#19: Faith & Freedom

Hi Folks,

Are you free?

I have been thinking about faith for one of my classes.

Does our educational system deserve the faith we put into it? Is compulsory public education set up to enhance our lives or to get us to conform to norms determined by other people?

For example, are we active or passive toward our existence? Are our values our own or were they drilled into us? Do we question what we are told we should desire by the mass media?

It seems to me that it takes a certain amount of faith to take the risks that are necessary to live a life of active engagement instead of one of passive conformity.

Do we have faith that our life has purpose and meaning? Do we need faith to break the chains of conformity and mediocrity? Are we here to simply exist or are we here to live fully? Why would we even explore these ideas without some level of faith that we are not simply evolutionary accidents, but people that can seek meaning, change and learn endlessly?

Finally, do we have faith in freedom? Our outer lives are not that free. I have come to believe (faith!) that freedom can be enhanced on the inside, even when it is not available on the outside.

Some of you have read The Autobiography of Malcolm X. I find his story powerful for any number of reasons, but mostly because he found freedom in prison. It is this inner freedom we need if we are to pursue lives of purpose and meaning, lives dedicated to wisdom and compassion.

It seems to me that we need some kind of faith in ourselves to think that we are worthy of living interesting and meaningful lives. If you think about it, most of the great people we admire stand out not because they went along with everyone else, but because they broke away from the herd mentality to realize their unique potential.

My life in education has moved me in the direction of trying to promote freedom of thought. This is one of the reasons I ask you to write reflections rather than summaries. Many students struggle with these assignments. This is not their fault, but it does speak loudly to what "education" has done to their minds.

My wish for you is that you will lead a life of adventure, growth and endless learning. But this might only be possible if you have faith that it is possible.

To be free requires commitment and practice. It is not a given.

So it ends up the real question is not whether you are free or not, but whether you are committed to shaking off the shackles of passivity and conformity while being determined to live the life that only you can live when you free your mind.

To Freedom!

Apophat

#18: Are you looking or are you seeing?

Hi Folks,

Are you looking or are you seeing?

Isn’t it amazing that we are alive? We are not only here, but we are aware we are here. What is this awareness? Doesn’t it at least point to who we really are?

Maya Angelou said that “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.”

I have loved that line since I first heard it. It seems to me that we are conditioned in our society to measure everything by quantity. How long we live, how much money we make, how many friends we have and how many people follow us on social media.

This quote reminds me that there is a qualitative way to measure our lives. It shines a different light on our experiences. It gives us another way to live if we wish to embrace this way of experiencing our lives. All we have to do is go out and look at the stars at night. Let that immensity in even a little and you will be filled with a sense of awe and wonder.

Who are we? What are we doing here?

Henry David Thoreau wrote: “It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.”

It seems to me that the difference between looking and seeing is the difference between living in a daydream and being really present. I know that when I am really present, the world looks different.

This is a practice: to see without judging. To just see without the need to label and define and measure. To simply witness the beauty of each moment — surely that is one of the reasons we exist.

During this difficult time, it is helpful to remember the words of Rumi: “Listen with the ears of tolerance! See through the eyes of compassion! Speak with the language of love!”

If we could listen, see and speak this way surely the world would be a different place. But we can’t force others to do this. We can only try to do this for ourselves. In the process, we not only change our own experience of life to one of quality rather than quantity, but perhaps we help change the world as well.

I found myself feeling stressed today. I feel better now. I am not just looking, I am seeing. This is the consolation of philosophy.

To Seeing!

Apophat

#15: Are you in a cage or are you flying?

Are you in a cage or are you flying?

Alejandro Jodorowsky writes: “Birds born in a cage think flying is an illness.” We can stay in our cage or decide to leave it behind. The beginning of a new school year is a good time to leave the cage of the past.

Toni Morrison writes: “If you surrender to the wind, you can ride it.” What is your wind? How can you ride it? Certainly we have communal cages right now, cages that include this pandemic and a growing awareness of racism

I find myself feeling what is called “pandemic fatigue.” I am sure you are too. But we can fight it or go with the flow, which is what I like by quote from Toni Morrison. How to surrender without giving in is the key.

This is a quote from Plutarch: “The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.”

I will send out a list of books that have been recommended by CSUMB professors this summer with a few additions of my own. My learning goal is to finish every book on this list before the end of the semester. That is one way to kindle the fire in my mind. Read more. What will you do?

Toni Morrison writes: “You wanna fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down.”

Nothing weighs us down more than our thinking and our attitudes. What shit is holding you down?

What can you do to fly?

To Taking Flight!

Apophat