Tag Archives: religion

A Mature Culture, Important Concepts, My Stance to Global Warming, Our Present Culture, Who Is Dave?

Who Cares?

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Compassion4I have recently begun to explore Unitarian-Univeralism (UU), a very inclusive “church” structure that requires no dogmatic belief system and yet recognizes the human need for community and the search for meaning, the need for caring and the questing of “Who Cares?” In particular, I invite the reader to view a recent sermon at the local UU church A Big Tent with Even Bigger Dreams[1] (20180506), one that I thought was profound (as well as very humorous).

For my part, UU (in its profound inclusivity) represents the possibility of mature community, an essential component of cultural transformation (of which I have written many posts in this blog — see this series). I find a number of aspects of the local church, the North Shore Unitarians, to have deep appeal for me; I also have the intuition (and hope) that these aspects are to be found throughout the UU system.

  • They are deeply inclusive. In particular, I have found them very welcoming, and very open to diversity, especially the LGBTQQIP2SAA community and any other source of divisiveness in community.
    • A significant quote from the above sermon is “we honor this truth by encouraging our members to reflect on the Light through whatever set of windows they find most illuminating. We only require that this same freedom be honored for others.”
  • They recognize the incredible destructiveness that “religion” has played in the world.
    • I have a friend who is atheist and strongly against religion, yet from my perspective he does not seem to recognize “religion” as simply a cultural lens, and that its implications range from the very immature (including much of Christian history as well as modern fundamentalism, both Christian and Muslim) to the very mature. I totally agree with him in his disparagement of Christianity when expressed via fundamentalism, and I also deeply value the mature expression of religion when I find it. Mature religion for me is not a set of beliefs, rather it is a way of approaching life with compassion to all its complexity.
  • They are very open to questioning the meaning of life.
    • For the past year, the Church has been running a series of discussion groups called Wounded Words (words such as sin, salvation, god, prayer) in an attempt to recognize how divisive these words have been (and continue to be).

The main emphasis that I have seen is that UU encourages the recognition that we all search for meaning and that we are all in the same boat! We must learn to value “making sure there’s room for another to come sit next to me, even if, especially if, they make me uncomfortable . . . . with such a big tent [that] we don’t even agree on the words to use to describe it.”

There is for me something deep within the heart of all human beings that searches for meaning; maturity for me means that of being willing to sit in the mystery that this represents. Those who claim certainty are at high risk of fundamentalism, and the abuses of religion — this I distrust.

To give my answer to the basic question of this post, those who care are those who continue to search, allowing others also to search. I honor all who do, including the UU church.

[1] Hartlief, M. (20180506). A Big Tent With Even Bigger Dreams, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNB–Aa5KWo, published 20180507.

Global Warming, Our Present Culture

Time Will Tell

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The maze of world politics, especially that generated by Donald Trump.
It does not yet appear what we shall be.

A quiet week as I continue to explore the world of contemplative practice. The Living School is part of the Center for Action and Contemplation; Richard Rohr, the Franciscan monk who initiated the center in 1986, maintains that the most important word in the title is the and. To quote from their website, illustrative of my interest in the Center, one of their core beliefs is:

action and contemplation, once thought of as mutually exclusive, must be brought together or neither one would make sense. We wanted to be radical in both senses of the word, simultaneously rooted in tradition and boldly experimental. One of the expressions of the radical nature of our work was our extensive inclusivity, bridging gaps within the spiritual and justice communities, building a rhythm of contemplative prayer and Zen meditation into our days, and even more fundamentally, believing that external behavior should be connected to and supported by inner guidance.

Postings of interest to me

The Issues With Trump

And Now the Trump Presidency Begins to Fail for Real (20170629)

Amongst the usual hype that surrounds American politics, this comes from a very reliable source. As usual, time will tell, but I cannot imagine it being totally off.

Germany’s Merkel Just Declared War On Trump In Defiant Speech (20170629)

More fallout from Trump’s international stances. Necessary, but pushing a bully has consequences. I wonder where and how it will end.

Otherwise A Scary World

Warning: I suggest you do not (and do) watch these three videos. They scare me.

NRA Declares War on Half of America (20170629)

Marcus Luttrell – ‘I Cower To No One’ – National Rifle Association commercial (20150910)

NRA Charlie Daniels Commercial (20160523)

These terrify me — presumably they represent a significant portion of US citizens, those who actively support the National Rifle Association.

Global Warming

These experts say we have three years to get climate change under control. And they’re the optimists. 20170629

Scientific principles cannot be ignored; we can pretend we have lots of time yet, but the science disagrees. Two degrees (or more realistically, 1.5°C) does not seem much to fuss about, but irreversible tipping points are likely above this level. Imagine driving your car at high speed while having a strong possibility of the brakes being defective! Consequences!

Miscellaneous Items

What’s new on Amazon’s Plan to Take Over the World (20170628)

Wow. The commercial world amazes me sometimes with its machinations.

Eugene Richards Is the Photographer America Needs Now (20170626)

Photos of our culture as it is! not how we like to think it is.

Some Positives

A Swedish Billionaire Will Award $5 Million For Reimagining Global Governance (20161220)

A step in the right direction — our civilization desperately needs new models of governance, models which lead to the valuing of human activity in ways that provide guaranteed incomes, health benefits, and ongoing education.

Alberta is greenest it’s ever been under the NDP and that will be tough to undo (20170703)

Canada’s progress is slow, but overall steady. My basic concern is that it is not enough.

‘Love Thy Neighbor?’ (20170701)

Well worth reading. The story of a Muslim physician with a US mid-West practice.

Global Warming, Our Present Culture

An Ongoing Exploration

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Exploring3Not a lot to discuss this week. I’m deep within my cave of exploring.

I have been busy with an orientation package for the Living School of the Center for Action and Contemplation (CAC). As part of my ongoing spiritual journey and attempt to be a resource, I am engaged in a two year study program of contemplative practice. It is a study of meditation within a Christian context, and although I don’t formally subscribe to any faith tradition, my roots are within Christianity. And since CAC is profoundly ecumenical, it is a good fit for me.

Essentially I am a perpetual student, always seeking new ways of expanding my worldview and my connection with creation, especially my felt connection. Overall, I do not operate from belief systems; rather I trust my own experience deeply. Having had a number of profound mystical experiences in my life, I have a deep trust that the universe is friendly, and that there is some kind of a Creator, whom I usually call Star Maker (from a science fiction novel that was deeply impactful for me when I was a teenager). I have my own narrative which satisfies me, and recognize it is simply a story (which satisfies).

A difficulty of the past ten years or so is that I have lost a felt connection to the universe as being friendly, probably as a result of the deep despair as I struggled with the implications of global warming. At the same time, I have been exposed to deep philosophical underpinnings, especially that of panpsychism (see What To Do, Part 1), which in turn has enriched my intellectual grasp of the possibility of Creator. I now seek, via the Living School, to deepen this grasp, especially at an experiential level, and hope it will move me towards deeper peace regarding my onw contribution as a resource (see Being A Resource Seeking A Need, Part Five. (I now recognize that I have not written a post on panpsychism, so will do so shortly.)

Almost certainly over the next two years, I will be discussing many aspects of the Living School program, and how it is impacting me.

Links for the week

The Need to challenge our present culture

THE CLIMATE MOBILIZATION BEGINS IN L.A. (20170621)

As previously indicated, I am an advocate of The Climate Mobilization — I believe it is the only way in which our species will be able to survive, let alone thrive. As part of the rebound effect created by Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Accord, California has now recognized the need for such massive mobilization concerning global warming.

A valedictorian went rogue in his final speech. His school tried to shut him down. (20170620)

A story of courage and the structure of much of our modern society — those who speak out usually get punished in some way. Reminds me of how the society represented by Nineteen Eighty-four (George Orwell, 1949[1]) would have been initiated.

Global Capitalism: Reflections on a Brave New World (201706)

A dense but readable article on Transnationalism and the Transnational  Capitalist Class, in which market forces created by a small group of people determine much of the fate of the world. Such is not consistent with true democracy, and not an easy system to oppose.

The Trump Morass

The Post’s new findings in Russia’s bold campaign to influence the U.S. election (20170623)

Obama’s secret struggle to punish Russia for Putin’s election assault (20170623)

Two links for those who attempt to follow the Trump-Russia morase; I find the entire issue to be incredibly complex and difficult to follow. It must be equally difficult for those who are tasked to deliver conclusive reports, especially since the issues represent the depth of deceptiveness and collusion within our so-called democracy. Such clandestine affairs; probably they have always been part of the struggle for power and domination, but are so much more sophisticated today.

This is what foreign spies think when they read President Trump’s tweets (20170623)

Interesting commentary on how information is gathered in today’s high tech world, as well as the risks imposed by Trump’s tweeting.

Miscellaneous

Bicycling never gets old! (20170622)

A good description of the history of bicycling, and an emphasis on the benefits of bicycling. I used to enjoy bicycling, although I have not yet taken up the modern aspects of long distance cycling nor the hype on new (expensive) technology.

[1] Orwell, G. (1949). Nineteen Eighty-four. London, UK: Secher & Warburg.

Important Concepts, Language Concepts, Personal Growth

Are you spiritual? What is spirituality? (Part 2 of 2)

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Spirituality1

In the first part of this post, I discussed religion; I suggest here that spirituality refers to something broader than religion, but includes religion. If we think of religion as expressed as one dimension (belief systems), spirituality has three dimensions: that of

  • belief systems,
  • value systems (faith development over time), and
  • transformative experience (mystical experience).

An individual’s religion varies from belief in God to a belief that God is a figment of imagination; his/her spirituality can vary anywhere within this three dimensional structure.

Cultural maturity: a framework for spirituality
Cultural maturity: a framework for spirituality

John Fowler, in Stages of Faith, suggested that human beings undergo a hierarchical staging of faith development, expressed largely as an evolving locus of authority and a value system. A locus of authority identifies to what aspect of life I give authority, outward to the rules of others (the Bible, the Koran, etc.), or inwards to my own searching for wisdom. Values are very different from beliefs; values express what I (or others) consider important (and are often hidden within beliefs).

Fowler suggested that, during their lives, people move from relative rigidity and a focus on external authority (fundamentalism), through conventionality and questioning, to an deep acceptance and compassion, eventually living their own truths with profound authenticity. At these latter stages, people live the rules, not just follow them. It is important to note here that the rules they live are the principles that would generally be considered wise and compassionate, and they often live them fiercely, and passionately. Examples for me include Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, Pope Francis, and others; on the surface, many of these individuals are religious, but fundamentally I suggest they are deeply spiritual. The process is age-dependent, and only a small number of people proceed through all stages.

I am also reminded here of an adage: “Good judgment comes from experience, but experience comes from bad judgment;” the development of faith often requires much work. Part of this work is the work that occurs in therapy. A number of sources I know have noted that individuals in therapy often become less religious and more spiritual, less focused on beliefs and more focused on value systems.

The third aspect of spirituality is that some individuals have profound experiences that transform their lives. Examples range from the awe of sunrises to those of near-death experiences and other occurrences. I myself have had a number of experiences that have dramatically transformed my life.

For some individuals, the experiences have been so profound that the impact is strongly felt by those around them. The stories of Jesus, Mohamed, and Buddha express this clearly, and are the basic foundation of these religions. I would also suggest that these individuals are at the high end of Fowler’s scale of faith development, having had profound experiences, subsequently radically living their own authenticity.

Thus I consider spirituality as having three inter-related dimensions, all of which can be transformative, and give meaning and purpose to life:

  • belief systems (faith tradition or religion)
  • value systems of authenticity (faith development of values and locus of authority)
  • direct experience (mystery)

Personally, I have been deeply affected by each of these.

Furthermore I suggest that every human being has a spiritual life, some more enriching than others; every human being exists somewhere within these three dimension of beliefs, authenticity, and direct experience.

My questions ultimately to everyone are:

  • What gives meaning to your life?, and
  • Is the universe friendly?