We speak of having a good life, having a bad life, giving life, losing life — expressions that make it sound like life is something we have. But do we have life, or does life have us?
Our partner, Spirituality & Practice, is offering an eCourse [August 31 – September 25, 2020] crafted from a series of lectures given by Br. David in 2011. We invite you to learn more…
Faith, hope, and love abide, but the greatest of these is love: the surprise of all surprises, a choice to say “yes” to what life brings us.
We speak of having a good life, having a bad life, giving life, losing life — expressions that make it sound like life is something we have. But do we have life, or does life have us? Br. David Steindl-Rast, a Benedictine monk and the co-founder of gratefulness.org, guides us to notice that both are true. Life belongs to us; we belong to life; and thereby to the very Source of life. We are totally embedded in life, and by “becoming yes,” we enter fully into it.
This retreat is the last of three on the “Divine Virtues” based on videos of Br. David’s talks in 2011. The virtues are faith (Trusting in Life), hope (Engaging Hope), and love. These positive attitudes, which appear in all religious traditions and spiritual paths, connect us to the deepest reality of life, the divine spark within us.
He explores how any profound experience of belonging feeds us intellectually, emotionally, and morally, and how we can thaw any frozen waters we encounter with the warmth of our own depth of inner experience.
In the videos for this retreat, Br. David’s bubbles over with poetry and insights born from years of contemplation and compassionate action. In the spirit of true religion — which literally means “to tie again” bonds which have been broken — he takes us on a healing journey that helps reconnect us “with all the plants and the animals and the whole cosmos, the stars and galaxies and everything.” He explores how any profound experience of belonging feeds us intellectually, emotionally, and morally, and how we can thaw any frozen waters we encounter with the warmth of our own depth of inner experience.
The eCourse consists of 12 emails, each with a link to a video of Br. David’s teachings about love, accompanied by written reflections. Study questions draw out your insights to record in your journal and share in the Practice Circle, an online forum open 24/7 to the eCourse community.
This retreat was created by Patricia Campbell Carlson, formerly Executive Director of A Network for Grateful Living and now Program Director at Spirituality & Practice, assisted by Margaret Wakeley, who served for many years as Program and Community Development Coordinator at A Network for Living and recently retired from her role as Spirituality & Practice’s Creative Director. Both attended these talks and have worked closely with Br. David on gratefulness.org.
Choose to live in love!
This eCourse is offered by our partner, Spirituality & Practice and runs
Monday, August 31 – Friday, September 25
(4 CEHs for Chaplains available)