Five thoughts that recur whenever I come across the latest PBS pledge drive and Dr. Wayne Dyer’s show “The Power of Intention”:

1. The Shaya thing – I’ve seen this three times now and always come in at the same point in the story. Because I never get to see it all, Dr. Dyer might tell me that Source doesn’t want me to see it all. More likely, I’m switching over from another program during a commercial break. On a similar note, I’m reminded that Jack Kirby also called God “The Source” but that was in comic books circa 1972.

2. Suspending judgment – Every time he talks about suspending judgment I’m reminded of what I’ve just read (or not read) in the newspaper. Maybe we need more judgment. And when he says that when you judge someone as stupid you are merely showing that you’re capable of judging them as stupid – why is that a bad thing?

3. He’s anti-drug, not as a moral choice but as a personal choice. That’s fine. As a reader of William Blake and Edgar Allan Poe I’m aware of the upside of drugs. And I believe many American Indians use drugs to get closer to Source. So who’s right? If he can’t handle them, that’s a separate issue.

4. This show makes a bad argument for funding PBS, because Dyer’s show is essentially an infomercial that he should be paying for on basic cable. PBS is a bonanza for him, but it’s not a free ride:  We’re paying for it.

5. Why is it sophisticated for the PBS base to sneer at some religions (let’s say Pentecostals, or Southern Baptists), but heartless to attack a guy who preaches a mushy pantheism to the cultured and comforted few? Because most people choose their religions based upon class, and it’s easy to mock the lower class. And also because pantheism doesn’t require much in the way of adherence to doctrine (since it has none), just a determination to be nice.

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 17th, 2007 at 9:54 pm and is filed under On being, On seeing, Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.