Rev. Rachel’s Blog – Page 11 – Unity Spiritual Center of Anchorage

Wisdom from the Circus

by Rev Rachel Simpson, February 16, 2016

Last week Bill and I went to see the New Shanghai Circus here in Anchorage. We were awed by their acrobatic feats and obviously well tuned performance. I’ve been thinking about the show and some spiritual truths I think they demonstrated very well.

Practice. I don’t know about you, but I certainly am not able to keep 15+ hula hoops circling my body any more than I can balance on one hand and keep plates spinning with my other appendages. These performers, even with talent and family tradition, didn’t get to be world traveling experts in any short span of time. I think we forget that when it comes to our spiritual practice or any change worth making. It doesn’t happen overnight. We were seeing the result of years and years of practice, along with generations of passed down information on the technical side of the each act. Mastery takes years, and I would bet those performers are still working on increasing their skills every day.

Getting back up. Some of the stunts we saw were pretty amazing, and mistakes were made. Even the pros miss now and then. What I really appreciated about the performance was that when they made a mistake, they went back and did it again. The audience LOVED it. One of the stunts was the men jumping or diving through a vertical hoop. It got knocked over and they just put it back up and kept going. They then raised it and went again, and again. They had that hoop up as high as some of their shoulders and they were still launching themselves through it. It’s good to remember that sometimes we get knocked down, and what matters most is getting back up. We may even be cheered on.

Community. The amount of trust the performers had in one another was apparent as they climbed atop each other like a jungle gym, or were flung into the air and caught. These folks undoubtedly have spent countless hours practicing together, dropping one another, and sharing in the exhilaration of getting it ‘right’ the first time. Then practicing again and again, helping, learning, sharing. While I haven’t been in a circus, I have worked on many a theatre show, and I know the feeling of community that arises from a group of people who come together to create something. Being a community or team requires trust, a shared goal, vulnerability, and a willingness to put the whole before the personal ego. After all, someone has to be willing to be the first person to try the jump, and someone has to be the person who is standing behind to catch them.

In conclusion, invite you to consider this wisdom from the circus and how practice, getting back up, and embracing community fit in your life. After all, we are all players in the circus of life!

Peace,

Rev. Rachel

PS Photo is from the New Shanghai Circus website to illustrate their wonderful feats.

Are You Ready?

by Rev Rachel Simpson, December 22, 2015

It is 3 days before Christmas, preparations are well underway. Houses are decorated, kids are out of school, and traffic around anywhere that shopping happens has become a test of patience. I hear a familiar refrain wherever I go “Are you ready?” There is, as the song goes, “parties for hosting, marshmallows for toasting, and caroling out in the snow.”

I’ve always (at least in my mind) responded, well, ready or not, Christmas will come and I don’t HAVE to do anything except be present. Growing up Christmas was usually just our family. It was this way in part by design and in part because my extended family lived states away. This was normal for me and it worked. My favorite parts of Christmas was the candlelight service and our Advent ritual. The one year we had Christmas a couple days early because of weather taught me that good results can come from being flexible (after I was quite resistant to the idea.) My mom, being a super mom, did of course manage to get the message to Santa and we got an early delivery.

In my twenties I moved far away from my family and got to make new traditions. All of this to say, when someone asks me if I’m ‘ready’ for Christmas I kinda shrug.

Because to me being ready for Christmas doesn’t have much to do with buying presents, preparing food, traveling places, or the exact right kind of chocolate (I’m looking at you Christmas with the Kranks).

To me Christmas is about preparing my heart to be filled with the Joy of the remembrance of the divinity within myself. Christmas is about witnessing humanity remembering each other and reaching hands across imaginary lines used the rest of the year to divide. Christmas is about lifting my voice and my hands in song to celebrate the rebirth of the light in the darkest time of the year, and remembering that it is within each being. Christmas is about sharing love and memories with our dear ones, and making new memories.

I am not saying that Christmas can’t also be the things that make it special and fun for others. I got my picture with Santa this year and there are presents under my tree. But those things are not required for me to be ‘ready’.

A heart filled with Faith, Peace, Love, and Joy. That is all I will ever really need.

Yes, I am ready.

PS As a minister of a church being ‘ready’ does take on a few more tasks than it has in the past, but I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Advent Activity for family and friends

by Rev Rachel Simpson, November 21, 2015

Many years ago when I was small, my family received from our church an at home Advent activity/service/ritual. We have been doing this service every year since. If you happened to be visiting our house on a Sunday evening, you got to join in. For a few years when I had rehearsals on Sunday evenings, we had Advent on Mondays. When I moved far away, my parents faxed it to me, we’ve also celebrated over the phone together. The original has lived folded up in my parent’s bible for 30+ years and is well worn from use. When my sister came to live with me we went to a craft store and together created our new wreath. Some years we used battery candles as open flame wasn’t allowed in our housing. When my dad was in his last week, which was in December, my mom read all four Sundays worth of activities to him.

In summary, this activity is a sacred thing for our family. I have felt for several years that I needed to update it and share it once again with the world. Because it has been such an important thread though my life, I give you this activity to share with your dear ones. I hope that you are blessed by this moment to connect and celebrate the journey to Christmas.

May the Hope, Peace, Love, and Joy of Advent light up your life.

Love,

Rev. Rachel

Advent activity 2015

Just do it (meditation)

by Rev Rachel Simpson, November 12, 2015

I will be the first to admit that in the past I have had an on again off again relationship with meditation. It’s not that I didn’t think it was a good idea (it is) or that I didn’t see the calm gracefulness of people I knew who were long-time meditaters (I did). I just had a really hard time keeping up with it.

The excuses were many: I have to get up earlier, I forget later in the day, my body gets uncomfortable, I have a hard time focusing, my life is my prayer.

The thing for many years that I forgot was “so what?” The answer to every excuse is “so what?” You have to get up earlier, so do it. You forget later in the day, make a reminder on your calendar. You get uncomfortable, gently shift positions. Focusing is hard, keep practicing. Your life is your prayer, that’s good, so is silence.

I have been honing my ability to get up, ready, and out the door to wherever I needed to be as efficiently and with the latest wake up time possible since 7th grade. Mornings have never been my ‘thing’, so the thought of getting up earlier to meditate, and that I would actually be awake has been quite a barrier to climb.

But one day, after plenty of years of missteps I got serious. I started getting up 5 minutes earlier. I read the Daily Word then set my timer for 5 minutes. This would ensure that if I did fall back asleep I wouldn’t be late for work or school. 5 minutes, really not that hard. Then I upped it, bit by bit until 15 or 20 wasn’t that big a deal. The neat thing is just as I slowly upped the time, my ability to sit comfortably for that amount of time increased too. As did my ability to usually have some space between the thoughts. WOW! The miracle of Meditation!

Today, while being quite efficient with the tasks of the day, I was feeling some unease in my heart as my mind would come back around to the difficulties some of my loved ones are experiencing and other various worries. Then after a while it occurred to me to take a meditation pause. It is pretty nifty that it’s part of my job to pray. I have been working on shifting the back office into the prayer chapel/library, so that’s where I headed. As soon as I sat down I started to feel more peaceful. 10 minutes later I feel like a new person. It’s really that simple.

For those of you reading this who have had many excuses, believe me, I know, that’s why I share my own journey. My reply is JUST DO IT!

If your thoughts are running a mile a minute, it’s ok, let them float by. Bring yourself back to your breath. Meditation is about letting there be space between the thoughts. The spaces will grow with practice.

If you are wanting some guidance to get started, there are plenty of resources out there.

Silent Unity has many guided meditations you can listen to as well as video meditations.
Calm.com has 2-20 minute guided meditations as well as background music/effects and pictures you can choose from. They also have an app.
I use the “Insight Timer” app on my phone to time my meditations.

Just begin. Even 2 minutes a day. You do have the time. It’s not a destination, it’s a journey, it’s time to begin!

With love and joy,

Rev. Rachel

The Music in your Head

by Rev Rachel Simpson, November 3, 2015

It’s something that has happened to me more times that I could count. I hear a song over the sound system in a store or on the radio and hours later I’m humming along to the familiar refrain. It happened to me today and it may have happened to you a few times too.

It’s all well and good until I stop and say “ew, these lyrics are not what I want to be affirming in my life.” While there are plenty of mainstream songs out there that can be an anthem of positivity and empowerment. There are many many more that are not. I think this matters because when we go around singing them in our heads or out loud we are making this a part of our lives.

Long ago, just after a big break up, there was a song about revenge all over the radio. I realized that when I heard this song it encouraged the mean thoughts I was having toward the person I had broken up with. I would find myself singing the song without the radio. As soon as I realized this, I made a new rule. If the song came on the radio, I changed the channel. If I caught myself singing the song, I turned on positive music or sang something else to clear it away. I didn’t want to wallow in vengeful/mean feelings towards this person, I wanted us to just move on with our lives.

I have become more vigilant over the years about the songs I listen to, sometimes to the annoyance of people who are sharing a car with me. But what I know is that songs stay in my head, sometimes for days, and I don’t want that unconscious hijacking of my thoughts. The old adage is that folks who sing pray twice, so it’s worth considering what messages you are affirming!

I have spent years building up a positive music library, so I have many songs to turn to when I need to shift the song on repeat in my mind. (One of my earliest memories was dancing along with a New Thought group’s tape when I was about 5). But there are plenty of musical opportunities out there for you too! Right now Empower Music and Arts, which gives the annual Posi music festival and awards, has dubbed November Posi(tive) Music Month. You an go to their website, sign up for free, and get a free positive music song download each day! http://www.empowerma.com/

You can also watch countless videos online of great Positive artists singing in churches and concerts all over. If you find you really like an artist, order a CD or download an album.

Noticing and filtering the music we listen to is one way to clear out the clutter in our minds and leave ourselves free to be our highest selves. While you might not be up for only posi music diet, (they encourage only posi music for the whole month) you can certainly get started with some free new positive music to add to your collection!

Blessings of peace as I dance along to the (posi) music in my head.
Rev. Rachel

PS Some (but not all) musicians to check out:
Faith Rivera, Daniel Nahmod, Jami Lula, Karen Drucker, Jana Stanfield, Karen Taylor Good, Devotion, Greg Tamblyn, JD Martin and Jan Garrett, Megan McDonough,Rickie Byars Beckwith and the Agape Choir, Teri Wilder, Richard Mekdeci, Harold Payne, StoweGood, Sue Riley, Jennifer Ferren, Bukeka Shoals, and many many more!