June 22, 2012

Realizing Our Personal Legends

"The boy didn't know what a person's "Personal Legend" was. 

"It's what you have always wanted to accomplish.  Everyone, when they are young, knows what their Personal Legend is.

"At that point in their lives, everything is clear and every thing is possible.  They are not afraid to dream, and to yearn for everything they would like to see happen to them in their lives.  But, as time passes, a mysterious force begins to convince them that it will be impossible for them to realize their Personal Legend."

pg 21 The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

This book reminded of my favorite quote from by Marianne Williamson entitled, Our Deepest Fear

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

June's Title Swap

Spell, Write, Read http://www.bhibooks.net/swr.html
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
The Overton Window by Glen Beck
Outliers - Malcolm Gladwell

June 4, 2012

Dynamic Discussion Questions

As book group members, we are going to start writing questions as we read.  The Socratic method of asking thought provoking questions helps us to dig deeper and find more meaning in our studying.  Please create a list of questions that you are willing to ask our group at our meetings.  The following is a list of ideas to help us with this process:

1.  Knowledge - What is going on?
2.  Understanding - Why did this happen?
3.  Principles - look at outcomes.  What behaviors lead to the consequences?
4.  Application - How did the characters live or break these principles?
5.  Interdisciplinary - Compare two characters from different sources?  example: compare Mr. Bennett (from Pride and Prejudice) with Mr. Stratton (from Laddie).

Keep in mind that the main purpose of continuing our education is to seek out WISDOM and VIRTUE through reading the classics.