloved Green Bay Packers way back in the last century. J Favre threw an interception near the end of regulation time in the 4^th quarter, which sent the game into overtime, never to regain possession of the ball in overtime themselves, the Vikings promptly lost. The Saints make it to the Super Bowl. Go Indianapolis Colts! While I do not blame the loss on Favre, many people have picked up on the fact that Favre has been in this situation on two other occasions as a Green Bay Packer; once against the Philadelphia Eagles and once against the New York Giants. In both of those games, Favre also threw and interception that ended their hopes of heading to another Super Bowl.

So, what does this have to do with re-wiring the brain? What I'm trying to show here is that Favre actually had his best year ever as a Quarterback in the NFL! All of his stats were way up, his interception ratio was at the lowest number ever, throwing only 7 interceptions all year versus his previous average of 13 at minimum. Many years were much higher; Favre threw 20 interceptions during several years. Anyway, moving on….getting to the point now….

The question is: 1) How did he do it? How did Brett Favre, a 40 year old Quarterback, have his best year ever? How did he get his interception rate down to 7 from his previous average of 13? …and question 2) How or why did he throw that final, crushing interception?

The answer to question #1 is that he effectively re-wired his brain; he managed to eliminate all obstacles to his success by focusing on his biggest problem – interceptions. He changed the way he does business. He proved that he could do it through controlling his mind, thus controlling his actions.

The answer to question #2: So why did he thrown that last interception? First off, nobody is perfect, I believe that Favre did everything he could to lead the Vikings to victory but could have used a little help from the defense that day. Then of course there's the Referees stating publicly, after the game of course, that they messed up on a couple of calls that went against the Vikings. Anyway, so the answer is – perhaps re-wiring the brain is an extremely difficult thing to do and it requires intense, continuous desire and focus without let-up on the part of the individual to change. But Brett Favre did in fact prove that it could be done. He is to be forgiven for his momentary lapses, and this will only lead him to improve his performance should he choose to come back for another year – which I think he will do.

Every time you learn a new task, you are wiring your brain. To solve and old problem, we need to turn it into a new task. Do not think of things as problems, think of things as goals or targets. Do not think of problems, think of ways to reach your destination. Focus only on what will work, not on obstacles. While the author of Brain Rules, John Medina, talks a lot about the physical reasons for the wiring of our brains, and we certainly cannot do everything we think we can, the really cool thing that I have discovered is that our spirit personality is unquestionably capable of willing the physical body and mind to do the impossible!

Interfaith Spirit Quest

Interfaith Spirit Quest - Tips to help you re-wire your brain:

• Pray, meditate, contemplate – focus on your task/goal/target
• Be a reminder to yourself – leave notes, journal, repeat motions toward task/goal/target
• Exercise, eat healthy, sleep well, get some sunshine
• Evaluate your life – do you need to work on your love life, family life, play life and work life?
• Be honest with yourself, seek to understand why you don't make the right choices or changes
• Align your habits with your task/goal/target – that means create new habits and destroy bad habits
• Choose your life, map out your destiny; but accept who you are and soar where you know you can
• Have the experience. A few wise sayings:
  • "What you hear you forget, what you see you remember, what you do, you understand",
  • "Practice makes perfect".
  • "Just do it!"
• The Creator & Sustainer of the Universe wants you to enjoy an abundant, successful and fruitful life!
• Celebrate your abundance and enjoy the fruits of your success!

Interfaith Spirit Quest Discussion Questions:

1. Do you think it's possible for you, or Favre for next year, to be completely successful re-wiring the brain? _________________________________________________________________________________________
2. What is keeping or preventing you from changing something about yourself that concerns you? _________________________________________________________________________________________
3. How can we support each other? How can we help and support ourselves? _________________________________________________________________________________________

Brett Favre began his career as an Atlanta Falcon in 1991 throwing 4 passes as a Falcon, 2 of them interceptions, 2 of them incomplete.

He was traded to the Green Bay Packers in 1992 and played there for 16 seasons. His interception ratio averaged 13-20 per season. He led the Packers to 2 Super Bowls, winning one and losing one.

 

 

 

In 2008 he asked to be traded to the Vikings, but Packers Management refused and traded him instead to the New York Jets where he had 22 interceptions and an all around bad year.

 

 

 

Ah, finally, the Favre's wish to become a Minnesota Viking is fulfilled. He takes the Vikings on a whirlwind romance and almost makes it to the Super Bowl. His interception rate during the regular season is pared down to 7. Brain effectively re-wired. There's always next year – one can only imagine what the Favre will do next.