Dia de los Muertos

Sunday, October 30th, 2022

This Sunday, our last regular Sunday gathering for the year (and beyond), we’ll celebrate Dia de los Muertos, with Judi Lucero as our honored music guest. For this annual event, we will again have our ofrenda set up and decorated. You are welcome to bring mementos of your loved ones who have passed, as we keep them alive in memory and spirit, in light-hearted and joyful celebration! A potluck lunch will immediately follow our gathering so we can further enjoy one another’s company before we take a sabbatical of sorts from our Sunday gatherings. There are several other events planned for the coming months, though! Details are in the “Looking Ahead” section below.
Continued Golden Autumn Blessings, Colleen and Mark

Quotes to ponder

“To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.”
~ Thomas Campbell

“For death is no more than a turning of us over from time to eternity.”
~ William Penn

For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.
~ Khalil Gibran

Death is not extinguishing the light; it is only putting out the lamp because the dawn has come.
~ Rabindranath Tagore

Life and death are illusions. We are in a constant state of transformation.
~ Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu

Looking Ahead/Notes of Interest

Paths of Heart will be taking a sabbatical from regular Sunday gatherings for the next 6 months or so. You can read more about our decision here: https://www.pathsofheart.org/2022/10/11/important-paths-of-heart-update/

Please join us THIS Sunday at 10:30 a.m., 117 Evans Dr., Fort Collins, CO 80524, for our “last” regular gathering till further notice. Read below for a list of other upcoming events. Mark your calendars!

October 30th – Dia de los Muertos Celebration. Judi Lucero will join us from Grand Junction to share words and music! We’ll also have a potluck following our gathering. Please bring your own washable plate as well as a potluck dish to share. We’ll provide utensils, cups, cloth napkins and a variety of beverages.

Saturday, November 19th, 7 pm – “Paths of Heart Presents..” a Gratitude Concert, featuring the Sloniker/Crosson Clan – including Emma and Myles Sloniker. We’ll be singing lots of songs of THANKS as well as other favorites. We’ll have a pre-concert potluck at 6 pm if you want to join us for that, and then we’ll do one long set of music for ya! You’re welcome to hang out and chat with us for a bit afterwards as well. This is a benefit for Paths of Heart and we are suggesting a $30 donation for the concert (give more, or less, depending on your circumstances/desires!). There is limited seating, so you can guarantee your spot by prepaying with venmo: @PathsofHeart or paypal: https://www.pathsofheart.org/donate/ (mention “concert” in special instructions).

Saturday, December 24th, 7 pm – We are pleased to welcome the return of our Christmas Eve Celebration, with songs and readings from various traditions during the Season of Light and Peace! Emma and Myles Sloniker will be there to share in the music, and perhaps another guest or two as well.

Saturday, January 14th, 2023, 10 am – 4 pm – “Paths of Heart Presents…” a ‘Write with Your Heart’ Playshop: Communing with The Muse ~ A simple, sweet day of community, creating space for inner exploration through music, journaling, art, silence, and meditation. More details soon!

Saturday, February 11th, 7 pm – “Paths of Heart Presents…” a Celebration of LOVE. Join Mark and Colleen in a lovefest of love songs to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

We’ve decided to restart our Paths of Heart Song Circles, the last Tuesday of (most) every month! Come join us for an informal gathering of singing together. Bring your life affirming song suggestions! $10 suggested donation.
November 29th
December 27th
no January Song Circle
February 28th
March 28th

Giving Opportunities
Paths of Heart will continue to welcome and appreciate your generous donations as we work to bolster our finances and get back to Sunday gatherings at some point in the future. During the pandemic, online donations became increasingly important to our organization, and are always gratefully accepted on our website, https://www.pathsofheart.org/donate/. There is an option for recurring monthly donations, if you so choose. We have also added Venmo as a way to easily donate to Paths of Heart! Just type in @PathsofHeart to find us in the Venmo app. Thanks so much for supporting the continuation of Paths of Heart. Remember, we are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, so your donations are tax deductible!

Two ways you can further support Paths of Heart are detailed below:

King Soopers Community Rewards Program
If you shop at KS and have a rewards card, you can “link” it to Paths of Heart and King Soopers will donate a portion of your dollars spent (around 5%) to our non-profit. Go to https://www.kingsoopers.com/i/community/community-rewards to sign up and link your card. Our organization name is Paths of Heart and organization number is RG782. Let us know if you want help signing up!

Amazon Smile
We do love shopping locally and very often do, but Amazon sometimes fits the bill. If you are an Amazon shopper, you can make a difference by shopping at smile.amazon.com/ch/81-4175487 to generate donations for Paths of Heart!

“Paths of Heart” Labyrinth and Zen Meditation Garden
This was intentioned to be a community space, so know that you are always welcome to drop by and walk or sit – you do not need to let us know in advance. Do note that we have experienced the outer “halo” of glass blocks in the labyrinth to be slippery when wet, so it’s best to walk it on a dry day (not usually a problem in Colorado!). We also welcome volunteers to help keep our labyrinth looking beautiful and free of debris and weeds. Thank you!

Sending prayers and affirmations
If anyone would like to receive our collective positive thoughts and prayers on a Sunday morning, please ask! We can be as specific or as anonymous as you’d like. Let us know if we can surround you and your loved ones in love and light!

Gratitudes

We are so grateful for almost 9 years of nearly continuous Sunday gatherings here at Paths of Heart! We treasure each and every encounter we’ve had with our attendees, whether you came once, are a “regular”, or just read our newsletter and sent us thanks every so often. Though the “form” of Paths of Heart is changing currently, it is still very much alive and we hope you’ll join us for our special events coming up. Much love to you all!

What are you grateful for today?

“I am happy because I’m grateful. I choose to be grateful. That gratitude allows me to be happy.”
~ Will Arnett

“When we focus on our gratitude, the tide of disappointment goes out and the tide of love rushes in.”
~ Kristin Armstrong

“Gratitude can lead you, as it did me, away from the darkness of complicated need into the light of Simple Abundance.”
~ Sarah Ban Breathnach

About Paths of Heart…

Paths of Heart is a high spirited, heart-centered community where we gather together (in new and creative ways!) for music, poetry, commentary, and dialogue to create and nurture joy, compassion, gratitude, and love – in our own lives and throughout the world. Paths of Heart is a 501(c)(3) Human Services/Educational non-profit organization that uses the arts, especially, to encourage and propel seekers of a better, more peaceful world to find ways to serve, while becoming more kind and compassionate human beings.

We welcome you as we collectively and individually explore the sweet mysteries of life – this is an invitation into co-creation!

Visit us on the web at https://www.pathsofheart.org
We hope our physical paths may cross soon!

“Pull up a chair. Take a taste. Come join us. Life is so endlessly delicious.” ~ Ruth Reichl

10/11/202210/12/2022

Important Paths of Heart Update

“Some changes look negative on the surface but you will soon realize that space is being created in your life for something new to emerge.”
~ Eckhart Tolle

Dear Paths of Heart Community – Mark and I have continued to assess the recent attendance and financial condition of Paths of Heart. This summer’s survey results were valuable in getting a sense of folks’ impressions of, and commitment to our non-profit. It is evident that the “Pandemic Years” took quite a toll on Paths’ attendance as well as finances, and our recovery remains extremely slow. As our non-profit’s self sustainability continues to be elusive, we feel the best solution is to take a 6 month sabbatical from Sunday gatherings and instead have monthly concerts and/or workshops (playshops!) that could potentially have a more positive effect on our finances and build up Paths of Heart’s fiscal health over time.
We want to emphasize that Paths of Heart is not going away; it is just changing form, hopefully temporarily, to address these unusual circumstances we are in. We are sorry that our faithful out of town Zoomers will most likely not be able to attend these monthly events. Maybe we can have an occasional Zoom check-in with you all, as we will certainly miss you! October’s schedule will remain as is, and then we plan to go forward with a Gratitude Concert in November, our beloved Christmas Eve Celebration on December 24th, a “Write With Your Heart” Playshop in January, and a concert celebrating LOVE in February (so far!). Please join us for our last regular in-person gathering (for now) on October 30th as we celebrate Dia de los Muertos and welcome Judi Lucero back to play music and share her thoughts with us. It seems apropos to have a potluck afterwards, too, don’t you think?

We love you all and this beautiful community we have built together over the last nine years. We welcome any questions or suggestions you might have for us. Thank you for your kind and joyful presence in our lives,
Colleen and Mark

10/08/202210/08/2022

The Fifth Agreement: Be Skeptical, but Learn to Listen

Sunday, October 9th, 2022

This Sunday on ZOOM, we explore “The Fifth Agreement.” In this follow up to “The Four Agreements”, where don Miguel Ruiz is joined by his son don Jose Ruiz and Janet Mills, they suggest to “be skeptical, but learn to listen.” They reaffirm that most of what we hear isn’t true, simply because humans speak with symbols and that symbols are only the “truth” because we have been programmed to “agree”, not because they are “really the truth.” Therefore, we should be skeptical of all that we hear. However, we must also learn to listen, because then we can better understand the meaning of the symbols that people are using; when you understand their story, the communication improves immensely and you don’t need to judge the other person about their point of view. It’s a subtle thing, yes, and can greatly improve the way we move about in the world with our fellow humans. Join us in the discussion! Here’s the link:
Topic: Paths of Heart ZOOM
Time: Oct 9, 2022 10:30 AM Mountain Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85287374459?pwd=c2NsMVlBRzQ2WVcyV2JEOWt6M0Z0QT09
Meeting ID: 852 8737 4459
Passcode: 771392
Autumn Blessings,, Colleen and Mark

Quotes to ponder

“Scepticism is the first step towards truth.”
~ Denis Diderot

“In order to seek truth, it is necessary once in the course of our life to doubt, as far as possible, of all things.”
~ René Descartes

“Constantly exposing yourself to popular culture and the mass media will ultimately shape your reality tunnel in ways that are not necessarily conducive to achieving your Soul Purpose and Life Calling. Modern society has generally ‘lost the plot’. Slavishly following its false gods and idols makes no sense in a spiritually aware life.”
~ Anthon St. Maarten

“Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.”
~ Voltaire

“Tell people there’s an invisible man in the sky who created the universe, and the vast majority will believe you. Tell them the paint is wet, and they have to touch it to be sure.”
~ George Carlin

Looking Ahead/Notes of Interest

Paths of Heart Sunday Schedule, 10:30 a.m.,
117 Evans Dr., Fort Collins, CO 80524

October 9th – ZOOM gathering, The Fifth Agreement (bonus!)
October 16th and 23rd – No Paths of Heart
October 30th – Dia de los Muertos Celebration. If all goes as planned, Judi Lucero will join us from Grand Junction to share words and music!

Current Mask Policy
We are leaving it up to attendees whether they want to mask or not. Please do what makes you most comfortable

Giving Opportunities
Paths of Heart continues (in our 9th year now!) solely through your generous donations. What an amazing thing! Several survey participants expressed interest in signing up for regular monthly donations and we gratefully welcome that! During the pandemic, online donations became increasingly important to our organization, and are always gratefully accepted on our website, https://www.pathsofheart.org/donate/. Once you are on our PayPal site, there will be an option for recurring monthly donations. If you find value in what we do here at Paths of Heart, please consider donating to keep our non-profit running smoothly, with grace and ease. Thanks so much for supporting the continuation of Paths of Heart. Remember, we are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, so your donations are tax deductible.