Mindfulness- Golden Rule

Dear UU Parents and Guardians

I'd love for you to join us for our weekly offerings: 

THIS SUNDAY TIME CHANGE: 9am - (usually 11am but changing due to congregational meeting at 11)

​Sunday School 
30 Min Program geared towards K-5 but open to all ages
Email me for the link

Middle and HS Zoom 
Monday nights 6pm:  
Email me for the link

Parent and Guardian Chat: 
The chance for parents and guardians to just get together and
Every other Thursday 8pm and every other Wednesday noon

TONIGHT Thursday the 14th 8pm
      Link: https://zoom.us/j/866583131     Password: lovemykids
 Wednesday the 20th at noon
      Link: https://zoom.us/j/474526337     Password: lovemykids

New Youtube links for this week!

Story with Ms Alexa: https://youtu.be/2ln67eEwtnI

Story with Miss Heather: https://youtu.be/l5oA5sy_tHA

Music with Miss Molly:     https://youtu.be/nLLlP6MLWqI  

Weekly Message for Parents and Guardians
Theme this week:
The Golden Rule (Treat others the way you would want to be treated)

Chelsea's Meditation: https://youtu.be/P9lOl_szv2I

The meditation lessons which I am doing are geared towards K-5th graders, but everyone is welcome to them. 
The theme for my lesson this week was: The Golden Rule

I read the book: Do Unto Otters

Discussion questions to consider this week: 
1. What is your definition of karma? Do you believe in it?
2. Think of some instances when you've observed cause and effect in your own life play out over various lengths of time: immediately, within a few weeks, or over multiple years. 
3. What are some aspects of your family's karma that have persisted through the generations? What have you inherited karmically from your family? What do you wish to keep? What do you wish to transform? 
4. As you've picked up on a meditative or spiritual path, have you been motivated to escape something from your past?
5. What ethical, psychological, and spiritual inheritance do you wish to bequeath to your children? 

Some Thoughts from Sumi Loundon Kim
Pay careful attention to your intentions just before or as you do or say something. Examine how these intentions shape choices and determine outcomes. In this way, we can begin to gradually uncover how karma works in our lives through the everyday actions we often don't give much thought to. If we look carefully, we can often see the functioning of karma - the principle of cause and effect- in family patterns and across generations. In my own case, this became clear as I got to know different branches of my family and our generational history. Some of our stories and experiences were startlingly parallel. I could trace the impact of trauma in a way-back generation through each successive one and into my own. Alcoholism, personality disorders, frustration at being stuck in a housewife role, war- the suffering rolls right on through. The forward momentum of family karma is powerful. 
It's well known in the Dharma world that many of the people drawn to the meditation hall, including teachers, come with deep suffering. Of those, many carry trauma from their family of origin. Spiritual seekers therefore can be motivated to undertake a spiritual path to escape or bypass childhood suffering. People have the quiet hope that 'healing' means the pain will go away without having to face it. Spiritual seekers can feel quite enlightened on retreat or on the cushion, but come Thanksgiving or the next family-of-origin gathering, they are right back to old patterns and reactivity. 
The truth is that no matter how far we run or how long we stay away or how different a lifestyle we choose, we cannot escape our family karma. Even if we go to Asia to live as a cave-dwelling renunciate for decades, there's no running away from dealing with these issues. At some point, if we wish to heal and to give our children and the world a better inheritance, we have to look carefully at our roots and work hard to transform them. 
Our karmic inheritance doesn't mean that nothing can change. In my family, each generation has worked hard (through therapy and meditation, for instance) to become a little bit more skilled at breaking the cycle of shame and pain. My husband and I, though we surely have our faults from our own painful childhoods, are not bequeathing trauma to our children and are a reasonably healthy set of parents. We are careful not to water the seeds of anger, fear, and resentment and instead plant seeds of love, acceptance, and awareness. We hope these efforts will bear fruit with our children and grandchildren, and on into future generations. 

Wanting more about Karma?
Here is an article from Tiny Buddha, "You Have the Power to Change Someone's Day for the Better" 
https://tinybuddha.com/blog/you-have-the-power-to-change-someones-day-for-the-better/ 
 
Put some good out in the world - it is so necessary right now. Yet, also save some energy for allowing goodness within yourself. 

Be gentle with yourselves this week. 
I am grateful for you. 

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