Come to the Feast!

Jesus’ image for the Kingdom, salvation or healing and wholeness is most often a wedding banquet, a dinner or a feast. Life can be a feast – if we enter in.

In the gospel of Luke, Jesus moves from one dinner, one feast, to another. The gospel of Luke is a series of dinners, feasts and banquets. Ask yourself “Why?”

Entering into the feast is not about creating a life of comfort. Rather it is about entering more deeply into life and allowing it to wash over us. This is a risk. Life is a risk. God took this same risk in creating a world with free will, a world free to be and to choose. We, in God’s image, must also take this risk.

In the gospels, the authors have Jesus using the Greek term metanoia. Originally this was translated as “repent.” But the modern meaning of this word means we miss the original meaning. Metanoia means “change your mind” or “see reality differently.” Jesus’ concern was not that we would do something wrong or “sin.” Rather his concern is that we would view life wrongly and miss the feast.

Jesus wanted us to enter into the feast – the feast of life, the feast of the world. All are invited. Think of the movie Harry Potter and the feasts at Hogwarts. This is a marvelous image of a feast! Everyone gathers. There are untold delights to sample, savor and explore. There is abundance – enough for all. Conversations happen. Thoughts and feelings are shared.

In Jesus’ banquets we come to be served and to serve. Serving is how we are re-oriented outward or healed. Healthy relationships must be mutual.

All have a place at the table. Can you change your mind? Can you see the enchanted feast of your life?

You may also like Babette’s Feast, Movie “Waitress” It’s All in the Pie, You’re Invited!.

End of the World

Photo NASA Photo Journal

“People are making jokes

like there’s no tomorrow.”

Coincidentally, this week my students finished their end of the semester theology unit on Eschatology or “last things.” This is the area of theology that considers what happens at the end of the world, at the end of time or at the end of our lives.

Today is proposed by some to be the last day. The reality is that we are always living in end times or the last day. This is because none of us ever knows when our last day will be. Today might actually be my last day. Anything can happen to anyone, and does.

So the question is not, “Is this the last day?” Ask a better question. Ask, “If today is the last day of my life, how would I want to live it?” This question will immediately clarify what is important in your life and where you should strive to spend your time.

At the end of each day reflect back on the day’s events. What if today was the last day of my life, did I spend it the way I would have wanted to? Usually the answer is “yes.” If not – I consider what changes I need to make in my life.

Plan for your future, but live each day as if it were your last. It may be.

You may also like Only 3.9 Billion Years Left, You’re Invited!, Lunar Eclipse, and Doors of Dublin.

Trinity Yoga

Fun, new things are happening over at Trinity Yoga. Trinity Yoga is a new addition to InnerPacific’s blog roll.

Check out the Trinity Yoga flyer below, then do something nice for yourself!

Discover Your True Nature With Ayurveda!

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So what’s YOUR dosha?  Are you Vata, Pitta, Kapha, or a combination of two?  Or all three?  And what does that mean in terms of your lifestyle choices, diet, exercise, relaxation, etc.? Are you making choices that honor who you are?  Or are your choices taking you farther away from your True Self?  Prior to this workshop, you will take a Quiz to determine what your dosha type is.  Then in the workshop we will discuss what the doshas are, how they came to be, and what it means for you.  You will be amazed at what just a little knowledge of Ayurvedic wisdom can bring to your life!  All participants will receive $10 off a personal Ayurveda Lifestyle Consultation with Keri.  Click to find out when & where!

New Website Design!

And while you’re checking out the workshop, take a cruise through the new and improved Trinity Yoga Website!  It’s brighter, lighter, and more energetic than before, which feels just right for what is on tap for us this year.

Blog, Blog, Blog

Or for fun, you may want to read about my Ayurvedic Cleanse experience I completed in April on my Blog!  Any personal detoxing experiences?  I’d love to hear about them!

And don’t forget the Yoga Flipper Program…

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Try Trinity Yoga’s Spring/Summer “Flipper Program”!  You can be a Little Flipper (5 classes), Big Flipper (10 classes) or an Unlimited Flipper (as many classes as you can possibly make it to, including your family)!  No need to worry about keeping track of missed classes or finding a make-up time.  No need to commit to just one day and time!

Spring/Summer Offerings

Flipper Passes expire August 31, 2011.

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You may also like Yoga Wisdom, Spring Cleaning – Saucha, and Yoga, Sexuality and Integrity.

The Human Experience

Recently I watched the movie, The Human Experience. This is a remarkable film that addresses the profound questions most of us grapple with, because we are human; Who am I? Why am I here? What does it mean to be a human being? What is the meaning of life?

In the film, which is a true story, two brothers in their twenties dive into life. Although they come from an abusive home, they know that their difficult childhood does not determine who they are nor who they can become.

So they embark on a new journey. They live on the streets of New York with the homeless. They travel to Peru to surf for charity and to work with abused and disabled children. Finally they travel to Africa to visit a leper colony.

It is through their journeys that they meet and develop deep relationships with those who are different from themselves. They allow themselves to be opened and changed by those they meet. They listen and learn how a lack of material things doesn’t diminish one’s happiness and joy in life – quite the reverse. They watch and see how suffering, when it occurs, is used to bring hope rather than despair – that in fact, despair and depression are illnesses – not the result of suffering.

In their travels the brothers learn that moving lightly on the earth places the focus squarely on others – where it needs to be. A small suitcase is all we need. Cocooning ourselves in large homes, trailers or a “home on wheels” insulates us from others, from relationships and from experiencing life as it really is.

Rather, when we connect with others in deep, healthy relationships we become all that we are meant to be.

This film underscores the joy of life and, that regardless of our circumstances, each unique life is of value, it is worth plunging into, and it is a gift.

Everyone should see this film.

The movies, Motorcycle Diaries and Celebrate What’s Right With the World by Dewitt Jones are other powerful films that examine core questions about life and who we are.

You may also like Divine Chocolate, Love and Romance, Babette’s Feast and Life of Water; Water of Life.

Krista Tippett on Being

Photo R. Meshar

If thoughtful conversations on faith and God interest you, check out Krista Tippett’s show –

Krista Tippett on Being: meaning, religion, ethics and ideas.

Her serious journalism, in-depth interviews and thoughtful shows are available as Podcasts on the website link above. You can watch them at your convenience.

You may also like Question the Culture or The Story of the Wolf.