SBNR 4-28 - Lecture notes Final Lecture PDF

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4/28 In Conclusion 

04/28/2014

-Rothko Chapel, Houston, TX  place that identifies many themes of contemporary spirituality  meeting place for different world religions  we need a place to get away from images and world- similar to Thoreau and Walden

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-Religion, Spirituality, Popular Culture  religion and spirituality have been adapted to and defined by our cultural context of consumerism, world of images, popular culture  experiences are shared with others, but often in ad-hoc communities 

mass culture rooted in individual experience

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Sports as religion o Shared experience, popular culture has taken function of religion; concerts, TV, movies are also part of this o Superstar athletes as super- human figures, think of how much people are willing to pay for memorabilia o Stadium is sight of wonder and pseudo spiritual o Baseball hall of fame- “entrance to sacred ground” o You can get buried in sports themed coffins o German football clubs have cemetery

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-Sports as spirituality  experience of “flow” or selflessness- transcendence, “losing oneself”  ritual; sacred time and space; departure from ordinary rules of life  key to sporting endeavor is not thinking  enjoying each and every moment- not just when things are going your way

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-Carrette and King vs. Schmidt  you mind find some things you like, and some you don’t like or agree with  Schmidt: largely optimistic and generous account of spirituality, attacks critics of spirituality, for example defense of Sheila Larson o Her phrase “be gentle to yourself” Schmidt says its from poetry and she didn’t just make this us, Sheila Larson is a community of members o Defense of spirituality- binds people together and provides meaning, transcendence and way to live meaningful life

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Carrette and King: o Ways spirituality has been modified- too entagled with mass culture world of consumerism that it has been stripped of social focus o Stripped of its availabilities to offer its critique of the world

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In some ways we can read these two books in stark opposition, or their could be some conversion o Lee Schmidt is cautious of white westerners borrowing from native Americans, Buddhism, etc. and turning their practices into commodities o Carrette and King in conclusion look to religion as a source for critique of materialism, there are places where we can see spirituality done right- Thich Naht Han

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-Lingering questions  Why “spirituality” ? What does this buzzword say about our cultural movement? o Something always happened related to this topic- for all of its elusiveness and vagueness, the fact that spirituality has become a buzzword is indicator of some longings o Reveals some serious anxieties and criticisms of religion o Shows criticisms of too political, corruption, lack of inclusion o SBNR shows how those critiques are real and longings for turn towards spiritual are real- got to be something more than material side of American dream 

Is spirituality narcissistic? What’s wrong with a little narcissism anyways? o Yes it is, but it also depends o Emersonian- controversial because losing oneself but also focus of self o Also in businesses- sports and concert, so much of what is profound about these is losing yourself to something that’s bigger than you o Best collective experiences provide transcendence that then make you think “okay well now what?”

o If something is therapeutic and provides help and happiness then that is good- taking care of ourselves is a fundamental obligation 

Can spirituality provide same resources and vantage point as religion to build community, and to advocate for needed change? Can spirituality stand outside or against American consumerism? o It depends o Schmidt wants to argue yes and say there’s a social and ethical component to spirituality

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Why study this topic in college? o Intellectually interesting, really complicating questions in life (it depends questions) are questions that humanities are designed to help us address

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