Today we begin our seven-fold path that leads through the dimensions of truth, beauty, and goodness. Considering the truths of science and asking what their significance might be in a philosophy of living, I have begun to develop a concept of scientific living. This concept involves several phases. Please aid in the ongoing development of this concept with your questions and comments. You may be motivated to take on a new project to strengthen yourself in this area and share your discoveries. Since last week, our conversation has led me to amplify my concept to include what is now the first phase.
Phase 1. We undertake scientific living as an expression of our spirituality. Spiritual living includes embracing life. When we embrace life, we implicitly include this material life, the life of perception and the body interacting with our surroundings. As material creatures, we have material work to do and material service to render. At our best, we have times of enjoying the problems that arise. (Any stories about developing or exercising positive attitudes regarding the material life and its challenges?)
Phase 2. We focus fully and patiently on the task at hand. The task is grounded in facts, and facts imply causes. Focusing effectively, we notice facts that would be easy to overlook, face facts that are hard to deal with, and establish important facts with care instead of jumping to conclusions. We do what we reasonably can to figure out causes and effects: the factors that operate in our situation, what resources we can bring to bear, and the consequences of alternative courses of action. (Any stories about gain more fullness of concentration or patience in coping? About facing facts or discovering causes?)
Phase 3. We bring to mind what science or sciences are relevant to the task, and we apply what we already know of the relevant scientific knowledge. A person who had just quit smoking classified the temptations that arose as biological, psychological, or sociological. Simply identifying and classifying temptations empowered him to overcome them more readily. He did not need to study more science; he simply needed to bring to mind what he already knew and make use of that knowledge. (What difference does it make in your experience if you take time to bring to mind some of the science you know about what you are doing?)
Phase 4. We learn more of science as need requires and opportunity makes possible. We learn more in the science(s) relevant to what we are doing. We have reasonable expectations for ourselves. Facing high ideals, we want to avoid becoming discouraged or depressed, so we take on projects that are reasonable for us. Having reasonable goals, we then mobilize the wholeheartedness required to overcome obstacles. (Are there any stories of your practicing scientific living in this sense? What about trying this out and telling us the story of what you discover in the process?)
Phase 5. We add perspective to our focus by integrating inputs from science, philosophy, and religion. We integrate these inputs into a broad concept of evolution, a concept that embraces (1) an attitude toward the cosmos, (2) biological evolution (including ecology and health for ourselves and others), (3) psychological growth, and (4) historical progress. In the light of this broad concept, we attune our scientific action to participate wisely in progressive evolution.
The photograph is by Kamuelaboy at http://mrg.bz/728xel
In 1968, I was a 25 year old solider who had spent about 7 years in the military with a wife and child to support. I had enlisted in the army as a way of escaping from the economic realities of poverty as so many now do. I was making good progress in the military when something inside me began to rebel. I could not identify the source of this disquieting feeling that seems to increase the more I tried to squelch it. It threatened my economic well being as it was increasingly urging me to quit the military, the source of my economic well being. I had abandoned praying to God for help since the death of my mother when I was 14 years of age. I felt that I had no help in this world whatsoever in my struggle to resolve this conflict. I would leave home with the idea of getting out of the service, but by the time I got to work which was about a 30 minute drive, economic realities had change my mind. And this conflict raged and raged for about 6 months as I neared the end of my current enlistment. While in the midst of this crisis, a door way opened, and I walked through. The government had passed a GI bill for Vietnam area veterans which payed tuition for college and gave them a stipend to live off for a four year college education. As I look back over those years, I realize how much comfort, conscious guidance and direction, faith, confidence I had denied myself by not making use of the spiritual potential within me. I have
since realized that not only are we material beings but we also are spiritual beings in potential,
and can perceive spiritual reality. Render to Caesar the things of Caesar, and render to God the
things that are of God. I have learned never to undertake any activity without seeking God’s will first. Not that I expect God to do my work for me, but to give me all those essential values that are necessary for tranquility of spirit and mind as I take on the material task. We need to acknowledge both the material and the spiritual as we embrace life. We have to
acknowledge and embrace the material aspects of our life, during our very best to meet its
challenges, and to use the spiritual values of our life to inspire, enlighten, and comfort us as to the
purpose of all of this strenuous struggle. For there are times when we have to accept material failure, and we surely need spiritual insight to keep us afloat on the evolutionary sea. As we combine both aspects of life by our intellectual striving and spiritual worship, we become integrated, and begin to view life for its growth potential and the satisfaction that arises from understanding the material world we live in and becoming an effective active participants in it making our contribution to the whole, making the world a better place to live in both materially and spiritually. We should always maintain a positive attitude to whatever we attempt for this releases the full power of our personality to assist us.
James Perry
Beloved brother, thank you for this powerful and relevant story. I know whereof you speak. One of my unforgettable mistakes decades ago was to make a big decision without going through the normal prayer process. The decision seemed so obvious that it would be an offense to pray. I did receive an unmistakable warning; but the warning came so close to the launch that to act on it would had very unpleasant consequences for myself and others; so I went ahead into a venture that ended early.
In 1968, I was a 25 year old solider who had spent about 7 years in the military with a wife and child to support. I had enlisted in the army as a way of escaping from the economic realities of poverty as so many now do. I was making good progress in the military when something inside me began to rebel. I could not identify the source of this disquieting feeling that seems to increase the more I tried to squelch it. It threatened my economic well being as it was increasingly urging me to quit the military, the source of my economic well being. I had abandoned praying to God for help since the death of my mother when I was 14 years of age. I felt that I had no help in this world whatsoever in my struggle to resolve this conflict. I would leave home with the idea of getting out of the service, but by the time I got to work which was about a 30 minute drive, economic realities had change my mind. And this conflict raged and raged for about 6 months as I neared the end of my current enlistment. While in the midst of this crisis, a door way opened, and I walked through. The government had passed a GI bill for Vietnam area veterans which payed tuition for college and gave them a stipend to live off for a four year college education. As I look back over those years, I realize how much comfort, conscious guidance and direction, faith, confidence I had denied myself by not making use of the spiritual potential within me. I have
since realized that not only are we material beings but we also are spiritual beings in potential,
and can perceive spiritual reality. Render to Caesar the things of Caesar, and render to God the
things that are of God. I have learned never to undertake any activity without seeking God’s will first. Not that I expect God to do my work for me, but to give me all those essential values that are necessary for tranquility of spirit and mind as I take on the material task. We need to acknowledge both the material and the spiritual as we embrace life. We have to
acknowledge and embrace the material aspects of our life, during our very best to meet its
challenges, and to use the spiritual values of our life to inspire, enlighten, and comfort us as to the
purpose of all of this strenuous struggle. For there are times when we have to accept material failure, and we surely need spiritual insight to keep us afloat on the evolutionary sea. As we combine both aspects of life by our intellectual striving and spiritual worship, we become integrated, and begin to view life for its growth potential and the satisfaction that arises from understanding the material world we live in and becoming an effective active participants in it making our contribution to the whole, making the world a better place to live in both materially and spiritually. We should always maintain a positive attitude to whatever we attempt for this releases the full power of our personality to assist us.
James Perry
Beloved brother, thank you for this powerful and relevant story. I know whereof you speak. One of my unforgettable mistakes decades ago was to make a big decision without going through the normal prayer process. The decision seemed so obvious that it would be an offense to pray. I did receive an unmistakable warning; but the warning came so close to the launch that to act on it would had very unpleasant consequences for myself and others; so I went ahead into a venture that ended early.