Some things that interest me (What does it all mean?)

Among other things, I consider myself to be an autodidact- a self-taught individual with many interests whose education is driven more by my own curiosity than by any particular curriculum- and realizing this has taught me volumes about who I am and how I think. But having so many interests can also be paralyzing for me when I am considering which career pursuit can best focus my attention, abilities, interests and energies. Perhaps there is a way to find a common concern at the root of my various interests.

I remember going to a thrift store that sold used books with my mother when I was a teenager. Since both of us were creative people and avid readers always in search of inspirational material and useful guidance, our eyes were drawn to a $3.00 copy of author Julia Cameron’s self-help manual The Vein of Gold: A Journey to Your Creative Heart. The book was written as a follow-up piece to Cameron’s 1992 best-seller The Artist’s Way (which my mother had already read) and, to this day, it continues to influence my ever-developing views about personality and creative expression.

In The Vein of Gold, Cameron draws upon a variety of cultures and philosophies and offers a variety of exercises for readers to try in order to help them find their “vein of gold”- that underlying concern at the root of one’s interests and pursuits. I remember one exercise encouraged the reader to think of a list of their favorite movies and consider any common themes within the films on that list which might reveal something about one's personal interests.

It was a very revealing exercise for me and one that I continue to apply to my life. I came to believe along with Cameron that many of the subjects that interest us are in some way related to our sense of purpose and personal fulfillment. For example, could there be a deeper reason as to why I am drawn to films like The Village (2004), The Island (2005) and The Matrix (1999)? These films all serve as parables describing how individuals- discontent with the prevailing beliefs of their societies which are imposed by those in power to preserve a sense of order, control and stability- manage to find strange hints that suggest that "another world" exists beyond the physical and psychological boundaries of their familiar territory and struggle to fight their way out of those confines. What does it say about me since I am drawn to films such as these?

Today, I have decided to write new list of my personal interests. Although I don’t have a more formal name for this category, these are those people, topics, themes and subjects that give me a profound sense of fulfillment and exhilaration when I study or pursue them. My goal is to add more as they come to mind and attempt to decipher what meaning there is to be drawn from this growing list.

Some things that interest me:
Radical teaching
Critical thinking
Challenging assumptions
Liberating minds
Critiquing orthodoxies
Dismantling oppressive systems
Finding hints of “another world” that exists beyond the limited confines of familiar territory
Going beyond boundaries
Writing down my thoughts
Non-violent resistance
Mark Twain
Henry David Thoreau
Life-long learning
Human potential
Truth
Interviews
Q & A's
Questions
Interconnectedness
Placebos
Biblical criticism
Ethics
Stories that humanize human beings
Paulo Friere
Matthew Fox (the exiled priest)
Hearing from neglected, suppressed, exiled and over-looked perspectives
Providing opportunities for the silenced to share their voice
Spending time with my family
Meeting new people in authentic encounters (not merely “networking”)
Meeting people of different cultures
The Wire (TV series)
V for Vendetta (film)
The Matrix (film)
The Village (film)
The Island (film)
The Color Purple (book, play and film)
Anthropology
Psychology
Carl Sagan
Equality
Fairness
Hospitality
Parables
Comparative religions
Comparative mythology
Joseph Campbell
Gil Scott Heron
Performance poetry
Ethnic cuisine
Podcasts
Fictional stories that serve as prophetic critiques of society
Martin Luther King Jr.
Alice Walker
Bono
Ralph Nader
Psychology of religious belief and practice
The implications of modern scientific discoveries on human thought and behavior
The scientific method
Myth-busting
Historical Jesus research
Skepticism
Combating dehumanization in all of its forms, images and expressions
Political art
Voltaire
Anti-imperialism
Opinion columns
Movie previews
Photo essays
Agnosticism
Understanding others and advocating for the misunderstood
Empowering others
Compassion
Creativity
Resourcefulness
Humanism
Myth (properly understood in relation to and in contrast with historical fact)
Poetry
Music
The creative process