Welcome to Spark My Muse! • Audio is released each Wednesday.
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Today my guest is New Zealander, Barry Pearman. He’s a former-Chaplain to people with dealing with mental health issues, a gardener, and a writer (among other things). His work centers around helping people find healing and mental wellness through connection and spiritual formation. He too struggles with depression. (The beautiful garden image featured is some of Barry’s gardening work.)
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PROGRAM DETAILS: UPDATED January 2017 • This podcast is released each Wednesday.
(Guest interviews, “Soul School Lessons”, or other types of programing.)
The Spark My Muse show relies on listener support (from you) to keep going, not advertising money or grant money.
Today my guest is Dr. Wendy Farley a Professor of Christian Spirituality and Director of the Program in Christian Spirituality at San Francisco Theological Seminary. Dr. Farley, a premier theologian who has written extensively on women theologians and mystics, religious dialogue, classical texts, contemporary ethical issues, and contemplative practices, has been a member of the faculty of Emory University since 1988. She is the author of many books and articles, including the one we will discuss today, The Thirst of God: Contemplating God’s Love with Three Women Mystics (Westminster John Knox, 2015) which hexplores the spirituality of medieval mystics Marguerite Porete, Mechthild of Magdeburg and Julian of Norwich.
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• WHAT ARE SHOW NOTES?
Show Notes are time-stamped details of the audio for your reference, extra enjoyment, and use. They include important information and links to people, websites, books, articles mentioned, and other related episodes, other information, and resources. Super cool.
DETAILS:
• Each FRIDAY, guests join me in a conversation.
• Come back each Wednesday
(on “Hump Day” aka Midweek) for a brief Soul School “lesson”–something for your interior world and common life.
LISTENERS, like you, support Spark My Muse with gifts and spreading the word about the show.
I’m honored by your love and help.
• Each FRIDAY I invite guests to have a conversation with me!
• Come back each Wednesday
(on “Hump Day” aka Midweek) for a brief Soul School “lesson”.
HOW FUNDING WORKS: The difficult truth is that even though listening is free, Spark My Muse costs hundreds of dollars out of my own pocket each month to create, produce, and host online–and takes 25-30 hours of work per week to keep it afloat–which keeps me from making income to pay my own normal bills like electricity and water. The good news is that Listenersgive so kindly (at over 3 times the average!!) to support the show–not just because my particular listeners are high-quality people (they are!), but because of that awesome feeling that happens each time we help out someone else when they need it most. $5 or $10 makes a BIG difference – Thank you for helping too!
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4:30
Pub culture in Ireland and not running from doubts and pain.
(Repression is the term in psychoanalysis)
Sharing in each other’s suffering.
[ictt-tweet-inline via=””]Parables are a technology that help us look at painful things not directly so we can cultivate a grace in our lives and toward other people.[/ictt-tweet-inline]
(You can instantly tweet this quote above by clicking the blue bird. Look for other blue birds in these show notes.)
9:00
JRR Tolkien Eucatastrophe (a good undoing, like the kind that happen in Fairy Stories)
Irish culture / music / art
The 18 foot woman in a dress at IKON. Ravel and unravel.
13:30 Pete’s Memento Mori
Something to remind you of death.
• Pete’s happy reaper memento mori.
• Lack and nothingness has a painful side but there is a way to find a fuel from it for life and living.
The painters called the Dutch Masters featured a theme: Vanity / futility of life.
The authentic, lively and cohesive pub [juxtaposed with] the vacuous and lonely night club.
These brief “lessons” are released each Wednesday
(on “Hump Day” aka Midweek).
• Come back FRIDAYS for intriguing guest conversations!
HOW FUNDING WORKS:
Spark My Muse is heard in 159 countries and costs hundreds of dollars out-of-pocket each month to create, produce, and host online. Without help, it will go bye bye. Thank you for ANY amount,even $5 or $10, you can give today.
Scroll down for the AUDIO PLAYER to hear the epsiode.
INTRO:
Today, I share a personal story as springboard for something about compassion offered in context.
Many of you might not know that my husband and I have a special needs son named Nathan. (We also have a normally-developing daughter named Gabrielle, who we usually call “Ellie”. See photos of both of them below.) It’s been very arduous over the years with Nathan’s myriad of challenges and a strain on the whole family in many ways. To those friends, teachers, family, and others (too many to name) who have been helpful and supportive over the years, we say “thank you”.
What I am sharing today relates mainly to Nathan finding rich connection, friendship, or being truly accepted among his self-identified Christian/church goingpeers. Acceptance is a challenge for many typically developing children and teens. Children and teens by nature are immature, so I don’t (and didn’t) expect things to go perfectly!
His story is far from unique and neither is my pain as his parent watching it unfold. In a Christian setting, we’d like to think that rejection doesn’t happen too much because children might be influenced by church teachings and leadership. Or, Children and teens might be influenced by their Jesus-loving parents to act in ways that loving receive others with equality, but that was not our son’s experience.
When “being a mascot” is the best your child can hope for in terms of acceptance (that is to say that being ostracized is normal and being treated as a ” ‘Hey there little buddy!’ mascot” is a more rare but rather humiliating experience), your context as a family, how you help your child cope, and who shows up as your salvation, can take a surprising turn.
This personal story is the springboard for a deeper reflection today: about how we find our way in the world, make life better for ourselves and others, and maybe find some healing in the process.
What our family’s experiences showed me was that we can provide for others best out of the context from which we come, eventually. Examining those needs, hurts, and context can (possibly) yield a harvest of “good fruit”, eventual healing, and service to others. And maybe (with some new awareness), as we become more mature we can be increasingly mindful to ways we distance ourselves from people we fear. We also distance ourselves from people who unconsciously reflect parts our own weakness or insecurities back to us, and sometimes we distance ourselves from others we deem un-preferred to our sensibilities (or our cultures’ sensibilities) and are unlike us. If we can begin to see this, it’s a start.
• Thanks for listening today! Blessing and peace.
See the show notes below for my two previous fantastic conversations on the theology of disability and hospitality from Dr. Thomas Reynolds. He offers some truly inspiring and enlightening things in these areas that are likely to be completely new ground for you and your community.
AUDIO PLAYER:
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Pictured in photo: Nathan, his friend Cori, Nathan’s sister Ellie, and Luna–our dog. A little bit about Nathan: Nathan loves to make videos on his youtube channelabout trains, how-to videos, and animation videos. He loves working at his part-time job (large scale yard work), spending time with friends, making things from soda cans, drawing, playing with Luna, and coming up with fanciful business ideas. He also enjoys posting on his Instagram account. You can follow him on those outlets and encourage him, if you’d like. He loves connecting with new friends and fans. (And if you send him train video footage or interesting video script ideas he might try to create new videos with them.)
Nathan’s video channel trailer:
More on the the study and theology of disability and hospitality.