Baby Boomers Articles

Spiritual, Emotional & Mind Awakening (or possibly numbing)

1. Waiter! There's an angel in my latte!
2. Thoughts are Things
3. What are you waiting for?
4. Changes Happen

Waiter! There's an angel in my latte!

"You are not an accident. Your parents may not have planned you, but God did. He wanted you alive and created you for a purpose. Focusing on yourself will never reveal your real purpose. You were made by God and for God, and until you understand that, life will never make sense. Only in God do we discover our origin, our identity, our meaning, our purpose, our significance and our destiny."

So states the Rev Rick Warren, author of a recent religio-pop bestseller, The Purpose-Driven Life , in this latest quote intended to go on Starbucks paper coffee cups as part of the chain's "The Way I See It" campaign. (1) What is illuminating about the quote is not so much its content but that Warren has been chosen by Starbucks as a notable American whose opinion will speak to and inspire "traditional coffee-house" discussion amongst its predominantly baby-boomer clientele. The selection of the quote, and the success of Warren 's book, highlights the relevance of spirituality to the baby-boomer generation.

The importance accorded to spirituality in their lives was noted by social commentators around the time the "leading-edge" of the baby-boomer generation began to approach 50 (mid 1990s). It was given its fullest examination in the book Spiritual Marketplace: Baby Boomers and the Remaking of American Religion by Wade Clark Roof (1999). That anyone should ask themselves "What's it all about?" as they reach mid-life is not surprising. This is a time when key aspects of life can undergo profound challenges - the leaving home of children, the aging, illness or death of one's parents, the reconsideration of what one has achieved thus far, the looming prospect of one's own retirement and eventual mortality, etc. What is surprising perhaps is the extent to which the boomers in Roof's study had turned to matters spiritual, including organised religion, to find the answers.

The baby-boom generation (1946-1964) is generally considered to be the most sceptical and rebellious of traditional social codes of any in the twentieth century, yet Roof estimates that at least 75% of them are actively engaged in some sort of spiritual activity. Through extensive interviews with a large cohort, Roof divides the baby-boom generation into 5 sub-cultures: the Born Again; the Mainstream Believers, Metaphysical Believers and Seekers; the Dogmatists, and the Secularists. The latter two comprise less than 30% of the boomer population, according to Roof, but receive the most attention and their opposition to each other is at the root of the "culture wars" in America (fundamentalist conservatives vs. secular liberals). Roof maintains, however, that their influence is marginal compared to the other 3 sub-cultures, who are actively transforming American religious culture. (2)

The Born Again are the majority, and seek to satisfy their spiritual needs in the conservative Protestant churches, especially the Evangelical, Charismatic and Pentecostal varieties which " place less emphasis on doctrine and strict moral codes than on making the Bible relevant to daily life, encouraging spiritual growth, and empowering their members to manage their lives effectively". The Mainstream Believers have (re)turned to a milder "Golden Rule" (Do unto others what you would have them do unto you) form of religion, emphasising tolerance, compassion and belief in self-help. The third group, the Metaphysical Believers and Seekers, are spiritual seekers in the widest sense, experimenting with anything and everything from belief in Angels to Zen Buddhism via Paganism. They represent the greatest break with traditional religious practice, mirroring perhaps the "countercultural" fringe in an earlier phase of this generation, and possibly making them the standard-bearers of the boomers' new sense of spiritual religiosity.

That American boomers should seek some form of spiritual belief and practice is perhaps not so surprising, given that America as a whole may be the most religiously inclined country in the developed world, with 95% of all Americans professing a belief in God or "higher being" and 64% professing literal belief in the Bible. (3) What is different about America's baby-boomers, Roof discovered, is that, true to the original credo of "do your own thing", their approach tends to be fluid and individualistic, dipping in and out and making adjustments so that their spiritual beliefs fit them, rather than the more traditional and onerous effort of fitting oneself into a pre-existing doctrine.

It is unlikely that Rev Warren's quote, about to go on Starbucks coffee cups, will ever achieve the same status and proliferation as did Max Ehrmann's "Desiderata" in the early days of the baby-boomers coming of age, but it may do what it is intended to do - spark some discussion about the role and meaning of spirituality amongst baby-boomer caffeine-heads.

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1. The Guardian, London , 22/10/05

2. Quotes and figures: Journal of Religion and Society , Vol. 4, 2002; Sociology of Religion , Spring, 2001

3. Christian Century , 14/12/04 ; The Washington Times, 17/02/ 04

Morgan Evans

"Born bang in the middle of the boom ... left school with high hopes, if somewhat confused ... dabbled in this, was drawn to that ... had some success, got knocked off the rails ... now back on a track, of sorts"

Freelance Writer
for Baby Boomers United

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Thoughts are Things

You've probably heard this idea at one time or another. You've probably nodded your head in agreement understanding that thoughts are in fact, things. You probably believe this and accept that your thoughts, being things, do in fact have power.

Have you really thought about this? Do you apply this to your day-to-day life? Hopefully you do, because you're every thought and word is contributing to your life experience.

For openers, your thoughts produce your emotions which, in turn, result in how you feel about a particular event occurring in your life. It has always amazed me how people can walk around feeling a particular way and not understand that it is their own thoughts, or more accurately what they are telling themselves that is producing the feeling in the first place. This is why two people can look at the exact same event and have opposite feelings about it.

You are creating your own reality, moment by moment, with the thoughts you choose to think and what you say, both to yourself and others.

Let's explore this a little further. Most people will agree, and science can demonstrate, that everything in our world is a field of energy and therefore has a particular frequency. The chair you're sitting on, your car, your cat, dog, you and everything else including thoughts, have a field of energy or vibration. Recent scientific work has identified particular ranges of frequencies and scientists are able to measure them. Interestingly enough, negative energies, like anger and rage, measure very low on the scale, while positive energies like those given off by prayer and meditation reach the highest measurements.

At this point you may be wondering what this has to do with your thoughts. Bear with me and I promise to connect the dots.

The second part of this equation is the universal law that states "like attracts like". This has been referred to as the law of attraction, law of similar and other names. What we choose to call it is not terribly important, what is important to understanding the part this plays in our lives.

Connecting the Dots

Let's supposing for a moment you're in a bad mood. You're feeling pretty negative. At that particular moment in time your personal vibration, the energy of your thoughts and words is in the lower frequencies. Let's call this particular mood, "Frequency X."

Now somewhere off in the distant universe, there is another negative experience. Maybe it's a flat tire, whose frequency happens to be "X" as well. By virtue the law of attraction, you will begin attracting that or some other undesirable experience to you. There are no accidents. The universe works on a specific set of principals that do not waiver. Like attracts like, whether we believe it or not.

The good news is that the opposite is also true. If, for example, you are feeling great, having invested time sitting and reading your goals and taking care to monitor your thoughts, intentions, and your internal and external dialog, you are now entering a high energy vibration and are in a place to attract other high vibrations, generally things that you want to have, into your life.

I'm not asking you to accept this blindly only that you begin to observe the world around you and see if this holds true for you. I'm sure you've noticed situations when, in a room full of people, one person seems to be the center of attention. Why do you suppose this is? I'll give you a hint, that's it's probably not her perfume.

Similarly, you probably know people who are always having undesirable experiences in their lives. These are the people who have a lousy time in even the best restaurant. They seem to travel with dark clouds over them and always experience things going wrong in their everyday lives. If you observe and listen to them closely, you will begin to see the connection between what they think and say and what shows up in their lives.

Your exercise for the next few days is to closely monitor your every thought and word. When you catch yourself dwelling in the negative, do something to interrupt your pattern and substitute a positive though in it's place. It has been said that any thought consistently held for about 15 to 20 seconds will begin to attract a similar energy. This is one of the reasons you want to read your life's vision and goals daily. This will hold your attention on thoughts of that which you want and help you bring it toward you.

Jim Donovan
www.jimdonovan.com
Email: jim@jimdonovan.com

What are you waiting for?

Do it now! Whatever it is you have been putting off, do it. This is your life, it is not a dress rehearsal. What is it you have always wanted to do but, for some unknown reason, never quite get to? I am referring to those usually minor desires, not major goals like "get married" or "start a business."

For me it has been things like, swim with dolphins and ride in a glider plane. These were not major accomplishments but still, for some reason, I had been putting them off for years. Why? Why is it we have a tendency to treat our lives as though we will live forever?

In truth, our time here on this earth is but a brief moment in time. If you compare our, perhaps, 100 years here to the age of this planet we call home, you will see we are only here for a blink in time.

What are you putting off? What are some of the things you have always wanted to experience but are postponing because you think you have all the time in the world?
Read the obituaries in today's newspaper and realize that everyone whose name is in there thought they had another day. It is not my intent to offend you but I do want to shock you into the realization that, this is it! This is your life.

Your life is precious

Do not treat it lightly. Live now! Have you always wanted to sky dive? Visit the Great Pyramids? Swim with dolphins? See Niagara Falls? Whatever it is you have always wanted to do but have been putting off, decide now to do it. Make a plan. Determine what you will need to do to prepare. Find out the costs involved. Take action.

When I started writing this book I had still not swam with dolphins, even though it was something I really wanted to do. There were no logical reasons why I had not done it. I simply kept putting it off. It was always in my "someday I'll" file.

Someday is now! I am pleased to say I have experienced swimming with these wonderful and noble creatures. It was great! Doing it was simple enough. All I needed to do was take action.

In your journal, answer the following:

What is you have always wanted to do?
What preparations will you need to make?
What is you target date to complete this?

Jim Donovan
www.jimdonovan.com
Email: jim@jimdonovan.com

Changes Happen

Baby boomers are more comfortable with technology, more individualistic, and more spiritual in many different realms than previous generations, or even current generations.

Baby boomers have a unique set of beliefs very different from previous generations, to say the least. They are more optimistic and less judgmental when it comes to religion and belief systems than previous generations.

Boomers see themselves on a spiritual journey. Many are skeptical of institutional religion and believe, and practice, a spiritual life based on love for their fellow human beings, concern for the environment and making the world better in general.

This is a generation with a unique set of spiritual values that has altered past interpretations of religious beliefs, practices and maybe even the understanding of "spiritual beliefs" overall.

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