My new favorite (today) concept is ‘spiritual materialism’. First, I have to say that I mention it as a kind of exorcism. You know how you hear a word, take note of it as a new term, and then hear the damn thing every time you turn around?
‘Spiritual Materialism’
Anyway, THAT TERM embodies the idea of wrapping yourself in your spirituality– to the necessary exclusion of actually finding enlightenment via that spiritualism. It (or the related ‘spiritual narcissism’) describe those religious-types who walk around dressed like… well… like this guy:
Chögyam Trungpa
Who’s that fancy-jacketed joker? Well, ironically enough, he’s Chögyam Trungpa, the guy that came up with the term.
Wikipedia has this to say in summarizing the idea:
An example would be using meditation practices to create a peaceful state of mind, or using drugs or alcohol to remain in a numbed out or a blissful state. According to Trungpa, these states are temporary and merely heighten the suffering when they cease.
Which is also sort of ironic… in that… he died as the result of the effects of the severe alcoholism from which he suffered… even after it caused him to have diabetes, cirrhosis of the liver, and a heart attack– thereby proving his thesis, I guess. Seems like a long way to go to make a point if you ask me. I think your Jimmy Swaggarts, Ted Haggards, and many, many Catholic priests would agree that it’s just not worth it. Nice of them all to take one for the Lord, though. DIY crucifiction.
In any case, the idea is great. The obvious value is in giving a name to that desire to proselytize about one’s new spiritual ‘thing’. Look at me! I’m all holy and stuff! I TOTALLY hang out with Jesus! It’s like having to buy a super shiny car just to show that you can (and telling yourself it’s because you deserve it.)
The more subtle value, though, is in the process, itself. Meditating on the idea of spiritual materialism shines a spotlight on a veritable onion of motivational layers. Why does the Muslim woman really have to wear that burkha? What’s with the little cartoon Jesus dragging the cross in the back window of the truck? How come I have little Buddha statues all over my house?
That’s not to say that any of those things are necessarily misguided or narcissistic. But it does open up the awareness of those choices. I like to have my little Buddha statues. They’re reminders to me to come back to the present moment and stop dreaming. They’re nice to look at, too. Still, it is worth pondering whether I place them to gain someone else’s approval (boiling oil hell and sulfur damnation) or for their inherent or symbolic beauty to my eye (the heaven of seven awesomenesses).
Oh, and I made naan on my pizza stone, and it was pretty good. The trick, as with pizza, is to get your oven and the stone as hot as you can:
Naan
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“DIY crucifixion”, so true.
Chogyam Trungpa? I was at his funeral. I’ll tell you the story if you bring us some honey.
Naan, desu ka? Ha, I never get tired of that one.
Say, what happened to your blog’s handy search and tag features? I wanted to recommend your vermicomposting post to another pal who just moved back to Portland, and it took me several long minutes of clicking back through the calendar. Clicking on them tags in the lower left didn’t do diddly. I know you’re busy bringing home the bacon and all, but sheesh!
I’ve even made naan (mostly to use up leftover dough) in a very hot cast iron pan on the stovetop. It tasted great, but didn’t keep well. I could’ve used the thing as a discus after a leftover piece spent a night in the fridge. Mmm, naan. Now I’m craving Indian.
Home-made naan is so much more spiritual than a fancy jacket.