The Path of Gratitude: The Everyday Mystic – Sunday, October 11, 2009

Reflections from Rev. Patricia
Fall Program at Unity of Berkeley Walking In the Light: 7 Paths to God
Week One – The Path of Gratitude: The Everyday Mystic – Sunday, October 11, 2009

Our community is a very eclectic and spiritually diverse group of individuals. We are Unity of Berkeley, a community that is centered in the positive, practical spiritual teachings of Unity. Yet part of the unique character of Unity of Berkeley is its spiritual diversity. We are not in Kansas any more! We have some people who bring a rich background in a particular religious tradition, while others have abandoned their early childhood religions and taken up various forms of meditation, spiritual practice, reading and study. From these varied spiritual roots we come together to experience the mystery and power of the Divine Presence each Sunday morning and throughout the week in our many classes and workshops. We are connected, not by a particular religion, but by our spiritual curiosity, our sense of wonder and delight, our creativity, and by our willingness to walk our talk, to pray and to love.

Each fall we focus seven Sundays on a particular theme, based on a book that offers new insight and opportunities for spiritual growth. This year, our Fall Program, Walking In the Light: 7 Paths to God invites us to move beyond our August series on the World Wisdom Traditions to an interior examination of our own personal experience of the mystery of spirit in our lives. The framework of our exploration is Joan Borysenko’s book, 7 Paths to God, The Ways of the Mystic. In looking at the 7 paths we will bring in other traditions and open a window into Unity’s 5 teachings as we progress each week. My hope is that you will find and explore your own pathways, open your heart and mind to the many ways that others meet in the mystery of Spirit, and grow and deepen your connection to the God of your Being. By sending out weekly emails, I want to invite all of us to go deeper. Listen to the meditation and message on our website at http://unityberkeley.org/sundays-at-unity/sunday-audio/ Whether you can be with us on Sunday morning or not, you are part of the beautiful and rich reflection of God that is Unity of Berkeley.

The Path One Mystic is what Joan calls the Everyday Mystic. This is the person is deeply and reverently connected to the Earth. This person demonstrates a profound care and concern for the global environment and particularly for all the plants and animals that share our earth with us. In this path, we can identify the grounding of the Native People’s and their alignment and attunement to the Mother. In calling forth from the seven directions, it is the below, the ground of being under our feet which anchors us to this mystical path. This native medicine chant calls forth this deep connection:

Mother I feel you under my feet
Mother I hear your heart beat….

Earth my body
Water my blood
Air my breath and
Fire my spirit.

The Path One Mystic is dedicated to hearth and home, to kinship with to all beings. In that reverence is a fierce sense of pride and commitment to do whatever it takes in small acts and in great ways to preserve and protect our land, our water, our air and all living creatures for generations to come.

The Path of Gratitude is the Red Road. It is a reminder to be fully present to all that is before us, moment to moment. We have created small Gratitude booklets for you to write your Gratitude Lists daily during out seven weeks. Pick one up on Sunday morning. Also pick up a colorful poster to place in your home where you can focus on our weekly path with affirmation cards.

Question to explore on The Path of Gratitude
Chapter 2 – Earth and Home: The Everyday Mystic

1. How does my connection to Earth show up in my life? How do I honor my “home”?
2. How do I use solitude in nature to enhance my intuition and creativity? Take a silent walk. Notice any changes in your insights and feelings.
3. How do I use harmony and beauty to acknowledge Divine Order in my home, workplace, church community, etc.?
4. What am I grateful for today? Adopt the practice of Brother David Steindal-Rast; write down each night one thing that you are grateful for that you have never thought about being grateful for before.

The Path of Gratitude

I respect the Earth and all creation as I delight in
God’s beauty all around me. Gratefully I celebrate
life and I am fully human, fully present.
“Oh, Lord, I see your face in every leaf, and my heart sings.”

As I journey on the Path of Gratitude,
I, ____________________, Am Walking in the Light