ExploreTruth.com

Sit Down And Shut Up

I was watching this teaser for a documentary on America’s educational system. It’s begins with this quote:

Schools should be like factories, in which raw products, children, are
to be shaped and formed into finished products. . . manufactured like
nails, and the specifications for manufacturing will come from
government and industry. – Elwood Cubberly, Dean of Education at Stanford (1905)

The name of the documentary is “The 4th Purpose” and it discusses the intent and impact of American public schooling. It’s planned to be a 3 episode, 6 hour film.  The full 15 minute demo reel clip can be found here

From what I watched so far, it seems a bit overly sensational, but also interesting and provokative at the same time.  But while I was watching, a phrase jumped out of me:

Sit Down And Shut Up

It summed up, with a slogan, all that our educational system at its worst, systematically represents and is telling its “products” or students to do.  I haven’t gotten my hands on the full length documentary to evaluate the complete case they are making.  I can only speak to what many generally accept to be a system very far from perfection.  However, this film seems to go further and suggest a historic, and organized intention to keep the educational system in a perpetual inferior state.  Anyhooo…that’s another topic for another day.

Stumbling across this video got me thinking of the other systems that speak the same language.  Those in seats of power, whether they are perched in educational board rooms, high in ivory towers, white houses, or corporate banking meetings, seem at times to be saying the same thing.

Sit Down, And Shut Up.

I guess history tells us this is not new.

I imagine it’s what the the Africans heard for hundreds of years in the heat of Africa’s apartheid sun.

It may be what the Caribbean and North American Slaves heard, some now buried in unmarked graves beneath the same earth they once trod, bent over, and with hands to their masters sugar cane or cotton.

Later it is what an oppressed people heard upon finally awakening with the courage to rebel against the idea of racial inequality expressed in a Jim Crow, segregated existence.

And today it is even what we all may hear, every time we close our eyes to the inconvenient truths of today or outsource our thinking to a compromised news media, heavily influenced political system, or a half blind religious institution who has forgotten its prophetic role in a real and suffering world.

Maybe it’s what we are listening to, every time we succumb to societies pressure to be just a little more like everyone else, and in so doing forgetting our unique calling, or purpose.

Every time we acquiesce to the fears that keep us from being all that we were meant to be, we become silent participators in the grand conspiracy of mediocrity.   Aiders and abettors in the crime of a wasteful life.  A slap in the face to the ancestors who didn’t have the freedoms afforded us today, and yet we reach even higher, to the face and ears of a Creator, with the words of:

“Thank you for making me average….I appreciate it…sort of…”

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Convergence: Faith Meets Real Life

It’s funny the things you find, only upon searching for them.

Some folks call it the law of attraction, others call it the invisible hand of God, but I’ve definitely felt it upon being introduced to Donald Miller’s writing, and more recently in his involvement in a new project called Convergence.

Convergence is a new small group DVD series, hosted by Donald Miller, aimed at sparking conversation in your small group community. It’s definitely from a Christian perspective, but it seems to also challenge a lot of what some may feel institutional Christianity stands for and holds dear.

After watching the sampler dvd, and some of the first episodes, I see this speaking to the growing demographic of people frustrated with certain aspects of their institutional Christian experience, but who still desire a greater understanding of who, what, and how God is, and what being a Christian can look like in today’s context.

Convergence Promo – NEW from All Things Converge on Vimeo.

First Episodes:

• Frustration and False Gods (First episode here)

• Spiritual Practices: Meeting God in the Everyday( First episode here)

• Learning to share our stories(First episode here)

This is a great example of engaging in spiritual exploration in a more relaxed, and conversational context.  I mentioned this in my story as one of the reasons I began this blog, as way to begin thinking about ways to practice the exploration of the topic of God, outside some of the constraining aspects of what I was experiencing religiously. Not simply for my pleasure, but as a way to meet, what I saw, and many others see, as a real need among a lot of spiritual seekers today.

Looking at where that non threatening environment can take place, the conversational format, and the ability to openly, yet constructively explore ultimate topics such as ones spiritual journey, in honest, and relevant ways, is good stuff, in my opinion.

So this is more an endorsement for the Convergence format, and I’ll have to get back to you on what the convergence series is all about.  A few of my friends and family have begun using this as a spring board in some monthly small get-togethers we have.  So far so good.

We hope that our conversations will bring more honesty, an air that will allow different perspectives to be heard, and in the end transform us towards better acts of love in a world in need of it.  It’s an experiment so we’ll see how it goes.

If you are a Christian or inclined towards the organic message of what Jesus stood for, outside some aspects of your religious experience, and are in search of a way to start a small group discussion wherever is fitting for you to discuss a broad set of issues and concerns that sit at the cross section of your real life and faith, this may be something to check out.(I think that may have been a run on sentence) Hmmm…

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Want To Get Away?

I guess I always knew I wanted to do it.  Those days I was cooped up between the three cubicle walls, looking nervously at the clock, not sure of something.

I felt it again when I would break away from the AC’d environment, and inhale a mountain of the Florida sun washed air.  73 degrees, outside, and free.

Those lunch breaks always seemed to end too quickly.  But whatever they whispered to my soul during the fleeting 30 minutes of gulping down an overpriced sandwich, seemed to remain, locked in stomach’s cage like a restless hummingbird.

We’ve all felt it.  The desire to get away.  This is the stuff they write songs about…right?

Come away with me. Leaving on a midnight train to Georgia.  On the road again.

(If this bit of travel song trivia is your cup of tea, check out 30 songs that catch the spirit of travel.)

Many have felt this urge.  To catch the next train to wherever…Board the plane to a far away place.  Jump in your car and just hit the highway.  And sometimes the farthest journeys we end up taking happen inside of us.  From our mind to our hearts.

What is it that calls us away anyway?  What exactly is it that we want to run from?

There are many reasons people travel, but I think fundamentally there seems to be a “primordial” need to explore our world.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

-Mark Twain

What is interesting is how a physical trip metaphorically speaks to so many other things in our life.  Life itself is a journey of sorts, and we’re always tempted to take the easy road.  The paths with less risk.  Avoiding the choices that don’t take us too far away from home.  Keeping us near the safe and familiar.

I mean there’s nothing wrong with home, but lately, I’ve been flirting with the idea of traveling outside of the USA for an extended period of time.  And I can sense the tension inside.  The uncertainty, the slight apprehension with the unknown.

But there’s also the thrill of discovering new things, people and culture.  Experiencing what some consider true education.

There are also some very practical benefits associated with the type of travel I am considering.

• I’d like to reduce cost of living significantly, and live more simply

• Focus more on building sources of income that are location independent(i.e. online businesses, etc)

• Write more

• Save money, destroy debt(sounds more violent..I mean, somethings are meant to be killed)

• Experience new cultures & languages

• Spend time in more service projects

I wish I could say that I am independently wealthy, and could travel the world on a whim, but we’re working on that!  For now, I am using a bit of creativity to figure out how to make this happen, and educating myself on the options available(Like interviewing friends who are actually traveling the world: Interview w/Brandon James from newlifetravel.tv will be posted here on March 1st,2010)

One possibility, that can facilitate some of these goals, is to teach English abroad.  I have some friends who have taught or are teaching in Asia, and other parts of the world, and I have heard many great things.  Depending on where you teach, your cost of living can be comparably much lower, living facilities paid for, fairly competitive salaries, and the opportunity to experience a new culture, language, and geography.  And although I have visited places in the Caribbean, Canada, and cities across the U.S, there is so much of the world I have not seen, and desire to see.

Check out: Footprints or Teachaway for more info on teach abroad opportunities. Nomadic Matt has a pretty informative 5 part series on how to make money teaching overseas.  Link here

Being able to work overseas, in a program that affords you enough vacation time and flexibility to do some traveling in adjacent territories, while earning, saving, and building your business part-time, in order to do more sustained traveling, is really a tempting scenario.  I’m in the middle of exploring my options, and will post the developments here each step of the way.

Any thoughts, experiences, or advise on how to best get away?

Interesting travel related websites/blogs you may want to check out:

New Life Travel (Interview w/the founder of this blog, coming in a couple days.)

Art of Non-Conformity

Thrilling Heroics

Brave New Traveler

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Be Strange, Be Very Strange

Sometimes being strange is looked at as an undesired place to be. I grew up in many ways, trying my best to fit in, and be normal.  Now, the older I’ve gotten, it appears that all the progressive changes, and advances society often seems to make, are due to those who had the courage to be vastly different from the majority.

What Being Normal Gets Us

Debt

The majority of society believes in debt, and overextending yourself, and was met with the greatest financial debacle since the great depression.  I experienced this first hand!

Poor Health

The majority of society accepts a fast food way of eating, and we are plagued with rising obesity, and diseases we think are just coincidental to our times.  I am now trying to reverse a bunch of normal eating habits formed during my undergrad years in college, but healthier eating choices now.

An Underdeveloped Spiritual Life

Many of us grow up in a religious tradition, that teaches us many truths, but many mature into adulthood, never having really critically examined these beliefs for ourselves.  Part of what I hope exploretruth.com is doing for me, and those who stop by, is a way to rehash the truth from unneeded traditional or societal forms of living.  Both in our everyday lives, and in our spiritual and religious lives.

Dead End Jobs

Society has cooperatively agreed that working at a job you do not like is just what you have to do.  That the alternatives are slim, and not realistic.  I also hope to track my attempts at challenging this as well.

Using Education Only As A Way To Get A Decent Job

Society agrees that education is important, and I couldn’t agree more.  However, there seems to be an aversion to challenging the rising cost of a diploma, in a new environment of degree deflation.

Politically Apathetic

When election time comes, we are faced with two parties, and many are bound simply by the blue donkey or red elephant, and find it difficult to bind themselves to good, practical ideas, regardless of partisan politics.

We need to be able to think outside the majorities box.  It’s time to be strange.

Be strange about what you eat

Be strange about our finances

Be strange about our career

Be strange about our religious life

Be strange about our education

Be strange about our politics

Now this isn’t about being different for the sake of being different, or some argument for creative forms of exhibitionism.  You’re strange because all you want is the truth; they can keep the buffalo dung.  If you stand out, as you inevitably may, so be it.

It appears to me that the one thing that has compromised all the previously mentioned areas is greed.  Unbounded greed. Some call it the root of all evil.

Magnified when displayed through the construct of the corporation, but fundamentally pointing to an individual issue of the heart.  As one of my favorite bands, Switchfoot, sing in one of their songs, “we are the politicians”.

Ultimately, all that is wrong in our world seems to be tied to the politics of the heart.  The human condition.

You can use the religious vocabulary to describe this disease, Sin, but even in the secular sense, history is cluttered with examples of our fundamental flaw.  A flaw that scoffs at any notions of an earthly utopia or brave new world.

I do not think our “heaven” will exist here in its fullness, but it can begin here.  It can begin in our personal lives, and in the larger spiritual sense, it can begin in pockets, if we are willing to challenge ourselves, and the systems that push conformity and dead traditions to the detriment of truth.  It must begin with you and I being willing and finding the courage to be strange.

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We’re Losing Our Religion

Something is happening in America’s religious climate and many churches are feeling it. Whether they are acutely aware of it, or willing to undergo the fundamental changes needed to respond, is another matter.

I just read a study from the Pew Report on Religion and Public Life which points to a significant change happening among the younger generation of the western world. 

The study shows that young people are less likely to be connected to a church or organized religion, but they are just as likely to be as spiritually inclined as their parents and grandparents were at the same age.

Here are a few things the Pew Forum study revealed (For entire study, and article visit CNN, and Pew Forum):

• Study looks at religion of so-called millennial generation, those age 18-29
• One in four American millennials — which it defined as those who were born after 1980 and came of age around the millennium — are not affiliated with any faith tradition.
• Two in three millennials said that they believe in God
• They are slightly more supportive than their elders of government efforts to protect morality, as well as somewhat more comfortable with involvement in politics by churches and other houses of worship.

While growing numbers of people are unaffiliated, it’s not necessarily a sign that they’re committed secularists,” said Greg Smith, a senior researcher at the Pew Forum. “We’re seeing among young people that there are ways of practicing faith and being religious outside of belonging to a religious organization or attending services.”

This is something that I sort of sensed over the past few years, but wasn’t sure if it was actually happening.  A big reason I started this blog, was because of personal experiences w/the limits of religious life, and a gut feeling, that much of traditional Christianity seemed to be losing its relevance in the lives of some who genuinely were interested in God, but just didn’t want all that other stuff.

I noticed that some of my friends were spiritual, or had some interest or belief in God, but didn’t have the background in organized religion like I had.  This gap in familiarity, among other factors, often seemed to cause them to be wary of church life.  And in all honesty, I couldn’t totally fault them.

I think this study may also speak to those who are familiar with aspects of religion, but, again, just have an issue with the extra stuff…

“Church is difficult because young people today want to engage actively,” Hill said. “They just want to experience God.”

There needed, and still needs to be more non-threatening spaces where the spiritually curious can meet to discover, have conversations surrounding the quest for truth, and organize around socially conscious efforts, without becoming encumbered with the forms, rituals, and distractions that “doing church” can bring.

A lot of people are past worrying about dress, having to learn Christianese, or being judged for some perceived fault or abnormality, and simply want to know if God is real.

Even for me, who grew up with a strong Christian religious tradition and now decided to critically re-examine everything for myself, I can sense the temptation to just succumb to the comfort and familiarity of what a traditional church setting can become, and ignore my responsibility to be socially relevant.

What’s interesting, is to see the ways this emerging group of seekers are finding to connect with God and each other, in new and creative ways.

I’m not anti religion.  I think life is too complex to make this an either or debate.  I’ve benefited immensely by my upbringing in a Christian home, and have my parents and community to thank for that.  There’s good and bad in just about every institution man has put its hands on.  However, I do think there is an opportunity for traditional churches, who are courageous enough, to explore where they can abandon inferior traditions and refocus on the simple core truths that began the movement, but if not, well, it seems to be happening with or without them.

I hope to explore some of these alternative groups, and share the unique spiritual experiences of this emerging demographic of more spiritual than religious folk.

Why do you think 18-30 year olds are less religious?  Are you more religious or spiritual?

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Why Don’t You Rebel? Part 2

A couple days ago, I mentioned a few reasons why I thought we don’t rebel:

• Fear

• Tradition

• Apathy(Comfort or disinterest)

• Ignorance and a distracted aversion to self-education

• Distractions

Seth Godin sort of sums it up, and calls it the lizard brain.

He says, that you have two brains. One that wants certain things, carefully thinks about ideas, rationalizes, and generally tries to make good decisions.  Then you have the lizard brain, which is more concerned about your survival.

This is the part of you that loves the status quo, and whenever you desire to change for the better, or wish to change some aspect of your world, this is the voice that says play it safe.  You punk out. I’ve punked out.

“the lizard hates change and achievement and risk.” – Seth Godin

You’ve heard the voice, when you’ve wanted to change poor habits of health, some injustice in the world, some religious tradition you’ve never really critically examined, or that job you’re barely tolerating.

It’s the voice that whispers to you that people will think you’re strange, and may even laugh at you if you dare try to go against what everyone else is doing.  And the thing is, we actually admire people that manage to go against the grain.  Funny how that works….

The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation – Henry David Thoreau

So How Do We Learn To Rebel?

I think one of the best ways to rebel against all systems of authority that potential serve to your detriment, is to commit to a few things:

Identify what it is you are really afraid of, and consider the worst case scenario’s.

Godin mentions that what you fear, is often indicative of where and what you should be focusing on.  This has seemed to work for me.  I was nervous about quitting my job a little over a year ago.  I went back and forth as to what to do, and what it would mean for me.  I realized that I wasn’t satisfied where I was, and that I needed to change somethings.

Leaving the comfort of a full time income, to pursue writing, online publishing, and an entrepreneurial model of living, meant that I had to sacrifice certain things.  I gave my deed back on the 1st home I’d ever “owned”, lived of some savings for awhile, had a few ramen noodle meals, while I found a part-time job that was more fulfilling and allowed me to focus on the things I was passionate about, and aligned w/my purpose.  This is just how I did it.  It may be different for you.

This also applies to much of why I even write on this site.  Attempting to stay focused on wrestling with life’s meaning, and the unquestioned assuptions regarding my religious and spiritual life, has often pissed of the lizard voice.  But I keep trying, knowing that the worst case scenerio pales in comparison to floating through life, unaware, and unconscious.

Thinking critically for yourself.

The life long decision to explore truth for yourself is a revolutionary decision. You are saying to the world, I will not simply accept your assumption that reality needs to look like this. You aren’t rejecting, or quickly passing judgment on all systems of control. We’d be here all day if we took a knee jerk reaction to all institutions or systems of authority. You are, however, fighting, and rebelling against, any system, or the effects of that system, that seeks to stifle the freedom, and healing found, when one looks at the truth of their life, and desires a better way.

Re-examining assumptions, and unexamined beliefs.

Yes, this is hard work, but its worth it. And it takes courage. Think about it. Do you know what you’re eating and what it really is doing to your body? You say you believe in God, Can you articulate why, and share with me the reality of Him/Her being real to you, in tangible ways?

Simplifying your life

I recently watched a video from Rob Bell’s Nooma videos. It spoke about the the many good things that come across our path, that keep us from doing those few things we are called to do in our lives.  In order to pursue that one thing, or few things you are destined to do, you will need to learn how to say no to many “good” things.  You will need to learn the art of living a disciplined, focused life, in order to pursue the “few things” God has for you.

“Purity of heart is to will one thing.” – Soren Kierkegaard

I’m still figuring out ways to rebel against the things that threaten personal, heath, spiritual, and financial growth.  I hope that my highs and lows shared here, will help a few people along their rebellious journey as well.  What are somethings, or systems of conformity that you have rebelled against?

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Why Don’t You Rebel?

It’s defined as a refusal of obedience or order. Wikipedia goes on to say that a rebellion can encompass anything from non-violent resistance, to violent, or organized attempts at overthrowing some established authority.

History is full of examples of rebels who were responsible for this sort of rabble rousing.  It shows the various philosophies they lived, and how they transformed the status quo with new ways of thinking.

I’m sure you’ve heard of some of these historic “trouble makers”.  You may have heard Martin Luther King, Jr., who demonstrated that resistance was best served when done non-violently.  He was a part of many rebels who took part in this effort during the 1950’s and 1960’s.  This rebellion resulted in the dream being our reality today(although some may argue, not fully realized, but much closer).

Gandhi, who Martin King learned many of his tactics, was also someone who organized the people of India around a philosophy of civil disobedience, or Satyagraha – resistance to tyranny through non violence.  This non-violent movement was responsible for the British Empire reluctantly giving India their independence.

Now there’s a handful of systems that really affect the way we think and act in today’s world.  There are also certain things that make it hard sometimes to critically look at how these systems are affecting us, and make it hard for us to change things.

The Big “Systems” of Authority

Government, Religion, Work, Education, and Ourselves

I mean, there’s more I’m sure, but we’ll stop here for now.

We know government needs reform. The people who make the laws, sometimes seem to be the same people with all the money.  Not a good combination. And election after election, we are faced with what can seem like picking the better of two evils.  Soon after election, we wait with bated breath, hoping for the change promised, only to realize that whether good or ill is intended by our elected official, there is s complex web of bureaucracy and special interest that are clogging up the wheels of the democratic process.

A lot of folks I know aren’t satisfied with their religious life. It seems to promise a ton, but doesn’t actually deliver.  Many can’t quite articulate what exactly is wrong, but deep inside, they know something is missing.  Few alternative’s are visible, so we hobble along, dig our heels in, re-affirm optimistic slogans, and wish for the best.

All that is fine and good, but how has that been working for you?  Hope is different than a superficial optimism.  Hope is grounded in reality .  It recognizes and squarely faces the ugliness of the truth first, and then with that climate of honesty, looks forward on ways to creatively better the situation.

The J.O.B is sort of cool, tolerable at best for most, on a good day you think positive thoughts, but still dream about the weekend. You followed, or are following the script.  Go to school, do well, and go out there and snag a good job, marry, try to pay of those huge student loans, and the other mountain of debt you’ve begun to accumulate, have some babies, and live a life for a bit, and then…well it all works out right?

But are you happy with that? Far be it from me to ruffle the feathers of any bird who is completely ok with these aspects of their lives.  But for those who imagine more, read on.

Why don’t we do something about it? Why don’t we rebel?

It’s like the story about the dog that kept sitting down on a nail and howling? It hurt, and was uncomfortable, but for some reason, he didn’t actually get up, get out, and do something.

I think the hardest system to rebel from, is often our own selves. The habit of living in the half-truths becomes more bearable than facing the truth about certain things in our life.  We want to be better, and do better, but often times it seems like there’s something else inside of us, that keeps doing us in.  Before we can move forward, we have to get past lying to ourselves.

Why don’t you rebel against that job that doesn’t satisfy you?

Why don’t you rebel against those expecting you to remain ignorant to whats going on around you?

Why don’t you rebel against a half dead, or status quo religious life, that neither seems to change you, or even touch the systems of evil around it?

Why don’t you rebel against the façade of everything being ok, when you know good and well you want change…?

Why don’t you rebel?

I Find It Hard To Say – Lauryn Hill

Some Reasons We Don’t Rebel:

• Fear

• Tradition

• Apathy(Comfort or disinterest)

• Ignorance and a distracted aversion to self-education

I’ll dig into these some more in a day or two.  What else do you think holds you back from rebelling, and how has your experience helped you?  Anything you agree with or disagree with?

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Your Photoshopped Life

So I was watching this video a couple nights ago on theooze.tv

Peter Rollins was discussing coming to grips with the truth about ourselves.  He uses the digital representations we use online(facebook/twitter,etc) to illustrate his point. Which is, that sometimes its easier to live through a “public profile”, which is “the idealized representation of ourselves.”  The type of person we want the world to see.  Smiling, surrounded by friends, leaned up against a car, that isn’t theirs.  You know..stuff like that. :->

Behind that image there is a “private self”, that is probably closer to the truth.

Peter Rollins basically states that the point is about bringing that story we tell ourselves, and others about ourselves, into line with what’s really going on…What we really do.  The truth being in who we really are. So in essence, it doesn’t really matter what you say you believe in, or who, but what does that doctrine look like in reality.

Being a Christian, or a Buddhist, for example, has to mean more than what your facebook profile says. Maybe your bullet point ordered list of doctrinal creeds can be just that, an idealized representation of yourself, but what and who are you really?  Check out the short interview, in Peter’s own words.  Very interesting stuff: (primarily from 2:30 min – 6:10 min)

A few days before seeing this video, I happened across another video from and interview with best selling author William P. Young, who wrote The Shack.  He was discussing how he came to write the book, and touched on the core of what it was all about. 

The Shack, he said, was a metaphor. It’s the place where the real you resides.  All the stuff you don’t let anyone else see.  The true you.  The part you disguise, and deodorize when among other people.  The thin veil worn at church, concealing the secrets, that prevents you from truly dealing with the hurt, and the pain of past events.

But it’s the very place where your healing awaits.

I know I’m listing off a bunch of authors here, but certain messages are connecting all at once.  Rob Bell, author of Drops Like Rain, a book about understanding pain and suffering, makes mention, that maybe the gut of God’s message to mankind, represented while hanging on the cross, was:

I know what you are going through. I understand.  Hanging, in the funk and despair of humanity.

After hearing that, live, at one his book tour presentations a few months ago, that image, has stuck with me.  The image of a God who is in the very mess of life.  I can’t say I’ve fully experienced this image,  but it’s a powerful one.

And probably the only image that I can swallow when I try to make sense of events such as the recent earthquake in Haiti.  Or the “Haiti’s” that have been occurring since our history books can record.  The natural and unnatural disasters that explode and implode, within and around our lives.

But unlike Haiti, we, as individuals, can ignore our own screams for help. We can mask the funk of our pain, guilt, secret mistakes, contradictions, trauma, and dark places.  The places we seek to forget.  But they do not go away.  They sit, festering, like rotting meat, in that “shack” that William P. Young talks about here:

How do you feel about sharing the real you with the world?  Is there even such a thing as the real you?  Pros and cons?

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7 Things That May Be Blocking You From The Truth

In the past I have referred to truth in the lower case sense, and in the upper case sense.

‘truth’ having to do with what is factual, while Truth generally referring to what is real on a deeper and ultimate level.  In or pursuit of either form, there are things that threaten our ability to move along our journey to a greater understanding of what is real.  Obviously I wasn’t born with the qualifications to tell you what these are, and I imagine that they can differ for everyone, however, there are somethings that have affected my pursuit towards either end.  In some shape or form, these impediments have promoted apathy, where critical thinking was required, and blind obedience, where a deeper wrestling with deep assumptions was preferred.

As I work through what these things are for me, and what I continue to do about them, I am also curious about what challenges you face.

7 Things That Can Plague A Continued Pursuit of Truth

Apathy

From the Apology of Plato comes the famous saying, “the unexamined life is not worth living”…or is not human.  But to examine takes a degree of commitment and courage.  For we are faced with an overwhelming and momentous current of ideas that tell us otherwise.  These forces encourage living simply in the moment, and adopting an unquestioning, uncritical orientation.  A place that leaves the human vulnerable to lies, half-truths, and just plain mediocre living.

Fear

For me, this has gone hand in hand with apathy.  I’ve had to ask myself, what is at the root of my lack of motivation or interest in areas of my life, that I’ve identified as being of paramount value to me.  It appears that fear keeps us from branching out beyond our current position.  I think implicit in the decision to seek out the truth, we threaten our current position of comfort and familiarity.

Education

There is what formal and traditional education should ideally be, and what it is, in many ways, turning out to become today.  What was meant for good, has become a compromised institution.  In its most basic sense our educational system is the means by which society transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills and values from one generation to another.  Today we have a failing primary and secondary educational system, and a growing economic barrier into higher education around the USA.  If we cannot more fully and confidently depend on established educational systems, we need to rediscover a love for self-education.

Traditional Media

Where academia may fail us, we turn to journalist and media, entrusting them with the critical task of pursuing the truth, translating the world around us and helping us keep and rediscover lost components of our democratic process.  The last decade has revealed serious issues with this institution dedicated to truth, and one must consider what this means to being a free, and aware citizen in America.

Entertainment

At times, entertainment has been the scape goat for moral and political agendas, and the validity varies across the board.  However, as it pertains to you continuing to be a fully aware, engaged citizen in this world, our entertainment consumption, or over-consumption, has truly warranted a closer look.

I’m all for a free society to choose whatever content they want to consume, and however they choose to use their time, but a distracted society will be a vulnerable one.  When its become easier not to think, who can share the blame when the thinking powerful use this to their advantage.  When fear is used to stifle the questioning mind, we all share in the after effect.  When our political and economic system is shrouded in mystery and bureaucracy, self-medicating our cynical brains with a pure diet of reality tv, doesn’t lead to a cure.  It only leads to a quieter death.

Over complication

If you’re anything like me, you are faced with information throughout your life, that just seem overcomplicated.  You turn on the news attempting to understand what is going on in  your world, politically, economically, and environmentally.  And still at times, it seems that you come away with more questions than answers.  It almost begs the question, how vested are the powers that be, in you fully understanding what is going on?

The role of the press, in recent times, seems to have compromised this even more.  It is a journalist job, ideally, to (omit) take that middlebrow place in translating some of these highbrow concepts in such a way that actually helps us in fully grasping our world, and arriving at educated conclusions.  Since 9-11, it has become grossly clear to many, that conflicting pressures of financial gain threaten the news business form purely seeking the truth.  So where does that leave us?

Religion

Now this one comes with a mixed bag, which isn’t unlike most things in life.  In our efforts, to not only pursue the visible realities around us, it is also important to continue to grow and solidify where we stand in the areas of Truth with a capital T.  The ultimate, and often less tangible realities.  This claims to be the realm of philosophy and religion.  In a nation, whose citizens claim to be 80% Christian, religion in particular holds an increasingly vital role in helping us make sense of the deeper aspects of Truth in our lives.

As of late, I’ve really tried to see the benefits and not just the downsides to many of our major institutions.  The temptation for me has been to, with a greater understanding for what is going on, to become impatient, and overly cynical of anything large and influential.  Religion can often be attacked in this way.  But it seems to me, that what you have is a very complex institution that both aides people in the spiritual journey, but can also be the very thing that stands in the way.  This paradox can lead people to blindly attack the whole thing, throwing the baby out with the bath water.

Here I only aim to comment on the aspect of religion that subtly and overtly suggest that you, the individual, cannot aggressively seek the truth for yourself.  Sometimes the architecture, or atmosphere of a system can foster an over-dependence on the “spiritual expert”.  Isn’t it easier, to just accept what you have been taught as a child?  Isn’t it more convenient to just go with what the pastor, priest, teacher, or guru is telling you?  My beef goes beyond the doctrine being taught, and also includes any environment that, ever so gently, is comfortable with a complacent and docile constituency.

And unfortunately, sometimes the religious experience is just that.  It’s up to you, to choose, and its hard work, to continuously seek, “with your whole heart” what is right, and true for you. Having the integrity and courage to continue down that path, despite who it may displease, threaten, or concern.

If truth is worth its salt, it can stand the test of inquiry, questioning, and a God-given critical mind!

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10 Books That May Change Your Life

Here’s a list of 10 Books that have shaped my thinking. This list, by no means, is my top 10, nor is it necessarily listed in order of importance(Except for the 1st one).  The only real danger here is in placing yourself between the white and black pages of ideas that force one to confront the deeper things in life.  Somethings we will agree with, some we will not.  But we will be exploring, thinking, and maybe leave the better for it. And for some that is a very dangerous.

Please add to this list, so that others, including myself can benefit from the books that have radically changed your life, or simply had a significant impact on the way you think, view, or understand life.

Bible

Quite arguably the most read, treasured, controversial, and even misunderstood book of all times is the Bible.  It’s significance embraces both the Jewish and Christian Faith.  It has been the cause of much debate, but has also motivated martyrs to breathe their last breath in defense of what its teachings had done inside their lives, and motivated others to be the persecutors of those same martyrs. It appears to me, that any book with as much impact on humanity as the Bible has had, must be read from cover to cover.  Something I’m still working on.

Mere Christianity

When I read this book for the first time, I had a ton of questions(And would you know, I still have that problem).  This book is an apology of the Christian faith, and aims to break down the essential attributes of the Christian faith in such a way that both sides of the believing aisle can benefit.  Upon graduating from college, I began to mature in my desire to seriously examine life more closely.  Considering that I was raised in a Christian home, I began to carefully examine many assumptions I had regarding the Christian faith, God, and the meaning of life in general.  Mere Christianity, written by C.S. Lewis, was a foundational, exhaustive, look at the core of Christianity.  And what I appreciated, is how it took a very reasoned, non denominational approach in communicating the topic a very complex topic.  Lewis takes you inside a journey of contemplating the core of how Christianity explains human existence, and how one could arrive at such conclusions.  Whether you are an atheist, agnostic, or a devout believer in something larger than yourself, this book is worth reading.

Blue Like Jazz

If you follow me on Twitter, or Facebook, or even here, you have heard me mention Donald Miller book Blue Like Jazz, or one of the few books Mr. Miller has released over the last decade.  I remember stumbling into this book at the book store, and after reading the back excerpt, thinking to myself, that it was placed on that shelf for me to read, at that time, on that day.  Well, you get the point.  The tag, “non-religious thoughts on Christian Spirituality,” immediately grabbed my attention.  As someone who had serious questions about aspects of my Christian religious experience, it was refreshing to know, that there were people who were continuing to explore, inquire, and who felt it necessary to separate the religious constraints of their reality, from their desire to encounter a real experience with a God who was real.

A Peoples History of United States

Ok, this is a history book, and most people I know, don’t go around leisurely reading a history book, not unless there’s a grade attached to it.  And I can’t say I’m significantly different.  However, upon, first listening to an audio version of some of the chapters of this book, I decided it was worth a read.  The author, Howard Zinn, American historian and Political scientist, attempts to give you a peek into American history through the eyes of the often marginalized voices in times past.  The people who you rarely hear from if the recording of past stories and events have usually been told by those in power.  It is not without its share of criticism.  Some feel that his approach of telling the stories of marginalized groups in America is a pessimistic approach.  I figure someone’s pessimism is another mans truth.  Check it out for yourself.

Pagan Christianity

If you have never asked or sought to understand where all of your religious rituals, artifacts come from, this may be a book you may have to digest with a bottle of aspirin.  There will be moments, where you will put it down, and murmur unintelligibly to yourself.  Pagan Christianity, written by Frank Viola, and George Barna(of The Barna Group), aim to inspire you to explore the roots of your church practices.  In the end they purport that their goal isn’t to distort the message of Jesus, but to call into question, the assumptions that many Christians may have, as to the origins of their religious and church practices.  It’s full of footnotes, so you can verify the historical claims of pagan tampering they make revealed in many of  todays traditional church practices, structure, and down to the physical architecture and preacher robes.

The Four Hour Work Week

“Completely unplug and reset”, that’s what Tim Ferriss, the author of The 4- Hour Workweek states you will have to do if you plan on working a four hour work week, escaping the 9-5, living anywhere and changing your financial situation for the better.  The book is divided into 4 sections.  Definition, Elimination, Automation, and Liberation.  Definition deals with becoming very clear as to the type of life you want.  What do you want to do from the minute you wake up, to the moment you go to bed each day, and to consider how much that would cost.    You then arrive at the elimination state, here is where you ruthlessly eliminate anything that stands in the way of you living that life.  And whatever time consuming things are left, you can then explore automation.  He covers the systems one can use to automate, or delegate whats left.  And finally liberation.  Here is where you need to decide, now that you’ve freed up much of your time, and have the mobility to travel, etc, what do you plan on doing with this time?  Tim Ferris recently released an updated edition of this book, and I would recommend checking it out.

The Orthodox Heretic: And Other Impossible Tales

The stories that this emergent thought leader weaves throughout this small book, pack a force that will make your head spin, but not without first arresting your heart and ultimately challenging your soul.  Peter Rollins, the Irish philosopher and post modernist theologian, displays why the parable has the power to both emotionally and intellectually challenge in ways that preserve the listeners dignity, but contain the ability to challenge and transform in ways that many other forms of writing do not.   Rollins frank, and bold critique of Christianity is accompanied with a clear desire to distinguish any negative observations of Christianity from the message of Jesus Christ.

Vagabonding

Rolf Potts, clearly set out to debunk many of the myths people have about traveling the world.  But his book goes further than just superficially discuss the subject of traveling.  He also aims, and does so very well in my opinion, to define the philosophy of “Vagabonding“, which he describes as “taking time off from your normal life — from six weeks, to four months, to two years — to discover and experience the world on your own terms.“  Potts is clear in making the case that vagabonding is not a trend, but more an uncommon way of looking at life.  He goes on to explain that it’s “about using the prosperity and possibility of the information age to increase your personal options instead of your personal possessions. Vagabonding is about looking for adventure in normal life, and normal life within adventure. Vagabonding is an attitude — a friendly interest in people, places, and things that makes a person an explorer in the truest, most vivid sense of the word.“  To me, this healthy appetite of finding out for yourself what the world is all about, and has to offer, personifies the spirit of what one’s quest for the truth can be as well.

Strength To Love

In a world where the halls of history are lined with the memories of war, poverty, and injustice, one has to decide how to respond to the almost hopelessness of mankind’s predicament.  Is it possible for Billions of people to continually learn from the mistake of others, and choose not to perpetuate the evils that our fathers and mothers partook in.  According to Martin Luther King Jr.’s wife, Coretta Scott King, this is the book that best explains the central element of Kings philosophy of nonviolence.  “His belief in a divine, loving presence that binds all life.  This belief was the force behind his quest to eliminate social evil…by reaching into and beyond ourselves and tapping the transcendent moral ethic of love, truth, and the courage to do what is right.“  This book has had a huge impact on me.

Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crises, and a Revolution of Hope

The world is messed up, and Brian McLaren, author of Everything Must Change, offers some clear cut solutions to how this must begin to be addressed.  In essence he shows that mankind in many ways is suicidal, and as a result we now have a crisis in prosperity, equity, security and spirituality.  He then asks a dangerous question.  “What would happen if we applied the message of Jesus—the good news of the kingdom of God—to the world’s greatest problems?“  For the Abrahamic faiths, and particularly Christians, this is more and more and unavoidable question.

Despite my claim of danger, and my acknowledged open-mindedness, most of these books still resonated with things I was fairly comfortable with at the time of reading them.  I hope to share a few more books in an upcoming post, that push and challenge me even further.  I’ll also look at some fiction books as well.

So I’m curious…What are some books that have seriously had an effect on your life? List 10 books if possible, and as people add titles, feel free to share the list with people you know.  I know I’m always on the lookout for new books that have had challenged my beliefs, assumptions, and that have had a major impact on someone’s life.  With the amount of books begging to be read, its nice to cut through some of the clutter, and hear what’s really done “it” for others.

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