Workshop 8: Life Practices

Beautiful orange sunset over a deep blue ocean. — Tapestry is Sunsetting

The UUA is no longer updating Tapestry of Faith programs.

Part of Spirit in Practice: Ten Workshops for Unitarian Universalist Adults

In This Section

Introduction
From Spirit in Practice

“Tell me, why do we require a trip to Mount Everest in order to be able to perceive one moment of reality? I mean … is Mount Everest more ‘real’ than New York? Isn’t New York ‘real’?…
Workshop-at-a-Glance
From Spirit in Practice

Activity Minutes Welcoming and Entering 0 Opening 5 Activity 1: Sharing Names 5 Activity 2: The Story of the Wise Fool 10 Activity 3: Three Practices 35 Closing 5 Alternate Activity 1: The Presence of Spirit 30 Alternate Activity 2: Further Exploration of Three Practices 20…
Spiritual Preparation
From Spirit in Practice

Leaders are encouraged to prepare for the workshop not only by gathering supplies and reviewing the workshop’s activities, but also by engaging in a spiritual “life practice.” You are encouraged to spend at least a day paying mindful attention to the spirit in your everyday tasks and reflecting o…
Welcoming and Entering
From Spirit in Practice

Materials for Activity Sign-in sheet (see Preparation) Pen or pencil Name tags Bold markers Copies of Spirit in Practice Series Schedule (see Preparation) Group guidelines listed on newsprint or a digital slide (see Preparation) Workshop agenda listed on newsprint or a digital slide (see…
Opening
From Spirit in Practice

Activity time: 5 minutes Materials for Activity Altar or centering table Cloth for covering altar or centering table Chalice and candle Matches or lighter Copies of Singing the Living Tradition, the UUA hymnbook (one per person) Optional: A piano, guitar, or other form of accompaniment Optional:…
Activity 1: Sharing Names
From Spirit in Practice

Activity time: 5 minutes Materials for Activity Optional: Microphone (preferably cordless) Preparation for Activity Be sure that participants have made name tags. If they have not, you may pass around name tag materials while participants introduce themselves. Description of Activity Introduce…
Activity 2: The Story Of The Wise Fool
From Spirit in Practice

Activity time: 10 minutes Materials for Activity Review the story in advance so that you can present it effectively. Description of Activity Read the story “The Wise Fool” aloud. Provide copies of the story to people who prefer to read along. After sharing the story, invite participants to take a…
Activity 3: Three Practices
From Spirit in Practice

Activity time: 35 minutes Materials for Activity If you have more than one hour to present this workshop, review Alternate Activity 2 for ideas on how to expand this experience to 55 minutes in length. Description of Activity Invite the group to self-select into three smaller groups. Explain that…
Closing
From Spirit in Practice

Activity time: 5 minutes Materials for Activity Altar or centering table Cloth for covering altar or centering table Chalice and candle Chalice extinguisher Copies of the customized Taking It Home handout (see Preparation) Optional: Microphone Preparation for Activity Review the Taking It Home…
Leader Reflection and Planning
From Spirit in Practice

After the workshop, co-leaders should make a time to get together to evaluate this workshop and plan future workshops. Use these questions to guide your shared reflection and planning: What were some of our favorite moments of the workshop? What were some of our most challenging moments?…
Alternate Activity 1: The Presence Of Spirit
From Spirit in Practice

Activity time: 30 minutes Materials for Activity Questions listed on newsprint or a digital slide (see Preparation) Clock, watch, or timer Bell Optional: Microphone (preferably cordless) Optional: Computer, digital projector, and screen Preparation for Activity List the following questions on a…
Alternate Activity 2: Further Exploration Of Three Practices
From Spirit in Practice

Activity time: 20 minutes Materials for Activity…
Taking It Home: Life Practices
From Spirit in Practice

The following tips can help you develop spiritual awareness in the everyday. Celebrate what you’re already doing. Look for something you’re already doing that you can begin to think of as a spiritual practice, in spite of (or perhaps because of) its mundane quality. Add gently. Don’t try to make…
The Wise Fool
From Spirit in Practice

Once the great Sufi holy man and wise fool Nasreddin Hodja was walking down the street when a group of women came running up to him. Obviously distressed, they cried out to him, “Help us, Hodja! Help us.”…
Handout 1: Sacred Rest
From Spirit in Practice

Nearly every religious tradition encourages taking times of pure rest. In the Jewish tradition this is called “Sabbath,” a complete break from all work. Christians also observe Sabbath, yet differently: one Episcopal priest calls Sabbath a time to do whatever you truly feel called to do and…
Handout 2: Spirituality and Money
From Spirit in Practice

People often think that money and spirituality are unrelated or even contradictory. We recall the sayings “Money is the root of all evil” and “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” Yet money is just a means of…
Handout 3: Eating in Community
From Spirit in Practice

When people hear the word “communion,” they usually think of the Christian service of sharing bread and wine (or grape juice) in commemoration of Jesus’s last supper with his friends. Yet the first definition of the word in the American Heritage Dictionary is not in the least religious at all:…
Find Out More
From Spirit in Practice

Alexander, Scott W., ed. Ev… Spiritual Practice: Simple Pathways for Enriching Your Life. Skinner House Books, 1999. Bass, Dorothy C., ed. Practicing Our Faith: A Way of Life for a Searching People. Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1997. Brussat, Frederic and Mary Ann. Spiritual Literacy: Reading the…

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The UUA is no longer updating Tapestry of Faith programs.

Workshop 8: Life Practices

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