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NoiseMarch 31, 2009Ecclesiastes 1:2-4 Vanity of vanities! All is vanity. What do people gain from all the toil at which they toil under the sun? A generation goes, a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. I recently heard a report on National Public Radio (NPR) about television commercials. Marketers have discovered that the airways are too cluttered. They are looking for new ways to make commercials "more effective" to their audiences. Currently focus groups are the main way that marketers gage a commercial's effectiveness, but a company called Neuro Focus offers another way. Rather than depending upon focus group feedback, Neuro Focus has developed a device to measure one's brainwave activity while watching a commercial. This device can supposedly measure three things: if the viewer is paying attention, emotionally engaged, and will remember the information given. Although an effective tool for marketers, this sounds reminiscent of brainwashing to me. The reality is we are being brainwashed everyday. Marketers send us relentless messages on the web, television, radio, bill boards, etc. Everyone is bidding for our attention and will pay big money to get it. The young, the old, and the in-between are constantly being told what we need to live happy and fulfilled lives. The scary part is that most of us don't even realize how all this noise influences the decisions we make and the values we have. Is it possible to escape the noise around us and decide for ourselves what is important to us without the help of media? Thomas à Kempis (c. 1379-1471), a monk and author of The Imitation of Christ (1441), believed that in order to fully encounter God we must practice the disciple of solitude. In a modern paraphrase of his book, Kempis states, "What's the remedy for a talkathon? It's easier to cut out the conversation altogether than it is to cut it down...The person who wants to arrive at interiority and spirituality has to leave the crowd behind and spend some time with Jesus." Although Kempis didn't spend his entire life in isolation, he was a staunch proponent of taking time to be alone with God. This is easy for a monk to say, but much more difficult for those outside the monastery walls. Although Kempis lived in a time and place very different that we live today, his message on the necessity of solitude remains as relevant as ever. When was the last time that we were able to still our minds? When was the last time we removed ourselves from the hustle and bustle of life and into the presence of God? Solitude is something that we must make happen. It doesn't happen in church, nor does it happen when we are in a bible study or even a prayer group. Although those things are beneficial to our spiritual lives, solitude means ALONE. In a world where neuro transmitters measure our interest in superficial marketing ploys, how do we turn down the noise in our daily lives into order to encounter the holy divine? What noise distracts you from God? This week, make a list of two or three practical steps you can take to stop rushing around, spinning your wheels, and running scared from life's pressures. You do not have to reinvent the monastic life; but absorb into your heart and mind the soul's desperate cry to spend some time alone with God. Prayer: God, rescue me from the noise that surrounds me. Restore me with your calming presence. Amen. For more informationRev. Leigh Martin |
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