Am I still me? Let me explain why I ask this question.

I read somewhere that every cell in the human body (with the possible exception of brain cells) dies and is completely replaced every seven years. That means that every seven years our bodies are made up of completely different material than they were seven years before.

For example, I went to Columbia, South America 28 years ago. That means all of the physical material of my body has been replaced 4 times since then. No physical part of me that went to Columbia still exists today. So am I still me?

If you answer my question with no, then who am I now? Where did I go?

But if you answer my question with yes, then I must be something non-physical, because everything physical about me has been replaced. For example, if I take a brand new car and replace every part and piece of that car — all the fenders and every other part of the body, every part of the frame, the whole interior, the engine and everything else under the hood, the power train, the axles, wheels, gas tank, tires, everything — is it the same car? Of course not! I built a totally different car.

So why aren’t I a different person? Because unlike a car, I am more than physical. My body is not me. It is my earth suit. That is why my body can be completely changed and yet I remain me. That is why I will survive my body! In fact, I have already survived my body 4 times since I was in Columbia. And I am still me!

Pope Benedict XVI spoke recently in Austria urging Westerners to rediscover Christianity and to revitalize the Church. He said: Christianity is: “more than a moral code. It is a way of life, of family and relationship to society. It contains within itself great moral strength which is so urgently needed today on account of the challenges of our times.”

I also believe that much of Christianity has been lost or allowed to die. Christianity has become creeds rather than deeds, ritual rather than a personal relationship with God, passive rather than active, entertaining (or boring) rather than challenging, unemotional rather than passionate, meeting focused rather than focused on serving others, dominated by men’s names and personalities rather than led by the Spirit, shaped by our society rather than transforming our society.

Would you like to rediscover Christianity? Read the New Testament book of Acts. It gives the history of the earliest Christians. Their Christianity was amazing! Why should we settle for anything less that what they did and what they experienced? I agree with the Pope on this one! Let’s revitalize Christianity in the Western world!

The concept of race was developed in the Western world during the 17th Century as an attempt to justify the terrible crimes that were being committed against Africans. The nominally Christian West needed a way to ease their conscience for forcibly taking human captives from Africa, putting them trough the torturous Middle Passage of the Atlantic, and holding them and their descendants in life-long bondage and forced labor.

The African characteristics of a dark complexion and kinky hair were said to make them a different and inferior race than the Europeans. East Asians were also defined as another race because of their eye slant and skin tone.

The truth is, however, the only race is the human race. Skin color means no more than eye color. Do my blue eyes make me a different race than you brown eyed folks?

We are still stuck on the myth of race in our time. Every time we fill our a form we are asked to continue this myth by writing down our race. Personally I check the “other” category or write in “human” for my race.

Our news reporters constantly refer to people by the shade of their skin. But this is a very slanted approach. I have never heard a reporter say: ”A blue eyed man robbed a convenience store last night.” Why not?

Our society still uses the myth of race to define, separate, and marginalize people. Like the Pharisee in Jesus’ parable, the concept of race allows us to look down on people and say (or think); “Thank God I’m not like them.”

In reality, however, we all bleed red. Isn’t it time we erase the myth of race and embrace our shared humanity?

Motivation Quotation: “Free will is the power of a soul to direct itself by deliberate choice towards whatever it decides. Let us make sure that our soul directs itself deliberately only towards what is good, so that we always consume our remembrance of evil with good thoughts.” –Diadochas of Photiki

Diadochas’ Motivation For Self-Direction: No matter which direction your thoughts, habits, fears, or biological tendencies are pulling you, you still have the power of free will. You can always make a deliberate choice to redirect your life any way you want it to go.

Many people are like pool balls. They are constantly being knocked around, bounced off rails, and slammed into pockets by whatever ”cue ball” bangs into their lives. But being bumped about by beliefs, feelings, and circumstances turns a person into a passive victim rather than a self-directed victor.

By definition self-direction cannot be passive. It must be deliberate and intentional. We must choose how we want to think, feel, and behave and then continually struggle and strive to turn our choices into daily reality.

If we stop pressing toward personal victory, we will be drawn back toward defeat and despair. But if every day we keep earnestly seeking good thoughts and behaviors, they will eventually overcome our memory of past self-destruction and wrong doing. Through the spiritual discipline of self-direction towards the good, we can begin to build peace, joy, contentment, and well-being into our life.

Diadochas was born about 400 AD. He was bishop of Photiki in what is now northern Greece. He is one of the writers featured in The Philokalia, a 5 volume collection of ancient writings by Orthodox spiritual leaders.

Rock stars really do die young. A recent study (reported by Associated Press) of British and North American rock and pop stars was conducted by researchers at Liverpool John Moores University. It concluded that rock stars are more than twice as likely to die prematurely than non-rock stars of the same age.

The leader of the research team is Mark Bellis. He said that their study shows that the sterotype of rock stars is true — that their drug and alcohol fueled lifestyle takes a toll on their lifespan.

It is good to know that modern research confirms the fact that our thoughts and behaviors determine our destiny. That is good news because even if we are on a path toward self-destruction, we can begin to redirect our thoughts and behaviors and thus change our future.