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Where Reason Ends and Faith Begins

7/29/2014

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I was really impressed with this article in the NYT.  Professor Luhrmann argues each person has a belief continuum, from what we absolutely never will believe to what we always believe (or even take for granted!).  He then says we all have a "boggle threshold," where any thing beyond this point on the belief spectrum is out of mind's bounds of comprehension.  Interestingly, he makes an excellent point that the more we define what we don't believe, the more we are open to possibly closer, less extreme beliefs.

Here is his conclusion, and the entire article is worth a quick read:
Gods are invisible, the future is inscrutable, and much of life is bushwhacking over uneven terrain. In the face of your own uncertainty, being precise about what you don’t believe in can shore up your confidence in what you do.
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O Muse My Fuse - Spoken Word Poetry

4/6/2014

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Here is some spoken-word poetry I wrote after being inspired by a passage in Steven Pressfield's The War of Art, and excellent kick-in-the-butt manifesto for creatives.  He encourages artists to invoke a muse before beginning their creative endeavor.  Listen here:
The Greeks
full of aspiration 
had a source 
for inspiration
a course 
for perspiration

They called it the muses
and made no excuses
seeking a vocation
they made invocation

invoking the gods
provoking the odds
with a shout
they cried out:

O Muse
My Muse
Be my fuse.
Light my fire
My true desire
lest I tire
in the mire
of stuck and slow
and luck run low.

I have no clue 
yet just a few...
inklings
among my...
weaklings

O muse 
my fuse
give me some clues
lest I return to the booze

My muse
my fuse
MINE
to lose

Invest in me
lest I divest 
from thee

now’s not the time
to nickel and dime
or count
the mount
-ing cost

for I am lost

O muse
my fuse
give me some clues
'fore I put on my shoes

O muse
my fuse
MINE 
to lose

You pursue the meek --
Now rescue those you seek!

find me 
lost
in the mi(d)st
of the wilderness

find me 
lost
in the bliss 
of a kiss

find me 
lost
at all cost
find me

for with you
my muse
I cannot 
lose.
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Hikina-a-ka-la at Lydgate Beach Park

3/25/2014

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An article I wrote for a forthcoming driving-CD of the island of Kaua'i.  Visit www.kauaidrivetours.com for more information.
Picture
Approaching Wailua from the south, you will see Lydgate Beach Park on your right just before you cross over the Wailua River.  This place of sea and sand marks the sacred gateway into the heart of the island.  Called hauola or “dew of life,” this area around the river’s mouth was well renown as a place of healing and wholeness.  Here many ancient Tahitian voyages would embark and arrive, and many ali’i or chiefs resided.  Remnants of large volcanic boulders just off shore create a small, somewhat protected area for swimming and snorkeling.  The last king of Kaua‘i, King Kaumualii, used to swim here.

At the north end of Lydgate Beach Park next to the river’s mouth is a heiau erected in the 14th century.  The original structure, called Hikina-a-ka-la or “The Rising of the Sun,” rose like a mighty fortress, measuring 80 feet wide and nearly 400 feet long, with walls six feet high and over eight feet thick.  Each day at dawn, the sun’s first rays broke through the sea’s salt spray and warmed the stacked stones.  Kahuna or priests would greet the rising sun with chants and prayers.  They placed wooden statues or ki’i along the river wall to keep watch and sway with the shifting tides. 
Picture
Within the heiau walls was a pu’uhonua, a place of refuge for those fleeing a crime.  After a few days of performing sacred rights, a refugee would be released without being punished.  Various people sought refuge here during times of war.  

Today, all that remains are foundation stones amidst a grove of coconut trees.  Remember that this heiau is still a sacred place.  People often leave offerings wrapped in ti leaves.  May these offerings and this sacred place continue to offer healing for all. 
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HOLOHOLOKU HEIAU 

3/22/2014

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An article I wrote for a forthcoming driving tour on CD for Kaua'i.  Visit www.kauaidrivetours.com for more information.
Picture
Turning onto Kuamo‘o Road (Highway 580), you are now entering Wailua Nui Honoa, the Great Sacred Wailua river basin, one of the two most sacred sites in all of the Hawaiian Islands.  Less than a quarter mile on your left is a small turnout at the Holoholoku Heiau, the oldest place of worship on Kauai.  Here the Hawaiians honored the beginning and end of life. 

The low stone wall you see, measuring 24 by 40 feet, marks the original foundation of the heiau.  This heiau honored all of the Hawaiian gods, giving particular recognition to Ku.  Ku literally means “rising upright,” as in the rising sun over the ocean nearby, and often the Hawaiians worshipped Ku for good fortune and prosperity in their endeavors.  Archeologists believe animal or possibly human sacrifices were part of the worship here.
Picture
Just as life ends, so does it begin.  Walk a few meters beyond the heiau to a small cliff face and another sacred site called the Birthstone, where the last king of Kaua‘i, King Kaumualii, was born.  The flat sandstone in front of the small stone foundation marks the remains of a sacrificed dog, making the area kapu or forbidden to commoners.  
Picture
Inside the stone wall was a hut for the expectant mother.  When the time came, she leaned on the birthstone, Pohaku Hoohanau, to your left, and placed her feet on the umbilical stone, Pohaku Piko.  The umbilical cord, representing past connection, was wrapped in kapa leaves and wedged in the large crack in the cliff to protect it from rats.  A rat eating the cord meant the child would become a thief.  No matter one’s lineage, a future chief had to be born on this stone in order to be chief and absorb the sacred mana or energy of this place.  Here, place matters.

The modern staircase leads to a Japanese cemetery dating from the 1890s.  Return to your car to continue up Kuamo‘o Road, built on an ancient path called “The Way of the Kings.”  Many chiefs would travel along the Kuamo‘o or “Spine of the Lizard” on their annual pilgrimage, stopping at one of seven sacred sites, including Holoholoku, until they reached Mount Waialeale.
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Pastoral Care: Listening is a Skill

2/2/2014

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One of my top skills on LinkedIn is "Pastoral Care."  

I've always found pastoral care to be an enigma.  Compared to doctors, firefighters, psychologists and others who give care to people, a pastor's care feels somehow both superficial and substantive.  

I would venture to say that most spiritual things embody this conflicting traits: superficial yet substantive.

Pastoral care training is essentially about becoming a better listener.  

It takes an incredible amount of attention and a lot of humility.  

It is like meditating in someone else's head.

I thought about this after reading this story from the comments section of this post:
"I remember a mini-Paradigm Shift I experienced one Sunday morning on a subway in New York. People were sitting quietly -- some reading newspapers, some lost in thought, some resting with their eyes closed. It was a calm, peaceful scene. Then suddenly, a man and his children entered the subway car. The children were so loud and rambunctious that instantly the whole climate changed.

The man sat down next to me and closed his eyes, apparently oblivious to the situation. The children were yelling back and forth, throwing things, even grabbing people's papers. It was very disturbing. And yet, the man sitting next to me did nothing. It was difficult not to feel irritated. I could not believe that he could be so insensitive to let his children run wild like that and do nothing about it, taking no responsibility at all. It was easy to see that everyone else on the subway felt irritated, too.

So finally, with what I felt was unusual patience and restraint, I turned to him and said, "Sir, your children are really disturbing a lot of people. I wonder if you couldn't control them a little more?"

The man lifted his gaze as if to come to a consciousness of the situation for the first time and said softly, 'Oh, you're right. I guess I should do something about it. We just came from the hospital where their mother died about an hour ago. I don't know what to think, and I guess they don't know how to handle it either.'

Can you imagine what I felt at that moment? My paradigm shifted. Suddenly I saw things differently, I felt differently, I behaved differently. My irritation vanished. I didn't have to worry about controlling my attitude or my behavior; my heart was filled with the man's pain. Feelings of sympathy and compassion flowed freely. "Your wife just died? Oh, I'm so sorry. Can you tell me about it? What can I do to help?"

Everything changed in an instant."

When we listen with intention and care, we get out of ourselves and into another.

We enter a new world.

And our world is forever changed.

May you listen today with all of our mind, all of your heart, all of your soul, and all of your strength.
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A Game of Bones

1/6/2014

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I am about to finish book two of George R. R. Martin's epic fantasy A Song of Ice and Fire, known as A Game of Thrones on HBO, the name of the first book in what is to be a seven-book series . . . kind of like Harry Potter, but rated R, if not NC-17.

Each chapter in the books is written from the vantage point of a particular character.  The reader returns to these characters throughout the book, but do not be fooled into thinking any character, and I mean ANY character, is safe or central enough to the plot that s/he won't be killed off.  In fact, as I was told before even diving into the series, if you like a character, that character will probably die and perhaps in a quite horrific death.  Hence, I think I will now start referring to the series as "A Game of Bones."

In light of the fact there is no main character and any protagonist could and does die, the question must be asked, Why read this series?  There are a number of reasons, including:
  • an epic fantasy world that rivals if not surpasses Tolkien's Middle Earth in its scope and ancient lore (if not languages)
  • an adult version of Harry Potter with all of the sex, gore, greed and politics one would expect of adults (I'll also add the scene descriptions do not go on forever like Tolkien nor do the descriptions of food and merriment, like Brian Jacques' Redwall series.)
  • an interesting postmodern account where each person's limited perspective often only gives the reader pieces to put together of what is happening
  • magic plays a periphery part; the story is more about compelling characters caught up in world-changing events.  But don't be fooled: there is magic, to be sure.

All of these reasons coupled with good writing make for an entertaining treat.  Listening to it on audiobook with Roy Dotrice's world record-breaking voices makes it even better, especially with all of the driving and WOOFing I've been doing lately.  

That said, I'm compelled to continue and complete the series (once the final two books are finished) not simply to find out how it all ends, but because I think Martin is onto something grandeur than we readers - much less our characters - can foresee.  Looking at the titles of the books so far:
  1. A Game of Thrones
  2. A Clash of Kings
  3. A Storm of Swords
  4. A Feast for Crows
  5. A Dance of Dragons
  6. The Winds of Winter (planned)
  7. A Dream of Spring (planned; formerly A Time for Wolves)

Now I've only read through Book Two, but looking at these titles and considering the series' overall title, A Song of Ice and Fire, I think Martin is peeling back the layers one by one.  Without giving away too much, there seems to be icy threats from the north and fire-y threats from the south/west that come into larger and larger play as the course of events move on.  People are focused largely on a throne in the Seven Kingdoms, but the world is a much larger place than any of them realize.  Events are beyond their control.  They scheme, they fight, they create, they destroy, they live, they die.  They do what they will in a world that seems almost indifferent to them at times.  And ultimately their purpose in life plays a much smaller and different role than they had expected.  Catastrophic chance as well as cold calculation constantly collide, and some survive while others die.  Nothing is for certain, not even the change in seasons.  The story is ruthless, painful, threatens to undue all kinds of meaning or storytelling (at least in the traditional sense).  And yet it is captivating all the same, because, arguably, it is more "real" than most fiction in how it portrays the whims and wills of life with all of its meaning and mystery.  

More writers have been brought in to help finish the series. The added scenes in the television series flesh out the characters and add tantalizing revelations that our limited narrated view does not see or reveal in the books.  Martin wants to write other tales within the Song of Ice and Fire universe.  I'm impressed so far with his Magnum Opus.  The challenge will be to continue to care about characters whose fate and fortune are so very mortal at times, even as their lives soar on the winds of the majestic and the mundane.
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Community as Key to Believing 

1/2/2014

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It is the new year, and with it come all of the end-of-year summations, highlights and stories.  I was amused if not horrified to read that even less Republicans believe in evolution compared to four years ago, down to 43%.  

After reading the classics Robert Putnam's Bowling Alone and Sam Harris' The End of Faith, I wonder if people identify their religious beliefs not on scientific reasoning but community connections.  Our increased individualistic society is only made worse by internet companies that keep us in what Eli Pariser calls a Filter Bubble.  Yet finding common cause on the internet can create and support shared common values, of the religious or areligious type.

Community is key to believing.  We are influenced by those around us and the sites we visit.  Diversity is important not only to 'keep things interesting,' but also to ensure we do not become stagnant in our beliefs.  If we want to share our beliefs, be they secular or spiritual, it is better to do so through relationship rather than pure reason.
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Forts Into Fountains

9/10/2013

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Fort or Fount Drummondd?Fort Drummond... now Fount Drummond?
Near Niagara falls, there is a park where the Battle of Queenston Heights was fought.  It was the opening foray of the War of 1812, where American troops crossed the Niagara River and scaled these heights before becoming overwhelmed by the British and forced to surrender.

Fort Drummond, pictured above, was a circular earthworks wall built in 1814 by a British commander (of whom the Fort was named) and for two weeks was used by American Forces during the Battle of Chippewa.  The blue mushroom figure in the background is a fountain of some sort.

I found the whole scene hauntingly poetic... a deserted fort now a deserted fountain... the ghosts of soldiers huddled next to the walls where parents now watch their children play (when they're not on their iDevices!) ... the children, playing and splashing in the water as they dance on the graves of those who fought long ago.

Without getting into the politics of that war nearly 200 years ago, and as we follow the continued civil war in Syria, debating our own involvement, I pray for the day when all battlefields become beautiful like this one.

May swords be made into plowshares.  May forts be made into fountains.

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Practice Resurrection: Easter, Google and Chavez

3/31/2013

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Google, known for its many doodles to mark special, often random days, went with Cesar Chavez's birthday rather than something more Easter-themed.  Apparently, a lot of people were upset and would have rather seen bunnies and eggs, oh my!  Some even mixed Cesar with Hugo Chavez, the late Venezuelan president and controversial figure(!).  I thought this article got it right on, however:
Google’s odd choice should remind us that whatever one thinks of Chavez’s politics, they are impossible to understand apart from his belief in the resurrected Christ.
For Chavez, social reform was never merely external. Without peace of spirit and purity of heart, there was little point in pursuing justice. Collective bargaining, just wages, shorter workdays: for Chavez none of these made sense outside the fact of his risen Lord.
Beautifully said.  Whether Google meant to make the connection or not, I would rather see a man practice resurrection than see another marketing tool take over a holiday (holy day).  That phrase, practice resurrection, is now the name of a book by Eugene Peterson but comes from a wonderful poem by Wendell Berry.

Here it is in full:


MANIFESTO: THE MAD FARMER LIBERATION FRONT
by Wendell Berry
Love the quick profit, the annual raise, vacation with pay.
Want more of everything made.
Be afraid to know you neighbors and to die.
And you will have a window in your head.
Not even your future will be a mystery any more.
Your mind will be punched in a card and shut away in a little drawer.
When they want you to buy something they will call you.
When they want you to die for profit they will let you know.
So, friends, every day do something that won't compute.
Love the Lord. Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor.
Love someone who does not deserve it.
Denounce the government and embrace the flag.
Hope to live in that free republic for which it stands.
Give your approval to all you cannot understand.
Praise ignorance,
for what man has not encountered he has not destroyed.
Ask the questions that have no answers.
Invest in the millennium.
Plant sequoias.
Say that your main crop is the forest that you did not plant,
that you will not live to harvest.

Say that the leaves are harvested when they have rotted into the mold.
Call that profit. Prophesy such returns.
Put your faith in the two inches of humus that will build under the trees
every thousand years.
Listen to carrion--put your ear close,
and hear the faint chattering of the songs that are to come.
Expect the end of the world.
Laugh. Laughter is immeasurable.
Be joyful though you have considered all the facts.
So long as women do not go cheap for power,
please women more than men.
Ask yourself: Will this satisfy a woman satisfied to bear a child?
Will this disturb the sleep of a woman near to giving birth?
Go with your love to the fields.
Lie easy in the shade. Rest your head in her lap.
Swear allegiance to what is nighest your thoughts.
As soon as the generals and politicos can predict the motions
of your mind, lose it.
Leave it as a sign to mark the false trail, the way you didn't go.
Be like the fox who makes more tracks than necessary,
some in the wrong direction.
Practice resurrection.

Copyright Wendell Berry
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Energy Matters

3/25/2013

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Amidst the ongoing debate on the parameters and extent of the Second Amendment, there is some troubling news that the assault weapons banned (first passed in 1994 and allowed to expire in 2004) still does not have enough votes to make it to the floor of the Senate.  Furthermore, many gun makers are having trouble hiring enough people to manufacture the increase in demand for guns and ammunition.

It makes me think of a recent discussion I had with a friend about energy versus matter, flow versus stasis, wave versus particle.  The first is related in Einstein's famous equation:
Light, whose speed is the key factor in relating energy to matter in the equation above, can also be considered both as a wave and a particle.  So what first appears as a dichotomy is actually two states of similar source, or two sides of a coin, if you will.  

The question I have: which is more powerful?  Can energy/flow/waves ever stop matter/particle/bullets, a la Neo in The Matrix?


Granted, this was in a computer program and not in the "real life" sequence of the movie, but the guy does stop the sentinels somehow in "real life" at the end of Matrix:Reloaded!


Anyhow, I do wonder about the power of guns and how do we stop violence.  I would like to learn and train more in the nonviolent arts of Qigong andTai Chi, tapping into the energy source behind and in all matter we see and experience.  There's some pretty cool videos that show how powerful these guys can be!


Now isn't that cooler than bullets, if not the way out from violence?  Maybe we can't stop bullets physically once they're fired, but there's a lot of training we can do (and energy we can tap into!) before someone pulls the trigger.

May we beat swords into plowshares with our minds, hearts and hands.
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