The feeling of a comfortable shoe. That is how I would describe my visit to www.soulpancake.com. Visiting the site by actor Rainn Wilson (he really does spell it with two N’s) made me feel comfortable inside. I searched the web at 2:30am to see what information is out there on interfaith dialogue and discussions and I came across Soul Pancake© and took delight in my search. The site immediately hooked me in. It might have been the cute pancake motif to the site, which works surprisingly well, or it could be the color scheme, but it’s probably the caption that runs under on the main web page that really attracted me. The caption changes, but it appeared to me for the first time as: {See. Think. Talk.} and the website is truly filled with challenging thoughts to take on. I believe the practice of talking and thinking is heavily suppressed in today’s world, but it is openly embraced by Soul Pancake© alongside interfaith dialogue.
During my sophomore year of high school, in an English class, I distinctly remember a post-reading discussion of Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Pit and the Pendulum.” I’m sorry for the spoiler, but as anyone who is familiar who the story knows, one of the main questions that the text raises is who pulls the prisoner out of the pit at the end of the story and saves his life? The conventional answer is that the story is an allegory and the person that pulls the prisoner out is G-d. Does this seem simple enough? Apparently, the answer isn’t simple for everyone, as one of my friends pointed out through an alternative meaning based on his own reading. Our teacher’s response was: “No, Kyle, that’s wrong because it’s not what is written in the back of the book.” What?! How can an interpretation of a story be right or wrong? Ambiguity improves a good story because it allows openness to interpretation and discussion and there are plenty of examples of this in literature. Similarly, I think interfaith dialogue boils down to this same openness.
The goal of an interfaith dialogue, and of Soul Pancake©, is to break away from the conventional book answer and ask the questions, spark the discussions, and share the experiences that lead to genuine sharing of personal experiences and views. I don’t mean to endorse the unguarded sharing of a life story in every conversation, but it is important to grapple with the tough questions that lead to personal growth.
Knowledge is interdisciplinary. Religion and spirituality can be viewed as interfaith. These are things that make life interesting. An interfaith dialogue stirs the mixing bowl of the mind and leaves people pondering the questions that Rainn Wilson, as he states in his introduction video, wants to make “cool, again.”
So, why have I gone from discussing the feeling a familiar shoe all the way to the conversations that can be made cool again? Because, good reader, I want you to know about me. I want to highlight my thoughts and musings after searching www.soulpancake.com and begin a conversation with you about the questions and natural challenges that this site and other interfaith issues bring up. If we talk someday, I want to have a congenial and genuine dialogue with you, one that allows us to learn from each other and get to know one another. Unlike a class discussion in which the questions are guided and the answers allow little margin for tangential thought, the discussions and dialogue between you and I will allow for thoughts that promote mutual understanding.
I leave you with this: go to www.soulpancake.com, or some other thought provoking resource, making you want to discuss late into the night, find friends, and talk. Have those tough, but ultimately rewarding, discussions that knowing another human being are about. Just as Rainn Wilson says, “See. Think. Talk.”
– Michael Evers
Interfaith Scholar 2009-2011
Published in the Summer 2009 Issue of the Interfaith Review