Online Afternoon Meditation on Mondays and Wednesdays 4:30 - 5:00 pm Mountain Time.

Zoom link (New September 29, 2020):
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2825582166?pwd=aUpHNlN0eGNydERUTWNnTHNvcTBkUT09

This link has a password embedded in it. 

But if it prompts you for a password, use: meditation
 
Kelly guides the group in a meditation where we get grounded and centered. Often we picture ourselves in a natural setting, connecting to the Earth, the sky, the sacred, and each other in a circle. You'll be invited to name any of your concerns for yourself and the world so we can hold them in the center of the circle and shower them with love and light. Then you'll be invited to name what brings you joy. There's never any pressure to share. We end with gratitude.

All are welcome; invite your friends. If you can contribute, voluntary donations are appreciated and can be made here. Most people just send something at the beginning of each month.

This started as a two week experiment as we "sheltered in place" due to COVID-19. It's working, so we continue on. I'll provide updates here, on Facebook and through email if anything changes. To follow me on Facebook, click here or search for Kelly Groves Dignan. There may come a time when I'll need to give you a password for Zoom. That means I'll need your email address. So please subscribe here to receive those emails.  

Here's how to use Zoom:
If you are an Apple user, download the Zoom app to your phone or iPad.
You don't have to create an account. Just download the app; the link is here.
​For Android phones and tablets, here's the app.

Then from your phone or tablet, click on this link: 
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2825582166?pwd=aUpHNlN0eGNydERUTWNnTHNvcTBkUT09
The app will open up.
This link has a password embedded in it.  But if it prompts you for a password, use: meditation

If you use Chrome as your browser, you don't even need the app. You can just click the Zoom link. 
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2825582166?pwd=aUpHNlN0eGNydERUTWNnTHNvcTBkUT09
​
You can choose to have the video on or off.  Once we get started, I'll invite you to mute yourself. Then when it's time to share, I'll invite you to unmute yourself. Please silence your phones and watches, and try to limit any background noise (you'd be surprised how loudly things come across the microphones when we're unmuted!)  It is best if you use head sets to avoid that background noise, too. 
 
If I can support you in any other ways, let me know. Much love, ​Kelly

Originally scheduled for Saturday April 11, 2020, 9:00 am - 4:00 pm in person. - POSTPONED due to COVID-19, and will be rescheduled.  Stay tuned for an online version. If you're interested, email Kelly at kgdignan@gmail.com

When we lose connection to nature we no longer experience the amazing life system that supports us. Further, we forget that we are nature - one with all. This workshop helps you develop practices to connect, honor and reciprocate with the natural world. 

The workshop begins with honoring and offering gratitude to nature's elements and the land on which we/you reside. We quiet the mind, come into alignment with our center and expand our awareness so that we can sense and experience what the natural realm wants to teach us. 

In the morning, you will learn practices that include:

• Finding a sit spot where you can go regularly to practice and unite with nature
• Noticing - through tracking, smelling, listening, watching
• Understanding bird language
• Visualizations that connect you to animal spirits and spirits of the land
• Listening with the soul to discern messages from plants, trees, stones and even animals
• Meditations and rituals for healing our damaged planet
• Thanksgiving and reciprocity

After lunch, we will travel together to Cherry Creek State Park to practice what we have learned. If the weather is not amenable, we will walk to nearby Eisenhower Park for a shorter practice session and return to the house for indoor practices. 
Bring a journal! 

Four cohort groups met in 2020.  No further offerings of Mystic Heart are planned at this time. 

Join with other seekers and mystics to: 

• Develop relationships 
• Learn more about the world’s religions and Indigenous traditions 
• Practice opening your mystic heart and awakening to the divine
• Develop ways of doing this in your everyday life - recorded meditations, rituals to do alone or with others, and fun art journaling for absolute beginners
• Consider how mysticism takes you into the world to work for justice, equity, diversity and inclusion 

Six, two-hour sessions, held monthly for six months.

​Each session will begin with a meditation that helps us drop into our hearts and open to the flow of the divine. 

Our primary text will be the book Wild Mercy: Living the Fierce and Tender Wisdom of the Women Mystics by Mirabai Starr.  (You will need to purchase a copy.) It is a book about feminine mystics, women who embodied that intimate relationship with the Beloved in every aspect of their lives across the spectrum of the world's great religions and the Indigenous wisdom ways.

Spirituality and Practice offers this summary of the book: 
"In twelve chapters, Starr opens our hearts and minds to an amazing and eclectic array of wise women from all religious and spiritual traditions including Kuan Yin, Tara, Sophia, Mother Mary, Mirabai, Saint Teresa of Avila, Kali, Durga, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Gaia, Hildegard of Bingen, Rabia Basrit, Gangali, Mary Magdalene, and a whole host of others...By cultivating the contemplative life, we can tap into the private and public benefits of turning inward...While so many of us are exhausted and work-driven, we can harvest the restorative peace of keeping the Sabbath Holy. We can make the most of the spiritual practices of yearning and sexual embodiment. We can find true fulfillment in mothering as a path of awakening. We are called to take care of the Earth and savor the creativity of the arts. We can commit to forgiveness as an art of mercy. We can take seriously the ultimate spiritual practice of dying...Starr counsels wise women to 'take refuge in the companionship of women' and to ponder the lessons of 'the brave women who have walked before us.'"

We will cover two chapters per session.
Kelly will provide additional resources along the way, including images and excerpts from:
Christ Our Black Mother Speaks by Christena Cleveland, PhD.
Soul Talk: The New Spirituality of African American Women by Akasha Gloria Hull
If Women Rose Rooted by Sharon Blackie
You do not need to purchase these books unless you so desire.

Please have a journal at the ready, and if you're up for art journaling, more instructions will follow. 

Please email Kelly to register. She will email you back with payment details and Zoom links.  Her email is: kgdignan@gmail.com

More about Kelly.

What I Believe: Compare Eight Major World Religions and (Re)Construct Your Meaning Making System
A six-session class taught by Rev. Kelly Dignan
Wednesdays: 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm Mountain Standard Time.  Online using Zoom.  All in our new year of 2020! 
January 29
February 5
February 19
March 4
March 18
April 1

Price: $120 per person

This class is for you if you want to construct or reconstruct a personal theology (or meaning making system) and learn about the world's religions. Both help us get grounded, especially when we're living in what feels like ungrounded times.  Each session begins with a time of meditation to help us get centered in our hearts and remember that while spiritual work involves the head, it eventually comes back to the heart.

Our primary text is God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World by religion scholar Stephen Prothero. He argues that persistent attempts to portray all religions as different paths to the same God overlook the distinct problem that each tradition seeks to solve. He offers a survey of Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Confucianism, Yoruba Religion, Taoism and Atheism and helps the reader become more religiously literate. You’ll be asked to buy the book or get it from the library. Kelly will provide chapter summaries.

The first four sessions will focus on the book and the major world religions. Kelly will offer insights into their mystical branches and include a section on indigenous spirituality. The sessions will consist of discussion, not lecture, and there will be questions to help us explore each religion more deeply. You will consider your own theology throughout the course using the western construct of a systematic theology (found below). The last two sessions will be devoted entirely to constructing your theology. 

Traditionally, theology has to do with the study of God or divine things, but there is another definition as well: The study of the meanings, values, and convictions from which we live. We are all theologians. We can develop our own theologies (meaning-making systems), and we do it best with others in community. Plus, our theologies change over time, so having a group to ponder with is a beautiful thing. We will have a “covenant” in place to create a safe and brave space for conversation because it’s likely none of us will end up with exactly the same theology. If you are in the midst of a spiritual and theological shift, you may experience some heartache, so Kelly will offer spiritual support, and the group will hold you in love.

Please email Kelly to register, pay and receive the detailed course outline. kgdignan@gmail.com

"Kelly created an incredible “What I Believe” course. She’s steeped in faith knowledge and carefully guides each of us to clarify our own beliefs as well as deepen our daily practices. I highly recommend this course."  Kim

"This is a fabulous class. You will love it!"  Diane

                                                       Elements of a Systematic Theology

• Sources of truth and authority: How do you obtain inspiration and wisdom? From a book(s), prophets, nature, other?  
• Human Nature:  Is your view of human nature high (all people are good), low (all people are depraved and sinful), or somewhere in between? Are people born good with the potential to do bad things? Does our potential for good outweigh our potential for bad?  If there such a thing as sin, what is it? 
• Why do bad things happen? (Theodicy):  What causes suffering? What are your thoughts about evil? How do you define it? Have you experienced it?  
• Salvation (Soteriology):  What are your views on salvation? Do you need to be saved? From what? How are you saved? Can the world be saved? How are you comforted?
• Afterlife (Eschatology): What is death? How do you live on after you die? What are your thoughts about what happens during and after “endings” – the end of an individual life, the end of the age, the end of the world? 
• Spirit(s)  (Pneumatology): What are your views on the spirit world and spirits?  
• Community (Ecclesiology):  What is the role of the community in your life and the world?  What are your principles and values? How do those influence how you behave (ethics)?  
• Living in the World (Missiology):  How you go into the world acting from your theology? What is the role of working for justice in your life? 
• What are your spiritual practices? How do you connect to something larger than your own ego? How do you stay centered and compassionate?
• Divinity (Cosmology): What is your theory of the natural order of the universe? What are your beliefs about the Ultimate Reality, God, Goddess, the Divine?  
• For those living in Western culture, it’s recommended that you have a Christology:  What do you believe about Jesus of Nazareth and his nature?  Was he divine? Does his death and resurrection offer salvation? Was he the only son of God? A prophet? Hindus view him as Avatar; Muslims see him as a prophet; Buddhists view him as a bodhisattva; most Christians view him as the Savior, power of God in the world, and the only Son of God.

Deepen your religious literacy and your own theology with this study of world religions. 

Six sessions over three months  - two hours each
In-person in Denver at Kelly's home.
November 5 and 19, 2019 
December 3 and 17, 2019
January 7 and 14, 2020
2:30 -4:30 PM
Email me if you are interested!  kgdignan@gmail.com

I'd love to host an online version using Zoom, so email me if that sounds good, and I will form a group.
​
Suggested donation for whole course: $120

Description:
In God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World, New York Times bestselling author and religion scholar Stephen Prothero argues that persistent attempts to portray all religions as different paths to the same God overlook the distinct problem that each tradition seeks to solve. He describes the different problems that Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Confucianism, Yoruba Religion, Taoism and Atheism strive to solve.

The book offers lots of information! While you are encouraged to read it, Kelly will provide an overview of each chapter during our sessions together. There will be discussion questions that help us explore each religion more deeply. We will also use other sources that offer the mystical or more spiritual aspects of each religion. Kelly will include a section on indigenous spirituality and how you can get in touch with the beliefs and practices of the ancient ones in your lineage.  

Each session will begin with a time of meditation to help us get centered in our hearts and remember that spiritual work involves the head but eventually comes back to the heart. 

You will also have a chance to consider your own theology as you work through this course. Traditionally, theology has to do with the study of God or divine things, but there is another definition as well: The study of the meanings, values, and convictions from which we live. We are all theologians. We can develop our own theologies (meaning-making systems), and we do it best with others in community. Plus, our theologies change over time, so having a group to ponder with is a beautiful thing. We will have a “covenant” in place to create a safe space for conversation because it’s likely none of us will end up with exactly the same theology. If you are in the midst of a spiritual and theological shift, you may experience some heartache.  Kelly will offer spiritual support, and the group will hold you in love.

We will consider the following elements.
Elements of a Systematic Theology

• Sources of truth and authority: What is your guide? How do you obtain inspiration and wisdom? From a book(s), prophet(s), other?  
• Human Nature:  Is your view of human nature high (all people are good), low (all people are depraved), or somewhere in between? Are people born good with the potential to do bad things? What about sin? Is it a thing? Are people born sinful? 
• Divinity (Theology/ Cosmology): How do you make meaning of life? What is your theory of the natural order of the universe? What are your beliefs about the Ultimate Reality, God, the Divine?  
• Salvation (Soteriology):  What are your views on salvation. Do you need to be saved? From what? How are you saved? Can the world be saved? How?
• Why do bad things happen? (Theodicy):  What causes suffering? How are you comforted during suffering? How do you account for or define evil? 
• Afterlife (Eschatology): What are your thoughts about what happens during and after “endings” – the end of an individual life, the end of the age, the end of the world? 
• Spirit(s)  (Pneumatology): What are your views on the spirit world and spirits?  
• Community (Ecclesiology):  What is the role of the community in your life and the world?  What are your principles and values?  How do those influence how you behave (ethics)?  
• Living in the World (Missiology):  How you go into the world acting from your theology? What is the role of working for justice in your life? 
• What are your spiritual practices? How do you connect to something larger than your own ego? How do you stay centered and compassionate?
• For those living in Western culture, it’s recommended that you have a Christology:  What do you believe about Jesus of Nazareth and his nature? Was he divine? Mere human? Does his death and resurrection offer salvation or not? Was he the only son of God or a child of God like the rest of us? Was he a teacher, prophet, justice worker? Hindus view him as Avatar; Muslims see him as a prophet; Buddhists view him as a bodhisattva; most Christians view him as the Savior, the power of God in the world and the only Son of God. 

Photo taken by Kelly at the chamber of Listoghil in Sligo, Ireland. On Samhain, the sunrise illuminates this chamber.

According to the ancient Northern European Celtic tradition, the new year begins on November 1st. A ceremony and celebration was held for three days (October 31 through November 2) to harvest the crops and livestock. It was a time of change and transition from way of living to another - from Summer to Winter; from sunlit outdoor life to warmth by the hearth. The time was called “Samhain” in Irish Gaelic and “Samhuinn” in Scottish Gaelic. Both are pronounced ‘Sow (as in cow) - in (as in Inn)’.

During these three days, the veil of time is lifted, and we may commune with those gone before us more clearly than at other times of year. It is also a time of connection with nature, as are all the holidays in the Celtic calendar.

Similar celebrations are held in cultures and traditions:
In Mexico: Dia de Los Muertos translates literally to “day of the dead”
In China: Zhongyuan Festival
In Japan: Bon Festival
In Christianity across the world: Halloween or All Hallow’s Eve, All Saint’s Day and All Soul’s Day

Since many of my ancestors are Celtic, several years ago, I began to honor their holidays. The main feature of a Samhain ceremony is an invitation to our healthy ancestors, teachers and friends to join the celebration so that we might honor them and ask them for help. More specifically, we can ask for assistance to release that which is not serving us and call in something for the new year. We also honor the directions, elements and land on which we reside with herbs and offerings of thanks.

I invite you to join me in a Samhain ceremony followed by a celebration with coffee, tea and sweets (plus a wee bit of Irish Whiskey for those who would like to imbibe).

November 2, 2019
7:00 - 9:00 pm
At my home (address will be provided to those who RSVP ‘yes’) RSVP here

Most of our time will be indoors, but we will go outside for a burning bowl ritual. Bring coats, hats, gloves if it is cold.
If your ancestors served and loved a sweet treat, bring it to share with others.

Register and RSVP here so I can send you my address. 
If you want to learn more about your ancestors, before or after our gathering, I'd love to help. Just book a session!