On Creativity

I was doing a little reading the other day and came across this little gem. It was a decent pick me up for my crazy week.

"You have the power to create. Your power is so strong that whatever you believe comes true. You create yourself, whatever you believe you are. You are the way you are because that is what you believe about yourself. Your whole reality, everything you believe, is your creation. You have the same power as any other human in the world. The main difference between you and someone else is how you apply your power, what you create with your power. You may be similar to others in many ways, but no one in the world lives her or his life the way you do."

- Don Miguel Ruiz
Excerpt from The Mastery of Love

So, what are you creating today?

On religion.

On the iPod: "Mistress" - Red House Painters

About a year or two ago, I flirted with becoming a practicing Zen Buddhist. But, as it has been with a lot of other religions/faiths I looked into, I found struggles in accepting a lot of what it espoused. I believe what makes adopting a religion so difficult for me is the guidelines. Everything has a set of rules, and I just don't believe faith works that way.

And though Zen Buddhism doesn't necessarily require a faith in God, it still has these rules. You shouldn't eat meat, you shouldn't be mean to other people, you shouldn't poison your body.

Well, some days I want to be mean to people, some days I want to have a glass of wine with my friends and I think cows are delicious. I think it is very possible to enjoy poison, delicious cows and be mean at times and still find enlightenment.

I realize this belief makes me seem selfish.

But I believe most religions have a core problem in that they don't take a realistic view of the world. It's either all pessimism or wild optimism. They create a culture of community, but motivate that community with imaginary fears and sins.

What I liked about Buddhism was that it allows you to see exactly what "you" are, which allows you to objectively view what the world around you is, as opposed to someone's interpretation of it. And that is the way to true freedom and peace.

Personally, I don't think I'll ever find a "religion" that I can put all my stock in. I think the most important thing is putting stock in yourself.

Jewish Culture, design

On the iPod: "King Medicine" - Jets to Brazil

I recently stumbled upon Nextbook, "A gateway to Jewish literature, culture & ideas," via Design Observer.

It's a fascinating site really, and chock full of content that examines culture, religion and fashion. But one article in particular caught my attention. Nelly Reifler interviews her boyfriend on his religious foundation, Christadelphianism.

Christadelphians practice Nontrinitarianism (rejection of the doctrine that God is three distinct persons in one being) and are a very small sect. Admittedly, I had never heard of Christadelphianism prior to reading her column. It's a great read and the comments at the end give you a little more insight into some of what the religion's followers believe.

Read Nelly's post, you won't regret it.