Christ Community Church e-zine
"Accept whatever you are. You are a great mystery of many multidimensional energies. Accept it, and move with every energy with deep sensitivity, with awareness, with love, with understanding. Move with it! Then every desire becomes a vehicle to go beyond. Then every energy becomes a help. Then this very world is divine, this very body is a temple--a holy temple, a holy place."
- Osho In continuation of our Wellness Series, we are excited to offer you inspiration from fitness expert, Rob McNamara. Many of us have grown up with the biblical teaching "you are the body of Christ." Some have used this as a commandment or a way of using guilt to guide our health. From a progressive perspective Rob beautifully demonstrates how our intention towards our body and any fitness activity can teach us much about our Self, our relationship to suffering, and awaken our Christ consciousness to our interconnection with all that is. Strength, Your Reservoir for Love  By Rob McNamara Did you know that Strength Training has much more to do with the very Heart of your Being than your physical muscles? This might seem like an odd question given our cultures relationship to “lifting weights.” Culturally, we love to compartmentalize and strength training is no exception. People exercise for their bodies, people lift weights for their muscles. People often don’t bring themselves fully into their fitness activities. As a result, they lose the most precious gifts in life. Reducing strength training (or any “fitness” activity) to movement that’s just for the body isn’t just horribly uninformed, it’s a crime committed upon the seat of your soul. To detach that which is the very heart and center of who you are from what you’re doing is to allow something precious to die in each moment this compromise is committed. Strength training impacts your brain plasticity as much as it does your muscles. It strengthens your immune system just as it does your bone density. It increases your cardiovascular fitness just as it releases the impacts of stress. While strength training works wonders on your body’s physiology as it makes you biologically younger with every workout it’s hidden dimensions develops your mind, evolves your soul and walks you toward a liberation and fullness in life never glimpsed without this rich practice. To yield the benefits to your mind, heart and soul requires you to bring yourself fully to this practice. You cannot compartmentalize yourself in this activity. Bringing the fullness of who you are always starts with a clear intention. I suggest three to get you started. My intention is to not re-create past experiences or manufacture future expectations. My intention is to be fully with what’s already here. My intention is to bring the fullness of who I am into each movement. With weights in hand, intentions clear it’s time to explore the some of the depths of strength training. Many people veil themselves from the true vulnerability of this practice by focusing on “getting stronger,’ which is certainly a by-product; however, the very heart of the process of strength training is to explore what it’s like to be weak. It’s through diving deeply into our weakness in which our greatest heartfelt humility is born. So with each set of exercises, push yourself until you’re so weak that you can’t lift the weight even one more time. Dive into each set with an open heart and the clear intention to be with this process fully without an agenda. Allow your conditioning to avoid pain and attach to pleasure to fall aside in the face of your soul’s unconditioned presence to witness the full dance of your life and your heart’s complete engagement with the weights. Strength Training is inherently painful if you’re doing it right. The agenda to avoid pain is however one of the best ways to perpetuate more and more suffering in your life. With each set you have the opportunity to cultivate a new conscious relationship with yourself as each set of weights is lifted. As your mind refines in its ability to focus, each repetition will become more intense. As each set explores more intensity and discomfort, you can turn toward these sensations, face them with a welcoming heart and in the process transform our relationship to how you face suffering. In the process of bringing the fullness of who you are into the simple activity of lifting weights, I guarantee you’ll learn much more about life, love, joy and suffering than the person next to you just “going through the motions”. You’ll grow both your hearts ability to hold both pain and joy in addition to increasing your bone density. You’ll find yourself not only getting stronger muscles, but you’ll also find that the process of being weak awakens your soul’s love and kindness both for yourself and the world. While you’re busy pioneering Christianity, you might as well cut a new groove for your wellness with an integrated approach to strength training. I think you’ll find the intersection quite fruitful. Don’t leave the fullness of your heart at home when you head to the gym to pick up some weights.
Rob McNamara received a Bachelor of Arts from Susquehanna University as well as a Masters in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology from Naropa University. Rob applies his training into 3 major areas: Education, Integral Practice and Business.
Rob has lectured on Integral Psychology and Human Development at Naropa University in the Transpersonal and Contemplative Psychology programs. His work with Integral Practice has included contributions to the operations, content and seminars for Ken Wilber's think tank, Integral Institute. Rob specializes in Integral Practice and Integral Strength Training.
In the business sector Rob presently leverages integrated business strategies and is developing next-level strength training modalities as the Senior Integral Consultant and Human Performance Specialist for Phillips Performance Nutrition.
Is Prayer Good for your Health?
Sunday at 9:00 a.m. — Awakening
Have you been enjoying the recent sermon series and e-course on Eckhart Tolle’s A New Earth? Are you searching for ways to put those ideas into practice? If you are looking to awaken your life’s purpose, we would encourage you to attend our Awakenings gathering at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday mornings in the chapel. This casual, 40-minute gathering will introduce you to new forms of spiritual practice in a comfortable setting. Sunday at 10:00 a.m. — Gathering Ian Lawton will guide us through an exploration of the question, “Is prayer good for your health?” In this gathering we will take a look at what a progressive practice of prayer looks like. How does your spiritual practice enhance your health and well-being? Music will be provided by The Jah Kings (more info below.)
Sunday at 11:15 a.m. — Wellness Fair
Join us for our Second Annual Wellness Fair. You will be treated to the talents of many incredible, local, holistic practitioners with booths of information in the parlor and locations throughout the building for you to experience hands-on services and movement classes. This event is free!
The Jah Kings this Sunday
 We are so fortunate to be hosting The Jah Kings on Sunday, August 24. The Jah Kings will be performing in our 10:00 a.m. gathering as well as putting on a community concert at Mill Point Park in Spring Lake at 4:00 that afternoon.
The Jah Kings, an international touring band, bring the rhythm and vibration of a positive message to the people. Jamming in the world of entertainment, where spiritual teachings have often become synonymous with deception, The Jah Kings offer music-with-a-message; pure and positive. Their originality and lyrics keep their fans’ attention, while a melodious blend of funk, gospel, hip-hop, and reggae keeps the bodies grooving. The afternoon concert is free— a love offering will be taken. Please invite your friends to share this fun community event sponsored by C3/CCC. Check out and listen to the music of The Jah Kings featuring our very own Jeff Baldus at their myspace page. Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance Urgent RequestDear friends of the Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance: On the night of August 17, the word "nigger" and a caricature face were spray-painted on the driveway of a Park Township family. This was discovered the next morning by the teenage son; one of the daughters asked her mother, "Does this mean we will be killed?" The family is shocked, hurt, and very upset. Groups like ACEH, LEDA, LAUP, churches, and other organizations and individuals are speaking out to support the family and express outrage that this has happened. The following pledge is being circulated for signatures. By printing or emailing your name, you are agreeing to have your name listed with others in a newspaper ad. You may receive this pledge from more than one organization; please sign or respond only once. The Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance will be collecting the signatures on behalf of a committee comprised of the many community members and organizations. Please send hardcopy pledge signatures to: P.O. Box 2945, Holland, MI 49422. Please email electronic signatures to admin@ethnicdiversity.org You may add your name to the list this Sunday at our Gathering and we will pass the list on to LEDA. Please share this opportunity with other people that you know. NOT HERE. NOT NOW. NOT EVER AGAIN. As concerned residents of West Michigan, we extend our support to the Park Township family whose driveway was recently defaced with an offensive racial slur and picture. We want the family to know that anyone who did this does not reflect us or what we want our community to be, and we support efforts to bring the person or persons to justice. We will work to see that no other family living here now or in the future experiences the same shock and pain. A diverse and welcoming community creates economic and wonderful cultural benefits. But inclusion depends on all of us. We, the undersigned, pledge to promote justice, celebrate our diversity, and act as anti-racists in our personal and community lives.
Sermon Videos: Eckhart Tolle Meets Jesus
 We have just completed a three week series on the teachings of Eckhart Tolle and the Christian tradition. If you missed any of these sermons, you can purchase a DVD for $8 each by or get the set $24 on our website or you can find them on the sermons page of our website or by clicking the individual links below:
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Stay 'in the know' with Twitter Follow everything that is happening here at Christ Community Church through Twitter. Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows users to send updates (otherwise known as tweets) which are text-based posts. This is a great way to stay updated on all the happenings at C3/CCC. We are now on YouTube!  Check out our videos on YouTube. You can now make comments on our videos, easily share them with friends, and embed them in your blog to share with others.
Be a Part of the Global C3/CCC Community
Many members of our community have unconventional ways of "attending church." Whether restricted by location or health issues or because they prefer a different type of experience, many active participants of our community never step foot through our doors.
We encourage you to check out our website to explore the many ways of being connected to our global community.
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As a subscriber to the e-zine, you know C3/CCC's cutting-edge, progressive approach to Christianity. What you may not know is that the cutting-edge theology you love depends on donations from people like you.
Thank you to the many e-zine subscribers who, through generous donations, have supported the cutting-edge, progressive approach to Christianity that we offer.
We invite your continued partnership with us in offering a radical Christianity that has the power to transform our world. Please consider making a donation now, and consider making a pledge commitment to Christ Community Church for 2008. For information on pledging, please contact Brigit Lewis.
Spread the Light!
"There are two ways of spreading light--to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it." --Edith Wharton
Have any friends that would appreciate a lil progressive light in their life? Just like your mother taught you, when you find a good thing, you should share it! Please forward this ezine to your friends and family that would like it by using the link at the bottom of this ezine. Thanks! |
