Can We Love Our Enemies Without Idiot Compassion or Shaming?

written by Duff McDuffee on March 7th, 2010

Cat and dog, hugging (via clover_1 on Flickr)
For most of my life I’ve thought of myself as the kind of person who doesn’t have enemies. “Enemy” is a strong word, one that evokes thoughts of moral superiority if not hatred and violence. Surely I’m not a person who wishes the death or injury of others, or thinks I’m better than anyone, right? After all the work I’ve done on myself, I must be beyond all that. After all, I try not to be judgmental. I say, “to each his own” when I encounter unusual beliefs and ways of being. I listen to others and try to see from their perspective no matter how much I disagree. I don’t wish harm on any man…or do I?

If there is anyone who qualifies as being my enemy, James Arthur Ray does. In the wake of his terrible and reprehensible actions in November at his Spiritual Warrior Event workshop in Sedona, I have spent countless hours angry at him and what he represents. I have called him names in public and in private, most of which he probably deserves, but none of which have changed what happened (note to JRI’s lawyers: everything I’ve said and written have been my opinions only and not verifiable facts, thus my words and speech are fully protected under the law—just sayin’).

Speaking Truth to Power

When James Arthur Ray came to my home town only a few short weeks after his seminar injured and killed several people, my friend and I stood up suddenly while he was in the middle of a sentence. In a large hotel conference room with approximately 300-500 people, trembling with fear and anger, I looked James Arthur Ray right in the eye and challenged him to take responsibility and cease all his seminars immediately. Read More

Social Media: Moving Towards A Brave New World?

written by Eric Schiller on February 9th, 2010

A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley depicts an ordered society where humanity is tamed and controlled through the use of excessive pleasure.   This pleasure comes in the form of unlimited sex, a designer drug named “Soma,” and a caste system that designs people specifically for their social roles, eliminating unhappiness in the work force.  The society as a whole is conditioned to believe in a consistent set of values, primarily designed to keep everyone in line and the system of consumption functioning at a near perfect level of efficiency. Those are not fitting into society are encouraged to enjoy themselves by taking Soma, as its hallucinogenic and anti-depressant effects allow them to snap back into blissful conformity with ease.   In essence, Huxley dreamed of a world where unimportant pleasures distract us from the greater problems at hand, and in the case of the book these problems manifested as the sheer level of control and lack of freedom exerted over all of humanity by the system. Read More

The 4-Minute Mile and the Myths of Positive Thinking

written by Eric Normand on February 6th, 2010

The story of Roger Bannister breaking the four-minute mile barrier in 1954 is often cited as proof of the power of positive thinking. The fact is, however, that Bannister’s realism, not exuberant faith, can easily explain how Bannister achieved the feat.

The typical telling of the story is a conflict between negative and positive beliefs. The good guy is Roger Bannister, who uniquely believes that he can beat the four-minute time. The bad guy is everybody else, including the other runners of the world. Bannister’s faith in himself propels him across the finish line, breaking the barrier, proving that the positive is stronger than negative. He wins over converts to his faithful cause, who then proceed to smash the barrier themselves. Read More

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What is Beyond Growth?

Beyond Growth is a collaborative blogging project focused on critiquing and expanding the personal development field. Noting a lack of critical discourse in personal development, Duff McDuffee and Eric Schiller founded Beyond Growth in the hopes of using it as a platform to foster growth and responsibility. The subjects we plan to critique and explore include critical theory, cults, gurus, lifestyle design, marketing, psychology, rising consciousness and much more.

Contributors

Duff McDuffee
Philosopher

Eric Schiller
Social Critic
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