Weekly Service Calls
From SolSeed
The Weekly Service Calls are SolSeed Services for the core SolSeedMembership. They are very short, generally no more than 15 minutes, and provide a way to frequently reconnect and use spiritual practice to reaffirm our commitment to each other, to action, and to The Destiny.
Contents |
Logistics
When: Currently scheduled on Saturdays at 10:00 AM Pacific time
How: When it's just Brandon, Shelley, and Ben, we use a two-way Skype video call. To add more people with webcams, we've used http://tokbox.com and http://tinychat.com. We could also connect people with audio only if desired.
Who: Each service has a leader who prepares the content and guides the service, currently rotating among Brandon, Shelley, and Ben. Anyone can participate, but please contact Shelley if you want to be included.
What: We ask that each participant bring a candle and matches, a glass of water, a dish of some kind with some soil in it, and a seed.
Content
The services are divided into four sections. The italic lines below are each spoken by one person, while the bold lines are spoken in unison.
Check-in
The participants briefly update each other on how they're doing and what's going on in their lives.
Opening ceremony
We gather to mark the passing of a week
To align our hearts as one.
Nothing ... Still ... Nothing
And then ... <gasp> Something!!!!
Time, Space, Matter, Energy, Gravity.
Galaxies coalesce ... in the celestial nursery, stars are born. And for every star, there is a story.
Our story began with Sol, the sun, the fire that sparks life into being.
(Light the candles)
Next came the Earth, our first home, both the shaper of life and the clay from which life makes itself.
("Plant" a seed in the soil)
Then came the water, the sea where the first life swam, the sea that swims inside each of us.
(Drink some of the water and use the rest to "water" the seed)
Finally life made the air, turning sunlight into fuel, freely available to all breathing creatures.
(Take three deep breaths)
Fire, Earth, Water, Air.
Reading
This is the most changeable part of the service. Here are some examples of readings we've done in the past:
Silent meditation
Please join me for seven minutes of silence while we contemplate our planet and meditate on the story of life.
(Brandon rings the bell)
(silence)
(Brandon rings the bell again at the end of the seven minutes)
Discussion
The participants take turns talking about what they were thinking about during the meditation.
Reading of the SolSeed Creed
Note: There is another version of the creed which is not formatted for group reading.
The SolSeed Creed is a statement of the shared values that ground the SolSeed Movement. The SolSeed Creed asserts that life and that which sustains life is good and precious, and calls humanity to mature into its role as caretaker of SolSeed. The Destiny is the ultimate expression of what nurturing and protecting life means. Becoming worthy of and fulfilling The Destiny are the two ultimate goals held by members of the SolSeed Movement.
Please respond to the portions of the Creed highlighted in bold in unison:
- Life is precious.
- It has always been precious,
- it will always be precious.
- Life creates the conditions for more Life,
- in an Upward Spiral of ever-growing possibilities.
- As you are alive and I am alive,
- and in kinship with all other beings
- nourished by Sol,
- we are SolSeed ---
- the Body of All Life.
- We believe
- that The Destiny of SolSeed
- is to take root amongst the stars ---
- to give birth to a family of living worlds.
- As SolSeed's intelligent spark,
- We are called to nurture Life,
- We are called to fulfill The Destiny.
- Our sacred duty is to
- embrace Passion,
- cultivate Empathy, and
- pursue Wisdom,
- So that our being honors SolSeed
- and our striving advances The Destiny.
- Passion drives us.
- Without Passion
- Empathy and Wisdom are impotent.
- I pledge to identify and channel my passion,
- to embrace my animal nature ---
- to be my true self, Happy in the Sun!
- Empathy is transcendent.
- Without Empathy,
- Passion and Wisdom are evil.
- I pledge to love others as I love myself,
- to consider their needs as if they were my own ---
- to Grow Ours, not just Get Mine!
- Wisdom is effective.
- Without Wisdom,
- Passion and Empathy are feeble and capricious.
- I pledge to seek truth by studying the world around me,
- to develop intuitive wisdom through regular practice ---
- to Cultivate Sound Instincts!
- Through Passion, Empathy, and Wisdom
- we have come to know that:
- We are SolSeed;
- Children of the sun,
- Awakened by starlight,
- Growing, nurturing, discovering,
- We Bring Life!
Closing words
We extinguish this chalice, but not the light of truth, the warmth of community or the fires of commitment ... these we carry in our hearts until we are together again.
(Blow out the candles)
May your week be blessed with life and love. Blessed be.
