R. Scott Harrison
Daniel, Rick, and Leslie,
Thanks, each of you, for some great thoughts!
I think that each of you highlights many good points about how we need to keep in mind the evolution of religion and the time and place (social location) in which texts were written. I think it is critical for us to remember that, while the Qur’an was compiled under very different circumstances than the Hebrew Bible (Christian Old Testament) and the Christian New Testament, the Qur’an, nevertheless, was written by tribal people many centuries ago. I do not mean that as a criticism of any practicing Muslims, but it is a fact. Thus, the importance of hermeneutics that takes many factors into consideration. I’ll save the rest for my comment(s) to this week’s session.
Evan and Chris,
Thank you for writing and sharing what you did! I found that I related to the questions and critiques you both had and so eloquently expressed. I did not expect to laugh out loud for so long when I read Chris’ “off the tarmac” metaphor, but it certainly described how I felt reading both Hosinski’s discussion of Whitehead and ANW’s own words in the readings for this week. I’m left with lots of questions and very few answers, which is not a bad thing.
Good questions, Charlie! I have wondered the very same things that you put into language.
Great questions, Charlie! You put into words questions I was trying to formulate when I read that section of Hosinski.
Jamie, I find this a fascinating concept! Thanks!
Excellent questions, Ryan! I wonder the same things myself.
Jamie and Jeremy,
Both of you point to what I see as two of the many primary questions one might raise in light of Whitehead’s thought. How might one “know,” for example, that an actual occasion is ONE actual occasion rather than an inseparable string of experience that appears as a single “unfolding” or “evolving”? How are strings of interrelated occasions linked? Is there another experience involved in the linking itself between one actual occasion and the next that is in itself an actual occasion? And, of course, what terms does one use to speak of linked actual occasions? Is it possible to speak of what Jermey raises only in terms of the poetic?
This is a great start and wonderful example on how this kind of education can be done, Eric!
Ryan and Bill,
You both write so well. I echo what you describe in being able to connect with the emphasis that process thought places on experience, not only of humans, but of all things. At the same time, I often find myself struggling to understand or make sense of the technical language used by Whitehead and many others. At the same time, I recognize that this is a common issue when reading the work of most philosophers. I am hoping, in time, that I will gain a better understanding of Whitehead and other process thinkers — and that I will be able to explain a little about what process thought is, in ways that others can understand and relate to.
BilL and Kathleen,
I will address you both in this reply, but I will start specifically with Bill. Bill, I agree with Dr. Davis and others in saying that you write beautifully. The dream you describe and the metaphorical connections you found within it and beyond it are fascinating and beautiful.
Bill and Kathleen, I have found dreams to be profoundly influential and healing in my own journey. I recall many moons ago, when I was in my late twenties, hearing one writer whose name I cannot recall speak on a radio program about “waking dreams.” This was circa 1989 on Larry Mantle’s program of the time, “Airtalk,” on Southern California’s radio station KPCC. If I recall correctly, the writer was a psychologist who specialized on how dreamwork can help in therapy. He described “waking dreams” as dreams that occur when our minds are in a state at which we are aware that we are dreaming. He spoke of ways in which we can train our minds to remember dreams and to enter our “waking dreams” and flip the script to “rewrite” our dreams and to learn from the characters in our dreams by asking what they might represent. His suggestions for remembering dreams and for being able to enter the world of our dreams “semiconsciously” (my term, though I may be using it incorrectly),included some of the common ones, such as the following:
1. telling oneself to remember one’s dreams before going to sleep;
2. stating to oneself before sleep that one can recognize and enter into dreams when one is dreaming;
3. if one becomes aware while asleep that one is dreaming, choosing to enter the dream on a semiconscious level and to adjust parts of the dream that one doesn’t like or wants to change to align better with one’s emotions or thoughts; and
4. immediately upon waking, journaling about whatever one remembers in the morning.Now I am in my early sixties, and I have to say that I have never been regular at journaling out my dreams, though when I recall ones that I find puzzling, interesting, or otherwise engaging, I do take the time to write and reflect about them.
After hearing that interview many years ago, I did learn, over several months time to become more aware when I was in the midst of a dream and to enter the dream on a semiconscious level. I simply followed the recommendations of the psychologist that I listed above, and they eventually worked for me. I will say that I did not realize that it was working immediately and it did take repeated efforts, day and day, for several months before I noticed that I recalled my dreams and also that I recognized and could enter into my dreams.
Through the years, I have found that I have had countless dreams in which I have been able to work through various scenarios while aware on some level that I was asleep and dreaming. The closest thing that I can compare it to is as if I was directing and acting in my own movie and I was making changes to the script then re-acting the same scenes from a movie with repeated takes until I got the scenes “right.”
Since my late twenties, I have been fortunate to be pretty good at engaging with my dreams on what I guess might be called a semi-conscious level. I would not be surprised if some people could develop this skill at other ages. I consider myself blessed that I also have very vivid and colorful dreams, though that can be troubling when I have nightmares. I remember being shocked the first time I heard that most humans do not dream in color.
Certainly, not everyone has such experiences, and I am not sure why, at various stages of life, I have had periods of more vivid and “interactive” dreaming than at other times. It’s not always a blessing, but most nights I do look forward to my dreams.
John,
I’m very late to the game in adding my introductions to the courses, but yours stood out to me, so I wanted to comment. You have a very interesting background and some fascinating experiences! I totally relate when you say that you “have been a student of philosophy and religion ever since I can remember, just not a very good one!” That, too, is part of my experience! I look forward to learning more from you and with you as we share in this process of educating ourselves and each other!
All the best,
ScottBill,
This is late in the posting, but as I review the introductions and go back and post my own for the first and second classes (my own insecurities played a role in not doing so, I guess), I find myself fascinated by your background and experience.
I am a gay man who began to come to terms with his sexual orientation in the early 1980s and lost more friends and acquaintances during the first AIDS epidemic than I can accurately recall. I spent close to a decade in the ex-gay/conversion therapy/reparative therapy movement(s) as both a participant and, later, as a leader/pastoral counselor/pastor. I ended up leading a conversion therapy group that, out of necessity, morphed in a matter of months into an AIDS support group for young men staring at death’s door. Seeing how at peace with themselves many gay men who were spiritual, but not necessarily Christian, were in their final months of life led me, fortunately, to question and eventually dispense with my own rigid evangelical Christian belief system.
Through the years, as I have worked in differing religious contexts and social service agencies, I have done my share of work with people living with HIV and with sexual and gender minorities. Your experience working with Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) and with creating Emotion-Focused Mindfulness Therapy (EFMT) and with Touching the Earth sound fascinating and . I would be interested to learn more, if such an opportunity ever presents itself.
Here’s wishing you the best as you continue in process!
Scott
Jessica,
I share in your need to take time to “process” all that we are learning as we work our way through classes on process thought as well as your feeling of “being more-than-a-little intimidated by the experiences, insights, and credentials of my fellow students”!
Thank you so much for sharing your experiences and best wishes to you!
Scott
Benjamin,
Thank you so much for sharing your experience and from your expertise! I look forward to learning more from you and with you as we venture together in the process!
All the best,
ScottGordon,
It’s interesting to run across another former conservative Baptist – finally! I honestly have not run across many former conservative Baptists in recent years. I have gotten so frustrated through the decades that so many of my evangelical friends, family members, and acquaintances have seldom seemed willing to grow far beyond their childhood, adolescent, and young adult understandings of God and of spirituality.
You have an amazing background and such a wonderful range of gifts and expertises! Thank you for sharing all you do with others so freely! Congratulations and best wishes to you and your wife on your 25th anniversary!
All the best to you and your wife,
Scott