Category: Great Thinkers

The Science of Gratitude

I have a family member who seems to focus on all the negatives in her life. If she doesn’t have a “big fat problem” to deal with, there doesn’t seem to be anything to focus on, no life purpose. While we occasionally hear her voice words of gratitude, they’re few and far between, and they usually have to do with people being useful to her, rather than “no good to me.”

It’s exhausting emotionally, spiritually and physically, so our time spent with her is limited. She doesn’t see herself as a negative person, but that’s how the rest of the family defines her. Void of a lot of gratitude.

 

What’s behind being grateful?

Just why do some people seem more naturally grateful than others? Can it be learned through practice? Is there a genetic component to it? What are the best ways to encourage, practice, and develop it? Is it an emotion? Virtue? Behavior?

These are some of the many questions we’ll be exploring together on Meditation Mondays as we approach Thanksgiving here in the United States. We’ll be preparing our hearts for that day, and carrying thankfulness into 2019 with us. And, hopefully, throughout the remainder of our lives.

So let’s get started today with some basics.

 

Gratitude as a research topic—

Scientists are studying gratefulness, and they’re learning some fascinating things about it. But before they started gratefulness research—a relatively new area in psychology and neuroscience—they had to develop some working definitions. Robert Emmons—considered by some as the world’s leading scientific expert on gratitude—and Michael McCullough whittled gratitude down to 2 definitions, so it could be scientifically studied and quantified. Those definitions are:

  1. “Recognizing one has obtained a positive outcome (from something), and;
  2. Recognizing that there is an external source for the positive outcome.”

They understand that people can possess gratitude for something outside of themselves, something, or someone, like God, fate, nature, etc., as the benefactors.

Some scientists then go on to break gratitude down into 3 categories:

  1. An “affective trait”—are you innately more prone to be grateful as part of your personality?
  2. A mood—Does your overall gratitude level alter throughout the day?
  3. An emotion—Where you experience a temporary spike in gratitude as a result of something positive or beneficial being given to you.

 

Gratitude and brain science—

Scientists have uncovered areas our brains that express or experience gratitude. And some studies claim to have located possible gratitude genes.

Are there biological roots of gratitude? Why do some people seem naturally inclined to experience and express it? Are their ways you can foster “feelings and expressions of gratitude?”

Some researchers look at gratitude on an evolution spectrum: gratitude and helping one another out strengthens community bonds.

 

“Feeling” gratitude—

I think most people would say they “feel happy” when they experience gratitude, as though happiness and gratitude go hand-in-glove with one another. But evidently we experience gratitude in different ways and depending upon what kind of personality we have, what our cognitive function or awareness is, and what gender we are. Yes, females and males differ on the gratitude spectrum!

Other ingredients need to be considered too. Like:

  • Where were you born and where did you grow up; and who were your parents?
  • Social and cultural mores you grew up or live in.
  • The religion you learned or follow.
  • The kind of parenting styles you exposed to.­­

 

B­enefits—

Scientists have uncovered a multitude of benefits for the grateful.

  1. Grateful people demonstrate greater happiness and life satisfaction.
  2. Grateful people experience less materialism.
  3. Grateful people enjoy both physical and psychological benefits.
  4. Grateful people exhibit a greater resiliency to traumatic events.
  5. Gratefulness may promote the development of other traits we consider virtues, like: patience, humility and wisdom. (Although I would argue that no matter how grateful you are, you cannot enjoy real wisdom without first acknowledging God. More on that in a later post.)

 

And gratitude appears to inspire people to generosity, kindness and helpfulness. It shores up relationships and may improve work environments by promoting positive attitudes and behavior.

 

In the following weeks, we’ll dig deeper into all of these and discover how to be grateful people, or more grateful than we already are. To pass it on and encourage and promote the behavior in others.

 

Until then, I’d encourage you to watch the following 4-minute YouTube video in which University of California—Davis professor, Robert Emmons, reveals 4 encouraging benefits in his presentation: “What Good is Gratitude?”

 

 

For more information on gratitude, go to the University of California—Berkeley’s: Greater Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life. They have a wonderful online magazine called Great Good Magazine: Science-Based Insights for a Meaningful Life.

 

Blessings,

Andrea

May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).

Are You Double-Minded With Too Many Worldviews?

Today we’re wrapping up our worldview discussion with a major question:

How many worldviews do you have?

 

Over the last several months we’ve looked at some major movers and shakers in world philosophy. And we’ve discussed the basic beliefs of some of the most influential worldviews.

During our discussion, what did you discover about your own personal worldview?

Do you have a melting (or boiling) pot of worldviews? Have you melded an assortment of them together, like a smorgasbord?

Maybe you lean toward Marxism, as so many seem to do now without even knowing they do. Do you view religion as an opium for an oppressed creature?

Do you take a rational view of the world? Maybe you’ve combined a little Naturalism—like Environmentalism and Earth-focus—with a dabble of Romanticism and Christian Theism. That combination might make you feel more in tune with the polytheists of the world.

Or would you relate to being a staunch Realist, or an Absurdist who thinks the world is one big pointless joke that ends in Nothing. Nihil.

 

The disciple, James, had some scathing words for those who couldn’t make up their minds.

 

“…the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind… Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.”

 

Like the wave of a sea, blown and tossed by the wind, double-minded and unstable.

 

I don’t know anyone who wants to be considered unstable, tossed around by a multitude of beliefs, unsure of their past, present or future. Unsure offer worried about, the foundation upon which they stand.

 

I think we would all be wise to know what we believe and why.

And strive to build our house upon the Rock!

 

What worldview have you built your house on?

 

As you read this post, I’m learning how to be a pilgrimage, doing a lot of meditating on how I do life, and probably how I can do it better. I expect to return enlightened and changed.

Because of this,MEDITATION MONDAYS will be on hiatus until October 15, when we’ll start our journey of preparing our hearts for Thanksgiving with a look at gratefulness.

 

Until then, be convinced about what you believe and why. Know the facts. People who have done a honest study of Christianity—even with the sole intent of proving it wrong—have come to the conclusion that its founder really is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

Knowing that and living like you believe it, will make your life’s path straight!

 

Looking forward to being back with you in a month!

Blessings,

Andrea

May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).

Worldview Philosophies: The Lowdown on Realism, Absurdism and Existentialism

Today we come to the last three major philosophies—Realism, Absurdism, and Existentialism—in our worldview discussions. They give us an idea about just how weird the world can get in its thinking. Although there are many more philosophies we could cover, we’re sticking to the major ideas that have profoundly shaped our world, its politics, and social beliefs.

 

Meet Naturalism’s cousin Realism—


Realism has the same substance as Naturalism but takes that philosophy to the extreme. Realism says that if people were really honest, they’d admit that there wasn’t any God at all, that He doesn’t exist and never did. An Evolutionist (although we could argue that evolutionism by itself could be called a religion or philosophy) might fall into this category. Everything’s here by chance and God, or any god, doesn’t have a thing to do with it.

Realists embrace (and worship) reality. In their mind, that’s what should drive the world. Some have called it an “in-your-face” view of life. These are the “telling it like it is” folks. Whatever happens on earth stays on earth, and it’s all just a big game of luck, aside from what they can force into reality, to make happen. And that’s what they get meaning from. There is no abstract in life from which you can draw meaning. It is what you can see and experience.

 

Say Hello to the Absurdist, close friend of Realist—

The Absurdist believes what the Realist does, but takes it a step further. For them, there is no meaning to life. Zilch. The Absurdist abandons all hope of finding meaning in existence. At heart, you could consider them embracers of nihilism. They’re hardcore skeptics, pessimists and cynics that see nothing good or purposeful in the world. All religious and moral principles can be rejected because they ultimately mean nothing. Why would they if nothing in the world has real existence?

 

The extreme Russian Revolutionary Party held to Absurdism. Because they saw nothing good in the social order of their day, they didn’t see anything about it worth saving. On the contrary, they thought it should all be destroyed. And that’s what they set out to do.

They even reject the Romantic’s belief in a desire, that parts or aspects of life were transcendent. To an Absurdist, desire cannot exist if life is senseless, meaningless, and therefore, devoid of hope. The American author, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., combined Absurdismand Humanismin his writings. However, while he sometimes set outrageous plots and hopeless characters, there were undercurrents of encouragement for people making the world a better place. Somehow.

In an interview with Robert Musil in 1980, Vonnegut expressed his view on the condition of life, a condition that strongly correlates with the idea of the absurd:

 

“I think that at least half the people alive, and maybe nine-tenths of them, really do not like this ordeal at all. They pretend to like it some, to smile at strangers, and to get up each morning in order to survive, in order to somehow get through it. But life is, for most people, a very terrible ordeal. They would just as soon end it anytime. And I really think that is more of a problem really than greed or machismo or anything like that. I think that’s the fundamental thing that’s going on. (Musil 129) (Krisandra R. Johnson, Indiana Wesleyan University, published in Butler University Libraries’ Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research Journal, Volume 4, Article 7 )

 

Pretty sad commentary, isn’t it? Although I have a suspicion that he’s right about how people feel about life. As I view it, the problem, is that these despondent (and usually angry) people don’t have the hope they need to make this life meaningful, regardless of what situation they find themselves in. And they haven’t passed that hope down to their children, who are now suffering record numbers of depression and suicide.

 

Existentialism: Welcome subjective feeling as the way to live!

Existentialists don’t debate meaning of life. They go for the feelingit gives them. Who cares what it means? There’s no point to discussing meaning since it’s the feelingthat matters. They worship experience. No wonder an existentialist tends to go from one feeling to another, and search for it constantly.

No deity needed on this one. The goal is to do what feels good. The reality of life exists in human desire not some God who created and manages the universe. According to an Existentialist, discovering and experiencing your desires leads you to the divine. Not a true divinity, but a divine (perfect) existence.

They focus on making sense of the chaos in life and seeking to learn their life purpose, their reason for being. Evidently Existentialism as a writing genre is regaining popularity among the millennial generation. Not surprising since many of them don’t have a Judeo-Christian foundation to draw from; or their Judeo-Christian foundation was so legalistic, authoritarian and distasteful that they rejected it and ended up finding something more palatable that felt as though it had some Judeo-Christian ideas attached to it.

 

 And you?

Would your worldview fit any of these philosophies? Have any of them seeped into your life perspective, theology or faith?

 

NEXT WEEK we’ll have one final formal look at worldview, why it matters, and how you may be affected by these philosophers in ways you didn’t imagine.

Until then, keep trying to figure out what worldviews your political leaders, teachers, writers and media personalities espouse. It will help you figure out what they’re basing their arguments on, how they see the world, approach life, and think you should live it.

 

Blessings,

Andrea

May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).

The Power of your Philosophy—Are you an Enlightened Rationalist, Hopeless Romantic or Doubting Naturalist?

On our last Meditation Monday we covered Theism, Christian Theism and Deism and learned the sometimes-subtle differences among these three worldviews or philosophies.

Today we’ll explore Rationalism, Romanticism, and Naturalism and the effect they’ve had on world history.

 

Be Enlightened!

Around the early 1600s a new breed of philosopher emerged who focused on being rational. (Although this thinking, evidently, can be found in antiquity.) These great thinkers envisioned themselves to be enlightened and believed truth to be derived via intellectand deductive reasoning.

They believed that certain undeniable principles naturally exist in mathematics, sciences, logic, metaphysics and ethics and were confident that reason was the method mankind could use to understand the world. To them, empirical or physical evidence are unnecessary to prove something. The French philosopher, Rene Descartes, championed this philosophy and is considered the father of modern Western Philosophy.

John Locke, an English philosopher, also championed this belief and is considered to be one of the most influential of the Enlightenment thinkers. He is referred to as the “Father of Liberalism.” Locke considered life to be somewhat of a “chalkboard” or tabula rasa, (the Latin term meaning “blank slate”), on which a person’s life experiences and responses are “written,” thus creating a personality. One of his quotes sums up much of his worldview:

 

“No man’s knowledge here can go beyond his experience.”

 

The Enlightenment worldview gained a foothold in Europe as it spread across that continent. It was particularly prevalent in England, France and Germany and is believed to have run from 1650 – 1800. It holds particular significance for the United States because it was the primary philosophy leaned on to justify and plant the seeds that sprouted the American Democratic Republic and American Revolution. Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson were considered to be great men of the American Enlightenment period.

The people who combined Rationalism and Deism thinking often spoke of “unalienable rights” (ever hear that term before?) and “common sense.”

 

Enlightened thinkers focused on:

  • Reason
  • Individualism
  • Skepticism

 

Does that not sound like the guts of the American spirit? That if we only reason things through, we can fix them; that we are stalwart individualists that abhor having our rights tread on; and that we have a tendency to view everything with a jaded eye, even while being optimistic? Pull out your Declaration of Independence and read through that document. Do any of the terms scream Enlightened to you?

 

Enter the Romantics—

The people who embraced Romanticism took issue with the Deists and Theists. They believed that Nature was God, and it was very good. In their belief, original sin was man’s separation from Nature. And man should try to return to Nature because doing so determines his goodness and effectiveness in life. The closer he gets to Nature’s perfection the better he is.

Romantics didn’t like Deism or Theism because they considered those philosophies, or beliefs, too dogmatic and close-minded. Too legalistic; not free enough. Better to commune with Nature to get back to your roots; be in a constant search to return to the Garden. They emphasize the subjective, while Deists emphasize the objective. Subjectivism gives a person way more latitude in their thinking and behavior. (What’s good for you may not be good for me. “Whatever floats your boat!”)

A popular American novel exemplifying Romanticism is James Fennimore Cooper’s Deerslayer, in which the protagonist is content and safe while on an island, separated from humans. In Walden, famous American author Henry David Thoreau writes about his experience living alone on Walden Pond in Massachusetts for a year, to find his God. It certainly wasn’t what he expected it to be. He came away a little jaded and disappointed through that experience. And maybe he wasn’t quite so Romantic in his views thereafter. (I couldn’t finish Deerslayer when I tried to read it. But Cooper’s Last of the Mohicans was fabulous!)

 

Naturalism is the way (And there’s proof!)

So along comes Naturalism, which is different from Romanticism’s Nature-is-good beliefs.

Naturalism does not look kindly on Nature, as it does not believe Nature is good or benevolent (gift giving). On the contrary, they consider it to be mischievousness, having a bent toward being and doing evil, and being quite unpredictable.

World War I had a tremendous impact on people’s beliefs, and Naturalism seemed a more logical and proven alternative to Theism and Deism.

 

After that bloodbath, how could anyone believe in a living God that loved people?

And if there really was a God, how could anyone believe He cared about His creation? The war was proof that He didn’t. And, if He did exist, He was just as unpredictable as His creation (nature) and prone to behaving in evil ways. So, maybe there is a God, or maybe there’s not. Either way, people lose because the end result is bad and impossible to make a judgment call on.

 

Although Naturalists may hold a soft spot for Romanticism, they believe that particular philosophy to be terribly naïve.

 

To the Naturalist, God is:

  • Absent,
  • A big wimp; or
  • Just plain mean and in possession of a bad temper.

 

Take-away—

Do any of these philosophies sound familiar to you? Can you see them filtered through our media, educational curricula, or modern (more liberal/progressive) religious teachings?

 

Meditation Points—

I invite you to spend some time this week really pondering what kind of influence these worldviews have had on your life and life outlook. Because, whether you’ve realized it before or not, they have.

  1. How have any of these beliefs sneaked into your worldview and influenced you? Who taught them to you, by their words, instructions or actions?
  2. Have they affected your belief in, understanding of, or relationship with God?
  3. Do you ever ask yourself: “How could a loving God allow such-and-such to happen?” (Rape, murder, ethnic slaughter, natural disasters?) What answer do you give yourself?
  4. When you analyze your worldview, do you have a hodge-podge of beliefs?
  5. Do you have a difficult time seeing God has loving, good, benevolent, and just?
  6. Are independence, freedom, and individualism a primary focus for you?
  7. Do you pride yourself in being a rational, thoughtful and logical person? Do you analyze the world and your experiences through these filters?
  8. Do you need to have evidence in order to believe? Are you prone to doubt?
  9. Has combining these beliefs resulted in your frustration with life? Has any one of them led you to depression or a feeling of hopelessness?
  10. I have a acquaintance, an older lady who is a brilliant and witty scientist. She told me once that she didn’t deny there being a God; she just couldn’t prove He existed. She proclaimed herself to be an agnostic. Which worldview(s) do you think she is inclined to follow?
  11. What worldview do you think an pure environmentalist would hold? A Democrat? Republican? Libertarian or Green Party candidate?

 

NEXT WEEK I’ll offer my perspective on our American holiday, Labor Day.

Until then,

try to figure out what your favorite television personality or news anchor’s worldview is. Read and hear what they have to say, where their focus is.

 

Blessings,

Andrea

May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).

Photo by Tom Coe

The Basics of Theism and Deism—What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You

A lot of people have had tremendous influence on how we think about things and approach life. Great thinkers have loudly voiced their thoughts and developed philosophies or worldviews . Some are optimistic, and some are so pessimistic you wonder how and why anyone would want to go on living!

Today we’re returning to our overview of some of the worldviews that have shaped men’s minds and hearts, and subsequently our children’s and the world’s. And even music. It doesn’t take much listening to some of the heavy metal lyrics to discover that many of these young men and women are devoid of hope and are profoundly depressed about and frustrated with life.

As we go through these views, think about whether your thinking and reasoning has been influenced in any way by them. We’ll cover two or three of them a week.

 

In the beginning—

It doesn’t take too much studying in history to realize that all ancient civilizations had some kind of worldview that involved worshiping a god or multitude of gods. Or nature. It’s only been fairly recent that people have dismissed the idea of a creator and universal ruler and gone out of their way to make sure god is removed from the public square, or education.

 

For our discussion, we’ll look at several God-focused worldviews: Theism and Deism.

 

Christian Theism—A Christian Theist believes that an omnipotent God exists and He has authored a Spirit-inspired and man written work called the Bible that is the final authority on life and living it. (Notice I didn’t say it is the final authority on how everything was and is created. It is not exhaustive in that regard.) This Bible contains precepts and laws upon which man should base society and living. Hence, God and the Bible have a real, significant and lasting impact on our lives.

Theism—A person who calls themselves a Theist might be referring to a Christian definition, or they might be a non-Christian theist who believes in a god or many gods. Because of this, it is extremely important to define your terms when you’re having a discussion with someone about “god.” The God you’re discussing and referring to might not at all be the god they worship or follow. They are not all the same.

A person who says they believe in and follow Jesus, but doesn’t believe in the immaculate conception of Him, or His resurrection, certainly doesn’t believe in the same Jesus as someone who believes those things.

 

There are some religions that identify as Christian, or Christ followers, but they believe that Jesus was really Satan’s brother, who was able to rise to the level He did because He was able to live a perfect life on Earth. They also don’t believe in the incarnation or that Jesus was the God Jehovah. They think all men can become gods, if they live a perfect enough life on Earth.

And there are others who believe that Jesus is the Archangel Michael, come down to Earth as God’s son to fight the battle. They also don’t believe in a true bodily resurrection, but see it (as the Gnostics did way before them) a spiritual one. They don’t believe Jesus is God incarnate, and they think only 180,000 select individuals will go to heaven. The rest of the followers will spend their eternity here on a redeemed Earth.

 

You can see that it’s critical to know who you’re talking about and define your terms.

 

Deism—Some of the founding fathers of the United States could be classified more as Deists than Theists. A Deist believes there is an authoritative creator, God, who has authored the Holy Bible, which is the source that should be used to guide men’s actions and governments.

A Deist knows that God was once omnipotent, before and during creation.

But they believe that once God finshed all of His creating, He decided to take a back seat in the affairs of men and, instead, distance Himself from the world and His creation. Hence, not be involved.

To them, the world can be looked at as a clock, once created by an intelligent being, but a clock that has been set on autopilot, more or less. Man is left to go it alone and figure out how the clock works and go on living.

They believe that you can know God only through reason and observation of nature, but not through a personal relationship, revelations, or miracles, which they would regard with skepticism.

Some do and some don’t believe in an afterlife. And among the believers of it, there is varying opinion.

If you’d like to do further reading on that subject, see this discussion posted on the Church of the Modern Deist website.

 

And you?

Which worldview would you ascribe to, or have you combined them in any way, leading you to have a melded or divided worldview?

 

NEXT WEEK: Romanticism and Naturalism (Can anyone say Tchaikovsky or the Disney movie, Pocahontas?)

Blessings,

 Andrea

May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).

Photo by Dawid Zawila