Integrating Missionally

Russell Bishop at the Huffington Post, in a recent article, believes that we are in line for a spiritual awakening. His article, “7 Signs We Are Becoming More Spiritually Focused“, gives a list, albeit incomplete, of 7 signs that show we are becoming more spiritual and that pop culture is becoming more spiritual and his reasoning. The list notes:

1. The Kabbalah has become increasingly popular, emphasizing various mystical aspects of Judaism, looking at the relationship between an infinite, eternal and mysterious Creator and the finite and mortal universe. Devotees explore the nature of the universe and the human being, the nature and purpose of existence, along with methods to aid understanding of these concepts and to attain spiritual realization. It’s an interesting comment on shifting aspects of life when you see that mysticism and mystical practices can now be followed via webinars and all things internet. Celebrities such as Madonna, (now known by her Kaballistic name, Esther), David Beckham, Elizabeth Taylor, Demi Moore and Britney Spears have all embraced the Kabbalah.
2. Yoga has become available in more consumer oriented settings, ranging from yoga on the beach in resorts to classes offered in traditional fitness facilities. 8 percent of Americans who have never practiced, indicate that they are very interested in learning more. Yoga has been embraced by celebrities as diverse as Ricky Martin, Meg Ryan, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Anniston, Jerry Seinfeld, Shirley MacLaine, and Charlie Sheen. Many credit their practice with an ability to remain centered and more at peace in these turbulent times.
3. In 2004, What the BLEEP Do We Know¸ kicked off a huge interest in the impact each of us have on each other, our surroundings and life in general. Some call it a spiritual marriage between quantum physics and consciousness. While millions loved the movie, the critics were quick to dismiss it as pseudo-science or quantum mysticism. Regardless of any alleged errors in the message, the underlying question did get quite a few conversations going about the nature and purpose of life.
4. In 2006, The Secret leapt all over us, as both a runaway bestselling book and a widely watched movie. Heavy weight celebrities were all over “the law of attraction” as a way to improve life through focus and thought (Oprah, Ellen DeGeneres, Larry King, etc). Critics again called it pseudoscience and some religious groups thought it more the work of the devil. And still, millions have flocked to it. Some see its appeal as a sign of desperation, while others would say the real secret is as old as the oldest of spiritual scriptures.
5. In 2007, The Shack came out with little or no notice, but then in 2008 it exploded onto the New York Times list as #1 for 35 weeks and is still #29 overall for Amazon sales, and #6 in religious and spirituality sales. Well over 5,000,000 people have read the book. Some Christian groups are thrilled, and others see it as the work of the devil. One critic even called it “undiluted heresy.”
6. In 2008, Ekhart Tolle partnered with Oprah to launch a hugely successful webinar series that went from hundreds of thousands of viewers to millions virtually overnight. While his books have been around since the 1990’s, something exploded with his 2005 book, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose. People seem captivated by the notion of creating a spiritual awakening through the transformation of consciousness. For Tolle, these are ancient spiritual messages which have become obscured by overlays of man’s attempt at religious structure or control.
7. Dan Brown’s book, The Lost Symbol, sold over 2 million copies in the first week out! While it is a thriller of great proportions, it is also undergirded by an interesting marriage of the noetic sciences and various aspect of religion and spirituality. Amongst its many critics, the book was slammed by the Financial Times reviewer as “a novel that asks nothing of the reader, and gives the reader nothing back”, and further added that it “is filled with cliché, bombast, undigested research and pseudo-intellectual codswallop.” No wonder it is doing so poorly. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 3% [?]

This is a re-post of thoughts published in a past post.

I have been thinking and processing two interesting articles. One is on gossip and the other is on information addiction. The science of gossip is quite interesting. Of course, we all gossip, science would say it is part of our socialization processes. Used negatively, however, it really is an attempt to tear down and/or exert power over someone who has more influence than us or who is on the rise in their influence but whom those in control want to normalize and bring conformity to their behavior.

The gossip study comes from the October 1, 2008 edition of Scientific American Magazine. The article is entitled, “The Science of Gossip: Why We Can’t Stop Ourselves“. The author of the article, Frank T. McAndrew states,

Only in the past decade or so have psychologists turned their attention toward the study of gossip, partially because it is difficult to define exactly what gossip is. Most researchers agree that the practice involves talk about people who are not present and that this talk is relaxed, informal and entertaining. Typically the topic of conversation also concerns information that we can make moral judgments about. Gossip appears to be pretty much the same wherever it takes place; gossip among co-workers is not qualitatively different from that among friends outside of work. Although everyone seems to detest a person who is known as a “gossip” and few people would use that label to describe themselves, it is an exceedingly unusual individual who can walk away from a juicy story about one of his or her acquaintances, and all of us have firsthand experience with the difficulty of keeping spectacular news about someone else a secret.

Gossip functions as a socializing process. In his book Grooming, Gossip, and the Evolution of Language, psychologist Robin Dunbar of the University of Liverpool in England suggested that gossip is a mechanism for bonding social groups together, analogous to the grooming that is found in primate groups. Sarah R. Wert, now at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and Peter Salovey of Yale University have proposed that “gossip is one of the best tools that we have for comparing ourselves socially with others.”

Gossip can be an effective means of uncovering such information about others and an especially useful way of controlling free thinkers who may be tempted to violate group norms. “Studies in real-life groups such as California cattle ranchers, Maine lobster fishers and college rowing teams confirm that gossip is used in these quite different settings to enforce group norms when an individual fails to live up to the group’s expectations”. In each of these groups, “individuals who violated expectations about sharing resources and meeting responsibilities became frequent targets of gossip and ostracism, which applied pressure on them to become better citizens. Anthropological studies of hunter-gatherer groups have typically revealed a similar social control function for gossip in these societies.”

According anthropologist Jerome Barkow of Dalhousie University, we tend to be especially interested in information about people who matter most in our lives: rivals, mates, relatives, partners in social exchange, and high-ranking figures whose behavior can affect us. Given the idea that our interest in gossip “evolved as a way of acquiring fitness-enhancing information, Barkow also suggests that the type of knowledge that we seek should be information that can affect our social standing relative to others.” Therefore, we to find higher interest in negative news about high-status people and potential rivals because we can exploit it. Negative information about those lower than us in status is as useful. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 9% [?]

Mirror Neurons. Have you ever heard of them? Here is the definition of mirror neuron, from wikipedia:

A mirror neuron is a neuron that fires both when an animal acts and when the animal observes the same action performed by another animal (especially by another animal of the same species). Thus, the neuron “mirrors” the behavior of another animal, as though the observer were itself acting. These neurons have been directly observed in primates, and are believed to exist in humans and other species including birds. In humans, brain activity consistent with mirror neurons has been found in the premotor cortex and the inferior parietal cortex.

Some scientists consider mirror neurons one of the most important findings of neuroscience in the last decade. Among them is V.S. Ramachandran, who believes they might be very important in imitation and language acquisition. However, despite the popularity of this field, to date no plausible neural or computational models have been put forward to describe how mirror neuron activity supports cognitive functions such as imitation.

The function of the mirror system is a subject of much speculation. Many researchers in cognitive neuroscience and cognitive psychology consider that this system provides the physiological mechanism for the perception action coupling (see the common coding theory). These mirror neurons may be important for understanding the actions of other people, and for learning new skills by imitation. Some researchers also speculate that mirror systems may simulate observed actions, and thus contribute to theory of mind skills, while others relate mirror neurons to language abilities. It has also been proposed that problems with the mirror system may underlie cognitive disorders, particularly autism. However the connection between mirror neuron dysfunction and autism remains speculative and it is unlikely that mirror neurons are related to many of the important characteristics of autism.

For a great explanation of this, check out this video from PBS.

Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 6% [?]

I love simple ideas and concepts. They work for my AD(H)D. The book, Power of Less, The: The Fine Art of Limiting Yourself to the Essential…in Business and in Life, was great for that reason. Now, I want to introduce you to the power of 10-10-10.

Suzy Welch is the wife of uber-exec Jack Welch. She has written a great book about how to look at life and decisions called 10-10-10: A Life-Transforming Idea. 10-10-10 is not just a tool for decision-making. It is a tool for reclaiming your life at home, in love, and at work. The process is clear, straightforward, and transparent. All it takes to begin are three questions: What are the consequences of my decision in 10 minutes? In 10 months? And in 10 years?

This concept allows us to look at the long-term impact of our decision-making, not just the short-term. It also allows us to examine our priorities, values, and points of fear and pain that live within us all.

In the book Suzy demonstrates how the process can have an impact in a persons marriage, parenting, career, and relationships. She even notes how the process has worked in her Christian faith.

The book reveals how Suzy developed the idea and refined it over a period of years. It also reveals the impact it can have in all of life as Suzy shares with the readers real-life stories from people she has helped using the principle as well as others who have heard about the principle and applied it to their own life.

In a world where we too often overlook the impact of our decisions after several years, this book, and principle, is a blessing. I will integrate this idea in with my coaching and teaching ministry. I recommend you do as well.

Get 10-10-10: A Life-Transforming Idea at amazon.com

Popularity: 2% [?]

Examiner.com is a new growing online news presence that utilizes local people who write based on their particular areas of interest or expertise. I first noticed it coming through my Google News feeder just under articles from the Washington Post, LA Times or Baptist Press.

Out of sheer curiosity I checked out their writing opportunities and decided to apply. You are now reading the ranting of the “Wilmington, Del Southern Baptist Examiner,” since I was approved this week. I’ll be contributing between 2-4 articles a week that will automatically feed into the Wilmington, Del. region of the Examiner.

I do get paid for this. While it isn’t much,  I do get a little for every page view. Payment is affected by the number of “subscribers” to my articles and the number of comments, since an active comment section means that more people are looking at the pages and staying longer, which affects the ad rates on my pages.

If you have a few seconds and want to help a friend (yes, that would be me), then go to my page and subscribe to my articles. By subscribing, you will get an email alert when I submit a new article. You can delete the email or check out the article (which helps me because it counts as a page view even if you don’t read the entire thing). You can also make me a “Fav” examiner if you are so inclined.

I hope to build readership both locally and nationally since news readers pick up the feeds outside Examiner.com’s local region. That will take a little time, but it will happen.

If you are a writer and decide to check it out for yourself, please contact me before you sign up. There is a referral program and I can get some extra money if you name me when you apply. I am committing that some of that money will go to support entrepreneurs through kiva.org or clean water efforts overseas.

Popularity: 4% [?]