We are in a world economic system that is not good. A system that in order to survive must make war, as great empires have always done. But since you cannot have a Third World War, you have regional wars. And what does this mean? That arms are made and sold, and in this way …
Yearly Archives: 2014
Paddington Bear
As a confirmed consumer of marmalade sandwiches at breakfast-time I thought I ought to post this trailer for the film about a childhood icon with a similar predilection. I must say he doesn’t look a thing like the illustrations I remember so fondly. Maybe it’s the missing duffel coat.
The Frailty of the Body
Three posts to set alongside each other: Sonia Saraiya at The AV Club reflecting on the violence done to bodies in the TV production of Game of Thrones Richard Beck commenting on two posts from Andrew Krinks entitled “Soulful Resistance: Theological Body Knowledge on Tennessee’s Death Row” (Part 1, Part 2) My own Advent reflection …
Spiritual Exercise, Part I
Maybe surprisingly, St Ignatius in his retreat manual, the Spiritual Exercises, doesn’t talk much about prayer. OK he talks endlessly about prayer but always as a variety of spiritual exercise. Spiritual exercise is his preferred category. There is a prejudice that prayer, if you are doing it right, should be serene, peaceful, passive, restful even. …
‘The Phases of Venus and Heliocentricity: A Rough Guide’
Another excellent ‘Rough Guide‘ to the state of historical research into astronomy in the early modern period, this time asking what the observation of the phases of Venus proved or didn’t prove about rival models of the Solar System. Clear and nicely complicated! Thank you Renaissance Mathematicus.
The Practice of Gratitude
Gratitude is a pleasant state of mind in itself, rooted in the awareness of having been gifted, but it can also be a way of responding to God the Giver with thankfulness and generosity. Gratitude needs to be entertained though, dwelled with, so it becomes a habit of seeing and feeling and acting. And that …
Changing Categories: ME, CFS, Fatigue
There are some things that are supposed to be sacrosanct on the internet: one of them is that URIs, web addresses to you and me, should never change once they have been allotted. Now, in reality, web addresses get deleted or modified all the time — but I don’t like to be the culprit. Despite …
Choosing Thoughts
Over at Big Think yesterday they had a quote from William James: “The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.” If only it were that easy! If only our ability to choose were so straightforward! Since I have had ME I find that anxious and stressful thoughts — usually …
The Experimental Theology of Insults: Two Standards
Richard Beck of Experimental Theology reports the research findings on how we react to insults. Specifically, he and his co-workers ask if the propensity to notice and feel insulted is more an emotional issue (we get angry easily or we are easily slip into negative emotions) or an ego issue (we think we have more …
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Mindfulness? Contemplative Attitude?
I have an ambiguous relationship with mindfulness. It is recommended for so many purposes and I have myself taught Anthony De Mello’s version of mindfulness exercises but I have never got far with it as a personal practice. I didn’t when it was offered me as a way of preparing for prayer (I always found …