Talk: Beyond Belief

Martin will be giving a talk and answering question at the Wright Tavern Center for Spiritual Renewal on Monday evening October 22.

Beyond Belief: The Five Faces of God
Rev. Martin Lowenthal
10/22 Monday 7:30 - 9:30 pm $15

Beyond the polarizing debates about the existence of God carried on by believers and non-believers, there lies the subtler and richer view of God as the sacred aspect of life. The opposite of the sacred is not the material world but the superficial. If we avoid the snares of dogma, we can explore the world of sacred experience that vitalizes our presence, opens us to wonder, engages us in celebration, inspires us to service, expands our connectedness, and sharpens our clarity. In this evening talk, we will begin a conversation on the faces of God that we encounter in sacred experience. We will explore useful ways of framing that which cannot be defined, divided, conceptualized or adequately articulated, but which is the common thread in all the great spiritual traditions.
Wright Tavern Center
20 Lexington Road
Concord, MA 01742
(978) 369-9602
FPTavern@aol.com

Welcome! A Note About the Coming Year

This is the beginning of a new phase in the development of the Institute and we are excited to launch our web log. Our blog will serve many functions for the Dedicated Life Community. Firstly, this will be a space for providing commentary, teaching, and discussion of spiritual and wisdom teachings. It will supplement materials available at the Dedicated Life Institute website. Second, the blog will be a vehicle for news of the community and the activities, meetings and retreats that are planned. Third, it will have links to other interesting materials and work. And finally, we hope to develop a forum for sharing, collaboration, and creativity around spiritual teachings and sacred experiences.

New postings will be made periodically, particularly by Martin Lowenthal as he gives teachings over the course of the coming year.

A note from Martin

I am new to the phenomena of blogging and the use of the internet as a form of publishing and teaching. It is my dream that what is offered here and on the Institute website will be a help to you and a celebration of the sacred dimensions of life.

I have recently completed being a guest teacher at a retreat on “Vast Silence” and feel renewed and inspired to begin a new year of teaching and writing after Labor Day.

I have recently completed two manuscripts on the subject of intimacy and am editing them to see about potential publishers. Selections from these works will become part of the teachings in the coming year.

I will begin teaching again at the Wednesday night meditation group in Newton, MA on September 5. The group will meet throughout the year on the first and third Wednesdays of each month. Everyone is welcome. There is no fee and dana, a contribution of your choosing for the teacher and the Institute, is encouraged. The meetings begin at 7:30 pm and run until around 9.

The teachings during the year, including the winter retreat at the end of January, will continue the themes developed at the last winter retreat of transforming our habits of superficiality into sacred wisdom. We will use materials from the Home Study Program (see the Dedicated Life Institute website: www.dli.org) and from books like How to Practice: The Way to a Meaningful Life by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Posted by Martin Lowenthal August 28