Spirituality
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Liberal Democracies buttressed by Illiberal Forces: a Social Imaginary
“what is meant by individual freedom is hotly contested and not just a brute fact. It must be nurtured and grown. This is how I experience my moment of bliss over bacon and eggs. This emerging freedom is a profoundly different social imaginary than the one on offer by liberal democracy.” Continue reading
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Rosie
I hope, at some point, a kind stranger will be a safe light in the middle of the night for my youngest. Continue reading
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My Tribe
My Tribe Let me be clear, I don’t come from a tribal society. We know that being tribal is bad and being multicultural is good, don’t we? Yet when I write that, I am not so sure. I guess I’d like to say I don’t have a tribal heritage, but, on the other hand, it… Continue reading
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Prayer and Meditation
The spiritual without being religious people, these new practitioners of meditation, claim a connection to the spiritual life by doing nothing, least of all, praying. But, meditation without prayer is not actually meditative. Continue reading
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Authenticity: Being Yourself in a World Designed to Make You Someone Else
Can we know ourselves from moment to moment, every day, not with words or descriptions, but with an actual perception of our inner selves being intact and authentically ours? In other words, we do not have to live out a story, but instead, we experience a reality. Continue reading
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My Prayer for Actions in Israel / Palestine
Dearest Lord, Thou has told us that if we confess our sins that Thou art faithful to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Dearest Lord, I dare to name the sins of my people, and especially the ones of which I am also responsible. I have been an imperialist expander,… Continue reading
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The Avatar, Authenticity and Why Palestinians are Returning to Northern Gaza
Authenticity, as the Palestinians are manifesting, invests in home, in land, and in community instead of ideological notions of a “Zionist” state, Continue reading
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Authenticity, Scapegoating, and Peace
To practically everybody, peace simply means the absence of any physical violence that might cast a shadow over lives devoted to the satisfaction of their mimetic desires for comfort and pleasure. Continue reading
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Becoming Unbusy
Unravel and let go of this advertised version of luxury. When we begin to see our own role in our busyness and become intentional, then life slows down… 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 