Mystical Activism is our focus for May ’s Through Your Body News.

"The mystical journey is where everyone meets their divine essence, their soul without dogma," says Andrew Harvey. In this issue We explore how meeting one's soul leads us to action and change for our cherished ideas.

Thank you to all the people who sponsored me for my bike ride from Houston to Austin (157 miles and benefiting the MS society). All the love, support, and well wishes are greatly appreciated. It was an awesome two day ride. I found reserves of energy and stamina I never knew I had.

Love your way,
Alan Davidson

• The Artist's Way--Stunning Pictures of Our World
• Warrior of Love--Andrew Harvey
• DIRECT PATH YOGA
• ENGAGED SPIRITUALITY
• Bill Moyers
• Witness to the Miraculous
• Emotional Freedom Techniques
• Soul Aerobics
• SACRED ACTIVISM
• Integral WET
• Your Monthly Astrocast by Michael Lutin

Lavender Farm and Tree

See More Beautiful Pictures

Using both sexuality and activism to journey to our deepest spiritual selves
Interview by Alan Davidson

One night in India, the six-year-old Andrew Harvey learned that God could appear anywhere, anytime. The family cook taught him. His parents out for the evening, he ate his dinner on the balcony. Afterward, the family cook sat on the ground beside him and beat a drum in ecstatic rhythms. Suddenly, the cook stopped, set the drum aside, and touched his forehead to the floor. He explained to the surprised child that he was thanking God.

“And you think God hears you?” Harvey asked.

The cook explained. “God is the moon. God is the garden. God is you. God is me. God is all around. God is always seeing. God is always listening. All you need to do is to whisper, and God will hear.” Young Andrew experienced an epiphany that would carry through his entire life.

Full article

THE SACRED MARRIAGE OF YOGA AND MYSTICISM

“The body is an ocean, rich with hidden treasures. Open its innermost chamber And light its lamp.” - Mirabai

Many teachers and students in the yoga community are now searching for and discovering luminous new ways of deepening the body’s experience of spirit. They intuit that it is this experience of dynamic unity that will inspire, encourage and strengthen people to meet the challenges of our time. Many mystical teachers and students also are aware that this moment in history demands not only spiritual knowledge, but also a divinely embodied strength and a capacity for compassionate action. They are turning towards yoga as a way of discovering the new grounding inspiration that they need.

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ENGAGED SPIRITUALITY: And Service is Our Prayer
by Rev. Tom Owen-Towle

Whenever he was describing a position absolutely central to our Unitarian Universalist faith, our minister emeritus John Ruskin Clark would mutter “Sound doctrine, sound doctrine.” Clark clearly reserved this phrase for rare occasions. And so do I.

One principle that surely qualifies for sound doctrine is the belief that we Unitarian Universalists are called to be “mystical activists” which means social justice and spiritual growth are as Siamese twins...when torn asunder, both wither and die.

Our Unitarian Universalist history is overflowing with revolutionaries whose justice-building was grounded in a mature, ever-evolving spirituality from Dorothea Dix’s work in prison reform to Whitney Young’s stands for racial equality. The fact is that authentic prophets in our heritage have regularly attended worship. Why? So that their activism might not grow thin and weary. Their external work was only as strong as their interior renewal.

Every Sunday we declare that robust religion includes a balanced summons to personal growth, social action, and spiritual enlightenment. We call our communal sharing a worship service. Why? Because the linkage is unmistakable: we worship, then we serve. If we are duly inspired, we should leave church with some sort of marching orders. Our souls are transformed in order to reform the worlds in which we live. Our Mondays should be different because of our Sundays.

Read Full Sermon

A Question for Journalists: How Do We Cover Penguins and the Politics of Denial?
by Bill Moyers

Keynote Speech to the Society of Environmental Journalists Convention Austin, Texas - October 1, 2005

I don't fit neatly into the job description of an environmental journalist although I have kept returning to the beat ever since my first documentary on the subject some 30 years ago. That was a story about how the new Republican governor of Oregon, Tom McCall, had set out to prove that the economy and the environment could share the center lane on the highway to the future.

Those were optimistic years for the emerging environmental movement. Rachel Carson had rattled the cage with Silent Spring and on the first Earth Day in 1970 twenty million Americans rose from the grassroots to speak for the planet. Even Richard Nixon couldn't say no to so powerful a subpoena by public opinion, and he put his signature to some far-reaching measures for environmental protection.

Read Full Speech

by Lois J. Wetzel

Life sometimes offers us the chance to witness the miraculous, if we happen to be looking. I feel blessed to be occasionally awake enough to notice when it occurs. Some people seem to have no "file folder" in their consciousness for the miraculous, and when it happens, either they do not notice, or they immediately forget that it happened. Fortunately there are many more all the time who do have this particular file folder. I have met some them in the course of doing my work, mostly using the BodyTalk System. I would like to tell about some of them, names changed, of course.

One situation involving acceptance of the miraculous was a father and son team referred to me by a long-time client of mine. The boy, Aaron, was fifteen years old and had an extremely low platelet count. Although he had not been diagnosed with leukemia, he was seeing a leukemia specialist. He experienced blood coming to the surface of the skin if he scratched himself only lightly, leaving tiny red bumps of blood in the wake of his fingers. He was also bruising very easily. The father, Tim, and the son Aaron, each came for three BodyTalk sessions, the father was there in support and camaraderie, it appeared. Tim later confided that post-session they would compare notes, scratching their heads, saying things like, "I think something is happening to me, but I am not sure what. Do you think something is happening to you?"

Read More About Body Talk

Where emotional relief brings physical health. Self help method often works where nothing else will
By Gary Craig

EFT is a new discovery that has provided thousands with relief from pain, diseases and emotional issues. Simply stated, it is a unique version of acupuncture except you don't use needles. Instead, you stimulate well established energy meridian points on your body by tapping on them with your fingertips. The process is easy to memorize and is portable so you can do it anywhere. It launches off the EFT Discovery Statement which says...

"The cause of all negative emotions is a disruption in the body's energy system."

And because our physical pains and diseases are so obviously connected with our emotions the following statement has also proven to be true... "Our unresolved negative emotions are major contributors to most physical pains and diseases."

Full Article

Nia twists, turns, and packs yoga with a punch
By Megan Kaplan/ Utne magazine

May / June 2006 Issue

On a quiet Sunday morning, at a dance studio in Minneapolis, 15 barefoot women are enthusiastically twisting their hips to a three-count beat. A casual observer might surmise that a wild tango class is in full swing, but not for long. Over the next hour, instructor Jill Goux will lead her blissed-out charges through sharp tae kwon do punches, stoic yoga poses, and make-up-your-own modern dance moves - - a routine that's as varied as the playlist in the background.

Light-years away from the "go for the burn" era of aerobics, these women are practicing Nia, a mind- body discipline that has garnered a cultlike following since it was introduced in 1983. Pursuing an alternative to the hard-driving, high-impact fitness that characterized the '80s, founders Debbie Rosas and Carlos Rosas looked to nine classic disciplines for inspiration. Their creation, Nia, which stands for Neuromuscular Integrative Action, is a fusion of martial arts (tai chi, tae kwon do, and aikido), dance arts (jazz, Duncan, and modern), and healing arts (yoga, Feldenkrais, and the Alexander technique) set to music.

Full Article

Finding a New Political Compass for America

The purpose of this conference is to galvanize participants to develop a deeper interface between their spiritual practice and social action in order to create a sacred center to meet the crises of our age. We believe that to create this sacred center we need to integrate the insights of social, political, scientific and spiritual knowledge as a way to encourage the unfolding of a true Wisdom Civilization.

A distinguished group of keynote speakers will include: Andrew Harvey, Jean Houston, Robert Kennedy, Jr., Caroline Myss, Marianne Williamson, Rabbi Michael Lerner, Paul Ray with local leaders Sheley Secrest, Bill Grace, Kathianne Lewis and Rev. Jack Sullivan Jr.

To Learn More About this Conference

Weekend Experiential Training in Austin
Led By Diane Hamilton

Integral WET is a weekend immersion into Integral Institute’s highly acclaimed Integral Life Practice. The premise of ILP is simple: by carefully integrating physical, psychological and spiritual practices, you accelerate your growth in each of them. At Integral WET you'll get a direct experience of integrating four key practice modules:

• the big mind process, developed by Zen master Genpo Roshi, will give you a genuine satori in three hours of facilitated interplay • the 3 body practice is a daily routine which integrates strength training (physical body), energy work (subtle body), and open awareness (causal body) • the 3-2-1 shadow process is an elegant way of revealing hidden aspects of yourself • Ken Wilber’s AQAL Framework, the most comprehensive map of reality available, will guide your ongoing exploration into the territory of You.

JUNE 09 – 11, 06 The Crossings Austin, TX

For more information

Michael Lutin is the weirdly wonderful, wise and mad astrologer for VANITY FAIR MAGAZINE. He doses your planetary advice with humor and whimsy.

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