Of Beams and Other Projectiles

 The Gospel Reading from Sunday speaks of a parable of Jesus concerning people with beams in their eye.  They should not worry about the mote or speck in the eyes of other people.  This is from the Gospel according to Luke chapter 6.  There are a couple of things that I want to note about this passage. 

First, this is not a parable as we usually think of parables.  I think of a parable as being a story which has a lesson for the listener.  When I think of a parable, I think of examples such as the Good Samaritan or the Prodigal Son, or the wise and foolish virgins or even the parable of the lost coin.  I looked up a definition of a parable.  The first two definition I found are as follows:

A general definition of "parable" is a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson, as told by Jesus in the Gospels.

Merriam-Webster gives the following definition for parable: "a usually short fictitious story that illustrates a moral attitude or a religious principle."

This seems to fit with what I think of as a parable – a story with a moral or spiritual lesson.  It is nice to have your beliefs of understanding confirmed.  However, lets put that aside and see what lesson it may contain for us.    What we have is a series of punch lines – we don’t have the story, but we do have the moral or spiritual lessons, as there are a number of lessons which Jesus gives us in quick succession.  We have the blind leading the blind not leading to good results; the disciple is not above his (or her) master; and finally, the lesson about not worrying about the mote the other person’s eye and ignore the beam in your own eye.  All wise saying which we should all pay attention to. 

I want to explore the last spiritual lesson – the one about the mote and the beam.  First let’s clarify the language.  What is a mote?  It is an old-fashioned word for something tiny – some versions of the bible translate the Greek word as speck.  So, we have a small thing - a speck of dust in your eye.  Well, what about a beam?  We have different types of beams.  We have beams in a house which support it and hold up the structure – when I looked up types of beams on-line a found one list of 14 different types if beams used in construction.  There is also a beam of light like a moon beam.  I found some illustrations of this passage on-line.  They generally had a beam made of wood or other material such as concrete.  In the illustration this was in the eye of the person pictured – not a comfortable image to say the least.

It is hard to imagine that anyone could not be aware of such an immense thing as a beam stuck in their eye.  Of course, if we think of this literally it could be impossible.  So, we need to think of it metaphorically or symbolically.   Doing this the basic message is clear.  Pay attention to the large thing in your eye getting in the way of seeing things clearly and don’t worry about the little speck in your neighbour’s eye.

Let’s consider what is happening here as a case of projection.  Psychologist Carl Jung speaks of projections this way, “Projections change the world into the replica of one’s own unknown face.”  One source notes that projections “occurs when we attribute an element of our personality residing in our unconscious to another individual or group. While it is possible to project both positive and negative characteristics, there is generally a greater tendency to project the latter.” https://www.jungian-confrerie.com/phdi/p1.nsf/supppages/8209?opendocument&part=15

In the case of the parable, the person with the beam in their eye, i.e. a large impediment to seeing the world as it is, is projecting that state on someone in their field of vision and seeing them as having that issue or characteristic.  In effect we are seeing the “other” not as they truly are but in a way that reflects something about ourselves.  The writer of the Gospel, Luke wouldn’t have thought in these modern terms, but the lesson is the same.   Be aware that the way you are seeing the other person can say more about yourself than about the other person.

One sign that this is happening is that you have an illogically strong reaction to someone – it might be their behaviour or even their appearance.  Perhaps they have a crazy hairstyle like dreadlocks or perhaps they dress inappropriately for an occasion.  Perhaps it is someone who is loud or bossy or just plain annoying.  Whatever it is just makes you see red and never want to have anything to do with them.

May we all be blessed to know ourselves more fully and to see others as they truly are on our journey.

 

Climate Change is Really Real

 Last week, Lorna and I joined a local group, here in Prince Edward Island, on a tour of a wonderful facility at the neighbouring community of St. Peters.  It is the School of Climate Change and Adaptation of the University of Prince Edward Island.  The group meets regularly at the Fortune Community Centre near our cottage. This was the first time we had joined this group after arriving at our cottage for the summer and it was a great way to get our feet firmly planted in the red soil of P.E.I.

The school is situated in a new facility which can be seen perched on the hill side above the highway going through St. Peters.  I must admit I was not overly impressed viewing it from the road driving by the last couple of years.  To me it had the appearance of something which had been plunked down on a hillside having a box like appearance.  However, this is definitely a case of not judging a book by its cover or, to use a science (fiction) analogy, like the TARDIS, of Dr. Who fame – there was much more on the inside that appeared on the outside. 

The school offers undergraduate and graduate programs at the masters, and PhD level in Environmental Sciences with impressive facilities including residents for the Masters and PhD students.  They wisely, in my view,  decided not to offer resident facilities for undergraduates probably wanting to maintain a peaceful environment.

The programs include such areas as food security and sustainability, a Climate Smart Lab, a Drone Lab, Coastal Monitoring and Mapping, GIS and Modelling, and Climate Policy.  Here are a couple of examples of what they are doing to give you an idea of the range of activities.  The drones are used to map the entire coastline of P.E.I.  and track the erosion that is occurring because of climate change.  This is caused primarily not by rising sea level but by storm damage with the increasing storm surges due to increased frequency of storms caused by climate change.  We have experienced hurricanes in the last two Septembers on the Island and this year is forecast to have a lot of hurricane activity.  We were advised that some people who own property on the coast try to put up sea walls to stop the erosion with rocks and concrete or other material.  However, this only diverts storm water to the neighbouring coastline and makes the effect worse.  Robert Frost was definitely right when he wrote that good fences make good neighbours – or in this case, no shore-line walls make good neighbours. 

Another great example of what the schools are doing is a fully automated machine developed by the students which can be used to identify specific weeds in a field of potatoes (a very important crop on P.E.I.) and treat it with the right substance limiting the amount of chemicals used.  It can also identify where fertiliser is needed on a field, again limiting the amount used. 

The University of P.E.I. is a small educational facility with about 5,500 students.  However, with this facility they are leading but it shows that size is not an impediment to innovation and excellence.  Climate change is a reality and there will need to be innovative in developing ways to deal with this reality which is exactly what is being done at the school.  Of course this does not let governments, or businesses or each of us off the hook from doing all we can to fight and mitigate the extent of climate change.

We are called to be stewards of the world that God created and declared to be good.  May we be blessed to do that on our journey.

God's Language

Tomorrow, I will be facilitating a dream group in an event sponsored by Dreamwork Canada. If you are interested, you can find more information at https://dreamworkcanada.squarespace.com/.  We will be using a group process of exploring dreams which I was trained in with the Haden Institute.  In this process we consider dreams to be God’s Forgotten Language.

Dreams are a way in which God “speaks” to us.  However, our culture has lost the knowledge that  God is communicating with us through our dreams.  In the case of dreams and in many of the other ways in which God speaks to us, we no longer understand how God is speaking to us or even that God is speaking to us.  God does speak to us in many different ways and in many modes.  In the case of dreams, God uses the language of metaphor and symbols.    By exploring the images in dreams and treating them as metaphors and symbols, we can unpack the message and meaning contained in the dream.

Our culture generally does not appreciate the value that dreams bring to each of us.  We maintain that dream come in the service of health and wholeness of the dreamer and of society.  As a Christian, I have faith that dreams are used by God to help us become the people that God intends us to be.  However, even if you don’t believe this, dreams can still be understood as necessary and beneficial for our health and wholeness and will enable us to live life more fully.

If you would like to explore what dreams can say to you, the best way to begin is to record you dreams by writing them down i.e. keep a dream journal.  That will assist you in remembering your dreams which can be a challenge for many people.  Look at the images in the dream and begin to explore the images by identifying the associations you have with that image.  For instance, if it is a building, what kind of a building is it – a house, a school, a government building.  What is the purpose of the building and what kind of activity might occur in the building.  Look for the ‘aha’ moment when the meaning is revealed in this exploration. 

There are many books which can help you on this journey into the world of dreams.  Many sources are available on the internet but as with all information of the internet, be careful not to be led down rabbit holes.  A good place to start is the Dreamwork Canada web site which has resources listed and information on upcoming events where you can gain experience with working with dreams.

I will close with the prayer we use when working with dreams in our group process.

Holy Dream Maker, Creator of All,
Be with us as we open our hearts and minds 
to the divine wisdom in our dreams.
We thank you and honour You.
As you guide us in the way to health and wholeness,
may we be open to the blessings of your message.

May you be blessed to know the meaning of your dreams on your journey.