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Under the Influence: Breathing Life and Spirit in/to
a Mediated World Rose Paca>e, MEd Media Studies Pauline Center for Media Studies
Los Angeles, CA PaulineCMS.com
Our response in a noisy mediated world of stories
• The demands that are made on the human person, body, mind, spirit
• Asks of us personal, social and cultural responses
What’s your story?
Silence & the Word
A forgo>en aspect of communicaNon?
RelaNonship between silence and the Word
• Alternate and balance • Integrate one with the other • To allow authenNc dialogue and achieve deep closeness between people
CommunicaNon breaks down when
• Word & silence become mutually exclusive • Giving rise to confusion and coldness
CommunicaNon acquires value and meaning when
The Word and silence compliment one another
Silence is an integral part of human existence
When absent Words rich in content
cannot exist
The word is all around us
Who is my digital neighbor?
• Today we are living in a world which is growing ever “smaller” and where, as a result, it would seem to be easier for all of us to be neighbors.
• Though closer than ever deep divisions within our human family.
• On the global level we see a scandalous gap between the opulence of the wealthy and the u>er desNtuNon of the poor.
• We have become so accustomed to these things that they no longer unse>le us.
• Our world suffers from many forms of exclusion, marginalizaNon and poverty,
• To say nothing of conflicts born of a combinaNon of economic, poliNcal, ideological, and, sadly, even religious moNves.
Voices from the culture
• Movies about breathing, taking a breath • Listening • Silence • And someNmes … change
From silence arises jusNce
The word is all around us the word is us
Personal silence
In silence
We can listen and understand ourselves
In silence
Ideas are born and deepen
In Silence
We gain clarity and understanding of – What we want to say – What we expect from others – How we choose to express ourselves
In silence
We allow others to speak
In silence
We avoid being Ned to our own untested
point of view
In silence
Space is created for mutual listening and deeper human relaNonships
In silence we observe authenNc communicaNon
Facial expressions and body language are how people reveal themselves to one
another in love (or not)
Silence is a powerful mode of expression
All human living is communicated
– Joy – Anxiety – Suffering
Silence gives rise to acNve communicaNon
That requires – SensiNvity – A capacity to listen These manifest
• The true nature and measure of relaNonships
In noise
• Silence is essenNal for discernment • To disNnguish what is important from what is insignificant or secondary.
In silence
Deeper reflecNon helps us discover links between events
that at first seem unrelated
In silence
We can become media mindful
• Evaluate informaNon
• Analyze messages
The media mindful person
Then shares thoughaul and relevant opinions that give rise to an authenNc body of shared knowledge
Create your own media environment, eco-‐system
A balance between – Silence – Words – Images – Sound
Benefits of authenNc communicaNon
A culture of encounter, solidarity, good
Search engines & social media
StarNng point for communicaNon
Today the process of communicaNon is fueled by the search for answers
• Advice • Ideas • InformaNon • Answers
People are bombarded by answers to quesNons
they have not asked
And needs they did not know they had
Silence is precious
• So we can focus on important quesNons • Exercise discernment • In the informaNon surge and entertainment sNmuli in which we live
The human condiNon sNll seeks existenNal meaning
• Who am I? • Why am I here? • What can I know? • What am I to do? • What may I hope?
In silence
• We affirm those who ask these quesNons when we can give more than a hasty answer
• We then open the possibility for profound dialogue
• We call them to silent reflecNon • … and to reach into the depths of their being and open themselves to what God has wri>en on their hearts
Constant flow of quesNons
• Demonstrates the restlessness of the human heart
• People constantly searching for truths of lesser or greater import
• … to give meaning to their lives
We all yearn and search for truth
But we cannot rest content with a superficial
and unquesNoning exchange of skepNcal opinions
and experiences of life
“When people exchange informaNon, they are already
sharing themselves, their view of the world, their hopes, their ideals”
CommunicaNon is a human endeavor not technological – Pope
Francis • Who is my digitl neighbor? • The parable of the Good Samaritan, which is also a parable about
communicaNon. • Those who communicate, in effect, become neighbors. • The Good Samaritan not only draws nearer to the man he finds half dead
on the side of the road; he takes responsibility for him. • CommunicaNon is really about realizing that we are all human beings,
children of God. I like seeing this power of communicaNon as “neighborliness”.
Pay a>enNon
Know where websites and social network sites are that can help
people find Nme for reflecNon
Create
• Provide content for reflecNon • Prayer experiences • MeditaNon • Sharing the Word • Living the Word
Tweet the Word
But concise phrases sNll need the context of a culNvated inner life
World religious tradiNons: silence is a privileged state
For people to rediscover self and the Truth that gives meaning to all things
The God of revelaNon needs no words
In darkness God speaks in silence
Eloquent, loving silence
wHat we can discover in silence
AuthenNc communicaNon = taking responsibility
• Whenever communicaNon is primarily aimed at promoNng consumpNon or manipulaNng others, we are dealing with a form of violent aggression
• like that suffered by the man in the parable, who was beaten by robbers and leh abandoned on the road.
• The Levite and the priest do not regard him as a neighbour, but as a stranger to be kept at a distance.
• In those days, it was rules of ritual purity which condiNoned their response.
• Nowadays there is a danger that certain media so condiNon our responses that we fail to see our real neighbor.
• EffecNve ChrisNan witness is not about bombarding people with religious messages,
• but about our willingness to be available to others “by paNently and respecaully engaging their quesNons and their doubts as they advance in their search for the truth and the meaning of human existence”
learning to communicate anew is learning to listen and
contemplate -‐ as well as speak and act
Along the way • Let our communicaNon be a balm which relieves pain and a fine wine
which gladdens hearts. • May the light we bring to others not be the result of cosmeNcs or special
effects, but rather of our being loving and merciful “neighbors” to those wounded and leh on the side of the road.
• Let us boldly become ciNzens of the digital world. • The Church needs to be concerned for, and present in, the world of
communicaNon, in order to dialogue with people today and to help them encounter Christ.
• The Church needs to be a Church at the side of others, capable of
accompanying everyone along the way.
Breathe, breathing, empowering others to breathe
Silent contemplaNon
• Immerses us in the grandeur of God • And the source of Love • Who directs us to our neighbour • So we can feel their suffering • And as a response offer them
– The light of Christ – His message of life – His saving gih of the fullness of love
Silent contemplaNon
• Leads us to the eternal Word, the Creator of the world
• Who becomes more present to us • Makes us aware of God’s plan being accomplished in history
In silence we learn “to communicate that which we have seen and heard”
(1 Jn: 1-‐3)
This mystery impels us
to become heralds of hope & salvaNon
and witnesses of that love which promotes human dignity
and builds jusNce and peace