Aldea Spiritual Community

(Re)imagining God | Jake Haber

What are we talking about when we talk about "God"? Is there a way of understanding that word that goes beyond our commonly held images and concepts? 
 
Quotes: 
 
Barry Taylor:
"God is the name of the blanket we throw over mystery to give it shape."
 
Rob Bell:
“Whatever we say about God always rests within the larger reality of what we can’t say; meaning always resides within a larger mystery; knowing always takes place within unknowing; whatever has been revealed to us surrounded by that which hasn’t been revealed to us.”
 
Ken Wilber: 
“Every holon is not only a whole, it is also a part. And as a part, it has value for others—it is part of a whole upon which other holons depend for their existence”
 
Thomas Stark: 
“It's time to think anew about the nature of the universe. This is a thinking universe, a self-solving cosmic organism, and we are all nodes, or cells, in this organism, providing our part of the collective answer.”
 
Paul Selig: 
“The denial of the divine is the only real problem that we face."
 
Meister Eckhart: 
"The eye through which I see God is the same eye through which God sees me; my eye and God's eye are one eye, one seeing, one knowing, one love."
 
Richard Rohr: 
“We do not think ourselves into new ways of living, we live ourselves into new ways of thinking.”
 
Rabbi Adina Allen:
“We should each hold two slips of paper in our pockets, a well-known saying in Jewish tradition goes. On one should be written, “The world was created for me,” on the other, “I am but dust and ashes.”
 
Alan Watts:
“Through our eyes, the universe is perceiving itself. Through our ears, the universe is listening to its harmonies. We are the witnesses through which the universe becomes conscious of its glory, of its magnificence.”
 
Discussion Questions:
What does the word "god" mean to you? 
What images of "god" have you let go of? Which have you held onto? 
 
 
 
 
 

(Re)designing Church | Jake Haber

What would it look like to re-design church? What does that word even mean? Join us for a crowd-sourced conversation as we discover what people are looking for in a spiritual community. 
 
Quotes: 
Robert A. Johnson:
“The wonder of the story is that the water is always flowing somewhere and is available to any intelligent person who has the courage to search out the living water in its current form”
 
Rob Bell:
“Churches and religious communities and organizations can claim to speak for God while at the same time actually being behind the movement of God that is continuing forward in the culture around them without their participation"
 
Black Elk: 
"The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the Souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize at the center of the universe dwells the Great Spirit, and that its center is really everywhere, it is within each of us"
 
Jeremiah 23: 23
"I am a God who is everywhere and not in one place only"
 
Acts 7:48 
"However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands"
 
Richard Rohr:
"How you do anything is how you do everything"
 
Discussion Questions:
Do you disagree with any of the redesigns? Any suggestions? 
What steps can you take toward redesigning your life?
 

(Re)constructing Religion | Jake Haber

Is religion "totaled" or is there something worth salvaging? Where would we start? Join us as we dive into our (Re) series with Part 1: (Re)constructing Religion.
 
Quotes: 
Pete Holmes:
“I could have called the book, "Saving Baby Jesus From the Bath Water," It's about saving the core message of all spirituality from the bath water. Let's get rid of the bath water. Let's get rid of the shame, the judgment, the feeling that you're unworthy.”
 
Sarah F. Hoyt (1912):
“Roman Philosophical Poet Lucretius (96-55 BC)….considered ligare - to bind - to be the root of religio...the Century Dictionary, though referring to the uncertain origin of religio, cites the English ligament as perhaps allied”
 
Dalai Lama:
"This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness."
 
Epictetus: 
"All religions must be tolerated... for every(one) must get to heaven in (their) own way."
 
Pew: 
“A new survey by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life, conducted jointly with the PBS television program Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly, finds that many of the country’s 46 million unaffiliated adults are religious or spiritual in some way. Two-thirds of them say they believe in God (68%). More than half say they often feel a deep connection with nature and the earth (58%), while more than a third classify themselves as “spiritual” but not “religious” (37%), and one-in-five (21%) say they pray every day. In addition, most religiously unaffiliated Americans think that churches and other religious institutions benefit society by strengthening community bonds and aiding the poor.”
 
Albert Einstein: 
"True religion is real living; living with all one's soul, with all one's goodness and righteousness."
 
Discussion:
What “babies" do you want to rescue from the “bathwater” of religion?
Are we done with the word“religion” or should we try to reclaim it? Why?

The Gift of RAIN | Kathleen Roberts

Check out Kathleen's talk on mindfulness & meditation as we dive into the "RAIN" method, and even try it out for ourselves! 
 
Quotes: 
Jon Kabat-Zinn: 
“The core invitation of mindfulness is for you to befriend yourself.”  
 “Mindfulness is essentially a universal approach toward suffering, especially suffering caused by our all-too-human tendency to be caught up in unhealthy mindsets as well as, often, circumstances much larger than we are which sometimes make it difficult to be fully at home in our own bodies and our own lives.”
 “Whatever it is for each of us that prevents us from recognizing and embodying our own beauty and belonging in the face of “the full catastrophe” of the human condition, mindfulness as both a formal meditation practice and as a way of being rapidly makes it evident that awareness itself is already free, both liberated and liberating from such automatic and usually unrecognized habits of mind.”
 
Rumi: 
“Don't turn away. 
Keep your gaze on the bandaged place. 
That's where the light enters you.”
 
Bapuji:
“My child, break your heart no longer.
Each time you judge yourself, you break your own heart.
You stop feeding on the love which is the wellspring of your vitality.
The time has come – your time to live, to celebrate and see the goodness that you are.
Let no one, no thing, no idea or ideal obstruct you.
If one comes, even in the name of truth, forgive it for its unknowing.
Do not fight – let go and breathe into the goodness that you are.”
 
Discussion Questions:
Did the RAIN meditation bring up anything for you? 
What are some ways that we can have self-compassion in daily life? 

The Path of Paradox | Jake Haber

Tune in to our conversation about paradoxes, navigating complex emotions, the difference between orthodox & paradox, and experiencing a spirituality beyond certainty. 
Quotes: 
Roger Penrose:
"If something seems to be a paradox, it has something deeper, something worth exploring."
Kahlil Gibran:
"Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding"
Carl Jung: 
“Only the paradox comes anywhere near to comprehending the fullness of life.” 
Peter Rollins: 
“We must question the difference between the heresy of orthodoxy, in which we dogmatically claim to have the truth, and orthodox heresy, in which we humbly admit that we are in the dark but still endeavor to live in the way of Christ as best we can.”
Brene Brown: 
“The mark of a wild heart is living out the paradox of love in our lives. It's the ability to be tough and tender, excited and scared, brave and afraid -- all in the same moment. It's showing up in our vulnerability and our courage, being both fierce and kind.” 
 
Discussion Questions:
Where in your life have you moved from orthodox to paradox?
What kinds of questions can be answered with “Both/And”

The Infinite Game | Jake Haber

Check out Jake's talk on the Infinite Game - a concept from James P. Carse and popularized by Simon Sinek - which gives us a framework to evaluate our own approach towards life. We explore everything from relationships & careers to the environment & class inequality. 
Quotes: 
Rob Bell:
“We’re all endlessly figuring it out because Spirit keeps doing something new. We can fight this, resist this, dig in our heels, wish things were the way they used to be, or we can embrace it. We can choose to see it with fear and frustration, or we can see it as thrilling and invigorating."
James P. Carse:
"There are at least two kinds of games. One could be called finite, the other, infinite. A finite game is played for the purpose of winning, an infinite game for the purpose of continuing the play." 
"The finite play for life is serious; the infinite play of life is joyous."
Tao Te Ching V. 38:
"The Master concerns themself with the depths and not the surface, with the fruit and not the flower… They dwell in reality, and let all illusions go."
Simon Sinek: 
“An infinite mindset embraces abundance whereas a finite mindset operates with a scarcity mentality. In the Infinite Game we accept that “being the best” is a fool’s errand and that multiple players can do well at the same time.” ....“To ask, “What’s best for me” is finite thinking. To ask, “What’s best for us” is infinite thinking.” 
Richard Rohr: 
“Love, which might be called the attraction of all things toward all things, is a universal language and underlying energy that keeps showing itself despite our best efforts to resist it. It is so simple that it is hard to teach in words, yet we all know it when we see it. After all, there is not a Native, Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, Islamic, or Christian way of loving. There is not a Methodist, Lutheran, or Orthodox way of running a soup kitchen. There is not a gay or straight way of being faithful, nor a Black or Caucasian way of hoping. We all know positive flow when we see it, and we all know resistance and coldness when we feel it. All the rest are mere labels.”
James P. Carse: 
"There is but one infinite game"
Discussion Questions:
What are some “rules of life” that you have played by, consciously or unconsciously?
If you are the “Perpetual Stew”, what are some ingredients that have been removed or added?
 

30 | Jake Haber

In this message, Jake shares about his disastrous 30th birthday that ended up teaching him three valuable spiritual lessons! 
 
Quotes: 
Tao Te Ching: 
34 The great Tao is like a flood It can flow to the left or to the right
78  Nothing in the world is as soft and yielding as water. Yet for dissolving the hard and inflexible, nothing can surpass it.
John O' Donohue:
“I would love to live like a river flows, carried by the surprise of its own unfolding.”
Proverbs 16:9:
"People do their best making plans for their lives, but the Eternal guides each step”
Luke 29:25-37:
“There was once a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. On the way he was attacked by robbers. They took his clothes, beat him up, and went off leaving him half-dead. Luckily, a priest was on his way down the same road, but when he saw him he angled across to the other side. Then a Levite religious man showed up; he also avoided the injured man. “A Samaritan traveling the road came on him. When he saw the man’s condition, his heart went out to him. He gave him first aid, disinfecting and bandaging his wounds. Then he lifted him onto his donkey, led him to an inn, and made him comfortable. In the morning he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take good care of him. If it costs any more, put it on my bill—I’ll pay you on my way back.’“What do you think? Which of the three became a neighbor to the man attacked by robbers?”“The one who treated him kindly,” the religious scholar responded. Jesus said, “Go and do the same.”
Jon Kabat-Zinn:
“Catastrophe here does not mean disaster. Rather, it means the poignant enormity of our life experience. It includes crisis and disaster, the unthinkable and the unacceptable, but it also includes all the little things that go wrong and that add up. The phrase reminds us that life is always in flux, that everything we think is permanent is actually only temporary and constantly changing. This includes our ideas, our opinions, our relationships, our jobs, our possessions, our creations, our bodies, everything.” 
“Life only unfolds in moments. The healing power of mindfulness lies in living each of those moments as fully as we can, accepting it as it is as we open to what comes next—in the next moment of now”
Discussion Questions:
What is a lesson you learned from a plan gone wrong?
What is a “strawberry” in your life?
 

Special Guest Speaker | Kevin Skinner

Hear from the founder of Aldea, Kevin Skinner, as he shares how to incorporate the Hero's Journey into our workplaces and personal lives.

The Journey & Heroes of Aldea | Jean Gage

Join us as Jean Gage walks us through the "Hero's Journey" that Aldea has been on over the last 25 years! 
 
Quotes: 
 
Paulo Coelho:
When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not yet ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back.  
 
Will Craig: 
When the hero is ready, the mentor appears.
 
Aldea's Application for Tax Exemption: 
Aldea is a progressive Christian church and we recognize that there are many ways to be Christian, and there are all kinds of churches for all kinds of people. At aldea, we affirm this truth. We also celebrate that we are progressive in our approach to faith. So the question is: What does it mean to be progressive? Here are a few things it means to us: We are passionate about living our lives in the way of Jesus, and we hold love as life’s highest value. As progressive Christians, we affirm that how we live out our faith in daily life is more important than the specific beliefs we hold. We seek to live as Jesus lived. We find beauty in his way of life. Central to that way of life is love. Jesus once summarized his way using these words: Love God with all your heart; love your neighbor as yourself. Love God; love people. Love. Period.
 
We take the Bible seriously, but we don’t always take it literally. Our reading of the Bible is most often characterized by a historical and metaphorical approach. We appreciate that the Bible tells the story of our tradition, it’s the history of our faith. It was written by people struggling to make sense of God and spiritual matters. It reflects their thinking and the evolution of that thinking from generation to generation. We also read the Bible metaphorically. Rather than taking the stories of Scripture as always factual and always literal, we appreciate the power of metaphor. From the opening words of Genesis, to the final words of Revelation, we read Scripture seeking to find meaning for the present day. We are deeply rooted in the Christian faith, but we appreciate the wisdom of other traditions. Too often, faith communities make exclusive claims on God and spiritual Truth. At aldea, we make no such claims. We practice our faith with passion but also with humility. We appreciate the wisdom of our tradition, but we also celebrate that other people and other traditions can speak into our lives. We believe that appreciating the wisdom of other faiths can actually enrich our own Christianity. Because of this approach, we look for opportunities to create dialog with others. In this way, we seek to be “evangelized” rather than evangelizing others. Even within aldea, we do not all believe exactly the same way; these internal differences are also enriching. 
 
Discussion Questions: 
 
What does Aldea mean to you?  Do you have a story about Aldea you would like to share?
 
What ideas do you have for Aldea to become sustainable?
 

The Hero’s Journey (Part 3): Becoming The Guide | Jake Haber

Tune in for Part 3 of our Hero's Journey series as we look at what some consider to be the most important step - becoming the guide for other heroes. 
 
Quotes: 
Donald Miller: 
“In a way this book has been deceptive. It has taught you to become a hero on a mission even though the hero is not the most evolved role. The most aspirational role for any of us is the role of guide. So why spend so much time teaching people to live as heroes when the goal of life is to become the guide? The reason is, of course, that we cannot become guides unless we have lived as heroes on a mission” 
 
Donald Miller:
"The world, to a guide, is larger than themselves and their personal story. Guides care……As we surface guide energy, helping others win, we find a deeper and deeper experience of meaning. It is in us all to become guides"
 
Sacred Circle Project:
"Not all older or elderly people are considered elders. An elder is a person that has accumulated a great deal of wisdom and knowledge throughout his or her lifetime, especially in the tradition and customs of the group"
 
Bhagavad Gita - Ch. 18 V. 47 (paraphrase)
"It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly then to live an imitation of somebody else's life with perfection.”
 
Kahlil Gibran: 
“The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of  wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind.”
 
Discussion Questions: 
1. Who has been a “guide” in your life? What impact did they have? 
2. Where in your life can you transition from being a “hero” to being a “guide”?