Here are examples of topics that can be explored in Truth Circles:
What is your experience of the Divine?
* How do you communicate with the Divine?
* How does the Divine communicate with you?
* What name or names do you have for the Divine? What name or names does the Divine have for you?
* Can you see the Divine? Smell It, taste It, touch It, hear It?
* Can you make love with the Divine?
* Where do you end and where does the world begin?
What practices, if any, help you to experience the Divine?
* For some people, this comes naturally. Some are surprised to learn that we can intentionally open ourselves to this experience.
* There are many ways to open ourselves to the Divine. Over the centuries, these have included prayer, meditation, singing martial arts, chanting, selfless service, dancing, and the way that we live our lives.
* The usefulness of these practices varies with individuals and may change for a given individual across time. For example, some might find a walking meditation more beneficial than a sitting form. Too, one might engage in a practice for some years, derive what benefit that can be had from the practice, then find something that is a better fit in light of one's changing development.
What is your story about your experience of the Divine, and about your relationship to the Divine?
* What are the most important parts of this story?
* Where did you get this story?
* How old were you when you got this story?
* As you think and feel about this story now, is it true for you?
* Does it comport with your present experience and understanding?
With what community do you share your experience, practice and story?
* This might be a congregation, sangha, or a circle of friends.
* What elements of this community are most important to you?
* Do you share the community's key precepts and values?
* Do the leaders of the community embody these precepts and values?
* What feels good to you about this community?
* Are there aspects of the community that cause you discomfort?
Is there congruency among your experience, practices, story and community?
* Frequently, there is incongruency in one or more places. For instance one might not feel supported in one’s community because of gender, race, sexual orientation or political views. This may be at odds with the community’s story about our relationship with the Divine.
* Some level of incongruency is healthy: it indicates growth and can benefit both you and others if you are able to deal with it productively.
* A high level of incongruency can be uncomfortable and, while it can promote growth, may also indicate a need for substantial changes. As an example, one might be part of a community that has a story about our relationship to the Divine that does not comport with our own experience, or that does not support the practices we find helpful in experiencing the Divine. If the discomfort is intense and unproductive, it may be best to find or develop another community.
Who is asking these questions?
* Who, really, are you?
* Is the Divine involved in the asking?
Who is answering these questions?
* Where do the answers come from?
* Is the Divine part of the answering?
How do your thoughts, feelings and answers evoked by these questions impact how you will choose to live your life?
* An important measure of the depth of our experience and understanding of the Divine and our relationship to it is how these influence our choices.
* At any given time, ideally, our choices are congruent with our experience of the Divine and our story about our relationship with the Divine.
* Consider this question in light of how you relate with your family and friends, how you spend your discretionary time, and the kind of work that you do. Do your choices reflect your experience of the Divine and your story about your relationship to the Divine? If not, why not?
* If you feel resistance or difficulty in living the life you want to live, what can be done about that?
Contact me for more information about Truth Circles.
Continue to Integral Theory.