PlayactingIF YOU PLAYACT BEING A THINKER, YOU WILL BECOME ONE

Introduction

“Thinking is easy, acting is difficult, and to put one’s thoughts into actions is the most difficult thing in the world.”

~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

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“I believe that one of the two Rodin originals for ‘The Thinker’ is in Buenos Aires in the square in front of the parliament building. At least that’s what my guide told me as she pointed to this busy thinker frozen into immortal bronze.”

PlayactingBut as far as we know, this may be wrong on several accounts. “How?”

You may ask. Well…

Playacting It may not have been an

original

There may not have been two originals

My guide might have been mistaken

My memory might be mistaken

PlayactingSo why put forth something which has not been checked as an absolute fact? Well, there are many reasons.

Playacting To provoke those

people who feel that facts are more important than their use

I want you to be able to visualize the Thinker figure, wherever it may be

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You will notice that the first two words of the book, and of this PowerPoint are “I believe.”

“I Believe”“I Believe”“I Believe”“I Believe”“I Believe”“I Believe”

PlayactingThe words “I believe” indicate a person’s state of belief, rather than a dogmatically asserted fact. We often need to indicate the way in which something is being put forward.

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Imagine Rodin’s The Thinker

Imagine that chin-on-hand pose that is supposed to come to any thinker that is being more than just frivolous.

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But in all honesty, I believe that thinking should be active and brisk, not gloomy and solemn. But let’s just use that traditional image for now.

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Ok, on the count of three I want you to throw yourself into the pose of a thinker. Physically, not mentally. One, two, three!

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“Why?” You may ask. “What was the point?” Well, if you playact being a thinker, you will become one.

PlayactingThe Tibetans say prayers by revolving the prayer wheels on which the prayers are inscribed.

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The rotating wheels spiral the prayers into divine space.

If the wheels are properly balanced, one assistant can keep a dozen prayer wheels turning, just like a circus act on spinning plates.

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Maybe the Tibetan is actually thinking of his laundry list as he spins the wheel, we’re not sure. But it is the intention to pray that counts, and not the emotional and spiritual fluttering that many Christians demand of themselves.

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But there is another Christian view that is much closer to the Tibetans:

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Both groups go through the motions of praying, even if they do not feel emotionally involved. In time, your emotions will catch up with your motions. That’s what I mean when I’m asking you to playact being a thinker.

Playacting Adopt the pose

of a thinker Go through the

motions Have the

intention Make it

manifest to yourself and to those around you

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Pretty soon your brain will follow the role that you are playing. If you playact being a Thinker, you will become one. Thanks for watching.