{"id":315,"date":"2010-05-14T23:32:35","date_gmt":"2010-05-14T23:32:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/raincitypastor.wordpress.com\/?p=315"},"modified":"2010-05-14T23:32:35","modified_gmt":"2010-05-14T23:32:35","slug":"extreme-sports-shamanism-and-the-danger-of-boredom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/richarddahlstrom\/2010\/05\/14\/extreme-sports-shamanism-and-the-danger-of-boredom\/","title":{"rendered":"extreme sports, shamanism, and the danger of boredom"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I\u2019m rereading a favorite old book of mine called, \u201cBone Games\u201d<\/a> right now, about extreme sports and shamanism. \u00a0The author had one of those supernatural experiences that climbers sometimes get when their life is hanging by a thread. \u00a0He was able, after a fall, to down climb a stretch of ice covered rock flakes in Colorado, something most expert climbers wouldn\u2019t be able to do in a state of even perfect health. \u00a0As he writes regarding his perfect presence during the ordeal, \u201cI was the very best version of myself that I could possibly be\u201d<\/em>, and the rest of the book catalogs his academic anthropological quest to understand people who seem endowed with supernatural powers, some of them at will.<\/p>\n

If you overlay the Christian faith on the subject, you come up with lots of conclusions or speculations about demon possession, and those of us who\u2019ve encountered demon possession firsthand know the reality of supernatural capacities that attend those so possessed. \u00a0However, I\u2019m not convinced that\u2019s all there is to it.<\/p>\n

After all, Jesus was alone in the wilderness for 40 days, fasting no less, when he encountered the forces of darkness. \u00a0In other words, his body was involved in his spiritual formation, along with his spirit. \u00a0Only after that did he begin his ministry. \u00a0Moses had 40 days in the mountains with God, alone. \u00a0Let\u2019s not forget about Paul\u2019s word that he \u201cbuffets his body and makes it his slave\u201d in I Corinthians 9, all for the purpose of displaying the power of God.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m only pondering here, but my suspicion is that cultural softness and physical softness lead, invariably to spiritual softness. \u00a0On the other hand, my first response to my own thought is, \u201cOf course not,\u201d \u00a0because the Bible tells us in II Cor. 4:16 that \u201cthough our outer man is decaying our inner man is being renewed day by day.\u201d \u00a0I know old saints who can barely walk, whose face and faith are joy filled and confident.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, there must be something to the relationship between body and spirit, because we crave comfort. \u00a0As a culture one might even argue that we\u2019ve become so addicted to comforts that we\u2019re digging ourselves a hole of debt, in part because of our refusal to live simply. \u00a0I wonder if \u201ccomfort addiction\u201d has spiritual as well as financial consequences. \u00a0The premise of \u201cbone games\u201d, in part anyway, is that they are best suited to live well who are living near the edges, at least some of the time. \u00a0Drop the shamanist labels, and the fear of demon possession, and just look at it this way: \u00a0 If Paul prayed that we would prosper, body, soul, and spirit, wouldn\u2019t it be wise to think about what means? \u00a0I know that I\u2019m a better version of myself after a day that includes some exercise and eating right, than after a day of sleeping too long, surfing the internet, and eating potato chips.<\/p>\n

Not only am I better, but I\u2019m slowly discovering that I\u2019m wholly better, soul, and spirit are better when I\u2019ve lived in direct contact with the earth, faced a challenge or two, and finished my shower on cold. \u00a0I don\u2019t want to make too much of it, but I don\u2019t want to make too little of it either. \u00a0I certainly recognize that each of us have limitations and afflictions, but it\u2019s also true that we can choose to either live in contact with the earth \u2013 cold water, bike rides, smelling flowers, gardening, nights under the stars \u2013 or we can live behind the curtain, watching TV and staying indoors.<\/p>\n

What do you think? \u00a0What\u2019s the relationship between challenging our body\u2019s desires for comfort and ease, and being spiritually healthy?<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m rereading a favorite old book of mine called, \u201cBone Games\u201d right now, about extreme sports and shamanism. \u00a0The author had one of those supernatural experiences that climbers sometimes get when their life is hanging by a thread. \u00a0He was able, after a fall, to down climb a stretch of ice covered rock flakes in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-life","category-reviews"],"yoast_head":"\nextreme sports, shamanism, and the danger of boredom<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I'm rereading a favorite old book of mine called, "Bone Games" right now, about extreme sports and shamanism. \u00a0The author had one of those supernatural\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, 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