Dear Folks -

In order to hear spiritual truths accurately we need to be able to hear them with what is called "the non-dual mind." In this Ordinary Life talk I describe the developmental stages from dualistic thinking to non-dual thinking. I call the transition from one way of believing and behaving to another "growing up." Sadly, our world is filled with people who don't grow up. They simply grow old and rigid.

Much love,
Bill Kerley

Click here to Download text 20090503.pdf

Click here to Download audio 20090503.mp3

Dear Folks -

I called the Ordinary Life Talk I gave this week "Living in a Bubble." It was my way of expressing gratitude to St. Paul's for providing a place for the Ordinary Life Gathering to meet. We can come to think that all churches are like St. Paul's and this isn't so. We live in a bubble at St. Paul's. It is a wonderful bubble but a bubble nonetheless. It is odd but true that honest Jesus scholarship is not welcome in many churches and this is a violation of the very morality teachings of Jesus we are seeking to explore. In this talk I give a couple of examples of narrow-minded rigidity still at work in our time.

Much love,

Bill Kerley

Click horo to Download text 20090426.pdf

Click here to Download audio 20090426.mp3

Dear Folks -

If you have an opportunity to see a movie called "As It Is In Heaven," 
do so. It is one of the best movies I've ever seen. It is about how 
people affect one another in such a way to experience open hearts. 
Currently in the Houston area it is playing at the Angelika Theater 
downtown.

This week I took a break in the current series in Ordinary Life to 
talk about what it means to have and fulfill the "moral obligation to 
be happy." What is happiness and how do we experience it? Near the end 
of the talk I offer what I think is the absolute and guaranteed secret 
to happiness.

Much love,

Bill Kerley

Click here to Download text 20090419.pdf

Click here to Download audio 20090419.mp3

Dear Folks -

Last year I was stunned by the establishment of an endowment in my name. I can't think of a greater honor or way to be acknowledged and appreciated. One of the leaders behind the establishment of this endowment has asked that I included information about the endowment in the summaries and previews that go out to the Ordinary Life list-serve. This, he said, would be information for "distant learners. I'm including the words he suggested here. In future summaries and previews they will be at the end of the e-mail:

The Ordinary Life Class established the Kerley Endowment in appreciation of the lessons of their teacher, Dr. Bill Kerley.  For information on how you can support that endowment, visit the Ordinary Life web site at

http://www.ordinarylife.org/ol_weblog/money-matters.html.

The essence of the morality teaching I talked about this week is that we are to be very careful of the words we use and take in and that we make sure we not involve ourselves in deceptive speech or falsehoods. Of course, such misuse of language abounds in our culture. Our loyalty is not to be to the values set by our culture but to justice, compassion and love. The full text I used from which to speak follows. As usual you can find an audio version (though the audio version will not be posted for a couple of weeks).

I will remind you now and again in a preview later in the week that this coming Sunday, Ordinary Life will not meet. Easter services will be held at St. Paul's at 8, 9:30 and 11.

Much love,

Bill Kerley

Click here to Download text 20090405.pdf

Click here to Download audio 20090405.mp3