Aldea Spiritual Community

The Importance of Small Things | Michelle Curcio

Small gestures of kindness—whether a smile, a kind word, or a simple act of generosity—carry more significance than we often realize. While major events and grand actions get attention, the quiet, everyday moments of care and compassion shape lives in lasting ways.
 
In Michelle's talk, she reminds us that many spiritual traditions emphasize the power of small acts, recognizing that their impact extends beyond what we can immediately see. However, people often hesitate to act due to distractions, self-doubt, or the belief that their efforts are insignificant. Psychological studies reveal that even minor acts of goodness create ripple effects, influencing others in ways we may never fully understand. By focusing on what we can do in our sphere of influence—helping where possible, doing things with care, and fostering relationships—we contribute to a larger movement of kindness. The world is changed not just through massive efforts, but through the accumulation of countless small actions done with love and intention.
 
Quotes:
 
Matthew 25:40:
 “Whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for me.”
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ:
 “Do not belittle any good deed, even meeting your brother with a cheerful face.”
Desmond Tutu:
 “Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”
Mother Teresa:
“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”
Galatians 6:9:
“Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Charles L. Allen:
 “When you say a situation or person is hopeless, you are slamming the door in the face of God.”
 Richard Rohr:
 “How you do anything is how you do everything.”
Dalai Lama:
 “If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.”

The Future of Faith | Doug Hammack & Jake Haber

Check out this interview with Doug Hammack, the founder of a progressive spiritual community in Raleigh, North Carolina called Common Thread Church. In this wide ranging conversation, Doug and Jake explore the possibilities of the future of faith, why our current religious institutions are failing, and how to create healing amidst the political divide.

Question & Response | Devin Wright & Jake Haber

On Sunday, we hosted special guest Pastor Devin Wright of Missiongathering Bellevue, and he and Jake tackled your big questions about faith, spirituality, and navigating the complexities of today’s world. From deconstructing religion to understanding Christian nationalism, from engaging activism to supporting loved ones on different spiritual paths—we dove deep into the topics that matter.
 
Listen now for an open, honest, and thought-provoking conversation!

Holy Shift! (Part 5): Circles of Care | Jake Haber

In this powerful conclusion to the Holy Shift! series, we explore paradigm-shifting ways of seeing ourselves and the world, culminating in a profound reflection on love and belonging. Over four weeks, we’ve examined the Stages of Faith, Religious Renewal, and Spiral Dynamics, tracing the expansion of our capacity for care—from self-care to planetary and universal care.
 
At its core, love—or care—is the through-line of our lives, shaping our sense of belonging and our connection to the world. We begin with the fundamental need for self-care and expand outward: relational love, tribal/community care, world care, planetary care, and universal care. Each stage builds on the last, mirroring humanity’s evolution of consciousness.
 
But love isn’t always easy. We confront the failures of love, the struggles of embracing those who challenge us, and the tension between instinctual survival and radical compassion. Ultimately, this is a blueprint for spiritual growth—an invitation to break beyond conditional care and step into the interconnection of all life.
 
As we navigate a time of global transition, may we recognize that discomfort is the threshold to transformation. This is our collective rite of passage, a moment of expansion amidst contraction. Love will always find its way—our task is to align ourselves with the flow of reality and embrace the holy shifts that call us forward.
 
Quotes: 
 
Carol Gilligan: “The progression in the development of the ethics of care is marked by a shift in the focus of responsibility: from caring for the self (preconventional), to caring for others at the expense of the self (conventional), and finally to a balanced responsibility that integrates care for both self and others (postconventional).”
• Richard Rohr: “The moment we make God a tribal deity, we have made an idol. The divine is not contained within borders, flags, or a single nation’s cause.”
• Martin Luther King Jr.: “An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.”
• Metta Sutta: “As a mother would protect her only child with her life, even so let one cultivate a boundless love toward all beings.”
• Albert Schweitzer: “Until he extends the circle of his compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace.”
Groucho Marx: “I don’t want to belong to any club that would accept me as a member.”
• Albert Einstein: “I love humanity, but I loathe people.”
Dan Millman: “Every positive change–every jump to a higher level of energy and awareness–involves a rite of passage. Each time to ascend to a higher rung on the ladder of personal evolution, we must go through a period of discomfort, of initiation. I have never found an exception.”
• Abraham Maslow: “At any moment, you have a choice: to step forward into growth or to step back into safety.”
• Thich Nhat Hanh: “Because you are alive, everything is possible. The entire cosmos has come together to make your existence possible. You are not a separate entity; you are the universe itself.”
 
This series has been about expanding our circles of care, deepening our capacity for love, and embracing the evolutionary call toward greater consciousness. The journey of growth is never easy, but every holy shift is a step toward a world where love leads the way.

Holy Shift! (Part 4): Spiral Dynamics 2.0 | Jake Haber

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.”

Holy Shift! (Part 3): Spiral Dynamics 1.0 | Jake Haber

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.”

Holy Shift! (Part 2): Stages of Religious Renewal | Jake Haber

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.”

Holy Shift! (Part 1): Stages of Faith | Jake Haber

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…”

Building the Beloved Community (MLK Sunday) | Tarell Lewis & Jake Haber

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” 

Interfaith Sunday: Bahá'í | Nahid Rohani

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.