Prophetic women and men - Kenneth Wapnick died on 12/27/13

Today is the day Kenneth Wapnick died 4 years ago in 2013 at the age of 70. Dr. Wapnick was a psychologist who was teacher of A Course In Miracles. He was involved in the initial development, publishing and teaching of The Course. He knew the author, Helen Schucman, personally, as well as her transcriber, William Thetford.

Dr. Wapnick's legacy is enormous with numerous books and video lectures of his teachings on the course.

Dr. Wapnick is a prophetic figure in our contemporary times who has had a tremendous positive influence on facilitating the spiritual growth of people in our current world. His body is gone but his spirit is very much with us.

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Prophetic women and men - Kwanzaa founder Dr. Maulana Karenga

Kawanzaa was started on December 26, 1966, 51 years ago by Dr. Maulana Karenga. It is celebrated for 7 days. You can read more about it by clicking here.

The interior world is the great frontier yet to be thoroughly explored

Unitarian Universalists covenant together to affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning. Does this mean that UUs search in the external world or the internal world? Of course, it could mean both. Some might argue that the search in the internal world is the most important because without self knowledge nothing else is of much value and in fact great harm can be done. History abounds with examples of impaired individuals wreaking great destruction and havoc and as Jesus said, "Father, forgive them for they not what they do."

Socrates said, "An unexamined life is not worth living." This statement implies that happiness requires self knowledge. How well do any of us know ourselves, really?

Ask yourself or another person, "What makes you tick?" We are startled and get anxious and then confused and then perplexed and then stumble towards some sort of half baked answer.

People, in the United States, debate endlessly about what is wrong with our school system. There are two major answers.

First, the purpose of human life is happiness. All people want to be happy. The follow-up question, of course, is, what will make us happy? Schools do very little, if anything, to help students figure this out. This question is the basis of moral philosophy and very few if any public schools offer a course in moral philosophy. Our schools teach math, science, history, English, foreign languages, physical education, and health. Recent surveys have found that over 50% of high school students in the U.S. say that their courses are irrelevant. Maybe students are dissatisfied with their schooling because the most basic topic is ignored or avoided.

The second major question is whether people are encouraged to lead examined lives so they can increasingly develop self-knowledge? This takes a vocabulary to identify thoughts, feelings, and behavior that motivate and describe our functioning. In public education this is called "social emotional learning" and there is some focus and effort to educate students. However, this focus and effort is inconsistent and controversial. After schooling, people are left to reflect and learn on their own unless they get into a church, 12 step programs, psychotherapy, or committed relationships that last several years.

Failures in self knowledge lead to disastrous results for individuals and groups. Human beings are notoriously inaccurate in the assessment of their own functioning. In psychology this is known as "denial" and the Dunning-Kruger effect.

Accurate self-knowledge is the major component of what psychologists call "emotional intelligence." It also is a sign of spiritual maturity. Notes On The Spiritual Life strives to provide its readers with the vocabulary, values, and skills to enhance their spiritual life and the spiritual lives of those they are in relationship with and influence.

In case you were wondering..........

What did the sock puppet say to the sock? Looks like you could use a hand.

Question of the day

What's your word for sin?

We are not special but gloriously ordinary

Unitarian Universalists covenant together to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person. This inherent worth and dignity is not based on any specialness. This inherent worth and dignity is based on intrinsic participation in the divine creation. To be blunt none of us are special but gloriously ordinary. We are simply parts of a whole which is beyond understanding.

Osho has said:
"Everyone belongs to God. There is no other way. We are born in God, we live in God, we die in God. Our energy is God’s energy: God is simply the name of the total energy of existence. But the total is not arithmetical, the total is mysterious. It is not mechanical, it is organic. There is a great difference between these two which needs to be understood."

Osho. First in the Morning: 365 Uplifting Moments to Start the Day Consciously, p.15  Osho Media International.

It is written in A Course In Miracles that the pursuit of specialness is the basis for sin. It is written, "Pursuit of specialness is always at the cost of peace." T-24.II.2:1

The bumper sticker says, "You are unique like everyone else."

Did the bumper sticker make you laugh?

It is written in ACIM "You can defend your specialness, but never will you hear the Voice for God beside it. They speak a different language and they fall on different ears." T-24.II.5:1-2

It is further written in ACIM : "Comparison must be an ego device, for love makes none. Specialness always makes comparisons. It is established by a lack seen in another, and maintained by searching for, and keeping clear in sight, all lacks it can perceive." T-24.II.1:1-3

The Church Lady on Saturday Night Live would say, "Well, aren't you special!" with a sarcastic and condescending tone of voice.

My wife, Angela, and I have nine children. If I were asked, "Which child do you love the most?" I would be perturbed and offended. "I love them all," of course. If God were asked, "Which of your children do you love the most?" what do you think the Creator would say?

Right. He would say like I would, "I love them all."

Further, as Osho says, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. To love only a part of the whole is to miss bliss for short sighted, momentary pleasure.

Prophetic women and men - The Christmas Truce in 1914 during World War I

There is hope in the world when we consider the relations between human beings instead of their governments. Mother Teresa said, "Don't wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person."


 

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