by David Hayward | Oct 11, 2013 | Spirituality
So it’s National Coming Out Day in the USA. Many of our members have come out in some way or another… sexually, spiritually, psychologically… Some are still trying to find the opportunity or the nerve. I remember how long it took for me to come out...
by David Hayward | Oct 10, 2013 | Spirituality
I often compare the period of time when we left the church in 2010 as the perfect storm. It was like our lives were hit by a tsunami and after it was over we were surrounded by devastation. I didn’t plan on it. There were no warnings. It just happened. And it...
by David Hayward | Oct 9, 2013 | Ideas
Honestly: I haven’t been a fan of the forum format for quite some time. I find it too vast and cumbersome. Clunky. So I and our tech team are redesigning the format of TLS. I’m very excited about it. It’s going to be far easier, accessible, and fun...
by David Hayward | Oct 8, 2013 | Spirituality
A little while ago in our secret Facebook group a discussion centered around what our spirit animals were. I had taken a test on this last year after Lisa, who is part Choctaw Indian, had visited an Aboriginal couple near here who had provided her with tons of helpful...
by David Hayward | Oct 5, 2013 | Exercises
My cartoon today, iTithe, challenges the legal idea of tithing. But I do believe in generosity. I said, “I believe that when we are generous we live in a more generous universe.” Now that Lisa and I don’t go to church where we used to give...
by David Hayward | Oct 4, 2013 | Feelings
Yesterday was a lovely day so Lisa and I walked down to the river beach and sat while the waves rippled in. We had a heart to heart talk. She’s feeling sad because she doesn’t know how to pray right now. The old comfortable way no longer suffices. She...
by David Hayward | Oct 3, 2013 | Podcasts
Hey everyone! I finally got to interview one of our own members, Jeff Prideaux! What a great guy. We’re trying to keep our podcasts down to 20 minutes and we just about succeeded here. Plus, I found out something I never realized about Jeff until I talked with...
by David Hayward | Oct 2, 2013 | Ideas
One of my most favorite authors, Wendell Berry, writes in Standing By Words: “To think better, to think like the best humans, we are probably going to have to learn again to judge a person’s intelligence, not by the ability to recite facts, but by the good...
by David Hayward | Oct 1, 2013 | Ideas
Some people when they deconstruct their faith and beliefs they can just leave the bible in one fell swoop and never think about it again. Not me. I had to form a new relationship with it over time. Here’s how I look at it now. The bible has three epochs: The...
by David Hayward | Sep 28, 2013 | Feelings
Many of us have had terrible church experiences. Many of us talk about “triggers”. Is it any wonder why? Read about one story in this forum thread, Angie’s Story. It takes courage to talk about it and, therefore, to relive it. But this is the first...
by David Hayward | Sep 27, 2013 | Ideas
One of our newest members, merlentz, who is married to another TLS member Rob Lentz, posted a very vulnerable and honest post about the passing of her mother and her spiritual journey through that experience. You can read about it in the forum thread, “Hello...
by David Hayward | Sep 26, 2013 | Feelings
Some of us are still in the church. And I love that about us. Actually, there are some of us who are in ministry or preparing to be. I applaud that. I stayed as long as I possibly could. Some say I stayed longer than I should have. Maybe. Although it was time for me...
by David Hayward | Sep 25, 2013 | Feelings
One of my greatest pleasures is watching you guys be vulnerable. That shows incredible strength. My next greatest pleasure is watching you guys as a community gather around each other’s vulnerability with such gentleness, wisdom and care. This thread started by...
by David Hayward | Sep 23, 2013 | Spirituality
I like what Jeff said in this forum thread on tarot cards, which have come up in conversation lately. I think he has a good point: I think of Tarot cards (and such) as a trying to see meaning within randomness not unlike seeing an image in an ink blotch or an image on...
by David Hayward | Sep 21, 2013 | Exercises
So for today’s Saturday Spiritual Supplement, ask yourself one simple question: What is the one thing I am most passionate about and do really well? (I can hear the funny comments now. Okay, bring ’em on!) At the root of everything that I do is the fact...
by David Hayward | Sep 20, 2013 | Feelings
This is a continuation of yesterday’s post, All Illusion is Stripped Away, in which I tried to show how deconstruction is a healthy part of spiritual growth. Instead of the word “cell”, the monk’s room where she spends all her days, replace it...
