The Rodan Foundation

 The Rodan Foundation's Publication for the Metaphysical Church of Enlightenment, December 2024

 In 1981, Reverend Clarke Carraway founded The Rodan Foundation with the intention of creating a powerful, growing community of awakening beings who experience love, peace, prosperity, unity, healing, harmony, and revelation through learning and service. The Rodan Foundation, recognizing the Law of Cause and Effect, expresses gratitude for the many blessings it reaps from the community's experiences.

Most of us are interested in ways to decrease stress, improve sleep, and stimulate brain growth and memory. And yet, research shows that silence does all of this and more. In a world where we carry our favorite music in our back pocket; engage in long-distance conversations anywhere, anytime; and listen to podcasts, audio books or funny Youtube videos on demand, silence is often elusive.

A recent study indicates that not only is silence difficult to find, but we actively avoid it.  In an experiment where individuals were given the choice of sitting in silence with their thoughts, or in-flicting an electrical shock upon themselves, the results were surprising. Even though participants had previously stated that they would pay money to avoid being shocked, 67% of the men and 25% of women chose to inflict it on themselves rather than sit quietly and think for 15 minutes.

 As we head into the busy holiday season, it is important to prioritize making some time for silence and rest. While it can be difficult to carve out or choose time for solitude and reflection, there are a few key reasons for us as leaders to do so:

 1. Healthy Relationships: Relationships are critical to our health and wellbeing. In today’s busy, digi-tally-driven world, our longing for deep relationships is greater than ever. Often we substitute noise and a sense of connectedness for true relationships. Writer Johnathan Franzen describes that “our infatuation with technology provides an easy alternative to love.” Ironically, it is often silence and solitude that allow us the understanding and peace to engage in deep, caring, healthy relationships more regularly.  Thomas Merton, in No Man Is an Island, explains: “The man who fears to be alone will never be anything but lonely, no matter how much he may surround himself with people. But the man who learns, in solitude and recollection, to be at peace with his own loneliness, and to pre-fer its reality to the illusion of merely natural companionship, comes to know the invisible compan-ionship of God. Such a one is alone with God in all places, and he alone truly enjoys the companion-ship of other men, because he loves them in God.”

2. Effective Leadership: Leaders today are confronting increasingly complex problems in ever-changing environments.  More than ever, we need time and space to clear the clutter from our minds and focus on the challenges we confront.  Author and speaker, Sarah Ban Breathnach, explains, “Usually, when the distractions of daily life deplete our energy, the first thing we eliminate is the thing we need the most: quiet, reflective time. Time to dream, time to contemplate what's working and what's not, so that we can make changes for the better.” Kate Murphy, in her article, No Time to Think says, “You can’t solve or let go of problems if you don’t allow yourself time to think about them. It’s an imperative ignored by our culture, which values doing more than thinking and believes answers are in the palm of your hand rather than in your own head.” I would add that sometimes the answers are whispered in our heart. When we fail to listen, in silence and solitude, we may miss the best answers to issues we are facing.

3. Identity and Purpose: In a study by anthropologist Emily Martin, an eleven-year-old girl from a broken home, who bounces between three households, explains that in each of these households the rules are different and so is she. Her identity, like that of many of us today, is defined by an external context. This translates easily into the virtual world, where our identities can be fluid and adaptable. Unfortunately, this also makes us vulnerable to confusion, depression, and a lack of confidence.  Si-lence and reflection is the space where we can listen to our own heart and identify our identity and purpose.  Carl Sandburg describes this beautifully when he says the following: “A man must find time for himself. Time is what we spend our lives with. If we are not careful we find others spending it for us. . .  It is necessary now and then to go away and experience loneliness; to sit on a rock in the forest and to ask, 'Who am I, and where have I been, and where am I going?' If one is not care-ful, one allows diversions to take up one's time—the stuff of life.”

     As leaders, may we prioritize silence and reflection, benefiting from the rest and understanding that come from these disciplines.  More importantly, may we model these critical practices for those younger than us who are in danger of living lives full of noise and distraction, without understanding the beauty and healing of silence and solitude.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         By Jolene Erlacher, leadingtomorrow.org                                                                                                                                                         

                                                   Calendar of Events and Special Offerings

Our Community Love Offertory for the Month of  December  

Supports the Chronicle's Season of Sharing  

                              One of the many ways you can support us...

            You can also visit our support page to make a tax-deductable donation directly to The Rodan Foundation. 

Reverend Carraway is available for spiritual counseling, Jin Shin Do sessions, as well as for ceremonies marking mile stones in life. For more information, please see him after the Sunday service at The Metaphysical Church of Enlightenment or contact us.