SUNDAY LECTURE | The Wisdom of Discomfort

ORDINARY LIFE - Thoughts and Ideas to Help You Live a Happier Life

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Summary of Ordinary Life for January 14, 2024

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Dear Ones -

This week I invited Dr. Holly Hudley to dialogue with me about the new theme I’m introducing for this year -

Living in the Sacred Stream

In order for the stream to maintain its identity, it must keep moving. You can’t put the stream in a bucket and take it home. This reality is discomforting to some. A fact is, however, that all good teaching is disruptive. Every single items that gives us comfort and pleasure is the result of someone at some point being uncomfortable with the way things were. An additional discomfort comes with the awareness that we do this spiritual work with no idea of getting something out of it. However, if we do get into the stream with such a mindset, the payoff is tremendous.

We called the time -

The Wisdom of Discomfort

That’s a brief summary of this week’s time in Ordinary Life.

Our podcast, “In Between,” can be accessed through the Ordinary Life web site.

If you would like to know how to make a contribution to Ordinary Life, click here for video instructions.

Be well and much love,

Bill Kerley

In order to read or download the text of the talk, click here.

In order to view or download the presentation slides, click here.

In order to view or download the announcement slides, click here.

To listen to download today’s talk, use the audio player below.

SUNDAY LECTURE | Moving Into the Stream

ORDINARY LIFE - Thoughts and Ideas to Help You Live a Happier Life

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Summary of Ordinary Life for January 7, 2024

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Dear Ones -

This week in Ordinary Life I introduced the theme I intend to pursue this year -

“Living in the Sacred Stream”

I mention, among many other sources, the book by Kathleen Singh, “Unbinding,” that led me to this emphasis. Living in the Sacred Stream involves at least three things-the cosmic stream of “what is,”
the stream within, mostly unconscious, that connects us to each other,
the stream that is the source of the teachings of our tradition. For us this involves dealing with the person and teachings of Jesus.

You can see the numerous sources I mentioned by either reading the text or viewing the presentation slides. I ended the time by showing an illusion of a box that contained a box that became a container for the box that was within it. (You have to see the video to understand that.) I called the time -

Moving Into the Stream

That’s a brief summary of this week’s time in Ordinary Life.

The audio version of the talk has some differences from the text I spoke from. You can find the text of the talk, the presentation slides and the audio version of the talk using the links below.

Our podcast, “In Between,” can be accessed through the Ordinary Life web site.

If you would like to know how to make a contribution to Ordinary Life, click here for video instructions.

Be well and much love,

Bill Kerley

To read or download the text of the talk, click here.

In order to view or download the presentation slides, click here.

In order to view or download the announcement slides, click here.

To listen to or download today’s talk, use the audio player below.

To watch the video of today’s talk, use the YouTube link below.

WEEKLY PODCAST | In Between.150

Happy New Year! A new theme is emerging in Ordinary Life that we talk about in today’s podcast. You know how when you think of a thing it begins to show up everywhere in all kinds of contexts? This is what has happened with the theme of water/streams/rivers/oceans. They are everywhere.

Hafiz wonders what the river calls itself “in that blessed moment when it starts emptying into the Infinite Lumionus Sea?” This is part of what we will explore this year. Being in the streams of life, holding fast while letting go, being terrified but unafraid, being still while in motion…the water stills us and dizzies us, but as an archetype, invites us into a deeper knowing. It invites us to wonder what we might call ourselves as we are transformed, as we flow into the luminous sea of the self.

Stick with us as we wade through the waters!

WEEKLY PODCAST | In Between.149

This is the last podcast of the year. It’s just before Christmas, just before the incarnation, just before the new year…and we both feel attentive to presence. These are the last days before Mary gave birth; I imagine she is feeling heavy, restless, maybe quiet, scared, and anticipatory all at once. She knows, at the very least, something is about to change. But the magic might be in hyper presence to her body, to the changes she is experiencing, and it is an invitation for us to do the very same. And then there is the invitation to get present to the messiness of being born and having a body. What is it like for you to be attentive to your body? Is it natural or uncomfortable? Exciting or terrifying? As we sign off for the year, remember that the work of Christmas extends far beyond the birth and into the process of being alive, present, and attentive to radical love.

So, in 2024, we will commit to talking and teaching about presence through the life and teachings of Jesus and other prophetic voices.