Musing about the Shabbat or Sabbath
It is Sunday and instead of worshiping at a Christian church I have worshipped while on the treadmill, rowing machine and other machines while listening to some Ted Talks and programs such as On Being with Krista Tippett. This is my Sabbath or Shabbat which looks much like every other morning of the week for me. By the time I get to the gym, I have read some morning meditations and checked in with a number of “family” via text and email.
I have been giving some thought to the practice which the filmmaker Tiffany Shlain, her husband, and children follow of a technology-free Shabbat. I also frequently give some thought to again looking for a church community of which I can feel a part. I am not sure, however, that I retain enough of the core beliefs of the Presbyterian Church which I attended for many years and for which I served as an ordained minister/teaching elder. I also have not found that sense of community in places such as the Unitarian Church although I admire and like much of the work they do. I also admire and like the work of the Metropolitan Community Church and occasionally am able to make a donation to help with some of the service they provide to those in need of assistance with basics such as food or housing. At times the rituals of the Roman Catholic church provide that much needed sense of being a part of for me.
In many respects, the church I most identify with is that of the internet. I appreciate what Tiffany Shalain says of the internet. She said in an interview with Krista Tippett on On Being:
“There’s a point in the development of a child’s brain where all the different parts of the brain are connected that they can have their first insight. And extrapolating that out to the internet, the moment that we can truly get everyone on the internet connected, imagine the insight that will be able to happen when we have that many different perspectives coming together in one network. And I think the challenge is going to be to create enough collaborative tools to make that happen. But that makes me incredibly hopeful.”
I had listened to the interview with Mrs. Shlain a couple of days ago (I can download the Sunday broadcast on Thursday or Friday). This morning I was thinking about some of what Mrs. Shalain has to say while listening to a Ted Talk by Chelsea Shields entitled “How I’m working for change inside my church.” Mrs. Shields grew up in a very religious Mormon family and community. She has internalized many of the beliefs of that church while rejecting many of the practices of treating women in the church as those who need to be led and told how to behave, dress and worship by the males in the church. In fact, as is true for many religions, teenage boys have traditionally been more revered as leaders than adult women. While females in the Mormon church and many other religions are honored and respected as mother, homemakers, and community nurturers, they have not traditionally been viewed as being able to make leadership decisions in the church or even to make simple decisions such as what costume/dress is appropriate. For example, until recently, it would have been strictly verboten for women to wear pants to enter the place of worship.
Mrs. Shields and other women have been able, despite much opposition and, at times, being ex-communicated from the community, to hold to what they consider their core Mormon beliefs while advocating – even demanding in love – changes to the rules made my males.
In many religions women continue to claim ownership in the religious communities of their heritage. Not only women, but others such as members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community have claimed their right to share the table with the rest of the members of that community.
Others, like myself, have not found enough within our religious institutions to keep us connected to a particular community. Yet, we bring with us a strong sense of what we consider the core teachings of that religion. I, for example, have taken the core teachings of I understand to be the core teachings of Jesus and the New Testament community about love, justice, and taking care of each other with me. I bring those core teachings to the increasing ability of we humans to connect to the larger “brain” of the human race – which as Mrs. Shlain suggests “can bring together many different perspectives from around the world” – can bring together the many different thoughts, ideas, and dreams of the human race.
Folks such as Mrs. Shalain, Mrs. Shields, and many others from around the world are inviting us to allow our combined neurons and synapses to play together.
The amazing thing about the internet is that there is no reason for any of us to have to dance or struggle alone. There other devout Mormons who believe in the equality of women. There are other non-religious Jews who recognize the importance of the celebrating and practicing the Sabbath. There are many devout Roman Catholics who are members of the GLBT community. There are many Muslims who embrace feminism and the GLBT members of the community.
Many of we humans continue to do what many of us did as children – to live as if we were schizophrenics. We hold on to the knowledge of who we were - intellectually, sexual, emotionally, and spiritually – while learning and practicing the steps to appear to fit in the community. We were two different people. This required a lot of effort. This schizophrenic practice continues to be the norm for many in the world. Yet, as we connect the different parts of our human brain via the internet we can claim and celebrate the wholeness of who we are.
I think of the Sabbath as that time which I take a break from allowing confirmation of what I know and new ideas to steam into my brain. It is a time which I can be more mindful or as Mrs. Shlain says:
MS. SHLAIN: Yeah, and being mindful — actually, the word “mindful” — I have to tell you the new word that I love to ground the word “mindful,” which is so used everywhere now. OK, here it is ...
MS. TIPPETT: It is. It’s one of those overused words.
MS. SHLAIN: I know. It’s so overused it’s lost its meaning. So here’s the word that grounds it is “metacognition,” which is “meta” — thinking about thinking. It’s the same thing, but it’s so much more — it grounds it in science, which is exciting to me, and it has kind of teeth to it. [laughs] It kind of secures itself to the ground.” (taken from the transcript of the interview on On Being).
I am still allowing this term to roll around in my brain. I like the sound of it, although I am not sure it I want to use that Shabbat time as time for “thinking about thinking.” For me it is that time when I focus on my breath and refrain, as much as I am able, from directing my thinking process. Somehow the term “metacognition” is not so much thinking about thinking as it is “beyond thinking.”
Regardless of what terms we play with, I want to be very intentional about observing a Shabbat or Sabbath – a time to not connect so globally but to be more present to myself and all those and that within my more immediate sphere – to savor the experience of community.
One of the attractive aspects of the Quaker church meetings on the Sabbath for me is the practice of sitting silently with others until or unless the “spirit” moves me to share. This also reminds me of the practice of be “reading separate books together.”
It is a time of not talking just to talk, of not directing my learning process, of allowing myself to catch up with myself so that I can be more present with a larger community.
For today, I am not sitting in a traditional church, temple or synagogue. For today I am going to spend time just sitting with the expansiveness of being present without the need to analyze that which separates us into different religions.
Written April 3, 2016
It is Sunday and instead of worshiping at a Christian church I have worshipped while on the treadmill, rowing machine and other machines while listening to some Ted Talks and programs such as On Being with Krista Tippett. This is my Sabbath or Shabbat which looks much like every other morning of the week for me. By the time I get to the gym, I have read some morning meditations and checked in with a number of “family” via text and email.
I have been giving some thought to the practice which the filmmaker Tiffany Shlain, her husband, and children follow of a technology-free Shabbat. I also frequently give some thought to again looking for a church community of which I can feel a part. I am not sure, however, that I retain enough of the core beliefs of the Presbyterian Church which I attended for many years and for which I served as an ordained minister/teaching elder. I also have not found that sense of community in places such as the Unitarian Church although I admire and like much of the work they do. I also admire and like the work of the Metropolitan Community Church and occasionally am able to make a donation to help with some of the service they provide to those in need of assistance with basics such as food or housing. At times the rituals of the Roman Catholic church provide that much needed sense of being a part of for me.
In many respects, the church I most identify with is that of the internet. I appreciate what Tiffany Shalain says of the internet. She said in an interview with Krista Tippett on On Being:
“There’s a point in the development of a child’s brain where all the different parts of the brain are connected that they can have their first insight. And extrapolating that out to the internet, the moment that we can truly get everyone on the internet connected, imagine the insight that will be able to happen when we have that many different perspectives coming together in one network. And I think the challenge is going to be to create enough collaborative tools to make that happen. But that makes me incredibly hopeful.”
I had listened to the interview with Mrs. Shlain a couple of days ago (I can download the Sunday broadcast on Thursday or Friday). This morning I was thinking about some of what Mrs. Shalain has to say while listening to a Ted Talk by Chelsea Shields entitled “How I’m working for change inside my church.” Mrs. Shields grew up in a very religious Mormon family and community. She has internalized many of the beliefs of that church while rejecting many of the practices of treating women in the church as those who need to be led and told how to behave, dress and worship by the males in the church. In fact, as is true for many religions, teenage boys have traditionally been more revered as leaders than adult women. While females in the Mormon church and many other religions are honored and respected as mother, homemakers, and community nurturers, they have not traditionally been viewed as being able to make leadership decisions in the church or even to make simple decisions such as what costume/dress is appropriate. For example, until recently, it would have been strictly verboten for women to wear pants to enter the place of worship.
Mrs. Shields and other women have been able, despite much opposition and, at times, being ex-communicated from the community, to hold to what they consider their core Mormon beliefs while advocating – even demanding in love – changes to the rules made my males.
In many religions women continue to claim ownership in the religious communities of their heritage. Not only women, but others such as members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community have claimed their right to share the table with the rest of the members of that community.
Others, like myself, have not found enough within our religious institutions to keep us connected to a particular community. Yet, we bring with us a strong sense of what we consider the core teachings of that religion. I, for example, have taken the core teachings of I understand to be the core teachings of Jesus and the New Testament community about love, justice, and taking care of each other with me. I bring those core teachings to the increasing ability of we humans to connect to the larger “brain” of the human race – which as Mrs. Shlain suggests “can bring together many different perspectives from around the world” – can bring together the many different thoughts, ideas, and dreams of the human race.
Folks such as Mrs. Shalain, Mrs. Shields, and many others from around the world are inviting us to allow our combined neurons and synapses to play together.
The amazing thing about the internet is that there is no reason for any of us to have to dance or struggle alone. There other devout Mormons who believe in the equality of women. There are other non-religious Jews who recognize the importance of the celebrating and practicing the Sabbath. There are many devout Roman Catholics who are members of the GLBT community. There are many Muslims who embrace feminism and the GLBT members of the community.
Many of we humans continue to do what many of us did as children – to live as if we were schizophrenics. We hold on to the knowledge of who we were - intellectually, sexual, emotionally, and spiritually – while learning and practicing the steps to appear to fit in the community. We were two different people. This required a lot of effort. This schizophrenic practice continues to be the norm for many in the world. Yet, as we connect the different parts of our human brain via the internet we can claim and celebrate the wholeness of who we are.
I think of the Sabbath as that time which I take a break from allowing confirmation of what I know and new ideas to steam into my brain. It is a time which I can be more mindful or as Mrs. Shlain says:
MS. SHLAIN: Yeah, and being mindful — actually, the word “mindful” — I have to tell you the new word that I love to ground the word “mindful,” which is so used everywhere now. OK, here it is ...
MS. TIPPETT: It is. It’s one of those overused words.
MS. SHLAIN: I know. It’s so overused it’s lost its meaning. So here’s the word that grounds it is “metacognition,” which is “meta” — thinking about thinking. It’s the same thing, but it’s so much more — it grounds it in science, which is exciting to me, and it has kind of teeth to it. [laughs] It kind of secures itself to the ground.” (taken from the transcript of the interview on On Being).
I am still allowing this term to roll around in my brain. I like the sound of it, although I am not sure it I want to use that Shabbat time as time for “thinking about thinking.” For me it is that time when I focus on my breath and refrain, as much as I am able, from directing my thinking process. Somehow the term “metacognition” is not so much thinking about thinking as it is “beyond thinking.”
Regardless of what terms we play with, I want to be very intentional about observing a Shabbat or Sabbath – a time to not connect so globally but to be more present to myself and all those and that within my more immediate sphere – to savor the experience of community.
One of the attractive aspects of the Quaker church meetings on the Sabbath for me is the practice of sitting silently with others until or unless the “spirit” moves me to share. This also reminds me of the practice of be “reading separate books together.”
It is a time of not talking just to talk, of not directing my learning process, of allowing myself to catch up with myself so that I can be more present with a larger community.
For today, I am not sitting in a traditional church, temple or synagogue. For today I am going to spend time just sitting with the expansiveness of being present without the need to analyze that which separates us into different religions.
Written April 3, 2016
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