“She who Hears and Responds” with Reverend Karen Lindquist
“Our lady of everything Mother Earth, Goddess, Gaia, Pachamana, Nature, Grandmother, Hera, Isis, Demeter, Parvati, Shakti, Devi, Great Mother, Kuan Yin, Tara, Gyatri and Mary are a few names in which we try to describe this ancient creative universal energy” ~ Wild Woman Sisterhood
We can draw upon the enduring Ancient Creative Universal Energy of the Our Lady of Everything to obtain much needed healing!
This worship service will be in-person.
(or you may view the service in Live Stream on our Youtube page)
See COVID Responsibilities here.
Our 2022 Spiritual Discernment:
Encountering the Infinite: Meeting the Divine Mother in Humanity
~ a contemplative, exploratory inquiry and discovery
Our June focus: “She who Hears and Responds” She who responds without fail manifests in ourselves as we actively listen to and engage with the needs of our society.
Divine Mother Prayer
Dear Divine Mother,
I bow down before you with utmost respect and the clear awareness that you are present in me and that I am a part of you. You gave birth to me and provide me with everything I need for my nourishment.
You give me air to breathe, water to drink, food to eat,
and medicinal herbs to heal me when I am sick.
I know the love we share will last for eternity,
and because of this my spirit is eternally devoted to you.
Each time I manifest, I am fresh and new; and each time I return, you receive and embrace me with great compassion.
You are the great Earth, you are this beautiful blue planet.
You are all ways the divine feminine expresses herself on earth.
You are pure light, one with the Holy Spirit…
You are fragrant, cool, kind, and pure.
You are infinitely beautiful.
I bow in gratitude of your great capacity of receiving, taking care of, and transforming everything; including filth of all kinds, poisonous fumes, and even radioactive waste. I am grateful for all the children you have birthed; millions of species, amongst which the human species is just one.
Oh Divine Mother, you are not only a mother to us all,
but you are the mother of all Gods, Buddhas and Saints.
Even our parents are your children.
Whenever I am with you,
I dwell with you in infinite patience,
unending beauty and eternal peace.
May my mind open
to the essential truth
of our oneness.
Amen*
The more we heal ourselves the more available we are to help others heal. The journey to healing from trauma is often a long one. But survivors know that people do heal, people are resilient, and we are all capable of creating inspiring and enlightening possibilities for our future as we make healing a priority in our life.
“Understanding trauma is liberating. Healing trauma is revolutionary. Speaking about trauma is political…Goddess is showing the way, cell-by-cell, emotion-by-emotion, sensation-by-sensation. Healing trauma is a portal for freedom and a gateway to societal and collective change.
… As repeating loops of trauma restriction release–in the mind, body and nervous system—Goddess is re-embodied and rises… and the patriarchy falls.” ~ Re-Membering with Goddess
Emotional healing work is an essential part of the holistic healing experience. The purpose of emotional therapy is to explore the buried wounds and pain of the past, bring unconscious patterns and conditioning to light and integrate suppressed emotions into the present. Healing the emotions allows one to live more wholly, with more presence, self-acceptance and joy; to move beyond stagnation and victimhood into responsibility and conscious choice. Emotional healing, with the spiritual practices of contemplation and meditation allows one to rest in the acceptance of one’s self. It is not about “self-improvement” but rather about shedding the burden of trauma and limiting conditioning, birthing a new way of engaging with life yet to be discovered.
June 20th is World Refugee Day: we need to hear and respond.
Refugees must cope with having been driven from their homes by violence and fear, and arriving in a foreign country with nothing. They need clear heads to make good decisions about their immediate and longer-term futures. They need flexibility of mind to adapt to their new, often disappointing, environments. They need to learn new things quickly, not least the language of their host countries, to meet the expectations that they will integrate quickly. But the existential stresses faced by the refugees at home and on their dangerous journeys has taken a disastrous toll on the minds of many of them. …More than half of those who have recently arrived could be affected by post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety or another mental disorder.
We need to help everyone heal in every way we can.
Causes of emotional and psychological trauma include:
*Unexpected events like an accident, injury, or a violent attack *Natural disasters *Domestic violence, emotional or physical abuse, bullying, or childhood neglect *Continuous threats like living in a crime-ridden neighborhood or battling a life-threatening disease…
Often overlooked causes include:
*Surgery *The sudden death of a loved one* Severed relationships with deep emotional investment *Humiliating or seriously disappointing experiences, especially involving someone deliberate cruel…
Practical Ways to Heal from Emotional Trauma:
*Movement & Exercise *Connect with Others *Ask for Support *Volunteer…
Guidance about Healing From Trauma:
Recognize there is nothing wrong with you;
Learn about common reactions to trauma;
Know how trauma is remembered in the body – you’ll need to do more than talk it out to heal;
Identify what makes you feel safe and stable and always do those things;
Connect with others;
Know that what happened to you does not mean anything about you.
SHARING OUR WEALTH
https://interfaithcommunitysanctuary.org/donate/
Your generous donation allows us to continue offering interfaith worship services, events, classes. Also to continue creating sacred community as well as maintaining a historic building in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle. Currently we are in the process of recovering from rain water damage.
Thank you for your help!
Your generous DONATION may be mailed to:
Interfaith Community Sanctuary
1763 NW 62nd Street
Seattle, Washington 98107
Reverend Karen Lindquist is co-founder and co-minister of Interfaith Community Sanctuary, a spiritual community grounded in circular leadership principles. She co-creates interfaith services throughout the year at the Sanctuary and with interfaith organizations in the greater Seattle area. For many years she served as a board member on The Interfaith Council of Washington and The Interfaith Network, now known as Northwest Interfaith. Reverend Karen’s regular spiritual practices include deep immersion within the Mevlevi tradition (as a follower of Rumi) with the Mevlevi Order of America and absorption into the mystic tradition of Ecclesia Gnostica through the Hagia Sophia Gnostic Parish.
What is Interspirituality?
“Interspirituality is committed to finding the spirituality both within and beyond religion. What ties us together is a shared desire to connect with the Ground of Being in a way that fully respects our differences. The challenge is to embody what is most true and real for us without seeking to convince or convert others.” ~ Joan Borysenko
Interspirituality comes from the work of Wayne Teasdale, who developed this term to reflect commonalities between religious traditions, specifically those that are spiritual in nature. These commonalities across religious practices do not erase differences in beliefs, rather they build community and sharing across practices, leading to the ultimate goal of more human responsibility to one another and the planet as a whole. At its core, this is an “assimilation of insights, values, and spiritual practices” drawn from many different traditions that can be applied to one’s own life to further personal, spiritual development.
*Divine Mother Prayer adapted from Thich Nhat Hanh by Aimee Rebekah Shea
