SMALL GROUP PACKET | JANUARY | 2016 What does it mean to be a people of Truth? The Quest for Truth s 2016 unfolds, we return to reflecting on the mean- Fortunately or unfortunately, there is a paradox that A ing of the covenant that we say every week and what comes with always seeking truth. It encourages creativity, it means to be a people that live out love, truth, service curiosity and a willingness to question and look more and peace. deeply and critically at what we are told. However, if tak- en seriously, it also leads to the discovery that there may We begin in January with truth. I can’t help but think of not be any one capital “T” truth. Experience, perspective, comedian Stephen Colbert’s coining of the word context impact one’s truth. As the Nobel Prize winning “Truthiness.” According to Colbert, “truthiness” is a kind physicist Niels Bohr said, “The opposite of a correct state- of truth a person asserts or argues which one claims to ment is a false statement. But the opposite of a profound know intuitively, or “from the gut,” without any regard to truth may well be another profound truth.” It is these evidence, logic, intellectual examination or facts. profound truths that we are in search of as Unitarian Universalists. Truth feels like an especially relevant and difficult topic in a time when there is so much division between people. When it comes to the challenges of our day, we are at a Whether we are talking about global climate change, po- critical junction. How we choose to proceed and respond licing in the US, the impacts of migration and immigra- to these crises matters. However, simply debating the tion, the response needed in the face of the refugee crisis, “facts” or looking only at the surface issues will not or the best ways to respond to terrorism, there is a gulf in suffice. What is needed is to engage and share the deep perspectives and all sides seem to have facts they can profound truths we hold most dear. For these are the val- quote to bolster their arguments. Where is truth in all of ues and principles that become the foundation for how we view the world, how we respond to fear or despair. this division? These profound truths are a bedrock that shape how we Perhaps the challenge is really one of truthiness. In other live, how we see the world and one another. They shape words, the differences may not really be about the facts, how we share and what we give. This is where we must but about fundamental moral differences in how people engage the questions and trials of today. see the world, what they hold sacred, how they see them- selves in relationship to others, to God, to creation. For all This month, we will dive into issues that are at the sur- face, but we will also explore and share the more pro- of these have a profound effect on how we see and re- found truths that guide our living. It is incredibly valua- spond to the world and the trials of living. ble, when confronted with so much tragedy, that we As Unitarian Universalists, this is especially interesting, move beyond the surface arguments to really engage the because we don’t covenant to promote or protect or instill deep profound truths so that we may be clear on which the truth. Rather, we covenant to make the quest for truth truths we wish to build our communities and societies upon. our sacrament. Sacrament is not a word we use very often. It means sacred act. So, with these words, we are saying that to always seek truth is our religious practice. Rev. Susan To Join a Small Group, email: [email protected] SMALL GROUP PACKET | JANUARY | 2016 What does it mean to be a people of Truth? Living the Theme: Truth Watch a Documentary to Discover the Truth Choose one of the exercises below to engage the theme. Come to the meeting prepared to share how you tried to experience 2 the theme and what you learned from the practice. Documentaries often shed light on an issue that has been widely ignored, and filmmakers are able to uncover truths that some would prefer to hide. Check out Kickstarter.com, Cultivate an Inquiring Mind from Raising Freethinkers: a practical guide for parenting beyond belief, Dale Gofundme.com or Indiegogo.com to discover upcoming docu- 1 McGowan, et.al., 2009 mentaries that need funding and make a donation. Some rec- ommended local documentaries are: The search for truth begins with assessment of facts and open inquiry. This month, encourage your family (and yourself) Salud Sin Papeles: Health Undocumented: http://tinyurl.com/ to cultivate an inquiring mind. There are three main require- health-undocumented ments for an inquiring mind: (1) self-confidence, (2) curiosity, and (3) an unconditional love of reality. Borders and Climate Change Documentary: https:// www.gofundme.com/bordersclimate 1. Self-confidence. The best way to instill confidence is to en- courage autonomy. ...Inquiry is the act of a confident, autono- See “Recommended Resources” at the end of this packet for mous mind. It’s the act of someone who believes she can break more films. through the walls between ignorance and knowledge. If you want inquiring kids, work on confidence—and confidence starts with autonomy. 2. Curiosity. …No one asks questions if he isn’t curious about the answers. The parent of a ravenously curious little boy once told me that the boy’s grandmother, exasperated at the child’s end- less questions, once said, “You don’t have to know everything!” Yes, it’s sometimes hard to stay patient and engaged…. Indiffer- ence overtakes us soon enough. Nurture curiosity while it’s nat- ural and wild. 3. The unconditional love of reality. …I want my kids to see the universe as an astonishing, thrilling place to be no matter what…. I want them to feel unconditional love and joy at being alive, conscious, and wondering. Like the passionate love of any- thing, an unconditional love of reality breeds a voracious hunger to experience it directly, to embrace it, whatever form it might take. Children with that exciting combination of love and hun- ger will not stand for anything that gets in the way of clarity. Their minds become thirsty for genuine understanding, and the best that we can do is stand back. Image credit Jessica Ferguson via UUmediaworks.tumblr.com To Join a Small Group, email: [email protected] SMALL GROUP PACKET | JANUARY | 2016 What does it mean to be a people of Truth? Questions to Live With Simply look over these questions and find one that “hooks” you. 10. When was a time when you felt like you discovered Live with it for a while. Allow it to regularly break into – and some important truth? How did you discover break open – your ordinary thoughts. Then come to your group it? On your own, or listening to someone else? How did prepared to share the journey. learning/discovering this change your outlook on your life? 1. Have you ever changed your mind about a truth you 11. To what extent does our society value the truth and once held? When did you change your mind and truth telling? How do groups/organizations re- why? Did any new truth(s) emerge in its place? spond to truth-tellers and whistle-blowers? 2. Are there any truths you held in childhood that you 12. Is it possible to find the truth about what is happen- no longer hold? What was it like to let go of older ing in the world today? How do we best vet the truths? sources of news? 3. In your own search for truth, what have been lasting dis- 13. Is truth always the best policy? When is a lie a bet- coveries that you have found? In other words, what ter option, or is it ever? truths have you discovered in your own life? 14. Is omission of a fact the same as not telling the 4. Have you ever been untrue to yourself? What did this truth? feel like? How did you – or are you still working on – be- 15. When have you really tried to tell the truth, and no ing true to yourself? one believed you? 5. The words “know thyself” were inscribed on the Temple 16. When have you been accused of lying? What was of Apollo at Delphi. How do you “know” yourself? What that experience like? things have you learned about yourself that you did 17. What is an example of a truth that has changed so- not know and that surprised you when you learned ciety? them? 18. What truths are hardest to tell? Or hardest to hear? 6. Think about a few things you hold to be true. What role do these truths play in your life? Are they a source of comfort in times of difficulty? Are they a re- minder to you in times of discouragement or despair? Do they give you strength 7. Otto Rank wrote, “With the truth, one cannot live. To be able to live, one needs illusions.” Do you agree? Have you cultivated illusions? When? Why? How? 8. Sometimes denial or illusions stem from hidden as- sumptions or blindspots. Have you ever seen these at play in yourself or others? What was the reward for self-deception? What was the cost? 9. Has your own search for truth, led you to feel there is no capital T "Truth"? If so, what does that mean for you? Is it freeing, unsettling? Image credit Kristina Benner, via www.canva.com To Join a Small Group, email: [email protected] SMALL GROUP PACKET | JANUARY | 2016 What does it mean to be a people of Truth? Wise Words Truth: People who shut their eyes to reality simply invite their own destruction, and anyone who insists on remaining in a state of The true or actual state of a matter: to tell the truth.