The Spirituality Wheel

Story: "Many Paths to God"
by Mary Ann Moore

Once upon a time, five travelrs from different lands met ner a mountain. These travelers had been told that if they climbed the mountain, they would find God at the top. Around the bottom of the mountain there were many paths to choose from. The travelers had been told beforehand which of the paths to take, and they also had been told that only that path would bring them to God.

The travelers met each other at the bottom of the mountain and told each other of their search for God.

The first traveler said, "I am trying ti find God. I have been told that of all these paths the right path to take is that one, the flowery meadow path. I have been told that if I follow it, at the top I will find God, the Great Mother of All."

The second traveler said, "That's interesting. I have been told that the right path to take is that steep, cliffside path over there, and if I follow it, at the top I will find God, the Great Father in Heaven."

The third traveler said, "Strange that we have all been told to follow different paths. I have been told that the right path is that wide river valley path, and if I follow it, at the top I will find God, the Great Spirit in All Things."

Finally the fourth traveler said, "Yes, this is strange. I have been told to follow even a different path. My path is the deep forest path, and I'm told if I follow it, at the top I will find God, the Great Peaceful Silence."

The travelers were surprised to hear about the other paths, because they were sure that the path they had been told to follow was the only right one. They even tried to convince the others to follow their chosen path, saying such things as:

I'm sure my way is the right one."
"Change your minds and come my way."
"Don't you think it would be best for you to come this way?"
But none would change.

So, bidding each other bood-bye, they began their journeys to the top. As they started out each was singing a song of praise to God. They could hear each other's songs in the distance and they though to themselves, "How very strange those other songs sound!" But off they went on their chosen paths. They soon were traveling alone and could no longer hear any of the others. Sometimes following the path was easy and sometimes it was hard.

Finally, each of the five travelrs neared the top of the mountain. They began to hear the other travelrs' songs once again, but now they said to themselves, "I didn't realize before how beautiful those songs are." All five came to the top within minutes of each other. They stopped and eagerly looked around.

The first called out, "Oh, Great Mother of All, I have found you!"
The second called out, "Oh, Great Father in Heaven, I have found you!"
The third called out, "Oh, Great Spirit in All Things, I have found you!"
The fourth called out, "Oh, Great Peaceful Silence, I have found you!"

But all of them were seeing and calling out to the same God.

Then they realized that they had all been searching for the same thing, though each had called it by a different name and each had taken a different path. At this, they reached out for each other's hands, formed a circle right there on the top of the mountain, and began to sing again. And now, as each of them sang their songs, there seemed to be only one song ­ a joyous song of love for God.

Reflection
by Rabi'a al-Adawiyya

Sermon

Last week the children, youth and adults of our Sunday School led a worship service celebrating world peace. As part of the service, the youth read the names of the 15 people who died in the Columbine High School Massacre in Littleton, Colorado. Fifteen time you said these words: Hatred, violence, young, death, tears, mourn, regret, compassion, peace.

These words were suggested by the youth themselves. They have no special power, yet the process of repeating them quietly, over and over again, fifteen times was a spiritual experience for many of you here.

There are many stories to be told about how people have responded to the Columbine High School tragedy. This Sunday Kristen Eppard will be confirmed at the Church of the Good Shepard in Catonsville, Maryland. Kristen will take the name "Cassie" when she is confirmed, in recognition of Cassie Bernall's affirmation of her faith in God just before she was shot and killed. As the story goes, when the nightmare of gunshots and explosions started at Columbine, Cassie Bernall closed her eyes and folded her hands in prayer. One of the shooters aimed his shotgun at her and asked her if she believed in God. Cassie said yes. Then the shooter pulled the trigger and killed Cassie.

Today, Cassie's story is being told over and over again ­ about how she fell in with a bad crowd, started acting out, and then, under protest, started attending a youth group. After a retreat, Cassie converted to Christianity. Unlike many young people who have a conversion experience, Cassie's "took" ­ she was faithful in her belief and her spiritual practice. That she was able to affirm her faith just before she died has made her something of a martyr among young people all over the country.

The Rev. Joel Miller is the minister of the Columbine Unitarian Universalist Church in Littleton. The church was organized six years ago and is about the size of ours. Joel has been with the congregation since its inception. Perhaps some of you saw him on national television. The church is very near the elementary school, where parents waited for news of their children on the day of the massacre. The experience of offering pastoral care to an entire community has taxed all the clergy in Littleton, including Joel. He has been keeping a diary on the Unitarian Universalist Ministers' Chat, a confidential discussion among UU ministers. I was so touched by his entry of May 13 I asked Joel's permission to share it with you. It discusses Joel's own spiritual response to the crisis, as well others':

Across the street from Columbine, the Church of the Latter Day Saints (Mormons) have their neighborhood building. Today I was presented with a beautiful quilt made by women in the LDS community here, and I have placed it upon my office wall. The LDS community has made and given quilts to all the student from Columbine High School (more than 1830), its teachers, and to all the area clergy. This is a part of their ministry here, and it has been very meaningful to nearly everyone.

I've been asked often how I am holding up after the massacre at our High School. I've learned from counselors with experience in other community disasters (Jonesboro, Oklahoma City, Paducah) that when people experience these kinds of events, they are almost certain to face a spiritual crisis. The crisis raises doubts and anger, and as each person journeys through that, it is likely that she or he will either lose the faith they have or that faith will become deeper and more meaningful.

What is happening for me is that my faith feels much deeper. When I arrived at the elementary school shortly after the shooting began, I believe that what I did as an individual was show up. Everything else I did wasn't me. It couldn't have been. I've never trained to minister to this kind of horror, yet I didn't just stand there speechless and grief-stricken (which was exactly how I felt!). I found words to say that I'd never imagined saying ­ words for parents, for students, for sermons, ever for television interviews.

The words I found haven't been mine, I believe. They are ours. I have felt as though the millions of Unitarians and Universalists and Unitarian Universalists from across time and across the world were with me in these past weeks. I find myself wanting to know more about us and the people before us; wanting to know how our spiritual ancestors used this faith to live through crisis and tragedy.

I am very touched by Joel's words. I like the image of men and women through time being the vast company of ancestors who stood with Joel as he responded to the crisis. I am also struck by how differently people have responded to the Littleton tragedy. The Mormon women made quilts. Kristen Eppard is taking Cassie Bernall's name. Our youth created a healing chant. Joel Miller stood alone, with a cloud of witnesses behind him as he offered solace to the survivors.

Last month, when the Florida Unitarian Universalist ministers met in Miami, we talked about a way of helping people discover their particular spiritual path. The woman leading the workshop was the Reverend Alice Mann, a consultant for the Alban Institute. She was drawing on concepts developed by the author Corinne Ware, who wrote Discover Your Spiritual Type, a Guide to Individual and Congregational Growth.

The core concepts in Corinne Ware's book were developed by Urban T. Holmes, III. He used four words to describe four compass points in a Spirituality Wheel:

top ­ speculative, head (thinking)
bottom ­ affective, heart (feeling)
right ­ kataphatic, imagery rich, Western (intuition)
left ­ apophatic, imagery emptying, Eastern (sensation)

These two axes divide the wheel or circle into four parts: Head, Heart, Mystic, and Kingdom. I have put a copy of one of the handouts Rev. Mann gave us in your order of service. I'd like you to pull it out now, while I point out some of the words and other clues on the handout to help you decide in which quadrant you belong.

You might be interested to know that when we did this exercise in Miami, after we were in our groups,we were asked to select a hymn or a song that would characterize our group. Here's what we selected:

There is a wonderful poster Jon Kabat-Zinn described. It is a picture of Swami Satchitananda, an old yogi over the age of 70 in full regalia ­ long white beard and flowing robes ­ standing on a surfboard riding the waves off a Hawaiian beach. The caption reads, "You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf."

The waves represent all the various stresses in our lives ­ stormy relationships, stagnating work opportunities, startling news, steep learning curves, sticky political situations, stingy employers, stuffy guests, strange neighbors, stricken loved ones, stumbling blunders, stupefying discoveries, and struggles of all kinds. How we ride the waves suggests a particular spiritual path. The man who takes instruction, learns how to surf like a pro, following established technique is perhaps following the head path. The woman who buys inexpensive boogie boards at the surf shop and invites all her friends to play in the waves with her is perhaps following the heart path. The man who makes his way out beyond the breakers and floats in the gentle, just-forming waves might be a mystic. The woman who rounds up a bunch of inner city youth and teaches them how to body surf may be following the Kingdom path.

Rev. Mann talked about the importance of Corinne Ware's theory. First of all, it makes clear that no one individual or group within a congregation has the "real path". Just as the children's story illustrated, all paths lead the same place. The goal for a congregation is not homogenization ­ it is to notice the strength of them all and discover how each fits into the particular religious ecology of the congregation.

She also cautioned that except for very large congregations, a single congregation cannot support and maintain all paths. A very small church. what we call a family church, can only sustain one path. A pastoral church, our size, can possibly sustain two paths. A program church, where we hope to be, can explore all four paths some time during the year and find ways to point people in between times. A corporate congregation will have programs to meet the needs of people on all four paths.

We've been talking today about The Spirituality Wheel ­ ways of worshiping and following a spiritual path, rather than different theological or world views. Someone following the head path could be an religious humanist, or a Presbyterian, or a Buddhist. Someone following the heart path could be an agnostic, or a Jew, or a pagan. Someone following the mystic path could be a Muslim, or a Catholic, or following Wicca. Someone following the kingdom path could be an atheist, or an Episcopalian, or Hindu. The Spirituality Wheel reveals preferred styles rather than a accustomed beliefs.

Once again, as Unitarian Universalists we are called to celebrate this time, the diversity of our spirituality styles, Let us do so now with a song we also love to sing, Spirit of Life, hymn 123.