Weblog

Sunday, 01 February 2009

  • Doing some Soul-Searching?

    Many of us in our mid to late 20's (and older) may remember the movie, "The Never Ending Story." It was a classic where these kids saved this dream world by riding around on a giant flying dog whose ears flapped in the air...and then there was "The Nothing" which destroyed the world and made it into, well...nothing. Some parts of the movie just downright freaked me out. (mainly the flying dog because close up you could see the bumps in his skin)

    It seems like there are certain parallels in life that I can relate to that movie. One thing in particular is the search for "the right fit." (in a round-about way) Whether its looking for the right job, the right house to live in, the right school to go to, or even the right mate. It's like we've taken this idea of perfection and have made it attainable and ubiquitous at the same time. The fact is we never really get there and it scares the shit out of us.

    In our post-modern society, we have come to embrace the idea of the individual above the corporate, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. We were all created as individuals to have our own dreams, unique things that are a part of us that no one else has ever had or will have for eternity. All the while, each individual is meant to fit in to society, and to make up a giant corporate body rather than a collection of individuals. The glorification of the individual is a great thing because it reflects the intention with which all of us were made. I think God likes to celebrate each one of us as His kids, He loves us that much yeah? We have come to celebrate ourselves as individuals, but after all the partying we realize that we only half-way know ourselves, if even that.

    The bleak fact is that our experience is often contrary to the perfection that we long for, which leads to cynicism and doubting that it'll ever really happen. We forego relationships, put off our dreams, and develop systems of procrastination, because, in our hearts, we don't really believe that it'll work out.

    That soul-job may never be attained. If we're looking for our soul-mate, we may forget that regardless of who we end up with it's going to be a process that goes decades into marriage. It seems like my never-ending story is the search for the soul...and looking for it in a job, mate, house, geographic location, or activities, which may be a piece of it, but in the end I think there's something more to it than what we're doing, who we're with, or where we're at.

    The inescapable nothing could be two things. First, it can be the destructive force of the world that eats your soul alive. Second, it can be that part of us inside where our souls are already half-chewed and partially digested that we have to fight for to recover and rebuild. This second part wants to remain dead, because it only knows fear, which is the absence of unconditional love.

    (to be continued...)

Thursday, 25 September 2008


  • I grew up in a very traditional church where God was highly exalted and approached at all times with a sense of awe, majesty, and a high sense of sacredness.  Nothing wrong with that. 

    However, over the years, I got this internalized impression that God was way up there and that if my relationship with Him didn't revolve around this sense of the sacred and official ways of doing things, then it wasn't an authentic spiritual experience. 

    While this may not have been the explicit intention of the church as I was growing up, I think it's where it comes down on the personal level, where the rubber hits the road, that makes the heart of true, authentic spirituality and ultimately, our personal relationship with Papa God.

    Over the last couple of years, I've changed the way that I've thought about what God is like.  As I've written before, I think He rather likes having me around and would rather that I run and jump into His lap than to go through the drama of bows, thee's, and thou's followed by do's and don'ts, and then let us not forget the required penitence to get back into the good graces of someone who wants me to perform right...

    What if God is always accessible, even when I'm sinning?  That's still a crazy thought to me.  What if He's always there to be what I need Him to be, which is Himself as He really is?  What if I can always count on Him to be unconditionally loving and relentlessly kind to me in all situations?  What if I can always count on Him to be eternally cheerful, happy, and pleased?  Not in a prozac type of way...but because He is so eternally secure in Himself and in me because He's not dependent on me in any way? 

    I may not have all my I's dotted and T's crossed in theological doctrine and understanding the scriptures...I may not have all the "sin" in my life under control, I may not be mature in the areas of modifying my behavior to meet others' expectations, but dammit, I'm alive!  And it is the life that flows only from relationship with the Father as He is and without projecting onto Him some kind of religious pretentiousness.  That reminds me of something I heard a while ago:  How do you know Father is speaking?  If it brings LIFE, then it's Him.

    I've started to cultivate a relationship with a God who is always there, and it's pretty fantastic.  He isn't angry with me when I forget Him and doesn't despise me when I come back to Him after not spending enough "quiet time" throughout the week.  He's not disappointed and doesn't want me to feel guilty about not holding up my end of the stick.  What if there is no stick to hold up?  What if the stick is only a religious prop, raised by the expectations of institutions and our sick, twisted, performance beliefs, to rob us of the gift of the righteousness of Christ which we have been freely given? 


    The Quarter Life Crisis is a new term that describes the restlessness and floundering as we try to transition into the "real world" as an adult. Doubt replaces confidence, anxiety in place of courage, and confusion instead of direction. Please visit the Quarter Life Crisis Life Coach at http://www.scioncoaching.org Learn to thrive in a world that often relegates us to only surviving.

Thursday, 04 September 2008

  • Take the Quarter Life Crisis-Adventure survey


    Hello fellow Xanga-ers, I am conducting a survey on 20-somethings regarding their experience, and perhaps a way to help resolve, the Quarter Life Crisis.  Although we're trying to get a sample of 20-something, even if you are past your 20's your input would still be valuable!  The project that I am working on is for an Outdoor Education administration and management class at Montreat College and this survey is part of the project proposal for my group.  I have created a survey on surveymonkey.com, the link is pasted below. 

    I'm trying to get this out to as many people as possible so that we can have a good understanding of the needs, wants, and values of our generation today.  The project that we are proposing is an Outward Bound-type expedition on the Appalachian Trail/ or perhaps an alternate trail in the West.  It could last anywhere from 4-16 days depending on the trip.  The way that our project would differ from other wilderness expedition groups is that:

    1.  We are seeking to combine elements of life-coaching into facilitating the outdoor experience in order to enhance the process of self-discovery.  The coaching will be done by an experienced Quarter Life Crisis Coach.

    2.  We believe the "spiritual journey" is as important, if not more important, in the process of further establishing our identity in the post-modern world.  We will seek to build an atmosphere of mutual respect among people, engender an atmosphere of growth in this often neglected (by outdoor programing) dimension of life by asking questions, small group discussion, and a curriculum depending on the appropriateness for the group.


    Thanks in advance for your time in helping us with our project!

    http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=7m7JFEbKkmvvvPrtOeAMqA_3d_3d
     

  • Take the Quarter Life Crisis-Adventure survey


    Hello fellow Xanga-ers, I am conducting a survey on 20-somethings regarding their experience, and perhaps a way to help resolve, the Quarter Life Crisis.  The project that I am working on is for an Outdoor Education administration and management class at Montreat College and this survey is part of the project proposal for my group.  I have created a survey on surveymonkey.com, the link is pasted below. 

    I'm trying to get this out to as many people as possible so that we can have a good understanding of the needs, wants, and values of our generation today.  The project that we are proposing is an Outward Bound-type expedition on the Appalachian Trail/ or perhaps an alternate trail in the West.  It could last anywhere from 4-16 days depending on the trip.  The way that our project would differ from other wilderness expedition groups is that:

    1.  We are seeking to combine elements of life-coaching into facilitating the outdoor experience in order to enhance the process of self-discovery.  The coaching will be done by an experienced Quarter Life Crisis Coach.

    2.  We believe the "spiritual journey" is as important, if not more important, in the process of further establishing our identity in the post-modern world.  We will seek to build an atmosphere of mutual respect among people, engender an atmosphere of growth in this often neglected (by outdoor programing) dimension of life by asking questions, small group discussion, and a curriculum depending on the appropriateness for the group.


    Thanks in advance for your time in helping us with our project!

    http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=7m7JFEbKkmvvvPrtOeAMqA_3d_3d
     

Monday, 11 August 2008

  • I've Been Found Out!

    I was quite troubled this morning as I sat on a couch at church. 

    I've been progressing towards serving others as a life coach for burned out and frustrated Christians, of which, I believe, there are quite a few.  I also have a passion for working with young adults in the throes of the Quarter Life Crisis, although I still have lots of QLC moments myself. 

    There are a lot of young people with big dreams these days, and I think I'm one of them.  We're the ones who are walking off the map.  It's supposed to be a walk of faith that also looks for an internal compass rather than the step by step guide to an Americanized sense of accomplishment in the spiritual or the physical.  A lot of times, instead of a walk of faith, it seems like a death-march of procrastination, waiting, and groaning. 

    Part of it, I think, is this American idea that we have to be famous in order to truly be successful.  So we get in this place of thinking that we're really great and have some great ideas (that much is true), but we have to do a lot of clever marketing and get really lucky in order to get found out.  I read a great book by Robert Bly called, "The Sibling Society," where he elaborated on this idea of American grandiosity and our over-fascination with celebrities.  We get this idea that if we are not well-known and have our own talk show appearance, then we are not really loved.  If we're not really loved, then we're really not worth that much anyway. 

    It occurred to me today, that I'm already famous in the Kingdom and that God's already discovered me, and I thought, "that's pretty cool."  That makes me feel loved.  He's the captain of the fan club and loves to cheer me on more than anything.  He doesn't want me to procrastinate, because that comes from doubt and negative thinking.  He wants me to be the person I was designed to be, not a scared little boy groveling on the floor.  Even when I am that scared little boy, paralyzed with fear, He's pulling out His wallet, opening it up, and looking at my picture and has a big goofy smile on His face.  I believe that God believes in me, and that blows my mind because most of the time, I don't believe in me. 

    He knows who I really am, when I am pretending that I'm someone else.
    He calls out the good in me, because He put it in there.
    He's holding His breath in expectation, waiting for the next step...
    He's found me out, and likes what He sees
    He has a big goofy smile when He looks at me (not a look of exasperation)


adventure_coach

  • Visit adventure_coach's Xanga Site
    • Name: shane
    • Gender: Male
    • Member Since: 11/22/2007

Weblog Archives

Don't worry - your calendar is here… to see it in action just click "Save" above and refresh the page.

About Me

  • I am an adventurer for the cause of real life...not the flakey stuff, the routine, the ordinary, the boring. This web site explores the questions that burn deep in our hearts about life as it was meant to be lived. I will also attempt to answer some of these questions through a radical perspective of God's tangible, experiential love and sharing my own journey into the heart of God, knowing Him as Father, Lover, Daddy. For information on the programs that I offer as a life coach, please visit http://www.scioncoaching.org/Spiritual_Growth.html

Chatboard (1)

  • goldseeker
    God Bless You! The only way we will continue to grow in our Christian life is to search deeper and deeper in the way of God.