Interspirituality and Dr. King's dream

continued from my examiner column . . . http://www.examiner.com/interfaith-spirituality-in-columbus/king-s-speech-and-what-is-inter-spirituality-101 . . .

Brother Teasdale was not afraid to call it the way it is. If we fill ourselves with filth, it’s going to come out of us. Broken environments are more likely to break us. Physiologically, we know our brains become re-wired by repetition and what we ‘feed’ ourselves with, and steep ourselves in. Abuse is more likely to beget abuse. Brother Teasdale addresses this in the article 'America as an Interspiritual Superpower: A Vision to be Realized'.

He says, ‘ . . . American culture is morally confused and steeped in ambiguity. It is confused about abortion, the death penalty, war, and the tolerance of all kinds and levels of violent behavior. In this, Hollywood is greatly to blame’ [And this between media hype about the Golden Globes and Oscars] ‘It is responsible for this culture of violence to which we are subject because we live here. It feeds us a steady diet of violent films, videos, and TV series, and so, maintains this cultural malaise of addiction to all sorts of violence. We are accepting of this situation because of the spiritual illiteracy that exists at the basis of our world. It makes us ambiguous about these matters to which we are constantly exposed.’ So how does all this affect us? There are studies showing a powerful link.

Teasdale claims, ‘Spiritual illiteracy and moral confusion result in psychological dysfunction, affecting every aspect of our lives: our relationships in the family, friendships, our work environment, and how we relate to associates, our aspirations, ambitions, dreams, and fears, even our health. This psychological dysfunction has to do with ignorance, incapacity in our relationships, a lack of sufficient generosity, the desire for entertainment and fixation on consumerism.’ That pretty much covers the sorry state of the culture portion of the article for Brother Teasdale. But there is hope.

How do we expect different outcomes than we see in the suicides of young bullying victims, the mental unraveling of the shooter and even events in the daily news? I met a remarkable Mennonite couple through IACO (Interfaith Association Central Ohio), who took a program on non-violence to the schools. Many are shocked there is another way. Young inner city kids exposed to violence were surprised. If each of us reached only a handful in a meaningful way-feeding/clothing/caring/sheltering/listening/modeling/teaching, what a remarkable difference it could make. That was their vision.

As I watched two young school girls playing highly graphic, hand-held video games (pretty much bang-bang you’re dead) while waiting for my car; I reflected on how ancient cultures might have prepared to hunt a woolly mammoth. (I suppose hunger can psych one up to run like heck with a spear in the midst of a group of screaming friends-now we substitute a football for a spear . . . :)and call it 'game day'). Maybe we’re not so different. As we enter 'the survival era' in a time of post-peak oil and the affects of climate change escalate, things could really become challenging; maybe this is a preparatory phase. Until we learn to practice that compassion of which we preach, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride. See several different (and opposing) points of view on ‘inter-spiritual’:

http://www.blogger.com/www.topia.net/interspirituality.html

http://www.isdna.org/

http://www.interfaithstudies.org/spirituality/interspiritualitypossible.html

http://www.interfaithstudies.org/spirituality/spirpossexamples.html

http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/interspirituality.htm

[Note: phto is from Md. Saiful Aziz Shamseer is titled 'Children of Bangladesh'. Mother left child unattended to seek work. Wikimedia Commons]