Reflection on the Double Helix Presentation, Part Two of Four

By Lia Rivamonte, Beloved Community Communications Team

On Wednesday, November 9, two members of the Beloved Community Staff Team (BCST), Angela Wilcox and Laura Park, facilitated the second part of a series on using the Double Helix Model for Adult Faith Formation and Antiracism Multiculturalism.
 
“Time is of the essence” and “time is money,” are two phrases deeply etched in our way of thinking about time. The first is actually a legal phrase referring to the time in which one party must complete its contractual obligations to the other party; the second is said to have come from an essay written by Ben Franklin entitled, “Advice to a Young Tradesman.” Why we persist in lifting up these very limited notions above all other interpretations of time says something about how entrenched we are in practices that continually fail to serve most people, under most circumstances.
 
We were about 20 congregants gathered in the Parish Hall, some who attended the first of the series on the previous Wellspring Wednesday. We were curious and eager to learn the best way forward on the journey towards spiritual deepening and becoming antiracist—Unity’s Double Helix—a model that offers the dimension needed to hold all the complexities of this lifelong process. Borrowed from the scientific prototype, the double helix is “a pair of parallel helices* intertwined about a common axis,” DNA being the prime example.
 
Laura led us in the song, “Come, Come, Whoever You Are,” fitting for the evening’s objective to explore how our spiritual practices serve as tools to cultivate spirituality and antiracism. As individuals—whoever you are—we all have access to these tools, and as Unity congregants we are long familiar with the idea that a daily spiritual practice can nurture our deepest selves, helping us to become more aware of who we are and what we value. Tonight we were to enact them in real time using Chalice Lighting, Circle Practice, and Meditation.
 
For the Chalice Lighting, Rev. Kathleen Rolenz read aloud the poem, “Praise Song,” by Barbara Crooker, a lovely and timely ode to Fall closing with the line, “Though darkness gathers, praise our crazy fallen world; it’s all we have, and it’s never enough.” We were asked to share with the group what we were grateful for at that moment, or what we could give praise to in the spirit of the poem.
 
Chalice Lighting has become the opening ritual at every Unity small group gathering. While some gatherings begin with lighting a chalice and a standard prayer or quote, a carefully selected reading and the sharing of responses to it can enhance the purpose of and/or increase a feeling of closeness within a group. This takes time, and asks that each person be fully present, allowing for the possibility of transformation. It is antithetical to the sense of urgency that so often dictates how meetings are run regardless of the circumstances and the emotional climate in the room.
 
It follows that in order to break the hold that dominant culture has over us we must re-think how we work together and how we operate with respect to time. This is a complex issue, however, as dynamics in any group can be challenging to negotiate—one minute for one person can easily morph into 15 for another, and the need to “get something done” is real. How do we take care of an individual’s needs as well as that of the group? Goals and process must be understood and agreed to in advance for fairness and equity to prevail.
 
“Perfection is the commitment to habitual self-doubt.” Angela shared this quote by embodiment coach, Prentis Hall. The idea of perfection was the inspiration for our Circle Practice and it is too often prioritized in our endeavors. Grouped into circles, we passed a token to invite participation by each member of the group wishing to share thoughts on the question, What am I glad I didn’t get right the first time? Apart from consideration of the question, when asked how this practice felt one member of the group replied, “Regenerative.”
 
Drew Danielson then led a 10-minute guided Meditation to ground us further in the present and in the work. Practiced in solitude, meditation can increase our sense of wellbeing, bring a sense of calm, and restore balance. Practicing silent contemplation in a group setting offers a different type of “communion” and feeling of wholeness.
 
Part of the point of this gathering was to give people an opportunity to go deep quickly, the second level of Unity’s Double Helix, with an added dimension—to “engage in antiracist multiculturalism together.” Whether among strangers, colleagues, friends, family or all of the above, there is a unique dynamic that we can expect will be different every single time. In order to embody ways that allow us to truly see one another, recognizing our commonalities and our differences, we have to strengthen the muscles that expand our capacity.
 
How do we disrupt white supremacy culture and the patriarchal systems that perpetuate it? Counter them with our own. Sister Henrita of The Christine Center always concludes meditation sessions with the words, “We are doing this because the world needs it.” Sister is elderly and can come across as a little gruff. Her words sound defiant, but now I see what she is getting at. We develop rituals and practices that reflect our values of inclusion and cultural adaptation and engage in them often so that they embed into our daily lives, shaping how we interact with one another. We are journeying towards the Beloved Community and just as Sister tells us, the world needs us to do this.
 
Note: *(helices—plural of helix, the wire wound uniformly in a single layer around a cylinder or cone)—Google