Sermons | Reverend Gary Shapiro

4 Nov 2016

Lovingly Piercing the Thin Veil Between the Worlds

Rev. Gary Shapiro Inspiration, Sermons, Worship Services connecting with the dead, Dad, Japan, Samhain, veil between the worlds, wind telephone 0

As noted in the previous blog post, this past weekend, the end of October, was the time of the ancient celebration of Samhain (pronounced “Sah-win”), observed by Pagans and others around the world. Samhain is the root of our modern religious celebration of All Saints Day, and the secular holiday of Halloween. It marks the end of the harvest and the start of the coldest half of the year (in the Northern Hemisphere), and some consider it to be a “spiritual new year”.

In addition, because it is believed that Samhain is when the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead is at its thinnest, at this time we also honor and remember our departed ancestors. But not only that. As I explained in my sermon at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Franklin NH last Sunday, we can also connect directly with them, with their spirit, because the love we have with them keeps their spirit close by when we call upon them.

This is not just my belief, it’s also the EXPERIENCE I’ve had with my Dad, over the past 30 years since he died. I wanted so much to stay connected with him, but didn’t quite know how. Then, a wise healer came along and taught me a fairly simple technique: starting with a photograph of my father and some deep breaths to quiet my mind. From there, I begin to get a strong visual image of him inside me, see him in my mind, greet him, and then invite him to be with me. Then, I wait until I feel his presence. And I do. Then, I just talk with him, normally. Then…and this is the key – stop, and listen. I listen for a response, and he does respond. Now I don’t always hear his actual voice; it’s often more like images that are auditory, as if the deepest part of me were a microphone. This technique really works. He and I converse quite a bit this way. He’s become my main spirit guide, and has helped me so much over the years.

I ask him a lot of questions, about whatever is going on – about relationships, work, home, etc. What should I do about More

11 Apr 2016

In the depth of winter… there was in me an invincible summer

Rev. Gary Shapiro Sermons, Worship Services 0

Yesterday, after leading worship services at UU churches around New England for the last several weeks, I came home and lead the service at my own UU church in Hartland VT. The theme was personal healing and transformation through life changes and transitions.

We know in our heads that life is change, life is full of transitions, but we don’t often see change as transformational. We don’t welcome many of the changes in our life, certainly not the unexpected ones, or the ones where we lose something precious. Those changes we may well resist and feel deeply aggrieved.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately, especially this month being the anniversary of two huge life changing events in my life. One was the fire at my childhood home, nearly 50 years ago, and the other was the death of my mother 3 years ago. What I’ve discovered from my own inner work is that such changes and transitions can truly be transformative and renewing, IF we are willing to experience them fully. It means experiencing what Miriam Greenspan calls the “dark emotions” of grief, despair, and fear around major events – not

28 Mar 2016

Happy Easter! – Rebirth, Sacred Activism, And The Inner Transformative Journey

Rev. Gary Shapiro Holidays, Sermons, Worship Services 0

Yesterday was Easter, and in the sermon I gave at the Franklin, New Hampshire UU church, I connected the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection with the journey of sacred activism to heal ourselves and heal the world. The Easter story has a deeper meaning and wisdom to offer us – about death, rebirth, transformation, suffering, joy, purification, the opening of our hearts, the greening of our souls, passion, and Love.

The journey of sacred activism is really a spiritual death and rebirth, during our lifetime. It involves a descent into the personal and collective shadow parts of ourselves, an embracing of our dark sides, trampling our fear, ignorance, greed, ego, self-loathing and worthlessness, addiction to power, the pain in our hearts, the emptiness in our souls, and more. This inner chaos and crisis is really an awakening and cleansing that the Christian mystics referred to as the Dark Night of the Soul. It is an integration of opposites. More

21 Mar 2016

Sacred Activism In Our Communities

Rev. Gary Shapiro Sermons, Worship Services 0

The past two Sundays, I led worship services at two more Unitarian Universalist churches, both in New Hampshire – one in Charlestown and the other in Franklin. And both of them continued with the theme of Sacred Activism that I talked about in late February at the St. Johnsbury Vermont church.

At the Charlestown church 8 days ago, I focused on how we can be sacred activists in our own communities, because the church is very keen on becoming more involved in the needs and life of their community. I first invited the congregation to reflect on questions such as: Where is the passion in the community? What is its soul? What is this community about? What is crying out here to be heard, born, or strengthened? I asked them, in the words of Sacred Activism founder Andrew Harvey, to “follow their heartbreak.”

2 Mar 2016

Sermon on Sacred Activism at St Johnsbury UU Church

Rev. Gary Shapiro Sermons, Worship Services 0

The heart of the UU service I led last Sunday was a sermon I gave about Sacred Activism which its founder, mystic and religious scholar Andrew Harvey, defines it as “a transforming force of compassion-in-action that is born of a fusion of deep spiritual knowledge, courage, love, and passion, with wise radical action in the world.” It is about connecting deep within to heal, to awaken, to transform, and cultivate a profound and FIERCE spiritual love, a reverence and holiness for all that exists, and then to take that love into the world, to heal and transform it, and to serve others by addressing the myriad of human needs and aspirations.

We’re talking about personal transformation and transformation of the world, either one of which is a big undertaking. But the truly radical part of all this is the MARRIAGE between those two, between the inner work within ourselves (spiritual development and personal healing) and the outer work in the world, locally and globally (climate change, Syria war, water quality and neglected children in our own communities). Andrew is saying that we need to do both, aligned with each other and anchored in love, because one reinforces and sustains the other. From my own experience, I know that a sole focus on one can undermine the other.