Reflections and resources from MICAH staff. Also see our News section for more reflections.
Our Mission:
MICAH creates, supports, and develops programs and environments for the practice and study of spiritual formation
and leadership,
healing and the arts.
As a contemplative Christian undertaking, MICAH provides a sacred space within which we seek to create a life with God.
Join Reports from the Spiritual Frontier for a conversation with Dan Wolpert about how to stay spiritually grounded. Hear him share about how leaders can stay spiritually grounded, how they can offer the same for their congregations, and experience an imaginative contemplative exercise that you can use in your context.
Thirty‐five years ago, while a student in Contemplative Psychotherapy at the Naropa University, my entire cohort of thirty‐two students went on retreat together for ten weeks. In today’s hyper‐busy world, where it is hard to get people together for an overnight, such an event is almost unimaginable. We spent our time away studying and practicing a set of teachings called the Five Elements, or the Five Wisdom Teachings. Born out of Chinese Five Element theory, these are a set of contemplative practices that are a wholistic way of examining wisdom and neurosis from the perspective of the constituent elements of reality, or what Christians would call the attributes of God.
For me these teachings, and this experience, were profoundly transformative. They brought together my interests in contemplation, the environment, and healing in a new way that made sense to me at the core of my being. Years later, when I read the Biblical Wisdom tradition, I also recognized this wholistic approach to spirituality, life, and our relationship to the entire world.
As I have gotten older, I experience the truth of the teaching that nothing is lost. Rather, everything we do continues to be a part of ourselves, informing how our life moves forward. So, I was not too surprised when, three years ago, I found myself with a great desire to bring these teachings on the Elements into the center of my work. I know that this desire is related to the current state of the earth.
From the time I was very young, I’ve always had a profound connection to the non‐ human natural world. I loved being in ‘nature’ as a child and always wanted to be in the woods, the desert, the mountains; all of these places spoke to me in deep ways. To this day, I can remember such places and moments with total clarity, and these memories are accompanied by feelings of utter joy and peace.
As I grew, I was also moved and motivated by the environmental movements of the late 20th Century. It was clear that our industrial production mode of existence was destructive and wrong on a very primordial level. I remember how sad I felt when I first saw a clear‐cut forest, and this past memory collided with the present when—just a few weeks ago, in a book on Native Theology—I read, “There is no ceremony, in any tradition, for clear‐cutting an entire forest.”
The environmental crisis we now face is many times greater than it was when I was a child, and I can feel the groaning of the earth as it labors under the burden of our way of being. And increasingly, many others with whom I talk are also experiencing what I can only describe as environmental anxiety. It’s like the planet is now talking to us inside our heads, telling us that a great change is coming. What do we need in such a time as this?
Perhaps my favorite passage of scripture (at the beginning of Proverbs 9) offers an answer, or at least the start of an answer to this last question. This is the great image of Wisdom creating a house, built on Seven Pillars, to which people are invited to come and eat and learn together:
“Give instruction to the wise, and they will become wiser still;
teach the righteous, and they will gain in learning.
...Lay aside foolishness and live,
...walk in the way of insight.”
The Five Wisdoms that I first heard about so many years ago still seem to me to offer a fruitful and perhaps even transformative “walk in the way of insight,” both in our Caring for Creation and in our living wholistic, healing lives. And so, I will close with a few of the thoughts and questions that stick with me today:
The Element of Space is the element that holds all, the total environment. In the Christian world we would talk of this as God. And so, I wonder about how we individually connect with this total environment? How do we treat our bodies, our homes, our communities? I think about the environment of the planet and how we relate to that space. And I meditate on the Wisdom that is inherent in vast spaciousness: no matter what the form, the birth or death that is happening, there is an underlying goodness that holds everything.
The Element of Water is the element of clarity and insight. Water is indeed life, for without it, and without vision, the people perish. I wonder when will we learn from the water we pollute? What does it mean that we can blow up the world but not provide our own citizens with clean drinking water? Where is the flow of our way of life taking us?
The Element of Earth is the element of abundance, the miracle of creation out of nothing, of feeding many with little, of the reality that we press a tiny seed into the ground only to get a huge harvest. With such abundance why do so many people feel a lack, an emptiness in their lives? Why do we teach people that they are not enough: not good enough, wise enough, pretty enough? Yet God is pure abundance.
The Element of Air is the element of wise action, the power to do what is needed with compassion and energy. Yet why then do we waste so much time acting on what is frivolous? Why is it so easy to make small talk and so hard to meditate?
The Element of Fire is the element of loving relationship. We are warmed by the gentle fires of compassion and love and the universe itself is full of endless burning fires that light the sky. We are drawn to loving relationship and yet we also struggle to be in compassionate relationships with other people. At what point will the knowledge of eternal lovingness overcome our fear of oblivion?
Blessings to you all on your elemental journeys. Peace, Dan
Mindfulness mediation is the process of paying attention to who we are. We allow our awareness of ourselves to deepen. We allow our thoughts and feelings to simply be. Through our mediation we are creating space where we can relax and let go of sensations that may become stuck within us. We are learning to watch, to not react. In this process, we develop a sense of compassion for ourselves. Give yourself permission to practice the technique without a sense of right or wrong.
In this recording, Dan leads a 30-minute guided mindfulness meditation session. During the instruction, there are periods of silence for you to continue the meditation technique.
Meditation & Its Benefits
Stress Reduction Through Creativity
by Trey Everett
Workshops presented at the UMC Professional Development Day on Friday, October 28, 2016
Trey was one of the presenters at the 2016 Professional Development Day at the University of Minnesota, Crookston. He lead participants in two workshops: Meditation and Its Benefits and Stress Reduction Through Creativity, which you can view below.
View all the presentaitons at crk.umn.edu...
Meditation and Its Benefits
Stress Reduction Through Creativity
Spiritual Leadership
by Daniel Wolpert
Lectures presented at the 2013 Academy for Spiritual Formation
in LA
This is a series of 5 talks on spiritual leadership given by
Daniel Wolpert at the 2013
5-Day Academy for Spiritual Formation in Louisiana. The talks focus on how the practice
of prayer develops spiritual leadership in a faith
community. The work of spiritual leadership addresses
the question: how is it that we can allow God, and not our
own individual egos, to do the work of the church? Each session is
about an hour. Some
of the talks begin with a time of silence, which you can join!
This is a series of 5 talks on spiritual leadership given by
Daniel Wolpert at the
5-Day Academy for Spiritual Formation in IL
the week of May 2, 2011. The talks focus on how the practice
of prayer develops spiritual leadership in a faith
community. The work of spiritual leadership addresses
the question: how is it that we can allow God, and not our
own individual egos, to do the work of the church? Each session is
about an hour. Some
of the talks begin with a time of silence, which you can join!
This is a recording of four talks given at the Spirit Journey Retreat in Texas in the Fall. The title of the retreat was "Embracing the Mystery of Prayer." The titles of the talks are: The Mystery of Self, The Mystery of the Other, The Mystery of Community, The Mystery of God.
In our current age, Discipleship – following, or becoming a follower of Jesus – is often framed in terms of what we should do to become a ‘good’ Christian. What are the rules to follow, what does Jesus prescribe. It’s almost like taking medication.
But in Jesus’ time, and throughout most of Christian history, discipleship was not seen as a set of proper behaviors, but rather as a transformative way of life, or way of being. The disciple desires to become like the teacher and as such they must change, fundamentally, from the inside out. This way of life has been called the spiritual life and it is a life of contemplation and healing. It is through these practices that we become disciples; as opposed to just trying to act like disciples. [...]
These are two keynote presentations we created for the Northwestern Minnesota Synod Fall 2011 LYO event at the Alerus Center. The theme of the event was "Be".
An Examination of the Correlation Between Negative Health Outcomes and Christian Religious Affiliation Using Global Information Systems (GIS) Mapping Technology
Dan Wohlpert
March 8, 2018
Religion plays a positive role in the lives of millions. However i significant anecdotal evidence also suggests that religion, through its theology and practice, can be extremely harmful and traumatic. Our hypothesis is that if toxic theology is indeed damaging to the health and wellbeing of many people, then it should be possible to see correlations between adverse health effects and more toxic religious practice. While such correlation doesn’t show causation, our hope is that results confirming this hypothesis will encourage further research into what may be the most significant unrecognized public health issue of our time.. [...]
The “40 Days for Food Justice” project is an online resource available in 2014, each day highlighting one individual offering their perspective on food justice: what food justice means to them and where they see people and communities at work to promote greater food justice.
A full understanding of this phrase - food justice - sometimes eludes people of faith, in part because the number of topics covered by the “food justice umbrella” are so diverse and wide reaching. The “40 Days for Food Justice” project will attempt both to acknowledge the diversity of issues, as well as give concrete, personal examples that will allow users to see the people affected by these issues.
Forty different people sharing their unique perspective on food justice will show online visitors to the project the diverse implications of our food and food policy choices, as well as the ways we each can work for greater food justice. This wide range of topics will include: fair trade, food waste, environmental implications, hunger and poverty, social and racial food inequality, congregational or community food justice projects, SNAP, food pantries and soup kitchens, farm-to-table and farm-to-school programs, biodiversity vs. monocultures, GMOs, school nutrition, fair food campaigns, and many more.
The project will not only provide forty different devotional or teaching resources, but will also provide a leaders’ guide, to help facilitate the use of the project in worship or other congregational settings.
Contact Rev. MargaretAnne Overstreet <meg@aninbetweenplace.us> for more information.
Grocery Godmother
June 21, 2013
MICAH's most recent cooking class took a field trip to the farmers' market, where they learned about eating seasonally available produce and the benefits of shopping from local farmers, before returning to the MICAH rural center for a beautiful meal and introductory cooking demonstrations. Participants in the class not only spoke with farmers about their produce and growing techniques, but also learned how to steam, sauté and roast vegetables. The "Grocery Godmother" also visited (via video) to help participants look for healthy options while shopping in the grocery store.
This comment came to me from a friend who had just learned that her husband, barely 50, has cancer. She has a lot of experience with this illness, being the oldest of four children whose spouses all have cancer.
Her story isn’t unusual anymore. Not a week goes by when I don’t learn of another relatively young person who has this potentially fatal illness. Every week at church the list of these walking wounded grows longer, and our prayers of healing go out into the world.
At the Minnesota Institute of Contemplation and Healing we hope to reflect upon issues of the day from the perspective of the practice of prayer and the contemplative experience. Thus, we are presenting this first of a three part series on issues of science, faith, and our metaphysical view of the universe, as seen from the perspective of the Christian spiritual life. We would welcome comments, replies, and further reflections from any readers. Please feel free to share this with others. Please do not use it for commercial gain, and please do give proper credit where credit is due.
It seems that not a day passes when I do not read, or hear, something about the ‘clash’ of science and religion, usually the Christian religion. These two great pillars of our society, having once been partners in supporting our understanding of our universe, and ourselves, now seem to be weapons in yet another war between people who cannot and will not seek to understand each other.
In this episode of The Academy Podcast, we’re joined by Dan Wolpert who is Academy faculty, Upper Room Books author, Upper Room eLearning facilitator and teacher, Executive Director and co-founder of MICAH, the Minnesota Institute for Contemplation and Healing, spouse, partner, ally, activist, dad. Dan has been a student of the spiritual life since age 21 and has taught in the fields of psychology and spiritual formation in numerous settings. In addition to his retreat and teaching work, Dan provides counseling and spiritual direction services at MICAH. He is also the author of “Leading a Life with God, the practice of spiritual leadership", “Creating a Life with God: the call of ancient prayer practices", co-author of “Meeting God in Virtual Reality", and most recently “The Collapse of the Three Story Universe: Christianity in an age of Science”.
Dan lives in Minneapolis, MN just two blocks from where George Floyd was killed. Claire and Dan's conversation is an important one, especially for white people. Dan helps illumine the spiritual life as THE life, encompassing all things from justice to activism to prayer to healthcare to work.
Daniel Wolpert
Reports from the Spiritual Frontier
Dan joins Reports from the Spiritual Frontier for a conversation about the spiritual life of the Every-Pastor. Hear Dan describe his own journey from contemplative practice into Christianity, the common spiritual contours of a typical pastor’s life, the stories that almost every religious leader tells themselves, the functional atheism of the typical mainline church, and what it means to live as if God is actually present and active in the world.
Peacemaking and Contemplation
by Daniel Wolpert
Presented at the 2015 Peace Summit in Flagstaff, AZ
These are two talk on Peacemaking and Contemplation given by Daniel Wolpert at a forum on peacemaking in celebration of International Day of Peace in 2015. In these talks, Dan addresses issues of peace and violence from a spiritual perspective, examining the origins of human violence and its ubiquitous nature throughout human history and societies. Then he examines how the contemplative path is an antidote to our violent nature and is thus truly a ‘path to peace’ (Proverbs 3:17). Each talk is about 1 hour in length.
Morning Session:Download [mp3]44 MB The Strange Path to Peace: Going Inside and the Contemplative Way
Afternoon Lecture:Download [mp3]38 MB No Justice No Peace: How Does Peace Flourish in a Fallen World?
Listening to Jesus:
On poverty, wealth, and a Christian approach to our economic life
Worldwide nearly a billion people live in a constant state of economic destitution with several billion more living in conditions of immense suffering and debilitating poverty. Economic problems are everywhere and often they seem to be getting worse rather than better.
In response to such economic difficulties and destitution, certain voices in the Church have tried to wage a campaign against poverty. Under the cry of God’s justice, the “war on poverty” has been preached from pulpits, written about in books and magazines, and has been the focus of entire conferences and gatherings. Yet much of this talk has either fallen on deaf ears or hasn’t made any significant change in our economic life together.
The question I want to address here is whether or not the standard American Christian approach to the issue of poverty is fundamentally misguided. Are we tackling this issue in a way consistent with God’s justice, or have we simply missed the point altogether?
Our friend Teresa Blythe (www.teresablythe.net), spiritual director, author, teacher, retreat leader, has written a great article on corporate discernment for churches
"Discernment is easy to recommend and difficult to do. Experience and understanding of God varies widely among individuals and congregations, making communal discernment a challenge, but one that is well worth the energy."
What is Enough?
A Year of Paying Attention to Shopping
by Susan Woodbridge
Susan Woodbridge, the massage therapist at our Integrative Medical Center, told us about her decision to spend a year buying only what she needs. We are very excited about this adventure and wanted to share it with you. So, Susan has agreed to write a monthly note chronicling her experience. What does she notice? What is it like to become free from compulsions to buy? What is the source of happiness and contentment?