The Art of Blessing

David Spangler
September 14-16

Someone sneezes, and we say "Bless you!" We say blessings at mealtimes. We offer blessings at weddings, church services, and inaugurations of new projects. But what are we doing when we bless? Are we simply fulfilling a benign social function? Are we invoking an empowering energy from a transcendent or sacred source? Are we extending our own wisdom and energy in a helpful way to another? Or are we discovering a primal activity of our souls, one that helps define who we are as incarnate spiritual beings?

Drawing upon and expanding material in David Spangler's new book, Blessing: the Art and the Practice, this workshop will consider these questions and more as we explore the nature of giving and receiving blessing. The structure of the workshop will be divided between lecture and discussion, personal reflection and group work. The premises with which we will work include the following:
 

  1. The act of blessing is as natural to our souls as breathing and moving are to our bodies. In its essence, it is a form of engagement with the world that is profoundly incarnational and creative, enhancing the flow of life and spirit.
  2. Learning to bless is learning to be present to our own selves in new and deeper ways, understanding and drawing upon the unique spiritual resources of our embodied individuality.
  3. Learning to bless is learning to engage with spirit and with the sacred in co-creative and partnering ways.
  4. Learning to bless is not so much a transmission of energy as it is the creation of an open space of possibility and enhancement for another being.
  5. Learning to bless is itself a spiritual practice that exercises the "muscles of our souls" in ways that can give us a deeper, more attuned presence in the world, while remaining fresh day after day.
  6. Learning to bless is learning to discover and engage with our creativity, our mindfulness, and our power.
  7. Blessing is one of the primal spiritual and creative acts from which the cosmos emerges. When we bless, we replicate that act in our lives and truly act in the image of God.
In this workshop, we will examine these premises and others, using the art of blessing as a means for self-exploration and understanding, as a discipline of attunement, and as a venue for service that is always available to us. We will give flesh to this exploration in a series of exercises and techniques enabling us to practice blessing and to experience ourselves as sources of spiritual uplift and presence for others. The objective of the workshop is to transform the idea of blessing from an act performed by clergy or in certain religious or social situations to an action that is organic and natural to who we are as spiritual individuals, an action that can be performed easily and accessibly in the midst of our everyday lives. The objective is to give you tools that enable you to be a blesser and a blessing for yourself and for others.
 
David Spangler, a philosopher, writer, and educator, deals with the development and integration of spiritual values and awareness into everyday life. From 1970 to 73, he served as a co-director and spokesperson for the Findhorn Foundation community in northern Scotland, recognized throughout the world for its visionary contribution to the transformational process. During the late 70s and early 80s, David designed and taught classes for the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee in future studies, community development, the "new" science, and emerging new paradigms. He has written and lectured widely, and his books include Revelation: The Birth of a New Age, Emergence: The Rebirth of the Sacred, Everyday Miracles: The Inner Art of Manifestation, A Pilgrim in Aquarius, Parent as Mystic -- Mystic as Parent, The Call, and Blessing: The Art and the Practice. His workshops at Rowe have been a delight, and we welcome the return of this very kind, bright, and happy soul.
 

What is the Soul?

Underneath the surface of events, a deeper order is also at work in our lives. Part of us lives in and participates with this deeper order, which David Spangler calls our soul. We can learn to bring its presence increasingly into our everyday lives. Perhaps the greatest gift we have is to touch the world around us with the presence of our souls, which contain the power of love, of grace, of delight, and of understanding. Our souls carry healing and transformation, connect us with the sacred, and embody what is most human about us.