Author: CZ

What does it mean to be an Ally?

CZ

Being an ally is more than being a friend. Being an ally means standing up. Being an ally means a lot of things to a lot of people.

In this article from the UUA, presenter Tim Wise talks about how to be an ally and the road map to racial equality.

This article from Everyday Feminism, Jamie Utt describes things that an ally can do along with the idea that being an ally isn’t a self-proclaimed identity.

#standingonthesideoflove #blacklivesmatter

~Namaste
Cricket

Mindfulness Meditation

CZ

Mindfulness is a simple word, but it can mean so much. There can be many definitions but this sums it up.

Mindfulness can also be described this way.

Mindfulness is the practice of living in the here and now without judgment. I believe that it is the key to living in today’s world. I believe that it is the key to being a good ally and a good person.

Here is a guided mindfulness
meditation .

Hopefully this will bring you peace and hope as well.

~Namaste
Cricket

The Theology of Unitarian Universalists

CZ

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/870528

“Our faith, of course, does have requirements.  To become a Unitarian Universalist, you make no doctrinal promises, but you are required to do much more.  You are required to choose your own beliefs — you promise, that is, to use your reason and your experience and the dictates of your conscience to decide upon your own theology, and then you are asked to actually live by that theology.  You are asked to take your chosen faith very seriously. ”

~Namaste
Cricket

Meditation for a Beautiful Day

CZ

By Sara Campbell

Ah, how beautiful is this day. How crisp and clean the air. How clear the sky. How full of life the teeming earth. And we are alive! Yes, we feel the beat of our own hearts, the pulsing of life in our veins, the rhythm of our breathing. We come into the silence of this time with gratitude for this day.
We come also with our needs. Our gratitude stirs us to praise and sing our thanksgiving. Our loneliness draws us into the company of others. Our restlessness draws us into these moments of quiet. Our longing for the spirit brings us before the mystery of the holy. Our desire to heal our own wounds and the wounds of our world brings us here to renew our strength and hope.

And we come into this space because we have gifts to share: words of healing and encouragement for those who are burdened; songs of praise and hope; smiles of comfort and affection; deeds of love and kindness.

Each of us comes to dip into the well that nourishes our hungry spirits. Each of us comes with our own cup of goodness to pour into the well. We drink together. May we be strengthened in our bonds of love and peace.

Source: 1997 UUMA Worship Materials Collection

~Namaste
Cricket

To the Blessing of the Season

CZ

By Ken Sawyer

To the blessings of this season,
may our senses be alert
and our hearts take heed,
for in a busy and sometimes tragic world,
beauty is often the comfort most sure.

To the blessings of warm, accepting human relationship,
may our hearts be open
and our minds take heed,
for in a lonely and sometimes frightening world,
friendship is often the support than upholds us.

To the blessings of high ideals and noble aspirations,
may our minds be open,
and our hands take heed,
for in a troubled and sometimes dangerous world,
justice is often the hope that sustains us.

Forgiving each other and ourselves for all we do not sense,
for the love we do not share,
for the acts of justice we avoid,
let us treasure the parts of ourselves that do respond.

Blessed be the life that comforts, sustains and upholds us,
and blessed be we who do, now and then, awaken to its grace.

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May these words lift and bless you.

~Namaste
Cricket