The content of all you are saying makes good sense, Sheelah. I only want to clarify our terms. I’ll grant that mimesis is an aspect of human nature that “just exists, and can have a good or bad influence.” I don’t, however, feel it is accurate to say the same for peer pressure. Peer pressure is mimetic; but not all mimesis is peer pressur…[Read more]

– Can you describe “peer pressure” in terms of the social other?

Yes, “peer pressure” is one manner among many of how someone can induct the desires of others. What sets peer pressure apart from other inducted behaviors, it would seem to me, is that “peer pressure” implies that those who possess the desire originally are consciously attempting…[Read more]

– What do you think about the concept of the social other? Does it makes sense to you or do you have questions about it?

I found Fr Alison’s lesson to be an eloquent and a remarkably accessible presentation of a confounding idea. If I ask a nitpicky question or two, it is only because I’m enthralled by his manner of explication and want to lea…[Read more]

Yes, Sheelah, much of what you say makes good sense. A few parts did leave me a little puzzled, but that only serves to whet my appetite for more of Fr Alison’s lessons. I am very excited about this class and (for whatever it’s worth) it has already far exceeded my expectations. There is, however, one particular point of confusion that was not…[Read more]

Let’s fill out the details of how you acquired the habit or beneficial practice you described in Module 1. Share your answers to the following questions:

– When did you first notice the desire for your “beneficial practice”?
I don’t think I realized I had a desire to read until I completed undergrad, chose not to pursue graduate studies, and rea…[Read more]

– Why do you think this course is subtitled, “Listening for the Unheard Voice”?

I’m guessing it’s because people effortlessly fall into the habit of ignoring the voice of God, and this course is designed to develop a conscious practice to replace this habituation of which we are unaware.

– What impact might an act of communication from God have on your life?

When God speaks, we are invited to act. I am unfamiliar with a divine voice that just wants to chitchat. My position here, like my post on Jan 20, stems from a belief that humans are always and only subordinate to God. By that I mean only that God is always acting first when…[Read more]

– James says that habits are what make excellence possible.
– What beneficial practices have you been inducted into?
– Who inducted you or how did you acquire your “stable dispositions”?

Reading is a beneficial practice. I suppose my induction into this practice began with my parents. I have early memories of my mother reading my older sis…[Read more]

“? James talks about Christianity having been thought of as grasping onto a theory about what God has done for us and then acting according to a moral code. Is that what Christianity has been like for you? How or how not?”

Yes, this conception of Christianity has and continues to confront me frequently.

“? What is your relationship to the…[Read more]

“Share the ways in which God is communicating with you today.”

My first inclination is to skip this prompt altogether because it seems to require a bit more anthropomorphizing of God than I am comfortable with. But then I focus in on the last word of the sentence and realize I don’t have to comment on the nature of God; I only need to share what happened to me ‘today’. Today is still early (9:07am); this…[Read more]