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You Don't Have to Feel Guilty About Feeling Good

10/10/2015

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Recently, a friend told me he was really excited about a new yoga class he was going to, but after a few weeks he started feeling guilty about going. I asked him why, and he said that yoga made him feel uncomfortably selfish. "Yoga makes my mind and body so relaxed and invigorated at the same time, I would do it every day if I could. But that's the problem. I feel selfish doing something that's 'just for me."

The implication is that if something makes me feel that good, it must be wrong. I must be stealing a good from someone else to make it happen. 

Maybe you feel that way. You have a favorite activity that makes you feel alive and awake, like the world is a good and beautiful place to exist. But at the same time, you feel a nagging guilty feeling. Somewhere in your past, a parent, a mentor, a spiritual leader or teacher told you that you were being selfish. That you should be more responsible. That there is no room for passion and play in the adult world. 

We all carry these wounds. Sometimes they were inflicted by people with the best of intentions: "Give up on music, and get a real job. You'll never make it anyways." "Travel is a waste of time." It can even be something small, like "Don't paint your apartment, you're just going to have to repaint it when you move out" (I'm guilty of that one). This kind of advice often comes from people who foreclosed on their own dreams a long time ago, and you might be bringing up old hurts with your dreams. Squishing your dreams with "reality" is less painful than mourning the dreams they gave up a long time ago.

But the universe is not a zero sum game. Pursuing your passions doesn't mean you are being irresponsible or neglecting some greater good in society. It's not a pie with a limited amount of slices. When you do something that makes you feel alive, you're not stealing the last slice of goodness from someone who doesn't have any. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The universe is expanding. When you pursue your passions, whether it's yoga, higher education, art, music, gardening or any number of other things, you are creating good in the world and in yourself. The books you enjoy only exist because someone shut themselves away for a few months to pound out their ideas on a keyboard. The art class you are taking is only possible because someone devoted themselves to a craft and became an expert through years of practice. The spiritual leaders whose wisdom keeps you on track cultivate their thoughts in solitude and prayer.

This is not a new idea. The greatest men and women in history have understood this. You have nothing to offer humanity, if you yourself are empty and shallow.
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It's the same principle lifeguards use when saving people in the ocean, or that flight attendants tell you on airplanes in case of emergency. You have to take care of yourself to care for others. As you seek wonder and experience beauty, you will become an oasis that draws and nourishes others. When you treat yourself to something that makes you feel alive, you are doing something that heals and gives life to the soul. You are not selfish, you are bringing joy to the world. It is only by being yourself, that you have anything to offer. It is in your passion, as you flourish, that you can best love your neighbor and help them flourish.

Take care of yourself. Fill the world with life. Live in freedom, and make the world a better place.
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It's Time to Rethink "Judgement"

9/28/2015

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​​In Reflections on the Psalms, C.S. Lewis points out that westerners have been largely spared an age-old experience regarding our legal system. 
​"In most times and places it has been very difficult for the 'small man' to get his case heard. The judge (and doubtless, one or two of his underlings) has to be bribed. If you can't afford to 'oil his palm,' your case will never reach court. Our judges do not receive bribes. (We probably take this blessing too much for granted; it will not remain with us automatically). We need not therefore be surprised if the Psalms, and the Prophets are full of the longing for judgment, and regard the announcement that "judgement" is coming as good news. Hundreds and thousands of people who have been stripped of all they possess and who have the right entirely on their side will at last be heard. They know their case is unanswerable- if only it could be heard. When God comes to judge, at last it will."

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What You Need To Know About The Syrian Refugee Crisis

9/23/2015

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In the dark about the Syrian refugee crisis? Here's a short video explaining how it started and what it means:

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Islam and the West, Part 2 (and why you really don't need to be afraid)

8/22/2015

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Muslims linking arms to protect a Christian worship service in Pakistan, 2013.
Islam has been forging its way into our thinking since September 11, 2001, but as we reach another anniversary of that terrible day, I'm not convinced we understand this religion any better than we did fourteen years ago. Before the terrorist attacks, our national concept of Islam came from Hollywood films like Lawrence of Arabia and Indiana Jones. Islam seemed far away, mysterious and exotic when people thought about it at all, and most didn't think about it. Today, our perception of Islam is filtered by a media more likely to report the body count after a bloody explosion than a joint declaration from Muslim leaders condemning violence.

If headlines and book titles are to be believed, Islam is Daesh, Al Quaeda, radical terrorism, and the end of civilization. To be a Muslim is to be a suspect, a potential threat, a person set on destroying the West either by force or by a less violent (but no less sinister) immigration strategy. But is this the real Islam, the one that exists outside the parameters drawn by a nostalgic Hollywood, a partisan media, and popular understanding? With 1.5 billion adherents (according to PEW Research), the Muslim religion is the second largest religion in the world (Christianity is the largest). If it is a religion of violence, as many claim, why is violence and war on a steady global decline?

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Islam and the West

8/4/2015

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It's been fourteen years since the terrorist attacks of 9/11, but tragically, many Americans are no closer to understanding Islam and the forces behind radicalization than they were before. Turn on the news, or check social media, and it often seems like the rhetoric is getting worse. Recently, critics of Islam garnered widespread popular support in the U.S. by advocating that we close our borders to all of the world's 1.5 billion Muslims. Others use polarizing language to call for fast military action to destroy all traces of radical Islam around the globe. 

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    Intersecting is a blog that explores the connections between religion, philosophy, politics, film, psychology, science... and everything else

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    Innovation is found at the intersection of ideas, concepts and cultures
     
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    When you water the root of the tree, that water naturally extends to every branch and every leaf and every flower on that tree. So when we actually find the origin of true pleasure, in feeling the infinite sweet love that God has for us, and in realizing our potential to love God, that love naturally extends to all living beings.
    -Radhanath Swami

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