Category Archives: ways of knowing

Believing and Believing IN

Posted on July 25, 2015 by hessd

I love it when this happens. I have watched Secondhand Lions maybe half a dozen times. Some parts, probably well over a dozen times. And always there is the sense that some part of my mind is receiving some really … Continue reading →

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Did the Media Go Too Far?

Posted on July 23, 2015 by hessd

This is mostly a rant about how television “news” operates. If you’ve never watched news programs on television or if you do watch and like what you are seeing, this is probably not the essay you want to read. On … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, ways of knowing, Words | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

A Listening Silence

Posted on May 1, 2015 by hessd

I want to think today about how we listen to each other. This is not going to be a lament that we don’t listen to each other any more, but back in the old days, whenever you were a child, … Continue reading →

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Sexism still sells cars

Posted on March 29, 2015 by hessd

I’d like to spend some of your valuable time today thinking about a topic nearly everyone would call “sexism.” I’m not quite sure what to call it, myself, but when you look at this Buick ad, you will know exactly … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Society, Uncategorized, ways of knowing, Words | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Loser Edit

Posted on March 12, 2015 by hessd

I am not a fan of “reality shows.” Shows about realty are another matter, but those shows raise the question of what is real. The question of the difference between the two was raised to prominence yesterday in the March … Continue reading →

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Mosquitoes in Heaven

Posted on December 13, 2014 by hessd

Pope Francis is having the same kind of trouble the apostle Paul had.  It’s hard to be a pastor and a theologian at the same time.  And if any remarks you make are going to be seized upon by the … Continue reading →

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Today’s Modern World

Posted on November 1, 2014 by hessd

The course is called “Scientific Secrets for Raising Kids Who Thrive.” I saw it first, today, in the brand new “holiday wish book catalog offered by The Teaching Company.[1]  I’m not going to order it. I want to move, shortly, … Continue reading →

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Is Forgiveness a Good Idea?

Posted on October 21, 2014 by hessd

I want to begin with as simple a phrasing as I can.  Things are going to get so messy that I want to have something to look back at, as I would look back at my own innocent youth if … Continue reading →

Posted in Living My Life, Political Psychology, Uncategorized, ways of knowing | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Plan B

Posted on September 20, 2014 by hessd

No one knows what God first had in mind for our species. Genesis gives us one picture of it.  One.  This is it. “The man and his wife heard the sound of Yahweh God walking in the garden in the … Continue reading →

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“Fear is the little-death”

Posted on August 21, 2014 by hessd

I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Living My Life, Paying Attention, ways of knowing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment