Category: Culture

Culture is such an all-encompassing term, drawing to itself things like art, music and drama as much as film, television and other modern day pursuits. There’s this whole body of human cultural life, then all that we’ve most recently placed around it. In looking more closely at that, how much do we value, treasure, or respect all it represents?

In terms of what culture brings to society, I’ve talked in various ways previously about the meanings it offers us (see Notes One). For me it’s about that sense of understanding contained within the stories we share, ways we perceive things, and how such ideas might serve us as individuals, consumers or citizens.

As humans, we’ve apparently always tended towards these representations of reality, thought or experience. The vast records of ideas, characters, cultural forms, practices, and how they shaped or interacted with societies or civilisations over the centuries are truly fascinating: this age-old pursuit of meaning and all the ways people sought to actively remind themselves of their place, their values, their past.

Then, in our day, we have this incredible opportunity to experience that whole wealth of culture – as much as is possible – while also quite freely developing our own forms to fit with modern life and hopefully sustain it in valuable ways.

I may come across as cynical or negative at times, but generally I just tend to see the riches that have been placed in our hands and have genuine concerns over how aware or intentional we are in what we’re doing. As explored in History as a process of changes, I get this sense of the weight of our inheritance and also the potential for modern society to overwhelm our capacities to respond wisely.

But then culture today also offers us many beautiful, valuable things (Notes Two). The options we now have to express ourselves truly, find our own place within the palette of human experience, and process life in the company of others are so varied and often worthwhile. The power activities or ideas have to unite people, lift us beyond ourselves, and inspire us with fresh perspectives is clearly undeniable.

And writing here around the theme of Culture, I’ve looked to books, film, blogs, podcasts and music, either drawing out specific ideas that seemed timely or contemplating what’s offered more generally through these forms. This opportunity to look to how others have experienced things and relate that to human society, past or present, seems an incredible resource (if a little daunting, given the volume of content we’re now accumulating).

With all that, I just get the feeling that culture really matters in so many ways. Looking to the past, the ideas we held and ways people have sought to grapple with the concerns of their time then present that in different forms for the consideration of others is such an intriguing, powerful and important human activity. In all the noise of modern life, trusting in the power of ideas and experiences hopefully isn’t misplaced.

Notes and References:

Note 1: Culture, art & human activity
Note 1: Culture and the passing of time
Note 1: Missing something with modern culture?
Note 1: How many aren’t well represented?
Note 1: Culture selling us meaning
Note 2: What do we see in beauty?
Note 2: Fashion, self & environment
Note 2: Romance, love & the movies
Note 2: We may as well laugh

Looking to how society as a whole operates, Economy & Humanity considered ways meaning serves us in that context.

As far as writers go, David Bohm stands out for me as someone highly intelligent yet deeply caring in how he sought a thorough understanding of life. He really cast the net of his mind wide, exploring quantum physics, social dialogue, and turning thought back on itself to see where we might be going wrong.

Which, of course, gets deep and risks becoming inaccessible; despite how clear a communicator he undoubtedly was, as viewable on YouTube. So for now I will focus on some of his ideas around thought and problems it can lead us into.

For Bohm, thought was a way of perceiving; and one that generally offers up partial reality rather than the whole truth. His work exploring how this fragmented view “is leading to a kind of general confusion of the mind, which creates an endless series of problems and interferes with our clarity of perception so seriously as to prevent us from being able to solve most of them”.

Given this was published in the Eighties, it seems remarkable the extent to which he foresaw this heightening of specialisation and the difficulties it might cause: “Individually there has developed a widespread feeling of helplessness and despair, in the face of what seems to be an overwhelming mass of disparate social forces, going beyond the control and even the comprehension of the human beings who are caught up in it”.

Equally impressive is his clarity on the value and limitation of this approach: “In certain ways, the creation of special subjects of study and the division of labour was an important step forward. Even earlier, man’s first realization that he was not identical with nature was also a crucial step, because it made possible a kind of autonomy in his thinking, which allowed him to go beyond the immediately given limits of nature, first in his imagination and ultimately in his practical work”.

We often seem to struggle in separating the worth of modern thinking from its shortcomings; setting one against the other and reaching an impasse (see Notes One). With Bohm there’s a sense of thought having its place, in how we live and within a larger whole:

“In essence, the process of division is a way of thinking about things that is convenient and useful mainly in the domain of practical, technical and functional activities … However, when this mode of thought is applied more broadly to a man’s notion of himself and the whole world in which he lives … man then acts in such a way us to try to break himself and the world up, so that all seems to correspond to his way of thinking”.

In this light, thought becomes a way of seeing that shapes reality while claiming neutrality – a system we don’t quite see for what it is. Seeking that bigger picture and, from there, integrating our ways of being into a harmonious and meaningful whole seems practical and important (Notes Two); if thought’s indeed capable of matching life.

Notes and References:

“Wholeness and the Implicate Order” by David Bohm, (Ark Paperbacks, London), 1983 (originally 1980)

Note 1: Living the dream
Note 1: The ideas of Eckhart Tolle
Note 1: Literature where West meets East
Note 1: “Small is Beautiful”
Note 2: What inspires all of this
Note 2: Mirrors we offer one another
Note 2: “Spiritual Emergency”
Note 2: “New Renaissance”

Ideas around how we see life fitting together form the central premise of “Towards a New World View”.

The idea of music is quite fascinating: that by creating in the world of sound we might also serve to create belonging, mutual understanding, participation, and common feeling. It seems that’s always been part of human society, as a way of setting the tone, marking the passing time, or shifting the mood. Essentially, a way we give meaning to our lives and express our selves.

That sense of self-expression – and being heard by others – seems a big part of it: sharing what matters to us within life, society, or the human condition. Music seems to really connect to our humanity, whether in isolation or togetherness, speaking to the soul and the emotions.

In a way, it takes our personal experiences and makes them general – even universal – through demonstrating how many others feel the same things. The idea of being alone in a crowd yet connected with everyone. How, through being present in the moment, we might take ourselves along on a different journey and feel part of shared human experience.

It’s strange to think how much this is part of our lives: the music that’s accompanied us in difficult or beautiful times, weaving its way through personal and collective experiences, becoming a journey of memory. Songs that resonate with us then serving to mark the stages of our lives, ways we’ve grown, and those feelings we’ve struggled or dwelt with.

Because, in the face of how we feel, what we choose to listen to may presumably serve to reinforce or alleviate our moods and preoccupations. Music seems a powerful thing, capable of shaping emotion in ways we don’t entirely understand. It might soothe our soul and help us find new ways, or effectively trap us in familiar grooves of feeling.

The power of culture to shape the meaning of our lives and engage us in deeper conversations is so interesting (see Notes One). Which is also what I’m wanting to talk about: artists who consciously use their music to inspire, create awareness, and speak to that more universal human condition.

I’ve said before that I have reservations around activism; not because there’s not cause for it, but due to the forms it often takes (Notes Two). For me, paths to change are more through truth and understanding, through individuals freely seeing the value and the wisdom of certain ideas and ways of being.

And, in that, musicians concerned with their humanity can often touch on ideas which have that power. I’m thinking of people like Michael Franti (particularly his albums “Stay Human” and “Yell Fire!”) or maybe Ani DiFranco’s “Knuckle Down”. Music exploring love, involvement, courage, tolerance, conflict, citizenship, and hope among other things.

Expressing experiences or ideas in ways others can come to understand and relate to surely creates opportunities for learning from one another and shedding light on the things that affect us all. And, if we’re each on this journey of finding our place within humanity as a community, music seems a fairly wonderful method of communication.

Notes and References:

Note 1: Culture, art & human activity
Note 1: Missing something with modern culture?
Note 1: Thoughts on art & on life
Note 2: Modern activism in practice
Note 2: Does truth speak for itself?
Note 2: People wanting change

The question of what is evil and what can be done about it is surely an age-old human concern, represented in various ways within different cultures and religions since the beginning of time. And the Tim Ferriss podcast with Dr Philip Zimbardo brings the issue quite nicely into the present day (link below).

It’s essentially a conversation about how to ‘avoid being evil’ drawing on Dr Zimbardo’s work as a psychologist and involvement in the Stanford Prison Experiment, and outlining some basic principles for strengthening your moral compass and becoming aware of the various social or systemic factors that might bypass that and lead us down paths without our really knowing.

All of which is pretty interesting as that experiment highlights how quickly humans can be broken down by their surroundings and lose their sense of right, wrong, and reality itself. The human mind and the power social environment has over it seem essential to grapple with if we hope to understand and be sure of ourselves.

Because one of the clearest truths about humanity seems to be that we’re capable of great things but also undeniably terrible ones (see Note One). How to be clear on that, to understand the nature of “evil” and be sure we’re walking the right path seems incredibly important and also far from straightforward.

After all, what is evil? Is it always this black and white, crystal clear, labelled thing that we’re sure to notice when we see it? Or is it a nuanced, maybe elusive, contorted sense of imbalance that we might conceivably be drawn into through a series of ideas, assumptions, compromises, and loose interpretations of what’s going on?

While these are issues mainly for psychologists and historians, they arguably concern us all. And many of the recommendations Dr Zimbardo has are both simple and powerful: to be aware of the ‘first steps’ towards evil; the risk of seeing anyone as ‘less than human’; the empowerment of anonymity; the inclination to obedience or conformity; and the importance of our social environment in shaping what we see as acceptable.

Drawing out what that means in terms of society, education, parenting, technology, culture, belief, and personal development is clearly a massive undertaking with far-reaching implications for how we live (Notes Two).

Where does society learn these things? Because if we take “evil” to be a kind of extreme form of ‘normal’ psychology – a putting of self before the interests of others, a disregard for social conventions – then we’re wandering into the territory of morals, right and wrong, the fundamental human condition of self against others, and the very principles that serve to bind us together as human communities.

It’s a word that gets thrown around a lot, and rightly so, but it also seems far from simple to define or avoid. Having said that, finding clarity and certainty in this area seems worthwhile, as not being evil – in the big and the little ways – must be one of the more important things in life.

Notes and References:

‘The Tim Ferriss Show’ podcast on “How to Not Be Evil” https://tim.blog/2017/03/08/how-to-not-be-evil-dr-phil-zimbardo/

Note 1: The human spirit
Note 2: Laws and lawlessness
Note 2: Morality and modern thought
Note 2: Age, politics and human reasoning
Note 2: Does it matter if others suffer?
Note 2: Anger as a voice
Note 2: Need to stand alone & think for ourselves

I find myself slightly hesitant in writing this, because I don’t generally write directly about people as much as considering their work. But in the case of Russell Brand the two seem so closely combined it’s almost impossible to speak of one without the other.

Which is a truth in itself, I suppose. He’s someone who’s taken his life experiences, his personal journey through various difficulties and his broader search for meaning and made ‘all of that’ part of what he offers us as a public figure.

And it seems in many ways that he is quite representative of modern life in an extreme form: struggling with finding an acceptable place in society, with how to contribute something worthwhile, with the image we present to the world and how it makes us feel, with what seems right and constructive both personally and collectively, and with how to overcome things that challenge us.

As part of that, he seems to offer an interesting example of how we might work through our difficulties and hopefully face up to them with responsibility and optimism. So many people seem to be battling addictions of numerous sorts in life, making mistakes and needing to find ways beyond it all. Presenting a flawed yet human face to the world takes courage.

And, in grappling with the realities of existence, Brand presents an image of both intelligence and individualism; a lively and curious mind looking to make connections and find answers.

But while that rather public journey does seem to have value in itself, I suppose what interests me most – and the reason I’ve chosen to write this – is his relatively recent move into more social, political and spiritual conversations on his podcast “Under The Skin”. In this, he seems a fairly unique voice within British culture as he applies that inquisitive and open mind to exploring many of the ideas modern society rests upon.

While I might not necessarily agree with all the ideas expressed there or the manner in which they are raised, that’s not really the point. For me, it’s that deeper conversations start happening and words are found to wander into sometimes uncharted territories and begin to find our bearings.

That someone would willingly push themselves into the unknown then seek to find their feet out there under intense public scrutiny seems both fascinating and valuable. Because the journey to personal and social understanding is one we are all on in a way, as we try to reach for ideas to make sense of our lives and figure out what to do for the best.

That’s never really going to be easy, or perfect, but I think it helps that we’re not alone in our questioning. So, quite aside from his successful career in other areas, the way Russell Brand is starting these conversations around some often complex, unusual and important issues, and the fact he lets us in on these personal journeys of transformation, seem some quite interesting contributions to modern society.

Notes and References:

“Under The Skin” podcast is accessible via https://www.russellbrand.com/podcasts/

When thinking about films, I personally tend to draw of a bit of a line around the turn of the millennium. Simply because technology seems to really have changed how we are as people and the kind of stories we’re able to tell. Movies before that time often have a certain innocence and also a weight to them that’s somehow lacking later. Before, and increasingly so the further back you look, things generally seem more ‘real’.

Obviously I’m talking generally here. This isn’t a clearly defined or rigorous thesis. But overall, the spread of technology within society itself as well as its use in the media industries seems to have changed things quite substantially.

Maybe it’s the distraction of possibility: technology can act as a portal allowing almost anything to happen. In life and in storytelling, it’s hard to maintain focus and give weight to what we do when the possibilities are endless. We might be present in the room, but we might also be doing something completely different and unrelated.

In real life as much as representations of it, tech gives us freedoms where, previously, our limitations may have given real substance to our actions (see Notes One). While it might be clumsy, the parallel that jumps to mind is weightlifting and how the challenge of resistance imparts strength and hones our intentions.

To ground this in examples, there are films like “The Net”, “They Live” or the “Terminator” franchise that explored the anticipated consequences of machines (or others) taking over our lives. But even when the stories had very little directly to do with technology, there’s a perceptible difference to how people speak, act and relate: they seem more present, more sincere, more powerful somehow in their relative isolation.

In so many areas of life technology has shifted the goalposts of what’s possible. Almost as if the walls were removed and we can go anywhere we please. Now, anyone can make a film or create an image, and almost anything can happen. That must make it hard to focus, choose the line to walk, and know what is ‘enough’ in the light of what’s now achievable.

Rediscovering that edge, that place where stories and characters have weight and actions connect, is quite an interesting challenge. It seems to be as much an art of ‘saying no’ to many of the possibilities we are offered: we can do almost anything, but what’s the right thing to choose?

Or maybe it’s more that we’ve changed. Maybe as humans we’re more jaded, less innocent, and generally distracted by the new pace of life. Maybe technology has changed how we are and what we expect out of films. And there must be a reflexiveness to culture, in that what we see in turn shapes what we consider to be normal.

As I said, these are generally quite anecdotal observations. I just know that in films made before that time there’s almost a refreshing innocence of looking back to when things were real.

Notes and References:

Note 1: Reality as a sense check
Note 1: “Towards a New World View”
Note 1: Using internet to construct community
Note 1: Community – what it was, what we lost
Note 1: Modern activism in practice
Note 1: “Education’s End”
Note 1: “Response Ability” by Frank Fisher

The idea of “The Tipping Point” has become fairly commonplace since the book’s publication in 2000, but it still raises a lot of interesting issues around how we live and the directions things seem to be moving.

In essence, the book looks at ways our social and physical surroundings influence our behaviour; how trends become compelling, seeping into commonly held ideas and changing our standards of what’s acceptable, inevitable, justifiable, and so on. We might be talking about crime, fashion, television, or social principles but, at a certain point, a line is crossed and things change.

A core part of which is environmental: how what we see shapes what we see as acceptable and also plays off our social inclinations to fit in. Gladwell offers a range of scenarios demonstrating how “a number of relatively minor changes in our external environment can have a dramatic effect on how we behave and who we are”, bringing out either the best or the worst (see Notes One)

Then there’s the sense of our actions having a social aspect, creating a perceived affirmation or permissiveness over standards of behaviour (Notes Two). It’s certainly interesting to dwell on the collective nature of all we do and the messages we’re sending others. Building on which, Gladwell explores how public life can be “a kind of natural advertisement for a particular response to your problems”: ways we follow others; ideas that begin to seem normal; and the importance of speaking responsibly in these spaces.

All of which presumably arose as natural human functions: physical surroundings displayed and reinforced shared values, as did our social and cultural interactions. These seem the bones of human society. The fact they’re now dissected, laid bare, and played upon to various ends is an interesting sign of the times.

Yet at the core of all this are individuals with the power to choose. Things might exert a subconscious influence on us, which may appeal to business or government, but our values can also shape our actions. As with Gladwell’s discussion of the bystander effect, there’s the question of whether we rest in our subconscious assumptions or develop a more intentional approach to life (Notes Three).

Because my reservation about this book is the extent to which it helps us live better. Does ‘knowing’ how much things influence us help or actually diffuse their power to hold society together? Do we then act differently and ‘play’ the system more knowingly? Do we become cynical and begin to mistrust situations and the people acting behind them? Whether this knowledge gives us power or gives it away isn’t quite clear.

Ultimately though, the message is “a bedrock belief that change is possible” and “a reaffirmation of the potential for change and the power of intelligent action”. Shining a light on all the intriguing ways we create meaning and interact with the world may be ripe for exploitation and misuse, but it also offers us the conscious awareness to hopefully put it to good use.

Notes and References:

“The Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell, (Abacus, UK), 2001 (originally 2000)

Note 1: “Ecological Intelligence”
Note 1: Laws and lawlessness
Note 2: Individual responsibility, collective standards
Note 2: Complicity and cultural attitudes
Note 3: Need to stand alone & think for ourselves
Note 3: Media and responsibility
Note 3: People wanting change

“The fact that some choice is good doesn’t necessarily mean that more choice is better” is the central premise of “The Paradox of Choice” by Barry Schwartz, a fascinating and readable book exploring some psychology behind the spread of consumerism and ways we might go about managing that reality.

Schwartz starts with ideas around freedom, pointing out “we do ourselves no favor when we equate liberty too directly with choice, as if we necessarily increase freedom by increasing the number of options available” as “clinging tenaciously to all the choices available to us contributes to bad decisions, to anxiety, stress, and dissatisfaction”.

Drawing attention to the volume of choice in education, entertainment, finance, health and beauty, belief, relationships, and even identity, Schwartz observes “we now face a demand to make choices that is unparalleled in human history”. It’s interesting to see this summarised succinctly and humorously, and it naturally raises questions about the cumulative effect. If this is ‘how life is’, can we consciously navigate it?

The book addresses this by examining the process of decision making: setting and evaluating goals; identifying and selecting from options; attempts to influence us below our conscious awareness; and the challenge of finding reliable information, given all that’s now online.

This, of course, is the essence of our economic system: that “individual freedom of choice ensures the most efficient production and distribution of society’s goods” (see Notes One). And as humans we naturally want to belong, progress, and make the best of life and the options we’re given; but what’s the subjective cost of it all, in terms of satisfaction and peace of mind?

If “our most fundamental sense of well-being crucially depends on our having the ability to exert control over our environment and recognizing that we do”, then “perhaps there comes a point at which opportunities become so numerous that we feel overwhelmed”.

Schwartz goes on to consider links between happiness, money, and restrictions on freedom: how commitments such as marriage, religion and other social ties essentially limit us in a way but also serve to give life meaning and happiness. Perhaps excessive freedom and choice might diminish our sense of control, leading to feelings of helplessness or depression.

Ways we regret what we do and don’t do; how the burden of choice can lead to feelings of incapacity; and our inclination to compare outcomes with hopes, expectations, and experiences of others certainly hint at quite considerable psychological impacts. If ‘having to choose’ creates all this mental baggage, then maybe the wiser choice is to create limits for our own well-being (as much as anything else).

It’s a book with simple advice and far-reaching implications, bringing to mind the conclusions of Aldous Huxley in “Brave New World Revisited” about whether people might relinquish the burden of choice even though “without freedom, human beings cannot become fully human and that freedom is therefore supremely valuable”. We are free, but choices come at a cost; so being clear what we’re doing seems pretty important.

Notes and References:

“The Paradox of Choice. Why more is less” by Barry Schwartz, (HarperCollins, New York), 2004.

Note 1: Fashion, self & environment
Note 1: Is sustainable design an impossibility?
Note 1: Money as a pivot of matter & intention
Note 1: The business of spiritual ideas
Note 1: Why listen to media that exists to profit?
Note 1: Culture selling us meaning

On a similar note, Need to stand alone & think for ourselves looked at these ideas of deciding our own path in life.

The challenge of communication may be one of the more fundamental concerns of our existence, as “each moment with another person can be an opportunity for discovery and growth or for the erosion of identity and the destruction of one’s personhood … One does not become fully human without interaction with other human beings.”

How we relate to others, and what that means and creates personally and socially, seems central to human life (see Notes One); and “People Skills” by Robert Bolton captures both the specifics and underlying principles in quite a timeless way without gimmicks or oversimplifications. While our interactions may have changed, what it is to be human and communicate meaningfully presumably hasn’t.

Bolton talks of how “as children, we learned by the example of the significant others in our lives as well as from their instructions to us”, then “cultural norms in our society reinforce much of the training we received.” So, ways individuals, practices and principles teach us to view others and the world around us; or, the broader task of education and of life (Note Two).

The text addresses barriers to communication, listening skills, assertiveness, and managing conflict; before considering some essential foundations of human relationship: genuineness, non-possessive love, and empathy. The idea being that learning specific skills helps us develop an understanding of those underlying ideals: form leading to function.

Love for people as they are and acceptance of a person (if not their behaviour) creates a foundation of mutual respect and freedom, while establishing ground for addressing differences. As “each individual has a unique personal space – a physical, psychological, and values territory which is hers … Within our life space, we exercise the prerogatives of our own individuality. Outside of this personal space we move in a common area where the rights of others need to be considered and where adaptability is required.”

Yet in modern life both that ‘space’ and the tolerance of it are under pressure, as social changes bring us closer in our orbits while blurring our more traditional boundaries. In many ways, technology merges our personal space with that common one: blending friendship with consumerism or activism, and presenting social communication alongside that of media or business (Notes Three).

Then, empathy: “walking with another person into the deeper chambers of his self … experiencing the feelings of another without losing one’s own identity.” So, understanding what life’s like for another, as if you were them; “a kind of detached involvement”. Again, something Western society grapples with in the sense of either detachment and carelessness, or the ways we’re swept up in the feeling lives of others.

In many ways, modern life is altering how we see one another and the world around us; with society, culture and education now facing up to the need and the challenge of reworking our understanding to meet that changing world. Coming to a clearer appreciation of the principles of human nature and practical ways of approaching one another seem key parts of that.

Notes and References:

“People Skills” by Robert Bolton, Ph.D., (Touchstone, Simon & Schuster), 1986 (originally 1979).

Note 1: Mirrors we offer one another
Note 1: Listening, tolerance & communication
Note 2: Learning to be human
Note 3: Using internet to construct community
Note 3: Modern activism in practice
Note 3: Reality as a sense check

With podcasts, the thing I tend to love most is the articulation of the human spirit overcoming adversity or developing greater capacity.

In Podcasts as conversation I spoke about the value of giving voice to the personal journey and expressing our humanity; about the lessons we learn in life and ways we can share that with others, maybe empowering them to do likewise or at least to avoid certain pitfalls.

Which, in a way, becomes this living metaphor for what it is to be human: flawed or imperfect individuals seeking to move beyond limitations, discover capabilities, and become all they feel they can become; a sense that we all have something to learn or move past, as well as a dream or hope for what we might attain or contribute through life.

Podcasts I’ve been listening to lately (Rich Roll, Tim Ferriss, Finding Mastery) fall within this idea of the ‘spirit of reinvention’: learning from those who might have “messed up” or “failed” and put in the hard work to get things back, or those who faced up to difficult situations or obstacles to create uncommon strength or insight; the idea of giving people another shot or bearing with the time it might take to turn things around.

That picture of growth and change seems so human, whether we encounter it through conversation or in literature (see Notes One). In the past, our journeys may have been of exploration or discovery, but now there seems this common thread of people overcoming themselves and finding inner courage they didn’t know they had.

Of course there are still battles to be fought and progress to be made externally, but this sense of conquering ourselves is an interesting one as well. It could be that each of us must come to terms with our own issues in life and find ways beyond them, mustering the strength and conviction to move on in the best direction we can.

And, while each of those journeys must necessarily be extremely personal, these podcasts offer some common and transferable threads: ways of approaching our struggles, understanding others, moving through uncertainty to learning, and looking differently at “failure”. Rather than offering a ‘one size fits all’ solution, such conversations offer up a wealth of experience, encouragement, and faith in the human spirit.

In life, I’m not sure we can ever accept the solutions of others: each situation seems personal, complex and unique; so each particular path in life would surely be similarly so (Notes Two). It may be that we head in a similar direction, but the lessons we learn will likely be slightly different and we’ll all have our story to tell as a result.

So, it seems the most we can really offer one another is our experiences and what we’ve learnt from them; leaving others to draw what they can and what they need to help them in their own lives. And, within the diversity of modern culture, these voices seem to help with that.

Notes and References:

Note 1: Spiritually committed literature
Note 1: Learning to be human
Note 2: Does truth speak for itself?
Note 2: Need to stand alone & think for ourselves
Note 2: People wanting change