Discussion Facilitator: Bruce Cantwell. December 14, 2019.
When I update the hosts for the month on Meetup, I have to go in and "edit event."
While I was scrolling past the event description, I came across the phrase, "We are a spiritual circle within Leaven Community."
What Makes this Meetup a "Spiritual" Circle?
It’s true that we sit in a circle for discussions.
The description also says that we explore Buddhist concepts from a variety of sources, but I like the opening of Noah Rasheta's Secular Buddhism podcast: "Keep in mind, you don't need to use what you learn from Buddhism to be a Buddhist. You can use it to learn to be a better whatever you already are."
So, that part may be secular.
Jocelyn posted, "Sitting and breathing together is such a powerful form of practice - I'm still kind of taken by surprise with it (on those occasions when I make it in time for the actual group meditation!) When I think about being part of a spiritual circle, it brings up an expansive, connected feeling. I experience myself in relationship to the others in the group and our larger world.”
Francis posted, "I’m continually surprised to find and explore how layers of personal experience are present with the people in our lives, and that we’re all sharing and reflecting ourselves with each other even when we can’t find the words to people.
“It’s also fascinating to explore how an entire culture extends through our lives in unique ways; several months ago I had the strange privilege to experience this directly leading to some pretty intriguing insights and the Netflix series Sense8, essentially non-duality the show with a little too much drama, but here’s a relevant video to connect it with this theme: https://youtu.be/HMH4VFY6cFk .
“I recently picked up the latest muse brain sensing headband featured in that video and getting ready to explore meditation and experience in possibly slightly new and different ways and contexts than I'm familiar with; here’s a review of the device if curious: https://youtu.be/6P_DO3gqpF0 .”
Since our event format has some similarities to Quaker practice, I thought I’d check in to see what some Quakers had to share.
Settling (our meditation): "Meeting the mystery without the distraction of words or the trappings of entertainment."
Expectant listening (our discussion). This is a continuation of silence, occasionally interrupted by someone speaking. "You have to listen to the way that God is speaking through other people, and you may not like it."
Community Engagement. "Gives me the chance to play my spiritual instrument with my friends.