Stepping Towards an Understanding"And thus your freedom when it loses its fetters becomes itself the fetter of a greater freedom." It seems to me that all of us here today, and those others of the congregation who are unable to be with us, are all bound with the chains of the freedoms that are demanded of us by attending a Unitarian church. A Unitarian Church demands that we test our religious understanding with the tools "reason, freedom and responsibility". It does not demand that we think or believe alike but that we should test what we, individually, have come to believe. I suggest that we should return again and again to retest what we believe. This is so that we don't become set in, or become totally chained by, our very belief which might have become fixed. Why do I say this? It is because we do not know all the answers. If you think that we know all, then throw that thought in the bin right now, for it is not true. I fear that it cannot be true because I see no end to this self imposed task. I am open to learning much, much more as I continue to progress along my life path. Remember that word, 'my' for I do not expect you to necessarily take up what I say in totality but rather to sift what I say for something that you think might be useful for yourself on your own 'life path'. If what I offer is useful then use it. If it seems not useful then throw it away because we all choose our own chains. We also choose when to let go of our own chains. So why am I talking like this? Well I accept that none of us believe exactly in the same way and there is no reason why we should either. Last month I was re-reading a book that I probably hadn't read for some twenty or thirty years. It was a science fiction book called 'Eight Keys to Eden', by Mark Clifton which I had bought in the 1960's. This rather tatty and be-draggled paperback with a broken spine, and no front cover had been cherished for decades. In this book was the idea that we tend to build walls around our own understanding of reality. Comfortably behind our own walls we live out our lives in our own 'comfort zone'. Some people have a narrower understanding of reality than others and therefore live in a narrower and simpler world. This author's contention was that very few of us continue to challenge our understanding of our world view. On re-reading this book it struck me that this suggestion was absolutely true. We do limit ourselves. We do like to live in our own comfortable zone. It seems that many people know very little about nearly nothing. What is more they are happy about it and become distressed only when something happens that does not fit into their 'understanding'. It is not my intention to distress anyone but to challenge them. Let us look more carefully at the seven keys that Mark Clifton wrote and see whether we can accept, adapt or update them for use in developing our own understanding, that is, what we believe. The first is, "Accept the statement of Eminent Authority without basis, without question." I would rewrite this as "Believe what you are told." It seems to me that this is what most religions ask of their followers. Believe what is said or written because it is the unchanged word of God, our God, of course, because all others are false gods. In a way, some scientists say the same thing - "Because of my training and understanding what I say is true." Many authoritarian governments have said this as well with a similar intent as do individual politicians who are certain of their own rightness. Many parents also, at some time will say this as well - "Do as you are told, I'm in charge, I know best." - and if the child is young enough and its understanding of 'how things are' is not well developed, it will accept this statement as true and do as they are told, and for a time, it is right for this to be so. However, it seems that whole populations and faiths are treated like this. Number two says, "Disagree with the statement without basis, out of general contrariness." This surely is the 'teenage stage'. The only trouble is that if you accept this then you must also accept that you will go around upset, sullen, in a mood and grumbling at everyone etc. etc. I would restate this as, "Disagree with what you are told." This stage, though sometimes useful, is better kept short otherwise you become a 'right pain' and cause a lot of upset. Number three on the list is, "Perhaps the statement is true, but what if it isn't? How then do we account for the phenomenon?" If we have had the child and teenager then this statement is surely used by someone who has begun to think for themselves. They have begun to try out a range of possible answers, as they occur to them. This could be the young adult stage where answers are plucked from all quarters, sometimes on a random basis. However they still think that they are right and everyone else is wrong. They become an argumentative so and so where the argument, rather than the solution is important. This could be restated as, "This might be false, but how or why is it?" Number four is, "How much of the statement rationalizes to suit man's purpose that he and his shall be ascendant at the centre of things?" Yes, this is a human, organization centered, power and control statement. It is also the playground squabble statement. I can do or say and demand this because I am the most important or strongest or oldest or richest - person, organization or state and I or we are more important than you or yours. This is the right of conquest or right to rule statement. Because I or we are special, I or we can do what we think is right without recourse to others. This is a statement made by those who have made a lot of 'progress' and so believe their ideas are always right. It has often been the husband statement to wife and family though it can be equally a wife's statement as well. It is a power statement. This attitude can be somewhat prevalent in organizations including churches where the minister or priest will brook no discussion of what is the right response or view. I would rephrase this as, "Is it right just because I say so?" Now starting with the fifth statement onwards comes the really hard thinking. This statement is, "What if the minor should become major, the recessive dominant and the obscure prevalent?" Perhaps it can be summed up as, "Is the order the wrong way round?" The opposite might be true or the large obvious effect might be caused by something small and insignificant. Thinking here is about weighing different possible answers against each other to arrive at, on balance, the 'best guess' position. This ought to be what academia is about but sometimes isn't. Be careful however, these people tend to become locked into a previously balanced and well thought out position despite the arrival of new and controversial evidence. They can eventually find themselves arguing that black is white. In the sixth statement we have, "What if the statement were reversible, that which is considered effect is really cause?" Perhaps we have got it all upside down or backwards way round. We might have the wrong end of the stick mightn't we? Could that be true? Such as when the opposite of what is claimed may actually be true or the cause might in fact be the effect. We should ask ourselves, "What might this also mean?" and be accepting that what we previously thought true, might not be true. This balanced thinking is true of those who accept that they might actually be wrong or mistaken. This person is one who tends to reevaluates their 'position' from time to time, as good practice. They tend to be balanced thinkers. Those like this are more likely to make long term progress with what they think that they might believe because they are open to the reality of error. These tend to be the 'leading edge' thinkers but there is no real reason why any of us can't do this in your own inimitable way. And we should do this because it helps us to be open to other answers being a real possibility. Of course the thinking isn't made any easier though! The seventh statement is a great big 'catch all' statement. "What if the natural law perceived in one field also operates unperceived in all other phases of science. What if there be only one natural law manifesting itself, as yet, to us in many facets because we cannot perceive the whole, of which we have gained only the most elementary glimpses, with which we can cope only at the crudest level?" Now that is a big mouthful. So let us shorten it to, "Perhaps something else we are unaware of is actually causing this?" A bit of a cop out I know but to remain open to the possibility that 'something else' that we don't know anything about yet can be a really valuable mind set. Why? Because it demands continuing openness! Now all these statements, I believe, are really worthwhile applying in our quest for understanding but let us admit it, they don't go far enough. They deal, in general, only with the rational, the reasonable and the known. What about the unreasonable and seemingly irrational and unknown? What about those experiences that defy rational thought and mind games? What about the spiritual aspect of us. Answers can arise within us to questions asked. It is well documented that seemingly superhuman abilities can emerge in times of great need. Sometimes God really does communicate with us. Well, you have to give yourself permission to leave 'rational thought' behind. To accept that all is possible and that this can be a real part of our reality. There is no eighth statement in the book, though it intimates that there are other, as yet unknown statements, to come. Perhaps it could or should be something like, 'Become open to the seemingly 'miraculous'? But not all the oddities of life experiences are miraculous but something that was essential or needed at the time. The truth is that if we let all our concerns go and get on with our life knowing that the next step, statement or experience will come when we are ready for it and it will come complete with understanding suitable for the step to be taken. Because of this our eighth statement could be.... "Let all concerns go, get on with your life knowing that the next step, statement, or experience will come when you are ready for it and it will come complete with understanding suitable for the next step to be taken". Wow, that is a mouthful isn't it? Let's shorten this to "Suspend thought and judgement and be open to the possibilities." In a nutshell, I am suggesting that we can use a number of statements as an aid to help us move towards personal understanding. Oh, and yes there is a ninth step. It is .... "Accept that there may be many other, as yet unperceived, ways of gaining understanding."
2. Disagree with what you are told. 3. This might be false, but how or why is it? 4. Is it right just because they say so? 5. Is it the wrong way round? 6. What might this also mean? 7. Perhaps something else we're not aware of is causing this? 8. Suspend thought and judgement and be open to the possibilities. 9. There may be many other, as yet unperceived, ways of gaining understanding.
Joe Potter 31/01/2010 |