Post by Stefan Pasti on Jan 5, 2014 23:00:43 GMT
As described in the 5 page introduction to the Tipping Point Action Campaign:
Spiritual Friendships— As mentioned earlier, the treasured wisdom of religious, spiritual, and moral traditions can be most helpful as people seek out ways to have high quality of life while using much less material goods and ecological services. A Spiritual Friendships project can help people find mutual support and encouragement; and in communities where there are many diverse belief systems, spiritual friendships between people of different faiths and traditions can help the transition from a community separated into many factions to a community where there are many new forms of cooperation.
In that 5 page introduction, mention is made that this idea came from a document of The Interfaith Peacebuilding and Community Revitalization (IPCR) Initiative (also built up by this writer). The document--"Brief Descriptions of The Eight IPCR Concepts" provides a longer description of the Spiritual Friendships, and some additional workshop ideas.
Here is that longer description, with the additional workshop ideas:
3. “Spiritual Friendships”
Currently, the “deepening of spirituality in a caring, accepting environment,” mentioned in connection with the “faith mentor” definition (see document "Brief Descriptions of The Eight IPCR Concepts, access link below), is most often achieved within the context of specific faith communities, and faith-oriented family environments. This “deepening of spirituality in a caring, accepting environment” can be deliberately accelerated by the cultivation of “Spiritual Friendships.”
One way of developing “Spiritual Friendships” is as follows… Within a particular faith community—or among people from different religious, spiritual, or moral traditions—small groups are formed which would include the following three elements: 1) Participants (at least most participants) declare an intention to take a specific step towards achieving a goal associated with their personal spiritual growth (By making such a declaration, participants will thereby be motivated to “do their homework” before the next meeting… that is, they will, by their desire to be true to their word—and by their desire to encourage the integrity of the process as a whole—feel some sense of urgency and responsibility about making an honest effort related to their declaration.) 2) All participants are provided with an opportunity, in a respectful and considerate small group environment, to speak about their efforts they made in the interval between meetings 3) Participants have the right to choose how they will benefit from the small group process (they can choose to speak about their efforts, or choose not to speak about them; they can seek feedback or encouragement, or prefer no response; they can remain silent and listen, etc.)
Summary Statement: “Spiritual Friendships” are relationships based on a sense of responsibility and accountability in association with the process of individual spiritual formation—and thus inspire, encourage, and support honest efforts associated with specific spiritual goals.
Related Fields of Activity—interfaith dialogue, spiritual discipline, building community
Example Question for Discussion:
For the question below, please check the box (or boxes) which best corresponds to the way you view the following statement:
“Most people making efforts to realize their spiritual potential need to live in caring communities, so that they can find support from association with kindred spirits.”
____ agree
____ agree in some ways
____ have different view--or different way of understanding our present circumstances
____ disagree in some ways
____ disagree
Your different view, or different way of understanding our present circumstances: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The document "Brief Descriptions of The Eight IPCR Concepts (where this description came from) can be accessed from the IPCR Initiative webpage at cpcsc.info/the-ipcr-initiative/
Spiritual Friendships— As mentioned earlier, the treasured wisdom of religious, spiritual, and moral traditions can be most helpful as people seek out ways to have high quality of life while using much less material goods and ecological services. A Spiritual Friendships project can help people find mutual support and encouragement; and in communities where there are many diverse belief systems, spiritual friendships between people of different faiths and traditions can help the transition from a community separated into many factions to a community where there are many new forms of cooperation.
In that 5 page introduction, mention is made that this idea came from a document of The Interfaith Peacebuilding and Community Revitalization (IPCR) Initiative (also built up by this writer). The document--"Brief Descriptions of The Eight IPCR Concepts" provides a longer description of the Spiritual Friendships, and some additional workshop ideas.
Here is that longer description, with the additional workshop ideas:
3. “Spiritual Friendships”
Currently, the “deepening of spirituality in a caring, accepting environment,” mentioned in connection with the “faith mentor” definition (see document "Brief Descriptions of The Eight IPCR Concepts, access link below), is most often achieved within the context of specific faith communities, and faith-oriented family environments. This “deepening of spirituality in a caring, accepting environment” can be deliberately accelerated by the cultivation of “Spiritual Friendships.”
One way of developing “Spiritual Friendships” is as follows… Within a particular faith community—or among people from different religious, spiritual, or moral traditions—small groups are formed which would include the following three elements: 1) Participants (at least most participants) declare an intention to take a specific step towards achieving a goal associated with their personal spiritual growth (By making such a declaration, participants will thereby be motivated to “do their homework” before the next meeting… that is, they will, by their desire to be true to their word—and by their desire to encourage the integrity of the process as a whole—feel some sense of urgency and responsibility about making an honest effort related to their declaration.) 2) All participants are provided with an opportunity, in a respectful and considerate small group environment, to speak about their efforts they made in the interval between meetings 3) Participants have the right to choose how they will benefit from the small group process (they can choose to speak about their efforts, or choose not to speak about them; they can seek feedback or encouragement, or prefer no response; they can remain silent and listen, etc.)
Summary Statement: “Spiritual Friendships” are relationships based on a sense of responsibility and accountability in association with the process of individual spiritual formation—and thus inspire, encourage, and support honest efforts associated with specific spiritual goals.
Related Fields of Activity—interfaith dialogue, spiritual discipline, building community
Example Question for Discussion:
For the question below, please check the box (or boxes) which best corresponds to the way you view the following statement:
“Most people making efforts to realize their spiritual potential need to live in caring communities, so that they can find support from association with kindred spirits.”
____ agree
____ agree in some ways
____ have different view--or different way of understanding our present circumstances
____ disagree in some ways
____ disagree
Your different view, or different way of understanding our present circumstances: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The document "Brief Descriptions of The Eight IPCR Concepts (where this description came from) can be accessed from the IPCR Initiative webpage at cpcsc.info/the-ipcr-initiative/