Dear Folks -

This week in Ordinary Life we had the "Joyful Noise Singers" - a
group of precious 3 & 4 year-old children directed by Anna Teagarden
sing for us. What a wonderful experience. Our hope is to provide some
photos of this group on the Ordinary Life web site.

Then we heard from Nataly Negrete who directs the Rutabaga
Territory After School Program. She gave us an update on what is
going on with this program. Ordinary Life makes a significant ongoing
contribution to this vital program for "latch key" children who live
in the neighborhood surrounding St. Paul's.

Then I had just enough time to introduce the concept of how the
stories we are told and tell ourselves shape us. What remarks about
this I made can be found below.

Much love,

Bill Kerley

Download 20071028.pdf

Download 20071028.mp3

Dear Folks -

Usually when people make eye-contact with each other they are
connecting subject-to-subject. Our culture encourages us to connect
subject-to-object. The results of this are disastrous. If, however,
we are to make authentic connections with each other, we must first
make them with ourselves. I call this making I-Contact and that is
what this life-talk is about. How do we move from the ego (or false
self) toward the Self (or True Self)?

One of the things that gets in the way of our connected with
either the Sacred or the Self, at least in the Christian religion, is
the notion that "Jesus died for my sins." I talk about how this
understanding of the death of Jesus came into being. Then some
practical steps on what I-contact and eye-contact involve.

Much love,

Bill Kerley

Download 20071021.pdf

Download 20071021.mp3

Dear Folks -

In this Ordinary Life talk I conclude the remarks I want to make
about how the United States today is very like the Roman Empire of
old. This is an important thing to know about. For one thing, it
helps us understand the early Christian message better. Our culture
is very off balance. This is why we need to "return to the center."

What would our lives and this world be like if the Sacred truly where
in charge? And, what are some practical things we can do to make this
real? These, and other matters, are addressed in this life talk about
living a meaningful life.

Much love,

Bill Kerley

Download 20071014.pdf

Download 20071014.mp3

Dear Folks –

This week's life talk in Ordinary Life is about identity and
loyalty. Who are we? How are we to behave – both as individuals and
as a people.

Sometimes we have errors in the way that we think that keep us
from seeing "what is." Some of these are being seduced by power,
fear, cultural bias, consumerism and speed.

Authentic life and living are to be found when we learn to be
"in" the various worlds in which we live without either gaining or
losing our identity to them. If misguided loyalty causes us to lose
sight of who we really are, it is "blind loyalty." It causes it to
have "false identity."

The empire-like culture in which we live causes us frequently to
confuse the love of power for the power of love.

Much love,

Bill Kerley

Download 20071007.pdf

Unfortunately, no audio available this week.