We were thrilled to participate in the Chicago Humanities Festival Fallfest17: Belief! and will post the video of Candace Vogler’s discussion with Rev. Lola Wright, once it becomes available.
In the meantime, we hope you enjoy a few photos from the event! Check our Flickr page for more.
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Research suggests that individuals who feel they belong to something bigger than just themselves—an extended family, a spiritual practice, work for social justice—often feel happier and have better life outcomes than those who do not. This sense of connection has a name in academia: “self-transcendence.” Candace Vogler from the University of Chicago philosophy department joins CHF to talk about her work as principal investigator of a project on self-transcendence as the key to the connections between virtue, happiness, and the meaning of life. Candace will be interviewed by Reverend Lola Wright.
Reverend Lola Wright, also known as “RevLo,” is a keynote speaker, workshop facilitator, and provides coaching and consulting for seekers within organizations—or those flying solo. Lola is also the Spiritual Director at Chicago’s very own Bodhi Spiritual Center, a place of gathering where all walks of life are welcome as she asks each individual to awaken themselves to their inherent power and purpose. Lola welcomes hundreds of visitors to Bodhi each week and reaches upwards of 20,000 viewers weekly via her Tuesday morning Facebook live series, The New You LIVE, where she explores topics ranging from her personal journey to relationships and transformation.
What do we mean by “Belief”?
October 28 – November 12, Chicago Humanities Festival invites you to consider this question and more at Fallfest/17: Belief!
Faith in the divine, commitment to a cause, conviction about the truth, trust in our institutions?
However we understand the idea, issues of belief have never been more in flux. In some parts of the world, religious observance is up, while in others it is tanking. Geopolitical conflict is increasingly cast in theological terms. Many younger Americans write “none” when asked their religion, yet avidly seek spiritual fulfillment. Memoir after memoir tells a story about losing faith in older traditions, or finding security in new ones.
Trust in our institutions has eroded almost across the board over the past decade. A mere 9% of Americans currently report a “great deal” of confidence in Congress. And the media, banks, and the business world do not fare much better. Belief is after all also a matter of trust: can we trust our media? Our economy? Our police? Our scientists? Our government?
And belief is a state of mind, even a set of feelings—a firmness of conviction, a posture toward the world. Perhaps it is worth asking: what kind of future do we believe in?
The Virtue Blog