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OtherFish

21 Things You Forgot About Being a Kid: Learning from the Next Generation

September 9, 2019 by Mark Sommer Leave a Comment

What can we learn from the generations coming up after us? Dr. Rick Stevenson shares what he has learned after nearly twenty years of interviewing children and adolescents.

21 Things book cover

I was introduced to Rick Stevenson through Greg Wright, a long-time internet friend and mentor. Greg was my boss for most of the time I was writing for Hollywood Jesus – somewhere back in the Dark Ages. (It’s hard to believe I left HJ nearly four and a half years ago.) Greg had introduced me to the Millennials documentary series which was shown on the Ovation network in 2016. Screenfish was kind enough to let us share my interview with Greg and my subsequent review of the documentary.

In 2001, Rick created the 5000 Days Project, which the website tells us

is a global organization dedicated to developing emotional intelligence (EQ). We apply the StoryQ method of deep inquiry combined with video journaling technology to bring a low-cost and easy-to-implement tool into schools and communities allowing all kids to self-reflect and process in a safe environment.

As of the book’s release as an ebook in July, Rick has “conducted over 5500 in-depth interviews” with school-age children up to high school. The Project stresses the importance of Social and Emotional Intelligence, and was developed in consultation with experts in the fields, including Stevenson’s friend Dr. John Medina, author of the Brain Rules series.

Coming from a conservative Christian environment, I have long been aware of the need to get a handle on my emotions so they do not rule me. Unfortunately, I think too many in conservative circles have misunderstood the role of emotions in our lives. Too often a stoic approach is taken, ignoring one’s emotions rather than dealing with them. What often seems to happen is that the hidden emotions are still controlling the person, largely because they refuse to acknowledge the effect emotions play in shaping our lives. For example, if you are making choices based on fear, and you refuse to acknowledge you have those fears, you end up making excuses for your beliefs and actions instead of honestly examining the role this emotion has played in shaping your beliefs and actions. Xenophobia can often be excused in this way. How often have we witnessed someone who has obvious prejudices insist they are not prejudiced?

Rick’s book helps us remember what it was like to be a kid, and that remembrance can be the start of understanding who we are. It can also help us better understand those around us. According to Jesus, our mission here on earth can be summed up in two commands: Love God, and Love one another. The agape love the Bible speaks about is not emotionless. It is more than an emotion, as it seeks the best for the one loved, but the concept does include emotion. Jesus’ mission on earth was to show us what God is like. The Gospels continuously tell us that Jesus was filled with compassion for for those around Him. His actions on behalf of others was not some kind of calculated stoic response based on some mathematical calculation of what is best for the person. His actions were precipitated by an emotional response to the need He witnessed.

We have gotten emotions exactly backwards. Some of us were even taught to make the brain the engine and the heart the caboose. That is not how it works. (See the animation video near the bottom of the page on The 5000 Days Project’s home page.) Putting the emotions in a “caboose” role causes us to ignore what our emotions are trying to tell us. Only by knowing what our heart is telling us can we examine who we really are. Certainly our emotions can be lying to us, but we cannot know that unless we are listening to them and examining them. As I asserted earlier, our emotions will still lead us whether we acknowledge them or not.

If any of the above has sparked an interest in Emotional Intelligence, or causes you to want to try to understand yourself and others better, Rick’s book would be a good place to start. Broken down into 21 quickly-read and easily-digested chapters, 21 Things You Forgot About Being a Kid is a delight to read. Be sure also to read the Foreword and Introduction, as these provide background and insight into what is to follow. 21 Things is available as an ebook on Amazon.com. (If you don’t have Kindle, you can download the PC or Android versions for free.)

Filed Under: Books, Editorial, OtherFish, Reviews

Womanhood in Proverbs 31, Theopoetics – Your Sunday Drive Podcast

June 12, 2019 by Matt Hill Leave a Comment

Your Sunday Drive Podcast

Want to go past surface meanings of scripture to something deeper? Truer? Wiser? Ever thought about creativity as a vehicle for that?

In this special “anniversary” episode of the Your Sunday Drive podcast: Our first ever guest, Kindra Silk Kreislers, brings a new perspective on the Proverbs 31 woman and talks about theopoetics.

Also: Using context and genre in interpretation, other common places in the Bible to apply this line of thinking, Jesus the Word vs. God’s word, not making the Bible the “fourth person of the Trinity,” jokes about Kindra’s Russian husband, Matt and Nate both attempting not to mansplain to varying degrees of success, etc. 🙂 

Filed Under: OtherFish, Podcast Tagged With: Bible, christian podcast, church in drive, proverbs 31, womanhood

Outrage Culture & Identity Politics, Black Mirror, Game of Thrones Finale

June 3, 2019 by Matt Hill Leave a Comment

Your Sunday Drive Podcast

TRIGGER WARNING: You might need a safe space for this episode of the Your Sunday Drive podcast.

What’s it about? Outrage or call-out culture. Identity politics. Our seemingly too-easily-offended age and how Christians might navigate it with some wisdom.

Other related topics come into it as well: Privilege, the influence of the internet and social media, etc.

We also do a quick plug for new Black Mirror and go in-depth on the Game of Thrones finale. What were the spiritual takeaways? Find out!

Filed Under: OtherFish, Podcast Tagged With: black mirror, call-out culture, christian podcast, church in drive, Faith, Game of Thrones, matt hill, nate polzin, outrage culture, Podcast, pop culture, your sunday drive

Check Out the Your Sunday Drive Podcast!

May 29, 2019 by Matt Hill Leave a Comment

Your Sunday Drive Podcast

Hey everyone!

I’ve been so proud to write for Screenfish over the years. Now I’m excited to share a new project I’ve been working on – one that very much fits into the mold of examining spirituality in culture:

The Your Sunday Drive podcast!

So what’s this podcast all about? Simple: Quick conversation about current events, politics, pop culture and more, all from the perspective of a couple of guys trying to follow Jesus.

Our most recent episode tackled the current abortion debate. Before that, we did episodes on the Avengers, faith and science, Easter, the Final Four and spirituality in sports, Sekiro and spirituality in gaming, and much more!

I hope you appreciate this new endeavor as much as I hope you’ve appreciated my previous posts. Look for more episodes to show up regularly here, and please subscribe to us on iTunes, Google Podcasts, Spotify, etc., and like, comment, review, share and all that!

Filed Under: OtherFish, Podcast Tagged With: Christian, mi, Podcast, pop culture, saginaw, your sunday drive

Why I Love (and Fear) Jordan Peterson & Russell Brand

August 22, 2018 by Matt Hill Leave a Comment

Jordan Peterson and Russell Brand

tldr version

Jordan Peterson
and Russell Brand
both see a
current crisis
and both see it as
primarily “spiritual”

however, for each,
there are issues
when it comes to how
*truth*
and “spirituality” relate

and how they relate
is vital

bit longer version

fanboying

i love me some
Peterson and Brand

always generally dug
Brand’s flicks
and standup,
and have been a
fan of his podcast/YouTube
for a year plus

(fun fact:
the pic above is
from once when
Peterson went
on said podcast;
and don’t they look
smashing together?
🙂 )

Peterson came to
my attention
more gradually,
but then like a
hurricane recently –
seriously:
give him a Google
and marvel at the
moment he’s been having

i have Recovery and
12 Rules for Life
on my bedside table
(along with some more
explicitly Christiany books
and a tablet, upon which
i theoretically read,
but mainly just
obsess over guitar gear
i don’t really need)

both are excellent texts
and both feel
supremely plugged in
to a zeitgeisty sense
that something’s amiss,
in general,
with ppl rn

(i agree)

both also,
and both men
in their public lives,
propose something
like a
spiritual cause
for this
“something amiss” –
what might be called a
“spiritual crisis of meaning”
stemming from
God
(or something like God;
more on this later)
no longer holding
significant sway
for so many

(i agree for sure)

caveating

please note here
that these gentlemen
are obv far more complex
than i’m making
them seem, as is
this whole topic
(and i’m not
even addressing
their politics);
i’m attempting to
essentialize here;
i considered deep diving,
but am refraining
for the sake of brevity
and also because i’m
kind of lazy

in any case, here are
some decent articles
related to this post;
go ahead and Google –
there’s plenty more:

“Jordan Peterson vs. Russell Brand”

“The religious hunger that drives Jordan Peterson’s fandom”

“Is Dr. Jordan Peterson A Gateway Drug to Christianity, Or Just A Highbrow Joel Osteen?”

here are two of my own,
also related:

“Get Re-Enchanted: Stranger Things 2, Pop Culture & God”

“What IT Means (and How *Any* Good Story “Means”)”

problematizing

but here’s the problem:
as much as i *love*
Peterson and Brand’s
respective approaches
to the significance
of the spiritual,
i *fear* that
neither approaches
*truth* sufficiently

what do i mean?

well, with Brand,
the issue appears to be
lack of specificity –
many manifestations
of spirituality
might address the
problems he sees
(note that his book
is based on the 12-steps,
which speaks of “God,
as we understand him”)

and while this is
well and good to a point,
of course,
in the end,
truth commonly understood
is *specific* and *exclusive*
by its nature,
and not addressing this,
it seems to me,
is a problem

for Peterson,
the issue is confusing
*truth*
with something like
“what works”

he tells us to live by a
certain ethic
and seek a certain meaning
grounded in
certain Jungian archetypes,
not because it is true
or because the
archetypes are –
at least not in
the usual
historical/correspondence
way generally meant –
but because it
just happens to reflect
how things have gone
re: humans
when it comes to
our psychology
from an
evolutionary perspective;
it is what is and
therefore what “works”
and therefore “true”

again, all well and good
to attach some
functionality to truth,
of course,
perhaps,
but conflating the two,
it seems to me,
is a problem

also, this is why
Peterson kind of
dodges/ducks/complicates
the question he’s
often asked:
“do you believe in God;”
he may or may not,
but he definitely
does not think of
that question primarily
as it relates to *truth*
commonly understood

finning

and so:
when it comes to
Peterson and Brand,
i love them,
but i also fear them

i find them both
engaging and articulate
and brilliant, etc.,
and *correct;*
but, concerningly,
on this point,
only to a point

i want people to
hear their message(s) –
i know good can come
of it –
but i fear ill may too

i see them as
important,
*prophetic* even
in this current moment –
both have
cut through the mix
in a way that’s so
unusual anymore,
given the noise –
but probably only
“part way down the path”
to the true destination
they both seem to
have glimpsed
(or, better,
which has glimpsed them):

not God
“as we understand him,”
not a “God” that
simply works,
but the *true* God

the true God
as He really is

 

Filed Under: Books, Current Events, Editorial, OtherFish Tagged With: 12 rules for life, 12 step, alt right, archetype, books, Canada, Christian, God, jordan peterson, jung, meaning, modern, politics, professor, Psychology, recovery, religion, russell brand, social justice warrior, spiritual, twelve step

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