Spirituality Cafe #8 (see January 20, 2011)

The question selected in January for consideration at last night’s Spirituality Cafe was “How do I reconnect with wholeness?”

In my introductory comments I pointed out that the question assumes:

1. that there is such a thing as wholeness. I wondered how we know this wholeness exists, how we might describe it, what it means to us, and how we might have experienced this wholeness in our lives.

2. that we have become disconnected from this thing we are identifying as wholeness. I wondered what might have caused us to lose contact with wholeness and what might be the signs that we had lost this connection.

3. that it is possible to “reconnect with wholeness.” Are there life practices that assist me in reconnecting with wholeness?

Spirituality Cafe #7 (see October 21, 2010)

October 21 seems a lifetime ago. I missed Spirituality Cafe #6 as we were in New Zealand when it took place. We did not hold Spirituality Cafe in December; so last night’s gathering at Cafe Misto was Spirituality Cafe #7.

As is becoming the pattern, I did not know the majority of people in attendance last night. Most participants appeared to be over 50 years old with little or no connection to any formal faith community. The conversation was shared fairly equally around the room.

The question for Spirituality Cafe #7 was, “What blocks do I experience to living in awareness of the spiritual dimension of life?”

Spirituality Cafe #5 (see Sept. 16)

Last night we had our fifth Spirituality Cafe gathering. The group was predominantly unfamiliar to me. Less than half seemed to have any formal church connection.

Our topic last night was “How do religious institutions inhibit or contribute to my spirituality?”

Spirituality Cafe #4 (see June 17)

Last night we held our fourth Spirituality Cafe. The venue has changed. We have moved to Caffe Misto (2865 Foul Bay Road between Neil & Allenby).

Caffe Misto is a lovely little coffee shop two blocks from the church where I work. It is a perfect location. Sascha the owner has been incredibly welcoming and accommodating. Caffe Misto is not open in the evenings. So we had the whole place to our selves. It was a great venue. The only drawback is the surprisingly noisy refrigeration units. Even with a small group we needed to use the microphone in order to hear each other.

Our question last night was “”How does my understanding of good and evil affect my spirituality?”

Spirituality Cafe #3 (see May 21)

Last night we held our third Spirituality Café at Shine. As the word apparently begins to spread, the number of people attending has grown. We had a full house last night.

For the first time I did not know the majority of people in attendance. We have certainly expanded way beyond the parameters of traditional church-land. Clearly there is a great diversity of people out there who want to discuss spirituality.

Spirituality Cafe #2 (see April 15, 2010)

Wednesday we held our second Spirituality Café at Shine Café. We managed to attract a better percentage of non-Church people this time. People attended who had read about our venture in “Monday Magazine,” and who had seen a poster on the board at the public library.

Our question was “Who Are You To Tell Me What My Spirituality Should Look Like?” This moved quickly into a discussion of authority and whether or not anyone is ever in a position to tell another person what that person should believe.

Spirituality Cafe #1

We had our first Spirituality Café last night. A lovely group met at the local restaurant Shine Café (1548 Fort Street). The conversation was lively, stimulating and challenging. I was struck and moved by the openness, honesty, and even vulnerability in a group including participants some of whom had never met before.

Our beginning question was “Is spirituality the last refuge for those who don’t have the courage to face the pain of life?” I read the famous quote from Karl Marx in which he states that religion is “the opium of the people,” and where he goes on to say that the critique of religion calls on us “to give up a condition that requires illusions.”