Thursday, March 29, 2007

Practical Spirituality, a little more

I am going to continue to discuss "practical spirituality," but I am not trying to attempt a definition as much as an on-going look at the topic. I am developing a definition, and honestly don't feel as if I have a good one yet. While eventually I need to be able to provide parameters on the topic, now I would just like to establish come ground rules. Anything related to life is related to spirituality. There really are no limits.

If "Everything is connected" (see my website and free newsletter -- www.nottinstitute.org for more information on that), then everything in life is related to a discussion on spirituality. I feel strongly about that. Yet such a general statement does not help anyone, or myself, trying to have an intelligent debate on the topic. It is a good beginning and allows a free and open discussion. I am looking for others with whom to have this discourse.

In order to live life successfully, I believe we must set some personal guidelines for our spiritual aspect. Otherwise, we miss an important component of ourselves. Denying that seems to limit our lives. I want us all to live full lives, that is part of a successful life.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

A beginning discussion on practical spirituality

I started this blog to discuss practical spirituality. Most of my comments so far have been about a variety of other things -- mostly books I have recently read or reread. The point of practical spirituality, however, is that it includes all aspects of life. It is not a separate subject, not a separate compartment in which only "god-related" subjects are discussed. In fact, practical spirituality is only indirectly related to a discussion on "god." That will be a topic for a future post.

I want to begin to bring together the ideas I've discussed in previous posts. I want to convey the concept that practical spirituality is, in fact, information that allows us to view ourselves on a daily basis from a perspective of connecting to something greater than ourselves, however we define that or whatever name we use to identify that something. What is more important is how it impacts our life. Does it make us a better person? Does it help us deal with common problems? Are the ideas useful and practical? I will discuss these in future posts.

Sunday, March 25, 2007

What we knew when we were 20

I have been rereading some of my favorite old novels. I am now enjoying again, after many years, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig. Remember that novel of the 60s? This novel, similar to Steppenwolf that I discussed in previous blogs, takes me back to a world of my younger days, a world of questions and wonder. I read these novels in the 70s. Thirty years later, I have the same reaction. Funny, but what we knew in our 20s was a surprising wisdom. Sure, we tend to be smarter as the years go on, but when it comes to knowing who we are and what is really important to us, we knew as much in our 20s as we do now. Is that true for you? I am amazed that it is so true for me. Not that it is a good or bad thing. It is just that we often let life take us away from who we are and what we always wanted. We need to take time to remember who we were and who we really are. Taking that time is difficult. For me, going back to the novels I read during that time reminded me of many of the thoughts of the time. I'm enjoying the journey back to those times in an attempt to remember some of the things I have since forgotten.

Friday, March 23, 2007

When we ask for help

I just wanted to comment today on the old adage that "When the student is ready, the teacher appears." I know this is usually true for me. When I am ready to move forward in some aspect of my life, there is a message that comes along to help. That answer for me usually appears in a book. Some book just happens to be recommended, just happens to catch my eye at the bookstore, or just happens to come into my mind and upon reading it, I find that it is somehow related to my current question or recent concern.

How about you? What form does your teacher take? A friend who just happens to address the question you have? A book, such as I just described? A movie you're watching? A TV show? Perhaps a person appears who is that teacher. Whatever form, we can rely on the universe to provide the direction we need. Believing this is part of the belief in the "practical spirituality" that I like to discuss. I believe that our spiritual life is directly related to all aspects of our life. There is no separation. Everything is connected. Do you feel your life connected, or do you feel that you are fragmented into work, home and other areas? I like the concept of the body, mind, emotions and spirit each requiring attention from us -- each representing a part of us that defines who we are.

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

A final, for now, comment on Steppenwolf and life

I have finished rereading the novel Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse. I am still amazed how powerful the novel is for me, even 30 years after I initially read it. My other posts have commented on certain aspects of the work. Today, I want to address a quote on page 246, near the end of the piece. "You are willing to die, but not to live." How many of us have the same problem. Once we get over the fear of death from our younger years, as I see some do, we may get caught in the quasi-spiritual or pseudo-spiritual line of thinking death offers more to those advanced beings trapped here on earth in these limiting bodies. Hesse is addressing this issue, I believe, with his quote. Wanting to live, making a conscious choice to live well, may not happen to all. Maybe it is easier to just assume that death would be a better choice. This seems to be a cop-out answer. I like Hesse's suggestion, at least as interpreted by me, that learning to live is our real challenge. He poses a strong part of the answer. Learn to laugh. While that is not the answer to everything, a modification of it seems to fit most scenarios. Laugh at the ambiguities and unfairness in life. Laugh at ourselves trying to understand them. Laugh, and maybe we can begin to live consciously and not just as a prelude to death.

Monday, March 19, 2007

Another comment on Steppenwolf

As I continue reading, I keep commenting on the novel Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse. My further reflections on the novel is that Hesse, as I see it, proposes that our plight as humans may be to learn to enjoy the daily and the mundane, to embrace life's pleasures and surrender ourselves to intimacy, while suffering the pangs of loneliness, isolation and abandon - the pangs of knowing there is something more we can't attain. Perhaps the attainment is locked into the daily routine. Perhaps it is hidden in the joys of sharing with others. Perhaps it is hidden in human encounters where we let ourselves experience the moment and subdue the intellect. Perhaps it is all of the above.

We should keep our focus off our "wolf" side. This is not our spiritual side, but it is the part that has trouble fitting in. We all have that aspect, some stronger than others. Those that do acknowledge this other half may have trouble balancing the two. That is our challenge and the idea of practical spirituality -- trying to incorporate all of our thoughts anhd desires, in balance, into our lives. And you? Have you achieved that desired equilibrium? I still struggle.

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Steppenwolf, part 2

I am continuing to read the novel Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse. What strikes me today is the section on page 132 that discusses war:
"...every nation, and even every person, would do better, instead of rocking himself to sleep with political catchwords about war guilt, to ask himself how far his own faults and negligences and evil tendencies are guilty of the war and all of the other wrongs of the world, and that therein lies the only possible means of avoiding the next war."

Hesse wrote these words in 1929. Have we as a nation and as a global society learned anything since then? Are our views toward war any different? Have we as humans evolved since the second decade of the last century? I would like to dialogue with anyone on that topic. I do believe we have evolved, but I also believe we are in the midst of some further evolution. Our choice may be how we handle this new evolution. How can we improve our future? Stopping future wars is only one aspect. Perhaps it is more significant to understand Hesse's words of understanding our own faults that allow the evils of the world. I am beginning to challenge my faults to see how they lead to problems on a small scale. Do you feel the need to do the same?

Friday, March 16, 2007

Steppenwolf

It has been decades since I have read any of Hermann Hesse's books. I majored in English in college and taught high school English for years before entering the business world and then reentering the educational arena as a college instructor. I remember reading many of Hesse's books, such as Siddartha, Demian, Beneath the Wheel, and Steppenwolf. I taught Siddartha to my high school honor students. Hesse spoke to me in the 60s and 70s. What surprises me now is how much Hesse in his novel Steppenwolf continues to present my views and express the thoughts and doubts I struggle with even today.

I don't know why I sometimes forget how powerful literature has been in my life. I haven't read as many novels in the past years as I did when I was teaching. Business demands and interests superceded. But we are who we were in our twenties. I have read that before and believe it more as I mature. The big questions I asked then, I am asking now and I have continued to ask. The answers change and grow.

The novel Steppenwolf seems especially powerful today because it speaks to an issue I have been thinking about -- that duality in us, the part of us we call human and the part the novel describes as "wolf". This other side of us is the "shadow" side we try to hide. This wolf or less than human side is not a part we can disown. I struggle with how to describe it. But today I am only part-way through the novel. I read it as if it were my first entry into the world of the steppenwolf. I hope I enjoy the rest of the journey as much as I am fascinated with the first part. If memory holds true, I believe I will.

Monday, March 12, 2007

Integral Spirituality

The new book by Ken Wilber,Integral Spirituality, is a scholarly work that addresses a crucial issue in Spirituality. Wilber relates the idea of integral or holistic to our spiritual beliefs and forces us to see them in relation to the bigger picture or to the rest of the world. We can't isolate ourselves and defend spirituality or religious beliefs in a vacuum as if we are above everyone else and as if proof doesn't apply to such beliefs. We must open up to the idea that we must look at our beliefs in relation to all of the research that has taken place, especially in the ten years. What has science taught us? What doors has psychology opened up? None of this detracts from our beliefs. In fact, as Wilber points out, all of this supplements them and gives them more credibility. We must be aware of this new information and not be afraid of it. We must try to integrate all aspects of our lives, not separate them into incompatible compartments. It is time to move to another level and combine all knowledge into an "integral" one. Wilber shows how to do this. His book is not an easy read. But it is an important work.

Sunday, March 11, 2007

Practical Spirituality

A beginning. To share ideas on the changing world in which a practical approach to spirituality, which I would like to discuss, may be necessary for some direction and comfort. I write a free monthly newsletter with additional information at www.nottinstitute.com. I want to dialogue with others who share a belief that we can find some common ground and unite rather than dwell on differences and separation.