touchstones - Sedona Unitarian Universalist Fellowship

Touchstones
a monthly journal of
Unitarian Universalism
This journal is published monthly First
Universalist Church of Denver and is
supported by Unitarian Universalist congregations through annual subscriptions.
In all, the journal will explore 60 monthly
themes. This is in support of the UUA’s
Congregations & Beyond initiative and
the ongoing work of articulating a liberal
theology
Month
Theme
September
Vision
October
Creation
November
Covenant
December
God
January
Authority
February
Evil
March
Forgiveness
April
Freedom
May
Mercy
June
Compassion
July
Harmony
August
Sabbath
October 2014, Volume 4, Issue 2
Creation
Wisdom Story
Introduction to the Theme
Cooperation: A French Parable
Rev. Jeannie Shero
Creation is ever unfolding, and we
are woven into it in ways that our
minds often struggle mightily to understand. What does it truly mean to
be connected to the interdependent
web of existence? What is our role as
both part of creation and as co-creators
in the world?
There is a fundamental human tendency to question, to be curious, to
wonder, and wander, to hope for answers or at least some good clues.
Stephen Hawking, in A Brief History of
Time, wrote, “Ever since the dawn of
civilization, people have not been content to see events as unconnected and
inexplicable. They have craved an understanding of the underlying order in
the world. Today we still yearn to
know why we are here and where we
came from. Humanity’s deepest desire
for knowledge is justification enough
for our continuing quest. And our goal
is nothing less than a complete
description of the universe we live in.”
Each of us is unique, yet, we are all
still human. We are prone to wonder
how we came to be, and what might be
our individual or collective purpose.
Human history is rife with stories of
how people came to be, and for what
purposes. Story and myth are powerful ways to interact with what we do
know, and with all that we do not
know or understand. Imagination is
needed in the process of making meaning of our existence. It is also needed in
daily life, as we navigate the present
by Margaret Silf, adapted
(Continued on page 6)
One morning, the sun got up in a bad
mood. “I’m really tired of getting up
every morning and giving light to the
earth. I’m tired of ripening corn and
melting snow. What do human beings
ever do for me in return?”
The sun was still thinking all this
over, when the rain arrived. “Lady Rain,
you water the earth and make the
flowers grow. You turn the fields green,
and fill up rivers. What do human beings
ever do for you in return?”
Hearing this, the rain furrowed her
brow, broke out in a terrible noise and
fell headlong onto the earth. As she fell,
she pounded out these words: “Listen,
Mother Earth. You let humankind work
you, rip you open, scratch and scrape
you. What do human beings ever do for
you in return?”
The earth turned into its own furrows
and murmured to the grain of wheat,
“Hey, little
grain of wheat.
You let yourself
die so that
humankind can
eat bread. What
do human beings ever do for you in
return?”
And then the sun stopped shining.
The rain stopped falling.
The earth stopped holding the grain.
The grain stopped germinating.
And life disappeared from the earth.
Eventually, the sun became bored,
because there were no longer children
dancing in its warmth and light. The rain
(Continued on page 2)
nurture your spirit, help heal our world
Wisdom Story
(Continued from page 1)
Cooperation
became saddened at never seeing the
smile of a gardener in her garden.
The earth became weary at never hearing
the joyful steps of a laborer in her fields.
Together, they decided to have a
meeting with the creator. They said:
“Creator, everything is dying in this universe that you created to be so good and
fruitful. Give back life to the earth, we
beg you.”
Creator replied, “My friends, I have
given you everything you need to
support life on earth. Life cannot be born
except of you and between you. And life
will be born anew if each of you shares of
its nature with all creation for life is born
out of a sharing of life. And where
cooperation is refused, life cannot be.”
Wisdom for Life
What Song?
Rev. Victoria Safford
What if there were a universe, a
cosmos, that began in shining blackness, out of nothing, out of fire, out of a
single, silent breath, and into it came
billions and billions of stars, stars
beyond imagining, and near one of
them a world, a blue-green world so
beautiful that learned clergymen could
not even speak about it cogently, and
brilliant scientists in trying to describe
it began to sound like poets, with their
physics, with their mathematics, their
empirical, impressionistic musing?
Source: adapted from One Hundred Wisdom Stories from Around the World by Margaret Silf
Contemplations
Contemplations allows you to explore a
reading and life in a deeper way.
Morning Practice
Quiet your Mind: Sit in a comfortable
place and take a few breaths to quiet
your mind and focus your attention.
Engage the Reading: Engage the text
by reading it silently and aloud several
times. Allow the words and their meaning to settle within you.
Contemplate: Consider the reading
and your response. You may want to
write down your responses. Are there
certain words or phrases that especially
catch your attention, words that comfort
or unsettle? Why? How could the reading, its meaning and wisdom, inform
your actions on this day?
Act: Allow the wisdom that resonates
in you through your contemplation of
the reading to inform how you act. What
does this wisdom mean for you life?
What does it mean for this day?
Evening Practice
Discussion Questions:
1. When, in your own life, have you felt
like the sun or grain, wondering
whether anyone appreciates your contributions to life, family, or friendship?
2. Have you ever withheld your presence, perspective, or affection because
you thought it was not being appreciated? What was the impact on you and
on others?
3. What would the world be like if we
lived the ethic of love for all creation,
and behaved lovingly toward all beings and creation as a whole?
4. How might your personal relationships be bettered if you chose to always give the love, time, and care that
you are capable of giving?
5. What types of support and encouragement do you need to live more lovingly, and therefore more creatively?
2
What if there were a universe in
which a world was born out of a
smallish star, and into that world (at
some point) flew red-winged blackbirds, and into it swam sperm whales,
and into it came crocuses, and wind to
lift the tiniest hairs on naked arms in
spring when you run out to the mailbox, and into it at some point came
onions, out of soil, and came Mount
Everest, and also the coyote we’ve been
seeing in the woods about a mile from
here, just after sunrise in these
mornings when the moon is full? (The
very scent of him makes his brother,
our dog, insane with fear and joy and
ancient inbred memory.) Into that
world came animals and elements and
plants, and imagination, the mind, and
the mind’s eye.
If such a universe existed and you
noticed it, what would you do? What
song would come out of your mouth,
what prayer, what praises, what sacred
offering, what whirling dance, what
religion, and what reverential gesture
would you make to greet that world,
every single day that you were in it?
Quiet your Mind: Sit in a comfortable
place and take a few breaths to quiet
your mind and focus your attention.
Reengage the Reading: Read the text
one more time to make it present for
your evening practice.
Listen to Your Life: Now, turn your
attention to the day itself. Recall the experiences that were especially meaningful, comforting, or disturbing. What do
these mean to you? These experiences
are the sacred texts of our lives. They
have the power to teach us if we allow
them to do so. You may want to record
your reflections in a journal.
Intention for Tomorrow: Consider
how you would live this day differently
if you could do it over. What would you
change and why? Choose one thing that
you would like to do differently in the
future and set an intention to do so. It is
surprising how powerful this intentionsetting can be in shifting our behavior
and experience.
For this practice use the readings on page 3
or email createmeaningnow@gmail.com to
automatically receive a brief reading on
Monday, Wednesday & Friday mornings.
Readings from
the Common Bowl
Day 1: “Everything
in creation has its
appointed painter
or poet and remains
in bondage like the
princess in the fairy tale ‘til its appropriate
liberator comes to set it free.”
breathe. I know they are there to eavesdrop for the angels.” Dodinsky
Day 10: “To forget how to dig the earth
and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves.”
Mahatma Gandhi
Day 11: “Life is always a rich and steady
time when you are waiting for something
to happen or to hatch.” E.B. White
Day 23: “It must be remembered that there
is nothing more difficult to plan, more
doubtful of success nor more dangerous to
manage than the creation of a new system.
For the initiator has the enmity of all who
profit by the preservation of the old institutions” Author Unknown
Day 24: “Understand that all thoughts
create — and the more emotion that is
Day 12: “I believe a leaf of grass is no less present at the time that a thought is set in
than the journey-work of the stars.”
motion, the faster the creation will be reRalph Waldo Emerson
Walt Whitman
ceived — and as frequent thought is given
Day 2: “I think that carrying a baby inside Day 13: “The potential possibilities of any in any direction, without the hindrance of
you is like running as fast as you can. It
child are the most intriguing and stimulat- negative thought, there is certain creation,
feels like finally letting go and filling your- ing in all creation.” Author Unknown
eventually.” Abraham, as told by Esther Hicks
self up to the wildest limits.”
Day 14: “All life is rife with possibilities.
Day 25: “If your daily life seems poor, do
Author Unknown
Seeds have possibilities, but all their tonot blame it; blame yourself, tell yourself
Day 3: “The artist must create a spark be- morrows are caught by the patterning of
that you are not poet enough to call forth
fore he can make a fire and, before art is
their life cycle. Animals have possibilities its riches; for to the creator there is no povborn, the artist must be ready to be conthat are greater than that of a fir tree or a
erty and no poor, indifferent place.”
sumed by the fire of his own creation.”
Rainer Maria Rilke
blade of grass. Still, though, for most aniAuguste Rodin
mals, the pattern of instinct, the patterns of Day 26: “Our creation is the modification
Day 4: “Creativity is allowing yourself to
their lives, are very strong. Humanity has of relationship.” Rabindranath Tagore
make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones a far greater range of possibilities, espeDay 27: “When our eyes see our hands
to keep.” Scott Adams
cially the very young. Who will children
grow up to be? Who will they marry, what doing the work of our hearts, the circle of
Day 5: “There is such a special sweetness
Creation is completed inside us, the doors
will they believe, what will they create?
in being able to participate in creation.”
Creation is a very powerful seed of possi- of our souls fly open, and love steps forth
Pamela S. Nadav
to heal everything in sight.”
bility.” Patricia Briggs
Michael Bridge
Day 6: “When I go into the garden with a
spade, and dig a bed, I feel such an exhila- Day 15: “I guess I’ve got to keep creating
Day 28: “Never forget that you are not in
or I’ll just die.” Jarrod
ration and health that I discover that I
the world; the world is in you. When anyhave been defrauding myself all this time Day 16: “Every act of creation is first of all thing happens to you, take the experience
in letting others do for me what I should
an act of destruction.” Pablo Picasso
inward. Creation is set up to bring you
have done with my own hands.”
constant hints and clues about your role as
Day 17: “In a time of destruction, create
Ralph Waldo Emerson
co-creator. Your soul is metabolizing expesomething.” Maxine Hong Kingston
Day 7: “Creation did not end on the sixth
rience as surely as your body is metabolizday as the story in Genesis would have us Day 18: “We live in the world we made
ing food.” Deepak Chopra
believe. It is a continuous process and we up.” Jim Paul
Day 29: “No great thing is created suddenhave become co-creators with nature. Our Day 19: “I like the fact that in ancient Chily.” Epictetus
appropriate role is not to dominate the
nese art the great painters always included
Day 30: “Love is the only reality and it is
earth, but to use our technology to allow
a deliberate flaw in their work: human
us to live human lives with dignity and
creation is never perfect.” Author Unknown not a mere sentiment. It is the ultimate
truth that lies at the heart of creation.”
meaning within the earth’s ecological
Day 20: “Feeling and longing are the mo- Rabindranath Tagore
means. The first step in changing our relative forces behind all human endeavor and
tionship with the earth is to awaken in us
Day 31: “Everything in the world began
human creations.” Albert Einstein
and in all humanity a reverence for the
with a yes. One molecule said yes to anearth.” Kirk Loadman-Copeland
Day 21: “I believe that none of us ever fails other molecule and
at anything. Every time we create somelife was born.”
Day 8: “Music is the harmonious voice of
thing we are successful at creation. HowClarice Lispector
creation; an echo of the invisible world.”
ever,
we
do
make
some
poor
choices
about
Giuseppe Mazzini
what we create.” Author Unknown
Day 9: “In the garden I tend to drop my
Day 22: “Creativity is the power to conthoughts here and there. To the flowers I
whisper the secrets I keep and the hopes I nect the seemingly unconnected.”
William Plomer
3
Faith and Theology
Original Blessing
Praise All
Rev. Ann C. Fox
Matthew Fox came
to a point in his life
where he could no
longer see religion with
a narrow focus. His lens
became wide like that
of the mystic who sees
the Oneness in all creation. Matthew believes that the biggest mistake made in
developing Christian doctrine was the
misinterpretation of the Adam and Eve
story…
The interpretation of this myth as
“original sin” that is then inherited by all
generations that follow has had an
astounding, negative effect on a great portion of humankind... Just the misinterpretation of this myth alone has
caused tremendous oppression, especially
of women.
This interpretation gave God a bad
name... This interpretation is one of fear...
[Contrary to this,] it is likely an indication
of the awakening of human beings to creation and their role in it. Adam and Eve
became like Gods, co-creators of life on
earth... It was supposed to raise us up not
put us down.
Matthew Fox says, this myth is one
of original blessing, “What I call ‘original
blessing’ can also be named ‘original
goodness’ or ‘original grace’ or ‘original
wisdom.’ [Our wisdom comes to us from
creation, or God. It comes from] our
awareness that there is one flow, one divine energy, one divine word in the sense
of one creative energy flowing through all
things, all time, all space. We are part of
that flow and we need to listen to it…be
filled with it and go about our task of
healing, celebrating, and co-creating.”
Rev. Kathy A. Huff
Source: http://uufairhaven.org/2005/
Ser2005Jan09.htm
4
Praise the sun, the moon, the stars,
Praise the ant, the tree, the shining leaf.
Praise every child large and small,
Praise the one within us all.
Praise the swimmers, crawlers,
and creepers.
Praise the flower and the winding weed,
Praise each blade of grass and
every dewdrop.
Praise dark moist earth.
“Forty years ago, the astronauts of
Apollo 8 orbited the moon for the first
time and snapped the iconic ‘Blue
Marble’ photographs.... It was not
only an image of stunning beauty; it
represented a powerful new perspective of earthly life and its place within
the cosmos. It produced a radical shift
in self-awareness. The earth has a
unity and cohesion we understand
intellectually, but which we have only
been able to see and feel viscerally
through this astonishing view from the
outside.”
www.KarmaTube.org
Praise rock, sand, and shoal.
Praise wind -- nature’s breath.
Creation!
Praise those with fin, fur, and finger,
Rev. Hanna Petrie
We are all warriors in our own heroic
struggles,
as we struggle to find meaning,
and all the ones that live unseen.
purpose, and a definition of success in
Praise brightest morning and
this life that we can feel good about…. As
darkest night.
human beings, we have a long way to go
toward our evolution…. We are only beginning to understand…. how connected
we are to all living beings on this planet…. The good news is that, whatever it is
that encourages us to create to the best of
our ability, to love as well as we know
how, to learn to serve a vision much
greater than ourselves, is good and holy….
What is your creation story? What stories
bring you the best challenges? This is
Praise the prickly and the unpopular.
why our plurality, our creedlessness as
Praise the crow’s cry and the
religious liberals is a good thing. Who do
beggar’s sigh.
you think we are, where do you think we
Praise the dancers, the doers and
came from, and where do you think we’re
going? While it’s true that none of us realthe dreamers.
ly know the answers to these questions,
Praise those that give, those who love,
what matters is that we ask the questions.
and those who heal.
What matters is how our asking them
Praise to wanderers, weavers and seekers. inspires us to wonder, and how our wonPraise sounds of thunder, crashing waves, dering and figuring and imagining inspires us to act.
and shouts for justice.
That is the stuff of honest religion –
Praise silence.
honestly not knowing, but not letting that
Praise spirit.
stop us from creating our heart’s greatest
desire to serve humankind, to love as
Praise all colors.
hard as we can love, to not fear what we
Praise all acts of compassion.
do not understand, but to move forward,
Praise all.
evolving, one gifted day at a time.
Source: http://www.uuneighborhood.org/
Praise all.
Praise the winged ones, the tiny ones,
Praise all.
worship/sermons/text/20091101creationweb.pdf
Family Matters
and that it is important to treat others
with kindness. Still, humans struggled
Rev. Jeannie Shero
mightily to act on their beliefs. It is a
Read through the creation stories
listed on page 7. As a family, write some struggle born in each person—capable
of so much good and creativity, yet also
notes about your genealogy, including
capable of wrong and destruction. Genwhere people lived and what they did
erations and generations lived and died,
for a living. If few details are known,
invent them, while trying to be realistic. all trying to live the best lives they
could.
Allow time for each family member to
One cold October night, a woman
share their perspectives on the family.
struggled
and cried as an awesome act
Talk about who is part of the family,
how the family works together, what is of human creation was completed, the
most valued (both possessions, ways of birth of a baby girl. From that day to this
one, that act of creation continues to
behaving, and activities).
Then, write a creation story that goes unfold… What is your story?
as far back in time as you like, and
Selection &
brings you to the present day. You can
Creativity
write a mythical story or one that tries to
Charles Darwin
mirror the process of evolution (you are
wrote
a book called
welcome to use books or the internet as
The
Origin
of Species
needed). Invite everyone to be creative
in 1859. It told the story of evolutionary
as you co-create an origin story that is
biology, how species change over the
enjoyable and meaningful.
For example: Long ago in the dark of generations. Some traits of an animal
help it to get food, find a mate, and despace, a dust cloud condensed around
fend itself; some traits make it harder to
the sun, forming Earth. Tiny particles
do those things. Organisms, over time,
bonded with other particles. Slowly,
keep the helpful traits. Those with fewer
over billions of years, the particles
of those traits do not live very long, or
became more complex. Tiny organisms
struggle to reproduce and survive. This
evolved from combining elements like
is natural selection.
carbon, oxygen, and water. Life began.
Fill a large candy dish with a variety
From that moment, a seemingly mysof
candy
(popular and unpopular canterious urgency pushed organisms to
dy).
Allow
each person to choose four
survive, to grow, and to adapt. More
pieces.
Afterward,
look at the remaining
and more different and complex organcandy.
Ask
each
person
why they chose
isms emerged. Even without consciousness, life seemed bold and creative. Mil- the candy they did, including “traits”
such as flavor, color, etc., and why they
lions of years passed... A remarkable
didn’t choose other candy. Imagine this
diversity of creatures came and went.
Some began to interact with their en- as a quick version of natural selection.
We can engage in natural selection in
vironment in new ways, using tools to
our own lives, by the way that we
get food, and working together for a
common goal like shelter or protection. choose to live and interact with others.
As Unitarian Universalists, we have a
About 200,000
set of principles that encourage us to
years ago, the
live well, for the benefit of ourselves and
first homo sapithe whole of humanity and the planet.
ens were born.
What traits in your own life would you
They are our
like to support—so that you do them
most distant
more? What traits would you like to
grandparents and
evolve away from—so that you do them
cousins.
less or not at all? Choose to cultivate
Humans learned to create tools and
places to live. They built partnerships to what helps you to live well. Agree as a
help everyone survive. In time, humans family to support one another in the
began to form beliefs about how to live, process of learning and growing in life.
Creating Your Story
Wisdom for Life
Poetic Visions
One of the strangest things
Vera Nazarian
“One of the strangest things is the act of
creation.
You are faced with a blank slate—
a page, a canvas, a block of stone or
wood, a silent musical instrument.
You then look inside yourself.
You pull and tug and squeeze and fish
around for slippery raw shapeless things
that swim like fish made of cloud vapor
and fill you with living clamor.
You latch onto something. And you bring
it forth out of your head like Zeus giving
birth to Athena.
And as it comes out, it takes shape and
tangible form.
It drips on the canvas, and slides through
your pen, it springs forth and resonates
into the musical strings, and slips along
the edge of the sculptor’s tool onto the
surface of the wood or marble.
You have given it cohesion. You have
brought forth something ordered and
beautiful out of nothing.
You have glimpsed the divine.”
The Contract
Stephen Hawking
A well-known
scientist (some say it
was Bertrand Russell)
once gave a public
lecture on astronomy.
He described how the earth orbits around
the sun and how the sun, in turn, orbits
around the center of a vast collection of
starts called our galaxy.
At the end of the lecture, a little old
lady at the back of the room got up and
said: “What you have told us is rubbish.
The world is really a flat plate supported
on the back of a giant tortoise.” The scientist gave a superior smile before replying,
“What is the tortoise standing on?”
“You’re very clever, young man, very
clever,” said the old lady. “But it’s turtles
all the way down!”
Source: A Brief History of Time
5
Introduction to the Theme
(Continued from page 1)
blessings and challenges of being unique
while being interdependent.
Author Karen Armstrong, in her book
The Case for God, explores the idea that
religious stories are myths that were always intended to help us understand how
we should live and exist to serve as reminders and motivators for our good and
just behavior and actions. For example,
Armstrong writes, “revealed truth was
symbolic, [scripture] could not be interpreted literally… revelation was not an
event that had happened once in the distant past but was an ongoing, creative
process that required human ingenuity.”
She goes on to write, “A good creation
myth did not describe an event in the distant past but told people something essential about the present. It reminded them
that things often had to get worse before
they got better, that creativity demanded
self-sacrifice and heroic struggle, and that
everybody had to work hard to preserve
the energies of the cosmos and establish
society on a sound foundation. A creation
story was primarily therapeutic.” Such
stories are a model, an example with
meaning, that helps us to find and create
meaning, to understand ourselves in an
appropriate context, and to look toward
the future with purpose and direction.
If within the body of available stories
you do not find a compelling story, create
your own. Write, draw, sculpt, paint, play,
dance, or speak your own creation story—
how you came to be and for what purposes. How would it begin? What elements or
characters would be included? How
would you craft the story of your own life,
both being part of creation, and being
among those who co-create the world,
past, present and future?
As Unitarian Universalists, we willingly and boldly claim that we share a calling
to build a fair and peaceful world, one
that includes healthy imagination, art,
reason, wisdom, and heart. Rabindranath
Tagore writes that love “is the ultimate
truth that lies at the heart of creation.” If
this is to be true, we must cultivate and co
-create love to be fully connected with our
own humanity and existence. Create love,
create life, create hope, create the future.
6
Compassion in Action
Born to Be Good: The Science
of a Meaningful Life
Dacher Keltner
“Born to be good” for me means that
our mammalian and hominid evolution
have crafted a species—us—with remarkable tendencies toward kindness,
play, generosity, reverence and selfsacrifice, which are vital to the classic
tasks of evolution—survival, gene replication and smooth functioning groups.
These tendencies are felt in the wonderful realm of emotion—emotions such as
compassion, gratitude, awe, embarrassment and mirth. These emotions were of
interest to Darwin, and Darwin-inspired
studies have revealed that our capacity
for caring, for play, for reverence and
modesty are built into our brains, bodies, genes and social practices….
[In] Expression of Emotion in Man and
Animals, Darwin details descriptions of
emotions such as reverence, love, tenderness, laughter, embarrassment and the
conceptual tools to document the evolutionary origins of these emotions. That
led me to my own work… and to the
science-based conclusion that these emotions lie at the core of our capacities for
virtue and cooperation…
happiness is finding that these emotions
can be readily cultivated in familiar
ways, bringing out the good in others
and in oneself….
This kind of science gives me many
hopes for the future…. I hope that our
culture shifts... to one that privileges the
social joys (play, caring, touch, mirth)
that are our older (in the evolutionary
sense) sources of the good life.
Source: http://www.dailygood.org/story/579/
kindness-emotions-david-disalvo/
Composing a Life
Mary Catherine Bateson
You make creative choices in how
you look at your life. It can be very difficult to recognize the ways in which one
event in your life is linked to others.
When you are able to see multiple levels
of changes and consistency, you are empowered to make your own decisions….
Think of how a painter composes a
painting: by synchronously putting together things that occur in the same period, and finding a pattern in the way they
fit together. “Compose” has another
meaning in music in which you create
something… that goes through various
transitions over time. Looking at your
life in this way, you have to look at the
change that occurs within a lifetime–
discontinuities, transitions, and growth
of various sorts—and the artistic unity,
like that of a symphony, that can
characterize a life....
But what I want to emphasize is a
third meaning, one that has to do with
the ways in which you compose your
own versions of your life. I’m referring
to the stories you make about your life,
the stories you tell first to yourself and
then to other people, the stories you use
as a lens for interpreting experience as it
comes along. You can play with, compose, multiple versions of a life…. The
choice you make affects what you can do
next. Often people use the choice of emphasizing either continuity or discontinuity as a way of preparing for the next
step. They interpret the present in a way
that helps them construct a particular
future.
I have always felt that our science is only
as good as the truthful rendition of reality that it provides and the good that it
brings to our species.... The ancient approaches to ethics and virtue—for example, found in Aristotle or Confucius—
privileged things such as compassion,
gratitude and reverence. A new science
of virtue and morality is suggesting that
our capacities for virtue and cooperation
and our moral sense are old in evoluSource: http://www.commondreams.org/
views05/0329-21.htm
tionary terms…. And a new science of
Wisdom for Life: Creation Myths
stood in the middle, touching the skies
with his head and his feet in the earth.
P’an Ku had two horns, two tusks, and
Nasadiya Sukta “not the non-existent”
a strong, hairy body. The sky and earth
Translated by A. A. Macdonell
grew ten feet per day, just like P’an Ku.
Non-being then existed not nor being:
18,000 years passed and P’an Ku stood
There was no air, nor sky that is beyond
between the sky and earth so they could
it. What was concealed? Wherein? In
not be close anymore. He dug out
whose protection? And was there deep
crevices for rivers, chiseled out valleys,
unfathomable water?
and stacked earth to make mountains.
Death then existed not nor life immorWhen P’an Ku died, his breath turned
tal; Of neither night nor day was any
into wind and clouds, and his voice betoken. By its inherent force the One
came thunder. One eye became the sun
breathed windless: No other thing than
and the other became the moon. His body
that beyond existed.
and limbs transformed into five big
Darkness there was at first by darkness
mountains and his blood formed all of
hidden; Without distinctive marks, this
the water on the earth. Paths and roads
all was water. That which, becoming, by
were created from his veins. His muscle
the void was covered, That One by force
became fertile land, upon which all sorts
of heat came into being.
of vegetation grows in abundance. All the
Desire entered the One in the beginstars came from his beard and hair, while
ning: It was the earliest seed, of thought
the flowers and trees were created from
the product. The sages searching in their
his skin. His marrow turned into jade and
hearts with wisdom, Found out the bond
pearls, and his sweat turned into rain,
of being in non-being.
which nurtured everything on earth.
Their ray extended light across the
Source: adapted, www.read-legends-and-myths.com
darkness: But was the One above or was
it under? Creative force was there, and
fertile power: Below was energy, above
was impulse.
Who knows for certain? Who shall here
declare it? Whence was it born, and
whence came this creation? The gods
were born after this world’s creation:
Then who can know from whence it has
A Christian Creation Story
arisen? None knows whence creation has Genesis 1:1-2:2 adapted
arisen; And whether he has or has not
In the beginning, God created the uniproduced it; He who surveys it in the
verse. At first the earth was shapeless and
highest heaven, He only knows, or haply covered in darkness, and God’s spirit
he may know not.
hovered over the waters. God said, “Let
A Hindu Creation Story
Rig Veda 10:129
Source: Stefan Stenudd www.creationmyths.org
A Chinese Creation Story
In Daoist legend, P’an Ku was the first
human. In the beginning, the heavens
and earth were one and all was chaos.
The universe was like a big black egg
carrying inside P’an Ku. After 18,000
years passed P’an Ku woke up from
sleep, and, feeling suffocated, took a
broad ax and cracked open the egg.
The clear part of it floated up creating
the heavens, while the cold matter stayed
below and created the earth. P’an Ku
there be light.” And there was light. God
divided the day from the night, naming
them ’ day’ and ‘night’. This was the first
day and God saw that it was good. On
the second day God made the heavens to
separate the water from the earth and on
the third day he raised the dry land up
from the waters below the heavens and
commanded the earth to bring forth all
plants. God saw that it was good. God
then made the greater light for the day
and the lesser light for the night, and he
saw that it was good. This was the fourth
day. On the fifth day God commanded
the waters to fill with living creatures and
the air to fill with birds. And he was
pleased with what he saw. On the sixth
day God commanded the earth to bring
forth all kinds of living creatures and he
saw that it was good. God then said “Let
us make man in our own image.” So God
created man and woman in his own likeness and gave them authority over all
living things. God looked at everything
he had made and was very pleased. On
the seventh day, God rested.
A Humanist Creation Story
This earth, our home, is a small bluegreen planet, orbiting a minor star on one
arm of a galaxy called the Milky Way. A
galaxy is composed of gas, dust and
many millions of stars and there are some
hundred thousand galaxies in the known
Universe. Recent observations show that
clusters of galaxies are moving apart
from one another as the space between
them expands and this must mean that
long ago they were closer together, It is
now believed that, at a certain time in the
past... roughly 15,000 million years ago,
all the matter and energy in the Universe
was concentrated in a mathematical point
with zero volume from which it burst out
in one ‘Big Bang’ to create the Universe.
The Universe began to cool and clouds
of gas collapsed under the pull of their
own gravity to form stars. About 4,500
million years ago the Earth condensed
out of the gas and dust swirling around
the sun. Fossil records show that the first
signs of life appeared soon after... Lightning and ultra-violet light from the sun
[broke] apart the simple molecules of the
primitive atmosphere, and these fragments recombined to produce complex
molecules, which could eventually reproduce themselves.
Over millions of years, different forms
of life have evolved.... All living things
must be descended from a common ancestor. One species, Homo sapiens, has
the power to destroy the world; the future of life on Earth is in our hands…. We
should use our knowledge for the benefit
of every living creature on our planet.
Source: adapted, www.innovationslearning.co.uk/
subjects/re/information/creation/creation_home.htm
7
Small Group Discussion Guide
Theme for Discussion
Creation
Preparation prior to Gathering: (Read this
issue of the journal and Living the Questions
in the next column.)
Business: Deal with any housekeeping
items (e.g., scheduling the next gathering).
Opening Words: “This we know.
The earth does not belong to us,
we belong to the earth.
This we know.
All things are connected
like the blood which unites one family.
All things are connected.
Whatever befalls the earth
befalls the sons and daughters of the earth.
We did not weave the web of life,
we are merely a strand of it.
Whatever we do to the web,
we do to ourselves.” attributed to Chief Seattle
nificence, its glory. We quarrel—because we
glimpse further possibilities, the nonsense—and wish to lay claim to it. We remember death, and that life is brief, and that
the time for love is now and more is possible. One more step toward the holy. It is to
know the peace that passes understanding,
and that there is no peace. It is to love others
as they are, warts and all, and to believe that
more is possible and to bespeak that wanting. It is to pray “Give us this day our daily
bread….” And to know that we do not live
by bread alone. It is to remember death, and
to love life and to accept them both as holy.
Rev. Gordon McKeeman
Living the Questions: Explore as many of
theses questions as time allows. Fully explore one question before moving on.
1. In what ways do you see yourself as a
co-creator with the universe, helping to
bring into reality a possible, but not
inevitable good future?
Chalice Lighting (James Vila Blake) (adapted) 2. What have you learned in life from ex(In unison) Love is the spirit of this church, and
periencing art, music, creations of all
service is its law. This is our covenant: to dwell
types? What have you learned from
together in peace, to seek the truth in love, to
experiencing the natural world?
serve human need, and to help one another.
3. Seeing the amazing creative possibilities of the earth and others, what would
Check-In: How is it with your spirit? What
you like to create, to share with the
do you need to leave behind in order to be
world, your congregation, your comfully present here and now? (2-3 sentences)
munity, your family, etc.?
4. How can you help to create the reality
Claim Time for Deeper Listening: This
of the possibilities you imagine? What
comes at the end of the gathering where you
resources do you need? Who will work
can be listened to uninterrupted for more
with you?
time if needed. You are encouraged to claim
The
facilitator
or group members are invited
time ranging between 3-5 minutes, and to
to
propose
additional
questions that they
honor the limit of the time that you claim.
would like to explore.
Read the Wisdom Story: Take turns reading
Deeper Listening: If time was claimed by
aloud parts of the wisdom story on page 1.
individuals, the group listens without interruption to each person who claimed time.
Readings from the Common Bowl: Group
members read selections from Readings from
the Common Bowl (page 3). Leave a few moments of silence after each to invite reflection on the meaning of the words.
Checking-Out: One sentence about where
you are now as a result of the time spent
together exploring the theme.
Sitting In Silence: Sit in silence together,
allowing the Readings from the Common Bowl
to resonate. Cultivate a sense of calm and
attention to the readings and the discussion
that follows (Living the Questions).
Extinguishing Chalice
(Elizabeth Selle Jones) (In unison)
We extinguish this flame but not the light of
truth, the warmth of community, or the fire of
commitment. These we carry in our hearts until
we are together again.
Reading: We are lovers, we say “Yes” to
each other. “Yes” to life—to more and more
of life—to its brevity, its grief, its disap8 pointments. To its possibilities, its mag-
Closing Words Rev. Philip R. Giles
(In unison) May the quality of our lives be
our benediction and a blessing to all we touch.
Wisdom for Life
The Universe
Edgar Mitchell
“On the return trip home, gazing through
240,000 miles of space toward the stars and
the planet from which I had come, I suddenly experienced the universe as intelligent,
loving, harmonious.”
Contemplate the Stars
Michael Dowd, Thank God for Evolution
“Humanity is the fruit of 14 billion years of
unbroken evolution. When the Bible speaks
of God forming us from the dust of the
earth, it is absolutely true. We did not come
into this world, we grew out of it, just like
an apple grows from a apple tree...We are
the universe becoming conscious of itself.
We are stardust that has begun to
contemplate the stars.”
Be More
Rev. Hilary Landau Krivchenia
“It’s human nature to want to be more – we
aspire to be more alive, more joyful, more
deeply connected with meaning, with other
people and with the whole of the interdependent web of all life. We aspire to thrive
as persons and to have our world be fairer,
more peaceful, healthier, greener. In fact our
own thriving is entirely dependent upon the
thriving of our world.”
Attribution for Images
Page 1: Grain, photo by Joni Goodwin, June, 2011,
used with permission
Page 2: Chalice Camp, photo by Kendra Quinn,
June 15, 2012, used with permission
Page 2: Moon in Conjunction photo by Chad Tavelli, April 16, 2013, used with permission
Page 3: James Hake – Hump thrown bowl, photo
by Liverpool Design Festival, September 7, 2010,
(CC BY-SA 2.0), http://www.fotopedia.com/items/
flickr-4904281932
Other Images: Jeannie Shero, 2004-2013, used with
permission