Led By Wayne Muller
Earlier this year, the whole world changed. Called out of a world we knew, we landed in “Time Out of Ordinary Time.” Everything was radically different; yet we didn’t even have a name for this universally shared human experience.
Some people regarded it as a kind of holiday; others felt robbed of a certain authority or dominion they had (or imagined they had) over a world that responded properly to their rightful desires. Many couples, families, and communities found, under the jagged layers of corrosive uncertainty, serious cracks in the foundation of their relationships.
Without a tradition of stepping away from Ordinary Time, many people feel lost. We are people who like to know what is going to happen. We are not fond of uncertainty. Some people have been protesting this unknowing, carrying semi-automatic weapons into state capitols, insisting it is their constitutional right to do what they wish, no matter the cost. They are demanding, in essence, to be given back control over the world.
This is the terror of leaving Ordinary Time; of stepping back from the Trance of the Familiar. As a culture we have no name, no tradition, no practices, tools, or rituals for living outside the familiar comforts of what we know.
But many spiritual traditions have long recognized both the existence of and the need for Time Out of Ordinary Time. The Greeks, for example, have not only Chronos — time measured by the progression of minutes, hours, and days — but also Kairos, a time of ripening into a particular readiness. Jewish people practice Sabbath, one day out of seven intentionally lived Outside Ordinary Time. Muslims practice Ramadan, a month of fasting in which Muslims everywhere focus their minds and hearts on Allah, and less on the daily concerns of what to eat, and when, and how.
This e-course acknowledges that we as a people have been shaken out of the Trance of the Familiar — a seductive state of being where we are both a little bit awake and a little bit asleep. In this new kind of time, we will use some traditional sabbath practices and rituals to nourish and comfort us. We will also experience how we can dream together the new, different, kinder, gentler, and more beautiful world we can create when we step back into Ordinary Time.
Delivered via email on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for four weeks, this e-course includes:
- Wayne Muller’s reflections on the gifts of this pandemic Sabbath and what we want to bring from it into the world-to-be;
- Suggestions for sabbath spiritual practices that sustain, nourish, and delight;
- An invitation to two one-hour Community Gatherings via Zoom, in which Wayne will talk further about the times in which we are living, and you will have an opportunity to share in both small groups and the larger group how you are experiencing it.
- A Practice Circle forum available 24/7 to the worldwide community for this course to share insights and questions, with guidance from Wayne Muller.
- Continuing access to the e-course materials, recordings of the Zoom gatherings, and access to the Practice Circle after the course ends.
Wayne Muller is an executive leadership mentor, therapist, minister, community advocate, consultant, public speaker, and bestselling author of several books. He works with people suffering abuse, alcoholism, poverty, illness, and loss. He consults with numerous community organizations, educational institutions, and healthcare corporations. He is the founder of Bread for the Journey — a network of ordinary people who engage in grassroots, neighborhood philanthropy through micro-grants. You can learn more about him on his Living Spiritual Teacher profile.
Let us practice together to turn pandemic-time into a ripening time. We hope you can join us by subscribing below or by signing up for a subscription package (33% off) of three e-courses about finding meaning amid the pandemic.