the mindful mission
the mindful mission was launched on March 22, 2006 after formerly being located at "Random Ravings" since July, 2003. It was started by Dave, and in October, 2006 Helen was added as a guest writer.
This is a place to discuss life, and more specifically the interaction between faith, culture, and politics.
the mindful mission is an outlet, an artistic expression of my passions.
But it is also for you.
I want the mindful mission to make you think.
I want the mindful mission to challenge your worldview.
I want the mindful mission to help you learn, to help you become more informed.
So come along for the ride. We will have fun, we will get angry, we will probably hate each other at times. We can all learn and be challenged together.
About Dave
I am Dave Lowitzki. At this point there is little point to attempting anonymity, so why try.
I am married to the most amazing woman in the world (you can read more about her here). Melvin Udall, in the movie As Good as It Gets, says this about a woman: You make me want to be a better man.
That is exactly how I describe Katie. She is more than I deserve, and she makes me want to be so much better. I love living life with her - through the good and the bad. I could not imagine a better person to share life with.
I grew up outside of Chicago in a small suburb called Crystal Lake. I have good memories of that town. Growing up outside of Chicago also explains my obsession with the Cubs. What can I say - I am a glutton for punishment! :)
We recently lived in Southern California, having lived out here for most of the last eight years. I first took a visit out to California in the fall of 1997 in order to visit Azusa Pacific University. And I did not take any more college visits after that. I attended APU for four years, receiving my B.A. in Biblical Studies, with two minors - leadership studies and Christian ministries.
While I focused my degrees in the religion area, I had really started to grow a passion for sociology. This was mainly due to a phenomenal professor that I had - Dr. Carrie Peirce. Carrie became more than a professor to me - she became a friend. And she also challenged everything that I had ever known. And I started to learn that life was bigger than what I had experienced. I questioned everything that I believed, everything that I thought, everything that I had been taught.
My passion to challenge everything and my passion for sociology sent me in the direction of graduate school. Two years after graduating from APU, I enrolled in Cal State - Fullerton's graduate sociology program. I will be graduating in a few months with my Masters degree with the goal of pursuing law school.
Wait...law school? Where did that come from?
For a long time I had planned on pursuing a PhD in sociology. This was the reason that I went to CSUF for a masters, so it would better prepare me for my doctorate. But things change. In the last few years I have developed a strong passion against the death penalty. I will not go into detail here, but this passion has led me to an interest (and now goal) of becoming a public defender. I have a passion to help those who cannot help themselves, including the guilty. And I believe that as a Christian we are called to help all people. There is absolutely no line drawn between the guilty and the innocent. PD Karla Gothard said it well: ...behind each headline or label, there is a human being with a story. When I look across the table at a client, I see a spark of God in them. I want to know who they are.
They deserve to be treated the same way that you and I do. And I am willing to do that.
So that is where I am going - law school. I do not know where, but I do know that I plan (hope?) to start in the fall of 2007.
We are now living in Chicago, in the north side neighborhood of Rogers Park. My wife got a job in the city, so we packed up and headed out. We have only been here for a short time, but so far we love it. It allows me to be even more obsessed with the Cubs, and places us just a couple of miles North of the beautiful Wrigley Field. What more can I ask for? :)
And I am working as a researcher with SEIU Healthcare Illinois and Indiana (formerly SEIU Local 880), working for thousands of workers who do not make anywhere close to a living wage, receive no health care or paid time off, yet have some of the most important jobs around - taking care of children and assisting people with disabilities. I do research on a little bit of everything, but am currently focusing on policy issues. The labor movement is not perfect. But it is necessary. Our members are the definition of the working poor. And they deserve better.
So that is me a nutshell. Married to an amazing woman. Living in Chicago. Fighting against the powers that be.
About Helen
I am Helen Keeler. I live on the Wirral in the North West of the UK and other than a couple of years in London, I’ve lived here all my life. I married Carl on 1st November 1997 and we have exceeded every one's expectations (probably even including our own!) by remaining together and very happy too. I believe that all relationships are ever-changing dynamics and our marriage is richer and we are closer than we ever could have imagined when we first started out. I love him totally.
We have three wonderful children; Ruby, Lois and Max. They are very different from one another and each is marvellous in their own special way. Ruby has Asperger’s Syndrome, which is a form of high-functioning Autism. This is sometimes challenging for us, but we continue to learn so much about her and from her. I am a Parent Governor at my children's school and child welfare is very important to me.
I love music and have quite eclectic tastes ranging from classical and jazz to heavy rock. I spend what little me-time I get listening to music, reading, painting and drawing, baking or playing low stakes games of online poker...it's only now I've written that down that I realise how weird that combination of pastimes might sound! I also love eating good food and going to the movies.
I am planning a self-portrait in the Art Deco style and asked my husband to take some headshots of me to work from; the photo of me is one of these.
I work as a freelance writer. My credits include speech writing, writing scripts that are used in the training of police officers and writing comedy for a satirical news website. I have written several children's books, which I am in the process of illustrating, and am also currently writing a comic novel for adults, all of which I hope to get published!
In addition to that, I am a committee member and the editor of the members' newsletter of a UK humanitarian not-for-profit organisation called LifeLines. The first organisation of its kind in the UK, LifeLines was founded to find penfriends for death row inmates, many of whom have had disadvantaged backgrounds and lack human contact. We at LifeLines do not forget the victims of violent crime and have had people who have lost close family members to violent crime speak at our conferences. Abolishing the death penalty would help halt the cycle of violence that exists and make a better society for everyone.
I am passionate about justice, humanitarianism, the environment and making positive change.
I hope you enjoy reading what I post and that I can add something a little bit different to what is already a great blog!
How it started
It all started in the summer of 2003...
I was working at Biola University, a very conservative university in Southern California. Now if you know me at all, you will know that I am not very conservative. Actually I am not conservative at all. So it created an interesting relationship. My job was such that I had a lot of free time, so I began to participate in discussion boards (called BUBBS) that the University had created for their students and staff. Some of those boards included such topics as these:
- U.S. News and Politics
- World News
- Biblical Studies
- Philosophy
Eventual the "interesting relationship" that I mentioned above came into full view. I started to get into "discussions" with students, alumni, and a handful of staff members. These discussions involved a little bit of everything - the Iraq war, helping the poor, homosexuality, relationships with God, and many other things. It tended to be me one side, everyone else on the other side. There were a handful of others who would at times come along side me in these conversations, but much of the time I was on my own. But in some odd masochistic way I actually enjoyed it. I even became somewhat friends with Roland, even though I am pretty sure that you cannot find many people who have such opposing views as the two of us.
But eventually I started to engage with the wrong people - i.e. people who were completely offended that their worldview was being challenged. What happened was that I started to discuss the topic of homosexuality with two fellow staff members - Loree and Martin. This entire discussion was done in an obscure folder on BUBBS, and it all centered around the legalization of same-sex marriages. They were attempting to make ignorant assertions - things like "homosexuals are dirty and dangerous". And I called them on it. And I asserted that the government should allow two consenting adults to marry - regardless of their gender. Well, eventually they became so offended that they "told on me" to the director of Human Resources at the university.
I had the pleasure of meeting the director of my department and the director of HR to discuss my theological views (I know...I was not even discussing my theological views), and I was questioned about the university's statement of faith. You can read about it more here - my first post.
This experience made me incredibly frustrated, and Roland and I were ranting about it on his blog. Brendan then offered my a place to rant on my own - my own blog. Starting out I didn't even know to create an html link - I had a lot to learn. But I also had a lot to rant about.
It started out slowly - a few posts a week, long periods of down time, mediocre writing, etc. I would review movies, the occasional CD, and American Idol (yea...who would have thought?). But then I found what I really wanted to write about. I was passionate about faith and religion, politics, and culture. I was passionate about social justice. And I was passionate about writing about these things, and more specifically how they all interacted together. Once I figured this out, my entire blog changed. Instead of a place to just write about random things, it became focused. It became about something more than just me. It became about the world. It became about challenge.
So here I am...
Books, Book, Books
I love to read. I am currently reading about two to three books unrelated to school a month, and I wish I could read so much more. I am a consumer of knowledge. I love to learn, I love to become informed.
And clearly one of the best ways to do this is to read. Read books, magazines, blogs, newspapers, etc. Consume knowldege.
Over on my recommended reading page you will find books that I recommend. They cover a wide range of topics - religion/theology, criminal justice (and the death penalty), sociology, culture, politics, etc. But they are all worthwhile.
Take a look. Head to the library or your local bookstore (buy local!) and pick up a book. Become informed.
Music, Music, Music
Music is a big part of my life. Though sometimes I am not sure what I like more - the music or noise. I hate silence. And that is not always a good thing. I believe that silence is valuable. Anyway, that is a small tangent.
I go through stages with my music. I will listen to one band over and over again, and then place them to the side for a while. But there are always a handful bands/artists that I cannot stop listening to, and here are a few of them. Each of these bands/artists go beyond their music. They speak truth about the world - they may be political, or spiritual, or just real, but they all have depth and meaning. The above bands are simply a cut above the rest. But that does not mean that I do not appreciate others. Here is a sampling of some of the best of the rest:
Advertising Disclaimer
I blog because I enjoy it, and I believe that it can be (and sometimes is) a valuable tool for discussion, education, and even action.
But I also use this space to make a (very) small amount of money through advertising.
I currently run text link ads through TLA. I find them to be a relatively unobtrusive way to bring advertising to this site. If you are interesting in adding this service to your site, check them out here. I also have an Amazon Store and different Amazon search boxes. I make a small percentage off of anything bought through my site from Amazon.
I also occasionally accept free books to review on the blog. I always alert you that I received the book for free and it does not impact whether or not I give it a positive or negative review.
Any presence of a link or ad in the advertising section of this site does not constitute an endorsement of advertised content, products, or ideas.
If you are interested in advertising through this site in anyway, or if you have any questions regarding my advertising policy or ads that I run, please contact though the above contact link.
The Mindful Mission Comment Policy
One of the purposes of this blog is to create dialog, and the main way do this is through the comments section. I love and appreciate dialog when done appropriately. I have a wide range of readers, which in turn creates a wide range of viewpoints. I not only allow opposing views, but encourage them. I want to do everything that we can to create an open and comfortable atmosphere for discussion.
With that said, I expect all comments to be informative, polite, and respectful. Here are a few guidelines that will hopefully allow you to understand what I expect.
- There will be absolutely no personal attacks or abusive comments. I simply will not tolerate it. Any comments that I consider libelous or slanderous will also be deleted.
- Don't be a jerk.
- Stay on topic. I have hundreds of posts covering many topics. If you want to leave a comment on a subject, find an appropriate post to leave it on. This is not something that I will be strict about, but I will delete/move comments if needed.
- Use appropriate language. This does not mean that there is a list of certain words that you cannot use, but it should be done at appropriate times and in appropriate amounts. There is a time and place for certain words - make sure you figure out if it is the right time or place. I will also not tolerate any bigoted (racist, homophobic, misogynistic, etc) language, regardless of the content. I will not hesitate to edit or delete comments with inappropriate language.
- I will allow images in the comment section, but only if they are related to the subject at hand and of appropriate content. If the image is either inappropriate or unrelated to the subject, it will be deleted.
- I prefer names, but I will allow anonymous comments. But make sure that it is done respectfully.
- Any comment/trackback that I consider spam will be deleted immediately.
- This is my blog, and I decide what is appropriate and what is not appropriate. In turn, I have the right to delete or edit any comment for any reason. I apologize if this offends you, but you have the right to express your opinions on your own blog if you would like.
This policy is not in place to threaten or to limit discussion. It is simply here as a tool to create general guidelines for discussion. I have no desire to delete comments, and I hope that I never have to. Hopefully we can all work together to make this site be one of productive and informative dialog.
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