Category: Uncategorized

  • Pluriel

    Alice Faye

    Pluriel (“Plural”)

    “The world is plural, we are plural, we have to find the way to live together, curious, the one of the other. And avoid physical violence.”

    EDITOR’S NOTE: Today’s Meditation comes from Alice Faye, a teacher who follows SHINE YOUR LIGHT from her home in Strasbourg, France. She shares a poem by Victor Hugo, and places it within the context of the recent murder of Samuel Paty, another French teacher, who was killed for teaching freedom of expression and thought. We have chosen not to edit Ms. Faye’s meditation, as we believe her personal translation to English captures the beauty of her native language.

    On October 16 in France, a teacher was killed, cruelly, near his school, going back home at the beginning of the autumn’s holidays. We all, teacher as I, have been stunned, breathless, voiceless, in front of this act of violence. Samuel Paty was teaching freedom of expression, freedom of mind. It’s difficult for me to write about it, that’s why I only want to share with you what I believe in, and show you the way I want to take after that.

    Everyday, at school, with the pupils, we try to make understand plurality of opinions, importance of talking together, not to be agreed, BUT to include the world is plural, that we have to respect our reciprocal opinions, even if we do not believe exactly in the same values, traditions or ways of life. And talking about that, exchanging, sometimes peacefully, sometimes with anger, is the first step to live together, and the only way to express his opinion. When talking, we use to read some inspiring texts, from people who defends different points of view, sometimes different as ours, to consider many opinions, and, maybe, or not, change ours or enhance them. Talking together is the first way; it’s a treasure. Reading or hearing what other people thought is the second.

    The world is plural, we are plural, we have to find the way to live together, curious, the one of the other. And avoid physical violence.

    It’s our work as teacher, every days, worldwide, we continue to defend plurality of opinion, expression and nonviolence.

    I want to give you to read the beginning of a poem, “La vie au champs” (“Life in the fields”), from Victor Hugo’s book Les Contemplations (1856) you maybe know, and that I want to read to my pupils when I see them again, Monday morning, first classes after Samuel Paty’s murder. A text opening us to the plurality of mind, belief we are all, worldwide, made of the same fiber, and that we can find joy and strength to live by meeting and sharing. Je suis une enseignante (“I am a teacher.”).

    Le soir, à la campagne, on sort, on se promène,
    Le pauvre dans son champ, le riche en son domaine;
    Moi, je vais devant moi; le poète en tout lieu
    Se sent chez lui, sentant qu’il est partout chez Dieu.
    Je vais volontiers seul. Je médite ou j’écoute.
    Pourtant, si quelqu’un veut m’accompagner en route,
    J’accepte. Chacun a quelque chose en l’esprit
    Et tout homme est un livre où Dieu lui-même écrit.
    Chaque fois qu’en mes mains un de ces livres tombe,
    Volume où vit une âme et que scelle la tombe,
    J’y lis.

    Translation:
    In the evening, in the countryside, we go out, we walk,
    The poor in his field, the rich in his domain;
    I am going in front of myself; the poet everywhere
    Feels at home, feeling that he is everywhere with God.
    I gladly go alone. I meditate or I listen.
    However, if someone wants to accompany me on the way,
    I accept. Everyone has something in their mind;
    And every man is a book in which God himself writes.
    Every time one of these books falls into my hands,
    Volume where a soul lives and the tomb seals,
    I read there.

    Ask ChatGPTOn October 16 in France, a teacher was killed, cruelly, near his school, going back home at the beginning of the autumn’s holidays. We all, teacher as I, have been stunned, breathless, voiceless, in front of this act of violence. Samuel Paty was teaching freedom of expression, freedom of mind. It’s difficult for me to write about it, that’s why I only want to share with you what I believe in, and show you the way I want to take after that.

    Everyday, at school, with the pupils, we try to make understand plurality of opinions, importance of talking together, not to be agreed, BUT to include the world is plural, that we have to respect our reciprocal opinions, even if we do not believe exactly in the same values, traditions or ways of life. And talking about that, exchanging, sometimes peacefully, sometimes with anger, is the first step to live together, and the only way to express his opinion. When talking, we use to read some inspiring texts, from people who defends different points of view, sometimes different as ours, to consider many opinions, and, maybe, or not, change ours or enhance them. Talking together is the first way; it’s a treasure. Reading or hearing what other people thought is the second.

    The world is plural, we are plural, we have to find the way to live together, curious, the one of the other. And avoid physical violence.

    It’s our work as teacher, every days, worldwide, we continue to defend plurality of opinion, expression and nonviolence.

    I want to give you to read the beginning of a poem, “La vie au champs” (“Life in the fields”), from Victor Hugo’s book Les Contemplations (1856) you maybe know, and that I want to read to my pupils when I see them again, Monday morning, first classes after Samuel Paty’s murder. A text opening us to the plurality of mind, belief we are all, worldwide, made of the same fiber, and that we can find joy and strength to live by meeting and sharing. Je suis une enseignante (“I am a teacher.”).

    Le soir, à la campagne, on sort, on se promène,
    Le pauvre dans son champ, le riche en son domaine;
    Moi, je vais devant moi; le poète en tout lieu
    Se sent chez lui, sentant qu’il est partout chez Dieu.
    Je vais volontiers seul. Je médite ou j’écoute.
    Pourtant, si quelqu’un veut m’accompagner en route,
    J’accepte. Chacun a quelque chose en l’esprit
    Et tout homme est un livre où Dieu lui-même écrit.
    Chaque fois qu’en mes mains un de ces livres tombe,
    Volume où vit une âme et que scelle la tombe,
    J’y lis.

    Translation:
    In the evening, in the countryside, we go out, we walk,
    The poor in his field, the rich in his domain;
    I am going in front of myself; the poet everywhere
    Feels at home, feeling that he is everywhere with God.
    I gladly go alone. I meditate or I listen.
    However, if someone wants to accompany me on the way,
    I accept. Everyone has something in their mind;
    And every man is a book in which God himself writes.
    Every time one of these books falls into my hands,
    Volume where a soul lives and the tomb seals,
    I read there.

  • Sister Judi Morin, SSA

    Sister Judi Morin, SSA

    Four Choices

    When I think of the United States of America, I pray that the disconnections can reverse so that the U.S.A. is truly the United States. As I listen to the news, I see so much of what we call the “Four D’s of Disconnection” which leads to disunion:
    • Diagnosing – judging, labeling, criticizing
    • Denying responsibility for one’s actions or feelings… blaming the other or myself in some way
    • Demanding – rather than requesting, leaving the other free
    • Deserving – I or they deserve or don’t deserve

    It is so easy – and dividing – to live our lives in this arena.

    But we do have a choice.

    As I prayed this morning, I “heard:”
    “My dear world, you are heading for a crash. Slow down. Breathe. Relax into the present, My presence. Let love come into you.”

    We, each of us, can make a difference. We can light our candle, sending light into a dark world. Here is one way that helps me to light my candle in part of the world.

    When I hear someone express a different opinion from my own strong opinion, I have four choices to direct the conversation:

    1. I can see them as wrong and argue with all of my clear concise logic. Has that ever worked for you? For me it just divides us further.
    2. I can go silent because I feel unable to come up with a clear argument. I go away feeling disappointed in my lack of brilliance. This just increases my own frustration and further divides us.

    But, there are two other choices, choices that light our candle for the world. Before we share our own thoughts, in order to be heard and to hear, we need to be open to each other. So here are two possibilities:
    3. I can stop and breathe and get in touch with my own feelings and needs around the topic. For example: “I am feeling really sad and would like unity in our country.”
    4. I can stop and breathe and open to the other’s feelings and needs. For example, “I can hear your deep love and care for our country and your desire and hope that all would love our country too.”

    How do I choose between #3 and #4?

    I need the help of the Divine Spirit to choose. So I breathe in God’s Spirit and open to the other. I ask what would be the more uniting start in response in order to increase unity: expressing my own feelings and needs or listening for those of the other.

    Then, bathed in the love of the creator of each of us, I look on the other with that care that I would love to receive and begin.

    Sister Judi Morin, SSA, of Victoria, B.C. Canada, is co-author of the “NVC (Nonviolent Communication) Toolkit for Facilitators.” She provided chaplaincy at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. This was followed by 26 years as a prison chaplain with the Correctional Service of Canada and Center for Nonviolent Communication, for which she was a certified trainer. Sister Judi still provides her skills as a mentor and facilitator for groups and individuals seeking to empower others through restorative justice.

  • The Day After

    Kelley Lum Oshiro

    The Day After

    I wrote this the day after the election 4 years ago:

    My Choose Love work and social emotional learning matters more than ever now, just like my service-learning work mattered so much during the Bush years and especially after 9-11 and during the Iraq war. This is what will keep me moving forward, keep me going, keep me hopeful in an America I no longer recognize this morning. But when I work with the keiki [children], it will come back to me — my fortitude, the courage to keep going for them and for their futures. There is much to be grateful for, still, much. Don’t lose sight of all that you have that is worth fighting for. If you are gay or a person of color or a woman or an immigrant, know that more people voted FOR you than against you and you ARE the majority in this country no matter what your President may espouse. Be courageous, stay grateful, forgive this horrible event and be compassionate moving forward with actionable deeds that continue to move us in a positive direction. Don’t give up on climate change!! Forge ahead!! All of this is what it takes to CHOOSE LOVE!!! Let’s do it!

    I am thankful for love. What an amazing “thing” love is. It is not an emotion, I think it is its own entity, like God, and they say God is love, and to me, love is God. It is all that matters. It makes all the difference. It keeps us alive and it lives in us all, yes ALL, and it has unlimited potential. Let’s seize that potential and if we do, the world will be a more peaceful place and we will be full.

    I begin by realizing, deeply feeling, and gratefully acknowledging my love for all of you. Thank you. May love and peace fill your hearts and mind while hope leads with intention!

    Kelley Lum Oshiro served as the Hawaii Ambassador for the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement since its inception in Hawaii in 2015 until her recent retirement during the summer of 2020. The organization’s mission is to ensure that every child has access to social emotional learning and to facilitate this teaching through schools, communities and families. As such, she extended her services to all teachers and administrators on all islands.

    As Executive Director of the Hawai‘i non-profit, Youth Service Hawaii, Kelley engaged youth as active, compassionate citizens through service-learning. She was also Program Director for Epic ‘Ohana Conferencing, where she developed and successfully implemented a new program for youth aging out of the foster care system.

    Kelley’s passion for working with youth has also involved her as Peer Mentor for the Pacific Regional Center, National Service-Learning Exchange, and with or on the following steering committees and advisory boards: Make a Difference Day Hawaii, Aloha United Way Youth Day of Caring, National Youth Service Day, Hawaii International Education Week, Ewa Weed and Seed, Hawaii State Service Learning Conference, and the Governor’s Conference on Volunteerism. She is also the author of “Letting Go: A Memoir,” and the singer-composer of songs on a CD produced as a legacy to her children, “Butterflies and Babes.”

  • Thank You

    Chaplain Dan Hix

    Thank You

    “In ordinary life we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in LETTERS AND PAPERS FROM PRISON

    It took no time to realize I had my hands full, I was dealing with a character, a true character.

    Extroverted, opinionated, with a full head of wild, white hair and a ready smile which he occasionally, with great effort and discomfort, raised his face enough to share. And it took no time to realize George was going to manage our time together. “Have a seat,” he instructed and launched into a recounting of what the last few harrowing weeks had been like for him; a whole series of debilitating and frustrating struggles with failing health. Finally, when he took a breath, concerned that perhaps we had not addressed the real reason for our visit and worried the pager might go off again at any second, I asked, “George, the nurse called and said you wanted a chaplain, is there something in particular you need to talk with me about.” “Oh,” he grinned, cantankerously, and I believe, even winked, “I told her I wanted to talk to someone about death and dying,” and laughed, “that got her attention.” But while frailty and mortality were on his mind, what he really needed yesterday was for someone to take some time and listen to him; to stop treating him like any other patient and hear his story. Too much to tell here, but a great deal of what he shared was about his son, born profoundly disabled, non verbal, and completely dependent. He wanted me to know how against the advice of doctors at Cleveland Clinic he personally cared for his son, shaping his professional life around being available and present, even moving to Tennessee from Chicago because his son could not tolerate the cold. And now in his eighties, George no longer had the strength, and his son would be going to a care facility for the first time. “It was inevitable,” he said with resignation, that great smile still covering his grief. But there was something about his tone which felt like an acknowledgment, maybe even a kind of fulfillment, absent even a hint of self-pity; “I did all I could do, I kept my promise.”

    Obviously, I was privileged, as I so often am in my work; invited to stand for a few minutes on suddenly sacred ground, listening to a story of love and great sacrifice, a story which unavoidably challenges and changes the listener. I tried to tell George how grateful I was and that I would not forget this encounter, but like most great storytellers, he quickly responded with another story, this story. “A while back Michael and I went shopping in Aldi’s. I parked next to a big Lincoln and we went in and got a few things. When we came out I noticed there was a man sitting in the front passenger seat of the Lincoln with the window down. As I was loading stuff and helping Michael into the car the man said, ‘Thank you.’ Just, ‘thank you.’ I was startled and turned to the man, somewhat confused. ‘I have had a stroke,’ he explained. ‘My wife does everything for me. She drives, she shops, she does all the work around the house. She does everything for me. So, I always try to remember to tell her thank you. I try to tell her everyday.’” Then, George went on to say, “This man in the Lincoln, this total stranger, looked at Michael and said, ‘He wants to thank you. I know he can’t do it, but he wants to thank you. So, I am thanking you for him. Thank you.’”

    Holy.

    In this season of thanksgiving, in the midst of the chaos and bickering infesting our civil discourse, pay attention, fight for something good, for a reason to say thank you. With all the anxiety and loud distractions, you probably are not even aware how much you need to do it. Do it. It will change you, bless you. It will make you rich. It will heal this old, broken world.

    Thank you, George, I needed that. Dan

    Dan Hix presently serves as a chaplain with Turkey Creek Medical Center in Knoxville, Tennessee. He is originally from North Carolina and came to Knoxville in the fall of 1988, taking a position with the Baptist Healthsystem of East Tennessee. Dan received his Clinical Pastoral Training at Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio and North Carolina Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem, NC. He is endorsed by The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship for hospital chaplaincy. Dan is a graduate of Wake Forest University and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

  • IMUA (Forward)

    Danette Kong

    Ellen Caringer
    Danette Kong
    Scott Landis
    Bob Nelson

    IMUA (Forward!)

    On August 18th of this year, the four of us – Ellen Caringer, Scott Landis, Bob Nelson, and Danette Kong – sat down together to envision ways we could support others seeking to maintain Faith and Hope during the election process and outcome through our prayers and meditations. For us, this has always been a spiritual calling that started as a bit of a “mustard seed,” limited in its scope and outreach. It was another week before we even considered the idea of starting a website to make our message more available to others.

    You know what they say about prayer/meditation? It changes the person praying. Over these several weeks, we have also been reminded that it not only calms the spirit — it fortifies and humbles, it builds faith and awareness… it launches dreams and hopes that one never imagined!

    Our government remains in a tenuous situation; our people are faced with a myriad of responses and emotions. Yet, we believe FAITH is real and ever-present in this moment. And it is, perhaps, even more necessary than ever.

    There are still issues of Justice and Equality which must be understood and confronted. There are still elements of our identity as Americans which need to be both challenged and celebrated. There is still Hope for who we can be.

    But it is not a simplistic task which we face.

    We invite you to continue this journey with us. We continue to pursue Truth and Healing. But, as has been pointed out by our friend, The Rev. Dr. Allan Boesak of South Africa: “True Reconciliation cannot take place apart from genuine Justice.”

    It is with that in mind that we will continue this website, seeking to be a Voice for Healing – but also, a Voice for Justice. We envision future meditations presented by people representing voices that seek Justice, and that can help inform and Shine a Light on our paths toward True Reconciliation.

    With every good wish for continued Grace on your personal journey, we extend our deepest Mahalo for connecting with us!

  • Make Light a Way of Life

    Ellen Caringer, PhD

    Make Light a Way of Life

    Our Shine Your Light Team had the opportunity to have a conversation with the Rev. Dr. Allan Boesak, renowned South African theologian and social justice activist. Dr. Boesak said something that really stuck with me. He said “evil abhors a vacuum.” Whether it be quantum physics, psychology, or Buddhist spiritual writings, I am increasingly intrigued by both the scientific research and the theoretical/spiritual writings suggesting that we tend to absorb or resonate with the level of energy to which we are constantly exposed. Even if only watching others who act with the intent to gain power at the expense of others, or when we watch deliberate harm and destruction (be it physical, political or psychological), it destabilizes us. It lowers our energy by creating fearful and stressed thoughts and emotions.

    These same ideas would explain the increased hatred, fear and anger we’ve seen in our own country over the last four years in a way we’ve not previously witnessed in our lifetime. They would also explain how people who were in need, who were vulnerable, and who unfortunately may have been experiencing a vacuum in their lives, were willing to vote away their power and their democracy in an exchange for security. It would explain why some were open and vulnerable to absorbing the evil perpetuated by the new theology of “America first” and “me first” — a new theology that espouses that the welfare of our fellow citizens no longer matters, even in the midst of a raging epidemic.

    As I thought about the “antidote” to this dilemma, I once again turned to our theme of Shining Your Light. Light and love can ALSO fill that vacuum of neediness. But why hasn’t that happened? Is it possible that we were so distraught by the evil we were seeing, that we fell into those lower energy levels, too? Have we inadvertently, perhaps, contributed to creating deeper and deeper levels of distrust between opposing ideologies and even between family members, because we were operating from the lower energies of anger and defensiveness rather than the powerful energies of love and light?

    If this might indeed be the case, perhaps it’s time to ask a more concrete and practical question:
    How do we create more light around us? Saying the world needs more light and love sounds a bit like an overly-simplistic platitude. Perhaps it’s time to ask a better, smarter question. What are the qualities of light and love that begin to fill a vacuum created by neediness? What do we, at an individual level, need to do to illuminate and shine more in our own lives? In creating light-filled actions, might we have a chance to literally change the resonance, the energy, that surrounds us and our neighbor? For those in the Christian faith, the Bible maintains that there is great power in love, compassion and light. And I think science is confirming this as well.

    So today, think simply . . . a simple gesture of kindness, a thoughtful surprise gift for a needy neighbor, a phone call of encouragement. What would it look like — what would it feel like, to imbue our every action with love, with a deliberate intention to spread light? That means we might really need to invest time in meditating on filling our own lives with love and with peace so that we can then spread that joy to others. Let us take time to visualize a world that is filled with more light, more love, and more peace, and then consider an action we can take, even the simplest action, that brings light, love and peace into reality in a concrete way.

    We can do this! Let’s fill the vacuum, and not leave it open for evil to fill. Deep in my being, I know that when we all commit to this way of action, the effects are not additive, they are multiplicative. Let us make light a way life, moment by moment, day by day. Ironically, we’ll be the ones that reap the greatest blessing. Let us make light a way life, moment by moment, day by day. Ironically, we’ll be the ones that reap the greatest blessing.

    Dr. Ellen Caringer is a member of the Shine Your Light Team, and is a psychologist and neuropsychologist on the island of Maui. She has been church pianist for Keawalaʻi Congregational Church for over twenty years, and is one of the founders of Hui Aloha ʻo Maui Indivisible.

  • Reflections on Thanksgiving

    Rev. Dr. Roxanne Whitelight

    Reflections on Thanksgiving

    We invite you to meditate on behalf of sufficient nutrition, nourishment and understanding for our world, using simple and meaningful movements of Chi Kung as led by the Rev. Dr. Roxanne Whitelight.

    “Give us this day our daily bread.” – The Rev. Dr. Roxanne WhiteLight of Kihei, Maui, provides a simple meditation in movement, praying for sufficient nutrition, nourishment and understanding for ourselves and others.

    The Rev. Dr. Roxanne Whitelight is the leader of the on-line Creation Spirituality Interfaith Experience. Roxanne is as a regular guest preacher at several local Maui churches. She is part of Resource for Christian Spirituality that offers pilgrimages to the site of the former Hansen’s Disease Settlement at Kalaupapa, on Molokai. She regularly teaches classes and leads retreats on a diverse range of topics including the blessings of creation, Aramaic Understanding of the Jesus’s message, Mary Magdalene and spiritual development. She also teaches Chi Kung, Interplay and other embodied spiritual practices. She was ordained in 1993.

  • An Evening with Allan Boesak

    An Evening with Allan Boesak

    The Rev. Dr. Allan Boesak, author and global human rights activist, is a South African Black liberation theologian who played a leading role in the anti-apartheid struggle.

    On November 14, 2022, he inspired us in our journey forward through the political, social and spiritual climate of our time. Dr. Boesak gave us words of hope, challenging us to think of ways to respond within our communities and nation.

  • Reflections on Thanksgiving

    The Rev. Dr. David K. Popham

    Reflections on Thanksgiving

    As we become more aware of the dark side of American expansionism and the injury and hysterical trauma it continues to leave in its wake, what do we do with “national” holidays?

    How do we celebrate Thanksgiving in a time of decolonialization? As we become more aware of the dark side of American expansionism and the injury and historical trauma it continues to leave in its wake, what do we do with “national” holidays?

    In our time we are witnessing the success of moving the emphasis off the “discoverers of the new world” and recognizing the First Peoples. This is a shift in awareness that human histories in the Americas did not start with Columbus, or even the Vikings, but with those brave souls who ventured across the Bering Strait land bridge during the last Ice Age and built intricate civilizations across North and South America.

    Similarly, as we all know, human history in Hawai‘i did not start with Captain Cook. Rather, adventurous souls, with a wisdom of stars and currents, sailed across vast open waters. Here they raised up a society that developed a wholistic approach to life tied to the ‘aina and the moana, bequeathing a deep spirituality that remains palpable in the Hawaiian culture to this day.

    As we celebrate Thanksgiving, let us be mindful of those who came before Captain Cook and Columbus, who lived and loved and attuned their spiritual sensitivity to the revelation of God through sacred stories and understandings that are different from those in the Bible, yet, nonetheless, possess the ability to connect the faithful to God.

    The Hawaiʻi Conference of the United Church of Christ is heir both to the colonizers and the colonized. Our legacy blesses us with this peculiar perplexity that includes within it the hope of God to appropriately reconcile the hurts of the past while seeking a healed future. As we celebrate Thanksgiving in the midst of our contemporary pandemic, may we come to understand better how the influence of a foreign invader (human or virus), while changing everything, cannot remove from us the bounteous love of God.
    The Rev. Dr. David K. Popham is Conference Minister for the Hawaiʻi Conference of the United Church of Christ.