September 27, 2004

• MONDAY BOOK

  Grace and Grit – Ken Wilber

  A year after her diagnosis of breast cancer, Treya Wilber entered a period of meditation and spiritual questioning. Ken Wilber, being already a philosopher, describes the idea of “perennial philosophy”:
  “The perennial philosophy is the worldview that has been embraced by the vast majority of the world’s greatest spiritual teachers, philosophers, thinkers, and even scientists. It’s called “perennial” or “universal” because it shows up in virtually all cultures across the globe and across the ages…And wherever we find it, it has essentially similar features…I’ll give you seven of what I think are the most important.
  1. Spirit exists.
  2. Spirit is found within.
  3. Most of us don’t realize this Spirit within, however, because we are living in a fallen or illusory state.
  4. There is a way out of this fallen state of sin and illusion, there is a Path to our liberation.
  5. If we follow this Path to its conclusion, the result is a Rebirth or Enlightenment, a direct experience of Spirit within, a Supreme Liberation, which
  6. Marks the end of sin and suffering, and which
  7. Issues in social action of mercy and compassion on behalf of all sentient beings.

  Personally, I am totally convinced of #1 and 2. When we get to #3 and 4, I have a problem with use of the words “fallen” and “sin”. To me they are too specifically Christian-sounding, and I simply have not been able to align myself with a particular religion over my life. I guess I would say in my own words that we are born innocent and then the world as we know it sets about to pummel us with both its beauty and its toxicity. It’s been my observation that most people fall into a kind of trance of just hanging on and surviving, many become entranced by greed and power as a way of dealing with life, many are turned angry and hurtful by the experience of life, and some rise to a more spiritual level by following a “Path to our liberation.” About #5 I would cut out all those big words and just say it is possible to make inner peace and that then #6 makes sense. About #7, I think it’s possible to get to that state of inner peace without becoming a great spiritual leader, but simply being a more compassionate fellow human on a daily basis. (An interesting side note is that in 12-step programs the path is to begin by finding some kind of Higher Power early on, work your way through various character-building steps, and after reaching a state of meditative peace, to give back what you have been given.)
  

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  Deep Thought: When I picked up the little dead mouse that my cat had killed, at first I felt sad. Then I felt hungry. I forget what happened after that.
  Today I am grateful for: Auld Lang Syne
  Guess the Movie: “Snap out of it!” Answer: Moonstruck, 1988. Winner strawberryfieldsgirl
  Polls Today Kerry 234/Bush 280. The EVP guy says: It is a quiet day on the polling front today with only six new polls. Kerry has taken over the lead in Florida again, 49% to 48%, but other than that, nothing much has changed. The big event this week is going to be the first debate. That could easily decide the outcome of the election, and both candidates will probably spend most of the week preparing for it. Personally, I’m not sure I can bear to watch the debates. I’ll have to get my info from the internet media afterwards.
  End of Day – 8:07 pm
  + = Fall-arama hanging on and I’m reveling.
  - = Where are all the guys with Big Bucks who supposedly support Kerry? How come nobody speaks out but Michael Moore?

  • 10:36 am
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