Third Thursday Spiritual Forum: Exploring the Varieties of Spirituality

Vision. The Center for Spiritual Living Boulder Valley is envisioning a monthly spiritual forum to be held the third Thursday of each month, starting in September. The forums will bring in speakers or seminar leaders exploring spiritual topics which are generally outside of Science of Mind philosophy and practices, but which are consistent with them. We know that Infinite Spirit will never be circumscribed by any single body of human thought, and that there are untold numbers of spiritual traditions and practices that can enrich our spiritual lives and broaden our minds. Topics to be explored include key aspects of both broad spiritual traditions (such as Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Baha’i, etc.) and specific practices (such as dream analysis, inner child awareness, spiritual music and dancing, spiritual treatment of mental illness, etc.). The envisioned forum is a reincarnation of weekly forums held years ago at the former Boulder Science of Mind Church. A file describing some of these previous forums is available from Jay Burch. Feedback on topics stirring deepest interest would be valuable to help schedule future forums.

Description. Forums will run roughly 60 to 90 minutes, depending on the topic and the presenter’s desires. There will be ample time for Q&A with the presenter. The sessions will be recorded and edited versions of recent forums posted on the Church’s web site to pique prospective attendee interest and provide publicity incentivizing the presenters. A flyer describing the presentation will be available at Sunday services before each event, and the events will be listed on the Church’s web site and in the monthly newsletter. In addition, the forums will be publicized broadly outside of the local community. Flyers will be posted at multiple public locations, and events will be listed in local publications and posted on the internet. The forums are intended to enrich the spiritual lives and broaden the minds not only our local Church members but also spiritually-minded people in the Boulder Valley area generally. A natural by-product is growing a broad awareness of the Science of Mind community and its available services.

Forum Committee Volunteers. To forward this vision, we are asking for community volunteers to sit on a Spiritual Forum Committee. The committee will meet monthly and assist in the variety of tasks needed to make this vision a success. Members will post prepared flyers at available venues in their surrounding area, such as kiosks and bulletin boards at libraries, malls, schools, and local churches which honor the validity of alternative spiritual modalities (e.g., other Centers for Spiritual Living, Unity churches). Ideally, we would like to cover most of Boulder Valley. Members will submit appropriate text to available local publications and internet sites. Members will also mine our Church community and their own spiritual milieu for suitable forum topics and prospective presenters, soliciting material for preparing flyers when considered appropriate. The committee will keep a living list of potential forum presenters and topics, debating and deciding on an optimal schedule for future forums. The iterative interactions with spiritual leaders and discussions within the committee will most assuredly be very exciting and enriching! If you would like to volunteer for the committee, please contact Jay Burch (jayburch333@gmail.com , 720-917-9303) or Rev. Jyoti DeVernie (RevJyotiD@gmail.com, 303-668-0411).