“After all, what are any of us after but the conviction of belonging?”--Wallace Stegner

Times are such that we need people, purpose and love more than we need perfect.  Particularly in tough times…Join Lee Ann as she continues the series "Hooray in Tough Times."  Today, it's all about "being a groupie."  Find out what that means for you!  

Links, Suggestions and Resources mentioned in today's podcast:

Wallace Stegner, On Teaching and Writing Fiction - Wallace Earle Stegner (February 18, 1909 – April 13, 1993) was an American novelist, short story writer, environmentalist, and historian, often called "The Dean of Western Writers". He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1972 and the U.S. National Book Award in 1977.

Denmark -- the Happiest People in the World - a link to the New York Times article by Sewell Chan.

United Church of Christ - The United Church of Christ, or simply the UCC are progressive Christian churches offering an extravagant welcome to all people where the work of the church is to change lives, individually, systematically and globally through a democratic structure.  They believe that God is still speaking and is not fixed by outdated notions, nor thinking that excludes Science.  Instead, they embrace the whole of creation, and thus are bold in their work for social and environmental justice.

Unitarian Universalist Church - Unitarian Universalism is a theologically diverse religion that encourages people to seek their own spiritual path. UUs are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth. As such, UU congregations include many agnostics, theists, and atheists among their membership. The roots of UU are in liberal Christianity, specifically Unitarianism and Universalism. Unitarian Universalists state that from these traditions come a deep regard for intellectual freedom and inclusive love. Congregations and members seek inspiration and derive insight from all major world religions.

Episcopal Church - The Episcopal Church is a liberal, progressive Christian denomination that is diverse in its understanding of the Gospel--so you will find all manner of beliefs held by the faithful, everything from radical liberation feminist theology to the staunchly conservative flavor of theology.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) - CAIR is a grassroots civil rights and advocacy group. It is America's largest Muslim civil liberties organization, with regional offices nationwide. CAIR's mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign - Shoulder-to-Shoulder is an interfaith organization dedicated to ending anti-Muslim sentiment by strengthening the voice of freedom and peace. Founded in November 2010 by over 20 national religious groups, Shoulder-to-Shoulder works not only on a national level, but offers strategies and support to local and regional efforts to address anti-Muslim sentiment and seeks to spread the word abroad.

Network for Spiritual Progressives - The Network of Spiritual Progressives welcomes secular humanists, atheists and people who are “spiritual but not religious” as well as people from every religious community who share the values of love, generosity, creativity, wonder and a commitment to respect one another. Spirituality is personal but not a private matter; it is about how we treat each other and how we live our lives.

Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (RAC) -  The RAC educates and mobilizes the Reform Jewish community on legislative and social concerns, advocating on more than 70 different issues, including economic justice, civil rights, religious liberty, Israel and more. The RAC's advocacy work is completely non-partisan and pursues public policies that reflect the Jewish val...

be·lief  (bəˈlēf/)  noun -- 2. trust, faith, or confidence in someone or something.

Friends, today’s episode is called “Belief”.  This is the tie-a-knot-and-hang-on episode.  When all is said, done and practiced in difficult times—no matter what our strategies for getting through—there is a point when none of these strategies matter at all.  Random acts of kindness, meditation/being still, keep-on-keeping-on action are emphasized because these are things that we can DO.

But today, we consider the foundation…the stuff that is behind the curtain.  What is there when you pull everything away and look?  What keeps you going when nothing seems to be working, when everything has gone wrong?   

On June 17th, 2015, in Charleston, South Carolina, a white supremacist and terrorist entered a bible study at Mother Emanuel and was welcomed with open arms by a black faith community.  But the surreal happened…The visitor pulled a gun and ended their precious, open and welcoming lives with hatred and bullets.

When asked how the people of Mother Emanuel AME have made it through the murders of 9 of their beloved community, the Reverend Waltrina Middleton, cousin of one of the dead spoke about how one goes on.  She said, “because we live in God, I can live into forgiveness.”  Forgiveness and mercy has been a key to many in the black community when facing grief and the constant beat of tyranny and oppression.

In September 1942, an Austrian doctor named Viktor Frankl was enslaved along with his wife and parents in Auschwitz a Nazi camp.  Three of the family were sent to their deaths, while Viktor was marched to another camp where he clung to life until the camp was liberated. Other than a sister, his entire family was wiped out.

As he set about shoring up his fragments, Frankl turned his study to the question “What allows a person who has been stripped of everything to hold on?” His book Man’s Search for Meaning came from that question.

His primary interest was in the prisoners who, in spite of everything, “walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread…they offer[ed] sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

In both of these true stories, it is evident that the people’s core beliefs are what frees them.

I contend that there is a guiding principle for your life.  I personally cannot know what that is for each of you.  But my experience with many faith traditions, including those who call themselves “nones” with “no faith”, and those who claim Science as their bottom line—ALL of us have something that we know to be true.  It’s a knowing, it’s what you hold in your core, your belly…Science believes that there are organizing principles that cannot be rationally defied, everything can be figured out eventually.  Facts govern.  "Nones" might have as a grounding tenet “that all is basically good or can be made good” or any number of ideas.  Muslims may have as their guiding principle that the idol of the self needs to submit to Allah and peace is yours.  Jews tell a narrative of story and law that to walk humbly with thy God and to repair the world is redemption in this world.  Christians give the most credence and ink to their relationship with Jesus and to the orthodoxy of right thought.  This is where the notion if I believe rightly then I am saved or redeemed.

Buddhism has at its core the path to the elimination of suffering, that human beings can solve human problems on their own.  Buddha was not terribly concerned with the questions about eternalness or who God was.  The story he came up with to answer those questions was:  “if you were shot with an arrow, would you waste time and breath asking who shot the arrow,

"Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world."  -- Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Today, we meet "learned helplessness" and its antidote, kindness.  We will discover that kindness not only overwhelms and changes the world, but it changes us.  That would seem obvious, right?  But when we are in tough times, thinking outside of the box is not always available to our hurting souls.  So listen in!  

If you want to learn more about any of the subject matter mentioned in the podcast, check out the resources below.

Learned Helplessness, Peterson, Maier & Seligman

Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life, Martin Seligman

Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment, Martin Seligman

The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want, by Sonja Lyubomirsky

Random Acts of Kindness ideas--visit kindness.org!

The World Needs More Love Letters -- a community of people who write love letters to strangers.  Started by Hannah Brencher when she was dealing with her own pain, she began dropping off love letters in bookstores, coffee shops and anywhere someone might pick them up and find them.  She found that these acts helped HER as much, if not more than the person receiving them.  You can also view her wonderful TED talk here.

And for cheer and daily encouragement, check out The Hooray Daily, bite-sized cheer for you and your community. Life is great! Celebrate!

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The books are linked to Amazon's bookstore.  Full Disclosure Alert!  When you purchase books using Hooray Weekly's link, a tiny pittance of the price comes back to support the podcast.  So thank you very much for any and all your support!

"Be still; stillness reveals the secrets of eternity." --Lao Tzu

Welcome to the 3rd episode of Hooray Weekly!  So glad that you are here!

Today, I discuss the importance of stillness in our busy, frenetic and fear-filled world.  If you want to find your Hooray in tough times, it is a necessary component for your days.  Listen in to the podcast for some love, encouragement and a couple of meditation/stillness techniques.  Here are two of the practices I mention in this week's episode.   

2 Easy-Breezy Practices for Stillness

 Passage or Verse Meditation--The mind is a funny thing. It doesn't like to be quiet and shushed.  So why fight it?  This type of meditation is easy.  Get comfortable in a chair or on the floor with your back erect, shoulders down  and away from your ears, eyes closed, arms relaxed with hands in your lap and take some loving belly breaths.  (I go into detail on the podcast for both these meditation practices, so I'm keeping the words simple and short here, okay?)  Next, think of a piece of Scripture or line of a poem or affirmation.  Spend the next 5 to 30 minutes letting the words of whatever you have chosen to come to you again and again in your mind without effort.  I use the line from Psalms: "Be still, and know that I am God."  I actually repeat the phrase in my mind 5-10 times, then shorten the phrase to "Be still, and know that I AM..."  Again, I repeat comfortable with plenty of silence between the repetitions.  Then I shorten the phrase again, "Be still and know..."  You get the picture.  Next, "Be still..." (5-10 times with more silence).  Finally, I end with "Be...be...be..."  My mind is soft and gentle since these are words that I know by heart.  There is no forcing to focus my mind or to rid it of unwanted monkey mind.  The unwanted stuff will be there, but with less vehemence.  After moving through the passage, I take some deep breaths, smile inwardly, and come out of the stillness slowly.

 Chanting the Name of God (or your dog for that matter)--This practice is similar to the one above, except that one focuses on the Name of God or a blessing.  Some examples include, Om Shanti Shanti, Heavenly Father (or Mother), Peace, Holy Spirit, Allah, Lord Jesus, Krishna, Illumined One, Great Spirit or Light.  The words are endless.  Just make sure that it is comfortable for you.

And for meditation inspiration, these are the four books I turn to regularly:

Easwaran, Eknath, God Makes the Rivers to Flow: Selections from the Sacred Literature of the World (2009).

Ladinsky, Daniel, Love Poems from God: Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West (2002).

Mitchell, Stephen (translation), Tao Te Ching (1988).

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov (adapted by Moshe Mykoff & S. C. Mizrahi with the Breslov Research Institute), The Gentle Weapon: Prayers for Everyday and Not-So-Everyday Moments (2002).

"I can't go on, I'll go on..."  --Samuel Beckett

How in the world do you manage through tough times of crisis, despair, anxiety and loss?  In this episode, I encourage you to keep your head down.  Keeping your head down is a way through when worlds seem to be crashing in upon you.  It's one-foot-in-front-of-the-other work and involves doing what is right in front of you and involves praying in whatever form that is for you.   

This "keep your head down" strategy is the first of many ways to keep yourself moving through tough times.  Next week, I'll talk about finding stillness in the midst of the storm.

If you'd like to learn more about the teacher/professor/womanist ethicist & theologian, Reverend Dr. Katie Geneva Cannon, I mention in the episode, click to find her books here.  Katie Geneva Cannon, PhD, is the Annie Scales Rogers Professor of Christian Ethics, Union Theological Seminary-PSCE in Richmond, VA. The first African American woman ordained in the United Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Cannon focuses her work in the areas of Christian ethics, Womanist theology, and women in religion and society. She has lectured nationally on theological and ethical topics and is the author or editor of numerous articles and seven books including Katie’s Canon: Womanism and the Soul of the Black Community and Black Womanists.

Hello friends!  This is it--the inaugural event!  The REAL inaugural event...post-January 20th.  Get your weekly lift here from your host, friend, teacher and fellow traveler, Lee Ann Hopkins.

Today, we begin our journey together, where each week I bring you food-for-thought, something yummy for your Soul and your life.  It's like having your own cheerleader, coach and teacher--all rolled up into one.

In this short welcome and intro, I discuss:

--Who I am

--Who you are

--What to expect in the podcast

--Subject matter for the first series of talks

Enjoy!

Please do me the favor of:

Subscribing to the podcast

Rating the podcast in iTunes, and

Sharing with friends, family and colleagues

Remember: "Smile and the world smiles with you."--Lee Ann Hopkins