On Science and Religion

Sometimes I feel that I have two people living inside of me, who do not always get along that easily. The first of these has the eye and mind of an artist: she takes her inspiration from the clouds and trees and birds, she writes poetry and stories and paints, she has interesting dreams and likes to think about what they might mean, she has little trouble believing in magic and faeries and other things. Then there is my other self, who is the scientist: she is a rational and disciplined person, she organizes her life well and makes lists, she analyzes the world and people's actions around her, and she is very skeptical, critical, and sometimes even cynical.

Why is that so often art and science, or religion and science, are viewed as opposites, resulting in irreconcilable views of the world? Some prominent scientists have only made this attitude worse, by portraying religion as a blight that ought to be done away with. Yet it was not always so. Isaac Newton, that great idol of undergraduate physics classes (as I know so well), who developed calculus (along with Gottfried Liebniz), the famous three laws of motion, and the theory of gravitation, was also an alchemist and a (rather unorthodox) theologian who made predictions of the date when the world would end from his studies of the Bible. (According to Wikipedia, he apparently predicted not before 2060. So I'm still holding out for then; if anyone could predict the correct date of the end of the world, it would be Newton).

Instead of reaching for a holistic view of the world that encompasses science, art, religion, and more, modern students specialize. And not only is the decision between art and science. Within science for example, there are the three main disciplines: biology, chemistry, and physics. Within physics, for example, the student can choose from optics, electronics, thermodynamics, astrophysics, geophysics, biophysics, and probably others that I don't know of. So in specializing, the student's understanding of the world becomes fractured and incomplete. Not only does the astrophysicist not understand religion, poetry, psychology, or biology, she also does not understand everything about the other disciplines within physics.

This year I have changed my program of study from physics to natural resource science. Because I did not take biology in high school, I have had to take a university prep course in biology before I can take first-year biology next year. And I have to admit that I am shocked that I, an honour roll student in high school, a student with a high GPA and already 2 and a half years of postsecondary education, had such little knowledge of biological concepts such as cell theory, evolution, genetics, etc. And that's just in science. Since I've always been an avid reader, I'm a bit more comfortable when it comes to literature. As to history, sure, I know the basics of Canadian and world history but I'm definitely hazy on the details. In the fine arts, such as painting, sculpture, etc., I am shamefully uneducated. (I am, again, a bit more comfortable in music since I took band for 5 years in high school.)

While there are many intelligent people out there today, their education and understanding of the world is fractured. Those involved with science and religion are often committing that terrible crime of judging the other without having all the information. I have witnessed this attitude among scientists first hand. Both people my own age and older people often have a tendency to dismiss those who are religious or who hold beliefs that are not validated by science as "silly" or as "flakes."

And then there is the attitude of some people towards science: viewing it as cold and dispassionate, obsessed with finding the answers and explaining everything, leaving no mystery in the world. From personal experience, I can say that this is not the case. Most scientists would agree that the more you find out about something, the more you realize you don't know. Studying science has made me more aware and in awe of the great mysteries that are in the world around us everyday.

Science and religion need not be enemies. Both try to answer those deep questions that have puzzled the ages. How did we get here? Where are we going? How should we live our lives? They are both valuable ways of looking at the world, but it would be a mistake to judge religion by the standards of science, or vice versa.

Really, I'm Not Trying to be Different on Purpose

My mother asked me once, "Why do you always have to be so different?"

"That's just the way I am," I replied. I was surprised by the question. I have never tried to change the way I am to fit in with a certain group of people or to satisfy certain expectations that others may have had of me. Yet I had never thought that others might think I purposely did things in order to be seen as "different."

In elementary school, when my classmates were playing in the playground, I was scribbling away in a notebook, already planning the great novels I would write when I became a famous writer sometime in the future. In high school, when most of the other girls were living in a world of makeup and clothes and dating, I was contemplating my spirituality and my place in the universe and planning to become a great physicist.

Now in university, I'm this strange person who gets up earlier in the morning than anyone else, and wanders around campus taking pictures of trees and plants when most other people are planning their evening of partying and having a few drinks at the pub. I still write, although these days its usually journal entries, poetry, or blog posts. I was a physics major for 2 and a half years and then realized that I would go crazy if I continued on that path any longer and I am now studying natural resource science.

I've just always done what I have wanted to do and not really cared about what anyone else is doing. And I have to admit it can be a lonely way of life. Yet I have not purposely made these decisions in my life just to be different. Or have I...

A while ago I did an online questionaire that told me my greatest fear is conformity. And I suppose it is true that I have some fear that one morning I will wake up and discover that I am just like everyone else. Does the fact that I do not own a cell phone relate to my deep fear of telephones or simply to the fact that I would be mortified to be caught walking around with my cell phone glued to my hand and ear like any other person?

But I'm not planning to change. I like being the way I am. I know that I see things that other people miss - small things like birds and leaves and curiously-shaped cracks in the sidewalk. And really, I'm not trying to be different on purpose.

Forward and Back on the Druid Path

It was with some surprise that I lately realized that I have been calling myself a Druid for about 2 years. Or perhaps to say that I "call myself a Druid" is a bit presumptuous; after all, the Druids of old supposedly had many years of education. (Well, I suppose I have also had many years of education; I began preschool at age 2.) But perhaps I'll simply say that I have been following the Druid path for 2 years.

I first came to the realization that the way in which I was being drawn spiritually matched very well with what many people were calling Druidry about halfway through the first year of university. I am now halfway through the third year of university. Two years sounds longer than it feels. It still feels as though I am just beginning. The other Druid and pagan bloggers whose blogs I read seem so much more advanced and to know so much more than I do (and probably their blogs are more interesting). I have to keep reminding myself that I am young and I have many years of study and practice ahead of me.

Speaking of that study and practice, I have been feeling that my Druidic studies have been stagnating lately. Why? I am ashamed to admit that this is mainly due to laziness and lack of motivation. Something to work on this year...

Some specific things I want to work on this year:

• Daily meditation and prayer - For about the last 6 months or so I have kept up with a fairly regular morning yoga practice. But I would like to add to this, by practicing meditation and prayer daily, both morning and evening (and whenever else it seems appropriate). I'll start small, with meditation for about 5 minutes at a time.
• Nature walks - Last fall, I was taking a walk around campus about every other day. But ever since the winter weather has begun I have hardly gone outside except to go to class, shopping, etc. I need to start these walks again. I think it is important to experience the land in all the seasons, no matter what the weather. I'll try to take a long walk around campus at least once a week.
• Art/poetry journal - I recently began an art journal.  I want to continue working in it (preferably creating a page a day) and I think it will now become an art/poetry journal. I want to work on writing poetry, perhaps not a poem a day but perhaps 2 or 3 a week. Since I work better with more concrete goals than simply "write more poetry," I have decided to work through the exercises in the book The Practice of Poetry: Writing Exercises from Poets Who Teach edited by Robin Behn and Chase Twichell. I picked this book up last fall in a used bookstore and the exercises look fun. I can't wait to try them out! I am also eagerly awaiting the arrival of my own copy of The Decorated Journal by Gwen Diehn.
• Nature awareness - A while ago I set myself the goal of photographing as many as possible of the living creatures (animals, plants, fungi, etc.) that live on our property. I have quite a few of the wildflowers and shrubs photographed already and I would like to begin creating an album of photographs, perhaps also including some information about the species and dried leaves and flowers. I also want to take more photographs of birds, butterflies, mushrooms, lichens, trees, small mammals, etc.
• Celtic studies - One of the reasons I have identified with the Druid path is that I am drawn toward the Celtic mythos. I lean somewhat toward the perspective of Celtic Reconstructionist paganism (CR) since I believe that the study of Celtic culture, archaeology, history, and mythology is important. Books on these topics are hard to find around here in libraries but luckily I was given some gift cards recently so I have been able to purchase some books on Celtic mythology and culture which should be arriving soon.
• Finally, I want to live more simply and mindfully. Part of this involves using the computer less (but don't worry, I'll still be blogging regularly).

So there it is, my list of what I want to work on this year. You can call them New Year's resolutions if you like (but I don't like that term so I'm not going to). I'll let you know in a year how it all works out...