Gathering 2024
DAY 1
CONNECTING HEARTS & TOPIC: What do I believe?
1. The Circle Way
2. Introduce yourself by sharing a little such as where you live, how many Gatherings you have attended, your experience with Peer Spirit Circles, and your expectations of the Gathering.
3. TELL US YOUR STORY as we begin CONNECTING HEARTS. What would you like your small circle friends to know about you? You might share your family/living situation, any work you do or did, your special interests or hobbies, something else?
TOPIC:
IN THINKING ABOUT WHAT WE BELIEVE, WE WILL CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING EXCERPTS LINKED BELOW. You can select each title to jump to its passage. You can also jump to the talking point questions at the bottom by clicking the button above.
The Daily OM
THE HIGHER SELF
Lonerwolf
FINDING YOUR LIFE’S PURPOSE
Eckhart Tolle
THE WAY YOU FEEL
Esther Hicks
WHAT DO I BELIEVE
Walter Rinder
OPEN HEART
from The Daily Om
Approaching life with an open heart means that we have opened the door to a greater consciousness.
Spiritual Teachers have always pointed to the heart as the seat of consciousness and recently, Western Science has found evidence to support this realization. It turns out that the heart has its own central nervous system and is not simple under the Rule of the Brain as formerly believed. Anyone who has taken the time to explore the heart knows this and, more importantly, has realized that the heart is the source of our connection to a consciousness greater than the ego. Approaching life with an open heart means that we have opened the door to this greater consciousness, taking up residence alongside it in the seat of our soul. Fortunately, at this time, there is a lot of support for this shift both energetically as well as practically. To some degree, approaching life with an open heart is as simple as shifting your attention onto your heart.
THE HIGHER SELF
from Lonerwolf
The Higher Self is your True Nature: It is you wise, unconditionally loving, creative, whole and your eternal Inner Center.
Deep down, we all carry a certain level of resonance with these words. We recognize that there is something mysterious within us, something sacred. What few of us manage to come to terms with, however, is that our Higher Self totally goes beyond our conditioned fears, limiting beliefs, wounds, and ego fixations. It actually represents our most authentic state of being that we've lost touch with in modern life.
However, while our Higher Selves are completely free, they can be blocked, repressed, and denied by the limited ego (or small self) like a hoard of dark clouds smothering the sun.
FINDING YOUR LIFE’S PURPOSE
by Eckhart Tolle
When we hear the word “purpose” we tend to think about striving to reach a certain goal in the future. There is another kind of purpose that has nothing to do with time. This is your primary purpose–to be here fully in whatever you do so that the preciousness of the moment remains paramount.
THE WAY YOU FEEL
by Esther Hicks
You can tell by the way you feel, in the midst of what you are doing, whether you’re perceiving from the wholeness of who you are or whether you’ve got yourself crossways of the current and are disallowing everything you believe will make you happy. If you are disallowing clarity, you are disallowing everything that you believe will make you feel secure and sure-footed.
WHAT DO I BELIEVE
by Walter Rinder
Dear Self,
I’ve never written you a letter before. Now, at this time of my life, it is important that my mind and body get together in a oneness with all forms of life. So this letter is a reflection of my feelings.
I am aware that my flesh was created through the conception of a man and a woman. That my soul was placed into my being upon birth when I became a separate living entity, known as a baby. My mind holds the seeds of thought, my body is the tool whereby these seeds manifest themselves into actions and movement, growing in harmony with the universe. All wisdom (the action of knowledge), all forms of love are already within me, only to be opened up or set free by nature’s teachings and other human beings who, have themselves, found the truth of their being. Those who live with a loving spirit.
I believe there are universal truths which guide the growth of all living things to their natural fulfillment. Man’s truth lies within his soul expressed through his feelings. Many of man’s teachings are in direct conflict to the truths I feel within myself. There Is a constant battle between my innerself and the reality of others. When, at times, man’s teachings are the same as I feel, then the harmony and goodness of my purpose and reason for being a human being are clear. All my struggles and pain and hurts are a learning process which man has inflicted upon me. Fears are like barriers against truth. I cannot run free in life with barriers.
Whenever I can relate to another human being, sharing my body in love and mind in knowledge, I become more fulfilled with myself.
I do not comprehend conscience before birth or after death so my most important concern lies in the realm of human life. As one small particle of the human race, I shall share with all people what my senses encompass, what my learning directs and what my feelings interpret. Life is my teacher, I learn.
Let me feel the humility of wisdom
and the struggle of ignorance.
Show me the choice of freedom
and the freedom of choice
the courage of experience
and the experience of courage
the ability to understand
and the understanding of ability
the confidence of decision
and the decision of confidence
the love of man
and man of love
I will grow and build my life
upon those truths
my conscience is made aware of,
for when the love of myself increases,
my understanding expands my love for others.
Day 1Questions
TOPIC: WHAT DO I BELIEVE?
What is my belief system?
Where does my belief come from?
Why do I believe as I do?
Operating from a paradigm (habit, belief, habits that we formed from our society, family, culture, country, friends, teachers, etc.)
Can you speak to how you came to believe as you do?
