{"id":183,"date":"2018-08-26T00:31:25","date_gmt":"2018-08-26T00:31:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rhmcd.com\/?p=183"},"modified":"2020-09-14T19:08:24","modified_gmt":"2020-09-15T02:08:24","slug":"wellness-of-the-body","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rhmcd.com\/?p=183","title":{"rendered":"Wellness of the Body"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Lastly we arrive at the wellness dimension of the physical body, our strength and our capacity to bounce back from the demands of stress.
<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditionally, there are 613 commandments in the Torah.\u00a0 613.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, which is the most important?\u00a0 \u201cThou shalt not kill\u201d seems pretty important.\u00a0 But (no offense), \u201cThou shalt not touch a dead rat\u201d seems pretty trivial (that\u2019s Leviticus 11:29).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even among the most important commandments, it\u2019s an interesting question.\u00a0 Is it most important that a Jewish man be circumcised?\u00a0 Or is it most important that he keep the Sabbath?\u00a0 Are the religious rites like holy days and sacrifices most important, or are legal commandments like not stealing more important, or are ethical commandments like giving to charity more important?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagine the fight you might get into if someone asked you, \u201cAs a Unitarian Universalist, which of the seven principles is the most important?\u201d  Let\u2019s start a fight now, who thinks the first principle is the most important?  Raise your hand.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No.  Don\u2019t do it.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Jesus\u2019 time, according to the way the story is told in the Gospels, people who resented Jesus\u2019 influence were constantly trying to find ways to sabotage him.\u00a0 One strategy was to ask him difficult questions that would trap him into offending somebody whichever way he answered.\u00a0 But Jesus always found a creative way to answer that got him out of the trap.\u00a0 They asked him, \u201cShould we pay our taxes when we know Washington, er, I mean Rome, will use the money to support programs that violate our prinicples?\u201d\u00a0 Jesus answered, \u201cWho\u2019s picture is that on the back of the coins?\u00a0 Give to Ceasar what is Ceasar\u2019s and to God what belongs to God.\u201d\u00a0 They asked him a question about a woman who married a man with six brothers.\u00a0 One by one each man died and the woman each time married one of the others, until eventually she had married all seven of them.\u00a0 So in Heaven, they ask, who is she married to?\u00a0 Jesus answered, \u201cAngels don\u2019t get married.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So having heard Jesus respond to those questions, one more guy comes up and tries one more question.\u00a0 Here\u2019s the story, according to the Gospel of Mark (Mark 12:28-31)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of the teachers of the law\u00a0came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, \u201cOf all the commandments, which is the most important?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe most important one,\u201d\u00a0answered Jesus,\u00a0\u201cis this: \u2018Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.\u00a0 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.\u2019\u00a0 The second is this: \u2018Love your neighbor as yourself.\u2019\u00a0 There is no commandment greater than these.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matthew and Luke tell the same story.\u00a0 And in Matthew, Jesus adds the phrase, \u201cAll the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.\u201d\u00a0 (Matthew 22:40).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So Jesus avoids the trap.\u00a0 He finds a commandment, or two commandments, actually, that he says, encompass all the others.\u00a0 \u201cHear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.\u00a0 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.\u201d That comes from Deuteronomy 6.\u00a0 The first part is called the Shema, which observant Jews repeat twice a day during morning and evening prayers.\u00a0 \u201cShe-ma yisrael,\u00a0adonai\u00a0eloheinu, adonai echad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLove your neighbor as yourself\u201d Jesus quotes from Leviticus 19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christians call this the double love commandment.\u00a0 Love God, with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.\u00a0 And love your neighbor as yourself.\u00a0 It\u2019s really a triple love commandment though, because you\u2019re commanded to love three things:\u00a0 God, your neighbor, and yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now to say that all of the law and the prophets is included in a single commandment to love God, neighbor and self, Jesus must mean love not the almighty person of God, but rather, love the universal values, which the word \u201cgod\u201d represents. It\u2019s a commandment we can follow regardless of our theology.\u00a0 Love the ethical principles of order, and family, and reciprocity, and fairness, and kindness, forebearance, forgiveness, charity, and so on, which all of those 613 commandments derive from.\u00a0 \u201cLove unrestrained, without hate or enmity.\u201d\u00a0 Let your life be led by love for yourself and your neighbor and by the most expansive kind of love you can feel.\u00a0 Love with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, so that the entirety of your life becomes firmly and squarely aligned with love-filled living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ethical living is not merely thinking good thoughts divorced from action.\u00a0 Ethical living is not merely practicing a series of ritual behaviors divorced from understanding.\u00a0 Ethical living is not performing good deeds, but with contempt in your heart.\u00a0 Ethical living is not following commandments because they are written in a book, but rather because they are written in your soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So the commandment is not \u201cLove!\u201d\u00a0 The commandment is, love with all your heart, all your soul, all your heart, all your strength.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be well, to create a healthy life, all four components must be attended to.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wellness of the Mind.\u00a0 A life that aligns with our values, and a well organized life that plans ahead and focuses on the meaningful things rather than simply the most urgent things.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wellness of the Heart.\u00a0 We feel our emotions fully, but don\u2019t let our emotions overwhelm us.\u00a0 We enjoy relationships that encourage the free expression of our authentic selves, but also holds us in nurturing connections based on mutual responsibility and accountability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wellness of the Soul.\u00a0 We follow a holistic, ecstatic and intentional spiritual practice, and belong to a spiritual community, such as this one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We looked at those three over the last two weeks.\u00a0 Today we pick up the other aspect of wellness of the soul having to do with rest and play and look as well at wellness of the body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Scott Stoner, whose work he calls The Living Compass I\u2019ve been relying on for this sermon series, puts \u201crest and play\u201d under the compass point of wellness of the soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I talked a few months ago about the importance of Sabbath.\u00a0 That, in any period of work a portion should be set aside for rest and play.\u00a0 Five to ten minutes out of every hour during your work day.\u00a0 One or two days out of every week.\u00a0 A three-day weekend out of every month.\u00a0 A month out of every year, if you can get it.\u00a0 I like to consider July as the Sabbath month in the Unitarian Universalist church year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Studies show that the average American only took about half of the vacation time that they earned in the previous year.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A study a few years ago concluded that lack of sleep is as bad for our physical health as is smoking.\u00a0 Lack of sleep increases risk of heart disease and diabetes, and causes short-term mental health impairment equivalent to being drunk.\u00a0 Leading neurologists tell us all, \u201cGo back to bed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s what Dr. Stoner says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe biggest deficit in many people\u2019s lives right now is not money, but time. Telling people how busy you are has become a badge of honor in our culture. We are moving so fast at times that we forget how important rest and play are to our wholeness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some questions to help you assess your satisfaction with this aspect of your life:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022How often do you play?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022What were the attitudes of your family of origin about play?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022How do you play?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022Do you play alone or with others? Whom?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022Do you take time to recreate every week or weekend?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022Do you take all of your vacation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022Do you truly re-create on your vacation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022Do you have hobbies that you enjoy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022Is your play re-creative \u2013 specify how?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022Do you get enough sleep on a regular basis?
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the category of Wellness of the Body, Dr. Stoner isn\u2019t talking about strength in terms of how many pounds you can lift, but in terms of resilience.\u00a0 When something challenging comes up in your life, how quickly are you able to bounce back from the stress?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We think about stress as an emotion caused by stressful situations.\u00a0 But stress reselience isn\u2019t under wellness of the heart; it\u2019s under wellness of the body.\u00a0 Stress is not an emotion it\u2019s a collection of physical symptoms.\u00a0 The good news is that stress is a physical response to situations, a response that we can learn to control.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I get stressed, I get a rash that shows up across my belly.\u00a0 In fact sometimes seeing the rash is the first time I notice that I actually am under stress.\u00a0 Seeing that rash, then, gives me a signal to take care of myself.\u00a0 Other stress symptoms some people have are headaches, chronic pain \u2013 meaning pain that isn\u2019t related to a specific event or injury; getting sick easily because your immune system is weak, insomnia at night or lack of energy during the day.\u00a0 Some people lose their appetite when they feel stress (that\u2019s me) other people over eat when they feel stress.\u00a0 Rapid heartbeat or shortness of breath can feel like a heart attack.\u00a0 Stress can also result in feeling short of temper, unusual irritability, and mis-directed anger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How should we respond to stress when we feel it, or prepare ourselves for stressful situations we know are coming?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Physical exercise is crucial.\u00a0 Going to the gym is part of my spiritual practice.\u00a0 And going hiking when I have a few days off work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Go to the doctor for regular check-ups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get your teeth cleaned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eating well, of course.\u00a0 Meaning both more of the nutritious stuff and less of the junk.\u00a0 Also notice why you eat, are you eating because you\u2019re hungry, or because you\u2019re feeling a stress response?\u00a0 For the first 200,000 years or so of human existence our species faced the problem of too few calories and too little information.\u00a0 For the last 50 years or so our problem is too many calories and too much information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turn off the phone.\u00a0 Close the laptop.\u00a0 Turn off the TV.\u00a0 Go to bed.\u00a0 Most people need 7 to 9 hours every night.\u00a0 I\u2019m a 9 hour guy.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The church has been a stressful place for many of us the last year or so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The death last summer of your previous Director of Music, Allan Lafoe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sudden resignation a year ago of your previous minister, Mitra Rahnema, immediately following her return from sabbatical.\u00a0 The circumstances of that resignation added to the stress that would have been felt with any loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Resignation also of your previous Office Administrator a year ago, and our Director of Lifespan Religious Education last March.\u00a0 We said a grateful but reluctant goodbye to our retiring Membership Coordinator in May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Personnel Committee and I made some decisions about the music positions at the church that resulted in saying goodbye to our previous music staff in June.\u00a0 The Worship Committee and I, mostly me, introduced several changes to our standard liturgy and our order of service, that I know have not been welcomed by all of you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this year the congregation was forced to respond to the disturbing behavior of a church member, repeated instances of behavior that most of us considered beyond the acceptable boundaries of a church community.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the Board\u2019s action to suspend the church member failed to encourage her to address her behavior and instead resulted in several weeks of increasing harassment of the church.\u00a0 Most of us felt weeks of anxiety torn between sympathy for a woman who was clearly suffering, and the need to care for the institution of our church and the safety of church members and staff who felt threatened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then in June, just to add one more stressor to the list, a water pipe burst in the church office, flooded the back of the office and for two months now staff has been working out of a disrupted office, while church volunteers have spent numerous hours dealing with insurance, making office redesign decisions and interviewing contractors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not unusual that you might be feeling symptoms of stress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m sorry.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And I\u2019m sorry, I can\u2019t say it\u2019s going to ease up any time soon.\u00a0 Nearly all of those situations that I just listed still require some response from the church.\u00a0 Those stressors are not only behind us, they are also still ahead of us.\u00a0 We have practical work to do for instance about repairing the church office.\u00a0 We have grief and mourning work to do around the several losses we\u2019ve experienced.\u00a0 We have work of forgiveness to do and re-building trust within our community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And we have new work to do as well, new business of the church year around issues of governance, leadership, mission, communications, policies, planning for a District Assembly, and preparing for the search for your new settled minister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So let us, \u201cnot pray to be sheltered from dangers, but to be fearless in facing them.  Not beg for the stilling of pain, but for the heart to conquer it.  To be our own strength.\u201d
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGathered here, in one strong body.\u201d
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBlessed Spirit of my life, give me strength through stress and strife; 
help me live with dignity; let me know serenity.  
Fill me with a vision, clear my mind of fear and confusion.  
When my thoughts flow restlessly, let peace find a home in me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

May it be so.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lastly we arrive at the wellness dimension of the physical body, our strength and our capacity to bounce back from… Read more Wellness of the Body<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons","category-writing"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rhmcd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rhmcd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rhmcd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rhmcd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rhmcd.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=183"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/rhmcd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":918,"href":"https:\/\/rhmcd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183\/revisions\/918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rhmcd.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rhmcd.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rhmcd.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}