A friend lent me this book not too long ago and after reading it I would like to call attention to some details I find awfully misguided. Please keep an open mind and remember that all of this is my opinion and I in no way claim to teach doctrine. I pray that God guide me in my research and meditation and will help me share them with others.
Chapter 1: The Bible
I like much of the stuff Paul says giving us some idea of the bible through history, but I think he might have over simplified some things. He says that the original Bible has been protected and kept perfect since its conception (p. 15.) Which one is the original? Probably take out the Apocrypha, and what of the debate on books in the New Testament? Then once we’ve figured out which ‘original’ Mr. Little is referring to, we all need to learn Greek so we can read the original original, because as we know, much is lost (intentionally or not) in translation. He goes on to tell us that the New Testament as we know it today was set in 367 AD by Athanasius’ 39th Paschal Letter. So this New Testament that took 100 years to write (P.12) wasn’t considered canon for another 150-200 years? Why’s that? What else was out there? Who’s this Athanasius?
On interpreting the Bible (p. 18) he says many good things, namely, “Statements lifted out of their context can become entirely distorted, even delving into unbiblical doctrines.” His example is absurd, but the statement is true. Much of what Little says here can be and should be summed up by saying open your heart to God and he will interpret it for you. To me, this is key. The bible was written so long ago and so much is misunderstood that we need to step back from the words and just be open to something beyond them.
Chapter 2: God
I disagree greatly with some things Little says here on God. I am not alone in my beliefs, but I am certainly in the minority. One of my greatest problems is that Little says God has a moral code (p. 27) and that God is a person (p. 29.) He of course uses the timeless “God made us in his image.” So what you’re telling me is that God looked in the mirror and made a figure that looked like him. I have some major issues here. One, does no one else find this to be an extremely arrogant claim to superiority? I cannot fathom God being a person, even an all powerful super person. God is above everything. If we put him in human form and give him a moral code and such, we have put him into this nice box that makes us feel more comfortable with ‘God.’ But is this really God? I don’t think so and you may disagree, but for me God cannot be a person because he is beyond such limits.
Little also tries to explain God’s love and says that Jesus is the ultimate expression of his love (p.32.) It would seem to me that Jesus taught God’s ultimate expression of love and that is everlasting forgiveness. God has unconditional love and that is key to any ministry. To say that Jesus is the only way to God we put a condition on the love God has. Why must we do this? I believe as humans we have been shaped into believing nothing is simply free. Everything has its consequence, price, effect. But what if God isn’t like that. What if in fact God loves us no matter what and even turning away from him is forgiven in the end. This is unconditional love and this is what I think God is all about.
Chapter 3: Jesus Christ
My personal spiritual journey is at odds with the man Jesus Christ mainly because he is the condition applied, at least in Christian doctrine, to God’s unconditional love. He is the payment; the substitute; the sacrifice necessary for the forgiveness of sins. I feel like Jesus was a miracle that awakened many to God’s unconditional love, but somewhere the importance of believing in him became more important than believing in love itself. As Little says on page 42, “Jesus Christ was God fully.” But why do Christians ask you to accept Jesus? Why can’t we just ask for belief in God? Interestingly Little says, “He was named ‘Jesus’ the Greek form of Joshua, meaning ‘God Saves,’” (p.42.) So really shouldn’t we ask that all you believe is that God saves?
Little stresses the necessity of Jesus repeatedly. Jesus changed the world greatly and no doubt the doctrines of the New Testament have shaped everything in the world. I have no problem accepting that God came down and offered new guidelines to live by even setting them himself through Jesus, but why would he slap the requirement of believing in his earthly equivalent as savoir to the admission ticket for heaven? Didn’t the resurrection show that Jesus is the savoir, you ask. Jesus said believe in me, or, as his name translates, ‘God saves’ and you too will be resurrected to eternal life. Maybe your saying yes, but you must still believe Jesus is the savoir and I ask why? Little says Jesus is the mediator for us before God (p. 53.) I feel strongly that judgment is a human idea, and God is above judging why then do we need such a mediator?
Chapter 4: Jesus Christ’s Death
Much of my comments in chapter 3’s discussion can be applied here. However, Little says something that catches me: “The animal sacrifices did not save, but faith in what they symbolized did,” (p.59.) So then Jesus’ sacrifice does not save us, but belief that God saves does… I like the sound of that. What I don’t like the sound of is, “It could be said Jesus appeased God’s wrath against evil,” (p. 60.) No! We give God these human attributes, but I can’t accept them. God to me is above anger, jealousy, and hatred. He must be! We don’t deserve to be saved but we are. If payment were required and even if God paid the bill himself, our salvation couldn’t be as amazing. The fact that God invites us to join him in heaven because he loves each and every one of us is the most amazing thing anyone could ever teach us and Jesus did that. If you need the resurrection as ‘payment’ fine, but I don’t think it is or ever was necessary as anything other than an eye-opener.
Chapter 5: Man and Sin
This chapter starts with the idea of God creating Adam in God’s own image. I have spoken on this already, but I would like to quote what Little quotes here, “John Stott sums it up: “Our chief clam to nobility as human beings is that we were made in the image of God,’” (p.70.) I agree with little that Stott sums it up, but our ‘its’ are different. To me Stott proclaims the great egotistical trip that the literal take on man in God’s image gives people. If I go to heaven and God is sitting on a lounge chair sipping some heavenly delight and says to me, “You tried so hard to de-humanize me, why?” I will have to bow my head and say, “Because I thought you were better than that.” I just can’t see it. Furthermore, Little says that man is set apart from other creatures in three ways: self-consciousness, capacity for intelligent reasoning, and moral and spiritual sense. The first two I would say a dog has. I think a dog is pretty aware of itself, and it certainly has capacity for intelligent reasoning. I will concede that my dog has never shown a moral or spiritual sense, but then how would I know if he did? Point is, I think Little is plain wrong on the first two accounts.
On page 78 a little chuckle escaped as I read, “All people are not equally bad, and God knows this very well.” I don’t think there are levels of badness. This seems like a human idea and really requires a subjective stance. God is, at least I believe, objective to all that happens on earth only intervening when he feels the need to send a message.
Chapter 6: The Holy Spirit
Little admits at the beginning of this chapter that the Holy Spirit is the least understood of the Trinity. I honestly haven’t delved into much research on the Holy Spirit. From where I am now, I would say that the Holy Spirit is God in everything. It is what makes the sun rise in the morning, what makes the water flow, what keeps me going on to tomorrow. Little tries again to humanize a part of God by saying that the Holy Spirit has a mind, feelings, and a will (p. 84.) Later he even says the Holy Spirit is a person (p. 94.) I think this is wrong and that all parts of God are beyond this. We speak in terms of their feelings, but it is only because we cannot understand them or express them any other way.
In a fleeting moment Little mentions “unforgivable blasphemy” (p. 85) and this comes straight from the Bible. It is surprising to me that such a statement could come from the Bible, but alas it is there. I can defend my belief in God’s truly unconditional love by saying that the hands that wrote the bible were human and were influenced as such. To some humans, sinning against the Holy Spirit might have been an unforgivable blasphemy, but not to God. For God nothing is unforgivable.
Chapter 7: Salvation
I feel that I have sufficiently explained my beliefs on salvation, but Little continues some commentary that I must question. He says, “For a person to receive Christ as his or her Savoir in faith is in itself evidence he or she has sinned and needs a Savoir,” (p. 99.) The realization that God forgives everything through love is the realization I find in Jesus. Jesus did not teach me that I needed a savior, but just the opposite, that God saves, period. The need for a savoir seems a human invention. I am reminded of Neale Donald Walsch’s comment, “It is religion that has created agnostics.” It is the belief that we need to be saved that creates a need for a savior. I think Jesus teaches we don’t need a savoir because we are all already saved! By what, you ask? That’s the amazing part: we don’t need anything because God is that amazing.
On page 100 comes the blow to a searching soul like myself, “One could not possibly be a Christian without believing the revealed facts about Jesus’ identity.” So I don’t agree with some of the ‘revealed facts’ does that mean I am not a Christian? I believe that God saves, and I believe that love is the key to life in this place and the next, but am I not a Christian? If I am not then so be it, God saves.
The conversation that begins on 103 about individuals selected for Salvation is not a topic I want to delve into because I think it’s ludicrous. One cannot believe God saves if one believes God saves the selected, it just doesn’t follow.
Chapter 8: Angels, Satan, and Demons
This chapter is a bit over the top in my book. The discussion of angel’s physicality, the number of angels, the attributes and hierarchy is all just a bit much. Little did justice to the angels by saying, “The Greek term translated angel literally means ‘messengers.’” The discussion of ‘evil spiritual beings’ also seems a bit off to me. Little says that the Bible proves the devils existence (p. 119) and that existence is not just mere temptation, but actually a physical fallen angel that is the opponent to God. Personally, I think the idea of Satan should be limited to temptation. To say that Satan is an actual being creates a part of existence that God has not forgiven and I don’t believe that exists.
Chapter 9: The Church
I was raised in the Catholic Church and was turned off by much ‘church doctrine.’ I have left the Catholic Church and call myself a non-denominationalist. Since leaving the church I have come to realize that organized religion does not work unless believers never ask questions. The minute people ask questions doctrine is in question and either the church silences the outcry or the church must change its mind about something, neither of which looks good to outside observers.
Little says by AD 60 there were already gatherings in Jesus’ name (p.123.) Where this date comes from Little doesn’t say but I don’t doubt that little ‘churches’ were forming by then. I agree completely with Little when he talks about church being the gathering not the gathering place. This is an important thing to understand and one the Catholic church didn’t send me away with. Another great thing Little stresses is that the little ‘churches’ were considered a sect in Judaism (p. 126.) While we all know Jesus was a Jew, somewhere it gets lost why this matters. Christianity was born within the Jewish tradition not apart from it. This is something that should be taught and is not. Little then takes the time to explain some pillars of organized religion (p. 132.) I think this is also a great section to get a grip on exactly what one is up against with regards to tradition. All in all, I would say chapter 9 is the best part of the book. While, I don’t like organized religion I think it is important to understand it.
Chapter 10: Things to Come
The second coming is a hot topic in every century since Jesus Christ. Little acknowledges that many of the writers of the New Testament expected the second coming to be within their lifetime (p. 140.) This idea that the New Testament writers were apocalyptists is relatively new to me, but the defense is there in the bible. I won’t take the time here to delve into it, but I encourage you to research it.
I would like to say that chapter 10 was as good as chapter 9, but Little makes the claim that when we are resurrected our body is too (p.143) While this isn’t a bad thing, I’ve never heard of it before, and quite frankly think it would be a little silly. Also he makes the claim that, “God is judging men and nations continually,” (p. 146.) I have to disagree. Why would God judge? Again, I have to think he is above such a primitive idea of judging.
If you have followed me this far, I say to you, “WOW and thank you.” Little says that as Christians we should show a ‘charitable sprit’ towards those who have differing opinions than ourselves (p. 105.) I think it is important as a Christian to be constantly seeking God in everything we do and allowing him to be part of everything we do. You probably disagree with something I’ve said above and I ask you to share your opinions with me as it is an important part of growing in faith.
I feel the need to say here that Paul Little’s book is not wrong (who am I to say that anyway,) but I feel his teachings are at least off from what I believe. My writing this is not to disclaim the book, but rather open pieces of it that I can’t accept. This is an act of meditating and in doing so I find flaws in my own logic or deeper meaning in them. We must take the step of reflecting on sermons, books, articles, conversations, est., or we don’t really get the personal effect that is waiting under the surface.
Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts and I will most certainly take the time to read yours.
-James Parks
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
Vanilla Sky
I just watched the movie Vanilla Sky, and thoroughly enjoyed it. There was one bit that I felt fit perfectly with our idea of personal autonomy.
It comes from the character Sofia. She says, "Every passing minute is another chance to turn it all around." This cannot be a truer fact and yet a skipped part of life. All to often we say, "I'll start dieting tomorrow. I'll do that work later. I'll write a thank you card when I get to it." Everything is put off, but why? We don't realize that we can do everything right now. We have the power, the time, the ability to do anything we want, and this is the moment to do it.
I know you say that you don't have the time, don't have the money or effort, but truly you do. The only thing stopping you is you! Decide (again) to relieve yourself of anything stopping you. Do you know what's stopping you? Generally its a combination of stress, guilt, anger, false goals, and lack of confidence among various other things. These are so difficult to abandon, but you can. For me, I can abandon them when I think of God. He does not put stress on me, he requires no guilt, he forgives my anger and self-loathing, He even goes so far as to offer me an unbelievable gift of unconditional love. It is this gift that truly sets me free.
I realize that I must associate personal freedom with my spiritual journey. For me it is God's gift of unconditional love that I have realized through meditation and conversation, that allows me to be anything and anyone I want. I can truly love who I am, because God, an infinite and omnipotent being, loves me. What more reassurance could I ask for? There is no other way God would want me, no profile to fit, no task to accomplish, my purpose is my own and he is happy with it.
For many, this may not be true. I know many Christians who have a profile they seek, a mission to accomplish, a purpose of someone else's choosing. These people are not wrong. They can be just as happy as I. They are loved by God just the same as I am. The difference is that they carry weight from all the things they have decided God puts on them. This is their idea and they are welcome to it, but does it make sense?
I ask you this, is God human? I hope we all agree that he is not. Some might say, "But He made us in His image," I say this came from a human hand, first spoken, then written and re-written and translated over and over, different each time. The statement gives us power, and a special feeling inside, but it doesn't mean all that. God loves everything equally. So if God is not human we can not say that he does human things, for we limit him by putting a human image and human ideas on him. He is above all of that. (This does not mean he is not part of all that, merely that He, and even using a gender is limiting, but He is above everything.)
So realize that God will not reject you or judge you, simply because these are human ideas. Ideas he is above. He is above judgment. This is the message that Christianity should preach. Be above everything and just love. Simply love. Love yourself and others. The golden rule is found in nearly every religion on earth, and yet none of us follow it.
So today, as Sofia tell us in Vanilla Sky, every moment is a chance to turn it all around. So do it. Go out and love.
It comes from the character Sofia. She says, "Every passing minute is another chance to turn it all around." This cannot be a truer fact and yet a skipped part of life. All to often we say, "I'll start dieting tomorrow. I'll do that work later. I'll write a thank you card when I get to it." Everything is put off, but why? We don't realize that we can do everything right now. We have the power, the time, the ability to do anything we want, and this is the moment to do it.
I know you say that you don't have the time, don't have the money or effort, but truly you do. The only thing stopping you is you! Decide (again) to relieve yourself of anything stopping you. Do you know what's stopping you? Generally its a combination of stress, guilt, anger, false goals, and lack of confidence among various other things. These are so difficult to abandon, but you can. For me, I can abandon them when I think of God. He does not put stress on me, he requires no guilt, he forgives my anger and self-loathing, He even goes so far as to offer me an unbelievable gift of unconditional love. It is this gift that truly sets me free.
I realize that I must associate personal freedom with my spiritual journey. For me it is God's gift of unconditional love that I have realized through meditation and conversation, that allows me to be anything and anyone I want. I can truly love who I am, because God, an infinite and omnipotent being, loves me. What more reassurance could I ask for? There is no other way God would want me, no profile to fit, no task to accomplish, my purpose is my own and he is happy with it.
For many, this may not be true. I know many Christians who have a profile they seek, a mission to accomplish, a purpose of someone else's choosing. These people are not wrong. They can be just as happy as I. They are loved by God just the same as I am. The difference is that they carry weight from all the things they have decided God puts on them. This is their idea and they are welcome to it, but does it make sense?
I ask you this, is God human? I hope we all agree that he is not. Some might say, "But He made us in His image," I say this came from a human hand, first spoken, then written and re-written and translated over and over, different each time. The statement gives us power, and a special feeling inside, but it doesn't mean all that. God loves everything equally. So if God is not human we can not say that he does human things, for we limit him by putting a human image and human ideas on him. He is above all of that. (This does not mean he is not part of all that, merely that He, and even using a gender is limiting, but He is above everything.)
So realize that God will not reject you or judge you, simply because these are human ideas. Ideas he is above. He is above judgment. This is the message that Christianity should preach. Be above everything and just love. Simply love. Love yourself and others. The golden rule is found in nearly every religion on earth, and yet none of us follow it.
So today, as Sofia tell us in Vanilla Sky, every moment is a chance to turn it all around. So do it. Go out and love.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Becoming Yourself: Part 3
Believe it or not this is the final step. We have already stripped ourselves down and sifted through what we define ourselves as, and we have taken a step back to observe what aspects of our lifestyles we actually didn't control and decided to accept or reject them. Of course these are on going practices and I encourage you to repeat the exercises as often as you like, but these two steps towards an autonomous self have been re-construction.Today, we move to creation.
Everyone has dream, but the difference between everyone and you is you are ready to make your dreams reality. Once you are in control of your life you are in control of your reality. Different people have given this phenomena different names: "The Secret," "God," "Fairy God Mother," "Positive Thinking." It really doesn't matter what its called, the point is this: this is not a new idea. Often we separate our control of reality and attribute it to someone or something else, IE God. This is a practice I subscribe to, and many on earth do, but it is not necessary (in my opinion.)
Let us begin.
Creating reality is the most powerful aspect of the human form we know. It can be an amazing gift, but to often we don't believe we have it. I tell you now, you have it.
There are numerous ways to begin the process: keeping a journal, praying, meditating, visualization boards, blogging. All of these things keep your reality in the forefront of your mind. You write or say or see the things that you want and your mind begins to make these things take form. It is not as if they will appear immediately or that you can just sit and wait for them, but as long as you are open and focused, whatever you create will appear.
Believe it or not, that is all.
The Three steps to an autonomous self are:
Know Thyself
Control Thyself
Control Thy Reality
You have been given all the tools to do such. You have always had the tools, but today you are awakened or reminded of them. I invite you to embrace the world now as yourself, and create a world of greatness.
Join me in the days that follow while I open dialogues about various parts of the world. Bring your wisdom to the table and share with me the ever evolving life we both share.
Everyone has dream, but the difference between everyone and you is you are ready to make your dreams reality. Once you are in control of your life you are in control of your reality. Different people have given this phenomena different names: "The Secret," "God," "Fairy God Mother," "Positive Thinking." It really doesn't matter what its called, the point is this: this is not a new idea. Often we separate our control of reality and attribute it to someone or something else, IE God. This is a practice I subscribe to, and many on earth do, but it is not necessary (in my opinion.)
Let us begin.
Creating reality is the most powerful aspect of the human form we know. It can be an amazing gift, but to often we don't believe we have it. I tell you now, you have it.
There are numerous ways to begin the process: keeping a journal, praying, meditating, visualization boards, blogging. All of these things keep your reality in the forefront of your mind. You write or say or see the things that you want and your mind begins to make these things take form. It is not as if they will appear immediately or that you can just sit and wait for them, but as long as you are open and focused, whatever you create will appear.
Believe it or not, that is all.
The Three steps to an autonomous self are:
Know Thyself
Control Thyself
Control Thy Reality
You have been given all the tools to do such. You have always had the tools, but today you are awakened or reminded of them. I invite you to embrace the world now as yourself, and create a world of greatness.
Join me in the days that follow while I open dialogues about various parts of the world. Bring your wisdom to the table and share with me the ever evolving life we both share.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Becoming Yourself: Part 2
Today we look at our current lifestyle. It is all to often that we find ourselves falling into a practice or lifestyle that has been handed to us by our parents, teachers, superiors, or any other person we trust, however these practices are not truly ours unless we take the extra step of choosing to make them ours.
This may be a little uncomfortable for some people, but I promise that it is an important part of becoming who you are.
Let us begin.
Think about your lifestyle. There are so many aspects of it and I can't ask you to think of them all right now, but try to stand outside yourself and observe. What do you do? How do you do it? What influences you? Why? Often times here you will find yourself extremely familiar with what you observe, as you should since you are observing a person you are most familiar with. Now let me guide you to a few aspects that are easiest to demonstrate autonomy through.
First, lets look at one's moral code. For some people this will be a religious system, for others, simply an idea of right and wrong. Where did this come from? Have you studied your moral code and understand it truly? Or is it a moral code that you learned from your parents, religious leaders, or teachers? While none of these people are intending to guide you astray, if you have not scrutinized your moral code and understand it, it is not yours, but someone else's.
We often accept someone else's ideas because it is easy, but when we are searching for ourselves it becomes counteractive to be adapting other peoples thoughts. Ideas must be your own and can be once you realize they are not. It may seem strange, but when you see that something is in fact not of your own mind, you are forced to either make it your own, or reject it.
Let's move on to a different experience of autonomy. How do you experience learning? When you read something in a book do you believe it? When a teacher tells you a 'fact' do you accept it as such? While you read this blog do you accept what I say without a second thought? The answer to the last one is probably no, but the first two might have a fuzzier place in your mind. Education is in a state of crisis currently and it is because we don't teach children to think for themselves, in fact we teach them not to!
Schools teach facts, dates, names, but not so much reasons, full stories, ugly realities. And if kids ask about something that shows a little independent thought, they are hushed. I wrote a paper in 8th Grade about Hitler. It was a fictional diary written from the prespective of a good friend of his. The diary did not say what Hitler did was good, but it didn't say he was bad, and indeed it defended much of what he did. My teacher was horrified and asked me to re-write it, but I said no. The paper was not a glorification of Hitler, but a different side of the story, the idea that Hitler was in fact a human, who did do good things, as well as terrible things.
This was autonomous thought. I did not accept that he was a monster, because he wasn't. He wasn't a saint, but neither were the American's who didn't step in until things were unavoidable, neither were the Catholics that signed treaties with him. But where does it speak of this in an 8th grade text book? You won't find it.
Now ask yourself, do I do my own research and meditation on things I hear, or do I simply accept them as fact? Have I searched for the truth or merely taken what others have told me. I tell you this, truth has become little more than someone's side of the story. In order to think for yourself you must dig for truth, push past the layers that have been put on top of it and keep your mind open. You will have to fight and often lose, but if autonomy is what you seek, you will not stop.
As we end Part 2 I will ask you to meditate on at least the two above mentioned aspects of your lifestyle. They are extremely important in shaping you as an individual, but I also encourage you to look into other parts of yourself and apply the same ideas to them.
And before we go let's repeat the motto:
I am __________
I am everything I wish to be.
I love myself. I am proud of myself.
Today I am free of all others and myself
Today I am free to be me.
This may be a little uncomfortable for some people, but I promise that it is an important part of becoming who you are.
Let us begin.
Think about your lifestyle. There are so many aspects of it and I can't ask you to think of them all right now, but try to stand outside yourself and observe. What do you do? How do you do it? What influences you? Why? Often times here you will find yourself extremely familiar with what you observe, as you should since you are observing a person you are most familiar with. Now let me guide you to a few aspects that are easiest to demonstrate autonomy through.
First, lets look at one's moral code. For some people this will be a religious system, for others, simply an idea of right and wrong. Where did this come from? Have you studied your moral code and understand it truly? Or is it a moral code that you learned from your parents, religious leaders, or teachers? While none of these people are intending to guide you astray, if you have not scrutinized your moral code and understand it, it is not yours, but someone else's.
We often accept someone else's ideas because it is easy, but when we are searching for ourselves it becomes counteractive to be adapting other peoples thoughts. Ideas must be your own and can be once you realize they are not. It may seem strange, but when you see that something is in fact not of your own mind, you are forced to either make it your own, or reject it.
Let's move on to a different experience of autonomy. How do you experience learning? When you read something in a book do you believe it? When a teacher tells you a 'fact' do you accept it as such? While you read this blog do you accept what I say without a second thought? The answer to the last one is probably no, but the first two might have a fuzzier place in your mind. Education is in a state of crisis currently and it is because we don't teach children to think for themselves, in fact we teach them not to!
Schools teach facts, dates, names, but not so much reasons, full stories, ugly realities. And if kids ask about something that shows a little independent thought, they are hushed. I wrote a paper in 8th Grade about Hitler. It was a fictional diary written from the prespective of a good friend of his. The diary did not say what Hitler did was good, but it didn't say he was bad, and indeed it defended much of what he did. My teacher was horrified and asked me to re-write it, but I said no. The paper was not a glorification of Hitler, but a different side of the story, the idea that Hitler was in fact a human, who did do good things, as well as terrible things.
This was autonomous thought. I did not accept that he was a monster, because he wasn't. He wasn't a saint, but neither were the American's who didn't step in until things were unavoidable, neither were the Catholics that signed treaties with him. But where does it speak of this in an 8th grade text book? You won't find it.
Now ask yourself, do I do my own research and meditation on things I hear, or do I simply accept them as fact? Have I searched for the truth or merely taken what others have told me. I tell you this, truth has become little more than someone's side of the story. In order to think for yourself you must dig for truth, push past the layers that have been put on top of it and keep your mind open. You will have to fight and often lose, but if autonomy is what you seek, you will not stop.
As we end Part 2 I will ask you to meditate on at least the two above mentioned aspects of your lifestyle. They are extremely important in shaping you as an individual, but I also encourage you to look into other parts of yourself and apply the same ideas to them.
And before we go let's repeat the motto:
I am __________
I am everything I wish to be.
I love myself. I am proud of myself.
Today I am free of all others and myself
Today I am free to be me.
Becoming Yourself: Part 1
Today we begin the journey. The journey will go on for the rest of your life, and indeed you have always been on this journey, but today you embark on it consciously. Today begins the realization that you define who you are and what reality is. These things will change everyday, but if you are aware then you are in control.
Let us begin.
In order to achieve autonomy we must know who we are to ourselves. This is really the only being that matters. By knowing and loving who we are, others will see this self love and in turn love and respect us. However, all too often people hide who they are for many reasons, and this hidden self also comes through and people cannot truly love us, but accept the facade we present them. There is nothing contagious or admirable about a hidden self, it is in fact destructive. Today begin to be constructive of ourselves and therefore to and for other people.
Take a little sheet of paper or open any type of word document.
Now write your name or whatever you want to be called. Then begin to define yourself. You can use single words, phrases, sentences, whatever is needed and try to be exhaustive in your list. Mine is as follows:
James Parks
Male; young; adventurous; student; middle class; enjoys reading, philosophy, theology, music, theatre, conversation, movies, meditation, walking, exploring; spiritual student; chubby; loving; friendly; funny; leader; liberal; open-minded; tired; happy; oldest child; Caucasian; independent; musician; teacher; fun; American.
The list of course can go on, and throughout the day I invite you to return and add to your list as things do come to you.
This list is usually a mixture of how you define yourself and how society has defined you.
From my list society is responsible for seven of the supplied definitions: male, young, middle class, liberal, oldest child, Caucasian, and American. You may think these are all facts of life, but in fact these are facts of society which are not facts at all. Some could say that all of my above definitions are designed by society and to some extent that is true, but these seven are given to me by society not myself.
As an exercise take out all of societies definitions and have a list that is merely how you define yourself. This is the person you have decided you are today. Is this who other people know? Is this who you want to be? Are there words that you would rather have on the list? Do these words change? Chances are these words change regularly and people catch glimpses of this person, but not the whole being. So lets define the whole being.
Look at your list and think about who you truly are and truly want to be. Realize you can be whatever you want. There are no limits but the ones you apply to yourself, and my mission is to free you of those limits. Take another piece of paper and write:
My Name is ___________
I am everything I wish to be.
I love myself. I am proud of myself.
Today I am free of all others and myself.
Today I am free to be me.
You may want to print this on a bunch of pieces of paper and stick them in your wallet, desks, drawers, or anywhere you will come in contact with them. This is your motto. It may seem silly, but it is the road to freedom and self love. It is the road to an amazing tomorrow. It is the road to yourself.
Let us begin.
In order to achieve autonomy we must know who we are to ourselves. This is really the only being that matters. By knowing and loving who we are, others will see this self love and in turn love and respect us. However, all too often people hide who they are for many reasons, and this hidden self also comes through and people cannot truly love us, but accept the facade we present them. There is nothing contagious or admirable about a hidden self, it is in fact destructive. Today begin to be constructive of ourselves and therefore to and for other people.
Take a little sheet of paper or open any type of word document.
Now write your name or whatever you want to be called. Then begin to define yourself. You can use single words, phrases, sentences, whatever is needed and try to be exhaustive in your list. Mine is as follows:
James Parks
Male; young; adventurous; student; middle class; enjoys reading, philosophy, theology, music, theatre, conversation, movies, meditation, walking, exploring; spiritual student; chubby; loving; friendly; funny; leader; liberal; open-minded; tired; happy; oldest child; Caucasian; independent; musician; teacher; fun; American.
The list of course can go on, and throughout the day I invite you to return and add to your list as things do come to you.
This list is usually a mixture of how you define yourself and how society has defined you.
From my list society is responsible for seven of the supplied definitions: male, young, middle class, liberal, oldest child, Caucasian, and American. You may think these are all facts of life, but in fact these are facts of society which are not facts at all. Some could say that all of my above definitions are designed by society and to some extent that is true, but these seven are given to me by society not myself.
As an exercise take out all of societies definitions and have a list that is merely how you define yourself. This is the person you have decided you are today. Is this who other people know? Is this who you want to be? Are there words that you would rather have on the list? Do these words change? Chances are these words change regularly and people catch glimpses of this person, but not the whole being. So lets define the whole being.
Look at your list and think about who you truly are and truly want to be. Realize you can be whatever you want. There are no limits but the ones you apply to yourself, and my mission is to free you of those limits. Take another piece of paper and write:
My Name is ___________
I am everything I wish to be.
I love myself. I am proud of myself.
Today I am free of all others and myself.
Today I am free to be me.
You may want to print this on a bunch of pieces of paper and stick them in your wallet, desks, drawers, or anywhere you will come in contact with them. This is your motto. It may seem silly, but it is the road to freedom and self love. It is the road to an amazing tomorrow. It is the road to yourself.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Looking Forward
I couldn't sleep last night; I kept having the same thoughts over and over. I had just read a chapter of Conversations With God Book 2 and the chapter on education really grasped me. It said everything I have been coming to realize for the past two years. Here in front of my eyes were my thoughts that I have shared with so many who agreed, but did not agree. Now, however, someone agreed.
The Society for an Autonomous Tomorrow was my vision. We will be a society that seeks a tomorrow that thinks for themselves; that constantly questions 'the facts;' that knows nothing of the limits of yesterday, but only the possibilities of tomorrow.
Great ideals, right? But there are too many things that make it impossible, right?
Not enough on 'our side,' right? Realize that once you gain an autonomous way of thought you won't believe those things.
What is autonomy? Autonomy is freedom. Freedom to think and live freely.
How do we gain autonomy? Learn to learn. Be open. Enjoy dialogues. Embrace differences. Encourage change. Find yourself.
What I ask for is scary. Some people believe that we shouldn't be free this way. They think this because they are scared. No one has let them know its OK to question. They are ashamed of things they feel. They are more comfortable in a world where everything is fed to them.
I tell you they are not the enemy, they are the challenge.
The Society for an Autonomous Tomorrow greets that challenge with an open mind, we only ask you do the same.
The Society for an Autonomous Tomorrow was my vision. We will be a society that seeks a tomorrow that thinks for themselves; that constantly questions 'the facts;' that knows nothing of the limits of yesterday, but only the possibilities of tomorrow.
Great ideals, right? But there are too many things that make it impossible, right?
Not enough on 'our side,' right? Realize that once you gain an autonomous way of thought you won't believe those things.
What is autonomy? Autonomy is freedom. Freedom to think and live freely.
How do we gain autonomy? Learn to learn. Be open. Enjoy dialogues. Embrace differences. Encourage change. Find yourself.
What I ask for is scary. Some people believe that we shouldn't be free this way. They think this because they are scared. No one has let them know its OK to question. They are ashamed of things they feel. They are more comfortable in a world where everything is fed to them.
I tell you they are not the enemy, they are the challenge.
The Society for an Autonomous Tomorrow greets that challenge with an open mind, we only ask you do the same.
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