Aldea Spiritual Community
Aldea is an inclusive spiritual community - holding love as our highest value - located in Tucson, Arizona.
Listen on:
Episodes
Sunday Feb 16, 2025
Sunday Feb 16, 2025
In this week’s message, we explore the lenses through which we see the world—how they shape our spiritual journey and understanding of reality. We take a deep dive into Spiral Dynamics 2.0, reframing stages of development as different lenses through which we experience life.
From the earliest human survival instincts (Beige) to ritual and tribe (Purple), through power (Red), order (Blue), innovation (Orange), and compassion (Green), we see how each stage shapes society and spirituality.
But what happens when we step beyond personal enlightenment and into a collective awakening? We explore the Second Tier of consciousness—Yellow and Turquoise—where complexity meets integration, and love expands to universal levels. This shift is profound, disorienting, and yet deeply necessary as we move beyond black-and-white thinking into a space of wisdom, fluidity, and interconnection.
Are we evolving? Where is this all headed? The next leap isn’t just about you—it’s about us.
Join us as we explore the edges of human thought, spirituality, and evolution.
Quotes:
Jon Kabat-Zinn:
“You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.”
Deepak Chopra:
“Awakening is not changing who you are, but discarding who you are not.”
Ken Wilber:
“What’s so interesting about the Second Tier is that it doesn’t just see other worldviews—it understands why they exist, what their function is, and how they can be integrated into a greater whole…. First Tier consciousness is locked in ‘either/or’ thinking, believing its worldview is right and others are wrong. Second Tier transcends this battle and sees that all perspectives have a role to play in evolution…. The emergence of Second Tier is the greatest revolution in human thought, one that moves beyond ideology into functional wisdom.”
Walt Whitman:
“Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself. I am large, I contain multitudes.”
Richard Rohr:
“Maturity is the ability to live with ambiguity.”
Thich Nhat Hanh:
“The next Buddha may not be an individual but a community.”
Jean Gebser:
“Enlightenment is not just a personal experience, but a field of collective resonance.”
Michael Beckwith:
“You don’t have to convince people to evolve. You just have to live your truth so fully that it calls to those who are ready.”
Monday Feb 10, 2025
Monday Feb 10, 2025
As we continued our "Holy Shift!" series, we dove into a framework called Spiral Dynamics—a lens for viewing human development that is very useful in making sense of our ever-changing world. Check out this message to explore how Spiral Dynamics can be a tool for compassion, empathy, and understanding—for others and for yourself.
Quotes:
Herman Hesse:
"We are not going in circles, we are going upwards. The path is a spiral; we have already climbed many steps.”
Roelf Meyer (negotiated the end of Apartheid):
“Don Beck’s work gave us a language to understand what was happening beneath the surface of politics. We weren’t just dealing with laws—we were dealing with deeply held beliefs that had to be shifted over time."
Ken Wilber:
“Transcend and include: You must go beyond your current stage, but never reject it, for each level has truth to offer….The greatest human potential is found not in one stage, but in integrating all stages into a fluid, flexible, whole-system awareness.”
Don Beck:
“People do not move to the next stage because they are comfortable; they move because their old way of seeing the world stops working.”
Don Beck:
“The greatest mistake is to believe that one stage is the ‘right’ stage for all people at all times. Different stages serve different needs.”
Jean Gebser:
“History moves forward not when one ideology wins, but when a new, more comprehensive worldview emerges.”
Don Beck:
“Evolution is not just about complexity; it is about expanding capacity for compassion, connection, and wisdom—ultimately, about learning how to love more inclusively.”
Monday Feb 03, 2025
Monday Feb 03, 2025
Holy Shift! Part 2—Stages of Religious Renewal:
What if the breakdown of old systems isn’t the end, but the beginning? In Part 2 of our Holy Shift! series, we dive into the stages of religious renewal—the deep, cyclical pattern where institutions unravel so something new and vital can emerge. What if the crumbling structures around us are making space for the spiritual future the world actually needs? Let’s explore what this means for our shifting religious landscape and where we go from here.
Join the conversation. Be part of the shift.
Quotes:
Pablo Picasso:
"Every act of creation is first an act of destruction."
Diana Butler Bass:
“The failure of religion is not the failure of faith. Instead, it is aninvitation to a spiritual awakening—the end of conventional religion opens the path to a more vital faith….People are not leaving the church because they have lost faith; they are leaving the church to preserve their faith.”
Brian McLaren:
“Many of us feel that the religions we inherited are at a crossroads, and we sense that the road ahead is not simply a repeat of the road behind us….The Spirit is blowing and new forms are emerging, but they are not emerging from the center of institutions; they are emerging from the margins”
Greek Proverb:
“A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit.”
Joanna Macy:
“We are making choices that will affect whether beings thousands of generations from now will be able to be born sound of mind and body.”
Phyllis Tickle:
“Every 500 years, the empowered structures of institutionalized Christianity, whatever they may be, become an intolerable carapace that must be shattered so that renewal and growth may occur.”
Anthony Wallace:
“A revitalization movement is defined as a deliberate, organized, conscious effort by members of a society to construct a more satisfying culture.”
Sunday Jan 26, 2025
Sunday Jan 26, 2025
Join us for the first message in our "Holy Shift!" series as we explore the stages of faith that we move through as our consciousness expands. How is doubt an essential part of our journey? What does it look like to live out a faith that is inclusive of all people?
Quotes:
Dr. Bruce Lipton:
“By age seven, we’re already 95% programmed by the experiences, beliefs, and behaviors we absorb in our environment. Our subconscious mind becomes the autopilot that runs our lives.”
Phyllis Tickle:
“Literalism provides a divine authority that can feel like a shield against the complexity and plurality of the modern world. It’s a way of saying, ‘This is true, and I don’t have to wrestle with it.’”
Karen Armstrong:
“The conventional stage often represents a reliance on external authority and a reluctance to question. It is faith as a badge of belonging.”
Peter Rollins:
“To believe is human, to doubt is divine”
Parker Palmer:
“The journey inward is essential. Stage 4 is about learning to listen to your own voice and trusting that the divine is present in your own life experience.”
Thomas Merton:
“The beginning of love is the will to let those we love be perfectly themselves, the resolution not to twist them to fit our own image. This also applies to our faith—it must be free to grow and evolve."
James Fowler:
“Conjunctive Faith involves a reworking of the past, reclaiming and redefining symbols and traditions in light of new understanding. It moves beyond the either/or to a both/and perspective…it is marked by a sense of irony and paradox, a recognition that truth is complex and multifaceted, and that ultimate answers often remain elusive…Stage 5 people know that the symbols, rituals, and myths of their faith traditions are meaningful, but they also recognize their relativity and limits…the strength of this stage lies in its capacity to hold together opposites in tension while staying grounded in the mystery of faith.”
Richard Rohr:
“Stage 5 is about learning to see with both eyes wide open—one for clarity, one for mystery. It’s about transcending the need to categorize everything as right or wrong, sacred or secular.”
Brian D. McLaren:
“Faith in Stage 5 is generous and hospitable. It seeks not to defend itself but to connect with others, knowing that love, not certainty, is the highest goal.”
James Fowler
“Universalizing Faith is exceedingly rare. It represents a radical commitment to inclusivity, where life is lived for the benefit of others, often in ways that challenge the status quo….Those in Stage 6 embody a vision of the world as a unified whole. They are unshaken by particularities and find God in all things…These individuals are often misunderstood or rejected because their vision transcends the conventional boundaries of society and religion…Stage 6 faith is grounded in a lived reality of love and justice, not just as ideals but as daily practices.”
Richard Rohr:
“Universalizing faith is when you realize the circle of love must keep widening—until it includes everyone and everything.”
Matthew 5:14-16:
And you, beloved, are the light of the world. A city built on a hilltop cannot be hidden. Similarly it would be silly to light a lamp and then hide it under a bowl. When someone lights a lamp, she puts it on a table or a desk or a chair, and the light illumines the entire house. You are like that illuminating light. Let your light shine everywhere you go, that you may illumine creation, so men and women everywhere may see your good actions, may see creation at its fullest…”
Sunday Jan 19, 2025
Sunday Jan 19, 2025
Check out this special conversation between Tarell Lewis and Jake Haber as they explore the intersection of spirituality & race, the power of sharing our stories, and the healing we experience in community.
Quotes:
Martin Luther King Jr.:
“True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.”
Robin DiAngelo:
“White privilege allows white people to navigate life in a white-dominant society with relative ease and minimal stress about race.”
Matt Kahn:
“Victimhood is a state of being affected by the choices of others, while refusing to consider the options at hand. Predatory behavior signifies feeling so shut down by the wounds of the past that we attempt to take away the choices of others to feel a depth of control that will never be found. Empowerment is recognizing how everything is here to help you make the most inspired heartfelt decisions that further your soul’s expansion, despite how dastardly or disheartening any moment seems to be”
Desmond Tutu:
“When we see others as less than ourselves, we deny the God in them—and the God in ourselves.”
Cornel West:
“Justice is what love looks like in public.”
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel:
“Justice is not an abstraction or a value among many, but a way of being, a command to restore dignity to those who have been diminished.”
Martin Luther King Jr.:
“The end is reconciliation; the end is redemption; the end is the creation of the beloved community.”
“Evil may so shape events that Caesar will occupy a palace and Christ a cross, but that same Christ will rise up and splithistory into A.D. and B.C. so that even the life of Caesar must be dated by his name. Yes, the moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice”
Sunday Jan 12, 2025
Sunday Jan 12, 2025
On Sunday, January 12, we were visited by some very special guests from the local Bahá'í community—led by Nahid Rohani—who shared various elements of their faith tradition through story, readings, and song.
Monday Jan 06, 2025
Monday Jan 06, 2025
Check out our first message of 2025 as we explore the idea of "rebooting" our relationship to technology, information, one-another, and ultimately, ourselves.
Quotes:
Sherry Turkle:
“We are being overwhelmed with information, but our capacity for empathy, reflection, and human connection isn’t growing to match."
Eckhart Tolle:
“The human mind is a wonderful servant but a terrible master. The internet amplifies this truth —it distracts us unless we remain conscious.”
Robin Dunbar:
“The limit imposed by the Dunbar number is not about technology or physical space; it’s about the wiring of our brains. Our capacity for meaningful social relationships is bounded by our biology.”
Jaron Lanier:
“Social media amplifies the worst in us because outrage is its most profitable emotion. The algorithms don’t care about truth; they care about engagement.”
Tristan Harris:
“Outrage spreads six times faster than joy on social media. It’s not because people are angrier than ever; it’s because the systems are designed to reward it.”
James Baldwin:
“You cannot fix everything that is wrong in a society by screaming at it. Outrage, without action or introspection, is merely performative anger.”
Brené Brown:
“Outrage culture uses shame as a weapon, but it doesn’t build connection or foster understanding. It creates walls, not bridges.”
Leo Tolstoy:
“Do not destroy what you cannot replace.”
Martin Luther King Jr.
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
Mahatma Gandhi:
“Speak only if it improves upon the silence.”
Alan Watts:
“Technology extends our reach but cannot replace the joy of living simply, fully, and presently.”
Friday Dec 27, 2024
Friday Dec 27, 2024
Check out Aldea's 2024 Christmas Eve message, as we explore the birth of Christ as a symbol of light shining amidst the darkness!
Quotes:
Jan Richardson:
“Advent, Christmas, Hanukkah, and solstice all remind us that light shines brightest in the darkest moments. These holidays call us to hold space for the impossible made real.”
Edith Wharton:
“There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.”
Richard Rohr:
“Christmas is not about a single birth in history, but about the ongoing birth of love and light within us and through us into the world.”
Barbara Brown Taylor:
“Every time we allow our hearts to soften and our hands to serve, Christ is born anew. The manger is within us, waiting to hold the sacred.”
Marcus Borg:
“Christmas is about incarnation—not as a distant memory, but as a present reality. Christ is born again each time we embody love and kindness.”
Sunday Dec 22, 2024
Sunday Dec 22, 2024
For the finale of our "December Lights" series, we explored the themes at the intersection of advent & the winter solstice. How do we thrive in life's liminal spaces, such as waiting for the arrival of light & hope?
Quotes:
Pádraig Ó Tuama:
“Advent reminds us that waiting is not passive but full of potential, a time to prepare our hearts for the world we long to see.”
Rev. Sara Miles:
“Advent is not about a sentimental waiting for the Baby Jesus, but about the call to live into the world as it is being remade in love.”
Rachel Held Evans:
“To practice Advent is to lean into an unfulfilled promise, to embrace the tension between what is and what could be, and to open ourselves to the possibility of transformation.”
Walter Brueggemann:
“The beauty of Advent lies in its insistence that what we wait for is already breaking through. We live in the ‘not yet,’ but we are sustained by glimpses of the ‘already.’”
Reverend Holly Whitcomb:
“The waiting of Advent teaches us to live in increments, in small pieces rather than large chunks. Waiting also teaches us to measure our progress slowly.”
Richard Rohr:
“Advent is not about waiting for a perfect future, but about discovering the sacred in the imperfections of the present.”
Sunday Dec 15, 2024
Sunday Dec 15, 2024
For the third installment of our "December Lights" series, we re-examined the story of the Magi—commonly known as the "Wise Men"—and how the deeper context of their tale illustrates a unique spiritual truth about following the nudges of our soul.
Quotes:
Matthew 2:1-12:
"After Jesus was born in Bethlehem village—a band of scholars (magi or seers) arrived in Jerusalem from the East. They asked around, “Where can we find and pay homage to the newborn King of the Jews? We observed a star in the eastern sky that signaled his birth. We’re on pilgrimage to worship him.” When word of their inquiry got to Herod, he was terrified... (He) arranged a secret meeting with the scholars from the East. Pretending to be as devout as they were, he got them to tell him exactly when the birth-announcement star appeared. (He) said, “Go find this child. Leave no stone unturned. As soon as you find him, send word and I’ll join you at once in your worship.” Instructed by the king, they set off. Then the star appeared again, the same star they had seen in the eastern skies. It led them on until it hovered over the place of the child. They could hardly contain themselves: They were in the right place! They had arrived at the right time! They entered the house and saw the child in the arms of Mary, his mother. Overcome, they kneeled and worshiped him. Then they opened their luggage and presented gifts: gold, frankincense, myrrh. In a dream, they were warned not to report back to Herod. So they worked out another route, left the territory without being seen, and returned to their own country."
Craig S. Keener:
“The Magi were astrologers, likely from Babylon or Persia, where astrology was a developed science. Their interpretation of the star as heralding a Jewish king fits with the popular association of celestial events with royal births.”
Deepak Chopra:
“Listen to the whispers of your soul. Trust them as you would trust the map of a navigator.”
Matthew Fox: “The Magi teach us that truth and wisdom are not confined to one tradition. Their journey celebrates the sacredness of seeking and the holiness of encounters acrossboundaries. It is a story of trust in the mystery that transcends cultural and religious differences.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson:
“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
Rumi:
“As you start to walk on the way, the way appears.”
Sri Aurobindo:
“Faith is the soul’s witness to something not yet manifested but felt as real, a hidden reality awaiting birth.”