My personal 10 commandments

One.  The truth is whatever it is.  Do not prefer lies or illusions to fact.

Two.  Do not devote your life to the pursuit of money, popularity or social status.

Three.  Do not use the language of religion, patriotism or idealism to justify superstition, intolerance or cruelty.

Four.  Take time to rededicate yourself to your best aspirations.

Five.  Honor those who nurtured and taught you.

Six.  Do not treat the lives of other people as less valuable than your own.

Seven.  Do not break promises or betray trusts.

Eight.  Do not cheat or exploit people, nor deny them what is due to them.

Nine.  Do not speak of other people falsely or maliciously.

Ten.  Do not envy someone else’s possessions, reputation, achievements or happiness, nor make yourself unhappy by comparing yourself to others.

Upstate New York and the Spiritualists

I just finished reading The Heyday of Spiritualism by Slater Brown, a used paperback I bought the other day at Bookends, a used-book store on Jefferson Road in suburban Rochester.  It told me a couple of things I hadn’t known about the Spiritualist movement.

I always thought Spiritualism originated with the Fox sisters in Hydesville, near Newark, N.Y.  That would make Spiritualism one of two major religious movements to originate in Wayne County (the other being Mormonism, originating in nearby Palmyra). But according to Slater Brown, it has a long history, going back to the origins of hypnotism and Mesmerism in 18th century France and including the visions of Immanual Swedenborg in 18th century Sweden.  I always thought that the Fox sisters when old admitted their mysterious spirit rappings were a hoax. But according to Brown, that also is wrong. The source of information of the alleged confession is a hostile and unreliable source that the Fox women would hardly have confided in.

Reading the book made me recall what a great intellectual ferment took place in upstate New York during the 19th century. The women’s suffrage movement originated in Seneca Falls, N.Y.  The Shakers and the Oneida Communithy were based in upstate New York.  Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass not only both lived in Rochester, but they knew each other and were good friends. Upstate New York was a stronghold of abolitionism and Universalism (and many Universalists were strongly interested in Spiritualism).

Later on upstate New York became a center of manufacturing industry – Bausch & Lomb Inc., Carrier Corp., Eastman Kodak Co., General Electric Co., IBM Corp. and Xerox Corp. For the most part they were located in this region of the country not because of any geographic advantages or natural resources, but because certain creative individuals happened to live here.

All this seems a contrast to upstate New York today. (If I’m missing something, please add a comment). What is it that makes a region or a nation a hotbed of creativity in a particular era? Is it a matter of chance? Is it a result of certain talented and enterprising individuals happening to be born in one place rather than another? Or are there historical and social factors that can be understood and – maybe – duplicated?

George Tyger’s Rules of the Trail

George Tyger was minister of First Universalist Church of Rochester for six years, then in 2007 enlisted in the U.S. Army as a chaplain. He loved mountaineering and extreme sports. He came up with these rules for mountain hikers that he also applied to walking the path of life.

1. Hike your own hike.
2. Set your own pace, but set a pace.
3. Never pass water without filling up.
4. It is your pack; you decide what goes in it.
5. When lost, look behind you.
6. Never fail to stop at a good view.
7. Look down the trail but watch where you put your feet.
8. Know when to turn around.
9. Hike in the rain.
10. The goal is not the peak; it is the parking lot.