Changing the World: ‘Bob Marley: One Love’

By Colm ó Cionnaith

“Bob Marley: One Love” is a film I had greatly anticipated, but probably I’m the last person who should write a review, so besotted was I, no doubt along with much of my generation (“Xers”), by Marley, since coming into contact with his hypnotic reggae beat in the mid-1980s.

Since then, of course, and after playing the obligatory (since its release in the 1980s) “Legend” greatest hits album to death, I have not had that much interaction with Marley, apart from admiring his image in Dalymount Park, Dublin, where our local club, Bohemian FC, cherishes its connections to historical figures who played there, such as Bob.

However this movie is very much for the music fan, which might disappoint some who might have been eager to get deeper into the politics or even the spirituality of Bob Marley, the “Godfather of Reggae.”

The story focuses on a short period in Marley’s life, from just before his attempted assassination in Jamaica in 1976 to his premature death at 36 in 1981.The opening scenes teleport us into a Jamaica erupting in political turmoil as opposition parties are causing the nation to explode in violence and unrest.

Marley is portrayed throughout the film as a potential unifier and peacemaker, as he attempts to headline a “Smile Jamaica” concert in an effort to bring some healing and unity to the post-colonial tropical nation, still trying to forge an independent identity. His sweet, soulful, music and powerful gospel lyrics seem to point to him as a putative messianic figure of sorts, who might bring the island nation together, if only they can “Catch the Fire” of his inspired message rather than the one that threatens to burn everything down.

However, in the early scenes we learn that neither he nor Jamaica are ready for this message: divisions are still too raw and his levels of self-doubt don’t yet permit him to transcend his normal human needs for self-preservation and success.

Enter the legendary Chris Blackwell, pioneer owner of the small Island record label, who assembles a team of musicians and support staff around Marley who will launch him to worldwide acclaim, but only after he goes into an exile of sorts in an unsuspecting London, in the throes of Punk and no little racial tension, it seems.

Continue reading “Changing the World: ‘Bob Marley: One Love’” →

5

Authenticity, Sincerity and 21st Century Witnessing

By John Redmond

Recently, we have been called to resume witnessing in the Unification Movement in order to recapture the spirit of the 1970s, a time when most of its American members joined.

I’m a veteran of those days and have come to the conclusion they are firmly behind us.  However, I am strangely optimistic about the future of our movement and of witnessing in general.

What do I mean by “witnessing?”

In the Christian ideal, it is a communication of a personal, deeply spiritual event which has affected one so positively that one feels compelled to offer that insight to others so they can achieve that experience as well.  Christianity testifies to individual salvation: your conversion and life of faith is between you, God and the Holy Spirit.

Saints in Christian tradition are individuals, both men and women, who have modeled in their lives evidence of a transcendent, loving God.

In Buddhism, one is encouraged to reach a higher consciousness, step out of the day-to-day grind, control the thoughts circling in your head, and try to feel and be aware of a higher, universal interconnectedness and add that reality to your daily life. The monks and nuns in Buddhism model that ideal.

In Unificationism, we witness to the Three Blessings and the three generation family.  Individual salvation is not enough, and creating an individual spiritual success is only the foundation for a multi-generational family and wealth.  Our salvation is not complete until we have accomplished all three goals. It stands to reason then, that our challenge is higher and deeper than individual witnessing and will require creativity and honest evaluation and persistence.

In my experience, all successful witnessing is done by example. Many of my generation joined our movement because of who they met, not because of what was said.

An English member recently told me of walking through Boston and meeting another Englishman who invited him to an event and he politely declined.  Later he met a Japanese woman who couldn’t speak English and had a confusing flyer but he went to the program anyway; he just trusted her. The Principle gets you to stay and commit, but the character of the people and their spiritual foundation allow you to listen.

Continue reading “Authenticity, Sincerity and 21st Century Witnessing” →

29

‘Barbie’: More Than a Doll

By Kathy Winings

I grew up with Barbie. In fact, I not only had a Barbie doll, but also had Midge (Barbie’s friend), Skipper (Barbie’s little sister), Ken, and Alan (Ken’s friend). I ended up with Barbie’s sportscar and wardrobe cases. My mother helped fill the wardrobes with beautiful clothes that she designed and made for each of them.

As Barbie was an important part of me, when the “Barbie” movie premiered last summer, I expected a film filled with cliches, trite dialogue and a simple plot-line about two iconic dolls.  But after hearing some positive reviews and knowing the reputation of the director, Greta Gerwig, I decided it might be worth seeing. You can imagine my surprise when the movie was none of these things. In fact, it provides a creative context for insights on some of our current social challenges.

“Barbie” hit theaters running in July and is still going full speed with eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Ryan Gosling) and Best Supporting Actress (America Ferrera), as well as several BAFTA nominations in the UK that include Leading Actress (Margot Robbie). Audiences will find the movie is about more than two iconic dolls as it motivates them to ask some hard questions about key social themes we face in today’s world.

The movie has two contexts — Barbieland and the Real World. Barbieland is home for three groups: Barbies, Kens and Weird Barbies. This world is idyllic and carefree with the Barbies living in well-kept houses and the Kens living on the beach. Barbieland is a matriarchal society where the Kens live to support and serve the Barbies. The streets are clean. There is an air that Barbieland is a perfect place to live with no crime or illness, no children, or any Barbie and Ken older than 30. The Weird Barbies live apart from the others because they are different. Their difference is primarily physically based, with some missing limbs or other body parts or missing hair.

As a matriarchal society, all of the jobs and leadership positions are held by the Barbies. What I found particularly refreshing was the racial and ethnic diversity of the Barbies. Of course, all of the Barbies are a perfect size 2, with perfectly styled hair, perfect skin and well-applied make-up. The Kens are also physically fit, with perfect hair and physical features. The Barbies and Kens do recognize, however, that there is such a place called the “Real World.” They don’t visit the Real World nor do those living in the Real World visit Barbieland.

Continue reading “‘Barbie’: More Than a Doll” →

7

Anyone Can Have a Mystical Experience

By Ron Pappalardo

The mission statement of HJ International Graduate School (formerly Unification Theological Seminary) says one of its goals is to help its students “enhance their relationship with God.”

The founder, Rev. Sun Myung Moon, in his 1985 commencement address to UTS said, “I have also endeavored for this campus to be a place where the students can develop deep personal faith and authentic spiritual communication with the Spirit of God.”

Most religious people long for a deeper relationship with God, hoping to have their own personal mystical experience, but oftentimes become discouraged because of how difficult that can be.

After having a few experiences myself, years ago I began teaching others. In addition to writing, I have conducted classes, workshops and training seminars around the world demonstrating techniques shown to facilitate mystical experiences.

The three main techniques I use are the practice of hands-on healing, guided meditations, and a writing technique I call “Journaling with God.”

Three Techniques that Can Trigger a Mystical Experience

Hands-on healing: For this technique, I divide a group into pairs. One person sits in a chair, and the other person stands behind the chair and lays their hands on the sitter’s shoulders. Then I lead those standing to imagine that divine white light is flowing down their arms and through their hands into the sitter while repeating the following mantra: “God’s love is flowing through me, for the purpose of healing [sitter’s name] now.” After a few minutes, each couple reverses positions, and the mantra is repeated again.

Guided meditation: I employ several different guided meditations; here I describe the one I use most often during my workshops. After giving patient and detailed instructions to the participants, I invite them to close their eyes and imagine they are sitting alone on a beautiful beach. It’s a bright sunny day, and I call their attention to the warm sun on their skin, the feel of the sand on their toes, and the peaceful rhythm of the waves coming up to their feet and then retreating back down the shore. Next, they focus on the bright sun right in front of them, high above the ocean. The meditation culminates with each participant imagining they are sending a beam of light from the center of their heart out and up towards the bright sun in the sky. The moment their beam of light connects to the sun is often when the mystical experience is triggered.

Continue reading “Anyone Can Have a Mystical Experience” →

13

The AU Blog Is Transitioning to a Member-Led Organization

Dear Applied Unificationism Blog readers, contributors and supporters,

As our Editorial Committee posted in its open letter, “We Had a Great Run. And We Thank Our Readers,” Unification Theological Seminary has become the HJ International Graduate School for Peace and Public Leadership and decided that the AU Blog it sponsored since 2013 no longer matches its new mission. Therefore, the Applied Unificationism Blog has a chance to evolve as well.

We have been having meetings among the Editorial Committee seeking to identify the next iteration of the Blog.  HJI President Dr. Thomas Walsh said he is happy to support transitioning the AU Blog to a new home provided we find a responsible steward.  While seeking sponsorship from church-affiliated organs is often the typical path, in this era it seems we should take more initiative.  As the Elder Son Nation and in the Age of Ownership, it seems it is time to try to make it on our own.

I have volunteered to take on the editorial duties for the AU Blog for one year to see if we can transition the AU Blog to a member-led organization that can operate in a collegial fashion while keeping the intellectual, social and academic standards that have made the AU Blog a success for the past 10 years.

Dr. Mark P. Barry, who served as managing editor for the past then years, has agreed to assist with the transition; and I have requested the current Editorial Committee to stay in place, at least for the time being.

I have several offers of donors willing to cover the cost of hosting the site and we will maintain the current standard of publishing for the immediate future to ensure continuity and quality.

However, I would like to see the AU Blog carefully evolve.  Here are some areas I think we could strengthen our appeal and effective outreach:

  1. Broaden our audience. We need to attract younger contributors and readers.  I think that there are many young people at work, especially in the social sciences, who can incorporate Unificationist values and models into their field.  Education, social work, psychology, and health care seem like disciplines that are accessible to Unification thought.
  2. Create a membership structure that includes voting and fundraising.  I like the model of the intellectual societies of Europe during the Enlightenment.  Regardless, it is in our collective interest to develop and model governance structures that are a place for mature Unificationists to thrive.
  3. Experiment with other formats.  Perhaps a short essay section, e.g., op-eds of 800 words, where single topics can be broached and developed.
  4. More dialogue. Give and take creates new ideas, so a moderated forum is envisioned that allows vigorous debate without descending into the rancor and polarization that characterizes much current online discussion elsewhere.

If you would like to be part of this new effort or if you have questions, please email me at AUBlogEditor@gmail.com; if you have overall thoughts of encouragement or suggestions, please post them in a comment below.  I will organize a Zoom call to launch this new effort in coming days.

Our About page has been updated, including revised Applied Unification Blog editorial guidelines.

I look forward to an interesting year and am excited to see what we can build together in that time.

Best Regards,

John Redmond
Executive Editor, Applied Unificationism Blog

Photo at top by Timothy Eberly (courtesy Unsplash)

5

Patient Love Is More Important Than Doctrine

By John Redmond

When I was a shiny new member of our Unification Family, I was completely entranced with the Divine Principle.

I had spent the previous several years seeking an intellectual framework that could bridge the gap between Catholicism and the scientific method.  I flirted with Marxism until I got to know some of the “leadership” of the campus Marxists and was not impressed with their sense of self-importance.

However, I didn’t have any constructive way to respond to the arguments they advanced — until I encountered the Principle.

The second thing that impressed me about this group of fellow seekers, who believed as I did, was we could be a model of the things we were talking about, and together, we could heal God’s broken heart, and significantly improve the world.  Those people, currently both in and out of the various parts of the movement, remain my best and most admired friends.

I still believe that living our ideal is the primary providential responsibility of our rank-and-file members.

I fired out of three weeks of workshops with a conviction that anyone who could hear this new truth would instantly be overwhelmed and brought to the realization that we could indeed, as one elder assured me, “reach perfection in three years if we were sincere.”

I started out as a good fundraiser but frequently would get drawn into long involved discussions with interesting individuals, Christians, communists, rabbis, and drunks, frequently resulting in me missing my pickup time and my captain having to send team members into stops on my run and reminding me about what I was supposed to be focused on.

At evening programs, and in workshops, I was the guy locked in detailed arguments with guests about how “Jesus didn’t come to die” or why dialectical materialism was a limited point of view.

As Jonah Goldberg recently wrote, I was a captive of reification:

 “…’the act of treating something abstract, such as an idea, relation, system, quality, etc., as if it were a concrete object.’ This confusion of words for things is a great peeve of mine. In logic, there’s a reification fallacy, in which we confuse the model for the reality: The map isn’t the territory.”

As I came to understand, no matter how clever the argument, how powerfully and clearly stated, no one could “hear” the Principle until they were understood and accepted it as a person.  A few precepts come to mind:  “Actions speak louder than words,” “I can’t hear what you are saying because of what you are doing,” and “Always be witnessing, and sometimes use words.”

A second round of this understanding was deepened by my children.  I came to understand that “free will” is not a political concept, but the primary spiritual gift from God to all His/Her children — including mine.  Our family is now on the 400-year plan to create unity.  It may take less time but it won’t be because I explained about the Principle one more time to anyone.

As a family, we have decided that love is more important than doctrine, and that a successful defense of God is through a lifelong example rather than clever lectures.

This same lesson is now coming to our Unification Family.  The Divine Principle explains that objects grow vertically through three stages of growth and make horizontal progress through Origin, Division, Union action.

Continue reading “Patient Love Is More Important Than Doctrine” →

21

We Had a Great Run. And We Thank Our Readers

The Applied Unificationism Blog went live on May 1, 2013, sponsored by Unification Theological Seminary (UTS). Over more than ten years, the AU Blog has explored the application of Unificationism to the wider world.

Since that time, the AU Blog has posted 400 articles and over 4,500 comments. We have received over 472,000 page views from 228,000 unique visitors in 215 countries and territories around the world. Since 2015, 80 of our articles have been re-posted on a sister site, the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification international headquarters website in Korea, which has greatly increased our visibility.

We deeply appreciate our loyal readers, whether you followed Applied Unificationism since the beginning a decade ago or only discovered us this year.

Unification Theological Seminary has decided to conclude its sponsorship of the Applied Unificationism Blog at the end of its fiscal year on June 30. On July 1, UTS will adopt a new institutional name. In addition, UTS will be initiating some new projects that may include a new journal and a conference series.

The Applied Unificationism Blog will remain live as a site through the end of 2023 and at least into early 2024. Comments submitted to any article after June 30 may continue to be posted after moderation. However, the AU Blog will no longer be accepting new article submissions for publication after that date. This could change if a new sponsor is found.

We invite you to express your thoughts and reflections about the Applied Unificationism Blog in the comments section below.

In closing, we express our appreciation to UTS for its generous support of Applied Unificationism over the years.

Sincerely and with gratitude,

The editorial committee of Applied Unificationism:

Mark P. Barry, Managing Editor
Michael Mickler
Keisuke Noda
Andrew Wilson
Kathy Winings

 

Photo at top: By Melissa Cassar (courtesy Unsplash)

14

What Can Be Done About Violence in Society?

By Alice Fleisher

There have been 23 school shootings this year that resulted in injuries or deaths, according to a recent Education Week analysis. There have been 167 such shootings since 2018.

It’s very alarming that such incidents are becoming increasingly prevalent. How are we to understand violence in society and, more importantly, to correct this disturbing trend?

Certainly, an approach must be immediate and include responses by those tasked with public safety — law enforcement, legislators, nonprofit civic action groups, and those in the judicial branch.

But tackling social problems through those venues will not result in the longer term and more comprehensive solutions we need. Such a strategy could be likened to EMTs, paramedics, and emergency room staff treating superficial wounds while ignoring underlying organ or other bodily system damage.

Surely efforts must be made to identify underlying factors that contribute to this troubling social trend weakening our societies. Those factors include, but are not limited to, the perpetration of violence upon the innocent and vulnerable, the venting of frustration and anger through violence, and the inability of people to curb their destructive impulses. Even more deadly are the bullying and dominance of individuals, groups, and larger levels of society based on a perceived division between them and us that is rampant within society.

This article has been informed by the works of scholars I encountered as part of my current graduate degree pursuit at UTS. I present my own views at the conclusion.

One scholar, Wolfhart Pannenberg (1996), notes that currently the religious and spiritual dimension of human beings has been marginalized in the public sphere. He traces this to the thinking behind and actions of the French Revolution, which, among other revolutionary initiatives, included the beheading of those in the monarchy and aristocracy who could not flee the wrath poured upon them, pitted reason against faith, and scapegoated religious institutions (generally the Catholic Church) as sources of repression and injustice, enacting a strict separation of church and state.

In this scenario, the church and religion were seen as the source of problems, not solutions. The separation of church and state in the United States is not as contentious as in many European nations, since the U.S. doesn’t have the antagonistic backstory found in Europe. In the U.S., while religion and government are separated by the Constitution, religion is still considered a potential source of social help and beneficial public service.

While the U.S. is at its core a religious (essentially a Christian) nation (see Himmelfarb, 2004), religion’s presence in the public sphere is noticeably missing. Pannenberg claims that in societies where religion has been reduced in prominence, a profound and debilitating loss of meaning can be found, which he ties to the presence of personal and social violence.

In the last two or three decades, however, it has become evident that secularization (or, as some prefer, progressive modernization) faces severe problems. The thoroughly secularized social order gives rise to feelings of meaninglessness: there is a vacuum in the public square of political and cultural life, and this invites violent outbreaks of dissatisfaction.

Continue reading “What Can Be Done About Violence in Society?” →

17

Passion and Grit: A Spiritual Odyssey

By Gordon L. Anderson

The autobiography of Hugh D. Spurgin, Passion and Grit: A Spiritual Odyssey, is the story of an early follower of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon in America. It reveals the impact of the power of a higher truth on a conscientious and idealistic person who seeks to live the most meaningful life possible.

In the 1960s and 1970s, material prosperity in the United States was high, but traditional religious doctrines had lost their power to explain the nature of reality and human happiness in a scientific world. The baby boomers were coming of age in a world of confused and conflicting values. Some accepted the establishment, others rebelled against it, but still others, like Hugh, sought constructive ways to move forward, discerning what was of value in our traditions, and what needed to change.

Rev. Moon’s teachings put Hugh on a life journey, not only a spiritual path, but as a member of a new community in which he raised his family and became a leader of a worldwide movement that has now reached millions of people. This book is both a chronicle of Hugh’s life and the development of the Unification Church, now the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU), and how Americans worked to bring Rev. Moon’s teachings of a higher culture and more peaceful world.

A Seeker of Truth

Hugh was born in Roswell, New Mexico, in 1945 and grew up in Terre Haute, Indiana. The family attended a Presbyterian Church and his dad was a chiropractor. Hugh liked sports and outdoor activities. After graduating from high school in 1963, he went to Indiana State University and excelled in social sciences, and went on for a master’s degree in public administration at the Maxwell Graduate School in Syracuse, New York. This landed Hugh an internship, and later a full-time administration job with the U.S. Navy in Washington, DC. He had a top-secret clearance and secure employment in the federal government.

Hugh was not content to simply pursue this career. He was always seeking answers to historical and religious problems and ways to make the world better. While studying the Baha’i faith, he was invited to hear several lectures based on Rev. Moon’s teachings at the Unified Family center in a Victorian mansion on Upshur Street. Hugh heard clear answers to some of his questions about evil, God, Jesus, and salvation. It was an eye-opening, comprehensive historical perspective on human history and civilization. It also presented principles about peacefully advancing human society. He decided to join this small group and help transform the world.

When Rev. and Mrs. Moon came to Washington, DC in 1969, they moved into Upshur House for 40 days, spending quality and personal time with Hugh and the other members who lived or gathered there. Hugh was amazed by Moon’s interracial and intercultural approach to marriage, breaking down traditional religious and ethnic boundaries with the goal of creating one world family under God.

Continue reading “Passion and Grit: A Spiritual Odyssey” →

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