This page is curated by Steven Mead, Program Ministry staff and our Lifespan Religious Educator. We come in all "religious flavors," and regardless of your perspective, use the wide-ranging sources on this page to inspire, challenge and create a life of meaning for yourself and enrich the lives of those around you. [To reveal more of the content on this web page―open the accordion files below.]
On Your Own Time | Adult Lifelong Learning Resources
Becoming
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For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin — real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way. Something to be got through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.―Alfred D'Souza What does it mean to be a People of Becoming?
Its become popular in our society to talk about spiritual journeys as a process of living into your full or true self, of letting the authentic seed inside you unfold. We UU’s agree. We even enshrined it in our principles that celebrate each of our unique seeds (inherent worth) and unique journeys (a free and responsible search). At the same time, there’s something deep within UUism that pushes in the opposite direction. Historically, we’ve been “leavers” - people who struggled not so much to find ourselves but to untangle ourselves from the religious identities we were given. Our spiritual journeys did not begin with a blank slate; they began with the hunger to wipe that slate clean and begin anew. So we have this important awareness that spiritual journeys are not simply about unfolding your true self, but also about untangling from your old self. We agree with Albert Schweitzer who wrote: “The path of awakening is not about becoming who you are. Rather it is about unbecoming who you are not.” Let the unraveling begin! Content attribution: Soul Matters Sharing Circle I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity.―Gilda Radner |
True Belonging Resources
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A curated list of challenging resources on Belonging. It's much harder than you think.
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More Wisdom Resources | The Accordion File of Good Stuff
Open the accordion file (+) below to reveal (lots of!) additional content.
Wisdom Resources: Reading | Websites | Blog Sites
Wisdom Resources: Elder Spirituality | Spiritual Practice | Multimedia
The most important thing is to find out the most important thing.―Zen master, Suzuki Roshi
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Elder Spirituality
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Spiritual Practice
"And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer."―Rainer Maria Rilke
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Multimedia | Film | Performance Art
"...contemporary art that roams the ground between faith and mystery. . . calls us into the imaginative life and makes us aware of the rich possibilities of being human."―Image
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Do Shag! |
Wisdom Resources: UUA Common Reads | Study Issues
Unitarian Universalist Common ReadS
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Unitarian Universalist Common Read 2020-2021
The 2020–2021 UUA Common Read is Breathe: A Letter to My Sons by Imani Perry, published by Beacon Press. Emotionally raw and deeply reflective, Imani Perry issues a challenge to society to see Black children as deserving of humanity. She admits fear and frustration for her sons in a society that is increasingly racist and at times seems irredeemable. However, as a mother, feminist, writer, and intellectual, Perry offers an unfettered expression of love—finding beauty and possibility in life—and she exhorts her children and their peers to find the courage to chart their own paths and find steady footing and inspiration in Black tradition. Breathe offers a broader meditation on race, gender, and the meaning of a life well lived and is also an unforgettable lesson in Black resistance and resilience. We are in the midst of a historic national reckoning with what it means to live as a Black or Brown American and systems of institutional racism that have been operating since our country’s founding. As UUA President, Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray, has written, “It matters that we support the uprisings whose goal is the liberation of Black people and communities who for too long have been crushed by white supremacy, militarism, and capitalism. We must find the sources within ourselves to give us courage in this moment. To resist. To risk. To sacrifice for this movement that needs all of us to succeed. To be midwives for a new era in which all of us will be free.” *NEW* Discussion materials are available for download. For more information about the Common Read program visit: www.uua.org/read Unitarian Universalist Common Read 2019-2020. The Common Read Selection Committee is pleased to announce that
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UUA Study Action |
UU Faith and Spirituality Resources
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Jack Jezreel, founder of JustFaith observes, “The world cannot be changed-by-love to become just, unless we are changed by love to become whole, but we cannot be made whole without engaging in the work of making the world whole. Personal transformation and social transformation are one piece.”
Sophia PerennisReligion as participation is a rediscovery of the Perennial Tradition that Plotinus, Gottfried Leibniz, Alan Watts, Aldous Huxley, and so many saints and mystics have spoken of in their own ways. It constantly recognizes that we are a part of something, more than we are observing something or “believing” in something.―Richard Rohr The Perennial Tradition by Richard Rohr |
Sophia Perennis | Perennial Wisdom Tradition
The Perennial Tradition encompasses the recurring themes in all of the world’s religions and philosophies that continue to say:
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Decisions |
Kirsti L. Adkins Original work
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“Inventory: |