Be Curious, Not Judgmental
by Rev. Paul Hoyt
ANTN Board of Trustees
In a scene from the brilliant streaming show “Ted Lasso,” Ted talks about a quote that he attributes to Walt Whitman. The quote is “Be curious, not judgmental.”
I have been thinking about that a lot lately. Because we (I) judge all the time. And I realized that judgment is from outside, and curiosity is from inside. When I am judging, I am coming from my earthly perspective.
Curiosity is from the Divine perspective.
This played itself out in an email interaction I had with someone. I was very angry about the email. So, I judged this person. “How dare they tell me how to do something that I have been doing longer than they have and give me instructions on how to do it. I am much better at this than they are. I would NEVER do this to them.” And Yada, Yada, Yada.
So, I went inside and got curious. I started asking questions from my inner Divine. Questions like, "Why am I so angry?" "What is so upsetting about this?" And suddenly, there was my old nemesis, “I am not good enough.” “I am less than.” When I got curious, I realized the person was not saying those things. I was. With that awareness, all the anger, the feeling that I am right and they are wrong, and resentment were coming from me.
I could now love the person and not drive a wedge between us. I could, and did, let it go.
Building Bridges
by Rev. Dr. Michele Whittington
Executive Director
I had the wonderful opportunity to officially represent ANTN at the 109th Annual World Congress of the International New Thought Alliance (INTA) at Unity Village last month.
One of the concepts I heard over and over in the various presentations … which aligns with ANTN’s vision … is that it is time for our New Thought organizations to work together rather than separately. When Rev. Dr. Soni Cantrell-Smith, the Spiritual Leader of Centers for Spiritual Living, put out a specific call to do that during her presentation, I was the first in line to sign up. I am excited to see how that unfolds.
Another beautiful experience at this Congress was that Rev. Dr. Lisa Stewart, a long-time member of ANTN and past Board President, was awarded the Torch Bearer of New Thought Award for her years of New Thought leadership, mentoring and consciousness that have left a lasting legacy in the New Thought community. Her leadership in both INTA and ANTN have marked her as a key architect of New Thought’s growth and sustained relevance.
Congratulations, Dr. Lisa! We feel blessed to have you and your center, Spiritual Living of Greater Milwaukee, as an integral part of ANTN.
New Members
- Gary & Pam Ninneman - Redmond, WA
- Annie Bumgarner - Hernando, FL
ANTN Updates
These are some decisions the Board has recently made to move our beloved organization forward...
- The membership vote to approve changes to the Board Member Eligibility section of the bylaws passed with overwhelming support
- With some generous donations, ANTN has initiated a Scholarship program to support participation in the annual Retreat. Contact the Administrator for details.
- Rev. Jen Dickey is now leading ANTN's Social Media. Look for us on Facebook and Instagram.
Open Pulpits
Congratulations to ANTN Members
- Rev. Dr. Sharri Johnson and Tim McMurray will be wed on Sunday, October 6, at 3:00 pm in the outdoor wedding chapel on the grounds of Unity Village. Anyone arriving early for the ANTN Retreat is lovingly invited to share in their joy!
- Rev. Dr. Lisa Stewart was awarded INTA's Torch Bearer of New Thought Award at the recently held INTA Congress.
Do you have a recent event, occurrence or celebrate that we could acknowledge here? We would love to do that, so please let us know.
