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.

SUNDAY LECTURE | Tidings of Comfort and Joy

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

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Summary of Ordinary Life for December 17, 2023

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Dear Ones -

This was one of those times when “you had to be there” to experience our time in Ordinary Life this week. I began by keeping a promise I made at the Christmas party to do “something magical.” Thanks to Arlene Wells for her assistance. When the video is posted, maybe you will be able to see it. Then, thanks to Susan Peterson who loaned me the book, I read and showed some of the images from a most delightful book, “Jesus’ Christmas Party.”

“Repetition is the mother of all learning” is, I believe, an old Greek saying. The truth is that in learning the core principles of any philosophy, repetition is inevitable. We learn and appreciate at our different levels of development and at the different eras of the history and culture in which we live. We hear the same stories and truths but, hopefully, at deeper and deeper levels. This is certainly true with Jesus and stories both told about him and stories that he told. I amplified on this and on a couple of key psychological realities we need to keep ever in mind. The class ends with Howard Thurman’s “the work of Christmas” and a wish for a Merry Christmas and peace on earth.

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

I called the time -

“Tidings of Comfort and Joy”

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

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

To watch the video of today’s talk, you can click on the YouTube video link below.

'Twas Two Weeks Before Christmas

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

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Summary of Ordinary Life for December 10, 2023

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Dear Ones -

I remind those of you in the Houston area that the Ordinary Life Christmas party is this Friday night. We gather at Anderson Fair at 6:30 p.m. Click here for details.

Most everyone in the Western World has heard or knows some version of the Christmas story. Whether they got what they know from “It’s a Charlie Brown Christmas” or from seeing a Christmas pageant presented at a Christmas Eve service, most people have been exposed to some version of the story. But, do we really know it? I asked Dr. Holly Hudley to co-teach with me this week and she set the stage for our time by sharing a delightful story about a conversation twins had in the womb before being born. I encouraged everyone to get and read the book by Crossan and Borge, “The First Christmas.” The birth stories are about the theology the child and not the biology of the mother. Holly invites us to use the characters in the story to sew how and where they reflect and touch on our own spiritual journey from darkness into light.

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

We called the time -

’Twas Two Weeks Before Christmas

The audio version of the talk has some differences from the text we 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

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 or download the audio recording of today’s talk, you can use the audio player below. There was a short video clip played at the conclusion of class today, but the audio did not record correctly.
Use this LINK to watch the video.