On Being Blog

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So much love flowing today. Warms my Vulcan heart. LLAP

This has got to be one of my favorite retweets by Krista (@kristatippett) this week — courtesy of Dr. Spock, aka Leonard Nimoy.

"'Feeling Good' was the 1st Nina Simone song I heard."

Yesterday would've been the 80th birthday of the great jazz and blues singer. Our coordinating producer celebrated Mme. Simone's birthday with this classic song. Joyeux anniversaire Mme. Simone!

Love and heartbreak were at the core of her lyrics. But how about fear? Illustrator Hanan Harchol takes up this question in his latest animated video about what fear can teach us about love:

"Real love needs to be created, in the space between the two people without the ego. That space between the two people is the unknown, the uncertainty, the otherness… the fear."

Last week's sketchnotes of our show with NASA mission scientist Natalie Batalha are one of my favorites. Quotations from Carl Sagan and rainbows in oil puddles are only the tip of the iceberg. Print it out, hang it on your door or in your office. Share with others.

Magda VandeBunt Stayton reminded us on our Facebook page about the one Sagan saying that got away:

"For small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love."

And, just as we released last week's show, Krista remarked:

Kind of amazed that the uplink of our show this week on exoplanets crossed paths in the ether with meteorites and asteroids.

Which led to meposting this graphic to your left on our Tumblr.

We happened upon this passage while doing some preliminary research for a biographical show on the great Indian poet and thinker Rabindranath Tagore:

"Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers but to be fearless in facing them. Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain but for the heart to conquer it."

But who is the right guest(s) to help us find our way in? One person that came immediately to mind to ask for advice was New York Times columnist Anand Giridharadas (@AnandWrites). Aside: he wrote an absolutely mesmerizing piece on a butcher in Tuscany that included a line that nearly makes me weep today:

"He had escaped the silken tyranny of patrimony."

Doing some research, Krista reached out to him on Twitter for some advice:

We had a brief convo on that bus to Assisi. My pubradio show/podcast is On Being. Creating a show on Tagore (with NEH funds) and wondering if you have thoughts on voices in present day India drawing on/interpreting Tagore in interesting ways?

I know our readers and listeners are a well-read, literary lot. Perhaps you might have some suggestions for us? Please, send me your thoughts — long or short — at tgilliss@onbeing.org or via Twitter (@TrentGilliss).

Here are a few ideas Krista's been sharing this past week...

In this century, the question of what it means to be human has become inextricable from the question of who we are to each other.

...and:

I love the late great John O'Donohue's definition of real beauty: that, in the presence of which, we feel more alive.

Or this light-hearted approach to life from Seth Godin:

"We're all a lot weirder than we'd like the world to know." Amen.

As this work week comes to an end and the weekend begins, please remember these edifying words from Bobby McFerrin:

"This is what I want everyone to experience at the end of my concert is everyone has this sense of rejoicing. I don't want them to be blown away by what I do, I want them to have this sense of real, real joy from the depths of their being. Because I think when you take them to that place, then you open up a place where grace can come in."

He demonstrates this grace in his communal sharing of "Ave Maria" at the Montreal Jazz Festival. Watch it. It's magical.

We want to hear from you — your feedback, your ideas, how an interview may have changed your perspective on things. Drop us a line on our website, via Facebook or Twitter (@beingtweets, @KristaTippett, @TrentGilliss).

In this third installment of Hanan Harchol's Love & Fear trilogy, one of our favorite animators and interpreters of Jewish thought pairs two emotions (fear and love) in a surprising way. The characters explore fear as a complicated issue. It can paralyze you, but it can also motivate and focus your life; it is not only connected to, but necessary for, finding real love — not just among other people but also with God.

Of all of Harchol's videos that we've featured, this one may be the most challenging to get one's head around since "fear" is often perceived in a negative light. But Jewish teachings support this idea of an edifying possibility for fear, and it's role in love.

As his mother's character says:

"Real love needs to be created, in the space between the two people without the ego. That space between the two people is the unknown, the uncertainty, the otherness…the fear. If we embrace the fear as an opportunity to discover something deeper… something more meaningful… then… fear can become a catalyst to grow beyond ourselves, … and it is in that space beyond ourselves, …without ego, where we can ultimately find our true selves, where can find meaning, and where real love exists!"

There is also an important role for trust in navigating love and fear. She calls out a biblical verse from Job (11:18):

"Letting go of the ego and embracing fear is possibly the most difficult thing a person can do. But, if one chooses to do it, if you choose to trust because there is hope, then your choice gives meaning to the idea of Echad."

The Hebrew word "Echad" has a few mystical meanings, and (*semi-spoiler alert*) the final line alluding back to it feels like encountering a Zen koan — I may not understand it, but I know something wise when I hear it.

U.S. President Barack Obama waits to speak at an interfaith vigil for the shooting victims from Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 16, 2012 at Newtown High School in Newtown, Connecticut. (Photo by Olivier Douliery/Getty Images)

It did not receive much attention on Monday, January 21 during President Obama's second inauguration, but some were alarmed when the reporter at the private pre-inaugural worship service at St. John's Episcopal Church noted that Rev. Andy Stanley, who gave the sermon, referred to the President as "Pastor in Chief." In an interview with Christianity Today several days after the inauguration, Mr. Stanley said his remark had been taken out of context by some reporters, clarifying that it had come from being impressed by the President's visit with families after the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy. Mr. Stanley had said,

"Mr. President, I don't know the first thing about being President, but I know a bit about being a pastor. And during the Newtown vigil on December 16th after we heard what you did — I just want to say on behalf of all of us as clergy, thank you."

And added, "I turned to Sandra [Stanley's wife] that night and said, 'Tonight he's the Pastor in Chief.'" Other commentators also referred to President Obama as pastor in chief after being moved by his separate visits with each family who lost a child and by his speech to those gathered in mourning.

Later on Monday, President Obama's inaugural address did even more to cast him as Pastor in Chief with his use of religious language and themes. He used the word "God" five times (and twice more with "His" and "He"), which is just short of Reagan's record of eight in 1985. Obama also mentioned "our creed" five times, giving the second sentence of the Declaration of Independence significance as a kind of civil religion. Finally, he ended by saying, "Thank you, God Bless you, and may He forever bless these United States of America."

It may strike some as alarming that the president would be referred to as a Pastor in Chief or that he would make frequent use of religious language in such a public ceremony, but this association is something President Obama shares with many of his recent predecessors. Religious language in presidential inaugural addresses has become increasingly more explicit in the twentieth century, particularly since World War II.

As I reported in an earlier Sightings column in 2001, the earliest American presidents came from Protestant backgrounds but were heavily influenced by Enlightenment philosophy as young men and were Deists by the time they entered politics. Since their generation had made the separation of church and state a fundamental American principle, they were quite hesitant, and very creative, when naming God. Washington referred to "that Almighty Being who rules over the universe," Adams to "the Protector in all ages," and Jefferson to "that Infinite Power." But with Presidents Monroe and Pierce, we see the beginning of a trend with the actual use of "God." Lincoln mentioned God six times in his second inaugural address (and eight more times with He, His, the Almighty, and the Lord), and he was daring in his use of Scripture to judge the Confederacy near the end of the Civil War. Such references to God then appear in subsequent addresses, steadily increase in the twentieth century, and reach a record high with Reagan in 1985.

It has also become almost obligatory since Reagan (1981) to end every inaugural address (and State of the Union address now, too) with some combination of "God bless you" and "God bless America" — a move from asking for, appealing to, or seeking divine guidance to asking God to bless the people and country. Eisenhower (1953) and George H. W. Bush (1989) even led the people in prayer. George W. Bush, who was well known for his "born-again" evangelical Christian background, also caused a stir when he alluded to plans in his 2001 inaugural address to begin an Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (renamed the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships by President Obama). At the same time, Bush and Obama were careful to be inclusive of other world religions in their addresses, and Obama also made room for "non-believers" in his first inaugural address. Obama's second address took place on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and some were reminded of an oratorical style that reflects the prophetic black preaching tradition of someone like Mr. King.

The result of such changes has lent recent addresses an ever more sermon-like quality, with the president as a kind of pastor to the people. But why? Perhaps such language gradually became less taboo, as presidents have felt more and more free to employ it. Or it may also stem from the increasing intimacy of the event. Thanks to the media, inaugurations have moved from the confines of Congress (last with J.Q. Adams in 1825) to radio (Coolidge, 1925) and then finally to television (Truman, 1949). Founding fathers like Jefferson and Madison would no doubt be very pleased by President Obama's powerful reinterpretation of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution for our times, but it is likely they would be uncomfortable with the label of pastor in chief and the common trend among recent presidents to employ more explicit religious language in their addresses.

R. Scott Hanson teaches history and religion at Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania and is the author of City of Gods: Religious Freedom, Immigration, and Pluralism in Flushing, Queens &mash; New York City, 1945-2001.

This essay is reprinted with permission of Sightings from the Martin Marty Center at the University of Chicago Divinity School.

Star trails over the European Souther Observatory's 3.6-meter telescope, which hosts the High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher, one of the world's foremost exoplanet hunters. (Source: A. Santerne/ESO)

Erick T. Styles (@etstyles), a former Jesuit scholastic now living in Minnesota, reached out to Krista on Twitter with the following request:

Please do a show on #BenedictXVI & theology and reality of papacy. Show is so well done. We need your contribution.

We want to add to the coverage, not contribute to the pollution. But how can we contribute to the conversation in a meaningful way in light of Pope Benedict XVI's departure and the upcoming election of a new pontiff? The scenario echoes a similar quandry we had in 2008, when Pope Benedict visited the U.S. for the first time. It's also a chance to revisit the show we produced as a result.

"What do you take solace in and find beautiful about this faith? What anchors and unsettles you in and beyond current headlines about the Church? What hopes, questions, and concerns are on your mind as you ponder the state of the Church and its future?"

Rather than dwelling on the problems of the Church, we asked these questions of our listeners and readers. The response was remarkable. And, we responded with a format-breaking production in which a rich array of people reflected on the force of this vast and ancient tradition in their lives. Some struggled with it while others were finding new sources of their love for it. Even to be a lapsed Catholic, we heard, was a complex state of being.

Well, we're having the same reaction now.

Is this a time of change for the Church? If you are (or were) Roman Catholic, I ask you, what are your hopes and dreams for the future of this 2,000-year-old tradition? Please, send me your thoughts — long or short — at tgilliss@onbeing.org or even via Twitter (@TrentGilliss).

Carolyn Silveira (@carothecmonster) shared the video of our "truly civil conversation about abortion":

"This respectful and deeply intelligent conversation about abortion feels like a miracle. If you want to change the way we handle our differences in this country, watch even one minute of this video and share it now."

Check out her copious recommended highlights. They're good, and wonderfully instructive.

Did you see our latest sketchnote from Doug Neill? I think he did a wonderful job of picking up on Vincent Harding's ideas about the hard work of building the "beloved community" brick by brick, the sharing of stories of our elders, darkness as the milieu of light, and how a new majority is forming out of the many-splendored composition of our nation's minorities.

But, as Lori Hughes pointed out on our Facebook page, not everything is captured:

My favorite didn't make the sketch notes: "Love trumps doctrine every time."

Thanks for reminding us, Lori.

How about this joyful tweet from the great writer and filmmaker dream hampton (@dreamhampton):

Heeeyyyyy, I didn't know @kristatippett was on Twitter! Your interview with geophysicist Xavier Le Pichon changed my life! Thank you.

This is so much of what I love about working on this show — delighting in the fresh discovery of past interviews. Krista too:

@dreamhampton What a great one to be changed by. Love knowing this.

@kristatippett His idea of circling the most vulnerable in intentional communities...so beautiful. Thank you.

@dreamhampton Yes and that vulnerability is at the essence of vitality even in geophysical systems.

Each Friday night, the author and journalist Lisa Napoli (recognize her name from KCRW or Marketplace?) opens her door and throws a "party" in her LA abode. As Ms. Napoli says in this video:

"Even if you like living alone, that doesn't always mean you want to be alone."

Anybody can come and socialize. It's such a lovely idea and seems like a great way to build relationships and foster community in one's own way.

There are other ways to commune too. How about this lovely passage from naturalist John Muir, written more than a century ago? His words are more relevant than ever to our modern lives:

"The tendency nowadays to wander in wildernesses is delightful to see. Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity; and that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life."

Reminds me of Gordon Hempton's mantra that we need outer silence to have inner silence. Just love Krista's interview with him!

And how about this sterling advice from the great author and thinker W.E.B. Du Bois:

The main thing is the YOU beneath the clothes and skin — the ability to do, the will to conquer, the determination to understand and know this great, wonderful, curious world.

We've posted a fuller excerpt of his letter to his daughter Yolande, and a larger version of Matteo Mazzadri's photo on our Tumblr.

The most retweeted quotation from Krista's interview with fairytale scholar Maria Tatar?

"There is a storytelling instinct that from the get-go we need to communicate to tell things that makes sense of what happened."

And...

"I remember sitting through sermons as utter torture, and maybe that's why I was attracted to fairytales."

Look for this show in mid-March. Can't wait to produce it!

This week's Tuesday evening melody is a fun one. The Daredevil Christopher Wright, a folk indie rock band from Wisconsin, draws from the Jewish philosopher Martin Buber's classic text, I & Thou, as inspiration:

"I love exploring my own doubt, and how people have wrestled with the idea of understanding human motivation, purpose."

Have a listen. It's quite good.

To close, we remember Rabbi David Hartman, who died this week. He was an exuberant, challenging thinker. He lived with passion. It was an honor to meet him and be with him, if only for a few hours. Krista interviewed him in Jerusalem in 2011. We ended the show with him reflecting on his own spiritual evolution and how his sense of who God is has changed over time:

"I don't know what God is, the being of God, but I know it's a shattering experience. It opens you to the world. It takes you out of your narcissistic ego trip and says, look, see the other. Show strength through compassion, through love, not through violence. And to be reminded each day of those achievements. Not simple, but I'm still hoping. I'm still hoping. It's not easy to be a religious man. It's hard to be an awakened human being."