Mindfulness

I had a conversation with my mom last night about the power of your emotions and the inner workings of your mind. My mom believes that you can believe in God, Allah, the universe, whatever; as long as you believe in something and you allow yourself to trust and believe that your burden is shared with that something/someone. If you are sick and you pray to God and you absolutely believe that he will heal you, you will be healed. The same goes for your spiritual leader or maybe even the doctor treating you.

She believes that the most important thing in the world is to find a place to put aside your thoughts and worries and allow your mind to clear. This, by removing yourself of burden and stress, even just for a few minutes. If you allow yourself to be calm and at peace, your body will respond accordingly.  

If you truly believe that praying to God will bring you some relief, then relief will be had because of the power of your mind. This isn’t something that is easy to achieve. Putting your faith and trust completely in someone or something else is something that has to be learned.

I’m far too controlling for that. But, it has become one of my goals.

The religion of music

Music really does have an amazing ability to transform, to lift spirits, to reveal emotion, to transport. Music is one of the few constants in my life. It has always been by my side, especially when I’m lonely. It drowns the loudest sound of all – the sound of silence.

‘The theologian, HH Farmer, says: “the experience of being lifted right out of the world by choral music induced a refreshing withdrawal and escape from the everyday pressures of things”’ (Partridge, 2010: 183). I couldn’t agree more, although maybe not about the choral music thing.

Music is absolutely apart of our identities and our social constructions. Music is not simply fleeting or ephemeral; it has a really big impact on our lives. The argument here is that music is not just something we indulge in that reveals our tastes and characters. Music has helped construct all of that, and continues to form a part of the reconstruction of identity that is always at play (Partridge, 2010).

Music can affect an individual as much as religion can. Both serve to construct personal and shared meaning. The power of religious music, an intersection of these two hugely influential entities, cannot be underestimated.

References:

Partridge C. 2012. Popular Music, Affective Space and Meaning. In Lynch G. and J. Mitchell with A. StrhanEds., Religion, Media and Culture: A Reader. 182-193. London and New York: Routledge.

Image Source:

http://images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/29800000/-Music-music-29840181-600-800.jpg

The suicide story

I have a perfect view of the story bridge from my bedroom window. On Thursday morning, yet another shirtless man dangled off the structure, moved by the need to escape the world. People tried to talk him down, but I guess at that stage, words are not enough.

Research has proved, several times over, that secular nations have higher suicide rates than religious nations. The bible does not condone suicide. But, more importantly, it seems religious people rely on God to lift them out of the depths of the sadness, frustration and helplessness that inform the want to end one’s own life. Church provides a safe place and a welcoming community to help whoever is in need or whoever might be in a dark place. My Christian aunty and uncle struggle financially. There was one particular week when they didn’t think they’d be able to provide for their children. That week, someone at church who wasn’t a particularly close friend and was not explicitly told about these money problems, approached my aunty with a wad of cash because God told him that they needed help. This kind of community is one that will push you forward, to see the light, to want to live, to have faith in humanity and hope that God will help you through the struggle. These are the people who make the world a better place.

 I can’t help but think that if that dangling, shirtless, fearful man could have had a wonderful community to help him through and the faith that things would get better, he may not have jumped.

Religious confusion

I've always been confused about two things: what I wanted to be when I grew up, and religion. The former confusion I blame on my impulsive nature and my need to find sheer excitement in everything that I do. The latter I blame on society. I majored in psychology where Freud's musings formed the basis of much of the syllabus. Freud does not believe in religion. I studied Charles Darwin. I thought I believed in evolution. I was raised to believe what I wanted to believe, while half my family are epically Christian, and the other half are dead-set, blasphemous atheists. I attended a school where religion wasn't ever really mentioned. Perhaps, everyone will say to this that I should think and decide for myself, but the information that I try to read and the people that I try to speak to seem to have their own agendas. Growing up in this indifferent environment has all but encouraged me to pursue the elusive figuring out of this decision

I have always been more of an observer of people than a reader of words (that's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it). I love to watch other people and their behaviour and pick out the psychology behind their behaviour. I have religious and non-religious family members, and I have watched how this particular variable has impacted on their lives, their relationships in particular. My religious aunt and uncle are the loveliest people I have ever met. They never have a bad word to say about anyone; my aunt has the kindest heart, and is supportive of everyone around her. She’s is in my top three favourite people in the world. But, they have little money and they've always seemed to struggle to make ends meet. Of course, the rest of my family focuses on the lack of money and question (sometimes aggressively) my Christian aunt and uncle’s choice of lifestyle.

I have an aunt and uncle on the same side of the family that are atheists. They recently had a falling out with the rest of the family because of their “unsavoury” behaviour. They have very little family left that supports them. Their children swear and tell rude jokes. They have money and fancy cars.

I guess each of these families of four has adopted different ideals into their lives. Each family unit is built on different values. The Christian values seem to provide a healthier foundation than values that are associated with anti-religious behaviour. When I look at these people, it seems easy to formulate a decision. But there are religious people who don't have good values and non-religious people that do. Are good, moral atheists going to heaven? Or if you don’t believe, is there no place for you?

Image source: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/12/23/article-0-07AFAD8B000005DC-681_468x338.jpg

Spirituality: the new religion?

"Spirituality has become a new cultural addiction and a claimed panacea for the angst of modern living" (Carrette & King, 2005: 61). There is a trend towards abandoning traditional religion and all that is associated with the church and replacing it with spirituality. There are many thoughts and opinions about why there seems to be a move away from religion, but the fact that it is being replaced with something else speaks for the notion that humanity needs that something else. I cannot imagine living in a world with no broader meaning beyond what sometimes feels like a banal existence. Much like the rest of humanity, I have employed mechanisms that enable me to get out of bed in the morning - both conscious and unconscious mechanisms. These mechanisms obviously differ for different people. I have to believe in karma and that good things happen to good people. I have to believe that I will be rewarded for trying to be a good, wholesome individual. I believe that when things aren't going right, the wheel will turn and things will become good again. When things seem too good, I know that I should expect an obstacle. These are the things that are constantly at the back of my mind. We feed ourselves these theories because we need reassurance and security that all of this means something.

Carrette and King (2005) believe that "with the emergence of capitalist spirituality we are seeing an attempted takeover of the cultural space traditionally inhabited by the religions by a specific economic agenda" (63). In the same way that religion was relegated to the private spheres of life, and replaced with science, economics is now replacing that science through spirituality, which has a capitalistic agenda. They believe that spirituality does not conflict with the materialistic/excessive aka capitalistic lifestyles that people are choosing. That it does not trouble our lives is the trouble with it. Spirituality accommodates all that exists in our public lives and does not challenge "lifestyles of self-interest and ubiquitous consumption" (Carrette & King, 2005: 62). Religion, since secularism, has remained private, while economics, politics and broader society remain public. Is it such a bad thing, then, that there is now at least something to influence (for lack of a better word) both the private and the public?

With this shift from religion to spirituality, there is no longer a strict code to live by, with a strong community that meets each Sunday. Perhaps it is not enough to live by spiritual theories and try to be a good person within your own right.

At this stage of their argument, I felt compelled to disagree because spirituality cannot surely be said not to move lives or positively affect lifestyles. But, they further argue that a cultural shift has become apparent, called the individualisation of religion. This new age religion allows more freedom to experiment and explore alternatives. This has resulted in ‘the melting pot of religions and spirituality that is often called “the New Age”’. I don’t think that this is such a bad thing, but I do agree with the next part. This individualised religion tends to erode the sense of community and compassion associated with more traditional, formalised religions, and therefore societies.

I’m not sure a choice can be made between new age spirituality and religion, although it feels like the choice should be obvious (religion). I am content with my lack of a choice and I’m almost certain that that tends towards the spiritual side of the spectrum. This cultural shift away from religion towards spirituality and/or new age religion was bound to happen, and it did. Should we fight it?

References:

Carrette, J. and King, R. (2005) Selling Spirituality: The Silent Takeover of Religion, London: Routledge.

Oh no! the media

Up to 90 Iraqi students have reportedly been killed for their "emo" appearances after the Interior Ministry called the subculture "devil worship".

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/843322/iraqi-moral-police-killing-emo-youth

Initially, this article seemed to suggest that Western ideals pose a greater threat to Iraqi leaders than I would have imagined. The Iraqi police have killed their own people to make an example of, or express their distaste towards Americanised values. After reading the whole article through twice, the role of the media in such a representation became apparent. I recently read a webite that stated: All Muslims are not terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims. The writers of this site ave positioned themselves as absolute, all-knowing authorities, and explicitly state, as if evidenced scientifically, that Muslims are all that is wrong with the world. When I read stories such as that mentioned above, it becomes difficult to train myself to avoid taking on the misconceptions and stereotypes about a religion that I otherwise no nothing about.

I cannot ignore the questions that such an article seems to arouse. Does the hatred stem that deep that anything that seems to represent Americanisms is slandered? The following, surely, is why these questions arise:

“Many teenagers have reportedly suffered brutal deaths at the hands of the authorities, dressed in civilian clothing. There are reports of groups of youths being led into secluded parts of Baghdad where they are stoned to death before their bodies are discarded in dumpsters across the city.”
 Or, do I know nothing fair and therefore true about the other side? Is the media to blame for my poor view of the religion that I know only for its associations with 9 11?

 ‘"Media outlets have published some news on the killing of 'emo' teenagers in Baghdad and other provinces but did not confirm the authenticity or the correctness of neither the news nor the numbers mentioned," Ayatollah Mohammed al-Yakoubi said in the statement on Friday’. I have never questioned the legitimacy of what I read on the news, assuming that the medium for the public to receive news and ‘truths’ always seemed too authoritative to be questioned. It may be time to start questioning what it is we are exposed to, and what is being kept hidden from us, if we really want to be informed about what’s going on in the world.

The 9 11 attacks would not have had the same impact worldwide without the media. The attacks “brought religion to the fore in new and unprecedented ways, ways that have forever shaped the way we see its contributions to politics, public discourse, social change, and political struggle” (Hoover, 2006).

After the 9 11 attacks, it became apparent that we should all be more knowledgeable about others and their perceptions of different races and religions. The modern world is saturated with journalism, constantly feeding us news about other people and places, yet we seem to know so little about what it is that’s really going on (Hoover, 2006).

Is this the media and how do we do know to what extent it is mediated? What is real, what is not? Is it religious, is it not? Does it depend on whose information we’re reading, and whose sie of the story we’re on? Global understanding is not served by the media we consume. When journalism is more about getting that juicy story than it is about the truth, it is inconceivable that the East is portrayed accurately and without exaggeration and manipulation, in the West, and vice versa.

References:  Hoover, S. (2006) Religion in the media Age, New York: Routledge.

Article: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8433202/iraqi-moral-police-killing-emo-youth

Image source:  http://domesticempire.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/cia-bin-laden-plot_537x720.jpg

I question my ability to reflect

I never give myself time to sit and reflect. We have become so consumed by our lives, and everything that has to be done to enable our lives to run smoothly. While we sit and type away at our blogs or sit in traffic and grow more weary and angry at the people creating congestion, in our cars or online, we don’t make time to become detached from what we are constantly consumed by. All the while we’re living our lives, nature continues to change and shift while we plod along, our minds full with so much stuff, but so little substance. I don’t give myself time to think about anything that I care about, or to even wander what it is that I care about. I don’t have time to ponder about my religious beliefs because there’s always something ‘more important’ to be doing. But what if it all passes me by? We don’t know when it’s all going to end for us or the people we love most. My goal is to train myself to sit and think. Because, although I’m sitting in front of a rippling lake, and I’m well aware of the way the grass itches my legs and the breeze prickles at my arms, I still can’t help but be consumed by everything I have to do.

Wordsworth’s poetry was always a reflection on childhood innocence, how children have the curiosity and the open, un-socialised, un-indoctrinated minds, to marvel at the plants, the sky, animals, other humans, and everything that God created, which I know I look through or beyond every day. I think about, talk about, dream about money far more than nature. I hear traffic more than I hear the sea or the birds, and I can’t even tell you what absorbing and indulging in the beauty of nature even really feel like.

Stress has replaced harmony, for me, maybe for others, too. The idea of writing a blog – the stress, the deadline, my uncertainty and lack of confidence (due to my lack of knowledge) – far outweighs my enjoyment of sharing my thoughts. Self-consciousness, the need for self-importance, and the desire to feel competent and appreciated are universal human obstacles; perhaps these are the very obstacles in the way of throwing myself into this wholly and without reservation.

I don’t like that I have become someone who is no longer in touch with what really matters. Has the modern world, its obsession with materialism, and the need to be better than the next person changed us all? Or is it just me?

Image source: http://danferno.deviantart.com/art/Money-versus-Nature-107983689?q=favby%3Arubendegroote%2F40659439&qo=153