Spirituality
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Individual and Society: Gabor Maté and Jordan Peterson on Addiction
“…depression and addiction are related phenomena, and … they are symptoms of a more general malaise of which the world-ending consequences may be of our own doing.” Continue reading
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My Break up with Social Media
I thought social media loved me for who I was, with its catered advertising and photo- and video-sharing capabilities; but really, it only loved me for the attention I gave to it. Continue reading
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Trump as an Agitator: Prophets of Deceit
Trumpism, Prophets of Deceit suggests, is the inevitable outcome of a social, economic, and political order that generates human needs that it cannot satisfy. Continue reading
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The Choice We Face
“…if mass society is experienced as a force that wears us down as individuals, then our belonging to community should build us up…” Continue reading
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Mental Processing for Study and Life
We only have to remember that to be better is not necessarily connected to what we do or don’t do, to what we think or don’t think. Continue reading
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Meaning in a Murky Context
“the seeming destruction of context is the modus operandi of a more inclusive background which could provide both meaning and beauty to our lives.” Continue reading
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The Sickness Before the Infection, Part 1: Urgently Stopping the Sniffles.
In other words, there is no identifiable locus of the virus. It doesn’t matter whether the virus is transmitted among the community, or brought in on a plane or train. It doesn’t matter whether we have been globally exposed or locally situated, the virus is all around, and it could be transmitted by any of… Continue reading
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Hints and Allegations
“the overlooked habits in human beings’ interactions with one another will also rear their ugly, destructive, and malicious effects on the world around us and within us. Unconscious habits will emerge because we have too often overlooked them, and they will appear and be treated as hints and allegations that exist on the periphery of… Continue reading
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From Doing to Being: What Stories do we tell Ourselves?
Message preached at Fellowship Christian Reformed Church, Edmonton, AB, Canada, October 14, 2018. (Please note that the biblical passages this is based on come after the text of the sermon.) In the Gospel of Mark, we find recorded a story about a rich man, who by his own account, is law-abiding. Surely, measured by every… Continue reading
About me: I am a career educator and traveler at heart. My written work includes academic writing in philosophy and linguistics, English acquisition, and most intently in the areas of spiritual engagement with reality and what that means for our public lives.
My education is a mixture of formal study in philosophy, political theory, Biblical studies, and history, along with professional teaching certification in TESOL and in cognitive testing, and international teaching.
My travel experiences include a range of countries in Asia, Europe, Africa and North America. I have lived in Canada, the United States, Germany, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Thailand. From those places I have traveled to many others besides.
I am a child of the 70’s and a “family man.” That means I have two wonderful kids who have been round the world with me.
Lastly, I am married to a wonderful woman since 2004. She is my partner, my friend, and my muse.
Thanks again for stopping by,
Raymond Klassen - Ideals and Identities 