Culminating in this past year, American society has for decades been grappling with a mounting crisis in the delivery of health care. Costs of medical care have risen sharply, while access to the means to pay for that treatment has exceeded the reach of a growing number of Americans. This past year, the eyes of the nation, even the world, have been on Washington D.C. as legislators address, or rather not address, the issues at hand. A bill may yet be signed into law. However as the tragic spectacle has unfolded, the American people have perhaps never been more conscious of the dysfunction and deterioration of those institutions charged with advancing the common interest. Cynicism and disillusionment are rife. And the heart of any devoted servant of Baha’u’llah cannot remain unmoved at the sight of such affliction. But now, wherever expansion and consolidation of the Baha’i community gathers steam, Baha’is can also focus their energies on social action and efforts to contribute to the discourse of the broader society. With that said, I’d like to share some thoughts on what the Baha’i Faith has to offer efforts to promote the health and physical well-being of individuals and communities.
First, I think it is important to consider the general framework within which the Baha’i Faith approaches this and many other issues. If this general picture is set forth, the significance of specific features becomes clearer. It seems to me that this framework consists in the integration of spiritual and material development. Insights drawn from Divine Revelation must go hand-in-hand with those taken from modern science, inasmuch as the lives of soul and body are intertwined by their very nature. Two passages from the writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha illustrate this.
Praise be to God that thou hast two powers: one to undertake physical healing and the other spiritual healing. Matters related to man's spirit have a great effect on his bodily condition. For instance, thou shouldst impart gladness to thy patient, give him comfort and joy, and bring him to ecstasy and exultation. How often hath it occurred that this hath caused early recovery. Therefore, treat thou the sick with both powers.[1]
Hence, both kinds of treatment [spiritual and material] should be followed; they are not contradictory. Therefore thou shouldst also accept physical remedies inasmuch as these too have come from the mercy and favour of God, Who hath revealed and made manifest medical science so that His servants may profit from this kind of treatment also.[2]
In the writings of the Bab, Baha’u’llah and ‘Abdu’l-Baha, personal health is approached as an element of moral conduct. They forbade the smoking of tobacco and opium, the consumption of alcohol. Their promotion of cleanliness made them pioneers in public health and the prevention of diseases in 19th and early 20th century Iran. Baha’u’llah mandated that his followers consult with competent physicians in times of ill-health.
Resort ye, in times of sickness, to competent physicians; We have not set aside the use of material means, rather have We confirmed it through this Pen, which God hath made to be the Dawning-place of His shining and glorious Cause.[3]
In his writings, ‘Abdu’l-Baha promotes a diet based on simple foods that maintain the natural equilibrium of the human body and a minimum of meat. He goes as far as to argue that, with the development of science, doctors and patients will one day be capable of treating illnesses through the regulation of diet. He observes that societies have by and large turned away from the simple foods for which the body was designed, and attributes this defect to humanity’s subservience to its lustful appetites. One common feature of these diverse remedies is that they all concern one’s day-to-day life, and involve personal discipline and spiritual focus. This is especially seen in ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s warning against ‘lustful appetites.’
The essay continues just a little below.
[1] Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, 130.1 pp.58-9
[2] Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, 133.2 pp.60
[3] Kitab-i-Aqdas 113 pp.60
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
a Continuation
I think one limitation of this past year’s health care debate is that its focus was almost solely on the means by which to pay for trips to the hospital and visits to doctors. This is of course essential, especially in a society as sick as ours. But health care isn’t just about receiving treatments once people get sick. It’s also about promoting healthy lifestyles that prevent people from getting sick. In this light, health care reform is too broad of a project to be dealt with only by legislators. The generality of the people must contribute their share to the transformation of society if wider problems are to be properly addressed. This can be seen in the gulf between scientific knowledge and its practice by individuals. As the twentieth century wore on, the importance of diet, exercise, and other personal choices became became especially clear to doctors and other advocates of personal health. However in many nations, but especially the United States, the implementation of these scientific insights has proved difficult. A doctor can tell the patient exactly what lifestyle choices she needs to make if she is to correct her unhealthy, often deadly, course. But if the patient doesn’t lift a finger to change her habits, and asks for a prescription for drugs instead, there is little the doctor can do. This suggests that the health crisis is symptomatic of a spiritual crisis, or at the very least an educational crisis.
It is in this light that the Baha’i perspective on health demonstrates its wisdom. For Baha’is, it is a spiritual duty to study useful sciences and apply them to the benefit of oneself and others. And for Baha’is, the life of the soul begins in this world and continues on towards God in other worlds after this one. The focus of spiritual development may be the progress of the soul after this life, but the desire to serve God and benefit humanity that this practice develops can have an impact in this life as well. Namely, it can free a person from slavery to unhealthy appetites and reinforce the discipline needed to care for the body each of us has been given by God.
And what is to be done?
For Baha’is, I think what is essential is that they continue to multiply and develop those programs that have been developed for the training and spiritual education of individuals, e.g. children’s classes, junior youth groups, and study circles. As these lines of action advance, the process of learning they engender can be extended to include lines of action that train and mobilize human resources for the promotion of healthy lifestyles.
And for all people, whether they are enrolled in the Baha’i community or not, they can get involved with activities in their community and contribute to broader public discussions focused on the application of scientific knowledge in our daily lives. This can be pursued through a variety of institutions. Schools, employers, clergy, unions, and other community organizations are all well placed to respond in some measure. But most importantly, we can’t assume our own helplessness. We must promote reform at both an individual and collective level. We must raise consciousness and build confidence that our health is in our own hands, and that initiative, good planning, and effective implementation can transform the world around us. ‘Abdu’l-Baha writes,
Endeavor, ceaseless endeavor is required. Nothing short of an indomitable determination can possibly achieve it. Many a cause which past ages have regarded as purely visionary, yet in this day has become most easy and practicable.[1]
And in conclusion, ‘Abdu’l-Baha writes elsewhere,
Is any larger bounty conceivable than this, that an individual, looking within himself, should find that by the confirming grace of God, he has become the cause of peace and well-being, of happiness and advantage to his fellow men? No, by the one true God, there is no greater bliss, no more complete delight.[2]
[1][1] The Secret of Divine Civilization pp.66
[2] The Secret of Divine Civilization pp.2-3
It is in this light that the Baha’i perspective on health demonstrates its wisdom. For Baha’is, it is a spiritual duty to study useful sciences and apply them to the benefit of oneself and others. And for Baha’is, the life of the soul begins in this world and continues on towards God in other worlds after this one. The focus of spiritual development may be the progress of the soul after this life, but the desire to serve God and benefit humanity that this practice develops can have an impact in this life as well. Namely, it can free a person from slavery to unhealthy appetites and reinforce the discipline needed to care for the body each of us has been given by God.
And what is to be done?
For Baha’is, I think what is essential is that they continue to multiply and develop those programs that have been developed for the training and spiritual education of individuals, e.g. children’s classes, junior youth groups, and study circles. As these lines of action advance, the process of learning they engender can be extended to include lines of action that train and mobilize human resources for the promotion of healthy lifestyles.
And for all people, whether they are enrolled in the Baha’i community or not, they can get involved with activities in their community and contribute to broader public discussions focused on the application of scientific knowledge in our daily lives. This can be pursued through a variety of institutions. Schools, employers, clergy, unions, and other community organizations are all well placed to respond in some measure. But most importantly, we can’t assume our own helplessness. We must promote reform at both an individual and collective level. We must raise consciousness and build confidence that our health is in our own hands, and that initiative, good planning, and effective implementation can transform the world around us. ‘Abdu’l-Baha writes,
Endeavor, ceaseless endeavor is required. Nothing short of an indomitable determination can possibly achieve it. Many a cause which past ages have regarded as purely visionary, yet in this day has become most easy and practicable.[1]
And in conclusion, ‘Abdu’l-Baha writes elsewhere,
Is any larger bounty conceivable than this, that an individual, looking within himself, should find that by the confirming grace of God, he has become the cause of peace and well-being, of happiness and advantage to his fellow men? No, by the one true God, there is no greater bliss, no more complete delight.[2]
[1][1] The Secret of Divine Civilization pp.66
[2] The Secret of Divine Civilization pp.2-3
Innapropriate Discussions
I was recently around a couple people discussing sexuality, taking what they considered an enlightened and ultimately materialistic stance. What they were saying really saddened me, and I felt the urge to champion a Baha'i view of marriage yet also a powerlessness to do so.
Defending sexual restraint, procreation based marriages, modesty and monogamy has become associated with bigotry, closed-mindedness, and cruelty. This is understandable given the level of cruelty exercised by both extremes of the western sexual revolution, a battle that still rages on despite what people may think. So divisive have been the arguments, so despicable the tactics, that it is now impossible for anyone to even bring up the subject of sexuality without being classified by listeners as belonging to one of the traditional sides, as being guilty of these crimes. Ultimately however both sides have exercised the same fundamental fallacies.
Modern approaches to understanding human behavior are all guilty of taking a far too material approach, and this is especially poignant in regards to sexuality with it's extreme physical, emotional, interpersonal and societal dimensions. But even more detrimental than rampant materialism is the view that human beings are innately selfish beings who exist to consume, that we are little more than a sum of desires we must either fulfill or repress. Such a perspective is inherently material. Which is why, when groups on either side of the self-imposed divide attempt to incorporate spirituality into their views of sexuality, their attempts reek of hypocrisy to their detractors.
But the fallacies and hypocrisies go far beyond this one aspect of human existence. The simple and fragmented philosophies and beliefs, be they scientific, religious, political, or any other have brought us to a point where they must be integrated, where every aspect of our existence must be integrated. This is essential to our continued well-being and survival. No longer can we as a species tolerate any hypocrisy, any compartmentalization of virtue, any willful ignorance of the dimensions of our reality or the repercussions of our thoughts, attitudes, words, and, most importantly, our actions.
The Baha'i view of humanity stands in opposition to the current fragmented approaches. We are both spiritual beings and material beings. Neither of these realities is evil. Both have value. The spiritual and material realities must be harmonized.
Furthermore, humanity is not merely an aggregate of individuals, nor is the individual a helpless mote at the mercy of the unrelentingly winds of social change which they have no control over. Rather we are all participants in a system of exquisite sophistication. In same way that the physical cells within our bodies each interact to ensure the health of the whole organism, must we seek at every turn to serve the whole of humanity in this most critical point in it's development.
Only once we have collectively adopted a holistic view of human reality, recognizing the essential interplay between the material and spiritual, the individual and collective, can we address issues like sexuality. Until then any attempt will only end in misunderstanding, hypocrisy, division, and cruelty.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Learning for a New Civilization
This is an introduction to a broader set of ideas. So long as I persevere with this project in the short term, this will lead into examinations of the difference between deepening and training, a fundamental critique of the concept of “Baha’i scholarship” that I think is implied in the contemporary emphasis on training, some thoughts on how in the near future Baha’is might find themselves contributing to the discourse of the broader society, and perhaps a re-visitation of the role of the human form within the mission of Baha’u’llah, a long-standing project of mine.
In my fifteen months at the Baha’i World Centre I have been blessed with hearing many profound insights from individuals who serve here. A great many of them have come from talks and personal conversations with members of The Universal House of Justice and the
One Tuesday evening after a pilgrim farewell, he and I were having a warm conversation at the Pilgrim Reception Centre on
Many weeks later, the profundity of what he had described began to dawn on me. Reading the Writings every day and teaching the Baha’i Faith regularly are both commands of Baha’u’llah. But he did not isolate the practice of one from the other. The knowledge he gained from study of the Writings was a direct reflection of the needs he was encountering in his interactions with others. He studied the Writings out of consciousness of the needs of others. Action and learning were integrated into one forward movement that didn’t waste energy on mere erudition.
Looking back, it seems to be that this gardener’s approach to learning and knowledge is a radical departure from the norms of the world’s dominant educational systems. For him, learning proceeds spontaneously from feelings of solidarity and the desire to see the progress of others. It assumes correctly that the motive force behind all research is to provide intellectual tools for the advancement of some particular project, rather than the mere beholding and accurate description of “objects.” This allows my friend to consciously place learning at the disposal of a project for justice, rather than unconsciously affirm false “realities” that are useful to oppressive projects at work within society, e.g. racism, militarism, sexism, free-market plunder, etc. He knows why he is learning, and it proceeds directly from his desire to be of service to others.
Fortunately for us, this gardener is not alone. The approach to learning he exemplifies is in many respects the one employed in contemporary efforts to expand and consolidate the Baha’i community. We would do well to take a broad perspective on the constellation of junior youth groups, study circles, reflection meetings, and other sites for “learning in action” with which the Baha’i world has become familiar in the past decade. More than just ad hoc methods developed to systematize the growth of the Bahá’í community, I think this mode of action is an early stage in a grand experiment, which in time could revolutionize the broader society’s approach to research and knowledge in general. As the Baha’i world sets its sights on social action and contributing to the discourse of the broader society we would do well to take the mode of learning promoted in the Ruhi curriculum as a model for building a new civilization, one in which solidarity and social progress are the motive forces of collective life.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Hidden Saga: Forgiveness
We tend to forget whole sagas of ourselves. Either they get pushed away, or there is an ever so subtle change in focus and they drift, leaving behind some residue of opinion on the matter. Then one day, in a sudden, inescapable, and inconvenient moment...
Pulling up to the house of the sector Feast, it is early evening and the sunlight has faded just enough that the rich colors of this quaint Albuquerque neighborhood can challenge the tyranny of the dominant sunlight. Looking towards the door of the house, a small Indian lady with a warm smile is greeting people at the door. Planning to return the smile, I find her vaguely familiar, too vague and too familiar for comfort. Hmm, The moment has passed. I greeted her, but my thoughts were distant and my expression was probably blank. I walk in to a crowd full of people, some familiar, some vague...
Some people just give you an instant impression. As I look outside through the sliding glass door, I see what should be a normal middle aged man moving a chair and doing other normal things. But part of me knows that there is some issue with him, he seems to be avoiding the crowd. I can definetely relate to the social anxiety. There is something about his posture that...
Oh my God! Wait, could it be...(sigh) it is. And that was his mom. Oh my God, this can't be real. That has to be him.
I have been asked to read a prayer, but I am frozen. From the corner of my eye, I see him standing in the back as I start reading. Words evaporate out of the moment as I seem to be speaking them. Other prayers are said as a flood of emotions swirl, anger, sadness...I miss my mom. I want to give her comfort as her part of me faces this symbol of abandonment that is knocking down my doors. I am frozen. A long winded story is now being told about who the hell knows what...
The choices are clear, I can either avoid him by striking up a conversation with that person over there, or...okay lets do that.
Me: Hi, how are you
...(response)...
Me: I know I have met you before...
...(response)...
Hmm, that probably seemed a little over eager. Lets try him, we have known each other for a while, this might have potential.
.......
Or not. He Just turned away, okay, well I can't just stand in this living room and hide out. Screw it. I am going to face this thing head on.
Me: Hi Chris.
Chris: Uh, your Jason right?
Me: Yeah, how are you doing.
Wow, I am surprised by how warm my greeting was to him. I don't know if I really meant it or not.
Chris: I am doing well, wow, you've grown quite a bit.
Me: Are you, where are you living at? Do you live here in Albuquerque?
Chris: No I am living in Tuscon now, I just came to help my mom make her move up to Taos, She is the Indian lady outside.
I know that. she is the one who treated my mom like she was an inconvenience, an unworthy bride for her son. she was the one who tore you away from her...
Chris: We were here for the Gathering of Nations.
I remember once that she gave me a single marble for my 12th birthday present. I had hundreds of marbles already; one more was like a drop in the bucket. I remember that I had to put on a smiling face and feign excitement.
Me: Cool. Wow, Its nice seeing you guys here. What has it been, like 10 years?
Chris: Something like that, yeah.
Me: What are you up to these days?
I feel like we are two adults, with some mixed history, catching up on old times. This is definitely a change from the sorta fatherish sonish relationship before...
Okay, concentrate. He is saying something about working for a machining company, that he helped to grow it and then he trained people who became his replacements. I am not totally sure, just keep eye contact.
Me: Man, that's really messed up, so you help him develop the company, and then when you ask for more money, they replace you with the people you trained?
Why am I just repeating what I thought he just said? Maybe to let him know that I am paying close attention? I am starting to get nervous now.
Chris: Yeah man, but the experience was good. I want to get back to making jewelery full time. So what have you been up to?
Me: Well, um, I have been going to school for quite a while, I am actually getting ready to defend my thesis sometime in July."
Chris: what is your degree in?
Me: Well my focus has been in geographic information science, which is in the department of geography.
I have practiced how to present my studies to people. I used to just say geography, but people hearken back to their 5th grade days and assume that I spend sleepless nights memorizing capitals. That's pretty much what I thought until I found out about GIS.
Chris: What kinds of jobs are out there for that.
Another frequently asked question. My ego has learned to just assume that they are ignorant for not knowing that this is a fascinating and prospective field.
Chris: Is it mainly for the government?
Me: There's really a lot that can be done. Yeah, for the government but also the private sector. Um, I just interviewed with a company that does modeling for homeland security, they create probability scenarios, they essentially model all the different ways that certain key sites, like uh, you know military and also some political, are vulnerable to terrorist attacks.
Phew, that was convoluted, I am really starting to get nervous now, I know that he can see it too. I am wondering if he is proud of me. He looks a little bit nervous also. He is probably wondering what I am thinking about him, about this encounter. So far I haven't betrayed any hard feelings, I think.
Me: There are also a lot of jobs for environmental organizations, doing environment modeling, and compliance. Also with urban planning, disaster relief, stuff like that.
Chris: Wow, that's really cool. I always knew that you were smart.
Me: Yeah well..
Chris: Are you married?
Me: Yeah, that's my wife right over there. In the pink shirt talking to that lady.
Chris: Oh wow. That's really cool...well it looks like you have grown up to be a fine young man.
Me: Well, I don't know, we'll have to see about that.
A part of me hates when people make judgments about me after only a brief acquaintance or re-acquaintance, even when they are positive judgments. It is always based upon a superficial assessment of how I'm dressed maybe, the fact that I am married, the fact that I am getting a master's degree. These "stats" seem to suggest that I am a fine and wholesome young man, yet reality is always more mixed. I still have my issues, similar ones that I had before the "stats".
Nevertheless, a coating of ice is melting from my heart. He is truly happy to see me, and is truly impressed with how I have turned out. I can remember now what I loved so much about him. He was fun. He coached my Jr high basketball team, he collected sports cards, we went hiking, fishing, camping. He was often caring and mindful of what the family needed, he was industrious around the house, he was truly loving. Most of the time.
The last time I had seen him, he was barnstorming through the house, with that bandanna he wore when he was callous. His mom had wanted him to move back with her to Arizona; we were in Oregon. There had been fights, my mom had said some things that were harsh. Then out of the blue, when we were both gone, he had left. Only a note.
And that's how I had remembered him. Selfish, aggressive, somebody who had abandoned my mom. There had been no closure. Everything that I had loved about him had been inaccessible until now. A hidden saga of wonderful memories had been tainted and locked up. As I look at him now, I love him, and I know that he loves me, and I know that he knows that I love him.
Chris: And how is your mom?
I knew this would come up sooner or later.
Me: She's doing good. Yeah, she's going to school right now, studying electrical engineering.
Chris: Wow, that is a change...So is she still married to that guy, what's his name McGettigan?
Me: Yeah, it's going well, they are doing well.
Wow, that this is surreal. But nice, we are both smiling, just need to keep up the good feelings.
(time passes)
Me: This is my wife, Sjona.
Sjona: Hi, how are you doing.
Chris: Hi, I'm Chris.
Me: I knew him a long time back, we haven't seen each other for like 10 years.
Okay, I'll tell her who he is later
Chris: Yeah, I haven't seen this guy for a long time, I was actually married to his mom.
Sjona: Oh, ok. Wow that's cool that you guys have met up again.
Chris: You have found yourself a good catch. He was always really smart, and he had a lot of friends.
Well, actually, I didn't really have any friends most of the time we were both in Oregon. My weekends were spent alone, looking out the windows into the eternally gray Oregon skies. Oh well.
Chris: I remember that we would go riding our bikes along the beach. Do you remember that?
Me: Yeah yeah, that was fun.
I remember the beach, but I don't actually remember the bikes...
(time passes)
Me: I hope that your business idea works out. That would be really cool if you could go to Hawaii and do that.
Chris: Yeah, who knows, you know, I have a dream at least. Only God really knows what we are doing. I now know the reason I came here tonight, it was to see you again.
Me: Yeah, same here. It's funny, I wasn't actually wanting to come tonight, I, well I knew that I needed to come.
(phone numbers are exchanged. We hug and then we leave)
As I think about him now, I can finally understand that we are both human and we have both made mistakes. Many of my fondest memories involve him. He is like my brother. It didn't work out between him and my mom...
And that's okay.
Pulling up to the house of the sector Feast, it is early evening and the sunlight has faded just enough that the rich colors of this quaint Albuquerque neighborhood can challenge the tyranny of the dominant sunlight. Looking towards the door of the house, a small Indian lady with a warm smile is greeting people at the door. Planning to return the smile, I find her vaguely familiar, too vague and too familiar for comfort. Hmm, The moment has passed. I greeted her, but my thoughts were distant and my expression was probably blank. I walk in to a crowd full of people, some familiar, some vague...
Some people just give you an instant impression. As I look outside through the sliding glass door, I see what should be a normal middle aged man moving a chair and doing other normal things. But part of me knows that there is some issue with him, he seems to be avoiding the crowd. I can definetely relate to the social anxiety. There is something about his posture that...
Oh my God! Wait, could it be...(sigh) it is. And that was his mom. Oh my God, this can't be real. That has to be him.
I have been asked to read a prayer, but I am frozen. From the corner of my eye, I see him standing in the back as I start reading. Words evaporate out of the moment as I seem to be speaking them. Other prayers are said as a flood of emotions swirl, anger, sadness...I miss my mom. I want to give her comfort as her part of me faces this symbol of abandonment that is knocking down my doors. I am frozen. A long winded story is now being told about who the hell knows what...
The choices are clear, I can either avoid him by striking up a conversation with that person over there, or...okay lets do that.
Me: Hi, how are you
...(response)...
Me: I know I have met you before...
...(response)...
Hmm, that probably seemed a little over eager. Lets try him, we have known each other for a while, this might have potential.
.......
Or not. He Just turned away, okay, well I can't just stand in this living room and hide out. Screw it. I am going to face this thing head on.
Me: Hi Chris.
Chris: Uh, your Jason right?
Me: Yeah, how are you doing.
Wow, I am surprised by how warm my greeting was to him. I don't know if I really meant it or not.
Chris: I am doing well, wow, you've grown quite a bit.
Me: Are you, where are you living at? Do you live here in Albuquerque?
Chris: No I am living in Tuscon now, I just came to help my mom make her move up to Taos, She is the Indian lady outside.
I know that. she is the one who treated my mom like she was an inconvenience, an unworthy bride for her son. she was the one who tore you away from her...
Chris: We were here for the Gathering of Nations.
I remember once that she gave me a single marble for my 12th birthday present. I had hundreds of marbles already; one more was like a drop in the bucket. I remember that I had to put on a smiling face and feign excitement.
Me: Cool. Wow, Its nice seeing you guys here. What has it been, like 10 years?
Chris: Something like that, yeah.
Me: What are you up to these days?
I feel like we are two adults, with some mixed history, catching up on old times. This is definitely a change from the sorta fatherish sonish relationship before...
Okay, concentrate. He is saying something about working for a machining company, that he helped to grow it and then he trained people who became his replacements. I am not totally sure, just keep eye contact.
Me: Man, that's really messed up, so you help him develop the company, and then when you ask for more money, they replace you with the people you trained?
Why am I just repeating what I thought he just said? Maybe to let him know that I am paying close attention? I am starting to get nervous now.
Chris: Yeah man, but the experience was good. I want to get back to making jewelery full time. So what have you been up to?
Me: Well, um, I have been going to school for quite a while, I am actually getting ready to defend my thesis sometime in July."
Chris: what is your degree in?
Me: Well my focus has been in geographic information science, which is in the department of geography.
I have practiced how to present my studies to people. I used to just say geography, but people hearken back to their 5th grade days and assume that I spend sleepless nights memorizing capitals. That's pretty much what I thought until I found out about GIS.
Chris: What kinds of jobs are out there for that.
Another frequently asked question. My ego has learned to just assume that they are ignorant for not knowing that this is a fascinating and prospective field.
Chris: Is it mainly for the government?
Me: There's really a lot that can be done. Yeah, for the government but also the private sector. Um, I just interviewed with a company that does modeling for homeland security, they create probability scenarios, they essentially model all the different ways that certain key sites, like uh, you know military and also some political, are vulnerable to terrorist attacks.
Phew, that was convoluted, I am really starting to get nervous now, I know that he can see it too. I am wondering if he is proud of me. He looks a little bit nervous also. He is probably wondering what I am thinking about him, about this encounter. So far I haven't betrayed any hard feelings, I think.
Me: There are also a lot of jobs for environmental organizations, doing environment modeling, and compliance. Also with urban planning, disaster relief, stuff like that.
Chris: Wow, that's really cool. I always knew that you were smart.
Me: Yeah well..
Chris: Are you married?
Me: Yeah, that's my wife right over there. In the pink shirt talking to that lady.
Chris: Oh wow. That's really cool...well it looks like you have grown up to be a fine young man.
Me: Well, I don't know, we'll have to see about that.
A part of me hates when people make judgments about me after only a brief acquaintance or re-acquaintance, even when they are positive judgments. It is always based upon a superficial assessment of how I'm dressed maybe, the fact that I am married, the fact that I am getting a master's degree. These "stats" seem to suggest that I am a fine and wholesome young man, yet reality is always more mixed. I still have my issues, similar ones that I had before the "stats".
Nevertheless, a coating of ice is melting from my heart. He is truly happy to see me, and is truly impressed with how I have turned out. I can remember now what I loved so much about him. He was fun. He coached my Jr high basketball team, he collected sports cards, we went hiking, fishing, camping. He was often caring and mindful of what the family needed, he was industrious around the house, he was truly loving. Most of the time.
The last time I had seen him, he was barnstorming through the house, with that bandanna he wore when he was callous. His mom had wanted him to move back with her to Arizona; we were in Oregon. There had been fights, my mom had said some things that were harsh. Then out of the blue, when we were both gone, he had left. Only a note.
And that's how I had remembered him. Selfish, aggressive, somebody who had abandoned my mom. There had been no closure. Everything that I had loved about him had been inaccessible until now. A hidden saga of wonderful memories had been tainted and locked up. As I look at him now, I love him, and I know that he loves me, and I know that he knows that I love him.
Chris: And how is your mom?
I knew this would come up sooner or later.
Me: She's doing good. Yeah, she's going to school right now, studying electrical engineering.
Chris: Wow, that is a change...So is she still married to that guy, what's his name McGettigan?
Me: Yeah, it's going well, they are doing well.
Wow, that this is surreal. But nice, we are both smiling, just need to keep up the good feelings.
(time passes)
Me: This is my wife, Sjona.
Sjona: Hi, how are you doing.
Chris: Hi, I'm Chris.
Me: I knew him a long time back, we haven't seen each other for like 10 years.
Okay, I'll tell her who he is later
Chris: Yeah, I haven't seen this guy for a long time, I was actually married to his mom.
Sjona: Oh, ok. Wow that's cool that you guys have met up again.
Chris: You have found yourself a good catch. He was always really smart, and he had a lot of friends.
Well, actually, I didn't really have any friends most of the time we were both in Oregon. My weekends were spent alone, looking out the windows into the eternally gray Oregon skies. Oh well.
Chris: I remember that we would go riding our bikes along the beach. Do you remember that?
Me: Yeah yeah, that was fun.
I remember the beach, but I don't actually remember the bikes...
(time passes)
Me: I hope that your business idea works out. That would be really cool if you could go to Hawaii and do that.
Chris: Yeah, who knows, you know, I have a dream at least. Only God really knows what we are doing. I now know the reason I came here tonight, it was to see you again.
Me: Yeah, same here. It's funny, I wasn't actually wanting to come tonight, I, well I knew that I needed to come.
(phone numbers are exchanged. We hug and then we leave)
As I think about him now, I can finally understand that we are both human and we have both made mistakes. Many of my fondest memories involve him. He is like my brother. It didn't work out between him and my mom...
And that's okay.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
The Spectrum of Religious Skepticism
While there is really nothing here about religion and belief that I haven't heard either of these two say, the fact that they are discussing it together is kind of exciting to me. I have discussed both of their thinking previously on this blog. They pretty much represent both sides of the skeptical post-religious worldview. Hitchen's, along with Dawkins, is probably the most outspoken and well spoken, if also condescending, public atheist. Wright threads the needle between materialism and teleology, while arguing that religious behavior is mainly a proxy for economic and political motivations. He is also a practicing Buddhist.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Teaching the Baha’i Faith on College Campuses: Part One
Before, launching into this essay, I’d just like to express how happy I am to be writing again. For the better part of two years I was writing on a nearly regular basis. But this ceased when three months ago, I threw myself wholeheartedly back into studying Arabic. I’ve now progressed to the point where I’ve received an offer to assist in translating the vast body of untranslated Baha’i Writings during my free time. Granted, there are amazing resources that make this relatively simple, and the fine-tuning of these translations would be done by experts. There’s more people doing this sort of work than you might first think. So, it’s not like I have to be extremely proficient in the language to pull this off. Nonetheless, it’s another sign that God confirms us when we show forth effort and hope for his assistance. Then, just recently, I began to return to philosophy, which is another great passion of mine, and my on-going theological project: grounding a vision of the broad mission of the Baha’i Faith in rigorous inquests into the historical development of its lines of action. What follows is the product of some personal reflections. Undoubtedly they have been influenced by that broader project.
Tonight, I’ve had some thoughts running through my head about teaching the Baha’i Faith among college students. This is in large part sparked by a brief stopover at the Earlham College website. Photographs, course listings, and a student blog reminded me of the school we Earlhamites love to hate, hate to love, but to which we feel indissolubly linked because we are, in fact, it. I know many people who read this blog are Baha’is who either are or were recently attending college. So teaching the Baha’i Faith in such a setting is something to which many readers here have given thought. Furthermore, in a previous generation college campuses were the most fertile field for teaching that Western Baha’i communities had encountered on their own soil. Reviving that luster is certainly a worthy project. I think I’ve hit upon a reasonably systematic approach. At the very least, I think it’s a good start. I’d like to hear everyone else’s thoughts on this, especially if you’ve had recent experience in this area of teaching.
Firstly, such efforts should be as fully informed as possible by systematic teaching efforts happening in other parts of the world. The framework for action developed and set in motion since 1996 maximizes the capacity to learn from other individuals, communities, and institutions. There’s no need for Baha’i students to re-invent the wheel. For many of us, this may seem like common-sense. But at least for me personally, it took years for to come around to this view. Even after graduation I still clung to the idea that college campuses were so different from other settings that it was best for college clubs to start nearly from scratch.
Secondly, plans of action should be devised with respect to the natural rhythm of college life. One consequence of this is that dividing the year into four three month cycles, as in most other settings, could be counter-productive. The school year is already divided into its own periods, and the natural transitions between those should be taken into account. Every year begins with Fall semester (about 4 months). Then after a short break (3-4 weeks). Following that there is Spring semester (another 4 months). And then there is a relatively long summer break in which a significant number of the student body is absent (about 3 months). If student life is well-integrated into the broader community and there is already a vibrant teaching process among this latter population, then a standard plan of four three-months cycles may be quite sufficient. However, if student life is heavily organized around the academic calendar, then the best method is likely to be approaching each semester as one cycle in an Intensive Program of Growth (IPG). The semester would begin with an expansion phase. Most of the semester would consist of consolidation. And finally towards the end, participants would engage in a period of reflection and planning.
Such an approach would take advantage of the wide fluctuation in receptivity clearly linked to the cycle of the academic year. The beginning of a semester is a time for starting anew. This is especially the case with incoming freshman. It’s a time when student’s schedules are the most free. Homework, extracurriculars, and bad habits haven’t begun piling up. There’s still time in the week to join a study circle or get involved with a new service activity, conducted in the broader community, such as a children’s class or a Junior Youth group. It’s also a time, and this is especially the case with incoming freshman, for exploring a new spiritual path, and perhaps committing oneself to a new religious community. Intensive efforts to expand the scale of Baha’i community life can then naturally transition into a steady consolidation process as daily routines settle over the campus. In my experience, receptivity to core activities and to the fundamental verities of the Baha’i Faith tends to crash within just a few weeks of the start of the semester. New activities can be consolidated and new believers can be confirmed over the course of an entire semester. But that requires getting off on the right foot early on.
I’m covering a lot of ground with this essay. So I’ve decided to break it into two parts. This doesn’t actually make it easier to read. But it sure feels like it when the webpage loads. It continues with a post entitled, Teaching the Baha’i Faith on College Campuses: Part Two. It should be pretty easy to find.
Tonight, I’ve had some thoughts running through my head about teaching the Baha’i Faith among college students. This is in large part sparked by a brief stopover at the Earlham College website. Photographs, course listings, and a student blog reminded me of the school we Earlhamites love to hate, hate to love, but to which we feel indissolubly linked because we are, in fact, it. I know many people who read this blog are Baha’is who either are or were recently attending college. So teaching the Baha’i Faith in such a setting is something to which many readers here have given thought. Furthermore, in a previous generation college campuses were the most fertile field for teaching that Western Baha’i communities had encountered on their own soil. Reviving that luster is certainly a worthy project. I think I’ve hit upon a reasonably systematic approach. At the very least, I think it’s a good start. I’d like to hear everyone else’s thoughts on this, especially if you’ve had recent experience in this area of teaching.
Firstly, such efforts should be as fully informed as possible by systematic teaching efforts happening in other parts of the world. The framework for action developed and set in motion since 1996 maximizes the capacity to learn from other individuals, communities, and institutions. There’s no need for Baha’i students to re-invent the wheel. For many of us, this may seem like common-sense. But at least for me personally, it took years for to come around to this view. Even after graduation I still clung to the idea that college campuses were so different from other settings that it was best for college clubs to start nearly from scratch.
Secondly, plans of action should be devised with respect to the natural rhythm of college life. One consequence of this is that dividing the year into four three month cycles, as in most other settings, could be counter-productive. The school year is already divided into its own periods, and the natural transitions between those should be taken into account. Every year begins with Fall semester (about 4 months). Then after a short break (3-4 weeks). Following that there is Spring semester (another 4 months). And then there is a relatively long summer break in which a significant number of the student body is absent (about 3 months). If student life is well-integrated into the broader community and there is already a vibrant teaching process among this latter population, then a standard plan of four three-months cycles may be quite sufficient. However, if student life is heavily organized around the academic calendar, then the best method is likely to be approaching each semester as one cycle in an Intensive Program of Growth (IPG). The semester would begin with an expansion phase. Most of the semester would consist of consolidation. And finally towards the end, participants would engage in a period of reflection and planning.
Such an approach would take advantage of the wide fluctuation in receptivity clearly linked to the cycle of the academic year. The beginning of a semester is a time for starting anew. This is especially the case with incoming freshman. It’s a time when student’s schedules are the most free. Homework, extracurriculars, and bad habits haven’t begun piling up. There’s still time in the week to join a study circle or get involved with a new service activity, conducted in the broader community, such as a children’s class or a Junior Youth group. It’s also a time, and this is especially the case with incoming freshman, for exploring a new spiritual path, and perhaps committing oneself to a new religious community. Intensive efforts to expand the scale of Baha’i community life can then naturally transition into a steady consolidation process as daily routines settle over the campus. In my experience, receptivity to core activities and to the fundamental verities of the Baha’i Faith tends to crash within just a few weeks of the start of the semester. New activities can be consolidated and new believers can be confirmed over the course of an entire semester. But that requires getting off on the right foot early on.
I’m covering a lot of ground with this essay. So I’ve decided to break it into two parts. This doesn’t actually make it easier to read. But it sure feels like it when the webpage loads. It continues with a post entitled, Teaching the Baha’i Faith on College Campuses: Part Two. It should be pretty easy to find.
Teaching the Baha’i Faith on College Campuses: Part Two
The third point I’d like to emphasize is that living the Baha’i life and taking action accordingly is most vibrant when it is thoroughly integrated into other aspects of one’s college life. It’s not just that Baha’is should balance Baha’i aspects of life with supposedly non-Baha’i aspects of life. This would be to wrongly assume that there is an aspect of one’s life that isn’t, or perhaps shouldn’t be, called to account by the Baha’i Revelation. Just as Jesus is Messiah seven days a week and not just on Sunday, so too, the transforming potency of Baha’u’llah’s Word is to be brought to bear in some way on every facet of human life. This, of course, has to do with one’s approach to studying. The central activity of college life is obtaining an education and is highly praised in the Baha’i Faith. And, of course, the pursuit of a degree does not override everything else in life. But beyond one’s studies, this insight greatly affects the way a student builds and develops relationships with others during that time. If it is at cross-purposes with one’s spiritual commitments then efforts to engage with others on a spiritual level will feel all the more contrived and unnatural. Sometimes I think about what it would be like to go back and visit Earlham now that I’ve graduated and been away for so long. Sadly, I wouldn’t know anyone besides the faculty. But it also occurred to me that if I did get into conversations with students I would probably be relatively confident conversing with them about spiritual matters. In fact, I suspect I would be far more confident than I was when I was a student. And the crucial difference is that the way I would relate with those students would be entirely different than the way I related with friends and acquaintances when I was myself a student.
Looking back, I think one of the biggest obstacles to being a more effective teacher was a fear of social stigmatization. I was afraid people might look at me in a less positive light if I were to present the Baha’i Faith with more courage. This is in large part because most of the relationships I developed in college were generally unrelated to my commitments and passions as a Baha’i. This is obviously related to the fact that I was nearly half way through my second year by the time I became a Baha’i. But even if I had, I think the outcome would have been quite similar. The Baha’i Faith had little to do with the way I made and developed friendships, even after I became confirmed in the faith. And once that lifestyle was established I feared that people might feel betrayed if I started broaching spiritual matters more directly. As an aside, it never occurred to me and others that our friends and acquaintances might feel pleasantly surprised rather than betrayed in such a scenario. But however torn I and others felt by this inner conflict, there is another way. And this is to establish relationships upon a spiritual basis. By this is not meant a doctrinal or sectarian basis. Rather it means, perhaps, that interactions are based around activities and topics that uplift the human soul, spread joy, and advance the cause of justice in the world. This is further strengthened, if these relationships are built around studying the Word of God for this age and striving to put it into practice.
As I mentioned earlier, the beginning of a semester is a great time to start anew. Just as this is the case for individuals contacted during an expansion phase, it is all the truer for those confirmed collaborators stepping out to begin those relationships in the first place. This presents an exciting opportunity for incoming Baha’i students. As you probably know, Baha’i youth are increasingly at the forefront of teaching efforts before they reach an age for beginning higher education. And increased focus on the education of children and the spiritual empowerment of early adolescents will only reinforce this trend in the years to come. With growing frequency, Baha’i youth will begin their college career with the will and capacity to engage in intensive teaching efforts. Effective planning and coordination between Baha’i upperclassmen and these incoming students can help draw them to the forefront of teaching as soon as they step on campus. Not only can this greatly augment the capacity and enthusiasm of the broader effort, but it can also be a profound blessing for the incoming student. There are many ways to make new friends and get established when entering college. Some are better than others. But looking back, I can’t think of any better way of beginning college than to seek and find new souls with whom to walk on a spiritual path of service.
Looking back, I think one of the biggest obstacles to being a more effective teacher was a fear of social stigmatization. I was afraid people might look at me in a less positive light if I were to present the Baha’i Faith with more courage. This is in large part because most of the relationships I developed in college were generally unrelated to my commitments and passions as a Baha’i. This is obviously related to the fact that I was nearly half way through my second year by the time I became a Baha’i. But even if I had, I think the outcome would have been quite similar. The Baha’i Faith had little to do with the way I made and developed friendships, even after I became confirmed in the faith. And once that lifestyle was established I feared that people might feel betrayed if I started broaching spiritual matters more directly. As an aside, it never occurred to me and others that our friends and acquaintances might feel pleasantly surprised rather than betrayed in such a scenario. But however torn I and others felt by this inner conflict, there is another way. And this is to establish relationships upon a spiritual basis. By this is not meant a doctrinal or sectarian basis. Rather it means, perhaps, that interactions are based around activities and topics that uplift the human soul, spread joy, and advance the cause of justice in the world. This is further strengthened, if these relationships are built around studying the Word of God for this age and striving to put it into practice.
As I mentioned earlier, the beginning of a semester is a great time to start anew. Just as this is the case for individuals contacted during an expansion phase, it is all the truer for those confirmed collaborators stepping out to begin those relationships in the first place. This presents an exciting opportunity for incoming Baha’i students. As you probably know, Baha’i youth are increasingly at the forefront of teaching efforts before they reach an age for beginning higher education. And increased focus on the education of children and the spiritual empowerment of early adolescents will only reinforce this trend in the years to come. With growing frequency, Baha’i youth will begin their college career with the will and capacity to engage in intensive teaching efforts. Effective planning and coordination between Baha’i upperclassmen and these incoming students can help draw them to the forefront of teaching as soon as they step on campus. Not only can this greatly augment the capacity and enthusiasm of the broader effort, but it can also be a profound blessing for the incoming student. There are many ways to make new friends and get established when entering college. Some are better than others. But looking back, I can’t think of any better way of beginning college than to seek and find new souls with whom to walk on a spiritual path of service.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Human Civilization
For 3 billion years the earth was made up of nothing but single celled organisms that functioned as individuals. Then, a billion years ago, gradually the cooperation of some cells created a new kind of life. The world of multi-celled life created new potentialities that allowed human intelligence to form. In the same way, throughout the evolution of humans, each person functioned as an individual. Then gradually the conscious cooperation of different people allowed communities to form. The world of community life created new potentialities, such as language, education, and technology.
If the cells that make up your body were to develop an ego and free will, they may decide not to cooperate with the rest of the body. If your liver became self-conscious it could demand to be better compensated because you wouldn’t survive without it. Luckily your cells and organs have no choice. They are composed and function with perfect cooperation, following a code that instructs their behavior. The human body regulates and heals itself, but your conscious self is not involved in the instruction of cells and organs.
Humans do have free will. An individual may decide to act selfishly, a nation may decide to use force against another, but in reality we are all part of the same world community, and the full potential of human civilization has only dimly been realized. When true cooperation, love, and unity become a reality, the organism of human civilization will throb and produce fruit.
Religions, over the centuries, have been the primary gardeners and advancers of human civilization. In the centuries following, Muhammad, Jesus, Buddha, and others, a civilization thrived under their teachings and achieved the highest level of development and unity possible at the time. Baha'u'llah's teachings will bring about the first true world civilization, and create a new organism, as significant as the cooperation of cells that created life on earth.
Self Identity
Who are you? What makes up... you?
Are you a collection of cells? Are you a brain? A personality? Memories? This seems like such a simple and fundamental question, but the answer is not apparent. If you are your body, then chopping off a finger or arm would reduce your essence, but that doesn’t happen. A person may lose all 4 limbs and still be considered a whole person. Likewise, a person may lose their memory entirely, but still keep their intellect intact.
You can’t live without a heart. Is the essence of you in your heart? No, it just pumps blood. What about the brain? After all, your brain is where it feels like your “thinking” takes place. Your brain controls your nerves, processes your senses, gives you endorphins when you do what it likes, but your brain is not you. If you switched brains with Barack Obama, which one would be you? The body with your brain? Or your body with his brain? The brain would retain much of the memories of your life, but where is the thing that makes YOU.
“When you wish to reflect upon or consider a matter, you consult something within you. You say, shall I do it, or shall I not do it? Is it better to make this journey or abandon it? Whom do you consult? Who is within you deciding this question? Surely there is a distinct power, an intelligent ego. Were it not distinct from your ego, you would not be consulting it. It is greater than the faculty of thought. It is your spirit which teaches you, which advises and decides upon matters. Who is it that interrogates? Who is it that answers? There is no doubt that it is the spirit and that there is no change or transformation in it, for it is not a composition of elements, and anything that is not composed of elements is eternal… the body may become weakened in its members. It may be dismembered, or one of its members may be incapacitated. The whole body may be paralyzed; and yet the mind, the spirit, remains ever the same. The mind decides; the thought is perfect; and yet the hand is withered, the feet have become useless, the spinal column is paralyzed, and there is no muscular movement at all, but the spirit is in the same status.”Abdu’l-Baha
After some time passes, your body will get old, your brain will falter, your hair will grey, and you will get old. Is that old person you? After all, that person will likely not remember anything you’re doing right now, and will probably have different values and priorities. You will work for decades putting away a retirement fund for that old person to spend on vacations to Italy. Think back to when you were in second grade, was that you? That young person who if you met now you might be annoyed with. Is YOU a momentary thing? Are you only YOU right now at this moment?
Let’s say that you are your brain. If that’s true, then what part of your brain? If you cut out whole chunks of your brain, the rest will still function. And what’s a brain? A bunch of cells, billions of neurons connected by synapses, running trains of electrical pulses that even with today’s technology cannot even be dimly deciphered. What does a brain get us anyway? Jellyfish get by without a brain, and they are able to hunt very intelligently.
“The mind which is in man, the existence of which is recognized—where is it in him? If you examine the body with the eye, the ear or the other senses, you will not find it; nevertheless, it exists. Therefore, the mind has no place, but it is connected with the brain.”Abdu’l-Baha
Obviously there is something special about the human brain, because we have self-consciousness. Modern humans are called Homo sapiens sapiens, which means, “earthly being who thinks about thinking”. We don’t just think, we think about what it means to think. Yet we can never fully comprehend our own self identity, the rational faculty of our minds.
“Having recognized thy powerlessness to attain to an adequate understanding of that Reality which abideth within thee, thou wilt readily admit the futility of such efforts as may be attempted by thee, or by any of the created things, to fathom the mystery of the Living God, the Day Star of unfading glory, the Ancient of everlasting days. This confession of helplessness which mature contemplation must eventually impel every mind to make is in itself the acme of human understanding, and marketh the culmination of man's development."Baha’u’llah
Religions of the world teach of this conscious self as continuing on after physical death. This, in a sense, is the essence of religion, and the next world is taught to be the real world.
“Thou hast asked Me whether man… will retain, after his physical death, the self-same individuality, personality, consciousness, and understanding that characterize his life in this world. If this should be the case, how is it, thou hast observed, that whereas such slight injuries to his mental faculties as fainting and severe illness deprive him of his understanding and consciousness, his death, which must involve the decomposition of his body and the dissolution of its elements, is powerless to destroy that understanding and extinguish that consciousness? How can any one imagine that man’s consciousness and personality will be maintained, when the very instruments necessary to their existence and function will have completely disintegrated?
“Know thou that the soul of man is exalted above, and is independent of all infirmities of body or mind. That a sick person showeth signs of weakness is due to the hindrances that interpose themselves between his soul and his body, for the soul itself remaineth unaffected by any bodily ailments. Consider the light of the lamp. Though an external object may interfere with its radiance, the light itself continueth to shine with undiminished power. In like manner, every malady afflicting the body of man is an impediment that preventeth the soul from manifesting its inherent might and power. When it leaveth the body, however, it will evince such ascendancy, and reveal such influence as no force on earth can equal...
“Consider, moreover, how the fruit, ere it is formed, lieth potentially within the tree. Were the tree to be cut into pieces, no sign nor any part of the fruit, however small, could be detected. When it appeareth, however, it manifesteth itself, as thou hast observed, in its wondrous beauty and glorious perfection. Certain fruits, indeed, attain their fullest development only after being severed from the tree.”Baha’u’llah
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
