“Meaningful dialogue is absolutely necessary if one is to remain human.” (Thomas Merton New Seeds of Contemplation)
After quietly congratulating myself for having done what I set out to do, (fifty-two in fifty-two) I rested on my laurels for a few days, until my “itchy fingers” told me I was missing my blog Ohana and the focus it gave me!
Contemplating my next steps on this great blogging adventure, I’ve begun formulating a course on leading an examined life that I want to share with those of you who wish to pursue your inner growth and development in a little more depth. And for those of you who just want a weekly reading, you can do that too.
In a series of six or eight segments I plan to focus on the various teachings and practices – and the written resources – that have informed my personal journey, or those whose journeys have inspired me. While introducing some of these ideas in my blog, such as journaling or balanced breathing, I felt that there was more I could do to provide structure and generate further discourse around developing one’s inner potential. From personal experience, I can state, unequivocally, that there is so much more to explore. And to share.
One of my writing teachers, Paul Belserene, motivated his students with this admonition: “Just get to the heart of the matter, and tell the truth.” For those of us who have been focused on building what pundit David Brooks (The Moral Bucket List) called the “resumé virtues” — a list of the degrees and achievements that testify to our socio-economic successes; the focus on his “eulogy virtues” — one’s spiritual life or soul journey has been hit-and-miss at best, if not entirely absent from our lives.
This course would be aimed at addressing this void, at enhancing our self-awareness and understanding, and fostering more meaningful dialogue among those closest to us (including our innermost selves), yet with whom we often relate in a superficial and ultimately unfulfilling way. As we go along, I hope we will become clearer on how to discern what feelings and beliefs ring true for us, and what opinions and conditioning no longer give our lives direction and meaning. Or authenticity.
In order to do justice to this new chapter, I intend to spend the next few weeks outlining and fine-tuning this course offering, and plan to put something online by the beginning of February — after our move to the North Shore (of Vancouver). Once again there will be an option to subscribe ( or not, no offence taken) to the (free) weekly installments of Leading an Examined Life: The Next Chapter.
I hope I’ll have the opportunity to continue learning and growing with you as I embark on the second incarnation of fifty-two-in-fifty-two! Inshallah, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Jolly Kwanzaa, Naw Ruz, Now Rouz, and Gung Hay Fat Choy. And of course, Mele Kalikimaka. If you don’t see your particular festive greeting, it’s because I haven’t fully got to know you yet. Like I said, so much more to explore…