Category Archives: Philosophy

Jul 12 2012
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Family, Health, Philosophy

The Garden of Your Mind

I shared this last on Facebook last night, but I’m sure it fell so far down the news feed that no one will see it today – especially since such a small percentage of people stray from the Home page to visit Timelines (Walls) directly. I found a link to it on a photographer’s blog post. It’s catchy because it’s auto-tuned, but something else about it resonated with me so much that I felt it deserved its own blog post!

Here’s a version that isn’t remixed.

“Did you ever think of the many things that you’ve learned to do since you were a tiny baby?” Think about that! Why do we now go through our days doing the same thing over and over and balk about learning new things?

“You have wonderful ideas. All you have to do is think about them, and they’ll grow.” They really will! The trouble is, as most people would argue, we don’t have TIME to think about them. I’m going to play the BS card on that one. We don’t MAKE time to think about them. If you make time to do things that make you truly happy, bring you joy, then the rough things are easier to endure as well.

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May 10 2012
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Life, Philosophy, Religion

Beautiful, Part 1 | Church

Watch this. No, seriously! Watch this!

Don’t be afraid to comment. If you make it through the first 15 minutes, that’s about the point where you might be able to make out someone saying “Dude!” (that would be me). Yes, I said “Dude!” during a sermon at Elevation Church.

That’s what’s kind of cool about this church (besides the fact that the tattooed pastor wears jeans and plaid shirts). You don’t have to sit there all prim & proper. They affectionately call themselves, “the church of the jacked up“.

I still have my issues with the whole faith thing, but there HAS to be something more out there – karma, cosmic energy, fate, or an omnipresent being we call God. There’s still a big part of me that thinks people need so desperately to give fate a name (God) or that they can’t accept that things happen as they are going to happen and leave it at that.

However… there are moments like Sunday that reach out and slap me in the face and make me wonder. I mean really spooky like. That sermon was going to happen whether we were there or not, and it had been planned in advance. We learned something rather sensitive about someone dear to us the day before, and that very thing was touched on in this sermon. I wasn’t even planning on attending until two hours before the service started!

Karma? Fate? Coincidence? Or did this supernatural entity we call God put us there to hear this?

I know exactly why I can’t just let go and believe by faith alone that God exists. I don’t like to be vulnerable. I like to be in control. I don’t want anyone to see me get caught up in something that isn’t grounded – that isn’t hard fact – that doesn’t let ME drive the bus! Honestly, I’m a little jealous of those who are comfortable lifting their hands in worship. This may sound wacky, but to do so exposes armpits, and I am extremely ticklish! To do so exposes more than that, though. It exposes my soul. I’m not comfortable with that.

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Jan 21 2012
3 Comments
Life, Philosophy

Choices

Who we are is largely shaped by the choices we make. The beauty of it is that we do make choices. Even when nothing is chosen, we have made a choice not to choose! If we choose this instead of that and end up with undesirable consequences, does that mean we made a bad choice? Not necessarily. From such choices comes experience and knowledge. If we choose that instead of this, does that guarantee desirable consequences? Not always! This may work for one, and that may work for another. Perhaps in reverse, the opposite is true! You just never know.

Some readers may choose to assume they know what triggered this thought process. I doubt they’d be right because my mind is a complicated place. I’ll never tell! :)

1/22/12 UPDATE:

After thought … Often times, a person is fully aware of the consequences that may follow a choice they make. Yet, for reasons only they need to understand, they make the choice anyway often causing consternation among observers. So observers, take heart! For it is the chooser’s choice to suffer the consequences and work through whatever they need to work through to get to their ultimate goal. Sometimes it’s beneficial for a path to a goal to be longer. ;)

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Oct 28 2011
20 Comments
Philosophy, Religion

Agnosticism, Skepticism, Pick an ‘ism’ | Evidence

The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict

This is the fairly large book by Josh McDowell that I found in my closet the other day. I remember buying it years ago when the left side of my brain took over and started looking for proof of many things in the Bible. I was already embarking on other Bible studies and reading the entire Bible cover to cover, though. By the time I finished those, I was satisfied … for a while.

I read “A Case for Christ” and was also satisfied with this historical facts listed in that book. I believe Jesus existed, and he was a good man. What I still struggled with were the supernatural acts of a being that no one could see, hear, or touch, and that this being was Jesus’s father and also Jesus himself. Immaculate conception???

So I picked up “A Case for a Creator” and was overwhelmed because it was a much harder read than the other book. I never finished it and have no idea what happened to either book. So I’m hoping that this Evidence book will fill in some blanks for me.

The series of posts I write while reading this book will be called “Evidence”, and it will be a place where I share my questions, feelings, doubts, answers, and revelations. My first question that I even jotted down right in the book after reading the author’s note in the beginning is this…

Why do people need to rely on something (God, Jesus, etc.) to be a loving, forgiving, generous, unselfish person? It is possible to be all of these things without believing in something you can’t see, touch, or know is real.

Josh (the author) said it himself in his note…

How could something as flimsy as Christianity stand up to an intellectual examination?

This is something very personal, and I know there are a lot of people out there who think you shouldn’t discuss “religion”. I think they’re wrong. You probably shouldn’t push your own beliefs on others, but there’s nothing wrong with discussing religious or spiritual beliefs. So feel free to reply to any post in this series with your thoughts, insight, or questions. {All replies are subject to approval. Any blatant attacks on other comments will not be approved. I invite healthy, civilized discussion only.}

I want to describe where I stand going into this study, but I don’t know how to explain thoroughly enough and still keep it brief or easy to follow. My mind is hyperactive!

OK, so I’ve already mentioned my struggle with the supernatural-ness of it all. My mind wanders to all the cults out there and how people say they’re so bad. People are easily swept into believing all sorts of things that Christians say are false. How do I know Christianity isn’t also a cult? I’m not saying it is! Don’t get your panties in a bunch! I know it’s so much bigger than any other following, but it clearly has many of the same characteristics of what we call cults.

My biggest issue with organized religion is the recitation of creeds in unison to profess our faith. These things are not in the Bible. Why do we have to do this? The Lord’s Prayer is in the Bible. I have no issue reciting that one in unison.

Then there’s the belief that “the Lord will provide”. This is even straight from the Bible, but it’s certainly tossed around by many. How do we know this supernatural being will provide? What if things turn out how they do simply because that’s how they were going to turn out – period? If God knows the number of our days and knows what will happen, then how can prayer change things? Those two things are contradictory. If we change things through prayer, then what God already knew would happen isn’t going to happen that way anymore. Is your head spinning yet? Do you have an answer for that one? Where does this free will come into play if He has already planned our days? Do we have a point A and point B in place but alter that path along the way by our own free will? Is that how it works?

These are just a few of the things I psychoanalyze. How do I know the whole concept of God isn’t purely psychological? The power of suggestion is a just that – a powerful thing! Couldn’t the idea of a Holy Spirit dwelling within us be a powerful psychological suggestion?

To the other extreme, science would have us believe that humans began as an amoeba and slowly evolved over time. They also have said that we evolved from apes. If so, then why are they still in existence? However, if you think about how life develops now from two single cells that join together and create an entire body full of vital organs and an elaborate central nervous system in just nine months, there’s no denying how amazing that is!

I see how happy and content people with strong faith are; how full of joy they are. I want that. I also see how uncomfortable some people are around those who are exuberantly overflowing with their love of Christ. I don’t want to make people feel uncomfortable. Then I see the worst – people who call themselves Christians but turn their backs on people who don’t believe exactly what they believe. I can’t accept that. Love others as you love yourself. Live as Jesus lived. I don’t remember reading anything about Jesus turning his back on anyone. If I’m wrong, please give me chapter and verse so I can look it up.

Now that I’ve laid this all out here, it should be interesting to document what I learn from this book, which is technically not a true book but a compilation of notes prepared for the author’s lecture series, “Christianity: Hoax or History?”

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Jul 16 2011
1 Comment
Life, Philosophy, Religion

What Exactly is Happiness?

I think it’s a misconception to think that to be happy, you have to be bursting with the emotion with a life full of laughter at every turn. People (and I think especially Americans) are always searching for happiness and often not quite feeling like they’ve found it or can maintain it. Consider Galatians 5:22-26 (Contemporary English Version):

22God’s Spirit makes us loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, 23gentle, and self-controlled. There is no law against behaving in any of these ways. 24And because we belong to Christ Jesus, we have killed our selfish feelings and desires. 25God’s Spirit has given us life, and so we should follow the Spirit. 26But don’t be conceited or make others jealous by claiming to be better than they are.

Is it not possible to consider happiness found when living this way? Being content in the moment and not always looking for something more can equate to happiness. When we learn to be truly grateful for what we do have, then we can find pure joy in simply being!

I also like this quote from the movie “Eat Pray Love”:

You want to know how to be here?  Stop constantly waiting for something.

I’m content when I’m being creative. Photography, making jewelry, and even writing are all creative outlets for me. I’m content to sit and read. I’m content watching a movie or TV show. I’m content playing old-fashioned board or card games. I’m content walking around and exploring or even just sitting at a park. I’m not a high-energy person, so these things appeal to me but may seem boring to others.

When are you content?

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Jun 07 2011
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Family, Life, Philosophy

Rejection

It doesn’t mean you’re not loved or appreciated just the way you are!

So why does it hurt so much? When we try for something and don’t get it, it’s not like we lost something we had. A dream was crushed for sure, but our lives will continue on just as they had without that thing we wanted.

My daughter is feeling that type of rejection right now. Something she really wanted at school for next year didn’t happen for her. That protective mother part of me wants to scream, “What’s wrong with you people?!” But the logical part of me is ready with the duct tape to keep that other part quiet. :D

I recently felt the same type of rejection at work. I won’t mention work by name in this post because they’re watching via Google Alerts for anything containing the company names. :P I’ve been there 3.5 years and though I’ve switched job titles within three different departments, I’ve remained on the same pay scale the entire time. It’s possible that I’ve shot myself in the foot by switching around, despite assurances that is not the case. So I tried to bypass that by applying for an opening at a higher level. I was a strong contender (or so I was told), but the position went to someone who had been there almost two years longer than I have. The entire process took about a month, so I had time to get over the initial excitement of the very possibility and resign myself to the fact that it probably wouldn’t happen. That’s a good thing, or that feeling of rejection would have been much greater.

How we look at the situation can make a world of difference. What can we learn from it? Is it possible that it’s better we weren’t chosen? Are there other things we can do because we didn’t have to take on the responsibilities and time zappers associated with that position or opportunity?

For my situation, I know that I could have handled the added responsibilities and wildly varied tasks and daily schedules because that’s how I’m wired. On the other hand, I know that I will be able to remain highly productive right where I am. Maybe I am meant to be just a worker bee forever. By now, I’m very good at that role. I just don’t want to be pigeon-holed. Flattery and praise are nice, but putting it in the paycheck would be more helpful. ;)

For my daughter’s situation, perhaps the time required for what she had wanted so badly but was passed over for will be better used to her advantage elsewhere. I know it’s hard to see it that way immediately after the rejection but, in time, it gets easier to see it in a different light.

We have to be strong in the face of rejection. Keep pushing forward, or it can lead to depression or extreme pessimism. While you don’t have to completely hide your disappointment, remaining positive and keeping a good attitude will show professionalism and may even gain a little extra admiration for such qualities. Of course, a brief period of mourning is certainly in order! :D

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Jun 01 2011
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Life, Philosophy, Religion

Eye for an Eye

I saw a similar bumper sticker this morning…This is Old Testament law…

23 But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise. ~Ex. 21:23-25

The New Testament says…

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. ~Mt. 5:38-39

Not only physically and verbally, but also in spirit. If someone or something frustrates us, we shouldn’t fly off the handle about it or get defensive. Many things are inconvenient in life, and we just have to deal with it. It’s usually not worth getting all worked up over every little thing that doesn’t go our way – or the way we think they should go, or how fast we think they should go.

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Dec 28 2010
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Life, Philosophy, Religion

A Shield Between Us and Our True Selves

Quote from Learning to Fall; The Blessings of an Imperfect Life by Philip Simmons

“Sometimes it’s our very busyness that gets in the way of such a choice [choosing God]. Too often we anesthetize ourselves by setting up our lists and ambitions and accomplishments as a shield between us and our true selves. We strap ourselves into our carefully constructed identities for fear of letting go into the pain and wonder that awaits just the other side of our precious reserve. In a culture that recognizes busyness as the mark of importance and worth, it’s so easy to use our public identities–as professionals, as caretakers and volunteers, as overworked parents–to avoid all that’s troubling, complex, and mysterious in the world around us.”


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Nov 22 2010
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Philosophy, Religion

Putting Trust in God | One in a Million Women’s Study: Session 3

It will all work out.

We tend to try and manipulate situations so they will turn out the way we want them to, even if this means working through and dealing with some pretty rotten and tough times. We are impatient. When things don’t go our way, we tend to whine and complain. We need to shut up and listen. Sometimes we just need to step off and wait. Sometimes there’s a different plan for us. The people being led out of Egypt had this complaint in Exodus 14:10-12:

“10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. 11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!””

Like them, we tend to think we’d be better off suffering through hard times or staying in a bad situation just so we can try and control things and make them work out the way we want. Never mind that this could make for a lifetime of unhappiness. If we would only be still … stand still … and be patient. Open our eyes and see what God is doing in our lives right now. Even when we think He has abandoned us because all seems positively wretched at the moment, He is working in our lives. Don’t just focus on the one thing that has taken center stage at this moment in your life; step back and look at the entire stage … the entire theatre. Take off your blinders and pay attention to everything. Exodus 14:13-14 goes on…

“13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.””

I’m still not in a place where I am willing to let Him carry me (fight for me) because I don’t visualize it this way. I do accept that there is something greater than me and it is within me as well. I can even believe this to be a spirit. I’ve felt the profound effect but for some reason, I fight it. This profound effect isn’t that far off from the people you see on TV where the preacher is thumping them on the head casting out evil spirits and they’re crying out and falling on the floor. I’m not kidding! I think that between the stigma of that being “crazy” and totally unbelievable, staged, or fake and the simple fact that I would be handing over control, I’ve found my hang up with the whole thing.

It will be interesting to see where this journey leads me.

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Nov 20 2010
1 Comment
Life, Philosophy, Religion

Worry Addressed in the Bible

Matthew 6:25-34

“25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Oh, to be a bird in the air or a flower growing in a field! But we’re not. However, the human ideal of what we must do to survive – no … to merely exist is blown entirely out of proportion fed by desire alone. All forms of media tell us we must have the latest and greatest gadgets, and we must dress in the finest clothes and wear the finest, most expensive jewels. Do you ever wonder why trends change? Money! Those who are easily molded into the epitome of the latest look have spent as much money as they’re going to on achieving that look. So a new look must be fashioned. Wanting to be accepted or noticed, those same people will give away or sell their old stuff and purchase new stuff. A lot of my stuff, I’m not ashamed to say, comes from Target, Walmart, Ross, and Marshalls. I’m not one to go out and buy something from an expensive store in a mall just because Peggy Sue Mergatroid is wearing the exact same thing. I seriously don’t get that way of thinking anyway. Why would I want to wear something just because someone else is wearing it? I want to wear things that look and feel good on me. “Oh, but it’s all the rage!” you say? And your point is…?

That may have strayed a bit from the verses above, but I felt the urge to express that thought!

My next thought is on verse 34 alone: “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” This is where most people stop with that verse, but it continues: “Each day has enough trouble of its own.” So this is not telling us to just live our lives carefree or willy-nilly thinking that God will make sure our needs are met. We do have to tend to today and what is right in front of us. Unlike when Scarlett said, “I won’t think about that today. I’ll think about it tomorrow. After all, tomorrow is another day.”, this isn’t a free pass to procrastinate or push all your cares away until it’s more convenient for you to deal with them. Tomorrow holds it’s own trouble, but you do have to deal with today’s troubles today.

Proverbs 12:25

“25 Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.”

Worrying makes us anxious, and if you stop and pay attention to how you’re feeling when you’re in the midst of worrying about something, you will notice that your heart literally feels weighed down. You’ve all heard it described as a weight on one’s chest, right? Well, there ya go! Likewise, when you’re happy, you feel as if your heart is floating in your chest. Which would you rather feel a majority of the time?

Philippeans 4:6-7

“6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

When you’re anxious, you tend to fear the worst possible outcome of whatever the situation may be. If you take the time to really think about it all, really put everything into proper perspective and count your blessings, then you’ll find that things generally don’t look quite so bad anymore. Remember what Maria sang to the Von Trapp kids about remembering her favorite things? Well that kind of positive thinking actually works! The peace of God truly does transcend all understanding. I don’t understand it myself, which is something I struggle with just accepting without needing to understand it. What helps me is this: I know that each who believes has been given the gift of the Holy Spirit to live and dwell within us. If you are of a faith that believes in a triune God, then you must know that this means God Himself is within us. I’m just going to let that one sit there.

Peace!

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