Tue - February 27, 2007

CyberSeeking


According to poll data, about one-fifth of Americans describe themselves as "spiritual, but not religious."


Essentially this means they choose a more personal expression of faith rather than a public or institutional one. So where does this ever-growing group of unorthodox, mystic types go for guidance or spiritual community? My guess is online.

And my bet is that the virtual spiritual landscape has changed since Time magazine covered this topic in 1996. Could an author who wrote the phrase "the interconnection of religious documents through so-called hyperlinks" possibly fathom virtual meditation rooms, or the Belief-o-Matic quiz that tells you what religion you are after asking just 20 questions? [But not without an explicit "Warning: Belief-O-Matic assumes no legal liability for the ultimate fate of your soul."] I think not.

He might have foreseen sites like ReligousTolerance.org, which was started to "objectively describe religious faiths in all their diversity," or DailyOm email subscriptions--but could he have predicted that 3.1 million unique visitors would click to Beliefnet.com on a monthly basis more than ten years later?

This will be a continuing topic here, but I just have to say to all the "Americans have lost all semblance of faith" doubters that they're wrong--those people just don't want to go to your church anymore.

Posted at 10:09 PM     |

Wed - January 17, 2007

Beware: Poetry Crossing


I read an inspiring quote online today, which turned out to be a poem:

"Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate,
but that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, handsome, talented and 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 were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.
It is not just in some; it is in everyone.

And, as we let our own light shine, we consciously give
other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our fear,
our presence automatically liberates others."

I looked it up online and discovered that--while it's widely misattributed to Nelson Mandela--it was actually written by Marianne Williamson in her book A Return to Love.

I had never heard of Williamson, but apparently I live under a rock because she has several best-sellers, is considered one of Oprah's friends, and the poem is prominently referenced in two films I hoped to see: Coach Carter and Akeelah and the Bee. I guess we only discover things when we need them.

My question is: when I finally let my light shine, will it be mistaken for someone else's? Honestly, the day a word of my writing is misattributed to Oscar Wilde, I can retire and/or die.

Posted at 09:49 PM     |

Tue - January 9, 2007

Recurring Themes


Forgive the lack of links and graphics. I've a new category tonight--for at least semi-spiritual thoughts I expect will reappear on occasion...

Today was full of echoes that never seem to find resolution:
1. Conscience. On the way to work this morning, I realized how frequently I criticize strangers... for their poor driving skills, lack of fashion sense or social skill, anything I find a basic affront to good taste or kindness--the irony being that meanwhile I display neither. It feels terrible to admit, but I'm not really sure how one can just stop being annoyed by sheer will. Something to work on, surely. Maybe I should learn to meditate.
2. Cults. Had my first "American Sects & Cults" class today. I had been telling myself I was just taking it for fun, but part of me knows that it's more than just curiosity--in a way I need the information. Is the term "cult" just used to describe beliefs to which the speaker doesn't subscribe? Or if there is a real definition, does the church of my youth qualify? And how can America be a place of religious freedom and still regulate the extreme/non-mainstream beliefs it finds so threatening? Yeah, it sounds like a whim on the outside--but I suspect it's more than that.
3. Coincidence. Rewatched Run Lola Run for the first time in years and remembered why I find it so fascinating. For those of you who haven't seen it, think Sliding Doors but in German--but instead of two variations on the same story being told simultaneously, there are three told in succession. Same story, but slight variations, like alternate realities or a choose-your-own-adventure book. Both films make you wonder--what simple choices are you making in your life that have huge consequences? And if you don't know what lies down the other path, does it even make a difference?

Posted at 11:49 PM     |

Sun - January 7, 2007

True North


As you may know, yesterday was a Christian holiday known as the Epiphany, said to mark the arrival of the wisemen at Jesus' birthplace.


Ironically, I learned more about the story this morning in a Unitarian Universalist church then I ever had in the Baptist church where I grew up (maybe they thought people would think we were Roman Catholic if we mentioned it?)

Anyway, our minister, Christine Brownlie, gave an inspiring talk about what it might mean to follow a star in today's world... Starting a new job or degree, going in a new direction despite the disapproval of others--simply based on instinct, because you feel called to do so. As she talked I was reminded of the phrase "finding your true north"--which, in the literal sense, is finding your way by the north star when you've lost your compass, but metaphorically is something more akin to finding what you were meant to do.

Rev. Brownlie was asking us to recall times we followed the star and how they led us to unexpected places... and I thought to myself, Yeah, like a UU church in Southwest Virginia! I was amazed to realize that the entire makeup of my life as I know it now required making those kinds of decisions; getting my MFA led to meeting Tim which led to me moving here which led to us starting a business together...

It's pretty remarkable but I feel that I've actually arrived at the place I'd been trying so hard to get to all those long years. It brought tears to my eyes as I thought, And now all I have to do is enjoy it--and keep listening for that still small voice, saying "this way..."

Posted at 10:51 PM     |

Sun - July 10, 2005

So Bold It Requires A New Category


"I think that God
Has a sick sense of humor
And when I die
I expect to find him laughing"

~Depeche Mode, "Blasphemous Rumors"


[Photo Credit: © Taryn Chase, 2002]


Preface:
Thus far I've avoided being overtly religious or political here, but whether or not I try, I knew it was bound to seep out eventually. It has occurred to me in recent months that just because my beliefs are ever-evolving and my opinions aren't easily categorized by a particular denomination or party affiliation, this doesn't mean I shouldn't attempt to state my opinion. Disheartened by everyone who claims to own the truth, it's as if in some misguided effort not to offend, I've lost my voice. My hope is that the process of articulation--and the dialogue that follows--will help me find the way to my own truth.

---------------

Worthwhile publications are cause for celebration. While I enjoy the following magazines:

BUST - For Women With Something To Get Off Their Chests;
Bitch - Feminist Response to Pop Culture; and
Utne - A Different Read on Life

Rarely do I find a periodical that includes more than one thought-provoking article and whose substance really resonates with me. But I have a new hope: Orion - The Magazine of Culture, Creativity, and Change. Even the tagline makes it sound too good to be true. I've been getting the free e-updates for a while but haven't subscribed yet. However, after reading an essay called "What Fundamentalists Need for Their Salvation: In Defense of Truth, Stewardship, and Neighborly Love" by David James Duncan, I might be hooked.

Here's a guy whose bio includes the phrase "nonreligious literature of faith"--so you know I'll be checking the rest of his work out. The article explains how, by bastardizing the language of Christianity, George Bush and the Religious Right have not only skewed but essentially hijacked the meaning of the word "Christian" and turned it into something directly opposed to the teachings of Christ.

Referring to several shocking examples of Biblical misappropriation in President Bush's speeches, Duncan writes, "The manipulators who convert the very 'blood of the Lamb' into the phrase 'the American people' force people of faith to make a call: to treat the earth as disposable and the Bible as 'God,' turn that God into a political action committee, equate arrogance and effrontery with evangelism, right-wing politics with worship, aggression with compassion, devastation with stewardship, disingenuous televised prattle with prayer, and call the result Christianity, is, according to the teachings of Jesus, not an enviable position, but a fatal one."

It's not often I get worked up, but I was bouncing up and down and practically shouting "Amen!" by the end of that paragraph.

Another author who writes intelligently on this topic is Bruce Bawer, who wrote "Stealing Jesus: How Fundamentalism Betrays Christianity." Bawer states that the real division among Christians isn't along denominational lines but between the legalistic and non-legalistic--the "Church of Law," or those who believe in a God of wrath and judgment, versus the "Church of Love," or those who view God as compassionate and forgiving.

Just as Michael Moore and Morgan Spurlock don't represent every liberal documentarian, Duncan and Bawer may not represent every reader's brand of Christianity. But I, for one, am glad they're all speaking up. I hope one day to join them in the fight.

Posted at 12:42 AM     |

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