[Dialogue] Report on Realistic Living’s 2011 Training School and Symposiu...

Wed Sep 7 20:31:11 EDT 2011

Ken,
Thank you for taking the time to report on and share your experience and  
reflections as a participant in the Realistic Living Training  School and 
Symposium.  Greatly appreciated.
Ellie

In a message dated 9/6/2011 3:34:28 P.M. Central Standard Time,  
hkf232 at gmail.com writes:

Report on Realistic Living’s 2011  Training School and Symposium by Ken 
Fisher 
Taking place August 19-24, and led by Gene  & Joyce Marshall and Alan 
Richard, Realistic Living held its annual  Training School and Symposium at the 
Briarwood Lutheran Camp, north of  Dallas.  There were twenty of us  from 
three countries.  Five had  experience with the Christian Faith and Life 
Community, five were 30-45 and  were relatively new to Realistic Living and the EI 
heritage, two were  completely new, and the rest had experience in the O:E 
or the Spirit  Movement.  Ben Ball and the  Reverend Don Sinclair were 
amazing in their long-time stamina, memory and  passion.  My friend Jaime Vergara 
was there too.  New staff  member, Alan Richard is a gem. 
For the week, the weather was a sunny,  103°F.  We were surrounded by  
drought, with hardly a bird, an insect or a squirrel to be seen.  The facilities 
were modern, spacious  and air-conditioned, with a large swimming pool for 
refreshing afternoon  breaks.  For institutional food,  it was excellent. 
Since leaving the Order in the fall of  ’83, this was the first time I felt 
I was in a social setting that intended to  be globally comprehensive and 
inclusive. 
This year’s theme was post-patriarchal religion and  Christian practices.  
One big  dividing line was the difference between being in one’s head and 
ego - versus  being in one’s body, invoking the ever-present awesomeness. 
To that end the supporting spirit methods  for this week were outstanding 
and led by Joyce.  As I recall, the mornings began with  Buddhist-inspired 
silences, time for written prayers and sharing, Qi-Gong, a  Tai Chi like 
practice.  For  example, during the day sessions were broken up by Inter-Play 
activities such  as three times, dance a part of your day then share it with 
words (D-Tx3), be  operatic and share your experiences with Chinese food, 
share your sorrow  musically using only the syllable ‘oh’, etc., etc.  The fun 
in this was  extraordinary.  There was also  circle dancing, awesome 
singing, (the acoustics were terrific) crazy skits and  a fine movie – Antonia’s 
Line.  Many other spirit methods were also  enthusiastically shared.  Imagine 
 performing a dance with one hand! 
Pat Webb came and led a meditation, which coincidentally, fell on  the 
second anniversary of the death of her husband,  David McCleskey.  And how could 
we  sing without Ellie Stock? 
My wife Pat was equally enjoying the fun  of all this with me and since 
returning home have re-started our daily  practice using The Practice of Prayer 
– A 30-Day Solitary Manual.  This begins with 20 minutes of silence  and 
then the writing of a prayer.   Joyce provides a context for each part each 
day. 
For intellectual content, Gene, Joyce and  Alan were articulate, passionate 
and well prepared.  Gene’s review of JWM’s theology was  riveting and Joyce
’s review of pre-patriarchal and patriarchal religion was  most refreshing. 
So much more must be said and experienced about this.  The expression of 
monotheism  originated in a patriarchal context but is not synonymous with it. 
 What would we be reading if we use  post-patriarchal metaphor and analogy? 
  What if ‘the sword’ was replaced with ‘the chalice’?  There was no  
shortage of contemporary examples of sexism. 
In Gene’s re-visiting “The Recovery of the Other World” (page 164  of 
Bending History), I was startled all over with Joe’s originality of thought  and 
expression.  For transparency “You grasp yourself  living on one plane … 
to think of it as holding a match underneath a paper and  first seeing little 
streak come out.”   As Gene said, “This talk is about the new basic 
metaphor (or Religious  Mode) that takes the place of the old two-story metaphor 
(gods and goddesses,  angels and devils) in which Christian scriptures & 
classical tradition  were originally expressed.”  This  time, I grasped anew the 
universality of this for all humanity, Jews, Moslems,  Hindus, Shintoist, 
and so on. 
Back to Joe, “There is nothing supernatural about the Other  World.  It is 
as ordinary as any  mundane activity that I could engage in.   It has to do 
with and explosion of consciousness that has taken place  in our day, in and 
through which the radicality of humanness became clear as  never before in 
history.   Therefore, I would anticipate  that what happens from the 
disclosure of this Other World to people in our  century may be more colossal that 
those other great moments of history, when  this same Other World made its 
presence powerfully known.  But you must be clear, when you talk about the 
Other World, that  you are dealing with the ordinary secular consciousness of 
people.”  What  a relief and what a challenge! 
Realistic Living’s approach to bringing substance to a new  religious mode 
(to undergird a new social vehicle) is the creation of  Christian Resurgence 
Circles.   Within the ‘People of God’ in the tip of the wedge-blade, what 
can be  expressed by the dot that is Christian? 
A definition of this is: 
A CRC is a small group of women and men who come together to create  a new 
container for the gifts of Christian practice, including: perpetual  
revolution, saying “yes” to this world & the body, honoring the  dishonored, 
loving the unloved, and cultivating honesty and  acceptance. 
Through shared leadership without professional clergy roles,  we: 
·       Provide intimate spirit care 
for one another 
·       Honor and respectfully 
experiment with methods and practices from a  variety of traditions; and 
·       Support each other’s efforts 
to identify realistic ways each of us  can respond to the needs of our 
time. 
One of the most lively parts of the Symposium was a demonstration  of a 
Christian Resurgence Circle.   Using leadership roles of ‘guide’, ‘bible’ and 
‘study’ and moments for  singing and sharing of ones individual life and 
societal challenges, there was  a real sense of vital and caring structure 
for a small group of people.  There are half a dozen of these CRCs  in various 
states of development. 
Lastly there is ‘the book’.   Over the past four years, five members of 
Realistic Living have given  hundreds of hours to the writing of a book 
entitled, “Road from Empire to Eco-Democracy”.  It is on the verge  of finding a 
Californian publisher.   (I hope the inserted .Pdf is visible.  It won’t 
show at all if you print this  email.)  This book expresses years  of 
conversation and research on the part of the members of Realistic  Living.  I would 
hope all who read  this will contribute to its distribution when it is 
published online and in  paperback. 
While I have a lively email connection with Gene and Joyce, I was deeply  
energized to be with them in person.  Pat and I had a truly marvellous  time, 
and, as a consequence, have significantly expanded the context of the  
mission of our marriage.
 
=

Edwin Waters and John Howell.

John 3:16   “For God so loved the world that  he gave his only begotten 
son, that whosoever believes in him should not  perish but have eternal life.” 
For the way it is so benevolently loves  the earth that the lives of the 
beloved trusting ones are poured out as gifts  to us all.  If we take their  
trusting example to heart, we shall live in the eternal now.   Joyce

=

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