"I love you when you bow in your mosque, kneel in your temple, pray in your church.
For you and I are sons of one religion, and it is the spirit."
                                                     Kahlil Gibran

Happy New Year!

The year 2007 is now here and along with it comes so much great new energy, as you can tell by this month’s School of the New Spirituality (SNS) newsletter.  Many seem quite anxious to utilize the new year’s energy by nurturing new creations and co-creations that enhance foundations which have already been put in place.

We have so much to share with you this month.  One of our most exciting announcements is the launch of the New Spirituality University (NSU) and the course schedule for 2007!  NSU provides the unique opportunity to earn: 1) a NSU certificate, 2) in 2008 the courses will be accredited for a Master’s Degree, and 3) eventually in 2009 a Doctorate in “Philosophy of the New Spirituality.” The program is ecumenical, non-denominational and inter-denominational; a professional program teaching peace and unity.  The university was established to support those with a deeper desire to immerse themselves in these philosophies and create a career in them while studying with world class authors and leaders such as Dr. Matthew Fox, Neale Donald Walsch and Dr. Bernie Siegel, just to name a few.  New professors are constantly signing on so please bookmark this site and check back frequently for updates.

In the traditional education system, ideas and decisions flow from administrators, teachers and parents down to the children.  Rarely does “the system” ask the kids for their ideas as to how improvements can be made when they are the ones who are directly affected by them.  In the New Spirituality philosophy, we believe that young people have ideas that should be equally heard and honored.  This month we are sharing our first young person's story from Bharat Sanders, an 11 year old student at SNS~Atlanta, which tells how being part of the school of new spirituality has been meaningful to him and how much he appreciated being welcomed into the adult circle as an equal voice.

The kids play a vital role in all we are doing and they can help guide us in the co-creation process. We’d like to know how they are inspired by Spirit? The spiritual enrichment of their lives is the main focus of the New Spirituality so we feel it’s important to invite young to the table to share their fresh, and often wise, thoughts and experiences.  We will be highlighting stories and quotes from kids from all over the world in future newsletters, as well as on our website.  Here are some story starters if inspiration to begin writing is needed:

• What inspires me to learn more about God and the Divine?
• What SNS can do for me.
• My most spiritual moment so far is…
• What I wish adults knew.

If you are young person, or you know one, who would like to share a story, an idea, or an experience with us, please feel free to send it to me.  We really want to hear from you!  We may not be able to print them in their entirety, but we can at least share snippets of them from time to time.

Please take a moment and check out our SNS volunteer opportunities below.  We’d love to have you join us as part of our team!

May 2007 be energized with your new ideas and talents!

New Years blessings of abundance to you,

Alecia Rice
Alecia@SchooloftheNewSpirituality.com

Streamlined January 2007 Updates

• There are new SNS happenings in Texas, California, New Hampshire and Atlanta ~ Check out our latest updates for these programs!

• The School of the New Spirituality comes ALIVE as SNS teams take the SNS 101 training.

• SNS New Hampshire training workshop  ~ January 2007

• Finnish author and Group of 1000 member, Irja Peltola, will be visiting SNS~Atlanta in late February to co-create more new spirituality materials.

Special Events

• Nonviolent communications training ~ Feb 2-4, 2007 ~ a SNS co-sponsored event.  Dr. Marshall Rosenberg is the Master of nonviolent communication.  For information on languaging in non-violent ways, please visit his website.

• Children’s retreats are being offered during the following adult spiritual retreat: God and Me: A Journey to Holy Ground ~ March 7-11, 2007 ~ Victoria BC.  Get information for simultaneous children's events.

• New Spirituality University (NSU) launch event ~ Aug. 4, 2007 ~ Ashland, OR.  For information regarding the children’s program during this event, please contact Laurie Farley.

Did you know…?

Anne Marie Barbier, one of our Board Directors, is a certified Chopra and Yoga Instructor and is a dual citizen of America and France.  She will be translating our webpages into French. See her SNS program info in South France.

Eyes Wide Open Mini-Store ~ January featured item ~ Where Dreams Come True ~ Dreams Kit .  If you would like your new spirituality work to be considered for the SNS resource and web-store, please contact Laurie Farley.

You may request back issues of the SNS Newsletter by contacting Alecia Rice.
 

SNS Volunteer Opportunities

• We are looking for translators to translate one SNS webpage per week in your language of fluency. Like our sister organization, Humanity's Team, we wish to co-develop a global forum for children and their adult leaders. Please contact Laurie Farley for more information.
   
• SNS is currently looking for 4 part-time volunteers anywhere in the world who can contribute 4-8 hours a month (approx. 2 hours per week) to identify “Community Partners” in their area.  These are usually large store franchises such as WalMart, Target, Starbucks, Barnes & Noble and large chain supermarkets which have programs for non-profits that save a small percentage of customers’ expenditures for donations to schools.  No training is necessary.  All that is required is a willingness to ask your favorite stores whether they have such a program and fill out a card connecting them with the School of the New Spirituality. The SNS would then automatically receive checks from them on a quarterly basis to support our programs.   Meanwhile, our schools, and ultimately the kids, receive the benefits each time people in your community shop at that store.  It’s that easy!  If you are interested in applying for one of these positions or if you have any questions, contact Linda Ratto.