The discussion on what it means to have faith or a belief is a common argument with a few of my co-workers. Here is my side of the discussion, I hope some of you will chime in with your own ideas.
Concerning the question of belief and faith. Phil Hine once said,
"Beliefs are not objective -- they are coping strategies that we take up according to our needs and priorities. Beliefs are summaries of individual and communal experience that permit us to deal, effectively, with changes in our environment -- and by extension, accepting or rejecting a belief is akin to using a tool to fix a problem and then discarding it."
I find this sums up most of my own thoughts about beliefs, it is actually how I sign my emails at work. Faith is a little more complicated. I do not believe faith is tied specifically to any type of religious framework. You can have faith in a God, or a Goddess. You can have faith in a loved one and you can have faith in yourself. People have faith in the government (hard to believe but it is true), and in any number of other day to day things. The hardest part of talking to my junior team members is convincing them to have faith in themselves, and others around them. They are usually missing one or both of these concepts.
With these ideas in mind, I am constantly telling my Christian friends to have faith. They seem to think I want them to go pray and I have to explain that I mean for them to have faith in themselves. Praying is fine, it can clear out your mind and lower stress ( I take these words on faith from my friends that do it). It is not a substitution for trusting in your own skills and abilities.
So go forth my friends and believe in yourself. Have faith that the hard work you have put forth means something and you will be triumphant in the end.
Padre,
ReplyDeleteDo you meditate? Do you take part in any religious rites? I am asking as a follow up to your comments about faith. How does faith intersect with your religious belief? I have faith that the Goddess talks to me when I meditate. I call this faith because I cannot prove that she is there. Just an interesting conversation . . .
Jen
Jen,
ReplyDeleteI do not meditate or take part in religious rites as most people would understand it. I used to do both when I was younger, but now maintain my focus throughout the day. I try to treat the entire day as if it was one big waking dream. Everything around happens with the person at the epicenter of the event. My paradigm shifts to each situation as I try to find the event center in the world of cause and effect, then I look for outside influences.
How do you feel meditation affects your outlook on life in general?
-Padre
Padre,
ReplyDeleteInteresting, I view events in a different way - I try to find the lesson I feel am ment to learn from interactions with people. Although I tend to filter the things people say by considering the fact that most people are at the center of their own universe and so their words are often a reflection of what they think about themselves. Example - When someone takes an off hand remark made by another person to heart I point out that the comment is a reflection on the speaker more than a comment on the listener. Few people speak with an open and clear heart and mind.
Meditation for me can be many things - I am trying to use it to find direction in my life these days. I have lost my joy and have lived in a gray world for 4 or 5 years now and I need to reconnect to some sort of passion. Like many women my age (40) I have been consumed by motherhood and I lost me. To that end I am trying to meditate daily (hard to get on a schedule) and I am searching for things to focus upon. I bought a book of daily Goddesses so I am using it and the insperation I find there as a jumping off point. In the past I have used meditation as a way to focus and deepen my energies, or to ground and settle my mind.
Jen