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OHIO CITY The Ohio City Park Association and the Lambert Days Committee has finalized plans for the 2017 festival.

Lambert Days is always the third full weekend in July. This years dates are July 21-23. This is also the 50th anniversary of Ohio Citys celebration of the life of John W. Lambert and his invention of Americas first automobile.

This years edition of Lambert Days will feature a communitywide garage sale. For more information, contact Laura Morgan at 419.965.2515. There will also be food all weekend in the newly renovated Community Building on Ohio 118.

Friday, July 21

Festivities start off with a steak dinner (carryout is available), starting at 4 p.m. Friday. Ohio Citys American LegionHarvey Lewis Post 346 will have aflag-raising ceremony at 5 Friday evening, while kids games and inflatables will also open at 5. At 6 p.m., the Lambert Days Wiffleball Homerun Derby will take place. For more information, contactLorenzo Frye 419.771.7037.

There will also be entertainment at 6 p.m. featuring Cass Blue. At 7, there will be a adult Wiffleball tournament. For more information, contact Brian Bassett419.203.8203. A Texas Hold em Tournament will begin at 7 p.m. Friday, along with Monte Carlo Night, which begins at 8 p.m. For more information, contact Jeff Agler at 419.513.0580.

Entertainment for Friday night starts at 8 and will be the band Colt & Crew. There will also be a fireworks display at 10:15 p.m. Friday (Saturday night is the rain date).

Saturday, July 22

Saturday morning begins with a softball tournament at 8. For more information, contact Brian Bassettat 419.203.8203. There will also be a coed volleyball tournament that starts at 9 a.m. Saturday. For more information, contact Tim Matthews at 419.203.2976. The Lambert Days Kids Wiffleball Tournament starts at 10 a.m. Saturday. For more information, contact Lorenzo Frye at 419.771.7037.

Kids games and Inflatables continue at 11 Saturday morning. Cornhole tournament registration and 3-on-3 basketball tournament registration start at noon, while both tournaments begin at 1 p.m. For more information on cornhole, contact Josh Agler at 567.259.9941 and for 3-on-3 basketball, contact Scott Bigham at 419.953.9511.

The Hog Roast Dinner starts at 4 p.m. Saturday and carryout is available. There will also be music under the tent by Jeff Unterbrink at 4. Bingo will start at 5 p.m., and the night ends with entertainment by Megan White and Cadillac Ranch.

(more)

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Lasix and potassium loss - Lasix effects and side effects - Van Wert independent

07/10/2017 - 11:10 AM

St. Cloud State Unniversity is not only committed to bringing you education but also the safety of students.

On July 19 the campus of St. Cloud State will be conducting a full-scale emergency exercise. Associate Director of Public Safety, Jennifer Super, says the university will be engaged with community response partners including the St. Cloud Police and Fire Departments, St. Cloud Hospital, and Gold Cross Ambulance.

The exercise will span over 4 hours from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Atwood Memorial Center will have a late open at 11 a.m. and V Parkiing Lot next to 5th Avenue South will be closed until 1 p.m. while the rest of campus will operate at their usual times.

Emergency vehicles are also expected to run on 5th Avenue South through the day as the exercise is taking place.

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Emergency Excercise On The Campus Of St. Cloud State University - KVSC-FM News

FITNESS

Divine Joy Yoga Rincon United Church of Christ, 122 N. Craycroft Road. Visit divinejoyyoga.com to see all locations. 9-10 a.m. July 20, 25 and 27. $6. 808-9383.

Yoga in the Buff Movement Culture, 435 E. Ninth St. Clothing optional co-ed. 4-5 p.m. Thursdays. $5. 250-2331.

Hot Yoga Rooted, 1600 N. Tucson Blvd. Full body flow. 6:30-7:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. $10. 1-435-671-9033.

Be-You-tiful Women's Body Image Workshop Floor Polish Dance Studio, 215 N. Hoff Ave. Presented by Yoga in the Buff. Bring a mat, towel, journal and pen. Everything is optional including clothes. Email info@yogainthebuff.com to register. 3-5 p.m. July 22. $10. 250-2331.

Vinyasa Yoga Tucson Chiropractic Center, 570 N. Columbus Blvd. Strengthen, stretch and tone. 8-9 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. $5. 1-435-671-9033.

Tucson Tuesday Laughter Yoga Quaker Meeting House, 931 N. Fifth Ave. To promote peace and healing. 6-7 p.m. Tuesdays. Free. 490-5500.

Tai Chi for Health Resurrection Lutheran Church, 11575 N. First Ave, Oro Valley. Improve balance, mental clarity, relieve pain and create an overall feeling of well-being through natural breathing and slow, gentle, meditative body movements. 1-2 p.m. Mondays. $10 per class; $60 for nine weeks.780-6751.

Tai Chi for Health St. Francis in the Foothills, 4625 E. River Road. Safe, effective and fun way to improve balance, mental clarity, relieve pain and create an overall feeling of well-being. 9-10 a.m. Tuesdays. May 16-Aug. 15. $10 per class; $60 for nine weeks.780-6751.

Seated Tai Chi for Health Ellie Towne Flowing Wells Community Center, 1660 W. Ruthrauff Road. For those who want to improve their health but cant stand to exercise. 1-2 p.m. July 26. $24 for four classes. 465-2890.

Taekwondo Wellness Intuition Wellness Center, 5675 N. Oracle Road. Learn traditional Taekwondo philosophy and core principles, self-care, stress management, coping skills, social skills and mindfulness meditation. 4:15 p.m class for ages 7-12; 5:15 p.m. for ages 12 and up. 4:15 and 5:15 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. $20. 333-3320.

Capoeira for Kids Studio Ax, 2928 E. Broadway. Children learn the basics of Tucson Capoeira Martial Arts through games and exercises. Ages 5-12. 4:30-5:30 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday. Free first class; $15. 990-1820.

Capoeira for Kids Studio Ax. Learn the basics of Tucson Capoeira Martial Arts through games and exercises. Ages 5-12. 5:30-6:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. Free first class; $15.

Intro to Capoeira Studio Ax. A form of fitness and exercise that works the whole body, but also the mind. 7-8:15 p.m. Monday, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Free first class; $15.

Tucson Community Capoeira Classes All Levels and Levels Movement Culture. Build strength, and test endurance while learning the basic history and traditions. 4-6 p.m. Saturdays. $10.

Kids Capoeira Movement Culture. Develop; balance, motor coordination, speed and strength. Wear loose pants/sweat pants and t-shirt, training will be in bare feet or martial-art/dance shoes. 4:30-5:30 p.m. Mondays. $10.

Tucson Capoeira intro class Movement Culture. Introduction to the four core expressions of Capoeira : Movement, music, philosophy, and history. 5:30-7 p.m. Mondays. Free.

Kettlebell Fit Centerline Movement, 1600 N. Tucson Blvd. Strength and conditioning. 18 and up. 7-8 a.m. July 20 and 25. $25. 975-0292.

PWR!Gym Wellness Series (Pelvic Floor Exercise) PWR! Parkinson Wellness Recovery, 140 W. Fort Lowell Road. Strengthening the pelvic floor muscles can help optimize function relating to bladder, bowel, and sexual dysfunction. 4-5:30 p.m. July 20. Free. 591-5346.

Belly Dance Class Movement Culture. Involves belly dance drills, combinations and choreography. Wear comfortable clothing, dance barefoot and bring water. 5:45-6:45 p.m. July 20 and 27. $10.

Brewery Bootcamp Dragoon Brewing Co., 1859 W. Grant Road. Full body workout. 21 and up. 11 a.m.- noon. July 23. $10 includes first beer. 465-6895.

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Tucson Tai Chi, Yoga and more fitness ideas July 20-28 - Arizona Daily Star

Go to page Home Page Thai Recipes Thai Grocery Store Fruit Carving Thai Cookbooks Food Blog Contact Us Fresh Produce Thai Sauces Nittaya Curry Paste Curry Paste Tea & Beverages Asian Noodles Dried Spices Flour and Sugar Pickled & Preserved Jasmine & Sticky Rice Thai Pastes Pad Thai Satay Cooking Kits Asian Snacks Canned Food Thai Fruit Curry & Soup Convenience Food Asian Cookware Mortar & Pestle Sticky Rice Steamer

Welcome to our Thai recipes section. Thai cuisine is adaptable, innovative and dynamic. The best Thai cooking uses the freshest ingredients available to create the unique Thai taste. This taste can be defined as the use of all 5 flavors: spicy, sweet, salty, bitter and sour. Only Thai cuisine brings out all of these flavors to play together harmoniously in a meal. Cooking Thai food should be sanook - fun! Cooking can be meditative, relaxing and enjoyable. Especially when the recipes are not complex and turn out tasty.

Get started with our home style Thai recipes for Pad Thai, Sticky Rice, Curry & Satay.

Most of the Thai recipes here are not elaborate but good useful everyday food that can be prepared with a reasonable expenditure of time and labor.

These recipes are mainly home-style i.e. not in the palace tradition. Written for Westerners working with limited time and using ingredients available in the United States (esp. if you use shop in our online Thai food market).

That said, the recipe should be a only a rough guideline. Thai recipes are highly adaptable. The characteristic flavors of Thai food come from the methods of cooking and ingredients used, not from precise quantities of the main seasonings. This means you should adapt the quantities, especially of things like fish sauce, garlic, and chilies, to suit your own tastes.

Like all great cuisines, the foods in season should be the most important factor to determine what to cook. If a certain ingredient is not available where you live, visit our online Thai food market, try a a substitute, or leave it out entirely. With imagination, experimentation, and knowledge, with constant tasting, you can cook delicious Thai food in the West.

Basic knowledge of the balance of the five flavors is key. There are many variations of any one Thai recipe, it depends on the cook, the season, the availability of ingredients, and the region.

Try a basic menu to get started.

Also visit our Thai Cooking section to read our latest cooking articles.

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Thai Recipes for Home Cooking Temple of Thai

Its the slow, trance-like movements that appeal to me. Photograph: Alamy

I make neither boast nor apology, but I have started to explore that form of martial mysticism the Chinese call tai chi. Its the slow, trance-like movements that appeal to me, even when Im being a soaring crane or sharpening my tiger claws on the living room carpet. To be frank, all Im really doing is learning how to breathe, my personal trainer having told me that I have never breathed properly in the whole of my life. I recognise this to be true. Hoping to be able to swim one day, I keep signing up for lessons, but know its hopeless the minute the instructor tells me to hold my breath. I would if I could find it.

I say personal trainer, but in fact hes my wifes. I decided to tag along only when I saw the wonders he was doing for her core. And he doesnt exactly train me, either. He pulls me out of myself the way one pulls apart a bowl of glutinous spaghetti. I am longer and looser when he has finished than when he started. Not able to touch my toes or scratch my back not yet, anyway but not hunched or hooped, feet and head/Coming together in lifes pilgrimage like Wordsworths leech gatherer.

After the loosening comes the dying bug a diabolic, core-strengthening exercise that entails bringing the knees and hips up, the ribcage down, rotating the pelvis, squeezing the glutes and remembering to breathe. Three sets of these twice a week and suddenly Im feeling well.

But it doesnt become a writer to feel well. I was going to say there is no record of anyone going round to Kafkas place and finding him on the floor doing the dying bug, but I realise that might have been because they found him on the ceiling. Scott Fitzgerald drank himself to death; Dylan Thomas, whom its impossible to imagine exercising his abs, did the same. Marcel Proust couldnt get out of bed, he felt so rotten. Sylvia Plath couldnt bear to go to bed, she felt so rotten. O, horror! To live another year in this misery, Dostoevsky wrote to his brother in 1838. I suffer the torments of hell, he wrote again, six years later. I cant claim to have read every letter he wrote, but I have yet to come upon him saying that he is off to Gorky Park to be a tai chi tiger.

There must be exceptions. Jane Austen is said to have liked dancing. Dickens walked long distances. And Hemingway reconciled the physical demands of an outdoor life with a succinct prose style. Its only a shame he had to go and turn his shotgun on himself.

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Howard Jacobson: 'My personal trainer has me doing tai chi' - The Guardian

What exactly is a mantra, you ask?

Its a word or phrase repeated over and over again during meditation.

But using mantras for meditation involves a lot more than just sounding like a broken record. Theyre generally sacred in nature a name or sound that both uplifts you and helps you keep your focus during meditation. In other words, theyre designed to change you.

A long time ago...

The thing about mantras for meditation, is that they give your brain something to do. Yes, spiritual mantras are meant to transform you just by uttering them again and again, but theres a lot to be said for saying something just to keep nonsense babble at bay.

And speaking of nonsense babble, rather than just giving you some meaningless drivel like my shoes are green, or I love pickled herring, (which, for keeping your mind busy during meditation, does have its benefits. But lets face it, this is broken record material and nothing more).

Here are some tried and true mantras to help you use meditation for transformation.

An oldie but a goodie, you really cant mess this one up too badly. The Om is the sacred sound of Hinduism and is said to mean, variously: It Is, Will Be or To Become.

Rhis ones from Tibet and it means, roughly, Hail the Jewel in the Lotus. The jewel in this case is the Buddha of Compassion.

Homage to the Buddha of boundless light.

This is one of the Hebrew Torahs most famous lines, and it was Gods answer to Moses when Moses asked for his name.

The Hindu variant, meaning I am THAT.

Hooponopono (Hawaiian) Mantra.

It all started with the ancient Hindus, but the use of mantras for meditation has since spread mostly through the Far East among Buddhists, Taosts, Sikhs and others. Today, Western peeps on a spiritual path also create mantras.

Many of them seem more like affirmations, but the ones that are short-n-sweet still work nicely for that all-important transformative effect.

Read more from the original source:

These Are The 10 Most Exciting Mantras For Meditation

There are two indisputable facts about high-intensity interval training: First, it's incredibly good for you, offering more health benefits in a shorter time frame than any other exercise. Second, it sucks. To see those big gains you have to really push yourself, which is kind of the point, sure. But it can be painfula reality that puts a lot of people off these kinds of hard-core workouts. According to a new study published in the Journal of Cognitive Enhancement, there's a mental trick that can help your HIIT workouts feel better in the moment and help you stay inspired to keep coming to class and commit to this style of exercise.

Researchers took 100 college football players for a month during their peak pre-season trainingthe period when they were doing the most and toughest high-intensity workoutsand offered half of them mindfulness and meditation training while the other half got relaxation training. They then measured the players' cognitive functions and emotional well-being before and after workouts. Both groups showed improvements over players who didn't do any type of active mental rest, but the mindfulness group showed the greatest benefits, increasing their ability to stay focused during the high-demand intervals. In addition, both groups reported less anxiety and more positive emotions about their workoutsan impressive takeaway considering athletes at this level can certainly experience burnout from all the training.

There is one important trick to note, however: The players had to consistently practice the mental exercises to see the benefits in their physical exercises. So basically, one session of mediation isn't going to cut it. The players who saw the most improvement practiced meditation nearly every day over the four-week study period. And the most powerful effect was seen in players who practiced both meditation and relaxation exercises. The more they did them, the less stressful their workouts felt and the happier they felt afterward. Not only that, but they felt happier about their lives overall, showing the importance of mental rest and control for not just HIIT workouts, but for general and overall well-being.

"Just as physical exercise must be performed with regularity to train the body for performance success, mental exercises must be practiced with regularity to benefit the athlete's attention and well-being," the researchers concluded in their paper.

The best part? This is one of those tricks that can work just as well for regular athletes (yes, YOU are an athlete) as it does for collegiate sports starsand you don't have to figure it out on your own. For a complete course, try out one of the new classes popping up around the country that incorporate both HIIT workouts and meditation. Or for a simpler method, try using music to focus your mind away from the pain during a HIIT workout. Never meditated before? Try this 20-minute guided meditation for beginners. Whether on your own, in a class, or with an audio guide, just make sure you do it regularly. You'll be surprised just how much you can actually enjoy burpees.

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The Secret to Crushing a HIIT Workout Is Meditation - Shape Magazine

Its become a common conception that during meditation practice you are somehow supposed to stop thinking.

False.

The mind is a thinking machine, a problem solver, and its a tool just doing what it was brilliantly designed to do. The minds only doing its thing so good luck with ever trying to shut it off completely as this may require getting a full lobotomy.

If during meditation your primary focus becomes controlling the mind and preventing its attempts to think, ironically youve actually only caused the mind to think even more because now youve just given the mind a problem it believes it needs to solve. So if what Ive described is acommon, reoccurring dilemma for you, I highly suggest instead of the whole non-thinking approach you try something different and that beingallowing the mind to be and just do what it was designed to do.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with thinking and the thoughts you have are not the problem either.

The real issue lies in your inability to choose and believe one thought you have over another. For its the thoughts you choose to attach to that become the prominent stories you tell yourself and formulate the belief structures that construct who you think you are, why you feel the way you do, and your general overview on life and how you perceive everything and everyone else in it. And be honest, some of these stories youve attached to and sold yourself as true, hands-over-fist, are downright destructive to your well-being more than others.

Meditations primary purpose is simply practicing to detach from your thoughts and learning to play the role of the observer.

Through observing the mind we are able to see firsthand the stories, methods, and patterns the mind uses to manipulate the perceptions we hold about ourselves, other people, situations, and events. By learning the minds tactics, we can then apply this knowledge outside of meditation and into our daily lives after now clearly being able to differentiate and separate ourselves from the false notion that somehow we are slaves to its neurotic antics.

In other words, meditation is a practice allowing you to become quite skilled in deciphering when its just your mind doing its thing, and possibly more importantly, meditation gives you the priceless insight that whatever the mind is doing is outside of what you are, and with this knowledge you can quickly detach and release from any story that may cause you pain.

The result is that life gradually becomes far less stressful once youve acquired an inept ability to decipher between what was just another story of the mind and what is actual, true reality.

Meditation is the practice of observing your thoughts for the insane comedy show that they can be, then learning not to become emotionally involved and take them so seriously.

There is no wrong way to meditate.

Meditation can become a far more relaxing ordeal for you by simply choosing to release control and allowing whatever thoughts, feelings and emotions wanting to bubble to the surface come up without attaching any judgment. Then just as easily as you allowed everything to come up, now allow it to release without feeling the need to apply a meaning or story to any of it.

You just need to chill homie and just learn to let go of whatever came to visit you without a single hitch involved. Because trying to stop thinking during meditation will drive you crazy.

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Photo Credit: Getty Images

Jared Ciofalo aka "The SoulTrekker, is the Founder/CEO of "SoulTrekker: Intuitive Guidance Channeling the Heart's Truth," Spiritual Counselor, Session Facilitator, Channel of Truth, Featured Writer for The Good Men Project and The Holistic Journal, Raw, Uncut Video Blogger and YouTube Channel Extraordinaire. Leaders create more leaders, and true leaders have heart. Jared's heart is blown open and he is unafraid of sharing his miraculous gifts with all of you.

Connect with him on the following social media: Website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google+

Excerpt from:

The Greatest Myth About Meditation that will Drive You Crazy - The Good Men Project (blog)

millennial Americans By Kelsey Dallas | July 10, 2017

Thomas McConkie of Lower Lights leads a group in mediation and discussion in Salt Lake City, Utah, on June 14, 2017. Photo by Scott G. Winterton/Deseret News

SALT LAKE CITY Thomas McConkie sits in a tall, straight-backed chair, the sleeves of his crisp, button-down shirt rolled up to his elbows. He smiles at men and women in sandals, T-shirts and summer dresses, who watch him from two sections of chairs in the center of the room.

Were just a bunch of adults out on the town doing a little mindfulness, McConkie jokes, referring to the activities hell soon lead. Nothing unusual about it.

Meditation groups may not be unique, but this gathering is. McConkie, an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who is also trained in Buddhist mindfulness, is pushing the boundaries of traditional religious practice, helping people of varied faith backgrounds use meditation to deepen their spiritual lives.

We are not here to tell people whether they should continue in their religious tradition or not. We want to provide space and practice where they can come to a new level of honesty and truthfulness within themselves, McConkie said in an interview, referring to his meditation community, Lower Lights Sangha.

McConkies group meditation work recently caught the attention of a couple of Harvard Divinity School scholars who invited him to apply to a conference they hosted in December. He was one of 80 leaders gathered there to discuss the future of faith and community building at a time when organized religion ison the decline.

People meditate as they listen to Thomas McConkie of Lower Lights in Salt Lake City, Utah, on June 14, 2017. Photo by Scott G. Winterton/Deseret News

The conference was part of a broader effort, to understand where millennial Americans go to find community and how leaders like McConkie can expand the spiritual offerings of traditional churches.

Were really thinking about how to help build bridges between what has been and what is coming into being, said Angie Thurston a ministry innovation fellow at Harvard.

McConkie, 37, didnt set out to create a spiritual haven for millennials in Salt Lake City. He arrived a year too early for that generation, but grew up with the same sort of discomfort with organized religion thats linked to Americans born between 1980 and 1996.

Born into a blue-blooded LDS family with relatives that included high-level church leaders, McConkie left the faith as a teenager, spending his 20s traveling and working in Europe and Asia while studying Buddhism and developing a meditation practice. It took more than 15 years for him to make peace with his Mormon upbringing and to realize he wasnt done with the faith.

Olivia Knudsen listens to Thomas McConkie of Lower Lights as he leads a group in mediation and discussion in Salt Lake City, Utah, on June 14, 2017. Photo by Scott G. Winterton/Deseret News

It was my Buddhist meditation practice that helped deepen my understanding of Christianity and deepen my Christian faith, he said.

McConkie moved back to Salt Lake City almost five years ago, ready to reconnect with family members and old friends. Some expressed interest in learning more about meditation, and Lower Lights Sangha, which launched formally in September 2016, grew out of years of smaller gatherings in McConkies home.

The meditation community is open to anyone, but around two-thirds of the 80 attendees at a recent meeting in June appeared younger than 40.

McConkie said his efforts to deepen faith by drawing on diverse religious practices likely resonates best with millennials.

Theres a huge need, especially in the millennial generation, to start to explore whats beyond partisan and religious divides, he said.

Around 1 in 3 millennials are religiously unaffiliated. Graphic courtesy of Deseret News

Around 1 in 3 millennials are religious nones, meaning they dont affiliate with a particular faith group, according to thePew Research Center. Many of these religiously unaffiliated Americans believe in God and pray regularly but dont want to stick within the limits of a single faith.

Various practices are being unbundled and remixed in peoples individual, spiritual lives, Thurston said.

McConkie begins Lower Lights Sanghas monthly gatherings with a brief breathing exercise. Chairs squeak and groan as people adjust their posture and clear their minds.

I want to invite you for a moment to do absolutely nothing, McConkie says, the words delivered slowly and deliberately in a deep, soothing voice.

Next, McConkie offers a brief description of his meditative philosophy, which blends Buddhist practice with developmental psychology. He asks people to introduce themselves to their neighbor, encouraging them to share what made them want to meditate.

The main event during the two-hour meeting is a group meditation. McConkie asks people to move their chairs into circles of four or five, then provides speaking prompts.

Participants complete sentences like Something you dont know about me is with stories from their own lives, describing their siblings, favorite vacation spots or how lost theyve felt for the last 12 months.

As people sit in their circles, sharing and listening, McConkie strolls around the room, a smile playing on his lips.

A calm has settled over the room since he cracked his mindfulness joke. Hes successfully ushered another group into deeper awareness of themselves and others.

Group members break off into smaller groups and greet each other as Thomas McConkie of Lower Lights leads a group in mediation and discussion in Salt Lake City, Utah, on June 14, 2017. Photo by Scott G. Winterton/Deseret News

McConkie said nurturing new connections and growth is one of his strengths. The spiritual side of Lower Lights Sanghas work comes naturally to him; the business aspects of community building are a little trickier.

What I noticed at the December gathering (at Harvard) is that some people are brilliant social entrepreneurs (and) killer marketers. At Lower Lights, I would not say our strength is our business model or marketing plan, he said.

All 80 leaders invited to the Harvard conference lead some kind of community, which organizers defined as a group of people who know each other, care for each other and work together to weather lifes storms. These leaders came from sacred and secular contexts, including art cooperatives, fitness studios and faith groups that meet at bars.

The focus in putting that gathering together was trying to understand what these leaders need, Thurston said.

Conversations centered on issues like funding, overcoming conflict and maintaining relationships even as a community grows. People leading secular groups were encouraged to think about how they could support members spiritually, while leaders from religious contexts like McConkie brainstormed ways to track membership and increase their impact.

I came back from Harvard in December and said we have got to tighten up the organizational side of what were doing, McConkie said.

Over the past six months, he and his team have designed a website and debated the type of nonprofit corporation they should form.

McConkie also had the chance to pick the brains of other leaders, who continue to support him from across the country. Although they were only together for a few days, the 80 leaders and others brought in to advise the conference quickly became their own community, listening and responding to one anothers needs.

These relationships provide for them what theyre providing for others, said the Rev. Sue Phillips, a Unitarian Universalist clergy member who helped organize the conference.

Thurston, working alongside Harvard ministry innovation fellow Casper ter Kuile, said their work grew out of a shared sense that reports on the decline of organized religion were missing the real story: the rise of new types of communities.

Theres such a sense of doom and gloom within religious institutions. But we see an inspiring story of how people are coming together. We want to tell that story, ter Kuile said.

Thomas McConkie of Lower Lights leads a group in mediation and discussion in Salt Lake City, Utah, on June 14, 2017. Photo by Scott G. Winterton/Deseret News

The pair have published aseries of reportsoutlining how millennials build community at gyms and dinner party forums, and offer tips for how established faiths can evolve to attract younger members.

Were trying to navigate between institutions and the growing number of young people who are finding different ways in which to bring belonging and meaning to their lives, ter Kuile said.

New developments at the fringes of a faith group can sometimes create a crisis of authority, as more established religious leaders worry about shifts in practice.

Denominational leaders must search for a way to welcome new initiatives like a social justice group or service-oriented gathering without compromising leadership training or core teachings.

Whats emerging asks us to be different, a new us,' Phillips said. The truth is that a lot of denominations focus on propagating the us that they currently are.

Phillips urges clergy members to embrace novel ideas and be patient when there are bumps in the road.

The most powerful things traditional leaders can do is come alongside these innovators and say yes at every junction, she said.

Lower Lights Sangha is not linked with the LDS Church, beyond McConkies and some participants involvement in the religion.

McConkie said Mormon doctrine and practices inspire his meditation and vice versa, and he believes his meditation community calls to younger Mormons looking for new ways to express their faith.

Were discovering new truths together in community. I hope how we evolve is in service of what the church is trying to do and how its trying to grow, McConkie said.

At the end of Junes Lower Lights gathering, McConkie invited people to shout out what they were feeling. Some said they were grateful, happy and feeling connected to everyone around them.

One woman shouted: Im feeling like I should have come months ago.

(Kelsey Dallas writes for The Deseret News)

Read more:

What a Mormon doing Buddhist meditation has to do with the future of faith - Religion News Service

This column discusses the plot, and ethical dilemmas, of Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Spider-Man: Homecoming, which zipped into theaters last weekend, is almost everything a summer blockbuster should be: Its very funny without using humor as an excuse to be less than emotionally accessible; its super-sized throw-downs are anchored in real, human-scale conflicts; its world is richly populated with characters who arent solely defined by their powers or lack thereof; and it resists the urge to revisit the most famous story beats associated with its title characters origin story. All of these elements made Spider-Man only the second blockbuster this year Im eager to rewatch as soon as possible. And another element has left me thinking of it with more than mere amusement: Spider-Man: Homecoming is at its most poignant when its concerned with how to be a good person often, specifically, a good man.

Superhero movies by their nature tend to be at least lightly ethically engaged: If nothing else, when you figure out you have powers or the means to build them, you have to choose whether youre going to be a hero or a villain. Both the DC and Marvel universes have tended to situate the moral development of their characters in the context of larger conflicts.

The DC universe is concerned with what happens when humans receive definitive proof that God, or at least godlike figures, are real. For Superman (Henry Cavill), emerging as a demigod requires him to discern the right path: Can he kill? Is it more appropriate to sacrifice? Batman (Ben Affleck) attempts to reassert human influence and the primacy of human morality in the universe by ensuring that supremely powerful beings cant run roughshod over ordinary people without consequences. Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) is driven mad by his sense of what is coming.

Though the Marvel Cinematic Universe also includes actual gods from Norse mythology, most prominently Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston), its ethical conflicts have tended to play out on the more quotidian level of regulation. For Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), the question has often been to what extent he can regulate himself, his companies and the world at large, and at what point government regulation becomes necessary. (Spider-Man: Homecoming sharpens, but does not resolve, the long-lingering question of how much Tonys efforts are driven by genuine decency versus the profits he gains from new lines of technology and disaster clean-up.) Captain America (Chris Evans), by contrast, is driven by a strong internal moral compass from an earlier age and a suspicion that government can regulate morality with nuance and discernment.

WhatDCs excellent Wonder Woman and Spider-Man: Homecoming have in common is that they zoom in more closelyon the moral development of individuals during important inflection points in their lives. Outside forces matter, of course, though the scenarios are a little different: Wonder Woman is set during Dianas (Gal Gadot) first foray into the outside world, decades before the events that will introduce her to Bruce Wayne. And Spider-Man: Homecoming focuses on a teenage hero (Tom Holland) who is auditioning to become an Avenger, and sees new super-suits and brawls at the Berlin airport as opportunities for unboxing videos and life-casting.

Neither movieadvocates a withdrawal from worldly concerns in pursuit of private moral purity; in fact, Wonder Woman suggests that Wonder Womans seclusion is a heartbroken response to horror that is itself a kind of tragedy. But both suggest that its worth taking a pause to examine what great events do to our small, solitary selves. World-scale problems deserve considered responses. We shouldnt lose track ofour own quests for goodness in the process.

What makes Adrian Toomes, who becomes Spider-Mansmost significant antagonist in Spider-Man: Homecoming, the Vulture, such a compelling villain isnt simply a crackling performance by Michael Keaton. Rather, its that the Vultures clear-sighted analysis of the world Tony Stark and the other Avengers have created leads him to a morally destructive conclusion with devastating consequences for the people he wants to protect and for the world at large.

The Vultures anxieties, to use the parlance of contemporary politics, are both cultural and economic.

Things are never going to be the same now, he muses after the events of The Avengers, which end with Lokis rampage through New York. When I was a kid, I used to draw cowboys and Indians.Though a member of his demolition crew points out that the preferred term is Native Americans, the Vulture-to-be is referring more to the scale of the conflict than to its racial dynamics, and in that, he is entirely correct. His resentment sharpens when he learns that the disaster cleanup has been federalized, and that Tony, the man who helped make this mess possible, is going to get the contracts to do the work that others were counting on for their livelihoods. For all the parallels Marvel movies have drawn to other conflicts, the Vultures acid breakdown of the situation is one of the sharper critiques the franchise has ever offered of Tonys brand of newly benevolent capitalism.

If the Vulture is the character in Spider-Man who sees the larger picture most clearly, his response to it is the petty and sad self-justification of any mobster who has vowed that he is simply buying his family a better life. He stays in the salvage business, turning alien technology into weaponry for sale to criminals who want to pull off increasingly daring heists. Its a business that makes him wealthy: The Vulture and his family retreat to quasi-suburban splendor, even as the weapons the Vulture puts on the streets tend to escalate crime dramatically. Suddenly, an ATM robbery can blow up an entire bodega.I just need something to stick up somebody, not send them back in time, small-time crook Aaron Davis (Donald Glover) observes, unnerved. The Vulture diagnosed Tony and then became him on a smaller scale. He holds off his familys financial ruin but ends up exposing them to greater ruination and shame when his criminal enterprises are exposed and he is apprehended.

The Vultures ultimate demise doesnt necessarily prove his analysis wrong: Tonys vastly greater wealth and the way he has made himself integral to global security infrastructure protect him from being held personally accountable for the far larger damage he has been a part of. But the Vultures morally degraded response to an ethically complex situation does prevent him from securing long-term happiness for his family or a fairer system for him and for everyone else.

If the Vulture rages against the corruption of big men, Peter Parker spends much of Spider-Man: Homecoming longing to become one. His response is a natural one: After being called up to the big leagues for the airport throw-down in Captain America: Civil War,taken on his first private jet ride and treated like a probationary adult, hes sent back to Queens*to await further instructions. If Peter isnt contentto be a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, giving directions and foiling petty crimes, its because his supposed mentors dont exactly teach him to value being a hometown superhero. These lesser gigs are what keep Peter busy and out of their hair, rather than being part of a larger idea about the protection that civilians deserve all the time.

The older men in Peters life, who ought to recognize what theyve gotten themselves into, blow off Peters calls and then get angry when he winds up in over his head. When Peter explains, I just wanted to be like you! and Tonysnaps back at him, And I wanted you to be better, its doubly unfair. Not only is Tonyolder, richer and more experienced, he also has placed the freight of those expectations on Peter without taking the time or initiative to lay out a different vision of superheroics or to talk to Peter about the lessons the younger man might learn from Tonysmyriad mistakes. In a world where Captain America stars in educational videos and teenage girls debate which superhero theyd rather marry, there arent exactly other role models for the kind of superheroism Tony would like Peter to occupy.

The most striking thing about the end of Spider-Man: Homecoming is the way it shows that Peter has discovered a better way all on his own. When Tony offers Peter a spot on the Avengers, hes giving Peter what Peter wanted, rather than what was good for him. Peters decision to opt out, stay in high school and make his own way is the realization that Tony wanted him to have all along, reached with little help or guidance from the adults in his life. Better, it turns out, doesnt always mean bigger or flashier or more violent. Sometimes it means recognizing that whats right for you what matches your physical capacity and ethical ideals might also be best for your family, your neighborhood and your city.

*I always mix up Spider-Mans boroughs. Apologies to Queens.

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'Spider-Man: Homecoming' is a superheroic meditation on how to be a good person - Washington Post