Tapestry of Faith: Riddle and Mystery: A Program on the Big Questions for Grade 6

Taking It Home: Oh My Soul

If there is light in the soul, there will be beauty in the person. If there is beauty in the person, there will be harmony in the house. If there is harmony in the house, there will be order in the nation. If there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world. — Chinese proverb

Talk about the quote. Do you agree with what it says? What does it mean to have light in your soul? Is having light in your soul the same as having love in your soul? How do you get light into your soul? How do you get light into somebody else's soul?

WHAT WE DID TODAY

Today's Big Question asks, "Do I have a soul?" We began with a meditation and talked about the general meaning of soul. We talked about what other people say about soul, and reacted to their ideas. We heard the story "Why and Where God Hides," and learned that some people think God or the Divine is in each of us, maybe even in our souls. During WCUU, we heard about what various UUs have said about soul in different times and places. Our NUUs Analyst said that many UUs today use the word "soul" when they speak of their deepest, nonphysical selves, but they do not think of the soul as something that lives forever and goes to Hell or Heaven when we die. Most UUs are more concerned about what we are and do in life than in death. Finally, we made masks to explore our own inner selves and souls.

FIND YOURSELF

Did you ever hear about people "finding themselves"? Talk to your family about what that means. Some people say that finding yourself means learning to know your deepest self. Other people can support you while you do that, but in the end, you are the only person who can really go inside yourself, and you are the person who can understand yourself best. Do other members of your family agree with that? Do they think that "soul-searching" is a way to find yourself? Can meditation help with that?

REFLECT ON YOUR BELIEFS

Here is a traditional prayer poem that children have sometimes said just before going to bed:

Now I lay me down to sleep,

I pray the Lord my soul to keep.

If I should die before I wake,

I pray the Lord my soul to take.

Are you familiar with that poem? Have people in your family ever said it? How do you react to it? What do you think would happen to the soul in the poem, if the person died in the night and the Lord took the soul? What sort of religious belief about soul does the poem reflect?

SHARED SEARCH

Travel to a place where the word "soul" or the idea of "soul" is important. Maybe it is a church or a cemetery. What do you find there?

PHOTO CHALLENGE

Photograph the spirit of yourself. How do you do that? Maybe you photograph a place where you have made a difference. Or maybe you photograph something that represents an idea of yours. You decide.

FAMILY FAITH IN ACTION — DEEPER CONNECTIONS

As a family, reach out to another family of people you like but could get to know better. Try to connect, and to understand each other. (Do this together with adults, because not everybody is safe and easy to get along with). Making better connections with other people can be very rewarding. You and they get to know more about who everybody really is inside.