Service one: Beginnings
Service one - Introduction and thoughts on beginnings
Above is an 18-minute version of the first service. Please note that service recordings are designed to give you a feel for the worldview/philosophy behind services. They lack the music, visuals, and presence of other people that are part of real-time services.
Prompts for reflection:
What is beginning for you? What is your spiral staircase?
“Self, after all, is our basic problem. When I wake up at the three in the morning, and ask myself, ‘Why does this have to happen to me? Why cannot I have what X has? Why am I so unloved and unappreciated? ….’ I learn that ego is at the heart of all pain. When I get beyond this for a few moments I feel enlarged and enhanced – just as the Buddha promised.” Karen Armstrong
“This is time for honest, searching doubt, repentance and a yearning for holiness in a world that has lost its bearings.” Karen Armstrong
“We are most fully ourselves, when we give ourselves away.” Karen Armstrong
“Grace is everywhere.” Georges Bernanos
Related readings:
The Spiral Staircase, by Karen Armstrong
The Diary of a Country Priest, by Georges Bernanos
Religion for Atheists, by Alain de Botton
Music:
Gaze, Consider, Contemplate sung by the Poor Clares of Arundel, nuns of the Franciscan order whose patron saint was Clare of Assisi. Clare of Assisi taught a fourfold method of understanding and embodying a desirable trait: Gaze, consider, contemplate, imitate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTytITpuh14
Da Pacem by Arvo Part is a composition based on the Latin prayer for peace, Da Pacem Domine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA79jI9cCBE
New Space Music by Brian Eno is from the drone music genre, which is reflective of a Zen Buddhist attitude: If you think it sounds the same, try listening again.