Living Between "The No Longer" and "The Not Yet"

January 7, 2018 Bill Kerley

ORDINARY LIFE - Thoughts and Ideas to Help You Live a Happier Life

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Summary for January 7, 2018

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Dear Folks -

The talk I offered in Ordinary Life this week was designed to introduce a theme I want to follow this coming year. The theme is

Living Between “The No Longer” and “The Not Yet”

Though constant change is a part of life and living, a case can be made for our living in and through one of the more chaotic times in the history of this country.

Many of us live as part of both the “last” and the “first.” We are the last to know what life was like before the “digital revolution” and globalization that mark our times. And, we are the first to know what we know about the cosmos and the human brain.

As a spiritual teacher I want to focus on more specifically religious and spiritual matters. The biggest “no longer” that religious people and religious institutions have got to come to terms with or lose all possibility of remaining relevant is the death of a “theistic” notion of God. As I said in this talk: God is not a being. God is being itself.

In spite of overwhelming data to back up this shift in understand “what is,” there is a significant number of people who want to return to some former “golden age.” In the process of doing so, much damage is done, many divisions are created. This is quite contrary to the teachings of Jesus who said in everything he did that “every thing and ever one belongs.”

This is a very brief summary of the talk I gave this week in Ordinary Life.

You can read or download the text from which I spoke, view the presentation slides and listen to the audio of the talk using the links below.

If you are reading this, I want you to know how grateful I am for and to you.

Be well and much love,

Bill Kerley

To read or download the text of the talk, click here.

To view the presentation slides, click here.

To download or listen to the audio version of the talk, use the link below.

Sober Intoxication

December 17, 2017 Bill Kerley

ORDINARY LIFE - Thoughts and Ideas to Help You Live a Happier Life

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Summary for December 17, 2017

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Dear Folks -

Two people spoke at the beginning of our time together this week.

Holly Hudley, head of the Ordinary Life Finance Committee, gave a report about how funds you give are being dispersed to various organizations that we support. That report will soon be posted on the Ordinary Life website.

Then, Wayne Herbert read a very touching letter in keeping with the spirit of the season. The letter was by Giovanni Giocondo.

Several people asked for copies of what was read. Here is a link to answer those requests:

http://www.inspirationpeak.com/cgi-bin/stories.cgi?record=40

You will find the letter in the third link.

Thanks to both Holly and Wayne for the work they do for us.

The talk I offered began with a link to one of the most touching and funny videos I’ve seen in ages. Though there is a link in the text of the talk, here is that link as well. Click here to watch it.

In the talk I gave last week and this most recent one, my desire was to free the Christmas stories we are familiar with from their cultural constraints so that we might hear them as their creators intended. This is not easy for a variety of reasons. The Christmas story is likely one of the most familiar stories in the world. Last week I pointed out how different the two versions of the story we have are. This week I sought to get at what the stories did and might mean. The stories are intended to fill us with joy and, at the same time, ground us in a hope that allows us to endure dark times and work to become enlightened and to bring light into the world.

That is a very brief summary of the talk.

You can read or download the text from which I spoke, view the presentation slides and listen to the audio of the talk using the links below.

If you are reading this, I want you to know how grateful I am for and to you.

Be well and much love,

Bill Kerley

To read or download the text of the talk, click here.

To view or download the presentation slides, click here.

To listen to the audio version of the talk, use the link below.

Tidings of True Joy

December 10, 2017 Bill Kerley

ORDINARY LIFE - Thoughts and Ideas to Help You Live a Happier Life

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Summary for December 10, 2017

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Dear Folks -

I have decided to take advantage of this season of the year, specifically Christmas, to look at the origin and meaning of the Christmas story. Actually, there are two very different stories of what is referred to as “the nativity”. However, they get smashed together in our world. And, a number of other elements get thrown in - from Santa Claus to “the Grinch.” I have a commitment to contribute to religious literacy which, I believe, will lead to more significant psycho-spiritual growth.

This week we looked at the origins of what religious knowledge people have and then at the two nativity stories to see how very different they are. The stories are true - just not factually true. The questions doing this work lead to are: what do these stories really mean? And, what relevance do they have for us. I called the talk -

Tidings of True Joy

You can read or download the text from which I spoke, view the presentation slides and listen to the audio of the talk using the links below.

If you are reading this, I want you to know how grateful I am for and to you.

Be well and much love,

Bill Kerley

To read or download the text of the talk, click here.

To view the presentation slides, click here.

To download or listen to the audio version of the talk, use the link below.

May I Have Your Attention, Please?

December 3, 2017 Bill Kerley

ORDINARY LIFE - Thoughts and Ideas to Help You Live a Happier Life

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Summary for December 3, 2017

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Dear Folks -

In every spiritual/religious system with which I am familiar, a central teaching is “Pay Attention.” This week I offered I specific example about how it is easy to misread and misunderstand a spiritual teaching. I called the talk

May I Have Your Attention, Please?

It is about who and what we pay attention to in fulfilling our primary task of answering the psycho-spiritual questions: Who are we? And, How are we to live?

That’s a very brief summary of the talk I offered in Ordinary life this week.

You can read or download the text from which I spoke, view the presentation slides and listen to the audio of the talk using the links below.