The old joke goes: “A Unitarian Universalist dies, and on the way to the after-life encounters a fork in the road. The left path has a sign “To Heaven” and the right has a sign “To a Discussion about Heaven” Without pausing, the UU turns right.” In January you will have the chance to take the right path, to dialogue with us about the topic of Heaven (on Earth) i.e. Utopia.
Why do people dream of Paradise, why are we dissatisfied with what is? Do we long for something dimly remembered or something yet to be? What would your paradise be and would others agree? Is thinking about Utopia futile or necessary?
There is an old story, with variants told in many cultures, about Heaven and Hell. Hell is a place where the food is abundant and delicious but everyone is starving because their arms are bound in splints and can’t bend so they cannot feed themselves. Heaven is the same but no one is starving because they have learned to feed each other. Compared to other animals people were made for cooperation: we lack great strength, speed, teeth or claws, but we have hands to grasp, arms for hugging, minds for understanding and shaping things and language for communicating — humans are weak alone but strong together. So why do we (c0llectively) tend to choose Hell?
The answer will may be revealed Sunday in dialogue! Join us to listen to what others think and to share what you think. The Religious Exploration Salon is a group that meets 3rd Sundays to discuss various topics in the format called Bohm Dialogue which emphasizes respectful listening and balanced, synergistic sharing. For more details about how Dialogue works, please see this intro.
Everyone is welcome. You are welcome to think about the topic beforehand but no preparation is required or expected — come as you are with whatever thoughts/intuitions you have, ready to listen, learn and contribute. We next meet Sunday Jan 15th at 7pm in the Brackett Room.
Contact Paul Reising, Tom Yelton or Jan Hardenbergh for more information.