Resources by

The Gift, by Edith Eger

gevenehertz — 2022-01-04 16:15:28 UTC

Gizi suggested this book at one of our meetings. I bought it and I agree with her that it is really helpful and insightful.

2022 Centering Lodestars

Zsofi_ICUUW — 2022-01-12 21:50:52 UTC

At the 11 January 2022 gathering, participants shared their theme / words-of-the-year. Breakout group leaders are invited to post their group’s sentence here. Thanks everyone!

Seng Kynthei has done its second cluster of COVID Awareness programme yesterday at Wahmawlein, Kharang Circle. Report will come soon for Bahun. The problem is within town and city. Protocols have been reinstated and lots of restrictions with the announcement of the 3rd wave.

elgiva13 — 2022-01-13 09:09:50 UTC

Crazy virus

Meditate.... In silence or observation, in nature or in books in work or services....whatever that makes you peaceful and settled... and do not leave your Smile at Home.

elgiva13 — 2022-01-13 09:17:07 UTC

Lodestars 2022 Group 4

laurastahnke — 2022-01-14 13:01:06 UTC

This is the sentence of Group 4: We call forth the patience (Gisela), openness (Laura) and wisdom (Melissa) to choose a new (Lydia) balance (Julie).

Lodestars 2022 Group 7

annegreenwood — 2022-01-17 23:18:05 UTC

Our sentence was We will flexibly (Anne Greenwood) organize (Jeannie Lewis) a sparkling (Rev. Joy-Ellen Lipsky), new nest (Melinda Simo) in which we thrive (Peg Swain)

Living Root Bridge

liza_lamar — 2022-01-25 17:07:13 UTC

Hello All,

From our 25th January 2022 discussion on the meaning of trees and our relationship with them, Ms. Hajnal Minger in Group 1, spoke about the relationship of humans and trees and how that companionship has existed from times immemorial. Her mentioning of this relationship reminded me of an indigenous practice here that is the literal description of that, where the roots of two trees are woven together and weaved to create a bridge, one that takes centuries to grow and cultivate.

These are three images of the living root bridge at Darrang Village (which is around 100 years old).

The video, however, is too large a file to upload. I will compress and resize it so it fits the 30 MB limit on Padlet.

[Do ignore the emoticon smileys and the rabbit stickers. They are to prevent identity theft and/or having the people be unwittingly mock auctioned on shady sites.]

liza_lamar — 2022-01-25 17:08:16 UTC

I am also putting down a link to a website that can provide more information on Living Root Bridges, if one's curiosity has been piqued:
https://livingrootbridges.com/

liza_lamar — 2022-01-25 17:09:17 UTC

melisimo — 2022-01-26 12:12:52 UTC

We are all leaves of one tree.
We are all waves of one sea.
Thich Nhat Hanh

A Prayer for the World: Poem shared on 2/22/22

Zsofi_ICUUW — 2022-02-23 16:19:33 UTC

Here's the link to the poem by Rev. Amy Petrie Shaw, senior minister at First Unitarian Church of Des Moines, Iowa, offered as the chalice lighting for the 22 February gathering: https://www.uua.org/worship/words/prayer/prayer-world

Spring Cleaning - by Sarah Getty

gevenehertz — 2022-04-12 15:09:52 UTC

This is a poem by a very old friend of mine, a poet who died younger than I was expecting. (Gevene Hertz)

Open the house.
Let the sun roar in and corner
the huddling dust.
Let the March wind tear down cobwebs,
sweep out crayon- and cookie-crumbs,
Christmas needles,
smells of Vapo-rub and smoke.

In the brisk new daylight
get things straight.
Clean the hall closet. Organize your desk.
Go through your wardrobe, your game-plan, your old loves.
Sort. Evaluate.

Throw things away.

Remove the victims of winter’s grudge,
littering the yard like a battlefield.
Haul away the big black branch that’s lurked there,
like a beached squid, since January.
Lop off its limbs and stack them.
Rake slimy leaf-rot off the tulip beds.
Let clean heat reach the bulbs.

Root out the old hurts,
the cozy unsuccesses.
Forget that your sister wasn’t at your wedding,
that your father didn’t seem to like you much.
Get rid of the birthday party no one came to
and the men who never asked you out again.
Bundle the demeaning medical procedures
and leave them at the curb.

Pile up the lost job, the student evaluations,
the ideas of what your in-laws should be like.
Burn them.
Burn the time your six-year-old came home from school
and you weren’t there.
Burn the anniversary evening that wasn’t fun.
Burn the bad poems and the rejection slips.

Be ruthless as March.
Be a lion.
Under the clean-limbed trees be fierce and neat.
Hunt out the beasties that fatten in the dark.
Let the sun scour.
Let the wind prowl and pounce.

~ Sarah Getty ~

Science Fiction - The Actual Star by Monica Byrne

2022-07-12 14:55:15 UTC

Addresses spiritual and societal foundations of humans from three different millenia. Fascinating issues on political control, gender and views of their future.

Climate Change - Living in the Time of Dying

2022-07-12 15:12:41 UTC

This 90 minute documentary from Australia interviews climate scientists, whose main conclusion is that humans are on a short path to extinction. However, it wasn't depressing, but gave me peace. My new favorite quote is: "Extend the Glide" - that we all should support all living species to extend their best lives as we head toward that demise.

A quote elicited by the session on books and travel on 12 July, 2022. From "Aunt Dimity and the King's Ransom: by Nancy Atherton. A book is..."the original virtual-reality device! A wondrous device that will allow [people] to go anywhere at anytime with anyone they choose. A device powered by the imagination, a device gravity cannot shatter, a device that decays organically, leaving no toxic sludge behind to poison our precious planet!"

2022-07-12 15:14:40 UTC

From Ellen Barfield

A quote from book by Diana Beresford-Kroeger, To Speak for the Trees. -- "Trees offer us the solution to nearly every problem facing humanity today, from defending against drug resistance to halting global temperature rise, and they are eager to share those answers. They do so even when we can't or won't hear them. We once knew how to listen. It is a skill we must remember." Beresford-Kroeger is a world -recognized botanist and medical biochemist who combines western scientific knowledge and the traditional concepts of the ancient world. She did a feature documentary, Call of the Forest, and is participating in the three-part series for PBS called The Truth about Trees.

2022-07-12 15:42:34 UTC

Poem related to the Sep 27 Meeting Theme - Migration

2022-09-30 20:36:52 UTC

Invisible Visitors

All through August and September
thousands, maybe
tens of thousands, of feathered
creatures pass through
this place and I almost never see
a single one. The fall
wood warbler migration goes by here
every year, all of them,
myriad species, all looking sort of like
each other, yellow, brown, gray,
all muted versions of their summer selves,
almost indistinguishable
from each other, at least to me, although
definitely not to each other,
all flying by, mostly at night, calling to each
other as they go to keep
the flock together, saying: chip, zeet,
buzz, smack, zip, squeak—
those
sounds reassuring that we are
all here together and
heading south, all of us just passing
through, just passing
through, just passing through, just
passing through.

~ David Budbill ~

Poem about gardening

2022-10-25 15:11:34 UTC

Anything by Marge Piercy, really, but especially "Attack of the Squash People"
Someone in the Tuesday gathering said the saying was "Don't leave your door unlocked during zucchini season"

A Blessing: For Equilibrium by John O’Donohue

Zsofi_ICUUW — 2023-01-10 15:59:16 UTC

A Blessing for Equilibrium

Like the joy of the sea coming home to shore,
May the music of laughter break through your soul.

As the wind wants to make everything dance,
May your gravity be lightened by grace.

Like the freedom of the monastery bell,
May clarity of mind make your eyes smile.

As water takes whatever shape it is in,
So free may you be about who you become.

As silence smiles on the other side of what’s said,
May a sense of irony give you perspective.

As time remains free of all that it frames,
May fear or worry never put you in chains.

May your prayer of listening deepen enough
To hear in the distance the laughter of god.

2024 Lodestars Group 6 sentence

2024-01-09 15:45:05 UTC

"We will be steadfast in using our flow to transform ourselves to accomplish our downsizing."

2024 Lodestars Group 2 sentence

2024-01-09 16:03:31 UTC

Let's allow ourselves to focus on prioritizing compassion and renewal.

This New Year

Zsofi_ICUUW — 2024-01-09 16:24:07 UTC

Let this year be a clean slate for new beginnings.

I Pray for stamina

To finish things left uncompleted.

To call on people I neglected last year.

I pray for courage

To rally in the cause for peace and justice.

To speak out in support when others are silent.

I pray for empathy

To better understand the pain and suffering of others.

To continue engaging heart to heart.

I pray for patience

When seeking resolutions to problems.

When seeking a new beginning after an ending.

I pray for creativity

In seeking new meaning in service

Engaging others in service to the beloved community.

I pray for peace

Between friends and families.

Between communities and countries.

All of these things I pray for in this

Time of beginnings,

In this new year.

~Addae Kraba~

Recipe - Chocolate Cake, but with very special icing

2024-01-23 14:43:29 UTC

Gevene Hertz

Recipe - "Irish" Soda Bread

2024-01-23 14:54:15 UTC

Gevene Hertz

Rolladen

2024-01-23 15:51:04 UTC

Poem shared for chalice lighting 23 January 2024.

Zsofi_ICUUW — 2024-01-23 16:25:37 UTC

Hamburger Harvest Casserole

2024-01-23 21:01:12 UTC

From Cathy Muha’s Mother

Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground beef

• 1 cup finely chopped onion

• 1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained

• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 cups sliced peeled potatoes

• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

• 2 cups frozen corn, thawed

• 1-1/2 cups frozen lima beans, thawed

• 1 medium green pepper, julienned

• 1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

1. In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in the onion, tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce and salt. Transfer to a greased 3-qt. baking dish.

2. Layer with the potatoes, flour, corn, lima beans and green pepper. Cover and bake at 375° for 45 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Some of Our Favorite Books

icuuw — 2024-10-12 19:43:10 UTC

You can see the entire list and add to it on Google Drive!