Linda Ortberg writes:
> But what has been missing in the thread here I believe has been the
> definition of Spirituality. Not being satisfied with the definition found
> in The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, I have searched many other
> places for the definition that "feels" right and found it in "Seth
> Speaks". It is:
> "True spirituality is a thing of joy and of the earth, and has nothing to
> do with fake adult dignity. It has nothing to do with long words and
> sorrowful faces. It has to do with the dance of consciousness that is
> within you, and with the sence of spiritual adventure that is within your
> hearts. The vitality of the universe is creativity, joy and love, and
> that is spirituality".
... snip ...
> Dr. Deming talks about "joy in work".
First, thanks for sharing this, Linda; it definitely resonates with me,
and should provide a better basis for discussing this topic. (It also
reminds me of Tom Heurmann's description of Authenticity; spirituality
won't get far in an environment that suppresses authenticity.)
Tacking a bit, I'd like to pick up on one of the three faces of vitality
mentioned (creativity, joy and love). At has written at length about two
of these; I'd like to hear from him (or indeed anyone) on the third:
what's the relation of joy to creativity and love? If joy is missing, how
are the others impaired? At wrote about the powerful force arising from
the tension between love and hate. Is there a complement to joy that can
create an such an entropic force?
To take a position: joy is the feedback signal that lets you know when
you're getting it right; to paraphrase the Shaker words a bit, "coming
down where you ought to be" (although the song uses the words "love and
delight" rather than joy). It produces the force that sustains the flux
commonly known as the "state of flow" that supports acts of creation.
Here's a quote from Kent Beck, one of the true masters of the Tao of
Programming: "When we program, we are always engaged in a struggle to
truly see. If we see clearly - what the users want, need, and fear; what
our co-workers want, need, and fear; what we ourselves want, need, and
fear; and finally what the system wants and needs (damn good thing
computers can't fear!) - we work well and truly. Our systems are simple.
Our thoughts are simple. We work without stress, without fear, with joy
and love for our task and ourselves."
Wishing you all love, joy, and creativity...
--Don Dwiggins SEI Information Technology d.l.dwiggins@computer.org " This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one . . . the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy." -George Bernard Shaw
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