Process theology reflection

 Group C – The God of/in Process

What do you find most redemptive and/or liberative about this conception of God, and what is one cultural or contextual example that illustrates this?
Why is this image/understanding of God necessary for the work of social transformation? How is it useful? Provide at least one example of how it touches the ground in this way.

 

I honestly love process theology. The idea that the divine is constantly evolving along with us in this life, is what makes the most sense to me with my own personal theology. I LOVED Coleman's explanation of womanist theology because it welcomed the voices from different traditions, not just Christians, and specifically not just traditional Christianity. I grew up in a community that saw the bible as the sole authority of God's word and that everything in the bible was treated as cold-hard fact (more or less). In this tradition, there was no shying away from contradictions in the bible - it was more of a "we can't understand God, but God is God" kind of deal.  I suppose that has stayed with me, even as I am not a Christian. I experienced some serious resistance when reading Douglas's chapter because of the inconsistence of biblical authority. How can the bible hold the ultimate authority of God but then only parts of the bible are seen as cannon? It goes against everything I had thrown at me as  I grew up - but then again Traditional Christianity is a very rigid dogma. If God is all knowing, all powerful, and all encompassing - how could he be both liberator and endorse the destruction of the indigenous people of Canaan? 

Its something that I still have a hard time wrapping my head around but when put into the perspective of process theology the resistance loosens a bit. A Liberating God may once have been a God that encouraged colonization, and has since changed. This sort of soothes the bit of traditionalism stubbornly engrained in me, because it supports both biblical authority (even though I don't ACTUALLY believe the bible has any authority when it comes to messages from God) and the liberation theology that is so beautiful. I personally believe gods can change and evolve, just like we do.  So, as more and more people sought liberation - the God they prayed to, also began to seek and provide more liberation. We also see a shift in how God is portrayed transitioning from the old testament into the new testament, which is where I think Process theology becomes almost mandatory for the work of social transformation.  

Process theology is exceedingly important because we need a myth that evolves with us. Myth is a foundation of  religion and if it cannot survive, the religion will not last. As we change, our myths must adapt so that it can stay relevant. An example of this, honestly, would be the shift of progressive perspectives in Churches. Shifting from the harsh, judgmental, angry God of the old testament and focusing more on the loving, accepting, and compassionate God of the new testament - as taught through Jesus Christ - reflects the growing acceptance in our own society. More and more people are coming out as queer, more people are getting tattoos, more people are becoming religiously plural. Focusing on the controlling and judgmental aspects of the Christian God would not allow the myth to remain relevant in our modern society. A Progressive God shows how myth adapts, allowing Religion to now support social transformation as opposed to becoming its obstacle. 

30 days of gratitude captions:

 Day 4&5

Thank you for tuning into our  “30 Days of Gratitude,” sponsored by SACRED THREAD! Today we are doing days 4 &5.

30 DAYS OF GRATITUDE

Day 4/Chapter 4:  “Magic Health”

Day 5/Chapter 5: “Magic Money”⠀

🙏When was the last time you thought about your health with gratitude? 

💸Think back to when you were younger and money wasn’t your responsibility… how does it feel to return there and experience the gratitude?

💞Did anything surprise you about this practice? 

🌟What personal twist or method of doing this practice makes it more authentic for you? 

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KEEP THE GRATITUDE FLOWING!

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Join Us! Direct SIGN UP LINK in the comments. 

THANK YOU to our Sacred Thread facilitators:

Meagan Mac Ionnrachtaigh  

Kelly Hepper    

Lisa N. Sawyer

Jessica Riphenburg

Ashley Ermis 

SPECIAL THANKS to our Community Collaborator Megan Zaida Miranai

for sharing daily written prompts throughout this month.

And, thank you, Essentials Oils with Lark and Alexis Cole Yoga for helping to make this vision come to life!⠀

#30daysofgratitude #soulfamily #soulfam #gratitudechallenge

My definition/description of MY theology

 My theology is pantheistic, animistic, and polytheistic, grounded in an impersonal, dynamic monism and a polytheistic understanding of process theology. Spirit is the unchanging foundation and underlying process of all existence, while the gods are distinct, conscious divine beings capable of evolving in their nature, powers, and relationships through experience.

Sacred Thread Video Scripts

 "Good morning! Welcome to Day [4 and 5] of SACRED THREAD's 30 Days of Gratitude! I'm [Pixie], and today we're exploring Gratitude for Health and Money. "

For a lot of people, we approach both of these from either a perspective of lack or we take it for granted.  We don't notice our health until we are feeling sick, or we think about money in with anxiety. Or perhaps you don't worry about money, and like with health, take it for granted. What we put out into the world, it what we get back. 

When we engage in these topics from a perspective of gratitude, we are inviting the energy of these things to relationship with us. Each day that we wake up healthy is a gift. Each day we wake up, even if we are sick or in pain, is still a testament to our body's dedication to keeping us alive. 

Both days have similar practices. For 

Our book gives us a practice, which I will read here: ________

I put my own little twist on this, I wrote "________" on my wrist instead of on a peice of paper, because, knowing myself, I would either lose that paper in the first hour or foget it existed.  This way, every time I used my hands, the words were there to remind me to hold onto that gratitude. I'm not sure if anyone else suffers from chronic pain or illness, but having those words there was almost reassurance to me, that despite discomfort, my body was keeping me alive. I am grateful for my health. 

Similarly with money, There is a gratitude exercise; _______. Just like before, I put my own little twist on it. I made a list of 10 examples where something was bought for me and offered my gratitude, then while I was focused on that sense of gratitude I wrote the phrase on my wrist; that way I would see it repeatedly throughout the day. 

This one was particularly potent for me because I often struggle with thinking about money from a scarcity mindset.

So, with this transition from a mindset of scarcity to a mindset of gratitude, what really sticks out to you? Let us know in the comments! When you give these practices a try, what did you experience? Do you do anything similar in your own personal practice or what personal twist makes this feel more authentic to you?

Speaking of! We'd love to celebrate with you in person at SACRED THREAD's Giving & Gratitude Festival on December 5 in McFarland, Wisconsin! You'll find the details in the comments. This is a wonderful opportunity to really come together and bring a sense of gratitude to our community. I hope I see you there! 

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Good morning! Welcome to Day [13 & 14] of SACRED THREAD's 30 Days of Gratitude! I'm [Pixie], and today we're exploring Wishes coming true and making each day a great day. 

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Good morning! Welcome to Day [22] of SACRED THREAD's 30 Days of Gratitude! I'm [Pixie], and today we're exploring "Before your very eyes" ?

Supervision Reflection

 Consider the following questions as you prepare a 1-2 page reflection paper:

1) What are the significant personal issues that arose for me during this supervision session? What specific areas of struggle or areas of growth am I more aware of now?

For me personally, the supervision session triggered an anxiety attack (via frantic hyperctivity) as I do not like to be the center of attention for more than a few minutes at a time. Usually I can mask and hide an anxiety attack when in situations that call for being professonal, but talking with my cohorts is more of a supportive safe atmosphere so I allowed myself to be honest with how I felt. Through the conversation I found that my fear of judgment and fear of dissapointing others was heavily influencing how I functioned with my client. I also learned that what "professional" looks different to each person, and should I ever need, I can invite my client to ground with me. The idea with starting a session with stretches or movement as a way to shake off the word day that preceeded the appointment really appeals to me. I found that I focus more on the heart center, the spirit and mind, and tend to neglect the body when I am working with people, until the very end of our session. Body movement is something that really helps me, especially when I find myself stressed, so turning that into a calming experience for myself and the person I am with, without turning the focus of the session away from my client could be a game changer for me. 

2) What did I learn about myself as a spiritual director? What strengths do I offer? What are my limitations?

My strengths are my ability to make space and adapt to my client, approaching the situation from a place of exploration as opposed to frustration. I have a lot of love for the people I work with and it brings me genuine joy to see them connect with the Divine - wether that just be feeling impassioned and alive or connecting with a sense of deity. My limitations would be the pattern of placing a "pass/fail" on myself dependant on the experience that my directee has. If they are unable to experience a sense of the sacred, in any form, then I feel as if I had failed them. I have to remind myself that I cannot foster a relationship with the Divine for them - it is a personal journey - I am just here to help provide a time and place for them to do so. 

3) What are the “hot button” topics that cause me to move away from the directee’s experience? How might I address these areas in order to move toward spiritual freedom?

I currently have not found any "hot button" topics that I am not willing to explore with someone. I find all topics to be sacred, even "taboo" ones like sex, death, drug use and history (as that can have great impact in how someone interacts and percievs the world), or history of abuse. We are all spiritual beings having a human experience; that human experience, in all of is fascets, is sacred. I welcome all topics, although I try to be mindful of any topic that the directee has stated they want to avoid. 

4) What did I learn about relationships? With myself? With Others? With God?

I feel like I touched on this before; because I care so much about the people I meet with, I put an intense level of pressure on myself to help cultivate the best experience I can. The thought of having someone say they gained nothing from a session creates an intense anxiety and feeling of failure... however that is not fair to put on myself. How someone feels after a session is not something I can control and I have to be compassionate with myself and accept that its okay if something didn't click for them. Through the conversation in supervision, I had it highlighted once again that I struggle with self compassion. My ability to relate to others is why I am good at this work; I believe that the ability to form relationships in itself is a sacred gift. It is what makes anything "spiritual". 

I do not often find myself connecting with the gods when I am talking directly to a person or creating a space for them to flourish. Spirit, as an underlying element of nature  and life itself, may become particularly strong or close, but the gods are not so actively involved unless called on. It has not happened in a formal session yet, but I have had the presence of ancestors and passed loved ones come through while having a particularly spiritual focused conversation with someone. I have been asked in the past to help connect someone to an enlightned teacher's spirit as well. However, in the context of spiritual diretion I do not feel a sense of deity is involved - at least on my side. For the directee, I hope they do if that is something they seek. 

5) What skills and attitudes do I need to attend to? In the area of listening? In the area of

mind-body-spirit connections? In the area of intercultural interactions?

I feel like I answered this one in #2. When it comes to intercultural interactions, I have not yet been tested. Most of the clients that I work with are agnostic, spiritual but not religious, or athesitic. These are all areas I am comfortable with, although athesism is a bit harder for me. I adapt by focusing on relationship with the self; while that may not be spiritual to them, it is to me, and thus allows a shift where Spirit can become more evident. I have not had a Christian client yet, although that will not always be the case. I like to believe that I won't have any issues taking Christian clients one-on-one but with my religious trauma I am not sure. That remains to be seen. Overall I find that every culture, every religion, and every perspective does hold wisdom and a sense of truth for that person and that is all that I need to know. This is about them - not me. The only thing that I feel would cause me to not be able to serve someone is if I found that they were harmful in any way (racist, homophobic, Trump supporter, etc). I am aware that while my love is unconditional, my compassion and ability to serve is not. 

6) What did I learn about God and God’s presence? For myself? For my directee? In the

world?

I feel like this one got answered in #4. 

5) What will I focus on in order to continue my own personal growth and my abilities to serve others well in spiritual direction. 

I will try to remove myself from the focus at all. Sessions are not about me - they are about my client. If they do not connect with something we are doing, I will move on to something else. My role is to be prepared, have promping questions and practices to explore, and to hold space for them. Everything else is out of my control and I need to learn how to embrace that, for the sake of the directee and myself. Once circumstances change and I am able to take more time before and between sesisons, including proper somatic exercises/breaks, and time to gorund myself will make a huge difference.

The Conqueror - May Brown

 I will not pass through the world as a captive might,

Dragged at the chariot wheels of contemptuous fate,

Bleeding and prone, bewailing the hour of my birth,

Suffering the buffets of chance, And the fierce despite

Of the grinding years as they roll: By their scornful hate

Crushed like a bruised reed into molding earth.

But I will pass through the world as a conqueror should,

Baffled at every turn, yet victorious still,

Breaking the chains of circumstance, shaping mine ends

Out of inimical Hours – yea, wresting the good

Out of mine ultimate worst: For the heavenly Hill

Is taken by force, and the violent thither ascends. 

Balked by the Things, unseen, as by evil gods,

Foiled, disappointed, flung down, but to rise again –

Thrones, principalities, powers – Shall their strength, avail? 

Reckless of failure, and trampling the terrible odds

Under my feet as I go, I will sing right fain

Of the triumph to come, the triumph that shall not fail.

Defrauded out of my dues of the Earth‘s delight,

All doors shut in my face, And each roadway barred

Cheated of peace and pleasure and starved of fame

Yet I will march in today through the walls of night,

Fronting a routed universe, Battle scarred,

Colors flying, Unsoiled of defeat or shame.

By the crossfire of villainous guns raked stem to stem,

Staggering onward, Smoke shrouded, With splintered decks

Main mast broken and formast gone by the board, - 

Yet Shall, the clashing bells acclaim the victors return,

As I reach to my moorings at last - as, a wreck of wrecks, 

I fight my way in The name of the Lord. 

It May Be - S. E. Kiser

 It May be that you cannot stay

to lend a friendly hand to him

Who stumbles on the slippery way,

Pressed by conditions hard and grim;

It may be that you dared not heed

His call for help, because you lack

The strength to life him, but you need

Not push him back. 

It May be that he has not won

the right top hope for you r regard;

He may in folly have begun

the course that he has found so hard; 

It may be that your fingers bleed,

The fortune turns a bitter frown

Upon your efforts, but you need

Not kick him down.