Reflection on the Cross

Today is the feast of the Triumph of the Cross. Here are some reflections:

Jesus is lifted up and we are lifted up with him as well. Crucified is excruciating, however, so how might we look at it in a way that opens the way for us to love the cross?

                Well, when lifted up above the world, we are lifted above its lures and enticements, above its woes and miseries, knowing that somehow this rising up will bring an ultimate end to all misery.

                In prayer, it could mean being raised up beyond distraction, beyond the things that run through our minds deterring our mission, which is to rest in God’s love and to allow our souls to commune with him in silence and in peace.

                In sickness, it can serve to remind us that while on the cross, that very agony is what leads directly to the Kingdom of Heaven. The end of the pain is eternal bliss. The end of the pain is the unfathomable comfort which will never end. There will be no more pain of any kind, at any time.

                The cross is also humiliation leading to glory. There are so many humiliations in our lives: the humiliation of our state in life, perhaps, or the humiliation of knowing that once again we have failed, the humiliation of living with the things that drag us down, the “thorn in the side” that throws us to the ground, the humiliation and scorn of those who hate us or simply do not appreciate or scorn us. At times like these, we might remember that Christ calls it “being glorified” and that “blessed are you who are persecuted for my sake, for your reward will be great in heaven.”

Inspirational quote of the day

Our place is not in the auditorium but the stage—or, as the case may be, the field, the workshop, study, laboratory—because we ourselves form part of the creative apparatus of God, or at least are meant to form part of the creative apparatus of God. He made us in order to use us, and use us in the most profitable way; for His purpose, not ours. To live a spiritual life means subordinating all other interests to that single fact. Sometime our position seems to be that of tools; taken up when wanted, used in ways which we had not expected for an object on which our opinion was not asked, and then laid down.    Evelyn Underwood

Illusions and Reality

"Illusions diminish the quality of our life because they prevent us from responding appropriately to reality." Abbot Martin Werken, O.S.B.

Has this ever happened to you?

I went for a blood test today and the nurse told me the doctor had also ordered a hearing test, which I thought was kind of weird, especially when she said they run it right there in the lab. Then she gave me one of those plastic cups and I realized she had said "URINE test,"  not "hearing test." Guess I need the hearing test after all!

Recognizing fallacies

Someone sent me a link to this website which lists 42 fallacies used in arguments and provides definitions and examples. Well worth a peek. Good for students as well. Here's the link:
http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/

We have so much.

Something angered me this afternoon, so as quickly as I possibly could, I looked around and started listing blessings I've received this day. As I was identifying blessings, more blessings came my way, and it has continued all day. The "episode" which upset me lost a lot of its charge, and I'm confident that when and if I have to confront the situation, I will be able to do so from a place of peace, not from a place of turmoil.

Meanwhile, I came across these words from a student:

we have much more than we are aware of, we just lack the appreciation

Can you use those words to influence your own way of looking at the world, even in the midst of so much bad news?

Gratitude prayer

Try opening with this and then go where it leads you . . .

Today I had occasions to be happy--small blessings that I wasn't even conscious of.
I see them now.
Thank you.

borrowed and adapted from Anthony DeMello, S.J. (Wellsprings)

Peace to you

Two more quotes from Buddhist sources:

Never does hatred cease by hatred at any time. Hatred ceases by love. This is an eternal law.

One is not great because one defeats or harms other living beings. One is so called because one refrains from defeating or harming other living beings.

 

Inner cleansing

The past week or so I've been reading the poetry of St. Ephrem of Syria (306-373) and came upon these wonderful lines. Perhaps you'll find them valuable as well.

St. Ephrem speaks about the

"Serene One who came to bring us serenity . . .

Do not let anything that might disturb it enter upon our watch.
Let the path of the ear be cleared,
let the sight of the eye be chastened;
let the contemplation of the heart be sanctified,
let the speech of the mouth be purified."

Cat Wisdom

You walk into a room and the cat is snoozing on your favorite chair. You "shoo" the cat. It jumps down, stretches and looks around for another place to nap. It starts its next nap, quite content.
Simple. Practical. No drama. No recriminations. Nothing to hang on to. No Bitterness. No Vituperation. Etc.

Remember that the next time something doesn't go the way you want it to. It would be a better world if people were like cats (in some ways).

Neglect of the inner life

This is worth some quiet time, reflecting and praying for guidance about what you might do for yourself.

 

Our culture suffers from a negation of the inner self, the god-self

We don't often witness that self in each other. It's important to know

who we are, who others are, where our tender spots are. These are not

mechanized needs, nor needs that can be met in front of computer

screens. When a primary need is ignored, it may express itself in

destructive ways: Our preoccupation with material. possessions is

unsettling. The violence on the part of young people must be, in part,

a call for attention to the soul. There are children I know who, after

school, instead of playing on the street or at the homes of friends,

park themselves in front of the computer and play games. Carl Jung

said, "The cat neglected becomes the unconscious tiger:' We're seeing

a number of neglected cats these days. When the need to attend

to the inner self isn't modeled as valuable, when art and the spiritual

life aren't integrated into the culture, the self may choose destructive

routes for attention, such as reckless displays of violence.    Veccione, Writing and the Spiritual Life, p. 15

It's OK to say "I don't know."

Parker Palmer (Let your life speak) tells how a depressed person once asked him why it is that some people recover from depression and why some end up killing themselves. All he could answer is, "I have no idea."
He felt guilty about giving that answer--about not giving that person more help. He felt he had let her down. But then, two days later, she sent him a note which thanked him for his words (I have no idea) and told him how it made so much more sense than some of the simplistic religious explanations.
It turned out she didn't need an explanation; what she needed was to hear that someone beside herself struggled with answers to the basic questions of life. She felt liberated. As Palmer explained, "my not knowing had freed her to stop judging herself for being depressed and to stop believing that God was judging her. As a result, her depression lifted a little." (p. 59)

How do you respond when someone asks you a question that you don't have a ready answer for? If you're like most people, you try to come up with some answer even though the truth is that you "have no idea."
Can you have to courage to say "I don't know" or "I have no idea" when that is actually the truth? It may be very important for someone else to hear that.

Challenge for the day

Engage in some totally meaningless, spontaneous laughing. If you dare, try it when you're with friends. The benefits are worth the risk of looking silly. I assigned this to my students, and one reported:

I decided to experiment with this meaningless laughing by laughing outrageously loud when something only remotely funny occurred in the show I was watching. I actually really enjoyed the experiment because it made me really happy. The laughing somehow injected energy into my body almost like I had taken a happy pill. After laughing ridiculously loud throughout my 30 minute program I was ready to release my energy which I did by walking through the woods.

Go for it!

Unhelpful sympathy, helpful sympathy

From that book by Iain Matthew that I cited a couple of weeks ago:

"Sympathy can be ruinous. 'I think it's dreadful--I don't know how you put up with it. No. I really can understand, you must feel awful.   . . . . There is a kind of sympathy that leaves the sufferer exhausted. . . . it is important to respond in the right way . . . not just to console, but to help someone bear pain creatively.'"

IMHO: That's the reason the image of the suffering Christ on the crucifix is so consoling. Don't go around the pain, go through it to the other side.

Creativity in Business

A student reports: "1,500 CEO’s polled by IBM said creativity was the number one factor behind leadership competency."

The Joys of Solitude

As an assignment over the weekend, I asked my students to go and see a movie--totally alone. They groaned and kvetched, and some couldn't see the sense in it. But once they'd done it, they reported that that they were surprised at what a good time they had, were more focused on the movie than ever before (even if it was not a good film), and most said it is something they would do again. Go figure.

It's a wonderful skill to develop, especially at a young age: to enjoy your own company.

Our Deepest Fear

This quote from Marianne Williamson was given me by a friend:

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

The Benefits of Solitude

These are quotes from "The Power of Lonely" by Leon Neyfakh in the Boston Globe. Among other things, he writes,

an emerging body of research is suggesting that spending time alone, if done right, can be good for us — that certain tasks and thought processes are best carried out without anyone else around, and that even the most socially motivated among us should regularly be taking time to ourselves if we want to have fully developed personalities, and be capable of focus and creative thinking. . . .

Solitude has long been linked with creativity, spirituality, and intellectual might. The leaders of the world’s great religions — Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, Moses — all had crucial revelations during periods of solitude. The poet James Russell Lowell identified solitude as “needful to the imagination;” in the 1988 book “Solitude: A Return to the Self,” the British psychiatrist Anthony Storr invoked Beethoven, Kafka, and Newton as examples of solitary genius. . . .

Teenagers, especially, whose personalities have not yet fully formed, have been shown to benefit from time spent apart from others, in part because it allows for a kind of introspection — and freedom from self-consciousness — that strengthens their sense of identity.

Anyway, it's worth reading the whole article.

Asking for help

No kidding. Twice now I've asked for help with something that had me confused and help was there before the sun was high in the sky.  (See post for March 4)

3/4.  Asked at 7 am.  Situation resolved by 11:30.

3/9  Asked at 7 am.  All fixed by 8:30 am.

I'm digging this. Darn, how often I forget to ask. How about you?

A couple of brain twisting quotes

Sorry I missed a few days of posting. Sometimes you need to let the ground lie fallow for a while.
Anyway, these quotes come from various sources and somehow relate to one another. Don't think too intensely about them, though.

There are mighty few people who think what they think they think.

How will I think what I think until I see what I say?

It is not easy to know what you like. Most people fool themselves their entire lives through about this.

We don't see things as they are, we see things as we are.

Amazing Grace!

This is too beautiful to make up:
   I was directing a schola at a funeral this mornng which was very well attended. As I looked out over the congregation, I caught sight of a woman I haven't talked to in many, many years. We'd had a spat back around 1995, and as I looked at her I realized that I was way overdue  to let go of that grudge and the bad feelings that went with it. So I said a prayer and asked for help.
  Not two minutes after the end of the funeral, she walked up to me, gave me a big hug, and we stood chatting amiably for a while. Then a big hug and a cordial good-bye.
  Coincidence?

Words of challenge, words of hope

I'm using a soul-rousing book for prayer lately: The Impact of God: soundings from St. John of the Cross by Iain Matthew. He writes about St. John's call for us to be "inclined" to a certain emptiness of transitory and worldly things. He acknowledges that it is difficult to reach this point in our spiritual lives, and then mentions a few things which can help us along the way.

In order to encourage us, he has us think of what it is like for us to "experience its opposite:"

the weariness of an over-demanding self-image; the claustrophobia of being 'full of oneself'; and the freshness that comes from being told that we do not have to be like that.

IMHO: The beauty of a life of spiritual growth is that if we are attentive, we become aware of God's desire to lift us out of ourselves. In essences, He calls to us saying, "you do not have to be like that; I want more for you and I am here to help you attain it."

This can be hard to hear for those who have grown up with the overemphasized notion that God loves me the way I am. Of course He does. But that love is so great for us that His grace is there to help us with the way I am" part. But for many, those words have been perverted into nothing more than a justification for  remaining right where we are.

Some will quickly quote St. Paul: "by God's grace, I am what I am," but fail to realize that St. Paul speaks these words only after God' grace had touched his life, transformed it, and turned him to a way of life he never would have dreamed possible back on that day when he was holding the coats of those who had stoned St. Stephen to death. Once again, these words are often emasculated and thereby robbed of their power

Multitaskers

A gentle warning from a famous inventor:

Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun's rays do not burn until brought to a focus.        - Alexander Graham Bell, 1847 - 1922

Classroom Assignment

   Every semester I give my students an assignment to do some on-line research on multitasking and to post their results on a bulletin board we use. Most of the students who do the assignment decide thatit would be a good thing not to multitask when they are doing their work or projects. Some of them even start to turn off the ipods and radios when they are working or driving. The decide this all on their own; all I have to do is get them to do the research.

   Every semester a small handful of students report on articles that present multitasking as a good thing, and even perhaps offer tips on how to do it better. On closer inspection however, we usually find that the articles in favor of multitasking are written by organizations which manufacture or sell things that make multitasking possible.

   You do the math.

Civility in speech and other matters.

The decline of civility in political discourse, in radio talk shows and in other places is one of my common concerns as I get older. I wish this quote would get around. Maybe you can help.

"Definite characters are uncomfortable ones in this world, whether they are criminals or saints. People don't like others with strong opinions, unless they are opinions they hold themselves, and even then they don't admire vehemence in speech."    from Testimony of Two Men (Taylor Caldwell. 1968)

Putting up with the faults of others

  Some words of wisdom are universal; they apply to everyone of every faith or no faith, and of every race and nation and time. This one happens to come from a little book  known as The Imitation of Christ. A google search will offer lots of information about this medieval classic. Any, here is what "hit close to home" today:

Take pains to be patient in bearing the faults and weaknesses of others, for you too have many flaws that others must put up with. If you cannot make yourself as you would like to be, how can you expect to have another person entirely to your liking? We would willingly have others be perfect, and yet we fail to correct our own faults. We want others to be strictly corrected, and yet we are unwilling to be corrected ourselves.

A free pfd copy of this challenging book is available here.

A fool is caught in his own words.

. . . or something like that. I couldn't find the exact quote.

IMHO     Have you ever noticed how some of our most outspoken congressmen tell us more about themselves than about the issues they sound off about? They should just open their mouths and shout: "Hey, everyone! I am a bigot!" "Hey, everyone, I am appallingly ignorant and believe everything I think even though I'm not very good at thinking!" 
   BUT, people who are ignorant or bigoted (two t's?) agree with them and vote for them. That's why they're congressmen. God help us!
   BUT then again, whenever I read history I discover that this has always been true of so many politicians, and somehow we've managed to survive.
   BUT then again, the same thing applies to some radio talk show hosts, and they are popular with the unthinking masses.
   BUT then again, it also applies to a lot of preachers or self-appointed demigogues.

And then again it's probably true of all of us, myself included, but today I just wanted to sound off about legislators today after reading a few news items.

Distractions, the Mass and Taoist principles

I got distracted for a few minutes yesterday during Mass, as everyone does at times. Meanwhile the Mass kept going along without my inner participation; it does keep flowing along and if we ”check out” by being distracted, we can always “return” when aware of the distraction. Just let it be, let it flow through you without getting stuck in you (or you getting stuck in it). If and when that happens no matter how often it happens, we are each welcomed back and can take up our places anew. IMHO, there is no need for reproach or self-reproach, no need for any guilt or blame or discouraging scrupulosity. We simply come back with a new awareness, a return to mindfulness, a return to the Now. We simply return and are blessed. It’s that simple.

More about distractions: there are several activities of the mind that serve to keep us distracted, off track, out of balance with the inner peace we are meant to have, that elusive state-of-being which a Taoist would call  harmony with the universe or harmony with Tao. These are some of those activities which keep us off balance: interests, habits, excuses, worry, stress, intellectualism, scheming and desires. Deng Ming-Dao notes that “it is inevitable that one will fall in and out of Tao.” I respect that realism, and it is what prompted my thoughts about distractions at Mass.

Have you ever wondered . . .

. . . what it would be like to sneeze while you were coughing? It happened to me just this morning. First time in my life. Very weird experience. Not really enjoyable. And the noise I made was rather unique. All small animals within a 100 foot radius fainted.

Really. Well, ok, not the part about the animals.

Update, 2/24: It happened again this morning. I wonder if it has anything to do with aging?

Living deeply takes time

A scene in a recent class: We were having a rather interesting discussion the other day. As the discussion went on, I noticed that the whole group was quieting down and the conversation slowed down. Then . . . silence. Not the silence of comatose students or of students who had tuned out, but rather the kind of silence that accompanies deep reflection, almost like the silence of the monastic community after listening to a powerful reading at the Divine Office. It was obvious that the discussion had sparked something within. The last thing they needed was for me to reproach them for not continuing the discussion, or for me to move on to a more trivial topic in order to "snap them out of it"--something that happens all too often in a world where people are being conditioned to become more and more shallow.

Suddenly an idea came to mind. "Ok," I said, "it looks like you are all at work processing what we've been discussing, so I invite you to take out your journals and continue the inner conversation on paper." It was wonderful to behold: without a second's hesitation, each of them dove into the page and started writing, and this continued for 5 minutes before I asked them to stop. At that point they were all still writing.

I asked them what they were writing about (indicating that it was perfectly okay to "pass.") One by one, they shared the topics of their musings. More than a dozen students spoke. Each had grabbed onto a different aspect of the discussion.

A couple of thoughts about the experience:

• This is so much more important than "teaching to the test," as so many teachers are forced to do these days.
• The students each moved in a different direction. They were learning what they were ready to learn, and pondering what resonated with their own lives. How could one possibly determine what it was they were "supposed to be" learning, or even dare to test them on the day's discussion. That would be a violation of their experience, and if the test didn't address what was most important to them, it could also be a trivializing of the important learning that had taken place. At that moment, I didn't need to grade them; their faces told me all I needed to know. (And I'm sure they'll tell me more in their next reflection paper.
• So often in our treadmill world, we are dragged from experience to experience until our minds are crowed, our sensitivity is dulled, and our souls are starved. It is so important to take the time we need to process what has been happening in our lives.
• After watching a powerful movie or play, I would much rather spend a few minutes with my journal, than have to listen to what those around me thought of the movie (therefore taking myself out of the experience). There is a time and a place for those interractions as well, but before they occur, we need to have the time and the space we need to, as is said of Mary, treasure these things in our heart.

Why organizations lose their best employees

This from a conference given to our community by Fr. Michael Casey, O.S.C.O.

Over the course of a year, many organisations (corporations, businesses) lose 1 out of 7 valuable employees, the kind of employees they would really like to keep.

There are several reasons

• inept management
• poor, insufficient training for the job
• a lack of recognition or rewards
• Above all, a lack of listening.

Message to employers, supervisors, etc: If your talented people are not happy, you have got to find out why.

I agree, IMHO, for what it is worth.

Away from the screen = more creativity

I'm working on a book which many are encouraging me to get published. The process itself is worth the effort, no matter what the result. So while writing the book, I'm observing the process to see what it has to tell me. It's been telling me many things:

1. There is an internal "critic" trying to convince me that I'm wasting my time, that it's not good enough, that no one will be interested in it, etc. etc. etc. This critic, who I have named "Sigmoid" (I know it's a rather messy part of the colon, so it fits well), is having a fit that I'm having so much fun. Sigmoid is also on my case about the Blog. Is he worth listening to?
2. I'm recovering from surgery and have not been able to carry my laptop from my office to my "cell." Guess what? I've been getting more useful insight about the book away from the computer than when I spent all my time at the computer working on the book. Go figure . . .

Have a nice day!

Plugging Back into Monastic Rhythm

Monastic life has a time-table called the horarium, which is a daily schedule of Liturgies, Meals, Spiritual Reading and Recreation. The schedule moves steadily along, with occasional changes for special events. Most people think that this relentless rhythm must be tedious and monotonous, My youngest brother said to me after only a few hours here, "This could get to be boring!" Well, here I am, 27 years later, and I haven't been bored yet.

For the monk, keeping the horarium is both a discipline and a great gift. Our customary says that "it frees the monk from futility," and that is indeed true.

What I especially appreciate now, as I'm  slowly but steadily recovering from my back surgery, is that the horarium is there, running on its course, and the rest of the brethren are keeping it and praying at the every service "for our absent brothers, Meanwhile, as I gradually feel better, I am able to "plug myself into" the schedule, bit by bit. There is no pressure to do so; what really matters is that I want to do so. (Even though at healthier times I find my little ways to avoid parts of it--alas, we're all human.) But on the whole, it is, indeed, a gift to be savored and treasured. And I look forward to the time when I'll be completely "on line," as it were, albeit looking for ways to get around it all.

A mini-"vacation" in a hospital waiting room.

Well, I'm back sooner than I expected to be. The operation was a success, but obviously I am dealing with a lot of surgical pain. Writing helps distract me.

So there I was--walking into the "Pre-Op Family Waiting Room," which was very nicely appointed. I noticed some striking works of art on the walls, all different scenes from Italian villas. So instead of sitting around waiting and being nervous, I decided to take a trip through the mini art gallery in the waiting room. I actually walked from one piece to another; they were very evocative and for a few moments I was drawn into a lovely world. It was a nice vacation. Certainly better than sitting and waiting for my name to be called, with fearful thoughts going through my head.

And, by the way, I love Catholic Medical Center. Such wonderful, loving care in such a pleasant setting.
Sick joke: When it comes to dealing with pain, the Catholics do it best!

Hospital visit

I am having a surgical procedure done (nothing terribly serious) this afternoon and probably won't be on line for the next several days. Let's assume that my next post will be on Sunday. Have a good week! Please keep me in your prayers.

Some things are left to be mysteries.

   There are several issues going on in my life that I simply don't understand. There are several issues going on in my life that don't make any sense to me at all. And decisions have been made in some matters that I disagree with, sometimes strongly. Grrrrr. . . . 
   I'll bet you can say the same thing. And I wouldn't be surprised if you, like me, have some theories about why these things are the way they are. But theories are not facts, and sometimes I forget that.
   I have learned after years of struggle, that I simply have to "let them be," recognize and admit that they are beyond my grasp at the moment, and surrender them until God chooses to enlighten me.

   This has brought me not a small measure of peace. I'm not saying I am able to do it all the time, but when I do, I am at peace.

   How about you?

Salt and Light

I am always delighted when a preacher makes a connection in his homily that I have never seen for myself.
One of my brother monks did that at Mass yesterday. The Gospel was "salt and light" (Matthew 5:13-16). The homilist said, "Salt and light: Taste and see."
What a wonderful Eucharistic reference. Thanks, brother!

If you don't have the time, make the time.

As this blog develops, I notice that I am posting my students write to me. A word of explanation: I teach a course called Creativity for Artists, Writers and Musicians to a group of seniors preparing for graduation. As part of their assignments they are required to write me a "letter" every week during the semester telling about how they are using material from the course in their daily lives. More about that some other time.
This week, a student wrote "I am not the only one on this campus who feels that they do not have a moment to think."

My response: It's not only people on campus who feel that way. Our lives tend to be too busy, too frenetic, too noisy, too impulsive, affording us little time or "space" to be reflective. We are programmed to be shallow,vapid and grasping, collecting one experience after another without ever having the opportunity to process them on any but the most superficial level.  I remember a TV ad broadcasted over 25 years ago that claimed a certain kind of yogurt would "feed your soul." I found it so demeaning, to suggest that my soul is something that could be "fed" by the right kind of sour milk! And that was 25 years ago. It just keeps getting worse. You cannot expect things to change once you graduate and enter the "real world."
   The truth is that you cannot depend on schools or other institutions, workplaces or other environments other than retreat houses and monasteries to nurture your most important needs. You need to make choices that will give you the time you need to stay balanced and reflective in a way that both nurtures your life and that provides you with balance, thoughtfulness and gratitude on a daily basis. Even taking the time to read this is more than a lot of people can handle. You've read this to the end. Congratulations! You have already taken a big step in the right direction."

A quiet drive

A student writes,

I usually drive with my music obnoxiously loud, but the other day I decided to find out what it’s like without the music blaring. I found myself driving completely quiet, completely enjoying my time in the car on the highway. I was thinking about nothing in particular, just the excitement of seeing my family and my dog, but mostly I just watched other cars drive by me and town exits go by. I found myself being completely content with myself just being with myself, no radio distractions and no people around.

From my daily readings I: participation and aliveness

This comes from a book of daily meditations called 356 Tao by Deng Ming-Dao:

Whatever comes to you, you must engage it somehow. You receive it, you may alter the circumstances and let it go, you may interject something of your own into it, or you may knowingly let it pass. Whatever you do, there is no need to be apathetic toward life. Instead, full participation in all things is the surest way to happiness, vitality and success . . .

When we're depressed we systematically shut down those things which bring us aliveness. It becomes a vicious cycle. This is a good quote to have handy when you're going through a low period.

From my daily readings II: anger

I'm reading the homilies on John's Gospel by St. John Chrysostom, and I came across this passage about anger and what it does to a person:

Nothing is more shameful than a countenance ablaze with anger, nothing more disfigured. . . . for just as a noisome odor is given off when mud is stirred up, so when the soul is disturbed by anger great impropriety and unpleasantness will result.

. . .  if you parry reviling with reviling,you have kindled the blaze still more.  (A modern variation on this is, "It's the second statement that starts the argument."

. . . he who indulges in anger . . . already begins to pay the penalty for his action, by introducing into his inmost thoughts a certain unceasing rest and persistent distress all through the night and all through the day.

So, questions of the day: Do you find this to be true in your life? And if so, what are you going to do about it?

What we miss when we're yapping, part 2

no favoritism here!

I can't believe it! I'm in the campus coffee shop. I just went to the counter to get a couple of sweetener packets. As I was doing that, I was yapping with a student.

I went back to my seat and realized that I had grabbed TEN packets. Ooops!

Becoming more aware

I asked my students to go and do something completely alone and report back about what they noticed. Here is what one person wrote:

Going out into the wilderness with no worries in the world was one of the most enjoyable, relaxing, amazing experiences I have had in my entire life. I found myself imagining and thinking about things that I would not have otherwise. If I was with someone else, I would have been too engaged in conversation to notice some of the aspects of nature that I did.

How much do we miss because we're constantly yapping. What if you stopped talking on your cell phone while walking from one place to another? I bet your world will be come much bigger than what you're yapping about.

Quote of the Day: weather

I might post more later if I have time, but here is a very appropriate quote as we in NH are getting conflicting reports about the storm this week:

The trouble with weather forecasting is that it's right too often for us to ignore it and wrong too often for us to rely on it.   Patrick Young.

Most of my students are looking forward to classing being cancelled on Wednesday; even if they are, we'll still have choir practice. I figure they'll be going stir crazy by 6 pm anyway!

Sunday Quotes

This might become a regular Sunday feature, unless I hear something really good at Mass. Anyway, here are today's offerings:

  "There is a meaning in every journey that is unknown to the traveler."

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

  "Problems arise in that one has to find a balance between

   what people need from you and what you need for yourself."

          Jessye Norman

Thanks to Dr. Mardy for compiling these. You can subscribe to her mailings by sending a blank email to this address. This is one of the best quote sites I've found.

Have a wonderful week!

less argument, more learning

    A student in class yesterday reacted very strongly against something she had read in one of our textbooks. Rather than react to her objection, I simply let it be, and even admitted that "there are others who have made the same complaints about the author's writing."
    Only a couple of hours later, that same student posted to our discussion board that "Noticing a bit of a pattern here, I'm realizing I have my work cut out for me this semester in trying to open myself up to accept the material in this course..."
   Would she have reached that point if I had argued with her in class? I doubt it.
    
   Now don't go thinking that I am "The Enlightened One Who Knows How Everything Works, Particularly in times of Disagreement." I just got lucky! I'm very proud of the student, nonetheless. And gave myself a pat on the back! humbly, of course.

Breaking through doubt.

I just finished reading a pile of letters that my creativity students wrote for me. A few of them said that they were skeptical or doubtful about the course since it is so different from other "traditional" courses thye have taken. But each of them laid aside whatever hesitation or objections they had and plunged on right ahead.

And guess what happened? Each one of them discovered that the material in the course is both valuable and helpful. Their personal experience was able to help them put their doubts to rest. Good for them!

It is so common that our thoughts about a thing prevent us from being open to learning or benefitting from what is new or different. The students laid aside their thoughts and were rewarded by seeing a whole new world.

I pray that our politicians will learn to do the same.

Uplifting story of the day

Posted at NPR.org.  I found it posted on Facebook by one of my students.

Julio Diaz has a daily routine. Every night, the 31-year-old social worker ends his hour-long subway commute to the Bronx one stop early, just so he can eat at his favorite diner.But one night last month, as Diaz stepped off the No. 6 train and onto a nearly empty platform, his evening took an unexpected turn.

He was walking toward the stairs when a teenage boy approached and pulled out a knife. "He wants my money, so I just gave him my wallet and told him, 'Here you go,'" Diaz says.

As the teen began to walk away, Diaz told him, "Hey, wait a minute. You forgot something. If you're going to be robbing people for the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep you warm."

The would-be robber looked at his would-be victim, "like what's going on here?" Diaz says. "He asked me, 'Why are you doing this?'"

Diaz replied: "If you're willing to risk your freedom for a few dollars, then I guess you must really need the money. I mean, all I wanted to do was get dinner and if you really want to join me ... hey, you're more than welcome.

"You know, I just felt maybe he really needs help," Diaz says. Diaz says he and the teen went into the diner and sat in a booth.

"The manager comes by, the dishwashers come by, the waiters come by to say hi," Diaz says. "The kid was like, 'You know everybody here. Do you own this place?'"

"No, I just eat here a lot," Diaz says he told the teen. "He says, 'But you're even nice to the dishwasher.'" Diaz replied, "Well, haven't you been taught you should be nice to everybody?"

"Yea, but I didn't think people actually behaved that way," the teen said.Diaz asked him what he wanted out of life. "He just had almost a sad face," Diaz says.

The teen couldn't answer Diaz — or he didn't want to. When the bill arrived, Diaz told the teen, "Look, I guess you're going to have to pay for this bill 'cause you have my money and I can't pay for this. So if you give me my wallet back, I'll gladly treat you."

The teen "didn't even think about it" and returned the wallet, Diaz says. "I gave him $20 ... I figure maybe it'll help him. I don't know." Diaz says he asked for something in return — the teen's knife — "and he gave it to me."

Produced for Morning Edition by Michael Garofalo.

Jesus would approve: If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.  And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.  If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. (Matthew 5:39-41)

Knowing and understanding

There is difference between knowing about something and understanding something.

Do you understand the difference?
Can you use words to explain the difference between the two?
If you can't put it into words, does that mean that there something wrong with your understanding?  --or is it because there is something inadequate about expressing certain things in words?

Here are some other questions to consider (if you're in the mood):

• How many learning experiences have you had that were aimed solely at having you  know about something?
• How many courses or classes led you to a deeper understanding of a thing?
• How were you tested? Where was the emphasis?

Someone once suggested that we try to imagine if the goal of teaching students about the animal world was that they would love animals more as well as understand them better?

IMHO: "Standardized testing" undermines the most important goals of education. If teachers are forced to "teach to the test," then there is little opportunity for young students to understand the things they study. 

What do you think?

Saint of the Day

Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622) offers simple wisdom that speaks to anyone looking for inner peace and serenity.

Be who you are and be that well.

Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself.

True progress quietly and persistently moves along without notice.

Have patience with all things, but, first of all with yourself.

Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.

Those who love to be feared fear to be loved.

Nothing is so strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength.

Chuckle of the day

from my witty brother:

‎1. Go to Google Maps, and click on Get Directions.
2. Write USA as your start point.
3. Write Japan as your destination.
4. Go to the 31st point on your route...........

Have a nice day!

Who's out of who's mind?

From today's Gospel at Mass:

His (Jesus) family tried to seize him to take him away, because they said "he is out of his mind." (Mark 3, 21)

So many great thinkers and teachers, inventors and artists and individuals who try to lead us to a new way of seeing the world are scorned, ridiculed, even condemned by the Church. Creativity takes courage because it often brings us rejection and ridicule.

So they say,  "He is out of his mind."

I would answer: "No: he is out of your mind. What he says or does is so much larger than what you can wrap your mind around and that is why it makes you uncomfortable, and why you would like to remove him from the picture."

There is an implicit assumption at work here: If it can fit within the small area of your mind with all its limitations and lack of understanding, then it is nonsense or craziness. But could it be possible that the one you reject or scorn is inviting you to expand your mind, to accommodate what you never would have accepted or understood  in the past?"

Words, a poem

Would words were cars . . .

When they went out of control, I could put a brake on them,

lest they run over some innocent person

standing by the side of the road.

Listening, really listening . . .

St. Benedict in the snow

I took advantage of the "snow day" today to read some of the correspondance from my students, and to work on my revision of a "novel" I wrote 10 years ago. My creativity students have been urging me to get back to it, and finally the moment has arrived!

A student wrote to me:

I found that I learn a lot more about people the more I let them talk uninterrupted. I could almost see the thoughts forming on their faces. I also found that people who I thought were far on the left or far on the right side of the political spectrum surprised me the more they talked, everyone tends to lean one way or another but the more they talked the further to the middle they seemed to get.

The student goes on to wonder whether the failure to listen is at the root of so much polarization and argumentativeness in political discourse and on some of the talk shows. What do you think?

We MUST create

This from a book I've just started. Interesting theory . . . that I happen to agree with...imho 

Creativity is often misapprehended as a purely artistic or intellectual inclination . . . but working with your creative energy is as essential to your health and overall well-being as breathing and eating. Creative energy is a basic survival instinct; it motivates us to become part of society, to become productive, bring things to life, and to distinguish ourselves from others by what we make, the crafts we pursue, the skills we develop in business or in cultivating friendships, the entrepreneurial ideas we conceive, the problems we resolve, and the children or communities we birth and nurture. Yet many people have creative ideas and yearnings that they do not pursue out of a fear of financial failure or embarrassment, or because they are reluctant to step outside of their normal way of life and change it.     Caroline Myss, Invisible acts of Power: Channeling Grace in Your everyday Life, quoted in Stimulated, p. 6-7

How we view things makes all the difference

   This may have happened to you as well: yesterday, because of the snowstorm, a lot of events got cancelled. One of those events was the first meeting of my Creativity Course. Dismay, dissapointment, and dammit!s ensued, to say the least. And if that wasn't frustrating enough, I suddenly realized that the cancellation screwed up my whole timetable for introducing the course. Dammit again!
   Fortunately, I didn't stay in that space. It gradually dawned on me that I was facing a new creative challenge--not of my own making, of course, but rather something that psychologist Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi (pronounced "chick-sent-me-high") would call a "presented problem" (Creativity, p. 95).The challenge was this: How do I revise my plans to introduce the course given the new time constraint?
   "Presented problems" are not always welcome; but once they show up, the offer an opportunity to practice some creative and resourceful thinking.

   The point is that once I stopped stamping my feet and pouting like a 5-year-old and started playing with the new challenge, the disappointment was forgotten and the juices began flowing once again. Has this ever happened to you? And by the way, it also helped that I rewarded myself by making a nice cup of hot chocolate!

The High Road and the Low Road--part 3 of a series

   From my morning reading (The Ways of God, attributed to St. Thomas Aquinas). The main point is that while God is constant and unchangeable, we mortals are always inconstant, Quoting from the book:

. . . how inconstant we are in holy meditations, in lawful affections, in steadfastness of conscience, and in a right will. Ah, how suddenly we pass from good to bad, from hope to groundless fear, and from fear to hope, from joy to unreasonable grief and from sadness to vain joy, fro silence to loquiaciousness, from gravity to trifling, from charity to rancor or to envy, from fervor to tepidity, from humility to vainglory or to pride, frum gentleness to anger, and from joy and spiritual love to carnal love and pleasure. 

   For some odd reason, I find all this to be consoling and comforting. "Yes, that's what I'm like. Yes, that's what all humans are like. I see that I'm not alone. What a relief!" Meanwhile God is constant in his patience and forebearance.
   I couldn't help thinking of St. Paul when he lamented that "I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do." And I often remind myself that he is a SAINT.

   We are all complex human beings. We need to embrace the paradox and make peace with it if we are ever to grow. And we have to allow the same thing for others. IMHO.

Opinons, Part One of a series (maybe)

We'll keep this simple today, even though I'm probably only saying what you already know. What I really want to say to start off is that opinions are not facts. Just because we think it is so does not mean it is so.
A lot of people don't seem to realize this. And most of us get so sucked into someone else's opinion, that we make it our own without taking a careful look at it and finding out for ourselves. This happens especially when we listen to loud-mouthed pundits, talk show hosts and would-be politicians. Be careful.

OK, this got more complex than I thought it would be. And, of course, these are only my opinions. Make up your own mind about what I'm saying.

Smart Phone Idiocy

     So there I was yesterday in Boston, walking down the stairs to the T platform (red line), when I saw that the train was already at the station discharging passengers. If I hurried I could make it. So I tried. But there was a young guy in front of me who was walking very slowly and tentatively down the stairs and I couldn't get past him. Why was he walking slowly, you might ask? Because he was  reading.something.on.his.smart.phone!!!! and was oblivious to what was going on around him, not even noticing that the train was there just within reach if he would only pick up the pace.
     At least he wasn't driving a car at 70 mph. Those damn phones can be dangerous.
     I missed the train, by the way. Had to wait another 15 minutes. Thank God the train operator wasn't looking at his smart phone or he might have missed the station.

Creativity Blocker (This will probably be a series)

The damn computer. As useful and marvelous it can be, it also gives rise to so many distractions that it derails our creativity, productivity, focus, and ... (you fill in the blank). Case in point: While eating lunch, I had an inspiration for a book I'm working on, and fortunately, I immediately jotted it down in my little "idea book" which I always carry with me for just these moments.
     As soon as lunch was over, I ran over to my laptop so I could get working on the idea. But first, dammit, I had to check my e-mail. Three of the e-mails were about things that could have waited until the end of the weekend--nonetheless, I proceeded to take care of the things that were in the email. Result: momentum lost. Thank God I wrote the idea down before getting to the computer, otherwise that may have been lost as well.

Life is a mystery. Faith is a mystery.

I just finished Frank Schaeffer's "Patience with God," which I highly recommend to anyone who wants to know more about the "new atheists" and also about fundamentalist/evangelicals. I would especially recommend you give the book to someone you might know who is considering becoming a "born again" Christian, or who tells you you are going to hell because you're a Catholic.

This a conclusion to a chapter on the mystery of life, and that life is not based merely on facts or certainties:

It's only regarding unimportant stuff, such as buying major appliances, that we can go online and found out the 'facts.' When it comes to the person we spend our lives with, or having babies, or careers we end up killing ourselves for, or life-altering snap judgments like volunteering for military service, let alone the friends we meet and make and keep, we shoot the rapids, take our chances, and improvise. We learn as we do, not as we think about doing. . . .  And that is true about how faith in God is too. The truth is also that we either experience God or we don't. And just as in a marriage, once we have experienced God, we either choose to work to maintain that relationship or let it fade. In that sense we can choose to believe, just as on days when I'd rather be sleeping with another woman, I choose to stay married. (p. 169-170)

The loss of civility

I read the opinion columns of a local and a regional newspaper today and felt like I had to take a shower after reading them. Nasty, nasty, nasty. On both sides: liberal/conservative. My question is this: Why is it necessary fo so many people to disdain, disrespect, scorn or even hate somone who disagrees with them?

Taking the High Road (part 2 of a series)

More about making creative decisions to "take the high road:" IMHO, we need to know ourselves well in order to make the kinds of distinctions and decisions that have an impact on the quality of our lives. For example:

• What are the activities, endeavors, hobbies,ways of thinking, conversations, etc., that get you on the high road. (We might also want to call this the "top line." Or else, give it a name that makes sense to you.)
• What are the distractions that keep us from engaging in top line living, thinking or doing?

Once we have a clearer picture (things never get totally clear, do they?), then we can begin asking ourselves more questions, such as

• Who inspires, encourages, becomes a part of our top line living? 
• Who are the people who serve to keep us stuck on the bottom, or who lead us to the bottom?

Knowing this can help us to opt for the higher way of living.  IMHO, of course.

Check your facts:

Here's some wisdom from Sherlock Holmes (A Scandal in Bohemia):

It is a capital mistake to theorise before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.

I sure wish some of our politicians, pundits, talk show hosts or sections of political parties would act on this advice.

You can't give what you don't have

Today is the memorial of St. Gregory of Nyssa. Here's a quote for the day:

Peace is indeed the greatest of the joy-giving things; and this He wishes each of us to have in such a measure as to keep it not only for himself, but to be able to dispense from the overflow of his abundance also to others. . . . Hence the Lord wants you first to be yourself filled with the blessings of peace, and then to communicate it to those who have need of it.

Try this:  Just for a short time, close your eyes and relax. Pay attention to your breath as it moves in and out of your body. As you inhale, inhale peace; as you exhale, exhale whatever is in you that is not peace.

Creative decisions

   A student writes: Creativity is not only expressed through art and music; it is seen through your daily actions and the decisions you make.  Something to think about.


   When I have a choice to make between x and y, which of the two expresses my "higher self"? Am I free to decide to "take the high road"? Hmmm... which shall it be--watching television or working on my hobby? sending that angry email or not?  I'm sure you can come up with a few of your own choices and decisions?
   Should I end this post now or continue squeezing out a few more lines?

1/5/11 About Prayer

Sometimes, in the life of faith it is the simple things that matter. The other day I had to deal with a frustrating situation that I didn't know how to deal with.

Early this morning I was sitting in my recliner reading when my thoughts again turned to the unresolved situation. I found myself staring at an icon known as "Jesus the Teacher" and asked him, "What should I do about this matter?" Ninety minutes later, I had an idea about a possible solution, acted on it, and everything was settled simply and easily. "Thank you, Lord. Thank you especially for reminding me to ask for help."