SPIRIT OF LIFE
A Tapestry of Faith Program for Adults
WORKSHOP 5: MOVE IN THE HAND: LIVING OUR SPIRITUALITY IN OUR DAY-TO-DAY LIVES
REVISED
BY REVEREND BARBARA HAMILTON-HOLWAY
© Copyright 2010 Unitarian Universalist Association.
Published to the Web on 9/29/2014 9:25:28 PM PST.
This program and additional resources are available on the UUA.org web site at
www.uua.org/religiouseducation/curricula/tapestryfaith.
WORKSHOP OVERVIEW
INTRODUCTION
We covenant to affirm and promote... The inherent worth and dignity of every person.
The living tradition we share draws from... Wisdom from the world's religions which inspire us in our ethical and spiritual life.
The living tradition we share draws from... Spiritual teachings of Earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature. — Principles of the Unitarian Universalist Association
This workshop helps participants connect with the sacred in everyday living. Participants will experience ways they can bring enhanced awareness to their activities throughout the day, and how they can let the Spirit of Life "move in their hand" as their hands do the work of daily living.
GOALS
This workshop will:
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Participants will:
WORKSHOP-AT-A-GLANCE
Activity | Minutes |
Welcoming and Entering | 0 |
Opening | 10 |
Activity 1: Story — Balance | 5 |
Activity 2: Sacred in the Everyday | 35 |
Activity 3: Triad Sharing | 35 |
Faith in Action: Using Your Hands to Help Others | |
Closing | 5 |
Alternate Activity 1: A UU Book of Hours | 30 |
SPIRITUAL PREPARATION
Reflection. You may wish to set aside some time to reflect on your personal experiences of the sacred in the everyday. Either individually or together, co-leaders can use the workshop activities to spark and structure your reflection. Doing so will also prepare you to explain and lead the activities.
Practice. Setting aside some moments to pray, to meditate, or to envision your good intentions for the workshop can help you to center yourself before you begin leading.
Review Workshop 1, Leader Resource 1, Accessibility Guidelines for Workshop Presenters, for general tips to make your workshop welcoming to people with physical disabilities and sensitivities.
WORKSHOP PLAN
WELCOMING AND ENTERING
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
As participants enter, invite them to sign in and create nametags.
OPENING (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Offer these words of welcome:
Welcome to this program on Unitarian Universalist spirituality as lived in our day to day lives. We'll look at the kinds of activities we do everyday and how we might make them part of our spiritual practice. I'm glad you are here!
Distribute Handout 1. Invite a participant to light the chalice while you lead the group in reciting the unison chalice-lighting words.
Invite participants to read silently along with you as you read aloud the Unitarian Universalist Principle and Source that this workshop highlights.
Invite participants to share their names and their responses to the question, "What is the most special time of the day for you?"
Explain that this workshop focuses on the line "move in the hand." The song talks about how the Spirit of Life moves in the hand, "giving life the shape of justice," however today's workshop looks at how the Spirit of Life moves in our hands throughout all our days, giving shape to our lives through the tasks of the everyday.
Invite participants to rise in body or spirit and sing "Spirit of Life," by Carolyn McDade, Hymn 123 in Singing the Living Tradition.
ACTIVITY 1: STORY – BALANCE (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Invite participants to sit comfortably and listen as you read the story aloud. You may wish to use a cordless microphone to ensure that all participants can hear you.
ACTIVITY 2: SACRED IN THE EVERYDAY (35 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Introduce the activity with these or similar words:
The hymn "Spirit of Life" asks that the spirit move in the hand. Throughout a typical day, what kinds of things move through our hands?
Invite a few responses, then uncover the collection of everyday objects.
Invite participants to come forward and select one of the everyday objects, saying:
Choose an object because you feel moved to select it. It can be something you use frequently or something you don't use at all.
Invite participants to return to their seats and hold in their hands the object they have chosen. Explain that they will have a time for meditation on the object, guided by three questions you will read aloud:
Pause for a minute or so. Then ask participants to silently reflect on this question:
After allowing a couple of minutes for silent reflection, ask,
Allow another minute or two for silent reflection. Transition to a time of sharing by sounding the bell.
Invite participants to integrate their reflection experiences with these or similar discussion questions:
Conclude the activity by sharing these or similar words about the purpose of this reflection:
Reflecting on these everyday objects can help us get in touch with how we feel and live our spirituality in the everyday—not just at the times we're worshipping or meditating or traveling through beautiful country, but how we feel and live our spirituality during the workday, while we do chores or errands, when we wait in line, or when we listen to music while being kept on hold during a phone call.
Including All Participants
If some participants are not able to move to the table to explore and choose from the collection of everyday objects, bring an assortment of at least ten objects to them and invite them to select one.
ACTIVITY 3: TRIAD SHARING (35 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Introduce the activity with these or similar words:
Many religious traditions have specific methods for connecting the spiritual with everyday tasks. Traditional Jews start their day with a blessing after waking, say a blessing after going to the bathroom, and say additional blessings before their morning prayer. Buddhists are encouraged to practice mindfulness with each action—to stop the mind from racing ahead and to become non-judgmentally aware of the present moment.
What are some other ways you have heard of that connect the spiritual with the everyday?
Listen for a few responses. Then say:
As Unitarian Universalists, we have freedom to choose—freedom to follow spiritual paths and develop spiritual practices that are meaningful to us as individuals. I invite you to consider, in the work that follows, some ways that you can meaningfully connect with the Spirit of Life in the tasks of your everyday living.
Invite participants to form triads, preferably with people who they do not already know well. If the group doesn't divide into threes easily, allow for a group of two or a group of four.
Say:
In your groups, you will work together to identify ways to recognize the spiritual in everyday life, using your own examples of everyday tasks. Each group member will name two everyday tasks for the group to focus on. Talk together about how you might invite the Spirit of Life to move through your hands as you perform these tasks. You will have fifteen minutes for this work—about five minutes to focus on each person's examples.
Post the sheets you prepared before the workshop, inviting groups to consider these modes, or purposes, of spiritual expression as they generate their ideas. Offer examples of everyday tasks, such as taking a shower, using email, grocery shopping, cooking, changing a diaper, hammering, shaking hands, taking notes in a meeting, or eating breakfast.
Watch the time. Ring the bell at five and ten minutes and remind triads to switch their focus to the next member. After fifteen minutes, ring the bell again. Invite the groups to share what the experience was like using these or similar words:
Now your small group is invited to share your experiences of this process. How was this experience for each of you? What did you notice? You'll have ten minutes to share. Be sure that each of you gets a chance to speak.
Ring the bell after ten minutes. Bring the whole group back together for a short discussion based on these questions:
CLOSING (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Gather the group around the altar or centering table. Affirm the good work that participants have done in this workshop.
Hand out the Taking It Home handout you have prepared. Explain the activities, as needed.
Invite everyone to rise in body or spirit. Ask participants to hold hands as they are willing and able as you offer these closing words:
We give thanks for the Spirit of Life moving
through our day to day lives
and through this time of creating and sharing.
May we bring our beliefs and values into our routine tasks.
May we respond to the gift of life by living with worth and dignity
and by loving our neighbors as ourselves.
Extinguish the chalice.
FAITH IN ACTION: USING YOUR HANDS TO HELP OTHERS
Description of Activity
To help the spirit "move in your hand," try finding a way you can work with your hands that would also involve your creativity and your spirit: Here are some examples:
As you engage in the activity, call to mind the persons who will use it or for whom it is intended. Hold them in thought or in prayer.
LEADER REFLECTION AND PLANNING
After the workshop, co-facilitators should make time to get together to evaluate this workshop and plan future workshops. Use these questions for shared reflection and planning:
TAKING IT HOME
We covenant to affirm and promote... The inherent worth and dignity of every person.
The living tradition we share draws from... Wisdom from the world's religions which inspire us in our ethical and spiritual life.
The living tradition we share draws from... Spiritual teachings of Earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature. — Principles of the Unitarian Universalist Association
There are several ways to take today's workshop home. You might like to:
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 1: A UU BOOK OF HOURS (30 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Introduce the activity with this description of two daily cycles of prayer and contemplation—one from the Christian tradition and one from the Muslim tradition.
One of the five pillars of Islam is Salah, prayer. Muslims—especially male Muslims—pray five times a day at specific times. The expectation of prayer exists no matter where they are or what they're doing—whether they're in a mosque, or in their home, or at work. In Muslim countries, you might be awakened at 4 a.m. by the call to prayer floating over the city. It is sung by the Muezzin from the Minaret of a mosque five times a day. On a Friday in the middle of the day, when the melodic phrases are sung again over loudspeakers, you might see merchants walking away from their shops, their goods left unattended on the street, all kneeling down, bowing down, all on the same level, filling the mosque, the grounds, the sidewalks, and the streets to remember "There is no god but God."
In Christian monasteries, psalms and prayers are recited and sung eight times throughout the day. The Christian liturgy of the hours are: Matins (at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matins)(during the night), Lauds (at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauds)or Morning Prayer (at dawn), Prime (at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_%28liturgy%29)or Early Morning Prayer (6 a.m.), Terce (at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terce)or Mid-Morning Prayer (9 a.m.), Sext (at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sext)or Mid-Day Prayer (12 noon), None (at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/None_%28liturgy%29)or Mid-afternoon Prayer (3 p.m.), Vespers (at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vespers)or Evening Prayer (at the lighting of the lamps), Compline (at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compline)or Night Prayer (before retiring).
Invite participants to consider the effect of prayer and contemplation of the holy throughout the day. Ask:
Invite participants into a time of individual quiet reflection and expression, using these or similar words:
Consider what words and/or actions might center you throughout your day—upon rising, in the morning, at noon, in the mid-afternoon, in the evening, at bedtime, or awakening during the night. The words or actions might differ for different times of day, or they might be the same each time.
Using the paper, pens, markers, crayons, and materials available, create your centering words for times throughout your day. You will have five minutes to imagine a daily prayer or contemplation cycle they might like to use.
Ring the bell to begin the time, and ring it again after five minutes.
Invite participants to form pairs. Encourage them to partner with people whom they do not know well. If you have an odd number of participants, form one triad.
Offer these instructions:
In your pairs, you are invited to share some of your thoughts from the reflection time. Share as you are comfortable. If you thought of things that you would rather keep private, that is fine. Each person will have two minutes to talk and to listen. When it is your turn to listen, just listen. Listening can be a spiritual practice in and of itself. I will ring the bell when it is time to switch roles.
Ring the bell at two minutes and again at four minutes when it is time to conclude the sharing. If you have a triad, signal that group verbally just after one minute, and again just before three minutes, to make sure all three participants have some time to share.
Bring participants' attention back to the large group. Lead a group discussion with these questions:
SPIRIT OF LIFE: WORKSHOP 5:
STORY: BALANCE
This story is an excerpt from the essay "Balance" by Unitarian Universalist minister Susan Manker-Seale, included in the book Everyday Spiritual Practice: Simple Pathways for Enriching Your Life, edited by Scott W. Alexander (Skinner House Books, 1999). Used with permission.
My daily spiritual practice is to balance. A major part of that practice involves balancing the busy, taking-for-granted moments of the day with moments to pause and appreciate what is before me in my life. I probably wouldn't even have considered this a spiritual practice, except that I've been learning to redefine the meaning of what is spiritual, and to ponder for myself what is important in my faith.
The message many of us have been given through our religious heritage is that if one wishes to be "spiritual," one must leave the worldly world. Yet the reality is that, if we have family and work, integrating a traditional spiritual practice into our daily lives is a real challenge. Try meditating with a baby in the next room!
We can practice spirituality in our daily lives, in our daily activities, by remembering to pause, pay attention, and feel appreciation for what is before us. Paying attention means using all of our senses in being in the world and in the moment. Stop a moment. Feel the chair in which you are sitting. Notice the temperature around you. Listen for the sounds of your background symphony. Breathe. Appreciate the colors of your clothes, your skin, the sky, or the ceiling. Focus on appreciating the peace out of which you have found the time to read or listen to these words. Remember the feeling of oneness with creation, and try to bring that back into being. This practice takes only a few moments and is not bound by place or time or ritual...
Out of our busy-ness, we are called back into balance, back into ourselves and the silence of present being. But it is not just back into ourselves to which we are called; it is also to the awareness of the continuous presence of the environment around us and within us. We are called to remember our relationships and our dependencies. We are called to once again feel the oneness which sustains our being in balance with creation, and to do so with wonder and appreciation.
SPIRIT OF LIFE: WORKSHOP 5:
HANDOUT 1: MOVE IN THE HAND
UNISON CHALICE LIGHTING
We light this chalice in affirmation of each person and each day of life.
We gather to support each other in responding to the gift of life
and daily living with love for ourselves and for others.
We gather to explore our own experiences and learn from the experiences of others,
to draw on traditions and create new ways of seeking the sacred in the ordinary.
May our time together renew our spirits, deepen our community, and inspire us to lead lives of worth and dignity.
We light this chalice for the Spirit of Life.
PRINCIPLE AND SOURCE
This workshop is grounded in the following Principle and Sources from the Purposes and Principles of the Unitarian Universalist Association:
Principle: ... The inherent worth and dignity of every person.
Sources: Wisdom from the world's religions which inspire us in our ethical and spiritual life...
Spiritual teachings of Earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature
SPIRIT OF LIFE: WORKSHOP 5:
LEADER RESOURCE 1: FINDING THE SPIRITUAL IN THE EVERYDAY
Before leading Activity 3, write descriptions of these five modes, or purposes, of spiritual expression on newsprint. Post the newsprint for participants to use as a reference during the activity. You may want to use five separate sheets of newsprint to make sure your printing will be large enough for all to read.
Praise:
Recognizing, honoring, and celebrating
Gratitude:
Expressing thanks
Awareness:
Cultivating mindfulness, empathy, and perspective
Intention:
Naming how you would like to be and what spirit you would like to bring
Petition:
Stating or asking for what you would like to happen
SPIRIT OF LIFE: WORKSHOP 5:
LEADER RESOURCE 2: UU BOOK OF HOURS
Before leading Alternate Activity 1, write the text below on two pieces of newsprint, and post.
Traditional Christian Canonical Hours | Times for Muslim Daily Prayer |
Vespers (sunset) Compline (bedtime) Midnight Office (midnight) Matins (dawn) Prime (~7 a.m.) Terce (~9 a.m.) Sext (noon) None (~3 p.m.) | Fajr (dawn to sunrise) Zuhr (early afternoon) Asr (late afternoon) Maghrib (after sunset) Isha (between dusk and dawn) |
FIND OUT MORE
"Balance" by Rev. Susan Manker-Seale, from which this workshop's story is excerpted, is included in the book Everyday Spiritual Practice: Simple Pathways for Enriching Your Life, edited by Scott W. Alexander (Boston: Skinner House Books, 1999).
Practicing Our Faith (at www.practicingourfaith.org/) is a Christian-oriented web site with an outlook compatible with Unitarian Universalism. It includes several essays relevant to connecting with the sacred in the everyday, and resources including suggestions for honoring the body and adding a spiritual dimension to managing household tasks.