In my post of February 6, 2009 on “Ministry and Leadership” I argued that there were people who were called out from the rest of us to be ministers, pastors, and priests and these people had “a special responsibility to others to teach, facilitate, and to show others what it means to be missional in their lives.” An example of this kind of missional leadership is…of course…Jesus.
Many who follow the teachings of Jesus contend that the Gospel of Matthew in the new testament portion of the bible is a manual of missional leadership. In this writing, we are presented with stories of Jesus teaching others, facilitating their efforts, and, perhaps most important, showing others what it means to be missional with their lives. So, we can look on these stories as a guide to how we might lead others into being missional in their lives.
Let me say right up front, however, that one of the most important parts of this leadership that Jesus exhibits to us comes when he tells his disciples…”Guys, I am going to go away. You are going to be on your own!”
Why was this so important?
It was important because Jesus understood that the disciples could not grow and mature in their missional calling if…they still had Jesus to directly lean on. Look at what weak individuals the disciples seemed to be when Jesus is still in their physical presence. Look at what a sniveling idiot Peter was when Jesus was around. Peter had to be out on his own…he had to call on the memory of what Jesus taught him, both verbally and by example…before he could truly grow and mature in his missional activity.
Now, Jesus obviously knew this problem existed…and more specifically…he knew Peter was going to have problems. Remember, in loving others, Jesus gave us the example of one who “knew” a lot about those who he was working with…this is a part of showing “love” to the other. So, remember that Jesus called Peter…the “Rock”. At the time Jesus refers to Peter as the “Rock” many readers have to wonder about where Jesus is coming from. How can Jesus call this weak, uncomprehending person, the “Rock”?
Jesus “knew” Peter and knew that as Peter grew and matured that he would turn into the “Rock” that Jesus claimed he would be.
But, Peter could never have become the “Rock” if Jesus had stayed around. The same with all the other disciples: Jesus “knew” who they were and chose them because of this knowledge. Jesus also knew that each of them would never reach their calling unless they were allowed to grow and mature into their own missional person.
So, the first lesson of missional leadership is that the leader must understand that those that they are working with must be released at some to go out on their own. So the leader teaches, facilitates, and shows the one preparing for missional activity what it means to be missional knowing full well that at some time in the future the student, for his or her own good, must be “on their own.” The leader must be able to turn the student loose from his or her power and control…for the student’s own benefit!
Now let’s go back to the other three items mentioned above that have to do with missional leadership: teaching, facilitating, and acting. To me, the most important of these three factors of leadership is the acting part. In fact, this is how we have defined missional activity…acting toward the other…whether it be another person (literally the neighbor)…or creation…or oneself…or God…in a loving way. The best way we can be missional is to show other people what it means to live a life that is consistent with what we believe contributes to wholeness and unity. The leader sends out a message in his or her words…but, unless people see how living in that way can change their lives…and change them for the better…the words are just empty.
In this, missional activity is very pragmatic…the life style we are promoting in our missional activity works! And, because it works, people can see for themselves what results from living in that particular way. And, by seeing it, before their eyes…they have something concrete to latch onto…and hold onto when times are not going their way.
This is where I believe the “spirit” comes into play…whatever the “spirit” is. The person has the memory of what a life lived in this particular way means…the memory of what kind of decisions one should make to live such a life…and the feeling or understanding that has been experienced to know that these kinds of decisions lead to greater wholeness or unity…even in times that are very bad. There is a “spirit” in living in this way…and, we are told, this “spirit” will be available to us in the future when called upon. One knows when one is in unity… and that is a signal that the “spirit” is present in the situation.
Teaching is important. Words, alone, are not enough…for they must be consistent with actions. But, words are important…telling stories…relating facts…inspiring others. Teaching helps us to learn things. Teaching helps us to pull things together and understand relationships. Teaching helps us to comprehend in a way that we have not been able to, up to this point. Teaching can inspire us to want to learn and do more. Teaching can be done in many ways…as different people respond to different types of learning experiences. Of course, we know Jesus applied many different kinds of teaching techniques to his followers…this was the only way that he could possibly reach all the different people he had chosen to be with him. He told parables…he told stories…he told proverbs (like, for example, in the Sermon on the Mount where he was just talking to his followers after he drew them away from the huge crowds.)
However, what is learned must be practiced. This, to me is the facilitation part. Those that have been taught must be given opportunities to experience the “acting” under the watchful eye of the teacher. Jesus did this by asking his followers to pass out the fishes and bread to the entire crowd that had followed him for days…and the followers saw what happened right before their eyes. As they became generous with the little they had…the crowd also became generous with what they had…and much more was collected than the followers had given out. A miracle? Or, was this a lesson in what unconditional giving can bring about?
Jesus sent his followers out on different “day” journeys…and then asked what happened on those journeys. In these, and other, ways, the followers of Jesus got feedback on how to live, the impacts of their decision making on outcomes, and how things might be done differently. It was this process that actually got them started on the road to taking full responsibility for their missional activity…the responsibility they would have once they no longer had their leader.
Then, the followers became the leaders. The followers became the implementers of missional living. These followers could now grow and mature fully into the faith and confidence that would bring them unity and peace in their lives…and a feeling of wholeness. Peter could become the “Rock”.
To me, this is what missional leadership is all about!
Showing posts with label unity with God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label unity with God. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Synchronicity
Last Tuesday, January 20, I posted a blog that included parts of the following quote from Goethe:
“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Considering all acts of initiative there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too.”
“All sorts of things occur to help one that would otherwise never have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manners of incidents and meetings and material assistance which no person would have believed would have come their way. Whatever you think you can do, begin it. Action has magic, grace and power in it.”
People have referred to this type of occurrence as “synchronicity” which is basically defined as things happening, existing, or arising at precisely the same time. It is my belief that some form of synchronicity takes place when people come into greater unity with God, within oneself, with others, and with creation. It is what happens when one loves God and loves their neighbor (which I define more broadly as including all of creation as well as other people).
Why do I think this way?
It is because if we are not in a high degree of unity, as explained above, things don’t connect, we are separated, alienated, and we, as individuals are uncomfortable, unsettled, and feel discomfort. That is, when we are not in unity…our whole lives suffer…nothing goes together.
If we are really ourselves, if we love God and neighbor…if we know, as much as possible, where we are, where God is, where others are, and where creation is…so that we, in love, can respond to others where they are and not, selfishly, where we are…then things can move together…and they do.
The point is, that being committed to the two major commandments, which means that we also are committed to truly loving ourselves, I believe gets us into Goethe “magic groove”. And, if we do achieve this in some way, “a whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manners of incidents and meetings and material assistance…”
This can be a test…if things seem to be moving together and coincidences and weird things start to run in parallel…then accept the fact that maybe…just maybe…you are doing some things that are bringing greater unity into your lives…greater unity with God, within yourself, with others and with creation.
The times when this happens does not have to be related to “earth-shattering” events…or incredible commitments. Situations can occur within the context of the “little things.” But, these times are times to cherish…to be thankful for…and to possibly learn something from. For it is times like these that we are trying to make more and more a part of our lives. In times like these we see what life can be like. In times like these we feel whole…and at peace.
The difficulty with Goethe’s statement above has to do with what we commit to. I will argue very strongly with the point that it doesn’t matter what one commits to…we just have to commit to something. It is important what we commit to. And, we don’t want to waste commitments.
Note, we are dealing with hesitancy, the chance to draw back, ineffectiveness. There is the reality that we don’t know what action or actions will bring us that greater unity. We deal with the reality that we still have to make decisions, take actions, based on incomplete information. Thus, we are faced with deciding or acting in the wrong way…making the wrong commitments. This, of course, is a real possibility. So, it does matter what we do…which path we take.
Again, we are problem solvers…we use the process of inductive inference…we determine the choices we can make that we believe can contribute to the greater unity we seek. We are not deciding or acting in a vacuum. But, we finally must act…we finally must commit…and…
Our hope is that our commitment will bring us into that greater unity we seek. What Goethe is telling us…I believe…that when we come to making a decision…we make that decision…take that action…with real commitment…with the real giving of oneself to the effort. But, again, we may be wrong…or, at least, not quite correct. We still have learning to do…we still need to incorporate the new information we have gathered and apply it to the effort. That is the process of how human beings go about solving problems.
What we are after, however, is that feeling of unity…that feeling of wholeness. That is really what we are after…not riches, not wins, not sex, not a lot of other things. What we want is our lives to come together. We want the various parts of our lives to fit together. If they don’t, we struggle…we fuss…we drink too much…we argue and fight…we are unhappy with ourselves and our lives. We don’t want the different components of our lives to be separate, disjointed, or out-of-whack. We want things to fit and we want to feel like we are one…we are whole.
Let me try and put this together in summary. We want our lives to be meaningful. I believer that when we are in greater unity…as described above…when we are more whole…when we experience synchronicity…life does seem meaningful to us. We can’t explain it. We can’t write a treatise on it, let alone an essay. But, when things go together and we achieve some of that feeling of unity…we sense meaningfulness in life. Why? Because if things are flowing together…even in very small things…we feel that things must be meaningful because everything is going together…and that is the way life is supposed to be.
Funny…we don’t need a philosophical or theological book to explain life to us or to speculate on the meaningfulness of life. When we sense things flowing together in some sort of synchronistic way…we feel that life is good. God, we are told, looked at his creation and said that it was good. When we feel that life is good…we feel in tune with God…and we feel that life has meaning. We feel that we are what we are supposed to be…we feel we fit within God’s creation…and we feel that we have meaning. This is what we are looking for.
“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Considering all acts of initiative there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too.”
“All sorts of things occur to help one that would otherwise never have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manners of incidents and meetings and material assistance which no person would have believed would have come their way. Whatever you think you can do, begin it. Action has magic, grace and power in it.”
People have referred to this type of occurrence as “synchronicity” which is basically defined as things happening, existing, or arising at precisely the same time. It is my belief that some form of synchronicity takes place when people come into greater unity with God, within oneself, with others, and with creation. It is what happens when one loves God and loves their neighbor (which I define more broadly as including all of creation as well as other people).
Why do I think this way?
It is because if we are not in a high degree of unity, as explained above, things don’t connect, we are separated, alienated, and we, as individuals are uncomfortable, unsettled, and feel discomfort. That is, when we are not in unity…our whole lives suffer…nothing goes together.
If we are really ourselves, if we love God and neighbor…if we know, as much as possible, where we are, where God is, where others are, and where creation is…so that we, in love, can respond to others where they are and not, selfishly, where we are…then things can move together…and they do.
The point is, that being committed to the two major commandments, which means that we also are committed to truly loving ourselves, I believe gets us into Goethe “magic groove”. And, if we do achieve this in some way, “a whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manners of incidents and meetings and material assistance…”
This can be a test…if things seem to be moving together and coincidences and weird things start to run in parallel…then accept the fact that maybe…just maybe…you are doing some things that are bringing greater unity into your lives…greater unity with God, within yourself, with others and with creation.
The times when this happens does not have to be related to “earth-shattering” events…or incredible commitments. Situations can occur within the context of the “little things.” But, these times are times to cherish…to be thankful for…and to possibly learn something from. For it is times like these that we are trying to make more and more a part of our lives. In times like these we see what life can be like. In times like these we feel whole…and at peace.
The difficulty with Goethe’s statement above has to do with what we commit to. I will argue very strongly with the point that it doesn’t matter what one commits to…we just have to commit to something. It is important what we commit to. And, we don’t want to waste commitments.
Note, we are dealing with hesitancy, the chance to draw back, ineffectiveness. There is the reality that we don’t know what action or actions will bring us that greater unity. We deal with the reality that we still have to make decisions, take actions, based on incomplete information. Thus, we are faced with deciding or acting in the wrong way…making the wrong commitments. This, of course, is a real possibility. So, it does matter what we do…which path we take.
Again, we are problem solvers…we use the process of inductive inference…we determine the choices we can make that we believe can contribute to the greater unity we seek. We are not deciding or acting in a vacuum. But, we finally must act…we finally must commit…and…
Our hope is that our commitment will bring us into that greater unity we seek. What Goethe is telling us…I believe…that when we come to making a decision…we make that decision…take that action…with real commitment…with the real giving of oneself to the effort. But, again, we may be wrong…or, at least, not quite correct. We still have learning to do…we still need to incorporate the new information we have gathered and apply it to the effort. That is the process of how human beings go about solving problems.
What we are after, however, is that feeling of unity…that feeling of wholeness. That is really what we are after…not riches, not wins, not sex, not a lot of other things. What we want is our lives to come together. We want the various parts of our lives to fit together. If they don’t, we struggle…we fuss…we drink too much…we argue and fight…we are unhappy with ourselves and our lives. We don’t want the different components of our lives to be separate, disjointed, or out-of-whack. We want things to fit and we want to feel like we are one…we are whole.
Let me try and put this together in summary. We want our lives to be meaningful. I believer that when we are in greater unity…as described above…when we are more whole…when we experience synchronicity…life does seem meaningful to us. We can’t explain it. We can’t write a treatise on it, let alone an essay. But, when things go together and we achieve some of that feeling of unity…we sense meaningfulness in life. Why? Because if things are flowing together…even in very small things…we feel that things must be meaningful because everything is going together…and that is the way life is supposed to be.
Funny…we don’t need a philosophical or theological book to explain life to us or to speculate on the meaningfulness of life. When we sense things flowing together in some sort of synchronistic way…we feel that life is good. God, we are told, looked at his creation and said that it was good. When we feel that life is good…we feel in tune with God…and we feel that life has meaning. We feel that we are what we are supposed to be…we feel we fit within God’s creation…and we feel that we have meaning. This is what we are looking for.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Free to Be Me!
In my last post, I discussed the topic of “Determining Who One Is.” I argued in the post that one must make the effort to love oneself and to love oneself one must follow the learning process that humans use in all other activities. The goal of learning about oneself is unity within self…wholeness of being. And, we are commanded to engage in this process for it is a part of the commandments to love God and to love our neighbor (people and creation) as we love ourselves…to be in unity with God, within ourselves, with others, and with creation.
This last post follows the line of several other posts that I have written for this blog site. The foundation for all my thinking is that human beings are problem solvers. This is the most unique of all the characteristics of human beings and the degree of improvement and the level of sophistication these humans have attained in this skill has separated them from all other life that we know of. I wrote of this in my post “Problem Solving: The Most Human of Activities,” which appeared on February 22, 2008.
The basic goal of problem solving…or in other words, decision making…is to observe the regularities of creation and create models, schema, rules, and so forth to use as a means of prediction when an individual is faced with a situation or a difficulty that requires some form of action. The use of these models is very pragmatic…they must be logically consistent and they must predict at least as well as any other model that can be useful in such a situation or difficulty. I discussed these issues in my post of October 31, 2008 entitled “Models that Work.”
The thing is that we must develop a “trust” in our models. Since we work in a world of incomplete information ALL of our models are going to be partial or fallible. Humans do not have models that predict the future perfectly…that is why “trust” is so important. The question, of course, becomes…what models, schema, rules, and so forth do I “trust”? The basic concept here is that through use, education, example, and so forth, we develop what is called a “warranted belief” in those models, schema, rules, and so forth. Warranted, here is used to mean that the individual has sufficient evidence or proof that the model, etc., is logically consistent and predicts at least as well as any other model that can be applied to the given situation or difficulty. Warranted, in this case, means that a person has, for him- or her-self, sufficient justification to put their “trust” in the model being applied to the situation or difficulty. With new information we improve, modify, or introduce new, logically consistent models that predict better than the old ones. This concept was expanded on in my post of March 14, 2008 entitled “Warranted Belief.”
An important thing to remember, however, is that we do not do all this work alone…we live in the world…we have families…we belong to groups…we are part of communities…and so forth. We are not meant to be alone…to do it all alone…or to be separated…or alienated…or isolated. We learn in communities; communities give us a chance to practice problem solving and decision making; communities allow us to make mistakes and look foolish; and communities help us to grow and develop. They provide us with a (relatively) safe place for us to experiment and try out things without facing the temptations, threats, and disappointments of the “outside” world.
But, groups and communities can present problems. Groups or communities can attempt to impose their ideas on individuals. Groups or communities can try and control individuals. Groups and communities can limit thinking, learning, experimenting, growth, and becoming whole. Groups can be very destructive to becoming who one is.
Thus, the groups and communities we belong to are important. Understanding this and learning and growing are important in how we decide on the groups and communities we join or remain with. This was why I discussed this concern in “The Communities We Belong To” in my post of March 7, 2008. This choice can be a difficult part of life and sometimes the choice separates us from some individuals that are very close and dear to us. Yet, for us to become who we are as fully as possible and to grow into greater unity with God and ourselves and other people and creation, sometimes we must make the difficult choice.
For this reason I say that I can’t approach my religion any differently than I approach other decision or problems in my life. That is, why should I suspend the way I go about decision making or problem solving in all other facets of my life; why should I check these practices at the entrance to anything religious or theological? This doesn’t make sense…yet, it is exactly what is expected of us by many religious groups and organizations around the world. I cannot accept this…at least for me!
I have two points to add to this. First, if you try living differently in one area of your life and try to force that part into the other areas of your life, you will never achieve the greater unity you seek. You will be condemned to being something less than whole. But, this is what is often encouraged in trying to live the religious life. You take the dogma; you take the creeds; and you suspend your approach to living when you enter the religious part of your life. Then you are encouraged to carry this religious approach to life into everything else that you do. It just doesn’t work.
Many people complain that people are only religious for one hour a week…the time that they attend a worship service. The more I have thought about this the more I have come to the conclusion that people don’t extend the “religious” part of their life work…to their home…to the other parts of their life…because the approach to doing things in a “religious” way…just doesn’t work. And, human decision making and problem solving abilities have evolved for one simple, pragmatic reason…they work.
Let me note right away that this does not mean that one does not live an honorable, meaningful life outside the “religious” part of their life. We are still commanded to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves. The crucial thing in living well is that we keep on trying to discover the models of life that bring us into greater unity with God, etc., and that bring us into greater personal wholeness. But, that gets me into my second point.
My second point is that God wants us to be problem solvers in everything that we do. We, in a real sense, believe that God has given humans this gift…has given us the talent to solve problems and make decisions. God, we believe, has claimed that “this is good!” God, we believe, wants us to practice and develop this capability throughout our lives. It is through the use of this ability that we can grow into greater unity with God, within ourselves, with others, and with creation. Therefore, this talent is to be used in all our activities…including those pertaining to religion and theology.
Therefore, I cannot accept any institution or person telling me that I have to live or believe a certain way. They can suggest certain ways of living or believing for my consideration. But, I have to be free to decide for myself…and that is the only way that I can be me.
This last post follows the line of several other posts that I have written for this blog site. The foundation for all my thinking is that human beings are problem solvers. This is the most unique of all the characteristics of human beings and the degree of improvement and the level of sophistication these humans have attained in this skill has separated them from all other life that we know of. I wrote of this in my post “Problem Solving: The Most Human of Activities,” which appeared on February 22, 2008.
The basic goal of problem solving…or in other words, decision making…is to observe the regularities of creation and create models, schema, rules, and so forth to use as a means of prediction when an individual is faced with a situation or a difficulty that requires some form of action. The use of these models is very pragmatic…they must be logically consistent and they must predict at least as well as any other model that can be useful in such a situation or difficulty. I discussed these issues in my post of October 31, 2008 entitled “Models that Work.”
The thing is that we must develop a “trust” in our models. Since we work in a world of incomplete information ALL of our models are going to be partial or fallible. Humans do not have models that predict the future perfectly…that is why “trust” is so important. The question, of course, becomes…what models, schema, rules, and so forth do I “trust”? The basic concept here is that through use, education, example, and so forth, we develop what is called a “warranted belief” in those models, schema, rules, and so forth. Warranted, here is used to mean that the individual has sufficient evidence or proof that the model, etc., is logically consistent and predicts at least as well as any other model that can be applied to the given situation or difficulty. Warranted, in this case, means that a person has, for him- or her-self, sufficient justification to put their “trust” in the model being applied to the situation or difficulty. With new information we improve, modify, or introduce new, logically consistent models that predict better than the old ones. This concept was expanded on in my post of March 14, 2008 entitled “Warranted Belief.”
An important thing to remember, however, is that we do not do all this work alone…we live in the world…we have families…we belong to groups…we are part of communities…and so forth. We are not meant to be alone…to do it all alone…or to be separated…or alienated…or isolated. We learn in communities; communities give us a chance to practice problem solving and decision making; communities allow us to make mistakes and look foolish; and communities help us to grow and develop. They provide us with a (relatively) safe place for us to experiment and try out things without facing the temptations, threats, and disappointments of the “outside” world.
But, groups and communities can present problems. Groups or communities can attempt to impose their ideas on individuals. Groups or communities can try and control individuals. Groups and communities can limit thinking, learning, experimenting, growth, and becoming whole. Groups can be very destructive to becoming who one is.
Thus, the groups and communities we belong to are important. Understanding this and learning and growing are important in how we decide on the groups and communities we join or remain with. This was why I discussed this concern in “The Communities We Belong To” in my post of March 7, 2008. This choice can be a difficult part of life and sometimes the choice separates us from some individuals that are very close and dear to us. Yet, for us to become who we are as fully as possible and to grow into greater unity with God and ourselves and other people and creation, sometimes we must make the difficult choice.
For this reason I say that I can’t approach my religion any differently than I approach other decision or problems in my life. That is, why should I suspend the way I go about decision making or problem solving in all other facets of my life; why should I check these practices at the entrance to anything religious or theological? This doesn’t make sense…yet, it is exactly what is expected of us by many religious groups and organizations around the world. I cannot accept this…at least for me!
I have two points to add to this. First, if you try living differently in one area of your life and try to force that part into the other areas of your life, you will never achieve the greater unity you seek. You will be condemned to being something less than whole. But, this is what is often encouraged in trying to live the religious life. You take the dogma; you take the creeds; and you suspend your approach to living when you enter the religious part of your life. Then you are encouraged to carry this religious approach to life into everything else that you do. It just doesn’t work.
Many people complain that people are only religious for one hour a week…the time that they attend a worship service. The more I have thought about this the more I have come to the conclusion that people don’t extend the “religious” part of their life work…to their home…to the other parts of their life…because the approach to doing things in a “religious” way…just doesn’t work. And, human decision making and problem solving abilities have evolved for one simple, pragmatic reason…they work.
Let me note right away that this does not mean that one does not live an honorable, meaningful life outside the “religious” part of their life. We are still commanded to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves. The crucial thing in living well is that we keep on trying to discover the models of life that bring us into greater unity with God, etc., and that bring us into greater personal wholeness. But, that gets me into my second point.
My second point is that God wants us to be problem solvers in everything that we do. We, in a real sense, believe that God has given humans this gift…has given us the talent to solve problems and make decisions. God, we believe, has claimed that “this is good!” God, we believe, wants us to practice and develop this capability throughout our lives. It is through the use of this ability that we can grow into greater unity with God, within ourselves, with others, and with creation. Therefore, this talent is to be used in all our activities…including those pertaining to religion and theology.
Therefore, I cannot accept any institution or person telling me that I have to live or believe a certain way. They can suggest certain ways of living or believing for my consideration. But, I have to be free to decide for myself…and that is the only way that I can be me.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Determining Who One Is
How does a person determine who he or she is? How does a person gain that self-confidence that they are comfortable in their own skin? When is a person at peace with themselves?
These are some of the most difficult questions a person ever faces.
These questions go back to the fundamental characteristic of human beings…the ability of human beings to solve problems or to make decisions. But, what is the basis for the use of this capability to provide answers for the above questions?
The basis is what has been called the greatest commandments which Jesus limited to just two. The first was to love God with all you heart, and soul, and mind, and strength. The second was like the first…you should love your neighbor as yourself. Many people have pointed out the fact that one cannot really love your neighbor if you do not love yourself. So, to me, the way to answer the questions posed in the first paragraph is to love God and by loving God coming to love yourself so that you can love others, including all creation, as yourself.
So, the charge becomes knowing God and knowing ones self sufficiently so that you can move into greater unity with God and within yourself. This is how one comes to love ones self. This is how one comes to know who he or she is…it is how a person becomes comfortable in their own skin…it how a person achieves peace within themselves.
Still, the process is one of problem solving or decision making. It is the same as everything else we do…we just turn the focus on other objects. The problems we have to deal with in this instance are concerned with how we solve those problems and how we make the decisions that bring us into greater unity…with God…and within ourselves.
And, what is so extraordinary about this? We are to learn and grow and mature in our lives so that we can make better decisions or solve more difficult problems. We are to take responsible for ourselves and our mental state.
This sounds easy…but as we know it is very, very difficult. We live in a world of incomplete information…including a lot of things we don’t know about ourselves. We have to live with uncertainty and change. We have to learn to live with the fact that our worldviews, our models and schema, our rules of life…are partial and fallible. We can be wrong. And, we don’t like that.
One response to this situation is to crave certainty…to crave rules and creeds and dogma that promise “the truth”. We crave a solution to our disunity…our alienation…our lack of wholeness. And, many of us are willing to give up our minds and lives to rulers who will control our lives so that we, maybe…just maybe…may control the things and people around us.
In the end, however, this is not satisfying…it is giving up yourself to others.
We must live in this world of incomplete information…in this world of uncertainty…and accept the fact that our models and worldviews are partial and fallible. Yet, in a very pragmatic way, we stay with models and worldviews that work…that help us make better decisions and solve more difficult problems.
The crucial thing is that we must desire this greater unity with God and with ourselves and this desire must be met with the effort to gain more and more information about God and about ourselves. We must enter into a lifelong search to strengthen our models and worldviews or to modify them or change them if we find new information that leads us into these changes. Like everything else we do, we must go forward building upon the foundations we have established and work to grow into greater unity…and wholeness…and peace.
We must listen to ourselves…we must be aware of disunities…we must be aware of our alienation…and we must question…and we must seek help…and we must be open to new information.
This effort must be intentional on our part…we must address our issues…we must have confidence that we can achieve what we are setting out to do. We must believe, with Goethe, that if we must commit….for when we commit for “the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves to.”
“All sorts of things occur to help one that would otherwise never have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manners of incidents and meetings and material assistance which no person would have believed would have come their way. Whatever you think you can do, begin it. Action has magic, grace and power in it.”
Seek peace within oneself…seek wholeness…seek self-confidence in one’s own skin. Use what you have been given…and be open to what is possible…to surprise…to wonder.
Be open to God…
These are some of the most difficult questions a person ever faces.
These questions go back to the fundamental characteristic of human beings…the ability of human beings to solve problems or to make decisions. But, what is the basis for the use of this capability to provide answers for the above questions?
The basis is what has been called the greatest commandments which Jesus limited to just two. The first was to love God with all you heart, and soul, and mind, and strength. The second was like the first…you should love your neighbor as yourself. Many people have pointed out the fact that one cannot really love your neighbor if you do not love yourself. So, to me, the way to answer the questions posed in the first paragraph is to love God and by loving God coming to love yourself so that you can love others, including all creation, as yourself.
So, the charge becomes knowing God and knowing ones self sufficiently so that you can move into greater unity with God and within yourself. This is how one comes to love ones self. This is how one comes to know who he or she is…it is how a person becomes comfortable in their own skin…it how a person achieves peace within themselves.
Still, the process is one of problem solving or decision making. It is the same as everything else we do…we just turn the focus on other objects. The problems we have to deal with in this instance are concerned with how we solve those problems and how we make the decisions that bring us into greater unity…with God…and within ourselves.
And, what is so extraordinary about this? We are to learn and grow and mature in our lives so that we can make better decisions or solve more difficult problems. We are to take responsible for ourselves and our mental state.
This sounds easy…but as we know it is very, very difficult. We live in a world of incomplete information…including a lot of things we don’t know about ourselves. We have to live with uncertainty and change. We have to learn to live with the fact that our worldviews, our models and schema, our rules of life…are partial and fallible. We can be wrong. And, we don’t like that.
One response to this situation is to crave certainty…to crave rules and creeds and dogma that promise “the truth”. We crave a solution to our disunity…our alienation…our lack of wholeness. And, many of us are willing to give up our minds and lives to rulers who will control our lives so that we, maybe…just maybe…may control the things and people around us.
In the end, however, this is not satisfying…it is giving up yourself to others.
We must live in this world of incomplete information…in this world of uncertainty…and accept the fact that our models and worldviews are partial and fallible. Yet, in a very pragmatic way, we stay with models and worldviews that work…that help us make better decisions and solve more difficult problems.
The crucial thing is that we must desire this greater unity with God and with ourselves and this desire must be met with the effort to gain more and more information about God and about ourselves. We must enter into a lifelong search to strengthen our models and worldviews or to modify them or change them if we find new information that leads us into these changes. Like everything else we do, we must go forward building upon the foundations we have established and work to grow into greater unity…and wholeness…and peace.
We must listen to ourselves…we must be aware of disunities…we must be aware of our alienation…and we must question…and we must seek help…and we must be open to new information.
This effort must be intentional on our part…we must address our issues…we must have confidence that we can achieve what we are setting out to do. We must believe, with Goethe, that if we must commit….for when we commit for “the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves to.”
“All sorts of things occur to help one that would otherwise never have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manners of incidents and meetings and material assistance which no person would have believed would have come their way. Whatever you think you can do, begin it. Action has magic, grace and power in it.”
Seek peace within oneself…seek wholeness…seek self-confidence in one’s own skin. Use what you have been given…and be open to what is possible…to surprise…to wonder.
Be open to God…
Friday, January 9, 2009
Speaking of Children
The psychologist Robert Coles was featured on Krista Tippett’s Speaking of Faith program this last Sunday, January 4, 2009. The topic was “The Inner Lives of Children”, http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/2009/robert-coles/. Coles discussed his work with children and especially his work that connected with the spiritual side of children. The thing that resonated with me was how his description of the way kids went about life as ‘problem solvers’, learners and strivers, just as are all adult humans.
Cole’s description of the process used by children to address issues is, of course, a description of how all human beings go about their daily lives. Human beings are problem solvers and in this specific talent, no other species alive even approaches the capability of the human animal in his or her ability to solve problems. (For more on the development of this ability within a religious context one can go to the book by J. Wentzel van Huyssteen, “Alone in the World?: Human Uniqueness in Science and Theology”, which is his Gifford Lectures at the University of Edinburgh, or, my work “Plausible Reasoning within a Religious Context”.)
The basic idea is that the ability to solve problems is the unique characteristic that human beings have and, given its contribution to the survival of the species, has been developed to a very advanced and sophisticated stage. Given the importance of this capability to the survival of the species it is not unexpected that younger humans possess this characteristic and practice it and perfect it throughout their childhood.
What is particularly enlightening about the work that Coles reports upon is how this human trait exhibits itself very early on in terms of how children generate questions about life, about value, about meaning, about relationships, and so on. His work just reinforces the idea that humans have possessed a curiosity about “spiritual” matters for as long as we, humans, can trace back this trait in what our ancestors have left us. That is, the early drawings left in the caves of France, as well as artifacts in other places, speak to the quest of human beings to understand more than just the physical world around them.
Human beings ask questions…and they seek and propose answers.
Where do these answers come from? Are they divinely inspired? Are they human concoctions? Are they just picked out of the air?
Many different people give us many different explanations as to where the answers come from. I have my preferences…but, that, to me, is not the crucial issue at this point.
What is important at this point is that people, being problem solvers, require that the solutions they get for specific questions work. That is, these solutions have practical value to humans…remember problem solving is a ‘survival’ characteristic. Thus, these solutions must contribute to life and to a ‘better’ life if they are to continue to serve as solutions to human beings.
Let me just throw in two words of caution at this time of a more skeptical nature. First, I would argue that all solutions are tentative…that is they are fallible…they may not work forever. In seeking answers all humans work in a world of incomplete information. That is, humans never have complete information in solving any problem or in making any decision. Yet, in life they have to make decisions…they must act…even with incomplete information. That is why humans continue to ask questions, seek more information, and continue to question the solutions they have been working with.
This last point leads to the second word of caution: specific solutions may work for a while, but as these solutions are tested through acting and living, and as new information becomes available, the specific solutions may be modified…or, they may be replaced. We can believe in a specific idea so strongly that we will die for that idea, but that does not mean that the specific solution will live on and continue to be used by others. Thus, solutions that provided certain people with a ‘better’ life at one time may not be solutions that provide them with a ‘better’ life at a later date when more or better information is available to them.
How does problem solving and living a ‘better’ life and spiritual issues fit together?
The answer to this question, I believe, is connected with what is meant by experiencing wholeness in life…by being “Alive”. I spent a little time on this in my post of January 5, 2009 entitled “Aliveness.” To me, the essence of ‘Aliveness’ is in living in unity with God, within self, with others, and with creation. To survive in life is important, but one must also experience a ‘better’ life in order to live as full a life as possible. And, I believe that living a ‘full’ life is a good thing and is something that human beings, as a species, crave. It is a basic drive.
In other words, creation is good…creation includes ourselves and others…and God is behind this creation in some way…so it would seem that it would be a good thing to work “with” this creation and “with” God than to work at odds with either creation or God. The solutions we use to solve problems or make decisions or take actions, therefore, need to conform as much as possible to the way things work…the way God is.
Our solutions result from incomplete information, however, so that the unities that we achieve are only partial and, in most cases, temporary. In our lives, we constantly must struggle to maintain or increase the unity we experience. In a sense it is the burden that we must continue to carry up the hill as Sisyphus is pictured doing in the Greek myth.
Human beings continue to struggle in life…they continue to solve problems in the best way they can…even those of a spiritual nature.
In the work of Robert Coles we see how this very human characteristic is manifested early on in life when we are children.
Human beings, I believe, are spiritual in nature. They continually ask questions of a spiritual nature and their lives and cultures are full of spiritual answers. As Paul Tillich informed us…humans build the spiritual into their lives and cultures…even as they vehemently deny it.
In this sense, we have been spiritual beings since our childhood. May we never lose that hunger
Cole’s description of the process used by children to address issues is, of course, a description of how all human beings go about their daily lives. Human beings are problem solvers and in this specific talent, no other species alive even approaches the capability of the human animal in his or her ability to solve problems. (For more on the development of this ability within a religious context one can go to the book by J. Wentzel van Huyssteen, “Alone in the World?: Human Uniqueness in Science and Theology”, which is his Gifford Lectures at the University of Edinburgh, or, my work “Plausible Reasoning within a Religious Context”.)
The basic idea is that the ability to solve problems is the unique characteristic that human beings have and, given its contribution to the survival of the species, has been developed to a very advanced and sophisticated stage. Given the importance of this capability to the survival of the species it is not unexpected that younger humans possess this characteristic and practice it and perfect it throughout their childhood.
What is particularly enlightening about the work that Coles reports upon is how this human trait exhibits itself very early on in terms of how children generate questions about life, about value, about meaning, about relationships, and so on. His work just reinforces the idea that humans have possessed a curiosity about “spiritual” matters for as long as we, humans, can trace back this trait in what our ancestors have left us. That is, the early drawings left in the caves of France, as well as artifacts in other places, speak to the quest of human beings to understand more than just the physical world around them.
Human beings ask questions…and they seek and propose answers.
Where do these answers come from? Are they divinely inspired? Are they human concoctions? Are they just picked out of the air?
Many different people give us many different explanations as to where the answers come from. I have my preferences…but, that, to me, is not the crucial issue at this point.
What is important at this point is that people, being problem solvers, require that the solutions they get for specific questions work. That is, these solutions have practical value to humans…remember problem solving is a ‘survival’ characteristic. Thus, these solutions must contribute to life and to a ‘better’ life if they are to continue to serve as solutions to human beings.
Let me just throw in two words of caution at this time of a more skeptical nature. First, I would argue that all solutions are tentative…that is they are fallible…they may not work forever. In seeking answers all humans work in a world of incomplete information. That is, humans never have complete information in solving any problem or in making any decision. Yet, in life they have to make decisions…they must act…even with incomplete information. That is why humans continue to ask questions, seek more information, and continue to question the solutions they have been working with.
This last point leads to the second word of caution: specific solutions may work for a while, but as these solutions are tested through acting and living, and as new information becomes available, the specific solutions may be modified…or, they may be replaced. We can believe in a specific idea so strongly that we will die for that idea, but that does not mean that the specific solution will live on and continue to be used by others. Thus, solutions that provided certain people with a ‘better’ life at one time may not be solutions that provide them with a ‘better’ life at a later date when more or better information is available to them.
How does problem solving and living a ‘better’ life and spiritual issues fit together?
The answer to this question, I believe, is connected with what is meant by experiencing wholeness in life…by being “Alive”. I spent a little time on this in my post of January 5, 2009 entitled “Aliveness.” To me, the essence of ‘Aliveness’ is in living in unity with God, within self, with others, and with creation. To survive in life is important, but one must also experience a ‘better’ life in order to live as full a life as possible. And, I believe that living a ‘full’ life is a good thing and is something that human beings, as a species, crave. It is a basic drive.
In other words, creation is good…creation includes ourselves and others…and God is behind this creation in some way…so it would seem that it would be a good thing to work “with” this creation and “with” God than to work at odds with either creation or God. The solutions we use to solve problems or make decisions or take actions, therefore, need to conform as much as possible to the way things work…the way God is.
Our solutions result from incomplete information, however, so that the unities that we achieve are only partial and, in most cases, temporary. In our lives, we constantly must struggle to maintain or increase the unity we experience. In a sense it is the burden that we must continue to carry up the hill as Sisyphus is pictured doing in the Greek myth.
Human beings continue to struggle in life…they continue to solve problems in the best way they can…even those of a spiritual nature.
In the work of Robert Coles we see how this very human characteristic is manifested early on in life when we are children.
Human beings, I believe, are spiritual in nature. They continually ask questions of a spiritual nature and their lives and cultures are full of spiritual answers. As Paul Tillich informed us…humans build the spiritual into their lives and cultures…even as they vehemently deny it.
In this sense, we have been spiritual beings since our childhood. May we never lose that hunger
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