[Oe List ...] Just catching up on what's been happening
Janice Ulangca
aulangca at stny.rr.com
Mon Jan 22 21:06:33 EST 2007
Thank you, David Dunn, John-Rupert Barnes, Jean Watts. Much to ponder from each of you. I feel some parched ground is being watered.
Janice Ulangca
----- Original Message -----
From: Jean Watts
To: oe at wedgeblade.net
Sent: Monday, January 22, 2007 6:53 PM
Subject: [Oe List ...] Just catching up on what's been happening
My experience of Katrina and its aftermath of recovery is been taking most
all of my attention. Thus I am just catching up on some of what has been
taking place within ICA. Thank you all of you for sharing your witnesses
via the earthrise list serve and reflections via this list serves and the
website and especially David Dunn whose Jan 22 reflection I just read on
Twiki. Below are a few of my first immediate thoughts. I hope they might
make sense. Expressing my thoughts in writing has never been something I'm
good at.
It appears to me that growth, evolution, and most change involves the
experience of pain. But this experiential pain is due I believe to the Law
of Cause and Effect which applies to both the physical and non-physical
(mental and emotional) aspects of our lives. It is the consequences or
"results" of our physical actions and/or our emotional feelings or responses
that allow us to learn and motivate us to change. And although the Law
itself is completely neutral, more frequently than not, we experience these
consequences as painful and look outside ourselves for the cause of the
pain. Without deep reflection and/or analysis we fail to notice this Law
and how it really works within us.
Every human being always acts out their true self understanding. And based
on their understanding of the "Christ event" we spoke about in RS-I, some of
our us while living within the corporate structures of the Order, attempted
to be the "wrath of God" on others within our group - believing that they
were "helping" certain colleagues whom they did not like or who were doing
things they did not like by catalyzing a "Christ event" in their lives by
attempting to pierce what they perceived as "an illusion" of that fellow
colleague. This was not my understanding (or illusion) of what the Christ
Event was all about. For me it is a happening that is actually triggered
from the "inside out" and not the other way around. Although to tell
another about this profound experience we frequently (as we did in RS-I )
describe this extra-ordinary transforming event in terms of its physical or
outside manifestations of what was going on when a "Christ event" occurred.
However, what actually triggered my transforming experiences was really
something invisible and "inside" us.
Many of these attempts to be the wrath of God for each other from time to
time as well as the way we dealt with each other caused innocent and
unnecessary human suffering to their fellow colleagues rather than
triggering Christ events - or just smooth transitions - even if done with
the best of intentions. And for some of our colleagues healing from painful
experiences while in the structures of the Order must occur before they will
be willing to re-engage in any form of "intentional community" or ICA. I
believe emotional healing also comes from within or is triggered by
something invisible and inside us. It seems also to occur by simply
forgetting about it completely letting time do its magical healing, or
through one's ability to unconditionally forgive the person (or group) whom
you perceive "caused" the pain.
I believe that as the Order Ecumenical and as faculty of the Ecumenical
Institute - a research and training organization - we actually accomplished
our collective mission. We succeeded in giving impetus to "a global spirit
movement." Therefore, taking the Order Ecumenical out of existence as a
physical entity made sense to me at the time. I personally felt that we as
a group of individuals had joined together in order to complete a mission
that we had not quite completed in previous incarnations. [This of course
will not resonate with those of you who believe that this particular
lifetime is their first and/or last one!] Thus, that which called me to "be
the order" did not disappear with the dissolving of the Order Ecumenical
structures. Being the "order" or a member of it is a covenant with Life
Itself or the Absolute Beingness some people call God. Throughout all of
history it only occasionally manifests itself into some recognizable,
visible collective form that can be seen by anyone.
When the Order Ecumenical made the decision to create ICA as a symbol of our
decision to take our understanding of the spirit movement "into the world,"
I imagined us being "in the world" but not "of the world." I thought that
"we" would remain invisible, as "spirit" is invisible. That we, as the
collective global ICA would "enliven" and bring health to the physical or
"secular" structures of the world. However, it soon became obvious to me
that what it meant to others within the Order or within the ICA was in a
sense to "become the world" and thus become "of the world." The ICA became
"visible" and became something one could tangibly see, touch, hear (such as
a political, economic, or social organizations) rather than remain
"invisible" and continuing to "enliven" and infuse "spirit" within the
physical structures and organizations as we attempted to do when we were
struggling to just be the Order Ecumenical. I'm not saying that this
infusion of "spirit" did not happen as ICA, but it did cease to remain its
major focus or purpose over time.
As ICA we "decentralized" and we all did learn how to become self sustaining
- one way or another whether we understood ourselves to be a member of "the
order" or not. Some of us continued as "ICA" while some did not, some of us
flourished and some disappeared, some of us stayed connected while others
did not. However, as individuals each of you who may be reading this
response, I believe, have led "extra-ordinary" lives, continuing to
influence those you come into contact with on a daily basis as you
individually continued the journey of understanding who we really are and
what life is really all about. Each of us has continued to "act out our self
understandings" whatever that understanding may be at any given moment.
I personally would treasure the opportunity to gather face to face providing
the gathering was structured to focus on "the really great individuals we
have become, our vision of what we see emerging within us given all the
challenges Life presents us with, and our hopes for the world. I see no
purpose in reminiscing or sharing stories of what didn't go well, what
didn't work, where things went wrong or whose "fault" is was. I don't even
think it necessary to recall our history. I would like us to share the
"pearls" we have been given from our life's experiences - those things we
"know for sure" because they are based on reflection of our personal
experiences. At this moment, I think that only after this kind of gathering
has occurred among "the scattered order members" will those who have taken
on the legal responsibility for the property of the Ecumenical Institute be
able to authentically partner with the larger network of colleagues who have
served as or on behalf of the ICA in the USA in the past.
May the blessings of grace and peace be with you,
Jean Watts (some only knew me as Jean Baringer)
504/913-7828 cell & business
504/865-7828 home & fax
www.facilitativeleader.com
-----Original Message-----
From: oe-bounces at wedgeblade.net [mailto:oe-bounces at wedgeblade.net] On Behalf
Of oe-request at wedgeblade.net
Sent: Monday, January 22, 2007 2:07 PM
To: oe at wedgeblade.net
Subject: OE Digest, Vol 33, Issue 27
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Today's Topics:
1. Re: The Revolution was going to be over in 2007 andwe were
all going home. . . . (Betty Pesek)
2. Re: The Revolution was going to be over in 2007 andwewere all
going home. . . . (Betty Pesek)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Mon, 22 Jan 2007 07:44:41 -0600
From: "Betty Pesek" <Bpesek at kanbay.com>
Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] The Revolution was going to be over in 2007
andwe were all going home. . . .
To: "Order Ecumenical Community" <oe at wedgeblade.net>
Message-ID:
<0335051B3F4BA54BA5C77B6D54A3E0C95D32D8 at chiexc05.kanbay.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Thanks so much! It was a beautiful expression.
Betty
________________________________
From: oe-bounces at wedgeblade.net [mailto:oe-bounces at wedgeblade.net] On
Behalf Of Marge Philbrook
Sent: Sunday, January 21, 2007 8:05 AM
To: Order Ecumenical Community
Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] The Revolution was going to be over in 2007
andwe were all going home. . . .
Beautiful statement. Thanks, Marge.
On 1/15/07, Paula Philbrook <paula.philbrook at gmail.com> wrote:
Yesterday I waited on Sheridan Road in front of 4750 to pick up my Mom,
Marge Philbrook.
Just in front of the brass entrance way sat a large moving truck
reminiscent of the courtyard at assignments time. I pondered the
International Conference Centers' weekend schedule from a number of
years ago: US Socialist Network, Carmelite's National Urban Retreat,
Chicago Paganism Workshop, and First Baptist Church Louisville. (While
waiting for the elevator, I overheard a young man with a Southern
accent, "I did not know there were any pagans alive today. I thought
that was from the history book". I laughed silently as I boarded the
elevator with the group caring their pillows.)
People, I did not recognize, loaded the mattresses and bunks. The Girls
Scouts were picking them up.
The Ecumenical Institute's mission to maintain a center of ecumenicity
seemed to be disappearing as the mist dissolves with the morning light.
History continues to be changed by small groups of caring people who
hear the word, discern the judgment and lead society. Where is the
injustice? What is the social act of repentance?
Paula Philbrook
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Message: 2
Date: Mon, 22 Jan 2007 10:59:03 -0600
From: "Betty Pesek" <Bpesek at kanbay.com>
Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] The Revolution was going to be over in 2007
andwewere all going home. . . .
To: "Order Ecumenical Community" <oe at wedgeblade.net>
Message-ID:
<0335051B3F4BA54BA5C77B6D54A3E0C95D32E0 at chiexc05.kanbay.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
________________________________
From: oe-bounces at wedgeblade.net [mailto:oe-bounces at wedgeblade.net] On
Behalf Of Betty Pesek
Sent: Monday, January 22, 2007 7:45 AM
To: Order Ecumenical Community
Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] The Revolution was going to be over in 2007
andwewere all going home. . . .
Thanks so much! It was a beautiful expression.
Betty
________________________________
From: oe-bounces at wedgeblade.net [mailto:oe-bounces at wedgeblade.net] On
Behalf Of Marge Philbrook
Sent: Sunday, January 21, 2007 8:05 AM
To: Order Ecumenical Community
Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] The Revolution was going to be over in 2007
andwe were all going home. . . .
Beautiful statement. Thanks, Marge.
On 1/15/07, Paula Philbrook <paula.philbrook at gmail.com> wrote:
Yesterday I waited on Sheridan Road in front of 4750 to pick up my Mom,
Marge Philbrook.
Just in front of the brass entrance way sat a large moving truck
reminiscent of the courtyard at assignments time. I pondered the
International Conference Centers' weekend schedule from a number of
years ago: US Socialist Network, Carmelite's National Urban Retreat,
Chicago Paganism Workshop, and First Baptist Church Louisville. (While
waiting for the elevator, I overheard a young man with a Southern
accent, "I did not know there were any pagans alive today. I thought
that was from the history book". I laughed silently as I boarded the
elevator with the group caring their pillows.)
People, I did not recognize, loaded the mattresses and bunks. The Girls
Scouts were picking them up.
The Ecumenical Institute's mission to maintain a center of ecumenicity
seemed to be disappearing as the mist dissolves with the morning light.
History continues to be changed by small groups of caring people who
hear the word, discern the judgment and lead society. Where is the
injustice? What is the social act of repentance?
Paula Philbrook
_______________________________________________
OE mailing list
OE at wedgeblade.net
http://wedgeblade.net/mailman/listinfo/oe_wedgeblade.net
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