liberation

UU Lent 2022 – Day 21 – Rest

johnnyawwsome

A Meditation of Release and Rest

Our bodies carry us through the day. We forget that our bodies are our home. 

A place to be ourselves. A place to release. A place to love. 

We are going to move our bodies. Feel free to move in the most comfortable way for your body. With each movement, feel the tension and worry leaving your body. 

Take a deep breath

Drop your head to your chest. Take another breath rolling your head in a circle over your shoulders. Take another breath and roll your head the other way. Return your head to center 

Take a deep breath bringing your shoulders as high as you can. Let them drop as you let go of the tensions of the day and release your breath. repeat

Stretch out your arms and wiggle them 

Wiggle your fingers

Bend your torso to the left, right, front, and back.

Make a circle with your hips. Move them in some way that brings them back to you so that they are yours alone. 

Wiggle your knees, unlock them if you are standing

Tense the muscles in your calves.

Pointe and flex your feet

Wiggle your toes

Let the movement of your body send the day away. 

Let the movement of your body bring you back to you.

“This is about more than naps. This is about more than naps. This is about more than naps. … This work is saving the lives of so many and saved my life. This work should be respected as a balm for all of humanity. Find ways to connect back to your body and mind. Find ways to intentionally slow down. Find ways to re-imagine and snatch rest right now. It is your divine and human right to do so. WE WILL REST!” – The Nap Bishop – Tricia Hersey – The Nap Ministry

On laughter and liberation

CZ

“Humor obliges us to have an open mind. It obliges us to empathy and forgiveness. If you lose the power to laugh you lose the power to think. Sometimes only humor can break down entrenched positions and rigid ideology… If we can laugh together, we can live together…”

Passover Blessings

CZ

Passover this year lasts from sundown on April 8, 2020 to sundown on April 16, 2020.

The eight-day festival of Passover is celebrated in the early spring, from the 15th through the 22nd of the Hebrew month of Nissan, April 8 – April 16, 2020. Passover (Pesach) commemorates the emancipation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt. Pesach is observed by avoiding leaven, and highlighted by the Seder meals that include four cups of wine, eating matzah and bitter herbs, and retelling the story of the Exodus.

In Hebrew it is known as Pesach (which means “to pass over”), because G‑d passed over the Jewish homes when killing the Egyptian firstborn on the very first Passover eve. – from Chabad.org

Ready by Rabbi Rachel Barenblat

Passover by Kathleen McTigue

Image Creator: Joel S Fishman Image Credit: Getty Images/Photo Researchers RM

Liberation Meditations: Your Liberation Is on the Line

CZ

The truth is, however, that the oppressed are not “marginals,” are not people living “outside” society. They have always been “inside”—inside the structure which made them “beings for others.” The solution is not to “integrate” them into the structure of oppression, but to transform that structure so that they can become “beings for themselves.”  – Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed

Your Liberation Is on the Line by Rev. angel Kyodo williams

Unexpected Sources of Liberation

CZ

During this time of social distancing and quarantine we have all been forced to wrestle with more than just a global pandemic. We have been told to look for silver linings. One of those silver linings is in spending more time with ourselves we are faced with our challenges and struggles.

Alanis Morissette’s song, “Thank U”, functions like a gratitude prayer to the many unexpected sources of liberation in her life.

Perhaps we can use this time to examine our challenges and be thankful for them. In our gratitude, maybe we can set ourselves free.

Sunday, 5 April 2020: Sublime Liberation

Robert

Phoebe Durst will lead the service and Lillie will provide live music.

We are forgoing meeting in person during the coronavirus epidemic. We share music, readings, and hymns, on our usual presentation slides, have a story and a talk, and share joys and sorrows, as well as a virtual “coffee hour” discussion, starting at 10:30, with the service at 11. If you prefer not to be seen, video is optional. If you would like to participate, please email westforkuu@gmail.com for details and a link, or for help with using Skype.

If you are a regular attendee, we have added you to our Google Group if we had an email address. If you have not gotten a group email already, please email westforkuu@gmail.com so that we can add you to the group, which we will be using for staying in touch with each other during this time. Public announcements will continue to be posted here on the website and on our Facebook page and Twitter account, as usual.

Email westforkuu@gmail.com or use our contact form for more information or write to us at PO Box 523, Clarksburg WV 26302