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About

Rev. Carrie Ives (she/her) is a Spiritual Director, Interfaith Minister, and Avatar Master, encouraging and promoting the understanding of the universality of Love as a tool for transformation. Ministry and Spiritual Work Degrees, Certificates, Training Personal Background   About the ministry: Since her ordination in June of 2013, Carrie has been blessed to serve as the …

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Interfaith

I will write more here about what I mean by “interfaith.”  It is not only-Christian, nor only-Abrahamic religions.  Interfaith respects and honors the truth in all of the major religions of the world, from the ancient time to the present.  I draw the line at cults – but that’s more for the manipulative quality of …

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Equal

It is my belief that all people have inherent worth and dignity; that comes from my UU side.  This is not affected by a person’s sexual orientation or gender orientation or any preferences, as long as all parties are consenting adults. This being the case, I am more than happy to officiate wedding ceremonies or …

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Does shame always come with religion?

Is religion all about shame? This question was raised, in a round-about way, of course, on Facebook recently. Certainly when I’ve spoken with friends who are disenfranchised from Catholicism, shame and guilt have played a big part of their decision. (I have only rarely met someone disenfranchised from another religion, but I’d be pleased to …

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AboutInterfaithEqualDoes shame always come with religion?

Sep 23

NEW TRAINING

Categories:

Interfaith, spiritual, Spiritual direction, training, Uncategorized

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I’m excited to share that I will be leading the Spiritual Mentoring Certificate Program at Tree of Life Interfaith Temple beginning in October!

Some people feel a call to spiritual mentoring (also called spiritual direction or spiritual companioning) as a vocation. The skills of deep listening, holding space, and becoming comfortable discussing spirituality across faith differences can be useful for folks in all walks of life, especially those in the helping professions.

How is this program different than others out there?

1. Inclusive of all backgrounds:
No matter your faith, religion, or spiritual background – and no matter the background of your mentees – you want to be able to support anyone who seeks your counsel. As an interfaith program, this is our default. You are welcome here, whether Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, Wiccan, Buddhist, or a mix of some or none of the above. And you will learn to meet your clients wherever they are or have been.

2. Established curriculum:
You want to know that the program you are investing in for your future is tried and tested, that others have gone through the program and benefitted from it. This program was first written in 2011 and continued for seven years under the instruction of the founder of Tree of Life Interfaith Temple, Rev. Dr. Stephanie Rutt.

3. Topical:
In this social climate, you want to know that your program will help you learn to support different cultures, races, and identities. So much of our history has been focused on white men; it’s good and right to bring the voices of women and BIPOC (Black Indigenous and People of Color) to the table. And what about your burning questions and needs? You want a program that is flexible enough to address your needs – whether that’s professional marketing, working with the population of Spiritual But Not Religious, or feeling called to a particular environment like homelessness or the prison system. The Tree of Life Program has you covered.

There’s not a lot of time to sign up – registration closes October 1.

There will be an informational session Wednesday, September 29, at 7pm ET on zoom.

For all the logistical details, please visit: https://www.tolinterfaithtemple.org/spiritual-mentoring-certificate-program.html

If you have any questions, feel free to email me directly – carrieaives2020 @ gmail.com (without the spaces).

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Jul 07

Incite Love

Categories:

conflict, faith, fundamentalism, God, Jesus, money, politics, shame, Social justice, spiritual, trust

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I woke up at 2am and couldn’t get back to sleep. My mind kept turning over and over. What can one person do?

I have anger, and I know that anyone (especially a woman) who acts out of anger get dismissed.

I also know that Love is stronger than Fear – and there’s a whole lot of Fear running our country right now.

So what to do?

 

#InciteLove

 

A new day

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Aug 04

From the Razor’s Edge

Categories:

death, medical, spiritual, spiritual stages of development, trust

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Where does your knowledge come from?

Not the ‘book learning.’ Not the lessons imparted by your parents, friends, or society. The knowledge you have deep within.

What I’m finding recently is a new appreciation for the knowledge gained by my times of intense struggle – being on the edge of death. There were the physical / medical times that you all know about (or can read about). There were also other times – suicidal times – that I don’t talk about as much.

 

 

Designed and created by Jennifer Haines as part of Carrie Little's ordination stole.

Designed and created by Jennifer Haines as part of Carrie Little’s ordination stole.

I knew I had strength from those times. I knew I made it out the other side. I even knew that some people would consider me a miracle for surviving. All of that is about the surviving. 

But what if there’s knowledge in the experience itself – not just on the other side of it?

Hmmm……

Looking at the idea of spiritual empowerment, I’m feeling like the empowerment part comes from the courage, the perseverance, the determination – the ‘getting through it.’ But the spiritual part… maybe that comes from the experience itself.

Or maybe it’s the other way ’round.

How does that sit with you? If you’ve been on the ‘razor’s edge’ – looking Death in the face – has that been a driving force toward Spirit, a means for you to get closer to Spirit? A push away from Spirit? Something else?

Interested to know what you all think. :)

 

 

~C

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Apr 14

On Tenebrae

Categories:

faith, God, Jesus, retreat, spiritual, trust

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Don’t fall asleep

Hold space for me

for my prayerGethsemane-CDore

for my sorrow

My life is in your hands

Don’t fall asleep

 

Don’t fall asleep

You are weary

so am I

there are some things

Bigger than either of us

Don’t fall asleep

 

Don’t fall asleep

Your wakefulness

can heal the world

your wakefulness

Is all the world has left

Don’t fall asleep

 

(c) Carrie Little 2017, On Tenebrae

 

 

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Jan 23

Perspective and Hope

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God, spiritual, trust

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On Sunday, January 22, I lit the chalice as part of the opening of worship at the UU church I attend. Here is what I shared.

When I was contemplating a chalice lighting for today, one spiritual writer came to mind immediately: Julian of Norwich.

all shall be wellFor those who don’t know her: Julian – not her real name – lived in England during the time of the Hundred Years War and the Bubonic Plague. There was a scarcity of food, a high level of unemployment, and – it almost goes without saying, a huge amount of fear. Julian was a Christian who received a series of visions from God and wrote them down.

Whenever I am feeling uneasy about whatever is happening in my own world, I find that Julian gives me some perspective.

So I’d like to share a few of her meditations here today:

God showed me in my palm / a little thing round as a ball / about the size of a hazelnut. / I looked at it with the eye of my / understanding and asked myself: / “What is this thing?” / And I was answered: “It is everything that is created.” / I wondered how it could survive since / it seemed so little it could suddenly / disintegrate into nothing. / The answer came: “It endures and ever will / endure, because God loves it.” / And so everything has being / because of God’s love. (p 25)

God did not say: “You will not be tempested. You will not labor hard. You will not be troubled.” But God did say: “You will not be overcome.” (p 115)

God said: “It is necessary that sin should exist. / But
all will be well, and all will be well, and every manner of thing will be well.” (p 48)

I light the chalice today in honor of long-term perspective and hope.

All quotes are from ‘Meditations with Julian of Norwich’ by Brendan Doyle.

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Nov 28

Privilege and Balance

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conflict, spiritual, trust

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It is a mark of privilege that I have been struggling since the election.

I’ve come to some conclusions since then – just three weeks ago – that I’d like to share with you. Mother Teresa quote

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Jun 06

Musing on muses

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Uncategorized

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Who is your muse? Where do you find him or her?

My muse tends to find me, rather than that other way around. Mine whispers to me while I’m driving, or wakes me up from a deep sleep. My muse can be playful or deadly serious. Generally, my muse is telling me to write – sometimes prose, sometimes a song.

 

Art by Arina @ar.t.ina on http://www.distance-fromto.com/instagram/ar.t.ina/2318632431

Art by Arina @ar.t.ina on http://www.distance-fromto.com/instagram/ar.t.ina/2318632431

Sometimes I ignore my muse.

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Aug 02

Grieving While Spiritual

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spiritual

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My dog died four weeks ago.
Shelby 2011-03-03 at 15.09 #2

To be honest, four weeks ago my husband and I made the decision to euthanize our dog.

There wasn’t much of a ‘decision’ to make; she could no longer walk, and she was refusing both food and water. I came home from a working-vacation in Maine in order to be with her and my husband at the vet appointment. We knew what the vet would say, and we knew it wasn’t fair to try to keep her alive. She would have died naturally within a week, possibly less, and she would have suffered even more.

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Apr 26

Thoughts from God

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Uncategorized

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The idea of marketing spiritual services is always a tough one. On the one hand, there is a tendency to want to rely on God to bring the right people to me (us), and therefore feel that any marketing work that I do somehow indicates a lack of trust. On the other hand is the axiom of ‘God helps those who help themselves’ and the story of the man standing on his roof while the flood water rose all around him. I am reading a great book now that encourages a balance – I do marketing to the best of my ability AND I pray and ask God to bring the right people to see and respond to that marketing.

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Apr 01

A new intro to my work…

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Uncategorized

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What kind of relationship do you have with God? Is God as close as your breath, or does God not even exist? Does the Divine remind you of Her presence every day, or is She distant and judgmental? Is the Sacred found in the trees and sky, or is He present in the connections we have with the people around us? Or all of the above?

(This column was included in the Spirit Renewal Center {Chelmsford, MA} newsletter of April 2015.)

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