The Notes with Andrew Nemr

Keeping with the theme of spiritual transformation, this note explores how the ideas of honesty and forgiveness conspire to create a unique way for transformation. LINKS: the last note , spiritual formation for artists course , Dallas Willard’s Renovation of the Heart , John Maxwell's 4 seasons of change. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access...

Judging rightly is one of the key aspects of spiritual formation. but judging rightly doesn't only have to do with the answer we arrive at, it has to do with how we are judging. In this episode Andrew explores how processes of judgement, definitions of knowledge, and visions of the good life all interact. Underneath it all? The idea that we can change – spiritual transformation. LINKS: Thoughts on...

Thinking about what creates the climate for war and how to undermine that is what this week's episode is about. In particular, I explore the framework of the tribe in terms of formation and interaction, and what a different frame might look like. LINKS: My past writing on war , about conversations , and the hermitic life . This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscrib...

Being a perfectionist and aiming for perfection are not the same thing. In this episode I share a little of my journey with this idea. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit notes.andrewnemr.com/subscribe

A ladder on the highway, a self-justifying driver, and a contemplative drive home. I’m driving on the highway. This episode explores self-justification – by way of achievement orientation or the idea of authenticity – as one of the great lies that prevents true transformation. LINKS: Identity: The Andrew Nemr Story , Saving Private Ryan This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with...

There is a lot of talk about polarization and division. In times of extreme division a vision of extreme unity may help provide balance. This is exactly what is explored in this episode. LINKS: Starts With Us , Braver Angels , Gangstagrass , Cats Paying Dues . This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit notes.andrewnemr.com/...

In this episode I explore what the current Amazon Prime Video series Reacher, the arts, and faith have to do with one another. Or said another way, I comment on an Acton Institute article and a minor controversy around the show. LINKS: this article by Acton Institute, Ritchson's YouTube channel , The Acton Institute website, being mostly at war , Ritchson's response video . This is a public episod...

In episode I explore the experience of hanging with older tap dancers, my predisposition to 100% cranberry juice (and none of the mixed cocktail variations), and what drinking from the root is like. LINKS: The movie TAP , the challenge scene , Gregory Hines , bringing each other into our worlds , Asking the Questions . This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers...

What does our own acknowledge or agreement with regards to authority (spiritual or otherwise) have to do with our experience of life? The episode explores this questions dipping into the areas of language, immersion, apprenticeship, and inspired by John Lennox. LINKS: Getty Music’s Sing Conference , John Lennox , an example of exploring different worldviews , and how language has a lot to do with...

Abstraction is attractive and a place where artists play. Yet, it is also a detriment to the kind of connection required for trust...even love. I explore in this episode. LINKS: Foo Fighter’s performance of “My Hero” with Shane Hawkins , Simon Sinek, in his book, Leaders Eat Last . This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit...

This episode I explore the idea that our language can affect our thinking which in turn affects how we organize our life. If this is true, than we can hack our language to shift our thinking. I share a trick I've used. LINKS: the nature of language , Kevin Adler , Miracle Messages . This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visi...

Change is at the core of life. We all witness change in the physical sense as we grow. We experience the shifts in relationship to others and the world around us as we live. Change is everywhere, and for many it is a thing to be avoided. We may yearn for a sense of stability – and confuse it with sameness. The person or community that works towards and sustains a transformational core, functions i...

How does solitude and hiding help make us into better kinds of people? This is the question I explore in this week's note – from practical strategies for hiding, expectations of what might happen, and what we might come up against as we try. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit notes.andrewnemr.com/subscribe

Exploring how a particular presentation of reality should be enough to elicit a response. Spoken plainly and simply, a description of the life with God just might be enough to make a change. Dallas Willard thought so...here I explore. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit notes.andrewnemr.com/subscribe

An exploration of how falling in love is the quickest and easiest way to transform a life. LINKS: C.S. Lewis’s The Four Loves , the communal nature of people . This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit notes.andrewnemr.com/subscribe

Exploring a functional definition of knowledge that is true to its function and development on a daily basis. LINKS: idea of love , moral responsibilities . This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit notes.andrewnemr.com/subscribe

Continuing the pursuit of defining words – exploring the language we take for granted – this week Andrew explores the word, love. Both personal and universal, this exploration bounces from personal experience to philosophical ideal. LINKS: The Define Love blog , the first poem in Khalil Gibran’s The Prophet , letter to a group of Corinthians , wisdom of children defining love , a tap dance story a...

This episode I explore the idea of freedom. The tension between desiring to do whatever we want, whenever, however, and with whomever we want and the natural consequences of such a pursuit. Plus, what love might have to do with any of this. LINKS: Creativity , All things are permissible, but not everything is good , Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom , Love fulfills the law. This is...

In the next few episodes I'll be exploring the defining of terms foundational to the conversation about spiritual formation and creativity. This week's episode explores Creativity. What is it? What is it not? How do we think about it and engage in it? LINKS: Tap dance , Dallas Willard , Jesus Christ , What We Leave Behind . This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscri...

A personal note of thanks. 2023 Gift Ideas now available at andrewnemr.com This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit notes.andrewnemr.com/subscribe

This week's episode of Talking Notes welcomes special guest Kevin F. Adler (@kevinfadler). Kevin is an advocate and leader in the world, doing what he can to care for his unhoused neighbors. Through his organization Miracle Messages (@miraclemessages), Kevin has brought together a community of people to care through a series of relationally focused programs. Our conversation wanders from his start...

What material are we made of? Sometimes we don't know, can't even find out, until we are cut. Here I explore a metaphor that brought this idea to life for me. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit notes.andrewnemr.com/subscribe

I posted this as a blog a few weeks ago, and am reposting it here, with some additions, as it seems still relevant. If you have experienced the ravages of war, you may want to skip the rest of this…you already know everything I will share. If you haven’t experienced the ravages of war, please take a moment to read these words – and consider the great blessing you have had to be spared. War is hell...

Thinking about bearing, witnessing, and bearing witness, to the externalities of life and the internal landscape of the person. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit notes.andrewnemr.com/subscribe

In the Christian tradition, there is a lot of language around the body. That might be an interesting thing to hear when we consider some of the history the Christian Church has had with thinking about the body. For example, we can look at records of how various branches of the institutional church has approached dance – the heightened expression of the body – across time to find contention, dismis...