Thoughts

Here are some of the random things floating around in my head.  I've been thinking alot about philosophy.  I am currently reading Will Durants book about Caesar and Christ, in a section that is telling about how Christianity has evolved over the last 1,900 years; especially in the first 300. 

I can't figure out if Durant is a Christian; from the way he writes it's hard to tell.  He starts off a section on Christ describing how others have viewed Christ and his life and ministry.  That's all fine and good, but the more I read the more I believe that Durant was not a Christian.  I am basing this totally off of what I have read of him so far.

Why does this bother me?  At first I wasn't sure; but now I know.  If I want to know about Christ, or anything, the first place I will look is at a primary source, such as the Bible.  There are four differing accounts of His life and ministry found in the King James Version.  This tells me quite a bit about Jesus. 

If I want to find out something bad about Jesus, or anything else, I probably won't go to someone who favors him.  I would go to an anti-Christian.  I'm not saying Durant is anti-Christian or anything like that, but I still think his view of Christ is a bit slanted.  I believe he tried his best to make all of his books an unbiased view of historical events, but that is not possible.  But there is still worth in reading books like these.  They expose us to differing opinions. 

Last week I was given a book called the Archetype of Philosophy, but Douglas J. Soccio.  It appears to me to be a college textbook.  I love it though.  I've read about 20 pages, but have learned lots.  Here are a few excerpts, and my opinions on them.

"The word philosoph comes from the Greek roots meaning 'the love of wisdom.'"

"Perhaps the chief difference between just talking about philosophical ideas and actual philosophizing about them involves the degree of rigor and discipine you apply to your reflections."

I don't like this much.  It limits what is philosophy, and what is not.  I love to sit still and think.  Maybe I don't think of traditional philosophical questions; but if I am pondering different topics, whether in the gospel or not, I believe I am philosophizing.  If I am just thinking of a girl or something, then I am not.  But if I am reflecting on an idea, I think I am philosophizing.

"Why do we go through the struggle to be educated? Is it merely in order to pass some examinations and get a job? Or is it the function of education to prepare us while we are young to understand the whole process of life? Having a job and earning one's livelihood is neccessary - but is that all? Are we being educated only for that? Surely, life is not merely a job, an occupation; life is wid...e and profound, it is a great mystery, a vast realm in which we function as human beings. If we merely prepare ourselves to earn a livelihood, we shall miss the whole point of life; and to understand life is much more important than merely to prepare for examinations and become very proficient in mathematics, physics, or what you will."

Heck Yes!!!!!  I love this because to most people, life is a chore; a job.  I believe there is a lot more to life than working, coming home, being with family, repeat 5 days a week.  No!  There is so much to learn, so much to do, I am suprised how many people can find no other intereing thing to do than stare at a screen for hours on end! (OK, maybe I do it sometimes too)  I have read 70 books in the last 8 months.  I haven't even made a dent in the lsit I want to read.

The book discusses relativism quite a bit.  Relativism is "the belief that knowledge is determined by specific qualitites of the observer."  The discussion goes through how we each are different, and have different people and events shape us in different ways.  That is why there are so many conflicting beliefs today is becaus everyone views their opinion and the absolute truth. 

Relativism has become widespread in this day and age.  This theory of truth has destroyed common values.  Before relativism became widespread, most people were honest, trustworthy people.  They obeyed the law, and were good, upright citizens.  Now, I wouldn't trust kids to my neighbor.  Why is this?

I think this has happened due to our lack of common values.  It would seem, if we pay attention to the media, that most people are gay, they are racist, or sexist.  I don't believe the majority of people are those.  I think it is a small minority.  They get people to feel sorry for them through the media, then their numbers grow.  But I still believe most people are good, moral people. 

"In the serious pursuit of knowledge - and wisdom - no area is off-limits, no important question unasked. Comtemporary philosophers Daniel Kolak and Raymod Martin capture this feature of philosophy especially well.
'There is a frozen sea within us. Philosophy is an axe. Everything you believe is questionable. How deeply have you questioned it? The uncritial acceptance of beliefs handed down b...y parents, teachers, politicians, and religious leaders is dangerous. Many of these beliefs are simply false. Some of them are lies designed to control you. Even when what has been handed down is true, it is not your truth. To merely accept anything without questioning it is to be somebody else's puppet, a second-hand person.
Beliefs can be handed down. Knowledge can perhaps be handed down. Wisdom can never be handed down. The goal of philosophy is wisdom. Trying to hand down philosophy is unphilosophical. Widsom requires questioning what is questionable. Since everything is questionable, wisdom requires questioning everything. That is what philosophy is: the art of questioning everything.' "

I liked this at first, but as I thought more about it, the more it has bothered me.  i think most things can and should be questioned.  Is God there?  I have asked this.  What is real?  Why are we here?  What is the point of life?  Why get an education?  Is family important?  Why can't I do what I want?  We have asked some, and many more questions like these.

"I see many people die because they judge that life is not worthy living.  I see others paradoxically getting killed for the ideas and illusions that give them a reason for living (What is called a reason of living is also an excellent reason for dying), I therefore concluded that the meaning of life is the most urgent of questions."

We need to find answers to them.  Fortunately, the Gospel of Jesus Christ answers many of these.  We need to find for ourselves if it is true or not.  But some things, like why the Lord commanded polygamy at one time, are things we may not know or understand in this lifetime.  Some things we just have to take on faith. 

"The word philosophy comes from Greek roots meaning 'the love of wisdom.'  Philosophy.... is an activity as well as a fixed body of knowledge.... Areas of philosophy includes metaphysics, epsitemology, axiology, aesthetics, political philosophy, social philosophy, and logic."

here is a talk we discussed in Priesthood meeting yesterday during church.  The discussion shifted my attitude towards work and others.  I was totally being very judgemental of everyone and everything.  Just another example why we go to church, and how it is still possible to teach an old dog new tricks.  It was also a slap on the hands; a wake up call that I need fix my attitude.  I hope you enjoy it as much as me.

http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/04/the-merciful-obtain-mercy?lang=eng

These are some quotes from a book given to me by Heather Hansen yesterday.  I really, really like this book so far.  It is called Archetypes of wisdom: an introduction to philosophy.  It is explaining what philosophy is.  Here are some exerpts.

"In the serious pursuit of knowledge - and wisdom - no area is off-limits, no important question unasked. Comtemporary philosophers Daniel Kolak and Raymod Martin capture this feature of philosophy especially well.
'There is a frozen sea within us. Philosophy is an axe. Everything you believe is questionable. How deeply have you questioned it? The uncritial acceptance of beliefs handed down ...by parents, teachers, politicians, and religious leaders is dangerous. Many of these beliefs are simply false. Some of them are lies designed to control you. Even when what has been handed down is true, it is not your truth. To merely accept anything without questioning it is to be somebody else's puppet, a second-hand person.
Beliefs can be handed down. Knowledge can perhaps be handed down. Wisdom can never be handed down. The goal of philosophy is wisdom. Trying to hand down philosophy is unphilosophical. Widsom requires questioning what is questionable. Since everything is questionable, wisdom requires questioning everything. That is what philosophy is: the art of questioning everything.' "  Page 13

"Why do we go through the struggle to be educated? Is it merely in order to pass some examinations and get a job? Or is it the function of education to prepare us while we are young to understand the whole process of life? Having a job and earning one's livelihood is neccessary - but is that all? Are we being educated only for that? Surely, life is not merely a job, an occupation; life is wid...e and profound, it is a great mystery, a vast realm in which we function as human beings. If we merely prepare ourselves to earn a livelihood, we shall miss the whole point of life; and to understand life is much more important than merely to prepare for examinations and become very proficient in mathematics, physics, or what you will."   Page 3

"The idea that devoting time to philosopy distracts us from 'practical' concerns is an old one.  And, of course, the very suggestion that philosophy is not as 'useful' or 'practical' as other subjects or activities is itself a philosophical idea that requires justification.  In the folllowing passage, the prolific philosophical historian Will Durant challenges the notion that being 'useful' is supremely important:
'The busy reader will ask, is all this philosophy useful?  It is a shameful question: We do not ask it of poetry, which is also an imaginative construction of a world incompletely known.  If poetry reveals us to the beauty our untaught eyes have missed, and philosophy gives us teh wisdom to understand and forgive, it is enough, and more than the world's wealth.  Philosophy will not fatten our purses, nor lift us to dizzy dignities in a democratic state; it may even make us a little careless of these things.  For what if we should fatten our purses, or rise to high office, and yet all the while remain ignorantly naive, coarsely unfurnished in the mind, brutal in behavior, unstable in character, chaotic in desire, and blindly miserable?
...Perhaps philosophy will give us, if we are faithful to it, a healing unity of soul.  We are so slovenly and self-contradictory in our thinking; it may be that we shall clarify ourselves, and pull ourselves together into consistency, and be ashamed to harbor contradictory desires or beliefs.  And through unity of mind may come that unity of purpose and character which makes a personality, and lends some order and dignity to our existence."

Leaders must connect before they can direct

H.L Mencken said, "For every complex problem, there is an answer that is clear, simple and wrong."

I'll try not to overreach with my point, but I do believe organizations largely rise or fall on the ability of leaders to connect with employees before they direct them.

I was in San Francisco this week, working with a software company and a crackerjack team of software engineers. These particular engineers develop some of the worlds leading applications.

In my discussions with them, I learned that other Bay Area technology companies are constantly trying to poach talent from their team. All the big players, such as Google, Apple, Facebook, HP, eBay, Symantec, come calling with attractive offers and generous compensation packages.

And yet this team, with the exception of a couple defections, has managed to stay intact.

When I asked why, I learned that it came down to a strong culture and leaders who connect with their employees. That is something you can’t buy.

I also learned that these software developers work extremely hard. They have short product-development cycles, and there’s a lot of pressure to produce and meet market expectations. And yet for the most part, I didn’t encounter the rebellion, resistance and resentment that builds up under these conditions. I saw the opposite: The employees weren’t curling up like potato buys; they were rising to meet the challenge.

Connecting is first a motive before it is a skill

Robert Greenleaf introduced the concept of “servant leadership” into the lexicon of leadership. He wrote: “A new moral principle is emerging in which followers will ‘respond only to individuals who are chosen as leaders because they are proven and trusted as servants.’”

I agree with the principle, but it is an ancient principle, not a new one. There was another leader long ago who said, “And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant.”

That is the defining statement of servant leadership, and there have been leaders who have adopted the principle since, including George Washington, who would sign his letters, “Your most humble and obedient servant.”

Moving from motive to skill, there is also confusion about how to do this. How does a leader create that deep and meaningful connection that draws out the trust, loyalty and discretionary effort of people?

Some mistakenly believe you have to be an extrovert to do this well. Not so.

More than half of being connected is listening. For some people, words tumble out easily, but it’s not necessarily an advantage - if you know what I mean.

Another misconception is that leadership is about impartiality, stern, humorless judgment and rock-bottom neutrality. This is hokum.

Leadership is about relationships and performance - in that order. It is about human connection before it is about raw brainpower or intellectual brilliance.

Interpersonal skills are critical. If you talk too much, monitor your dialogue and pull in on the reins. If you don’t talk enough, the best place to start is to do two things: Smile and ask questions.

People love to talk about themselves, and if you show genuine interest in who they are and what they care about, you will quickly form personal bonds of affection.

I’ve heard many leaders say they wish they had better interpersonal skills.

My response is that you can develop them. Remember Frank Tyger’s statement: “Wishes cost nothing unless you want them to come true.”

So here’s my call to action: Identify one thing you can do to make more meaningful connections with those around you. Connect before you direct. Show more empathy, ask more questions, listen, smile, stop talking, put your smart-phone away and give someone your undivided attention. Drill through the rock of your own patterns of inertia and make one small change.

A lot of people still believe that leadership is about looking and sounding brave. I think leadership is more about connecting with people and then motivating them to achieve unusual things. How do you do this? It has nothing to do with fear or intimidation. In fact, history is not kind to leaders who are not kind to their followers. It may be hard to change, to improve the way you connect, but you can do it. Just remember Edward R. Murrow’s statement, “Difficulty is the once excuse history never accepts.”

This was written by Timothy R. Clark, appearing in the Deseret News on May 22, 2012

thoughts

I've been thinking a lot lately.  When you look at our lives, each of us is constantly thinking, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  So considering this, it's no suprise I've been thinking a lot lately.  :D

Anyways, I have been thinking a lot about choices.  I recently started working at a hotel in Logan, and I am the only person that doesn't smoke, drink coffee, have tatooes, or drink coffee or tea.  I run their breakfast buffet in the mornings.  The other girl that runs it on the days I don't have multiple body piercings, tatooes, and smokes.  If I stayed at a hotel and saw someone looking like that, I'd not eat breakfast there. 

So I've been wondering how someone who is a child of God can choose to deface their bodies like that.  I understand that she probably doesn't read the Bible.  This is judgemental of me, I know.  But it still seems that way.  But how can she and I, who are about the same age, be so different?  If anyone who reads this wants to comment, please do!  I love suggestions and comments.

I am still not sure of the answers.  I have thoughts, which I try to bounce off of people when I can. I love discussing ideas with others.  That is something many in our society don't seem comfortable doing.  I'm not sure if the average man discussed ideas like this 100 years ago, because I wasn't alive then.  But I still believe taking about things is important. 

One of my ideas about agency has nothing to do with the previous paragraphs questions.  I have thought that agency is a form of bondage.  I know agency is the greatest God has given His children on earth.  I also understand that there is consequences.  Bondage I believe many people take to mean negative things, like slavery.  People who were slaves could still choose whether they wanted to obey their masters or overseers wishes.  But they had to deal with the consequences if they disobeyed.

I don't believe God will whip us, or maybe kill us if we disobey him.  But there are always consequences. 

2 Nephi 2: 16, 27
Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other.
27 Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.

So we have the choice.  People in bondage still have the choice to disobey or obey.  That choice is still there.  But the punishment, or consequence, will always be there.  God is a little bit more understanding and just than man, is all. 

Also, some books I've read recently:

The Secret Man by Bob Woodword.  This is an excellent book about Mark Felt, who is dubbed 'Deep Throat' in the book All the Presidents Men by Woodword and Carl Bernstein.  It is awesome.  I am very interested in the Watergate era.

Papa Married a Mormon by John D. Fitzgerald.  If you have read the Great Brain, or any of Fitzgeralds other books, this one is by far the best.  It is the story of his parents and how they met, married and moved out West.  An excellent read. 

classes

Here are some of the classes I have been designing in my head for a while.  I think the Lord wants me to go into education somehow, because thoughts just keep coming to my head about how this book or that one would go so well in the setting, in this type of course.  I have enjoyed teaching my cousins, James and Steven Smith, for the past several months.  I have become a better teaching, I believe, during this time and have enjoyed doing it.

If anyone wants to add something that they think I could use, please comment.  I love ideas and input from others. 

Leadership Education Class

The Education of a Wandering Man: Louis L’Amour Autobiography - Education is life long persuit

Leadership and Self-Deception - How to improve personal relationships

How to Win Friends and Influence People in the New Digital Age - Gaining trust and following

The JackRabbit Factor - Law of attraction and law of harvest

The Dream Giver - Follow our dreams

Mindset - How we view the world, whether a fixed mindset or growth mindset

Important Words

Instructions:
1. Research the words before class. Read the attached articles.
2. Discuss during class. Share ideas and insights. Take notes.
3. After class, answer the questions for each word, and write down what we discussed, plus any new additional information.
4. Find the definition and write it under the word.
5. On the words required, please give three examples of how the word is applied to the world. (Ex. abstract ideas - love, God, etc.)

Abstract Ideas

What are they? Are real? What are some examples? Can you really believe in something you cannot see? Can you see, feel, taste, smell or hear abstract ideas?

Agency

Blessing or Curse? Find 4 scriptures to support your view. Write a three paragraph statement as to why you believe that agency is either a curse or a blessing.

Classics

What are classics? Is there a set list of classics? What role do they play in people’s lives? Should we study them?
“A classic is a book which peolpe praise and don't read." - Mark Twain

Civilization

What is it? How many have there been since the dawn of recorded human history? What’s the difference between a society, nation, and civilization?

Dreams

A couple of weeks ago, my wife texted me, “Don’t forget to buy Megamillions tickets!:)”

Upon learning of the $656 million jackpot, we couldn’t help ourselves from fantasizing about a potential windfall. We’d quit our jobs. Pursue our dreams. Finally, we’d do what we loved.

When the lottery numbers were drawn, ours, of course, did not come up.

I like my job, but other creative passions run deep that I don’t have the luxury of pursuing. There are bills to pay, after all. And tuitions. And the ever-looming threat of retirement. Providing financial security to my family is important.

But facing the other side of fifty, I often find myself thinking hard about the choices stacked up against the years I have left. I wonder, what would it be like to run full throttle towards the things I really love doing—writing, for instance, or other creative endeavors?

Why not risk it all and pursue what I love? Isn’t that what God wants for me?

It’s one thing to dabble (which I do), but my little vocational fantasies could hardly replace my income. Pursuing one's creative dreams may sound glamorous, but the reality is that the top of the economic pyramid for those in the arts is so tiny, with the vast majority of talented people planted firmly at the lower-echelon base.

The difference between doing what’s important and doing what you want is that the important stuff is usually harder. It’s not so much fun. It generally won’t fulfill all of your deepest personal longings. Working a boring job to provide your family with financial security often gets a bad rap from motivational wonks who would have us drop everything to pursue our dreams, but I believe there’s something valiant, even noble about it.

Some mistake their desire for creative expression as a divine calling from God. Don’t even get me started on this. God never guaranteed that all of our deepest career fantasies would be fulfilled like an American Idol episode. There is no magical, theological formula for forging your vocation. You just have to figure it out like the billions of people who went before you. All I know is that shirking family responsibilities to chase some fantastical dream is immature and self-centered.

And by the way, there’s no guarantee that your “dream job” would have led to any more happiness or fulfillment or financial freedom than what you already have right now. Plenty of people have traded in the corporate drudgery for their passions, only to find themselves on a different treadmill, with a lot less security. I think Oscar Wilde was on to something when he said, "It is better to have a steady income than to be fascinating."

Perhaps I’m copping out, or putting a giant damper on things—but someone has to lift up the value and significance of showing up every day, being responsible, doing your job and taking care of business. There’s something strong, solid, and respectable about it.

So stay at your dull job, give it your best shot, and save the music gigs for the weekends. You never know—the path of greatest significance may be right there in front of you, if you give it enough attention.

by Bradley J. Moore

　

Education

“The idea of education has been so tied to schools, universities, and professors that many assume there is no other way, but education is available to anyone within reach of a library, post office, or even a newsstand.” ~ Louis L’Amour
“We know education does not end with our schooling or training – it is a lifelong process therefore everyone must continue to learn.” ~ Dr. Akanisi

Families

Gospel

Habits

Pioneer wagon wheels cut eternal ruts in plains and rocks across the American west.

Likewise, your habits forge irreversible patterns in your brain as you migrate toward your eternal destiny.

Free will comes with the shackles of consequence.

Choose your actions you may, but consequences are unavoidable and non-negotiable.

And no consequential shackles are as unyielding and unforgiving as the power of habit.

Charles Duhigg's recent life-changing book, The Power of Habit, details the science behind how habits form and how to change them, including the following six inescapable laws:

Law #1: Habits Can Never Be Eradicated

Close to the center of your skull lies a golf ball-sized lump of tissue called the basal ganglia.

Your basal ganglia is the western plains under your wagon wheels of habit. Its job is to store habits even while the rest of your brain goes to sleep.

Science has proven that repeated habits become ingrained into your basal ganglia forever.

Your brain is programmed to constantly find new ways to save effort. Writes Duhigg,
"Left to its own devices, the brain will try to make almost any routine into a habit, because habits allow our minds to ramp down more often...
"This process within our brains is a three-step loop. First, there is a cue, a trigger that tells your brain to go into automatic mode and which habit to use. Then there is the routine, which can be physical or mental or emotional. Finally, there is a reward, which helps your brain figure out if this particular loop is worth remembering for the future.
"Over time, this loop--cue, routine, reward; cue, routine, reward--becomes more and more automatic. The cue and reward become intertwined until a powerful sense of anticipation and craving emerges. Eventually...a habit is born."
Once born, no habit will ever die. As MIT scientist Ann Graybiel says,
"Habits never really disappear. They're encoded into the structures of our brain, and that's a huge advantage for us, because it would be awful if we had to relearn how to drive after every vacation. The problem is that your brain can't tell the difference between bad and good habits, and so if you have a bad one, it's always lurking there, waiting for the right cues and rewards."
Law #2: Habits Erode Free Will

If this paragraph doesn't arrest your attention like a slap to the face, you're not listening:
"When a habit emerges, the brain stops fully participating in decision making. It stops working so hard, or diverts focus to other tasks. So unless you deliberately fight a habit--unless you find new routines--the pattern will unfold automatically."
Understand that this can work to your salvation, or your damnation.

There are some choices you only want to make once. Good habits form a life of automatic, programmed goodness and protect you from poor choices in compromising situations.

The longer bad habits operate, the harder they are to break--in fact, the less you even think about breaking them.

Law #3: Habits Can Only Change Form; To Change Your Habits, Shift Your Routine

Try as you may, for any given habit, the cues and rewards will never change. They are forever hard-wired into your brain.

What you can do, however, is change the routine in response to the cue, which leads to the reward.

The trick is to leverage your brain's power of habit in your favor, like Jujitsu, rather than fighting against it with sheer willpower.

Learn to give your brain the same rewards it perceives from bad habits through new, positive routines.

To work, a positive routine shift must actually provide the same level of satisfaction as a bad habit.

Law #4: Habits are Easier to Change with a Support Group

Writes Duhigg,
"We know that a habit cannot be eradicated--it must, instead, be replaced. And we know that habits are most malleable when the Golden Rule of habit change is applied: If we keep the same due and the same reward, a new routine can be inserted.
"But that's not enough. For a habit to stay changed, people must believe change is possible. And most often, that belief only emerges with the help of a group...
"The evidence is clear: If you want to change a habit, you must find an alternative routine, and your odds of success go up dramatically when you commit to changing as part of a group."
Law #5: Focus on Keystone Habits for Widespread Change

"Keystone habits," says Duhigg, are seemingly small and simple habits, but which can catalyze a ripple effect and have a major impact on every aspect of your life.

One such keystone habit is exercise. As Duhigg explains,
"When people start habitually exercising, even as infrequently as once a week, they start changing other, unrelated patterns in their lives, often unknowingly. Typically, people who exercise start eating better and becoming more productive at work. They smoke less and show more patience with colleagues and family. They use their credit cards less frequently and say they feel less stressed. It's not completely clear why. But for many people, exercise is a keystone habit that triggers widespread change."
James Prochaska, a researcher at the University of Rhode Island, adds,
"Exercise spills over. There's something about it that makes other good habits easier."
Law #6: Write Down Your Plans for Dealing with Temptation & Obstacles

Studies have routinely shown that people who anticipate and write down how they will react to temptations and obstacles when striving to overcome a habit are much more successful than those who do not.

Writing your plan down makes you more conscious of your cues, and helps you focus on your rewards. It also strengthens your willpower.

******************

American pioneers, drawn irresistibly by Manifest Destiny, left their mark upon the plains.

Your habits will manifest your destiny, and determine the mark you leave.

As William James wrote,
"All our life...is but a mass of habits--practical, emotional, and intellectual--systematically organized for our weal or woe, and bearing us irresistibly toward our destiny..."
Written by Stephen Palmer

History

Does it repeat itself? Why do we study it? Do you honestly care what some dead person did 300 years ago? How can we apply it to ourselves? What role should the past have in today’s society? How do we change a whole culture?

“What I really wanted was to get to know myself better through {my grandparents}. After all, their history is my history, their lives a part of mine, where I grew up, who my parents were. But we can’t expect the past to define our future completely. Our ancestors’ lives and lessons may teach and guide, but we are the ones who must make choices.”
Gleiser, Marcelo, The Prophet and the Astronomer, 2001, page 4

Human Nature

Inflation

Influence

Language

Leaders

Leaders are not, as we are often led to think, people who go along with huge crowds following them. Leaders are people who go their own way without caring, or even looking to see, whether anyone is following them. "Leadership qualities" are not the qualities that enable people to attract followers, but those that enable them to do without them. They include, at the very least, courage, endurance, patience, humor, flexibility, resourcefulness, stubbornness, a keen sense of reality, and the ability to keep a cool and clear head, even when things are going badly. True leaders, in short, do not make people into followers, but into other leaders."

~John Holt, Teach Your Own
　

Lyrics

Look Through My Eyes by Phil Collins

There are things in life you'll learn and
In time you'll see
Cause out there somewhere
It's all waiting
If you keep believing
So don't run, don't hide
It will be all right
You'll see, trust me
I'll be there watching over you

Just take a look through my eyes
There's a better place
somewhere out there
Just take a look through my eyes
Everything changes
You'll be amazed what you'll find
If you look through my eyes

There will be times on this journey
All you'll see is darkness
Out there somewhere daylight finds you
If you keep believing

So don't run, don't hide
It will be all right
You'll see, trust me
I'll be there watching over you

Just take a look through my eyes
There's a better place
somewhere out there
Just take a look through my eyes
Everything changes
You'll be amazed what you'll find
If you look through my eyes

All the things that you can change
There's a meaning in everything
And you will find all you need
There's so much to understand

Just take a look through my eyes
There's a better place
somewhere out there
Just take a look through my eyes
Everything changes
You'll be amazed what you'll find
If you look through my eyes

Take a look through my eyes

American Pie

A long long time ago
I can still remember how
That music used to make me smile
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make those people dance
And maybe they'd be happy for a while
But February made me shiver
With every paper I'd deliver
Bad news on the doorstep
I couldn't take one more step
I can't remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride
But something touched me deep inside
**The day the music died**
So

[Chorus]
Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey in Rye
Singin' this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die

Did you write the book of love
And do you have faith in God above
If the Bible tells you so?
Now do you believe in rock and roll?
Can music save your mortal soul?
And can you teach me how to dance real slow?

Well, I know that you're in love with him
Cause I saw you dancin' in the gym
You both kicked off your shoes
Man, I dig those rhythm and blues
I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck
But I knew I was out of luck
The day the music died
I started singin'

[Chorus]

Now, for ten years we've been on our own
And moss grows fat on a rolling stone
But, that's not how it used to be
When the jester sang for the king and queen
In a coat he borrowed from James Dean
And a voice that came from you and me
Oh and while the king was looking down
The jester stole his thorny crown
The courtroom was adjourned
No verdict was returned
And while Lenin read a book on Marx
The quartet practiced in the park
And we sang dirges in the dark
The day the music died
We were singin'

[Chorus]

Helter skelter in a summer swelter
The birds flew off with a fallout shelter
Eight miles high and falling fast
It landed foul on the grass
The players tried for a forward pass
With the jester on the sidelines in a cast
Now the half-time air was sweet perfume
While sergeants played a marching tune
We all got up to dance
Oh, but we never got the chance
Cause the players tried to take the field
The marching band refused to yield
Do you recall what was revealed
The day the music died?
We started singin'

[Chorus]

Oh, and there we were all in one place
A generation lost in space
With no time left to start again
So come on Jack be nimble, Jack be quick
Jack Flash sat on a candlestick
Cause fire is the devil's only friend
And as I watched him on the stage
My hands were clenched in fists of rage
No angel born in Hell
Could break that Satan's spell
And as the flames climbed high into the night
To light the sacrificial rite
I saw Satan laughing with delight
The day the music died
He was singin'

[Chorus]

I met a girl who sang the blues
And I asked her for some happy news
But she just smiled and turned away
I went down to the sacred store
Where I'd heard the music years before
But the man there said the music wouldn't play
And in the streets the children screamed
The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed
But not a word was spoken
The church bells all were broken
And the three men I admire most-
the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost-
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died
And they were singing

Money

Morals

Nation

What makes a nation?

Occupation

Praise

Don't expect applause

Accept applause, sure, please do.

But when you expect applause, when you do your work in order to receive (and because of) applause, you have sold yourself short. That's because your work is depending on something out of your control. You have given away part of your art. If your work is filled with the hope and longing for applause, it's no longer your work--the dependence on approval has corrupted it, turned it into a process where you are striving for ever more approval.

Who decides if your work is good? When you are at your best, you do. If the work doesn't deliver on its purpose, if the pot you made leaks or the hammer your forged breaks, then you should learn to make a better one. But we don't blame the nail for breaking the hammer or the water for leaking from the pot. They are part of the system, just as the market embracing your product is part of marketing.

"Here, here it is, it's finished."

If it's finished, the applause, the thanks, the gratitude are something else. Something extra and not part of what you created. To play a beautiful song for two people or a thousand is the same song, and the amount of thanks you receive isn't part of that song.


Prayer

Is it rote? Even when we try to change up prayer, we still use rote phrases. Why?

Matthew 6:5-15

5 ¶And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Principles

Rights

What are they? Does everyone have them? Why don’t some people think we have any? If I exercise my rights, am I enfringing on yours?

Sin

On Sin

By Peter Abailard

Peter Abailard lived from (1079-1142). Abailard’s life is a portrait of the triumphs and vicissitudes of philosophy, faith and love. He was born in a little town in Brittany, and having been ordained as priest, returned there to tutor Heloise, the niece of Canon Fulbert. His secret love affair with her, and Astrolabius, the son she bore him, caused him considerable misfortune, for when the canon discovered the secret relationship he had the priest physically mutilated. Abailard persuaded Heloise to take the veil; he himself retired to a quiet place near Troyes.
His disciples, however, sought him out, and once again the handsome, eloquent schoolman attracted students from all over Europe. He established an oratory called the Paraclete. His subtle argumentation persuaded his listeners to found their beliefs on reason. He tabulated the contradictions of the Bible and the Church Fathers for easy reference; he made freedom of the will the basis of all ethics; he opposed the teachings of the famous schoolmen, and expounded those concepts which hold that the Aristotelian precpets, called universals in scholastic philosophy (such as genus and species), have only intellectual significance.
The story of his “calamtites” (he wrote a book by that title) was never-ending. His interpretation of the Trinity was twice condemned as heretical. Finally, weary of the fight, he burned his book on the Trinity and lived out his life, a subdued follower of the faith. Upon his death, Heloise, twenty-one years younger than he, claimed his body and buried him. The ashes of both lovers now rest at the Pere-Lachaise in Paris.
　
When the Scripture says: ‘Go not after your own desires’, and ‘Turn from your own will’, it instructs us not to fulfil our desires. Yet it does not say that we are to be wholly without them. It is vicious to give in to our desires; but not to have any desires at all is impossible for our weak nature.
The sin, then, consists not in desiring a woman, but in consent to the desire, and not the wish for whoredom, but the consent to the wish is damnation.
Let us see how our conclusions about sexual intemperance apply to theft. A man crosses another’s garden. At the sight of the delectable fruit his desire is aroused. He does not, however, give way to desire so as to take anything by theft or rapine, although his mind was moved to strong inclination by the thought of delight of eating. Where there is desire, there, without doubt, will exist. The man desires the eating of that fruit wherein he doubts not that there will be delight. The weakness of nature in this man is compelled to desire the fruit which, without the master’s permission, he has no right to take. He conquers the desire, but does not extinguish it. Since, however, he is not enticed into consent, he does not descend to sin.
What, then, of your objection? It should be clear from such instances, that the wish or desire itself of doing what is not seemly is never to be called sin, but rather, as we said, the consent is sin. We consent to what is not seemly when we do not draw ourselves back from such a deed, and are prepared, should opportunity offer, to perform it completely. Whoever is discovered in this intention, though his guilt has yet to be completed in deed, is already guilty before God in so far as he strives with all his might to sin, and accomplishes within himself, as the blessed Augustine reminds us, as much as if he were actually taken in the act.
God considers not the action, but the spirit of the action. It is the intention, not the deed wherein the merit or praise of the does consists. Often, indeed, the same action is done from different motives: for justice sake by one man, for an evil reason by another. Two men, for instance, hang a guilty person. The one does it out of zeal for justice; the other in resentment for an earlier enmity. The action of hanging is the same. Both men do what is good and what justice demands. Yet the diversity of their intentions causes the same deed to be done from different motives, in the one case good, in the other bad.

Sports

Stars

Sun

Television

Good, bad or just OK? Pro’s, Con’s.

Trials

Universe

Vocation

Work

Wealth

Is it OK to be wealthy? Should everyone share the wealth? Is all work equal? Minimum wage: Good or bad?

World Views

　

On Sin

This is a document that I got out of a book called A treasury of philosopy.  It is one of

the documents I want to read this fall with my cousins for their class I am doing with them.

On Sin

By Peter Abailard

Peter Abailard lived from (1079-1142). Abailard’s life is a portrait of the triumphs and vicissitudes of philosophy, faith and love. He was born in a little town in Brittany, and having been ordained as priest, returned there to tutor Heloise, the niece of Canon Fulbert. His secret love affair with her, and Astrolabius, the son she bore him, caused him considerable misfortune, for when the canon discovered the secret relationship he had the priest physically mutilated. Abailard persuaded Heloise to take the veil; he himself retired to a quiet place near Troyes.

His disciples, however, sought him out, and once again the handsome, eloquent schoolman attracted students from all over Europe. He established an oratory called the Paraclete. His subtle argumentation persuaded his listeners to found their beliefs on reason. He tabulated the contradictions of the Bible and the Church Fathers for easy reference; he made freedom of the will the basis of all ethics; he opposed the teachings of the famous schoolmen, and expounded those concepts which hold that the Aristotelian precpets, called universals in scholastic philosophy (such as genus and species), have only intellectual significance.

The story of his “calamtites” (he wrote a book by that title) was never-ending. His interpretation of the Trinity was twice condemned as heretical. Finally, weary of the fight, he burned his book on the Trinity and lived out his life, a subdued follower of the faith. Upon his death, Heloise, twenty-one years younger than he, claimed his body and buried him. The ashes of both lovers now rest at the Pere-Lachaise in Paris.

　

When the Scripture says: ‘Go not after your own desires’, and ‘Turn from your own will’, it instructs us not to fulfil our desires. Yet it does not say that we are to be wholly without them. It is vicious to give in to our desires; but not to have any desires at all is impossible for our weak nature.

The sin, then, consists not in desiring a woman, but in consent to the desire, and not the wish for whoredom, but the consent to the wish is damnation.

Let us see how our conclusions about sexual intemperance apply to theft. A man crosses another’s garden. At the sight of the delectable fruit his desire is aroused. He does not, however, give way to desire so as to take anything by theft or rapine, although his mind was moved to strong inclination by the thought of delight of eating. Where there is desire, there, without doubt, will exist. The man desires the eating of that fruit wherein he doubts not that there will be delight. The weakness of nature in this man is compelled to desire the fruit which, without the master’s permission, he has no right to take. He conquers the desire, but does not extinguish it. Since, however, he is not enticed into consent, he does not descend to sin.

What, then, of your objection? It should be clear from such instances, that the wish or desire itself of doing what is not seemly is never to be called sin, but rather, as we said, the consent is sin. We consent to what is not seemly when we do not draw ourselves back from such a deed, and are prepared, should opportunity offer, to perform it completely. Whoever is discovered in this intention, though his guilt has yet to be completed in deed, is already guilty before God in so far as he strives with all his might to sin, and accomplishes within himself, as the blessed Augustine reminds us, as much as if he were actually taken in the act.

God considers not the action, but the spirit of the action. It is the intention, not the deed wherein the merit or praise of the does consists. Often, indeed, the same action is done from different motives: for justice sake by one man, for an evil reason by another. Two men, for instance, hang a guilty person. The one does it out of zeal for justice; the other in resentment for an earlier enmity. The action of hanging is the same. Both men do what is good and what justice demands. Yet the diversity of their intentions causes the same deed to be done from different motives, in the one case good, in the other bad.