Sunday, August 24th, 2025 at 10:30 am 

Rev. Kamatara Johnson's Talk: "Dangers in The Deep "🦈

As spiritual seekers, we can sometimes fall into the trap of equating depth with worthiness — as if only profound insights, mystical experiences, or emotional breakthroughs are valid expressions of our spiritual path. We may feel guilty or inadequate if we're not always "going deep," as though joy, humor, or simplicity are somehow less sacred. But spiritual life isn’t lived only in depths, it’s just as much in the laughter over coffee, the errands we run, the lightness we carry, and the quiet, ordinary moments that make up our days. Shallow waters have their own beauty and necessity — they allow us to breathe, to rest, and to integrate what we've discovered in the depths.

Conversely, staying only in the shallow end can leave us spiritually malnourished. Avoiding the deeper questions of purpose, pain, and presence can keep us disconnected from the powerful transformation that lies beneath the surface. But rather than swinging between extremes, what if we learned to move with ease through the full spectrum — honoring the rhythms of diving deep when we’re called and floating freely when that’s what serves our soul? The Middle Way doesn’t mean being lukewarm or half-hearted; it’s about discernment, alignment, and balance. It’s about walking our path with awareness and compassion, knowing that the Divine meets us just as fully in the shallow as in the deep.

Join Rev. Kamatara this Sunday as we explore the pitfalls of one extreme or the other and then examine this whole, integrated way of being — spiritual, human, holy, and real.

­­In person and online in our Zoom Cyber Sanctuary.
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“The Buddha asks us to see things as they really are. He does not ask us to cling to optimistic views of eternity or pessimistic views of annihilation but simply to examine our experience.”
 Red Pine, The Heart Sutra

“Before enlightenment chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment chop wood, carry water.”
~ Zen Proverb

"Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome."
Arthur Ashe