Rethinking Perspective

This is an attempt to capture the reflections of people that attended the Soliton Sessions in Belfast and Portrush. Hopefully this can give those that were not able to attend a feel for what went on.

Chris Enstad (many posts)
Ian Mobsby
Andrew Jones (many posts)
Si Johnston
Feminine Feminist
Brodie and here
Pete
Crookedshore
Trevor Debenning
The Open Office (Kester)
Emma
Jonny Baker
Kester
Brandon
The Father
Angela Spain
Zack Newsome

If you happen to find this list and your blog post is not included just leave a comment below.

Gareth Higgins interviews

Angela Spain
Pete Rollins
Pete Brierly

This interview was done during the Soliton Sessions in Northern Ireland. Gareth asks the following questions to the assembled panel.

1. How do you characterize where you are at with questions of faith and spirituality?
2. What do you miss form the tradition you used to be a part of?
3. What has been the most nourishing / difficult thing for you in this whole Soliton/ Emerging/ Alternative thing?
4. What does the phrase Jesus is the way the truth and the life mean to you?

Sorry the video is so bad. It was very dark.

 

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Cary talks for a bit out site a put about what life is like at the Ikon community in Northern Ireland, what God is, and how to know him within their community.

 

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I got a chance to film Zack Newsome of various parts of Arizona and asking him about what life was like as he is in the process of setting up an alternative faith community.

 

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Yesterday we spent time walking the streets of Belfast and looking at some fabulous shoes all the while getting acquainted with some of the town landmarks. Somewhere along the way another person scouring the streets of Belfast took the opportunity to liberate me from my wallet. Luckily it seems as though the only real need in that person’s life, once they had possessions of my credit cards, was to buy a bit of wine. I wish that I could have met them and perhaps shared a glass wine with them. I might have enjoyed that as well yesterday.

After the wallet liberation, we got to got to see Rocky Balboa at the City center movie house with acclaimed movie reviewer for the Irish times and author of the book How Movies Helped Save My Soul Gareth Higgins. Then we headed back to make a very stimulating movie review. enjoy.

 

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Here are a few clips stuck together. Some of the clips are from the night before we left, some are from the plane ride and the final clips are from our first moments in our Belfast accommodations.

Gareth has convinced his friend Mark to let us invade his house while he is not home. We should get to meet our host when he gets back from producing something or other for the BBC.

Tomorrow we are off to check out the city center. More video to come.

 

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So I got Ang excited about the possibility of Video Blogging our trip, so these are her thoughts from the kitchen while she was making some wonderful potato leak soup

 

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I got Ang a new camera today and I thought that it would be great to play around with and start a video podcast of our travels. So here is the first test episode.

 

 First video podcast [0:34m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (201)

Last weekend my wife gathered various groups of friends to help me acknowledge that another year of my life had passed by. here are some pictures from the weekend.

I Also, received an email from a friend of mine about age and I remembered once writing back and forth using sarcastic comments to punctuate the email from a third party. So I thought that I would, in that fashion try it again. The quoted portion is from the email that she sent. The useless epithets are all mine.

An 87 year old woman was asked to give a college graduation speech and this is what followed:

“Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and
simply said, “I’m sorry I’m so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and
this whiskey is killing me! I’ll never get my speech back in order so
let me just tell you what I know.”

I am feeling that. I have recently taken to whiskey on the rocks and am starting to enjoy it more every day. It makes me want to sit in an dank Irish pub with friends and sip the stuff for hours on end. Oh wait I will be doing that in a few weeks !!!!!

“We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing.”

I use to play more. This whole teacher thing often puts me on the wrong side of personal amusement.

“There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and
achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day.
You’ve got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.”

I think that I am finally ready to get rid of my useless insecurities about what a successful life and carrier would entail and start living again. I am slowly starting to feel excited about life again, like I did back in art school.

“God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage. If God brings you to
it, He will bring you through it.”

I hope the passage gets a little rough in the coming years or I might loose all feeling and forget why I am alive. I welcome challenge. OK. God you heard me. I am asking for it. I have lived up to all of my selfish desires for my life. What’s next? Bring it on.

So Ryan Tagged me and now I guess it is my turn to finish a post and not just start writing and let my ADD kick in and forget to finish. I think I have at least three posts now that have been started and will probably never be …. (I think I just saw a bright light, what was I saying…oh yea) With no further delay here are five things that you likely don’t know about me.

1. I stole a quarter once when I was seven because I caved to the peer pressure of other seven year olds. To this day that is the only thing I ever recall sealing.
2. Cheese is the best snack ever. It is good for any time of day.
3. I am under the impression that I am not nearly as old as I am. Sometimes I even confuse myself enough to forget my real age.
4. We are leaving for Ireland in just a few weeks and I have a feeling that our lives will quickly change after the trip.
5. I want to be a hippy but I am having trouble living up to the commitment of growing what I eat and searching for biodiesel.

So there it is now I tag these fine bloggers. Your turn to list five things that the rest of us might not know about you.

1. Gareth Higgins
2. Amiee
3. Yellow-Wolley
4. Liz
5. Jason