On Faith and Science

The following excerpt is from a novel called I Married You for Happiness by Lily Tuck:

            She is not religious. She does not believe in an afterlife, in the transmigration of souls, in reincarnation, in any of it.

            But he does. “I don’t believe in reincarnation and that other stuff and I don’t go to church but I do believe in God,” he tells her.

            Where were they then? Walking hand in hand along the quays at night, they stop a moment to look across at Notre-Dame.

“Mathematicians don’t necessarily rule out the idea of God,” he answers. “And, for some, the idea of God may be more abstract than the conventional God of Christianity.”

            At her feet, the river runs black and fast, and she shivers a little inside her leather bomber jacket.

“Like Pascal,” he continues, “I believe it is safer to believe that God exists than to believe He does not exist. Heads God exists and I win and go to heaven,” he motions with his arm as if tossing a coin up in the air. “Tails God does not exist and I lose nothing.”

            “It’s a bet,” she says, frowning. “Your belief is based on the wrong reasons and not on genuine faith.”

            “Not at all,” he answers. “My belief is based on the fact that reason is useless for determining whether there is a God. Otherwise, the bet would be off.”

            Then, leaning down, he kisses her.

This was one of my favorite passages in the book. I think using reason to “prove” or “disprove” any kind of spiritual belief is mostly pointless and counter-productive. Spirituality is not meant to be something than can be proven through science. We must allow people the freedom to explore spirituality, intuition, metaphysics, and abstract concepts, without fearing ridicule and rejection from the scientific community.

Allow your intuition and your emotions to guide your faith and to enrich your understanding of the transcendental realm of life. Understand that not all things can be proven; not all things can be seen; and not all things can be understood by everyone. Your spiritual beliefs are a culmination of all of your past experiences, fears, hopes, and dreams, and it is foolish to assume that others will necessarily experience spirituality exactly the same way you do (or even experience it at all). Thus, let’s not waste our precious time debating the existence of God and whether we can prove God. Let’s remember that rational thinking is not all there is and that it is not the only lens through which to view our existence.

“Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense." -Buddha

The Importance of Leisure

Relax. Take a deep breath.

We tend to live in an accelerated state of being. Our lives are way too hurried, hectic, and over-scheduled. Oftentimes, we pack so much into a single day that we forget to enjoy the simple things in life: a good book, an unhurried home-cooked meal shared with a loved one, a lazy carefree afternoon with good friends. I have met people who become stressed out when they have "too much free time" or do not have their lives scheduled down to the very minute. These people become so accustomed to being constantly on-the-go that they often do not even realize that such a fast-paced lifestyle can have dire consequences on their mental and physical health. Here's a great resource with more information about the physical and emotional effects of stress--which is often the byproduct of an overly busy lifestyle--on the body: http://www.stress.org/topic-effects.htm

Don't forget to give yourself time every day to relax, meditate, read, or just sit and think. If you can, use this time to do whatever it is you love but never seem to have the time to do.

Start now:
http://www.donothingfor2minutes.com/
and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRAvTGYt0P8

"Be aware of wonder. Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some."
- Robert Fulgham

Allowing Nature to Support and Heal You

"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” –Einstein

Nature is my religion. That is what I often tell people. Anytime I am out in nature, whether it be hiking through a forest, walking along the beach, or laying on the grass looking up at the sky, I am always immediately overcome with feelings of calm, peace, and acceptance.

I have gone on a hike every weekend for the past month and half or so. Usually it is in one of the many parks and nature preserves nearby, but still far enough that I am removed from urban life for a while. I find that these weekly outings are incredibly beneficial for my wellbeing. Not only do they provide me with beautiful scenery, fresh air, and quietness, but I am also in the company of good friends, which make these trips all the more pleasant and rejuvenating.

Though I enjoy experiencing the wonders of nature with others, it is also important to experience nature by yourself sometimes. The universal connection we share with all living beings and the grandeur and beauty of life are often best absorbed when you are completely alone in a natural setting (of course, we are hardly ever “alone” in nature since we are surrounded by so much life). I strongly encourage you to take a walk in nature by yourself every once in a while, even for just a few minutes. It is impossible not to feel revitalized when doing so. Journeys into nature help to quiet the mind. If you allow them to, these outings will bestow you with a sense of serenity that is rarely achieved elsewhere, especially in our hectic urban lives.

“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.” –Emerson

How often, when walking around outside, do we actually use our sense of touch to physically feel our natural world? If you can, try to experience nature in the most “natural” way possible. This does not necessarily mean stripping off your clothes and running around naked (though you are certainly welcome to try that, too!) but giving yourself the opportunity to experience the outdoors the way nature intended us to. Take off your shoes and walk barefoot for a while. Lose the hat and sunglasses and allow the sun’s rays to penetrate your skin for a few minutes. You may suddenly feel very vulnerable, but these sensations will make you realize how disconnected with are from nature a lot of the time. Allow yourself to touch the various textures of the outdoors (bark, stones, grass, dirt, leaves, etc.). Lay on the ground and feel the reassuring support of the strong earth beneath you. 

We have a lot to learn from nature. Let mother earth support you and guide you through times of hardship, pain, and suffering. If only we would let it, nature would provide us with all we really need to live happy, peaceful, and healthy lives.

"The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. As long as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be. And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles." -Anne Frank

Airports: A Love Affair

Airports are sort of beautiful in a strange way. The wait, the excitement in the air, the stress, the smell, the exhaustion, the luggage, the babies crying and kids running around….it all combines into something unique and wonderful that no other environment in our world can provide.

I feel like I’ve grown up in airports. Some of my earliest memories are of traveling with my mother to the United States from France during summers or the holidays. I remember waking up early (when it was still dark out!) to catch our plane to the U.S. I remember walking quickly through the airport and going through security and waiting impatiently at our gate until we were allowed to board. [Somehow security was much less scary then!].

Take-off was always a rush--a mixture of pure excitement and dread. What if something malfunctioned and we didn’t make it off the runaway? I remember saying a little prayer every time before taking off. Just a little something to make sure all went smoothly. Once in the air, I would wait expectantly for the flight attendant to go over the all too familiar safety briefings. I remember looking around at the people around me, adults who always seemed to be ignoring these important safety instructions, and thinking to myself, “Wow, these people are so ungrateful for their lives! What if something went wrong and they died because they didn’t listen to the instructions? Look at them reading their newspapers while the flight attendant is talking! I should pray for their safety too…”. And so I did. And when our plane landed safely I would thank the all-powerful deity I believed in at the time [my religious/spiritual beliefs have always been fluid…as they are to this day]. I would exit the plane full of excitement and wonder at what new adventures awaited me.

I still enjoy the atmosphere of airports [unlike most people]. Of course, the stress and hurry aren’t ideal, but these are only minute details that are part of a greater whole—a “whole” that becomes what is an airport and the implications thereof. The most obvious implication is travel, which in itself, opens up a whole world of opportunities and new experiences. Travel means learning and re-inventing yourself. Airports have become, in my mind, an indication of possibility, potential, exploration, and renewal . We travel to lose ourselves and to become ourselves. We leave to move on and forget, only to return again and remember [but this time with a brand-new perspective and a fresh outlook]. We explore other worlds to be destroyed and re-built. To be enriched and debunked. When you forget to travel, you forget to grow. You miss out an opportunity to expand and become.

So next time you are in an airport--undoubtedly stressed and impatient to get to your destination--stop for a moment and take it all in. Notice the hussle, notice the children’s voices, notice the ugly carpeting, notice the airplanes coming and going….coming and going….coming and going.
See it. Feel it. Love it. And go.


Note: This passage was originally written on December 31st, 2009, after I had done a lot of traveling and spent quite a bit of time in airports. 

Negativity: An Asset in Times of Trouble?

I watched a beautiful movie last night called Melancholia and directed by Lars Von Trier. The movie tells the story of two sisters (Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg), one of whom struggles with severe depression (Dunst), as they come to the realization that the earth is expected to collide with a blue planet called Melancholia. Both sisters take a radically different perspective toward the news of their imminent death, with Dunst appearing calm and accepting of the fact, while Gainsbourg remains agitated and distraught up until the very end. I found it to be a hauntingly beautiful story about depression and its effect on the human psyche during a disaster. It seemed that Dunst's character was able to passively accept her impending death because she had already come to terms with the idea that "bad things happen". In one sense, her negativity and defeatist outlook on the world ended up being a strength that enabled her to accept her fate and make the best of her last few hours on earth.

Trailer for Melancholia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzD0U841LRM

So, the movie left me thinking: What evolutionary advantage is there to having a negative outlook on life? Is our ability to experience pessimism actually a tool/asset conferred upon us to help us get through times of tragedy? Is it best to view our whole existence through a negative lens since we are then better able to cope with the many hardships and disappointments we will undoubtedly face in our lifetimes?

I am sure the answers to these questions depend greatly on our particular perspective at any given time since, after all, we are all subjected to the highs and lows that life throws our way. Our outlook on life is, more often than not, easily influenced by the specific details of our day, week, month.

For now, I continue to choose positivity and happiness. And I hope you do, too.

In the words of Swami Vivekananda (an Indian spiritual leader):

"If you think about disaster, you will get it. Brood about death and you hasten your demise. Think positively and masterfully, with confidence and faith, and life becomes more secure, more fraught with action, richer in achievement and experience."