Sacred Communication/Journey 2019

Extra reading (1/3) “Feelings dwell in man, but man dwells in his love. This is no metaphor but actuality: love does not cling to an I, as if the You were merely its ‘content’ or object; it is between I and You.” (66) I chose this quote because I love the deeper meaning it expresses. Love is not just about the attraction you have to another person. It's about how you work together, whether you bring out the best in each other. When you love someone you do not just possess love, it is about your connection and dynamic as a couple.

Nature Blog (2/2)  Outside the crisp cold air stings my lungs as I keep going. I have my cleats laced tightly to ensure maximum accuracy. The ball in the air and the grass wisping my toes, I race towards it wind whipping my hair. It falls and I adjust to receive it on my chest to bring it down as I continue running through. The night sky with minimal lights on the lawn is one of my favorite ways to train.

Extra (4/4) Over Thanksgiving break, me and my boyfriend (who lives in my home city but attends another school) were hanging out late at night. We couldn’t go back to either of our houses because our families were asleep and we did not want to disturb them. We decided to go to the oceanfront because we live in Virginia Beach. We were completely unprepared since it was impromptu. It was cold but he kept his arm around me to ensure my warmth. We just sat on the beach and talked for hours.

Extra Blog (3/4) The ASPCA and other organizations like it should propose an update on regulations in puppy mills or preferably pass a bill similar to what California is doing. California just passed a bill (that will be in effect as of January 1, 2019) that states that pet stores must only sell dogs, cats, and rabbits that were obtained from animal control or a shelter. The pet stores must still abide by all the current regulations, the only thing that changes is the animals they are allowed to cooperate with. This is extremely beneficial in many ways. When you adopt an animal it already has it’s shots and is required to be neutered. This will prevent population growth.

Extra Blog (2/4) The maltreatment of animals is universally deemed as vile and disturbing. However, it occurs more than you think. Many owners abuse and mistreat their loving pets. Sufferers of a hoarding disorder may impose severe neglect on animals by housing far more than they are able to adequately take care of. Animal abuse is punishable by law. (§ 3.2-6570 Cruelty to animals; penalty, VA Code) However, some state laws only allow felony charges if the perpetrator has a previous animal cruelty conviction. The laws should be modified to protect our beloved animals. Puppy mills are the biggest cause regarding animal abuse. They shove their puppies and breeding dogs into cages too small and throw them on top of each other in bins. They aren’t bathed nor fed adequately. Dogs develop behavioral and health problems in these puppy mills. They mass produce puppies which creates a surplus of dogs and there are not enough people to take care of them. Puppy mills only care about productio

Extra Blog (1/4) Last evening I was spending time with my friends and we decided to pull an all nighter. It’s still the beginning of the semester during the weekend, so it’s not the DUMBEST decision ever. We ultimately got bored of being stuck in the room so we ventured to the Great Lawn. Out there we witnessed other people goofing off so we chose to take it a step further. I grabbed my bike, Josh and Caleb took their skateboards, and Chaz following up on his scooter. We rode all the way to Huntington Beach in the middle of the night. The guys I was with were good friends of mine and tough so I knew they would take care of me if I needed but I’m tough too. We had a great time and sang on the beach and bonded with each other and it was truly a spiritual experience.

Nature Blog (1/2) I loved being outside for class today. The weather was comfortable and the sun was beaming gorgeously on the trees above. I adore the outdoors, everytime I’m outside I’m instantly happier. Unless the weather is awful then who wants to deal with that? But the best word to describe the late afternoon was crisp . The leaves, air, wind, trees...everything, it may seem silly but it’s honestly how I felt. It was a nice change to speak about the spirituality of the wilderness in the wild. It was not the WILD but outdoors. It allowed me to see how deep of an appreciation I have for the forest.

I did a reading on the effects of nature on humans emotions. What I found was that it seems nature correlates directly with how we feel. If you walk down a trail in a good mood, then you can see the beauty of nature. However, if you aren't in the right mindset on a hike, people tend to have their attention drawn to the pieces of nature that represents the bad things in life such as death. This just goes to prove that nature is just as alive as we are.

I found this quote as I was reading through Victor and Edith Turner’s book Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture , “the invisibility and intangibility of the spiritual and supernatural [...] create problems regarding communication.” I definitely think this quote is true. It is hard for religious skeptics to believe in something that they cannot see. It can also be hard for those of a faith who are starting to question their religion because there is no one present to verbally answer them when they call. I also think that someone has to be strong in their faith to overcome this feeling of skepticism. But, then the question arises, “how much can I believe in something that is not visible.” “How can I rely on or trust and being that I have yet to see?” Why has God not replied back to me?” People begin doubting themselves, even though in their minds they are doing everything right in the eyes of God. I definitely feel that this is one of those statements that make people question th

I found this quote as I was reading through Victor and Edith Turner’s book Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture , “we have identified four main types of pilgrimages.” Originally I thought there were only two types of pilgrimages; the first for personal reasons and the second for religious, so when the Turners said there were four I was captivated. A pilgrimage established by the founder of a historical religion or its disciples Have evidence of syncretism with older religious beliefs and symbols Occurred during the Middle Ages and followed a tone from the theological and philosophical emphases of that epoch A pilgrimage that grew steadily in the post-Tridentine period of European Catholicism So, after looking at these it made sense. What I thought of as on pilgrimage was actually a collection of them categorized by any particular religion. It was enlightening to see how other people categorized pilgrimages, but it lacked an aspect that did not deal with religion

In the book, The Modern Backpacker's Handbook they discus the difficulty of finding water sources in the desert. This I imagine would be the most useful for people taking the Hayduke trail. The section talks about the amount of water you should carry with you for a full day of hiking. It also mentions that you should plan you walks around known cites of water, but you should never assume that there will be water at a given spot. In a worst case scenario you an always rely on a trowel, map, or simply your sight.

In the book The Way of the Stars : Journeys on the Camino de Santiago on pages 3 and 4 the author discusses the reasons why he decided to embark on the Camino for a second time. His first reason has to do with a commitment he had made to his son. He promised his son that he would take him on his first Camino. However the author admits to the larger reason for his return to the trail, having to do with the importance he placed on his first time on the trail. When he first took the Camino he was in a spiritual rut, and over the course of the trail he found spirituality and a source of meaning in his life. Because of this he wanted to recreate the experiences he had on that trip. I can relate to wanting to go back to a place to recreate the experiences of the first one.

Dec. 2 On the way back to CNU from Thanksgiving Break, my girlfriend and I got onto the topic of religion and our experience with it growing up. (Don’t ask me how we got to that topic, because I honestly couldn’t tell you.) For me personally, my family and I would occasionally go to church on Sundays and always for holidays, such as Christmas and Easter. I also attended CCD (reluctantly because no kid - at least the ones I knew - enjoyed that) after school, which furthered my involvement in religion. My girlfriend, however, never went to church as a kid. In fact, the first and only time she has gone to church was her freshman year at CNU with her roommate, who she stayed with over Thanksgiving break (so she had to go). She explained that even though her parents grew up going to church, they didn’t continue to go with her and her sister. This conversation struck my curiosity of whether or not this is a common thing - are people less religious now? According to an article I found, o

Nov. 13 Today I decided to take a walk on the Noland Trail. It was colder than usual, which was perfect for autumn stroll. The Noland Trail is by no means a difficult hike, but rather a series of scenic paths that allowed us to experience a part of Newport News that is a change of pace. While I walked, I found myself forgetting that I was less than a mile from school because it was so calm and an amazing break from the hustle and stress of CNU. My favorite parts of the walk were when the path ran along the water. The way the colors of the trees reflected onto the tranquil water were beautiful. It’s walks like these that remind me how beneficial it is to just stop and admire nature. The Noland Trail helped me reconnect with the environment and take time out of my busy life to relax and allow myself to let go of the stress of everyday life. Not to mention how nice it was to have quiet time by myself, which allowed me to be more in touch with my thoughts and emotions.

Oct. 3 I wanted to know more about the benefits of hiking in terms of cognition after choosing my topic for my final paper. I found a research article about the benefits of hiking on higher-order cognition, including problem solving and judgement. The study aimed to analyze the Attention Restoration Theory (ART), which states that being in nature can improve higher order cognition processes. The study found that the people who took the Remote Associates Test (RAT) - which tests one’s performance on higher order cognitive processes - before their hike scored lower than those who completed the test on the fourth day of their hike. Furthermore, they saw a 50% increase in performance between the pre-hikers, and the current hikers. There still needs to be research done on the underlying cause of these results, but there are theories, including one that believes nature elicits an emotional response while being low-arousing. This study is particularly relevant in today’s society because

Sept. 20 Today my girlfriend and I decided to take advantage of the warm weather and went kayaking at Sandy Bottom Park in Newport News. We thought it would be a good idea to do it before the semester started to ramp up. Sandy Bottom is a great park, with two small lakes, a number of small trails, and even a dog park. The park has different kinds of boats to rent, but we ultimately decided on the kayaks. I have always loved kayaking. Not only is it great exercise, but it’s nice to be on the water, especially when it’s calm, like the lake at the park. Even though the semester isn’t that hectic yet, it was still nice to take a break, relax, and paddle around the lake, exploring all of the little inlets. After kayaking, or being in nature in general, I always feel less stressed, and overall happier, which is why I hope to continue going on outings throughout the semester. 

As a kid I would bike every where, both alone and with friends. One of the traditions we had was to bike to the store, in order to get ice cream. While the bike ride was fairly short from my house to the store the rout we took to get there made the trip quite memorable. In order to take as little time as possible we would cut through both a gated off dirt road and a small stretch of woods that were private property. Taking this path made us feel emboldened and free, even though the rules we were braking were in fact vary minor.

In class we talked a little about how the Bible incorporates the wilderness into its various books. The Bible shows us the wilderness is a place of teaching, learning and recentering. Regarding recentering, this acts as an axis mundi for believers. I think this 'recentering' is just the focus on oneself, sort of like kenosis, but also clearing the mind of outside influences. This is different from kenosis in the fact that the person is not necessarily focusing on God but rather on becoming absent from all things. In this sense the kenosis is the same except it lacks God. But God can be present if what they need recentering on is in fact God. I found these different meanings to be interesting in the relation between sacred communication, kenosis, and the wilderness.

I have mentioned before that I enjoy going on walks, and the Noland Trial happens to be very convenient for this. It is not only a beautiful trail, but it goes through many destinations such as the Lionsgate bridge that overlooks the lake. Walking the trail by myself has revealed many personal things to me, and I can only relate it to going on a long-distance hike. Of course, it isn't the same in magnitude or difficulty, but the revelations and the process it took to consider them is like being a wanderer on the Appalachian, PCT, Camino, or any other trail. Hopefully, the things that I come across will continue to appear to me through the course of my journey of life.

For this reading, I decided to read an article about about the effectiveness of dropping to your knees for prayer. Many say there is a force that makes them while others just say they do it to humble themselves. Either way it seems effective.

I am a Christian, and it has had a very important impact on my life. During the course of the classes, the ideas that we discussed has been put to the test against what I already believe. Some things I was unsure about. I do believe in a spiritual world, but talking about things like the ideas of chaos within order was questionable for me. However, as the semester is ending, I realize that even the things that I disagree with can be helpful in a way.

In the movie Six Million Steps we follow hikers on their journey along the Pacific Crest Trail. The movie's title is a reference to the rough approximation of the number of steps needed to complete the extremely long trail. The trail spans from Mexico US boarder all the way up to the Canada US boarder. This means that there is an ineradicable diversity in the environments faced while on the trail. In the movie this is point is brought up when the group has to face mountains one day and flat desert the next. These environmental changes also lead to many different beautiful sights a long the trail.

For my second outside reading I am quoting one of my favorite bible verses; "It is the power of God that makes what seems impossible possible. Nothing is impossible with God." (Luke 1:17). Sometimes I like to read this before my football games because compared to most everyone else, I am kinda small, but this is just reminder that nothing is impossible. And hey, David did beat Goliath.

I recently read an article about how hiking can give way for rehabilitation for veterans suffering from PTSD. It gives them a reason to get up every morning and do something to help ease their pain. It was reassuring to see people suffering able to get up an be productive with their lives. It is a true representation of the fact that anyone can overcome their difficulties if they put their mind to it.

All cultures look for signs. They want to believe that they are being guided. Symbols and signs are the founding basis for most myths and important stories. In pilgrimages, they are what leads the traveler onward into the wilderness. Both simple things like just seeing a flag on the trail, or a bigger thing like encountering a place or being that indicates a larger issue. This kind of responsibility in the catholic church was the virgin Mary, whom they believed God spoke through as a saint. They used her as a placeholder in conjunction to Christ. In a way, the Virgin Mary was the sign herself. Examples like this are what prove the importance of symbolism in the travelers quest.

Prayer is a strong force. It can ease pain, be cause for comfort, and can save those who need to be saved. It can give people hope for better times; it gives people purpose, and it give people purpose. It allows people to talk to someone with no judgement. All of these allow people to find comfort in something bigger than themselves.

In the book, Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture on pages 40 and 41, the author explains the culture surrounding pilgrimage in Mexico today. Many of the cites that pilgrims journey to in Mexico consist of shrines. This shrines range in what they consist of and in their scale. some example of this include, statues, pictures, crosses and other relics with a religious or cultural history to them. There are various standards that will determine weather or not a given shrine will be considered a holy cite worthy of pilgrimage.   

One of the first topics the books addresses is liminality. It says " ...in the general disregard of the liminal and marginal phenomena of social process and cultural dynamics by those intent either upon the description and classification of orderly institutionalized 'facts' or upon the establishment of 'historicity' of prestigious, unrepeated events." This is talking about the disregard people have for the process of liminality. It is a central idea in the progress of the journey, especially in Christianity. Liminality is very similar to the process of sanctification; the continual growth and change of a person to resemble Christ. Without liminality, neither Christianity, or the greater hiking journey will resemble what should be the end result.

As a firm believer in christ, I thought it was necessary to at least do an entry on my own faith. I have loved being a Christian because of the fact that I know that even in my worst of times, there is always someone in my corner and always someone to talk to through prayer.

I believe that what I took from this hike the most was that the wilderness is live just as me and you are. As we walked through the woods, you could hear the sounds of God's creations and you could feel an alternate presence. Also later that day I went back to the spot we stood at over the water and looked to see if the fish were still there and they were not. Just like us, the wilderness has to eat, go about its day, and eventually rest. We really rant that much different than the wilderness in the grand scheme of things.

In this reading, there were discussions of different pilgrimages and the effects they had on the people who dared to journey. It also talks about different pilgrimage structures and the correlation they could have with wilderness trails.

I have discovered that I need to seek out a "limit experience" as defined by Belden Lane in  Landscapes of the Sacred . I feel that any turning point or epiphany would be beneficial to my life. Perhaps it is the difficulty of these journeys that make them significant. When difficult is overcome, one ties the experience in with the place, causing it to become significant. I wonder though, if there is a difference between a significant place and a sacred place. It seems that many people call places of significance sacred only because they are correlated with a documented significant experience. I see how a specific place could be correlated with the spiritual for a single person or small group of people. If a significant spiritual encounter happened there then it would always remain a method of returning to that moment. But the idea that a place can be inherently spiritual for everyone does not make sense to me.

In this chapter, Benson and Wirzba explores "one of the most common of human activities" as they put it, which is prayer. They explain how prayer can be both public or private. They also explain prayer as kenosis in which through prayer we can empty ourselves.

What is prayer? Many would argue that it is just something that people with spiritual inclinations perform in order to connect to a higher being. yet, this is not a truly encompassing the entity recognized as prayer. Prayer is a constant state that one can dwell in. One can pray without the knowledge that of whom they are addressing. However, one of the most important parts of prayer that The Phenomenology of Prayer discusses is that prayer must be focused on God and not ourselves. It is only once the attention is removed from our personal desires and feelings, and migrated to the being that is being prayed to that one is really becoming a part of a spiritual journey.

On pages 17 to 18 in Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture the four types of pilgrimage. The first of these are pilgrimages that were started because of a journey that was undergone by some important figure in a given religion. A pilgrimage of this sort is present in all of the world's major religions. The second type of pilgrimages are those which are similar enough to a pilgrim practiced in older religions so that some connection can be implied. The third type of pilgrimage are those popular among people in the christian world (i.e. Europe). These are the ones I am the most familiar with. The final type of pilgrimage are those started in the post Tridentine era. These classifications are all new to me and some seem quite similar to each other if I'm being perfectly honest, but nether the less it is still interesting.

In this reading, Lane goes into detail about about the transformation of location into an imaginary realm that captivates imagery (Chora). He also describes the repetitive, temporal process called chronos and the idea of a unique significant event as kairos.

When going on a trail, one must be careful not to be destructive of the habitat they are walking through. It is the home of the creatures who live in whatever wilderness is being traveled through. In The Phenomenology of Prayer, the author uses Buber's arguments to discuss the meaning of the plants and animals. He distinguishes between the I and the you. When one addresses someone else as an it, they are not recognizing the other party as alive. It is only when ones shifts his perspective to view the other as a you that the second party is now a physical presence. As guests in the wilderness, hikers need to be aware to treat its inhabitants as the you, and not as the it.

In this chapter, Lane identifies the four axioms that describe the perception of space. He also identifies the difference between "being" and "dwelling" in a specific space. The four axioms are essential to our understanding of religious imagination and religious experience.

Landscapes of the Sacred  by Belden Lane helped me develop my own understanding of sacred places as well as pilgrimages. I believe that their significance comes from the persons perspective, Lane writes that it goes further than that. Lane writes that it is not perspective, but participation in a sacred place that makes it what it is. That it is more than a persons imagination that causes the place to be significant. This makes me think of Mt. Rainier and our discussion about it in class. Everybody that I have spoken to who has interacted with that mountain has stated that it was significant to them, but I truly don't understand. I understand beauty. I understand challenge. But I do not understand right now how a place of no real historical significance can hold inherent spiritual significance. I understand that people have personal experiences on the mountain that lead to deep moments in their lives. Perhaps that is why I need to take a journey and discover why these places are so

What I did find interesting about  Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture  by Victor Turner and Edith Turner was the ideas of the human view of pilgrimage, especially the idea of pilgrimage as initiation. It seems very unintuitive to take a long arduous journey to serve man rather than God. If one is to take a pilgrimage of initiation, it would be for the group or sect that they are involved in, not their God. I believe that the power of a sacred place or pilgrimage is perspective. In one of my earlier blogs I spoke about the desire of inspiration and the positive effects that it has on lives. I believe that sacred places and pilgrimages drive the pilgrim to focus on what they should be focusing on, the sacred. This focus brings about communication and enlightenment. This is not due to the place or journey having power, but them causing consideration to the people that they effect.

The Appalachian Trail, as stated before, is a place where one goes to become acquainted with others' faces. That of both other hikers, and also, of the plants and animals that live there. In the show Avatar the Last Airbender, this idea of seeing the true form of the person is necessary to the plot. At multiple points within the series the main character, Aang travels to the "spiritual world". Whilst in the parallel dimension, he meets with several spiritual forms as well as his ancestors. Originally, there is a fear of being there, a fear that what he sees will not be something he likes. Similarly, in the wilderness, one becomes a part of what they fear most. Themselves.

In the book The Camino de Santiago in the 21st Century the author discusses the arguments surrounding who should be considered real pilgrims. many of these disagreements center around what the real definition of a pilgrim is. Some choose to use the general definition that states that a pilgrim is simply someone who journeys to foreign lands, while others use much narrower definitions. These take in to account religion and the goals of someone partaking in the journey. This argument is interesting to me because I think it is the sort of problem that many groups must face when their numbers expand at a rapid pace. I can relate to this because when growing up my friends and I would play made up games on the play ground which would start off ill defined, but as more people joined in we needed to add more rules to make sure everyone played fairly.

Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture  by Victor Turner and Edith Turner was a very dense read for me, but it made me look at pilgrimage in a new light. Even after reading Pilgrims Progress  I never felt that a pilgrimage was something of significance for me. I never felt that I needed anything that a pilgrimage could provide. Perhaps the big thing would be time to reflect on myself as a person. Spiritually, I don't believe that a pilgrimage would be drastically life changing. Something that the authors wrote was that "faith is strengthened and salvation better secured by personal exposure to the beneficent unseen presence of the Blessed Virgin or local saint, mediated through a cherished image or painting." This is not something that I agree with. God is not limited to specific places or even times. He can interact with anyone, anywhere, in any way that he pleases. My salvation will not be affected by whether or not I worked harder or took a long walk.

 becoming what we pray One of the ways this book addresses how we become what we pray is by addressing to whom we are actually praying into. Of course the answer is god. However what Bugbee offers is that the only way for our prayers to come true is for us to live it out our prayers. For when we pray we pray to something or someone with uncertainty that they are listening or will do anything about. So he says the most effective way to ensure your prayer gets heard is to practice what you pray and realize just like god his methods of answering are mysterious. All one can do he says is physically live out what we pray for most.

 Prayer as Kenosis  After reading this passage and having our class discussions I absolutely agree that prayer is the act of “emptying” oneself in the presence of god. It speaks about how majority of people tend to pray in petitionary sense. Which the book describes as if one give up one thing then one should be rewarded with another. I would agree with this, however I think this is not due to human selfishness, however do to how humans have created society. I believe humans only pray like this because we have been conditioned due to western philosophy and religion to think that all things have to be conditioned. I say this because in majority of western culture we judge everything as good and bad and almost always in terms for ourselves. I think if more of civilization practiced good deeds with the mindset that what they are doing isn’t for themselves but the greater good of all which would then in effect makes themselves better off also. Only then would I think the masses could

What is the purpose of life One thing I thought about a lot while taking this class was what is the purpose of life. After sitting in on your class and doing my researching on hiking and the therapeutic and spiritual effects it can have I think I found my answer. Many people go into a long distance hike in search of rejuvenation and many come out with it. After doing this research I concluded the reason why many people left a long distance hike with a sense of rejuvenation it is because they find ways to become comfortable with reality, which then makes you present and happy with life. I saw this because many times while in the modern world we are constantly stressing ourselves out over money, bills, looks, and other material items and things which may or may not be in our control. What long distance hiking shows people is that one can never really control anything that’s going to happen in life. All they can do is control how they react and go about it. Like one of the trail jour

Why we should increase meat prices While getting stuck in an endless rabbit hole of video recommendations from youtube I found this particular very interesting video which was about how we could fix the green house gas emissions problem by eating less meat. What is explains is that in reality the world government are going to take to long to not only build but make affordable eco-friendly machines like electric cars or solar panels. Along with this it is unlikely people will be convinced to just stop driving as much or taking airplanes. The quick solution and unorthodox approach would be to increase prices on meat. This may sound crazy but the logic behind it is sound. The logic is that majority of green house emissions actually come from farm animals. The theory explains that farm animals not only produce the most emissions but also they are bad because of how much space they take up in an forever growing population world. The thought process is that if prices of meat went up eno

Why the United States should invest in sister cities  One very cool concept I just heard about today on a podcast is the concept of sister cities. A sister city is a program in which two cities one in America and the other somewhere abroad and let a group of people switch lives for a week. The reason why I love this idea so much is that not only is this a great way to help lower income people travel the world and enjoy life more but even more so it is a great opportunity to help broaden peoples cultural knowledge and acceptance. One major issue America has is accepting other peoples cultures when they bring it over from their nation. It is deeply seen in America that if you are in America then one must do everything the same way it is done here, and if it is not then it is considered to be extremely disrespectful. I believe having a program like this would help everyone gain a greater respect for different cultures and also help people abroad see America in a different light.

Why soccer is the best sport for kids This is a debate I have had with myself and others for years. It started off as what sport was the best. Which I obviously thought soccer because it had been the sport I played all my life. However once my friends and I got deeper into the topic is how we arrived at which sport is the best for kids. In my opinion soccer is by far the best sport for kids. To start off with it teaches them many important values in which every child should learn. To begin with it teaches them how to work as a team. Unlike basketball where there aren’t many teammates one necessarily has to get along with soccer has 11 on the field at all times. Due to how many moving part there are to a soccer team, the child learns not only how to win, but to lose as a team. Where as in football the team is divided up into two teams, offense and defense which can leave kids feeling that it was the other side that caused the lost and not theirs. The other value which gets instille

Surfing as a way of meditation  I completely believe surfing can be used not only as a great way to exercise and be outside but is a great way to find inner peace.  What I greatly unappreciated about surfing is its effectiveness to drown out every other thought in my head, regardless of positivity and allow me to live in the moment. Once once I strap into my surfboard, nothing else matters but paddling out past the break and catching a wave. This sometimes can quite a difficult task for me because I have a torn labrum and on any given day my arm can just not be feeling it and make right arm practically go limp after 10 minutes of paddling. However though this never discourages me that I wont make it out there. I have spent 30 minutes trying to paddle out and I learned that sometimes it is not always my effort or physical ability that’s the problem but just the time and place I’m doing it. And as any surfer knows, when surfing there is flat out just some areas of the surf that will

63rd Street My most favorite thing in the world is going the beach. There is no other place that I feel more at peace at then the beach. As much as I love the beach, if I had to choose any beach to be on it will forever be 63 rd street in Virginia Beach, VA. I had been going to this exact street since freshman year, and even up to this day if someone proposes another place to go to I will rise up immediately and purpose we go to North End which always means 63 rd street if I am involved. I never exactly know why I am always drawn to this street, but I have noticed many things about myself as the way I treat this street. I treat this area like a sacred place. I refuse to ever leave trash and I always pick up others peoples trash if I see it. I always invite people into my beach group if they are alone and are looking to be social. Whenever something bad happened in my life I would always come here and just sit because in no other place did I feel more capable to really look at the si

Pilgrimage In the reading, the book talks of different kinds of pilgrimage. In the Muslim religion it is a requirement to visit Mecca at least once it their lives. In the Christian religion it is only a requirement for those to make a pilgrimage to certain religious sites only if they have dedicated their lives to the religion like a bishop. However in the Jewish religion there’s absolutely nothing that says one must commit some part of their life to a pilgrimage. I think it is a good thing to have pilgrimages to certain points from your culture or religion, this way to remind us where it came from along with context to how it developed. 

Rituals             In this reading it talks about how in tribal societies, the things that some cultures used to perform or still perform were considered a type of work, where as today we would consider practicing our religion more of a leisure thing then one would consider work. I think this is an untrue settlement because I think back towards when I was studying to have a bar-mitzva when I turned 13 and just how hard that was. At the time, even still now I would say studying for that ritual is the hardest thing I have ever done along with nothing else I have done has taken as much time to complete.

On Liberty by John Stewart Mills One book I have been trying to read is On liberty by John Stewart Mills. In this book he speaks about what he thinks liberty is and how it should be patrolled. What makes me so interested into John Mills is that he holds the philosophy that if something doesn’t harm or effect another’s ability to be safe or be free then it should be legal. What this translates to in reality is that for example all drugs should be decriminalized because it should be a persons choice if they want to do something like that and the government has no right policing things that a person should and shouldn’t be able to do with their own life. However drinking and driving would be illegal because it puts others at harm. I truly wish we lived in a society more geared towards this. For in my opinion if we had laws like this I believe socially we would become a more accepting society for people wouldn’t look at an action if it is bad or good but simply as a person living the

Xenophobia  NYT reading One thing that I have been keeping a close ear to is the growing tensions of xenophobia in America. I feel like every week, I read the New York Times and there’s a new revelation on the growing hatred of immigrants. Even just today I was reading an article about how a 16 year old. Boy how was captured by border control just a week before has died in their custudy. He died due to a flu and lack of medical treatment. The reason I consider this about of the growing xenophobic behavior is because in my opinion this only occurs because there is a lack of empathy and love towards groups which is not our own. I understand why back during the Neanderthal time period why we had to be warry of others coming into our land and possibly being a threat. However that is not where we are today, and I just wonder where all this hate stems from. Many say its their religion that calls for these kind of persecutions, however ask a religious scholar and they would disagree whol

“Seeking a sacred center” places and themes in Native American spirituality In this passage we read about how if there is a spirit of a place then the place we would find it would be in the Americas, where the Native Americans lived and still to live.  The Native Americans believed the land that which you lived on and where from was just as important as the life you lived. In many ways the Indians believed that where you were bought up is just as important as the personality you have and in many cases they believed that the land around them was the cause for certain personalities. It is for this reason that Native American cultures such as the Navajo never venture far from the place of where they say not only where their people were created but where the believed the world was created. I think they are extremely right to think that the place where one was born influences the upbringing and personality traits one will also develop as they get older. It is for this reason today that

“Tension between the local and the universal” The fourth and final axiom is the tension between the local and universal, the centripetal and centrifugal forces. When I was reading this passage I tried thinking of my own time of when I felt this push and pull sensation. It upset me slightly that I couldn’t think of anything off the top of my head because I thought for sure, being the devoted Jew I am. The first thing that came to mind when thinking of this feeling was when I was in Boston exploring the quarries in Braintree. While exploring with my dad we found this very random and extremely out of place cave. Due to its location so deep in the woods, along with how deep it went into the hill with it not being any more then 3-1/2 feet high that it had to be man made. My brother, father, and I all went into the cave to see if we could find anything in it. After going in about 20 yards  deep into the cave I started to get very anxious. As I kept on moving forward, I get about another

Sea shore state park  One weekend that I went back home to Virginia Beach, I decided to go for a run at sea shore. The day was beautiful, not a cloud in sight, and something I was even more grateful for was the fact that it was in the upper 60’s this late into October. When I usually go on runs at sea shore I usually just do the trail that’s right next to the water and is only about 3-1/2 miles long. However after I finished that short trail, I still had plenty of energy left and decided that I was finally going to try the other trails that Sea Shore had to offer. Once I began Nolan’s trail which is around four miles there and four back I started thinking to myself why in the world I hadn’t done this before. I had lived in Virginia Beach my whole life and have been coming to seashore to hangout and go for runs since middle school and yet this was the first time I was actually exploring the whole other half of seashore. One thing that had me laughing but also feeling like I was goin

Today a part of class discussion struck a chord with me.  There are no two hikes that are exactly the same.  Even for people who are completing the same trail, even at the very same time, they will not be having the same journey.  This is because spirituality is so unique to each person, there is no way for it to be mimicked while remaining truthful.  Spirituality comes in different levels of awareness, some people may be very in tune, others wouldn't even know that they had a spiritual experience per say, just that it left them profoundly effected.  This realization put into perspective for me expectation of a thru-hike.  Multiple times this semester I have entertained the idea; would I be able to complete a thru-hike on the AT?  Would I want to experience this spiritual journey myself?  Simply put, do I want what those other people have?  But the answer is that there is no way to guarantee those results!  One of the four axioms states that you don't choose a sacred place, it

The other major takeaway that I had from The Phenomenology of Prayer  was the idea of "disinterested delight" which we talked about some in class. The idea that God delights in me so much that He is already delighting in me before I even turn to delight in Him is incredibly fulfilling. I also love the idea of the inverse side of this disinterested delight. That I can be so preoccupied in my delight in God that I am not concerned with anything else, even performance for Him. If the entire focus of my life was on God, I truly believe that I would life the fullest life that I possibly could. This however, is not always the case. I feel like a control freak sometimes. I often catch myself trying to mold God into whatever I want to do in life, rather than being entirely focused on Him and following His will for me. I love the analogy of disinterested delight that Professor Redick gave in class. The image that he painted in my mind was one of a husband and wife both sitting by a

My favorite portion of the first section of Bruce Ellis Benson and Norman Wirzba's The Phenomenology of Prayer  was the story of the young 3 year old boy learning what prayer was. His parents explained it has "Asking God for things" and the first thing that he asked for was gelato! This has stuck with me ever since I first read it as it is to applicable to my life. I was raised in a Christian household and have been praying for a large portion of my life, but even to this day I catch myself staying stuck within this element of prayer. I selfishly ask, and it is only during this asking that I am attempting any communication with my God. The authors describe five elements of prayer. Praise, Thanksgiving, Confession, Petition, and Intercession. I tend to only focus on Petition and sometimes thanksgiving. The others feel much more unnatural to me. Confession is something that I struggle with. If I need to confess something that is admitting that I have a problem worth confess

“[seek] escape from [their] own words and the teachings [they] had been doing” Throughout the semester I have pulled quotes out from Lane's book, and have used his quotes in multiple writing responses of mine. This quote, in particular, is one of my favorites and has stuck out to me each time I have had a writing assignment. The context behind this quote is that a person had to just go on a walk and get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. It really reflects the concept of a spiritual journey and how once people walk they can find their telos. They can find how they fit into the world. Them walking is all about them looking at the world with a new perspective. By basically letting go of materialistic things one can find out who they are on a deeper level. I thought that so many people can find who they really are by just being alone and just take time to think things over. Solitude allows people to understand who they are and can push forward in life. Though, this is

Spiritual Journey and The Eight Mountains In Paolo Cognetti’s The Eight Mountains,  which was originally written in Italian, but later translated to English.  The story primarily takes place in the Italian Alps, and follows the life of a young boy who’s father buys a mountain house there.  While the book mainly focuses on young Pietro’s lifelong friendship with Bruno, as local boy his age, another important facet is Pietro’s relationship with his father.  Unable to share in his father’s passion for hiking mountains when he is young, it is only after his father’s death that Pietro begins to hike in an attempt to connect with his late father.  Impassioned, Pietro travels the world exploring different mountain regions and leaving messages for his father on other peaks.  He also enlists Bruno to help him build a house high upon the mountain like his father always wanted, a request Bruno takes as he himself is trying to connect with an old way of life practiced by his ancestors.   The boo

So, this is my second blog post after the Mount Koya one I did. I have a list of questions pertaining to the class so far, and felt it appropriate to write them down and refer back to them when I have found the answers I am looking for. 1. What is sacred communications/journeys all about? 2. What is flow on a larger scale? 3. How can "I" an d"it" be related on a larger scale? 4. When and where do people figure out their purpose or telos? 5. How can the sublime affect people in relation to their telos? These are just a few questions that have arose from the few class discussions, and some of few I am already starting to formulate conclusions on. The rest I am still pondering, but I am sure by the end of the semester I will understand what my questions mean.

It seems as if inspiration is a large part of spiritual journeys. So many of the videos we watched and stories we heard began out of a burst of inspiration. This caused me to ask the question: Where does inspiration come from and how can I get as much of it as possible? The results of inspiration seemed to always be positive. People's lives were changed for the better. Since inspiration is a good thing I want as much of it as possible. I think that inspiration needs to be sought out. I wont be inspired if I'm always distracted. That's why I want to take a journey. So that I can seek out inspiration through quiet contemplation. A journey expands the mind and removes the simple distractions of day-to-day life. I want to live as an inspired person.

Adoption of Personal Autonomy of the Virgin Mary Mary, Mother of Christ, is unarguably one of the most important human figures in Christian faith, second only to Christ himself.  It is through her that the incarnation is possible, but through looking at Christian history, it was pilgrimage which may have influenced a certain zeal for the Virgin Mary in the modern era (nineteenth century).  Through pilgrimages to sacred spots significant to her, the adoption of Mary as a patron saint goes on to provide important identification for those of Christian faith.  Mary is not simply Mother of Christ, but Mother to All because she is the mother of Jesus Christ, who is God in flesh, God who created us all.  In reflection, this helps shape the trends of Christian faith, especially Catholic faith which identifies strongly with the concept of saints and their role in communication between the human and the Holy. 

The Alchemist and “In Baghdad, Dreaming of Cairo; In Cairo, Dreaming of Baghdad” When read in class, the poem “In Baghdad…” reminded me very much of a book that had been assigned reading in my 9th grade English class.  The book is The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.  It features a young shepherd boy who goes out in search of treasure, though after countless experiences and travels around the world, finds out the treasure was right in the place he started out.  In the poem, the notion of the journey itself being the true way to spiritual guidance goes in accord with The Alchemist , as it is the journey along the way that is Santiago’s true treasure.

Today we went outside as a class to Lions Bridge. It was a little different, but it did thoroughly apply what we had been addressing in class to the outside. We were able to analyze multiple things, and though I cannot remember the names of the plants we discussed I can describe the. The red leaf I touched was smooth and had a smell similar to an herb. Another plant I was able to touch and smell reminded me of an herb I have used in the kitchen, as well as other dishes I have had. The trees were tall and they were like a canopy over the newer vegetation. I learned how a hurricane had knocked over previous foliage, and as a result, newer plants formed in their sted. The path I walked along, though it looked carved out, had new growth and very little was disturbed. The forest looked so beautiful in its primitive state and preserved from the touch of man. Most of all if people did tread on the ground they took great care to not disturb the natural order in the forest.

The semester has just started and this was one of the first topics we covered in class. I am still unsure about what this class is completely about, but the topics and concepts are starting to make sense in relation to other aspects of the world. This will be a short response, solely filled with questions, but I am sure that as the semester goes on I will understand what cosmos is and how I fit into it. My first question is, can anything be cosmos? Can we include anyone we want into our cosmos? Is there a limit to how big my cosmos can be? What is my relationship to other people's cosmos'? I am sure that s we progress in the semester that these questions will be answered, but for right now I just wanted to express my thoughts on the subject for a future time.

Something that I would have loved to talk more about in this class is the significance of music to spiritual communication. Almost, if not all of my most significant spiritual encounters have been through music in one way or another. The first major spiritual event that I can remember occurred at a summer camp when I was 12. The speaker was just finishing speaking and had started to pray and the Lord suddenly put a short song in my heart that I had heard before. I still remember the lyrics. "I am not my own for I have been made new. Please don't let me go, I desperately need you." This was the first of many significant spiritual experiences that involved music in my life. This sort of realization made me wonder about the different methods of communication that God has with people. Professor Redick is very in-tune with nature and seems to get a large amount of communication from it. I have never had such an experience. I appreciate nature but do not think that I have ever

My second attempt of reading this book has gone better. Since we discussed the reading in class and Erin helped explain it better, I somewhat know what the authors, Victor Turner and Edith Turner, are trying to get at. For a majority of the reading, a common theme is comparing different pilgrimages amongst different religions. A form of traveling long ways for religious purposes. This relates to the long distance hikes we talk about in class where people undergo a spiritual of scared journey.