A. Do you have the guts?
B. Put your heart into it.
C. Make up your heart.
What is the heart? The answer might surprise you.
In modern times, the “heart” has been called, “the feeling mind”. That sounds pretty good to me. What do you think?
A recent visitor responded to my postIs Chocolate Filling my God-shaped Hole? with the comment below (edited down). I think it would help to respond through a post, also. Now we can open up the whole thing to dialogue a bit more. Thanks for your contribution on this topic.
Visitor Response to Post–Submitted: on 2010/12/03 at 3:10 pm The way I look at it, viewing the heart and mind as separate is extrabiblical; thus, in fact, “that thing that ‘falls in love’ or gets sentimental” *is* the mind. So the modern “follow your heart” does not connote the *opposite* of the biblical “heart,” but rather only *part* of it. Bottom line, I can’t trust my mind or my heart, or even my own spirit completely… only God is 100% trustworthy. As for filling our “voids” with things “besides” God, I try to remember that God gets the credit for all good things anyway…
My response:
I should have also pointed out [within that post] that the Hebrew equivalent of the emotions or passions (what many now consider the “heart”) were also referred to differently than the mind (i.e. set a different category, if you will–the bowels or “guts”). The “guts” implied connection with those qualities of emotion, and so forth.
To sum up: In the Bible, (most especially in the Old Testament)…
1. What is translated as “heart” (in the KJV and others) is closer to what we now term as “the mind”. More specifically, the individual’s command center, or the place where decisions are made– which includes the will.
2. What we may think of as “the heart” that is, passions, desires, emotions, in the Hebrew language is connected with “the guts” or “bowels” of a person. For instance, “In his guts he loved her”. Yes, it sounds awkward, at best.
Even more controversy: THE SOUL
There is a big dissimilarity in the Hebrew vs. English renditions of the word often translated in English as “soul”. In Hebrew, it refers to the whole being. The whole person (So, no. It does not mean a ghosty thing that floats to the clouds like in Warner Brother cartoons). We can understand it in our context more this way when we say, “30 souls were lost [died] in the shipwreck.”
Hey, everyone, please, weigh in.
This post is open to opinions, thoughts, comments, or if you’re of the particular stripe…exegesis.
(Yes. That’s the BIG word of the day.)
Exegesis (EGGs -eh- Jesus) is this definition here. It’s not a variant, or French spelling of “Eggs and Cheeses” which we may be tempted to think at first blush, right?"Eggs and Cheeses" (Not Exegesis)(click photo to find its source)
Tomorrow’s post–
“Does your Breakfast (and your deity) make you AWESOME?”
In the USA, a country of both abundance and excessive waste, dumpster diving is certainly a fringe activity. However, urban foraging is gaining a large following over recent years because of tougher times. Among certain folks, the urge to reuse, recycle, and of course, get free stuff, can be more of an actual lifestyle some opt for daily. It’s surprising the websites that offer tips and tricks for the habitual modern foragers. As I’ve been trimming our consumption way down, the mindset of living with less actually turns into a fun challenge. I don’t worry about the things I used to, like wearing the hip styles, and being trendy/fashionable. (I’ve set my own “trends” since the 80s out of necessity/poverty, now I’m just not so ashamed about it–on my terms.)
Doesn’t this forage business sort of bring us to a point to ponder about contentment, too? We never will find it in Things, new things, (and old things as well.) The perfect car, or shoes, or latest gadget ends up at the dump, and even the perfect meal ends up…well, you know.
Frugality can be a spiritual discipline we do, at least now and then, in which we skim away clutter that is actually internal. The crutch of things often changes us to perceive priorities wrongly. We don’t need much. What we want, and what we feel we need, get mixed up. It’s happened to me, trust me.
Without awareness or discipline, our Want matures into a monster that masquerades as a felt need that is actually internal. It is the problem that has nothing to do with external things. And it’s not a “problem,” but an opportunity for growth, and learning the ways of contentment, which brings gladness and peacefulness.
More details about urban foraging (specifically)here.
Did you ever “dumpster dive”?
(I’ve rescued some nifty items on the way to the landfill.)
Grief is the (normal) human emotional response to loss. It is a common part of human experience and may produce growth. We can lose people, places, objects, relationships, and even ideas. Some losses may not be actual, but anticipated, or a perceived loss. (25) Acute grief looks remarkably similar to a classic anxiety attack (same physical symptoms). It is similar to the feelings felt in fear. In grief one fears the loss of self through separation, and experiences separation anxiety. (28)
It is a function of attachment. It can be understood also as our emotions catching up with our reality. (38) The more we can love the more we can grieve. Our abnormal attachments show up (caused by an improper process of grieving) as permanent emotional detachment or heightened attachment. (30)
R. Scott Sullender, “Grief and Growth: Pastoral Resources for Emotional and Spiritual Growth” Paulist Press, 1985.
Have you lost or grieved anything lately?
Feel free to leave your thoughts or comments about grief or loss.
In the USA, a country of both abundance and excessive waste, dumpster diving is certainly a fringe activity. However, urban foraging is gaining a large following over recent years because of tougher times. Among certain folks, the urge to reuse, recycle, and of course, get free stuff, can be more of an actual lifestyle some opt for daily. It’s surprising the websites that offer tips and tricks for the habitual modern foragers. As I’ve been trimming our consumption way down, the mindset of living with less actually turns into a fun challenge. I don’t worry about the things I used to, like wearing the hip styles, and being trendy/fashionable. (I’ve set my own “trends” since the 80s out of necessity/poverty, now I’m just not so ashamed about it–on my terms.)