Having been an avid user of the Internet for many years, I was startled to have a friend remark, "David is addicted to the Internet."
I don't think it is fair to say addicted. Rather, the Internet has become something of a World Brain. Just as not everything in life that a human brain dictates is correct or useful, the same is true of the World Brain. The Internet does have a great deal of foolishness and error. Yet, when queried wisely, it is an amazing resource of good information.
It has become fashionable to decry the amount of garbage floating on the Internet. Certainly it does contain a great deal of misinformation posted by biased writers, but in that particular it is no different than any other information resource. On the other hand, just looked at as another locus for the free exchange of ideas, it has the potential to enhance the level of discourse.
Like any other venue, one must look for multiple sources to approximate truth. Those who take their news only from the Washington Times will believe they have facts that back an ultra-conservative political position. Only getting "the truth" from AlterNet will give a contrary perspective. Similarly, on Palestine, one can read Al Jazeera, Haaretz, The Jordan Times, Iran Daily and The Jerusalem Times will all have different slants and interpretations of the same event.
That said, there is a great deal of good information. Whether it is a recipe for making sauerkraut at home or the latest information about Super-string theory, there is a vast resource of knowledge. Looking for a new laptop but confused by all the different models and the vast number of central processing units being used. There are websites for that. Do you want a list, as I did today, of Barack Obama's accomplishments prior to becoming president? Within five minutes I had a fairly complete list of his Illinois record as well as his actions in the US Senate. Of course the Republicans also had a list of his "accomplishments" detailing what they see as his failures.
I have two friends who have mentioned Scientology to me recently. One was positive, the other negative. A quick search with Dogpile (An agglomeration of search engines) gave me a great deal of information, much propaganda and very divergent opinions. Of course, I then had to use my own personal and individual brain.
Things get murkier when searching for information about spirituality, religion, faith and God. This won't surprise anyone. Every person deals with these concepts differently. Words fail to convey the truths understood in the human heart. Still, at the very least, one does find out what others believe, feel and act on. Thus, a willing and inquisitive soul will find an ally in The World Brain. (Let me suggest http://www.religioustolerance.org/ as a good starting point.)
The Internet, which began as an adjunct to the military establishment, has become a vital, cultural, "game-changing", social phenomenon. The World Brain is the boundary between generations, but for those who are TWB savvy, it promotes the possibility of a world of peaceful, inter-cultural exchange. China may wish to block news of Tienaman Square and they do have a very powerful filter to prevent their citizens from fully participating in the world dialogue, but they will fail. There is a community of very clever programmers, themselves relying on TWB, who will overcome the barriers.
The world is becoming one large community, enriching each person's life through inter-connections. The World Brain helps make this possible.
Showing posts with label faith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label faith. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
The Personal "Week-In-Review"
When I began this blog, I thought I would post frequently; never expected anything daily, but surely once a week. Yet it has been about two weeks since my last entry. One who knows my history might not be surprised. I have been too busy living life to stop and reflect. That's not a good thing, but it is too often what happens. And not just with me; I see many others who have the same tendency.
To make sense of some of my posts, you might need to know that I spend my time in several endeavors: I work at a hospital two days a week, providing spiritual and emotional support to patients. Then, two other days are committed to my practice of spiritually-integrated psychotherapy. The rest of the time I pursue other interests including photography, spiritual and intellectual pursuits and my myriad friendships.
I share this with you because I have had some extraordinary occurances recently. On Saturday, I attended a one-day workshop on Understanding Buddhism. Most of my contact with Buddhism over the years has been with Soto Zen. This workshop helped me remember how much broader Buddhism is; how much it resembles Christianity in the variety of "denominations." One extraordinary thing about the workshop was that it was sponsored by the local Sufi community, but held in a Roman Catholic Convent, one of the emcees was a Hindu Swami, and most of the attendees were from other faith traditions.
In another post, I may discuss the contributions that the various faith traditions have to make for each other, but I don't want to digress at this point.
Another part of my life is as the adopted father of two daughters. They each have their amazing qualities. They each also are going through divorces, and look to me for understanding and sympathy.
One of them lives on the "Right Coast", in Boston. I received a call from her on Tuesday of last week saying that she and my grandson were coming to visit this weekend. Much of the last few days has been about them; especially helping Adri deal with her feelings about her husband's rejection, her trying to figure out the next chapter in her life as she considers relocating back to the "Left Coast", getting into law school and finding a job.
I love my work at the hospital. Much of the time I am listening to or working with people who are in great physical and emotional pain. Often they want to talk about their loss of capabilities, or the "death sentence" they have received. A lot of it is around end-of-life issues that most of us avoid considering. In order to function, I have to be empathetic, but also recognize that this is their life, their burden and not my own; all I can do is "be there" for them.
Occasionally I am especially touched by a patient. I have begun expecting that, of the 10 or 15 I see in a day, one or two will give me a gift--or be a gift to me. Yesterday was no exception. One patient with a broken arm, in her mid-80s, greeted me with a tease about my beard. When I responded positively to her spirit, she threw out another one-liner. We went back and forth like a couple of stand-up comics. We finally stopped and got serious as she began to relate her life story. She had been married several times--after number three, I began to lose track--to very weak men. She understood her error and asked, "David, do you think I'll get it right next time?" I sat there with my mouth open in amazement. Finally, all I could say was, "I sure hope so." Pretty lame--as she pointed out. I left the room chuckling. She had been a gift, and spiced up my day.
If patients say they have a faith affiliation, we try to visit with them whether they say they specifically want a chaplain's visit or not. On any given day I may see a few Protestants of varied denominations, two Jews, a couple of Roman Catholics, one or two Buddhists, and perhaps a Wiccan, or Muslim, Atheist or other faith community.
Yesterday's list included a young woman from a Roman Catholic background. As I entered her room, she began by saying, "I have a lot of issues with the church". Who doesn't? She is a Latin America major at a local university. She has spent some time in Venezuela, speaks fluent Spanish and is now preparing for an intern year in Colombia. She began talking about the loss of the changes from Vatican II, liberation theology and other movement for reform in the church. She has wonderful views of how the church should be about an "option for the poor", working for the benefit of the working class, the hungry, the orphan and widow. (Oh, do you hear echoes of Jesus' words?) She has been preparing herself for a life of service in this vein.
She was about to be discharged but will spend the next year recovering from a devastating illness. I can only hope that her idealism will maintain her through the year and she will be ready to continue her path. My too few minutes with her was an inspiration.
To make sense of some of my posts, you might need to know that I spend my time in several endeavors: I work at a hospital two days a week, providing spiritual and emotional support to patients. Then, two other days are committed to my practice of spiritually-integrated psychotherapy. The rest of the time I pursue other interests including photography, spiritual and intellectual pursuits and my myriad friendships.
I share this with you because I have had some extraordinary occurances recently. On Saturday, I attended a one-day workshop on Understanding Buddhism. Most of my contact with Buddhism over the years has been with Soto Zen. This workshop helped me remember how much broader Buddhism is; how much it resembles Christianity in the variety of "denominations." One extraordinary thing about the workshop was that it was sponsored by the local Sufi community, but held in a Roman Catholic Convent, one of the emcees was a Hindu Swami, and most of the attendees were from other faith traditions.
In another post, I may discuss the contributions that the various faith traditions have to make for each other, but I don't want to digress at this point.
Another part of my life is as the adopted father of two daughters. They each have their amazing qualities. They each also are going through divorces, and look to me for understanding and sympathy.
One of them lives on the "Right Coast", in Boston. I received a call from her on Tuesday of last week saying that she and my grandson were coming to visit this weekend. Much of the last few days has been about them; especially helping Adri deal with her feelings about her husband's rejection, her trying to figure out the next chapter in her life as she considers relocating back to the "Left Coast", getting into law school and finding a job.
I love my work at the hospital. Much of the time I am listening to or working with people who are in great physical and emotional pain. Often they want to talk about their loss of capabilities, or the "death sentence" they have received. A lot of it is around end-of-life issues that most of us avoid considering. In order to function, I have to be empathetic, but also recognize that this is their life, their burden and not my own; all I can do is "be there" for them.
Occasionally I am especially touched by a patient. I have begun expecting that, of the 10 or 15 I see in a day, one or two will give me a gift--or be a gift to me. Yesterday was no exception. One patient with a broken arm, in her mid-80s, greeted me with a tease about my beard. When I responded positively to her spirit, she threw out another one-liner. We went back and forth like a couple of stand-up comics. We finally stopped and got serious as she began to relate her life story. She had been married several times--after number three, I began to lose track--to very weak men. She understood her error and asked, "David, do you think I'll get it right next time?" I sat there with my mouth open in amazement. Finally, all I could say was, "I sure hope so." Pretty lame--as she pointed out. I left the room chuckling. She had been a gift, and spiced up my day.
If patients say they have a faith affiliation, we try to visit with them whether they say they specifically want a chaplain's visit or not. On any given day I may see a few Protestants of varied denominations, two Jews, a couple of Roman Catholics, one or two Buddhists, and perhaps a Wiccan, or Muslim, Atheist or other faith community.
Yesterday's list included a young woman from a Roman Catholic background. As I entered her room, she began by saying, "I have a lot of issues with the church". Who doesn't? She is a Latin America major at a local university. She has spent some time in Venezuela, speaks fluent Spanish and is now preparing for an intern year in Colombia. She began talking about the loss of the changes from Vatican II, liberation theology and other movement for reform in the church. She has wonderful views of how the church should be about an "option for the poor", working for the benefit of the working class, the hungry, the orphan and widow. (Oh, do you hear echoes of Jesus' words?) She has been preparing herself for a life of service in this vein.
She was about to be discharged but will spend the next year recovering from a devastating illness. I can only hope that her idealism will maintain her through the year and she will be ready to continue her path. My too few minutes with her was an inspiration.
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