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On this page we share a variety of inspirational videos, writings and thoughts. They will change over time.

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Do you have an inspirational video, audio file or writing you want to share? Send it along to us at: info.uuca@gmail.com

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Featured Video

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Is it magic or just a change of …….?

• What do you think may happen when short-sightedness is corrected by a new pair of glasses that gives one a view beyond the ego?
• Place any comments/suggestions about this or other clips in the sharing “Seeds for Thought” box by the Sharing Wall, a wall built for the specific purpose of sharing our wonder, our questions and encouraging/nurturing  the growth of understanding. The Sharing Wall is  located at the back of the church. 

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator color=”orange” border_width=”4″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]Amy Carol Webb helps to create powerful interactive music in a Florida prison. Sponsored by ArtSpring Foundation, this amazing and most talented singer/songwriter leads 21 incarcerated women through the liberating exercise of songwriting; discovering their voice…discovering their wings…discovering hope!

In 2011 Amy was ordained as a Unitarian Universalist minister.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator color=”orange” border_width=”4″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]

Is it possible, as Leon Berg implies, that an ancient practice may help us to live in a more peaceful world?

What does it mean to speak from the heart?[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator color=”orange” border_width=”4″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]“A commonly held belief is that human behavior is the result of rational decision making based on available information. A closer look into the science of behavior reveals the powerful role our emotions play in our decision making process. In this animated video we look at the behavior change process using Jonathan Haidt’s analogy of an elephant, a rider, and a path.”        

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Our Interdependent Web

What would one say, what would one see, if one believed in the unity of all life?

A short clip in honor of the UU belief in the interdependent web of all existence.

A contemplation on unity.

Peace[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_column_text]“There is an endless net of threads throughout the Universe. The horizontal threads are space. The vertical threads are time. At every crossing of the threads there is an individual and every individual is a crystal bead. The great light of the absolute being illuminates and penetrates every crystal bead, and every crystal bead reflects not only the light from every other crystal in the net, but also every other reflection throughout the Universe.”

– An excerpt from the Rig Veda –  part of a  record of  a vision of a few people who shared our planet more than 3,000 years ago. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator color=”orange” border_width=”4″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]

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Sometimes lighting a candle may do much more than we think.

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Story For All Ages

Many have heard the story of the Turtle and the Rabbit.

Few have heard the complete story. Here is your opportunity.

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A note of thanks and a challenge from Rev. Michelle George Yates at her Ceremony of Ordination on Sunday, November 1, 2015.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator color=”orange” border_width=”4″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]

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The Self Differentiated Leader

What is self differentiation and why is it believed to be so important if one is leading a small group, corporation, community or nation? Are there certain traits such as intelligence, self confidence or sociability that make a leader; are there techniques that leaders can acquire?  Edwin Friedman suggests that effective leadership is not about traits or skills as much as it is an emotional process of regulating ones own anxiety. He refers to this process as “self differentiation or knowing where one ends and another begins.  This is a systems perspective on leadership, rooted in cell biology.”

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How to speak so that people listen.

“Have you ever felt like you’re talking, but nobody is listening? Here’s Julian Treasure to help you fix that. As the sound expert demonstrates some useful vocal exercises and shares tips on how to speak with empathy, he offers his vision for a sonorous world of listening and understanding.”   From Youtube 

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A Short Story of Transformation:

Negative to Positive – Weakness to Strength

             Brokenness to Wholeness

I’m like one of those Japanese bowls

That were made long ago
I have some cracks in me
They have been filled with gold

That’s what they used back then
When they had a bowl to mend
It did not hide the cracks
It made them shine instead……

Unitarian Universalist Singer Songwriter – Peter Mayer[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator color=”orange” border_width=”4″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]We have all had times in our relationships when we hurt a loved one, or a loved ones hurt us. That’s part of life. But not all of us know how to forgive, even when the other party has offered a sincere apology. In this Prager University course, UCLA psychiatrist Dr. Stephen Marmer shares the three types of forgiveness–exoneration, forbearance, and release–and explains why anyone who wants to mend meaningful relationships must first understand forgiveness. Internalizing Dr. Marmer’s teaching can be an important first step, for many people, to keeping and fixing their most valued relationships.

From Youtube video description[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator color=”orange” border_width=”4″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]How can congregations be more inclusive? What does listening and courage have to do with inclusivity?

Rev. Theresa Soto, when she was a candidate for the Unitarian Universalist ministry, reflected on the courage it takes to be inclusive of all people, regardless of physical ability, and the courage to listen to each other’s stories. This Youtube video was part of the Church of the Larger Fellowships (CLF) worship service  on March 15, 2015.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]

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A Quotation

“We are often called to do the difficult, if not the seemingly impossible, and it is vital to our spiritual growth that we not ignore these challenges.”

Janice Marie Johnson (Unitarian Universalist, educator, activist, faith leader) from her book:

“Bless the Imperfect: Meditations for Congregational Leaders”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator color=”orange” border_width=”4″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]

A comment on the courage to change from Unitarian Universalist minister Rev. Naomi King.

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We share this video as a possible example of how just a slight change in perspective may have such a great impact not only in Chicago but possibly the world. This 2010 Chicago United Way commercial asks the simple question “what would happen if we redrew the lines that divide to lines that connects”? Just imagine……..

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