OZways Something
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Kindness: The Essence of Religion
Monday, May 30, 2011
Wisdom of OZ
My fellow Unitarian Universalists and spirituality seekers, as I was preparing for this past Sunday’s reflection, it occurred to me that it had been two years since I last spoke on the Zen of OZ and as a devoted Wizard of OZ fan -- the compulsion to return to this subject matter overwhelmed me. Some of you may recall that previously I spoke to “Having a Heart” as demonstrated by the Tin Man and “Possessing Courage” as exemplified by the Cowardly Lion.
Today I close out this Zen of OZ series with some philology that I found present in Baum’s book as expressed primarily by the Scarecrow in his search for wisdom or as he put it “to obtain some brains.” For someone who insists he doesn’t have a brain, the Scarecrow gives an awful lot of thought to what he would think about if he had one. “I’d think of things I never thunk before and then I’d sit and think some more.” The very fact that the Scarecrow craves wisdom means he already has brain smarts.
Let us begin by briefly considering the meaning of Wisdom and of Zen.
Wisdom, as defined by Webster’s New World Dictionary, - It is the quality of observing the soundest course of action, based on intelligence, knowledge, experience, understanding, and good judgment.
Zen practice is Buddhist in origin; it is a form of meditation that seeks to attain an intuitive illumination of mind and spirit. One, hopefully, realizes an “awakening” and spiritual enrichment through the direct individual assessment of one’s own experiences.
It seems to me that the OZ books and MGM movie based on two of the books overflow with Zen wisdom. I saw the Wizard and Glinda, the good witch, as Zen Masters setting Dorothy on the Yellow Brick Road of experience where ultimately, Dorothy does obtain an experience of “awakening”. She finds her true self, a higher consciousness, and wisdom.
Now with regards to the quest for wisdom, one of the first characters that Dorothy meets on her journey to find her way home out of the Land of OZ is the Scarecrow hanging on a pole in a cornfield. When Scarecrow finds out that Dorothy is on her way to see the Wizard of OZ to find out how to she can get home, he asks if he can accompany Dorothy so that he could ask the Wizard for some brains; being that his head was full of straw. Now if I was Dorothy, I probably would have thought – “this is a no brainer” – and replied no but Dorothy being the compassionate one, immediately answered yes.
The Scarecrow then immediately displays some “brain smarts” and points out the road for them to travel. Here we see and continue to see something very revealing. When the Scarecrow is preoccupied with obtaining intelligence, it escapes him but when he lets go of this preoccupation with obtaining brains, he becomes a rather quick problem solver.
Lao-Tzu, a Zen philosopher and poet, wrote” “Freedom from desire, you realize the mystery.” When the Scarecrow accepts the here and now – letting his thoughts flow freely, every obstacle, he encounters becomes an opportunity in disguise. Do we have another Zen Master in the making?
Let’s consider some examples:
· Dorothy can’t figure out how to get the Scarecrow down from his pole. Here, I and maybe you would have the tendency to over-analyze the situation – wondering how the Scarecrow could be lifted up off the pole, was there a way to chop the pole down or cut the clothing hold him there? But the Scarecrow just spontaneously proposes: “If you just bend the nail in the back down, maybe I’ll slip off.”
· When the talking apples refuse to drop down their apples for eating, I might have tried to figure out how to climb the tree or find a type of ladder to reach the apples. But the Scarecrow uses reverse psychology to provoke the trees to throw their apples at him and Dorothy.
· When the Doorman to the Emerald City demanded proof that Glinda had sent her to see the Wizard, the Scarecrow impulsively points to the evidence of her wearing the ruby slippers.
· When Dorothy and her friends were trying to figure out how to infiltrate the castle of the Wicked Witch, it was the Scarecrow who proposed dressing in the guards’ uniforms.
· When the Wicked Witch’s guards accosted them with spears, it was the Scarecrow who instinctively grasps the Tin Man’s axe to cut the rope to a huge chandelier overhead causing it to fall on the guards.
These examples suggests that Nature’s intelligence flows freely and effortlessly when we are in harmony with the creative intelligence of the cosmos, when we know our true Self, we can harness the pure potential of the universe. A means to know our true Self is to free ourselves from over-analyzing, and to free ourselves from our insecurities and worries – when was worrying and obsessing over something ever productive?
We need to free ourselves from our guilt trips, compulsions and need for approval. In carrying around such baggage, we waste energy. If we are stuck in the middle of a cornfield with crows pecking at us, we need to let go. Free that energy, re-channel it, and allow it to manifest itself in more meaningful ways. Accept things as they are – here and now. Our true self is our radiant inner being, our spirit, our higher consciousness, our soul or psyche.
Now I acknowledge that I may have drifted from a pure Zen to a Taoism philosophy here but I believe that both are beneficial considerations to our physical and spiritual well-being.
Taoism focuses on channeling the spontaneous creative force of the universe. Tao does everything by doing nothing. If we align ourselves with it – our talents will flow more easily, effortlessly – and we will realize an unleashing of our abundant ingenuity and creative powers. By keeping our attention on the here and now, everything we wish for - will spontaneously flow from the Tao within us. Remember the Scarecrow, when he accepts the here and now, he lets go and does not over-analyze; every obstacle he encounters becomes an opportunity in disguise.
Cautionary note: Some of you may remember when the Scarecrow got his honorary degree of Th.D. (Doctor of Thinkology) from the Wizard; he self-consciously recites what he thinks to be the theorem for a triangle having two equal sides: “The sum of the square root of any two sides of the triangle is equal to the square root of the remaining side.*” But the Scarecrow is just plain wrong. Trying to impress others, he becomes someone without a brain doing an awful lot of talking. By self-consciously trying to use his brain, the Scarecrow puts himself out of sync with Taoism and prevents his natural creative power from flowing easily and effortlessly.
When the Wizard bestows the TH.D, degree on the Scarecrow, his comments remind all of us that: experience is a primary element in acquiring wisdom, and the longer you are on the earth the more opportunities you have for acquiring it. Wisdom does not come directly from book knowledge or facts stored in the brain. It is not acquired from another person. We must learn to engage with life wholeheartedly to reap the benefits of our experience.
Cultivating awareness of our actions, awareness of our thoughts, and awareness of our feelings allows expansion beyond the confines of the judgments, categorizing, and opinion making. This awareness activates the intuitive capabilities of the brain, and develops a matrix of understanding and wisdom that underlies all experience.
Returning to our Zen Masters, it was the Wizard who demonstrated that he lacked the power to impart wisdom and that it was only achievable by setting Dorothy and her friends on a journey through OZ so they might gain the experience needed for them to assimilate wisdom on their own. Then there were Glinda’s words of wisdom to Dorothy on how to achieve her goal [to get home]: “You always had the power within you [to go back home]. You just had to experience it for yourself.”
And what about our friend the Scarecrow? It appears that he did become a Zen Master in that he was recognized that due to the virtue of his recently acquired superior wisdom, he would now rule OZ.
In conclusion:
Wisdom is the guardian of our choices. It helps us to discern the right path at the right moment. It gives us clarity of thought and deeper understanding. We use our best judgment, resisting the pull of impulse and desire. Wisdom gives us the maturity and patience to make sustainable decisions. We seek knowledge, enter reflection and open ourselves to inspiration. We consider carefully, and then act confidently. Through experience, wisdom takes us beyond thought to a deeper knowing. Wisdom grounds us in grace. It is integral to our fourth principle to affirm and promote a free and responsible search for truth and meaning.
Hopefully, I have again illustrated a little of the Zen and Tao philosophy that is contained in the story of the Wizard of OZ. May your journey down the Yellow Brick Road make your life glorious and joyful in every way. Let us be thankful for the gifts of Love, Courage, and Wisdom for this allows us to spread our wings. “May it be so.”
Presented: First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia on May 29,2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Curriculum Vitae
Mark DeCourval was born and raised in Flint, Michigan which at the time was a major automobile manufacturing city. His early development benefited by living in a racially diverse urban community during the school year and spending his summers on a relative’s farm; where he learned to care for the animals, harvest the grain fields, and the value of being self-reliant. From the onset he was a studious and intellectually curious boy which resulted in his graduating from high school with honors a year early. Lacking resources to immediately attend college to study for a desired career in psychiatry, he joined the Navy. While in the Navy, he received specialized training as medical psychiatric technician; after which, he was assigned to the US Navy Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where he cared for traumatized and geriatric military personnel. Upon being discharged from the Navy and not being able to find a suitable paying job in the psychiatric field, he went to work for a major Philadelphia bank. Soon after his employment had commenced at the bank, he was selected to receive advanced training as a software programmer/system analyst. While employed at the bank, in addition to working in different capacities in the Information Technology (IT) arena, he took on the pursuit of earning a college degree. In his banking career, he realized a position as Vice President in charge of its marketing databases, where he gained valuable insight into recognizing the cause of specific attitudes and behavior patterns and how they translated into a person’s choices and actions. After forty-five year tenure, he accepted an early retirement package with the hope to pursue a long desired ministry vocation. Although he had been raised as a Roman Catholic, around the age of twenty-four he began to realize his personal theology conflicted with that Catholicism and went religion shopping; wherein, he found compatibility with Unitarian Universalism; and therein, the hope that one day he could serve in its ministry. This aspiration has been realized and he is currently serving as an active participant in the Unitarian Universalist ministry.
Professional Experience
Mark is delighted and honored to be a sponsored ministry candidate with the historic First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia, where he also serves on the Membership and Caring Ministry Teams, as well as a Worship Associate. He has prepared and administered entire Worship Services; and preached both at First Unitarian and as a guest at other UU churches. He is currently completing the requirements for his Master of Divinity Degree from the Union Theological Seminary of New York City; where his focus is on pastoral care/counseling and community ministry. During the summer of 2010, he completed an intense Clinical Pastoral Education program that included training as a chaplain at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania which is one of the top ten trauma centers in the United States; and where he has been asked to continue working as an adjunct chaplain. He works as a supporter of MANNA, a Philadelphia non-profit agency that provides and delivers nutrition meals to home-bound terminally ill patients. In January 2011, he spent two weeks in Rome, Italy in a program that focused on important crossroads of Ecumenical and Interfaith dialogue.
In addition to his ministry credentials, he holds Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Science degree from Drexel University where he was a member of the honors society, Beta Gamma Sigma. He is versed in several computer software languages and in administrating customer and information databases. His long career in the banking/financial field has provided him with extensive business management and personal relationship skills.
Ministerial Ideology
Standing on the side of Love and Compassion. In covenant with the Unitarian Universalist principles of respecting the inherent worth and dignity of every person; and in the wisdom of all the world’s religions which inspire us in our ethical and spiritual lives. Providing communal spiritual support and comfort; especially to the marginalized and disenfranchised. Helping to build a Dignitarian World free of rankism and bigotry.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
THINKING
Few things possess more Power than a Thought.
Because a Thought has the potential to become something significant.
To solve something meaningful.
What makes a Thought so powerful is that it can be created by anybody.
At anytime. From anywhere.
That's why thinking should be encouraged and nurtured in all its forms.
No matter how small. Or impossibly grand. Because wherever Thinking happens,
Big ideas follow. Minds become enlightened. Knowledge grows.
And people discover new ways to unlock their potential.
SO START THINKING!
courtesy: Qatar Foundation