Amusing Ourselves to Death

Not sure this post is going to gain me any readers, but that's not what this blog is about anyway.  And if you make it to the end of this post, I will be thoroughly impressed. 

I am reading a great book by Michael O'Brien, Harry Potter and the Paganization of Culture.  This is my first Michael O'Brien book, and I must admit, I love his writing style and am looking forward to reading more, including his fiction. 

In all honesty, it has been over ten years since I have read J.K. Rowling's series, and even then I only read the first three books.  At the time, I found them mildly entertaining, but nothing that really stimulated me intellectually, so I never was too interested in reading more.  As an avid reader and lover of adventure, I looked forward to the series when it was first released, but never really fell in love with the series like so many people did.  And though I was not formed in my faith at all during that time, I was a bit unsettled when I read them, but I did not understand why. 

No matter what side you are on in the debate over the Harry Potter books, O'Brien's take will open your eyes to so much more than what is superficially visible in reading J.K. Rowlings popular series.  O'Brien presents his thoughts in a rational, thought provoking manner that touches on what is happening in our culture at large.  In one section entitled "The pacification of the mind", he writes:

In his book, Amusing Ourselves to Death, media theorist and New York University professor Neil Postman describes how television has reshaped our society.  In the past, when Western man moved from an oral culture to the print-dominated or "typographic" culture, significant changes resulted in our capacity to absorb experience and abstractions.  The volume of information fed to the mind increased while the mind's ability to sort and evaluate the influx of data did not always keep pace.  With the advent of television another quantum leap occurred.  Flooded with powerful stimuli that bypassed the mind's normal faculties for filtering and interpretation, both the rational and the imaginative aspects of our minds became increasingly passive.  As a result, Postman warns, our ways of perceiving reality itself are becoming fundamentally distorted.  We now imbibe a massive amount of impressions in small bites that demand of us neither sustained attention nor truly critical thinking, thus rendering us vulnerable to manipulation.  We are dangerously close, he says, to that condition described by Aldous Huxley in Brave New World.  No longer conscious of our bondage we are soothed by endless entertainments.

Ouch.  That really hit home for me, being practically raised by the television (well, not really, but I did watch T.V. a lot growing up and it has somewhat formed me, for good and for bad).  The good news is that I hardly watch television anymore.  Every once in awhile I like to watch Journey Home on EWTN, but that is about it for me, except when coerced with popcorn by my dear hubby :).  Unfortunately, about 90 percent of the conversations happening outside of my normal circle of friends revolve around television programming of which I have no input.  The bad news is that I must admit to an internet addiction, so I can very much relate to what O'Brien says, "We now imbibe a massive amount of impressions in small bites that demand of us neither sustained attention nor truly critical thinking, thus rendering us vulnerable to manipulation."  There is good and bad on the internet, and as a person who is in love with her faith and a very healthy appetite for learning more (virtue studiositas), I am quite often susceptible to crossing over into the vice of curiositas.

And there is music too.  Sigh.  I love music.  Music is another form of entertainment that can evoke powerful memories and emotions.  But with God's grace, He is helping me to seek the good, the true, and the beautiful of His creation.  So much of my life has been formed by entertainment, but I am thankful for the grace of God's protection and bringing my heart to His, despite some of the bad influences I have had over the years.  And I'm thankful for the gift of imagination and memory, now in light of a conscience being properly formed (it's still a work in progress).  So why do I bring up music?  Well, because I found this for your entertainment (!!!) by Roger Waters (I am a Pink Floyd fan), Amused to Death:

Studiositas versus Curiositas

I read an excellent post over at Catholic Spiritual Direction called "Is curiosity bad? I seem to have an appetite for information about all things...." Father Bartunek writes:

Learning involves all the good things that you describe above. We cannot love what we do not know. Studying God’s creation can help us know God better, just as studying the works of an artist can help know an artist better, and by knowing God better we can love him better – which is the purpose of our existence. Our intelligence is meant for this, in fact. That’s why the Christian spiritual tradition catalogues studiositas as a virtue – the virtue of study, of applying our minds to studying and learning, so that we can grow in knowledge and understanding of the world, ourselves, and God.

and

But like every power of the human soul, this capacity to learn can be de-formed. Instead of applying ourselves to develop the virtue of study, we can fall into the vice of curiositas, or curiosity. In the Christian spiritual tradition, this word, like studiositas, has a technical meaning. The vice of curiosity refers to the superficial gathering of information, the thirst to imbibe the latest headline or rumor just because it’s new. Curiosity stops where learning begins. It’s like the butterfly that flits from flower to flower without gathering any nectar, whereas the bee will settle into a flower and drink up, taking time to gather all that the flower has to offer.

Ever since jumping into the online world (back in 2006 when I was on bed rest with our 3rd), I have had to fight the battle of spending too much time online. Before that, I viewed the computer as a tool I used at work, but spending time at a computer screen was never something I wanted to do with my free time. I checked email periodically and that was about it.

Image Credit:

Association of Catholic Women Bloggers

It is interesting that right before this is when I really started to experience an exponential growth in my faith and formation in the Catholic Church. I began researching the teachings of the Church through reading books, attending prayer groups, Bible studies, anywhere I could go to learn more about Christ and His Church. It is a wonderful thing to be so in love with Christ and want to know more about Him! And I still have that desire and am so thankful that God has given it to me.

But like with all desires, our unchecked human appetites can become vices (I type this as I eat chocolate chips since we have no other chocolate in the house....hmmm). Another good point that Fr. Bartunek makes in his post is the following:

On the other hand, it [knowledge] also can keep us distracted. In this case, the thirst to have new experiences and develop new areas of expertise is inordinate, out of proportion to our mission in life. The enjoyment of acquiring new knowledge, which is legitimate in itself, becomes so all-consuming that the duties of one’s state in life are neglected.

This is exactly what my struggle is right now with intellectual curiosity, it too often becomes inordinate and then I neglect the duties of my state in life. What seems to be a good thing becomes a vice. I need God's grace to keep this desire within His will. Pray for me.

Interestingly enough, right now as I am typing this, my daughter brought the mail in, and in it is a book I just ordered, No Greater Love, by Mother Teresa. It isn't supposed to be a used book, but thumbing through it, I noticed several sentences were underlined. Here is a sentence that was underlined:

Words that do not give the light of Christ increase the darkness.

So not only do I need to watch the amount of time I spend online, but also discern what I am reading online. Thank you Mother Teresa!

I'm excited now to go start reading this book! After I get the laundry put away and dinner started, of course ;)

Pray for us, Blessed Mother Teresa!

Do go read all of Father Bartunek's post at Catholic Spiritual Direction. And go check out Association of Catholic Women Bloggers at:

Boundaries

Now that we live in a new neighborhood in a new house with 2 more doors to come in and out of, we have to teach our children their new boundaries and establish ground rules. In this new neighborhood, there are new playmates all around with one big giant backyard where there are play sets and trampolines galore. It is awesome, and I am happy that our children will have more people to play with as they grow up; however, it has been challenging when all of a sudden our son is gone and we are wondering where he went and find out he has gone next door to play with an old kindergarten classmate of his.

Somehow, through all the craziness of moving we did not tell him that he needs to ask permission from us, and we need to make sure it is okay with the other little boys' parents. Our children are all still young so we haven't ventured into being a bit more permissive in this area. Maybe we will be a bit more permissive as we get more comfortable with our new neighbors and as the children get older, although we are definitely both of the mindset that being overly permissive is a detriment, but that is for another post. On the other hand, we do not want to be overly protective either, also another post.

We also need to teach them about what toys they can take over to their new friends' houses as well as what can come over here. If our son takes his legos over there, they get all mixed up with their legos and you have a big mess of legos everywhere even if they could build something really cool with their combined sets. Now that I am typing this it sounds really dumb, but it seems like a good rule to me (and to dear husband who is a little possessive of our son's legos even though he (the dad) has his own set of practically every star wars lego ever known, but I digress). I know I'm rambling, it is a little early for me, sorry, let me get to my point.

God gives us grace to help us along the road, but the devil can place snares along the way as well. This makes me think of the internet. There is so much good out there to find and learn, but it is like a big giant backyard with play sets and trampolines galore. Where to go, what to learn, who to follow? I am thinking a lot about this because yesterday I practically spent all day, off and on, surfing around the internet reading different blogs, deciding to follow or not? To follow publicly or not? Who are these people? They seem nice, but I really do not know these people at all.

Bottom line, I hope our school books come soon because we really need some structure around here, not only for them, but for me. I really do not need to be obsessively checking my new friends' blogs all the time. Or my own for that matter. Does blogging make me obsessive, or am I am I blogging because I am obsessive? Rambling once again. Focus, back to point. Think I'll pray.

O Dear Jesus, hear me, graciously hear me, help me to sort out where you want me to go and what you want me to read and who you want me to follow. In following other people you place in my life, let us follow You together, and when it seems like that cannot happen, give me the courage to follow You alone. Thank You for Your Word and Your Commandments to keep us within the strength and beauty of Your Will. Thank You for the healing grace of Confession, and the nourishment You give us in Your Holy Eucharist. Place my thoughts and my senses in Your Custody, so that I may have temperance and prudence when it comes to blogging and following blogs. O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us. Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us. Good Saint Joseph, pray for us.

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray. And do thou, Oh Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, cast into hell, satan and all evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.

And Fr. Z's prayer before connecting to the internet:

Almighty and eternal God,who created us in Thy image and bade us to seek after all that is good, true and beautiful, especially in the divine person of Thy Only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, grant, we beseech Thee, that, through the intercession of Saint Isidore, Bishop and Doctor, during our journeys through the internet we will direct our hands and eyes only to that which is pleasing to Thee and treat with charity and patience all those souls whom we encounter. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.