|
|
|
2022-06-17
Religious Education: June 19, 2022
2022-06-15
Music: Sun Jun 19
Western music has tended to elevate the status of harmony as the embodiment of sonic beauty. Harmony is understood to reflect the orderly workings of the cosmos, inspiring in the human psyche a consciousness of the interconnected web of existence. Harmonic function often relies on the division of musical intervals into consonance and dissonance. Tonal music gravitates towards consonance; these are the sounds which denote stability, finality, and resolution. Dissonances, by contrast, create tension, driving progressions, phrases, and entire pieces to seek the relief in the consonances to which they must inevitably accede. Dissonance has always had a role to play in music, but it has often been a rigorously controlled one.
At least two major historical upheavals have changed the status of dissonance in Western art music, however. In around 1600, certain composers began to develop a new style which came to be known as "Baroque". This new "practice" focused on using dissonance expressively, to convey meaning and emotion. Acceptable dissonance became not so much a matter of adhering to pre-ordained natural acoustic laws, but creating music which centered on dramatic veracity.
About 300 years later, at the turn of the 20th century, many composers sought to create new musical idioms, in which the fixed connotations of dissonance would no longer be relevant. To these composers, each individual work could create its own set of sonic relations. Arnold Schoenberg wrote about the "emancipation of dissonance", suggesting a newfound egalitarianism in the harmonic sphere. This music compelled listeners to grasp the harmonic logic of each work on its own terms, much as abstract painters required viewers to relinquish expectations of representational depictions.
This morning's solo piano works include several 20th-century compositions which
use dissonance in free, decorative ways, alongside several works by the Baroque
master J. S. Bach. El Salón México, which takes its name from a Mexico City nightclub, is also a tribute
to Gay Pride Month, with a nod to Aaron Copland's celebratory embrace of his sexual
identity, and a sigh for Leonard Bernstein's more tortured relationship with
his.
Read on for programming details, and stay tuned for spoken introductions.
Gathering Music: Adam Kent, piano
El Salón México
Aaron Copland, arr. by Leonard Bernstein
Offertory: CUUC Choir directed by Lisa N. Meyer and accompanied by Georgianna
Pappas
"Brave"
Sara Bareilles & Jack Antonoff, arr. by Roger Emerson
Meditation:
English Suite No. 3 in G Minor, BWV 808
Sarabande
J. S. Bach
Interlude:
Sonatine pour Yvette
III. Allegretto
Xavier Montsalvatge
Postlude:
Partita No. 1 in Bb Major, BWV 825
Gigue
J. S. Bach
2022-06-13
Unstick from Yourself
Practice of the Week
Unstick from Yourself
Unstick from Yourself
Category: Slogans to Live By: Practices for everyone to keep in mind and pay attention to. These practices don't require setting aside a separate substantial chunk of time. Just have the intention to grow stronger in each of these areas as you go about your day, and sometimes make one of them the focus of your daily journaling. The titles of these practices are guiding slogans to live by.
Adapted from Norman Fischer, Training in Compassion
Let me emphasize: go lightly. Do not be worried about “grades” or progress. Don’t turn corrosive judgment on ourselves, which will produce discouragement. The point of assessment is simply to remain engaged and informed so we can keep on making a steady, solid, interested effort.
There’s only one point, and it’s so simple, however much we keep forgetting it: Don’t be so stuck on yourself! Open Up! Mind training comes down to this. Keeping this slogan close by at all times is a good tool for seeing how you are doing. Whenever you feel upset, unhappy, dissatisfied, in a snit, frozen, constricted, bound – check and see. Probably if you reflect deeply enough you’ll come to the realization that the ultimate cause of this unpleasantness is that you are in one way or another stuck on yourself, favoring yourself and your own needs, desires, and viewpoint more than is necessary. Even recognizing this, and opening up just a little, relieves the pressure.
Think about it: you are living in a big world, with lots going one, many problems, many challenges, sad things, happy things. And all of this is the sphere of your life; it’s the ocean you swim in, the air you breathe. You are not separate from it for even a moment. Why would you want to artificially, conceptually, remove yourself from life’s great ocean and lock yourself up in the tiny prison of self, in which, despite your best efforts, you constantly feel confined and under attack?
The whole of the practice comes down to this: stop being so stuck on yourself. Let go of that and open up. Think of others. Try to do something to make them happy. Anything! Something like, “Hello, how are you?” And mean it.
This is a way to assess your practice as you go along, a question to ask yourself on a regular basis: Am I less stuck on myself, more available to others than I used to be? Am I thinking positively and generously of others more often? Be honest about your answers to these questions. If you are just as stuck on yourself as you ever were, that’s OK. That’s information. You know what you have to do. Invite someone out to lunch. Ask someone how she is. Practice more sending and receiving.
You can also practice this slogan particularly when you are feeling tight and embattled. When you notice a sinking feeling inside, say to yourself: “There’s only one point: open up!” Take three conscious breaths. Don’t think something in particular is supposed to happen. This is training. It takes time. You just have to keep on repeating the process. So take those three breaths. Notice what happens, and whatever it is, go on.
* * *
How do we evaluate ourselves and others? How do we tell if someone is the genuine article or a charlatan? How do we know if we ourselves are going off the rails in our spiritual practice?
There are a lot of trappings in the realm of spirituality. There are all sorts of costumes, titles, and robes. People speculate on how enlightened this teacher or that may be, and look for signs of official recognition, status, and power. So what should we look for in a teacher or a faith community?
Looking inward, it sometimes seems that we are making progress, and at other times it seems that the whole endeavor has been a waste of time. It all depends on our mood. Sometimes all we notice is that years go by and we seem to be no different than when we began—or even worse. At other times, we notice that we have become a bit more calm, maybe, or a bit more aware, or even a bit more kind. We are discouraged one day and inspired the next. So how do we know how we are doing? What should we be looking for?
It all comes down to not being stuck on oneself. In looking outward, it is important not to be misled by trappings of popularity or spiritual power, and in looking inward it is important not to be caught up with our shifting moods or superficial changes. Instead, we must never forget the essential point, which is to give up ego clinging. That is the one and only true measure of a teacher or a practitioner.
Practice
As you go about your day, try to pay attention to the points when your solid sense of separateness is provoked. Notice the thoughts and sensations that arise with reactions such as defensiveness and territoriality. Pay attention to the thoughts and sensations that arise when something has drawn you out, beyond your self-absorption.
* * *
2022-06-10
Minister's Post, Fri Jun 10
In our turquoise hymnal, Singing the Journey, hymn #1031 is "Filled with Loving Kindness." The first verse goes:
May I be filled with loving kindness. May I be well.For the second verse, replace "I" with "you." For the third verse replace "I" with "we."
May I be filled with loving kindness. May I be well.
May I be peaceful and at ease. May I be whole.
The hymn is adapted from lovingkindness meditation practice. In this form as a UU hymn, it provides us a wonderful way to do a self-guided lovingkindness meditation practice. Simply take a few minutes some time in your day. It may work well to do this while sitting on the edge of your bed either first thing in the morning or last thing at night.
- Sit up straight.
- Lower your eyes to almost-but-not-quite closed.
- Be still and silent for a few moments.
- Then quietly sing the first verse.
- Be still and silent for another few moments.
- Then sing the second verse.
If you'd find it helpful to have a recording to sing along with, you can find several to choose from on Youtube. (Go to Youtube.com and search for "Filled with Loving Kindness".)
Do this practice every day and it will slowly begin to change you.
May you be filled with lovingkindness; may you be well, peaceful, at ease, and whole,
-Meredith
Join a Journey Group: http://cucwp.org/journey-groups
I.C.Y.M.I. (In Case You Missed It)
The May 29 Service, "Remembering"
The Jun 5 Service, "Coming of Age, and a Little More Age" -- #1
Here it is, your...
MOMENT OF ZEN
#123: Fascinating
Case
At a private meeting Grouse said, "I'm not sure that I am dedicated enough to my practice."Verse
Raven said, "Never mind about being dedicated."
Grouse said, "The truth is, I haven't the foggiest idea of what the practice really is."
"Me, either," Raven said, "but aren't you curious?"
Grouse said, "Fascinated."
Raven said, "There you go."
In a trackless forest,
making my way slowly through brush,
I came upon an unlikely hut,
and a woman in the doorway,
hoe in hand, watching my approach.
"Which way to the road?" I asked.
She studied me silently.
"Which," I started to ask again, louder.
"Just keep on," she interjected.
Before I could say, "Which direction?"
she stepped back and
closed the door.
Case adapted from Robert Aitken; introduction and verse by Meredith Garmon
PREVIOUS ☙ NEXT ☙ INDEX
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)