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A while back I wrote briefly about my inability to understand the concept of spirituality, but it was not much more than a mere statement and not an in depth examination of the subject.
According to Wikipedia, "Social scientists have defined spirituality as the search for the sacred, for that which is set apart from the ordinary and worthy of veneration, a transcendent dimension within human experience, discovered in moments in which the individual questions the meaning of personal existence and attempts to place the self within a broader ontological context."
It is no wonder that I have trouble grasping the meaning of spirituality; I can't even grok the meaning of the above paragraph.
From my point of view, it seems that there are men (and maybe women) who are striving mightily to convince the people of the Earth that there exists an all-knowing and all-powerful being they call God, a magnificent being who created from nothing the entire universe for the purpose of housing a species of biological protoplasm known as Mankind.
And that is called spirituality, the search for the sacred. But the search is over. Man has found God
These teachers, preachers, priests, rabbis and assorted philosophers, these spiritual guides all profess to know this God, know his aims and intentions, know what must be done by His sheep in order to please Him. Many even claim to have seen God in all his glory, which is strange indeed, because within the pages of The King James bible this very God decrees: "And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live." -- yet the preachers go on living.
Spirituality.
Curious.
Curiouser and curiouser.
Is spirituality related to the term spirit?'
I have read that a the human spirit is an incorporeal but ubiquitous, non-quantifiable substance or energy present individually in all living things. Unlike the concept of souls (often regarded as eternal and sometimes believed to pre-exist the body) a spirit develops and grows as an integral aspect of a living being. If that be so, then it is the spirit of a human being that searches for the sacred, perhaps searching for something greater than the questing spirit itself.
Great Caesar's Ghost!
I'm going to give myself a headache if I don't give up this silliness.
I don't really care about it anyway.
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During my morning walk I saw the end of existence for the long-abandoned gas station on the Southwest corner of the intersection at Speedway Boulevard and Pantano Road. After a year or more of sitting empty, the building, the underground fuel storage tanks, and even the tarmac were all yielding to the insistence of bulldozers, and unconditionally surrendered to total demolition.
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TRIVIA
R. L. Stine, the author of the Goosebumps series, has sold more books than any other author, more than 220 million books since 1992, when his first book, Welcome to the Dead House, was published.
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HISTORICAL EVENT
Apollinaire's mysterious background and radical views led authorities to view him as a dangerous foreigner and prime suspect in the Mona Lisa heist, which took place August 22. No evidence surfaced, and Apollinaire was released after five days. Apollinaire implicated his friend Pablo Picasso, who was also brought in for questioning in the theft of Mona Lisa, but he was also exonerated.
Two years later, a former employee of the Louvre, Vincenzo Perggia, was arrested while trying to sell the famous painting to an art dealer.
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WORD FOR TODAY
praxis [prak'-sihs]
noun
1. Practical application or exercise of a branch of learning.
2. Habitual or established practice; custom.
Praxis is the process by which a theory, lesson, or skill is enacted, practiced, embodied, or realised.
Praxis may also refer to the act of engaging, applying, exercising, realizing, or practicing ideas.
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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
(born September 7, 1950)
Julie Kavner is an American film and television actress, comedian and voice artist. Noted for her role as Marge Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, she also voices other characters for the show, including Jacqueline Bouvier, and Patty and Selma Bouvier.
Kavner was cast in her first professional acting role as Brenda Morgenstern in Rhoda in 1974. Following Rhoda, Kavner was cast in The Tracey Ullman Show, which debuted in 1987. The Tracey Ullman Show included a series of animated shorts about a dysfunctional family. Voices were needed for the shorts, so the producers decided to ask Kavner to voice Marge. The shorts would eventually be spun off into The Simpsons.
In 1992, she starred in This Is My Life, her first leading role in a feature film. Kavner has also appeared in live-action roles in seven films written by Woody Allen, and in the Adam Sandler comedy Click.
(born September 7, 1954)
Michael Emerson is an American film and television character actor who is perhaps best known for his roles as serial killer William Hinks in The Practice, Benjamin Linus on Lost, and as Harold Finch on the CBS series Person of Interest.
(born September 7, 1950)
Peggy Noonan is an American author of seven books on politics, religion, and culture, and a weekly columnist for The Wall Street Journal. She was a primary speech writer and Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan and in her political writings is considered a Republican. Five of Noonan's books have been New York Times bestsellers. Noonan is a trustee of the Manhattan Institute. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for her work on America: A Tribute to Heroes. She has also been widely recognized for her regular appearances on ABC's This Week and NBC's Meet The Press.
(born September 7, 1973)
Shannon Elizabeth is an American actress and former fashion model. Elizabeth is well known for her roles in comedy films such as American Pie, Scary Movie and Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back. She is also known for her work in horror films such as Thirteen Ghosts, Cursed, and Night of the Demons. She became widely known as a sex symbol for her role in the 1999 comedy film American Pie.
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It's a kind of spiritual snobbery that makes people think they can be happy without money.
--Albert Camus
NASA TV
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