Spiritual elders have amazing insight and are able to help individuals with their spiritual walk regardless of their personal religious beliefs. Many elders offer spiritual wisdom that we may not receive in our church or from spiritual elders in our families that have the same belief system. All of the spiritual elders that I reviewed were able to give information that was able to help me in my personal journey and wrote in a way that can be understood by others that do not share the same beliefs. Scholarly, spiritual leaders offer experience, knowledge, and wisdom that we may never obtain so, it is important to observe and understand their contributions.
Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook is a Jewish spiritual leader that became Chief Rabbi of Israel. When Kook wrote his poem, “Radiant Is the World Soul,” I read and took note of one particular line that truly stood out to me. Kook writes “Listen to me and you will enjoy what is good and find delight in what is truly precious.”(Easwaren, 1982. P. 39). It’s my opinion that he
…show more content…
was speaking about God and listening to what he has to say in all things, so that may know what is important in this life. Kook’s poem can also speak to any individual in any religion, helping us to grow in our walk with God. He understood individuals differently and his short biography agrees, “While at the same time possessing an unusual openness to new ideas. This drew many religious and nonreligious people to him.” (n.d., para. 3). Kook was influential to many during his own spiritual walk and his words and thoughts are still quoted today. After reflecting on Christianity and the “The Prayer of St. Francis,” written by Saint Francis of Assisi, it is easy to understand how his contributions can guide Christians and still comfort non-believers. St. Francis is qualified as a valid spiritual source since he is a Saint. St Francis was named a Saint on July 16, 1228, by Pope Gregory IX and is known as the patron saint of animals and the environment. According to the Smithsonian, St Francis created the “nativity scene”, in 1223. (Nuwer, n.d., para. 9). “The Prayer of St. Francis” was extremely valuable and spoke to me. As I studied the prayer, my thoughts hung on every word written. I don’t want this world and my life to be about myself. I want to give up all the adversity and negativity and see the positive in all things. I want to remove all selfishness and find more meaning and worthiness in the happiness of others. I know that out of oppression we can find comfort and that “in dying to self that we are born to eternal life." I find meaning in his prayer and feel it is a perfect prayer to use daily. St. Francis had the ability to draw out vulnerabilities and at the same time make me yearn to become a woman of integrity, while I continue my spiritual journey. I have some personal knowledge surrounding Hinduism and Buddhism along with their traditions, beliefs, and superstitions.
I have a close friend named Supriya, whose uncle was the Prime Minister of Nepal. Supriya’s family, the Koirala’s, were exiled from Nepal when she was a young girl. They fled to India where she studied Hinduism and Buddhism, while gaining a Catholic education. Subsequently, Supriya moved to the United States to continue her education. I was invited to her traditional Nepali wedding ceremony in Nepal, which incorporated both Hindu and Buddhist traditions. Unfortunately, I was unable to witness the wedding first hand because I could not get a passport prior to the ceremony. Supriya was able to help me understand her culture as well as Hinduism and Buddhism in a way I had never heard before. It is certainly more enlightening learning different forms of religions from those who have practiced the religion since they were young
children. I chose to read a Hindu poem authored by Sri Ramakrishna and Buddhist poem written by Shantideva. Both authors are spiritual elders within their respected religions. I gained more in my spiritual walk reading them today because of the difficulties I have encountered with my mom over the last several days. They both speak about God being everywhere or seeing Him in all things. Even while I watch my mom suffer, unable to speak, I know that God’s hand is involved in some way because He is everywhere. Both poems speak about Heaven and I know that that if it is her time than God will certainly bring her home with Him. I am a Christian, however, the words in the poem spoke to me. I replaced their knowledge of spiritual beings with my God and my beliefs, by doing this I was able to find some comfort in my current situation. The most challenging of all the religions for me was Sufism. It may partially be attributed to my lack of knowledge or possibly the negative connotations that have come to light regarding Islam. After having some time to review and process the poem written by Baba Kuhi of Shiraz and read about his life, I was able to gain some insight. According to the, Encyclopædia Iranica, Kuhi was a Muslim who spent many hours praying and writing poetry in a cave. It is reported that Baba Kuhi was also well traveled and attempted to gain knowledge and stories about Sufism. Baba Kuhi authored a poem called, “Only God I saw,” in this poem he made it very clear that everywhere he went and everywhere he looked he saw God.”(Easwaren, 1982. P. 77). I think all spiritual individuals should seek knowledge, spend time alone in cave, and look for God in all things. The spiritual elders I reviewed have added to my spiritual journey and walk with God. They may not share the same beliefs, worship the same God, or engage in the same traditions, however, they can complement my religious views. Spiritual elders have amazing insight and spiritual wisdom that have yet to know and I can learn how to become a better Christian and follow my faith by exercising some of the spiritual knowledge I identified with.
In the book, Apostles of Disunion, author Charles B. Dew opens the first chapter with a question the Immigration and Naturalization service has on an exam they administer to prospective new American citizens: “The Civil War was fought over what important issue”(4). Dew respond by noting that “according to the INS, you are correct if you offer either of the following answers: ‘slavery or states’ rights’” (4). Although this book provides more evidence and documentation that slavery was the cause of the Civil War, there are a few places where states’ rights are specifically noted. In presenting the findings of his extensive research, Dew provides compelling documentation that would allow the reader to conclude that slavery was indeed the cause for both secession and the Civil War.
Magical, poetic, and awe-aspiring. This is what mere words at its best can accomplish when trying to capture the essence of the painting, The Glory of the Light Within, by the renowned artist, Dale Terbush. This specific masterpiece is representative of Terbush’s art and reveals much about his outlook towards nature. Viewers are presented with a breathtaking scenery and a natural beauty depicted in all its glory in this panoramic view (the painting is 4x5 feet). Indeed, because the well-defined foreground, distinct middle ground, and dim background compose characteristics of a magical scenery, this vista is transformed into an ideal utopia.
For Foua, a Hmong mother, the United States was a complete opposite to the life she was use to living and right now preparing this wedding shows the skills that she possess even if they are not very relevant in her new home, “‘I [Foua] am very stupid.’ When I [Anne] asked her why, she said, “Because I don’t know anything here. I don’t know your language. American is so hard, you can watch TV all day ad you still don’t know it” (Fadiman 103). This wedding bought Foua and Anne close in a different way, it created a new level of understanding and appreciation. Anne is starting to discover what it is like to be from another country where the language is different, the clothes are different, the entire way the people live is different. Basically, the world has been flipped upside down and the people need to find their new source of living. It is never easy to pick up a perfectly settled life and suddenly decide that moving and changing it all around is exactly what we need to do. But that was not the case of Foua, her family was forced to move to the United States. This would have made it even harder to adjust. Everything is suddenly thrown at Foua and there is no looking back only forward and the forward might be a lot more difficult. This is why this wedding is like a dream to Foua, it combines her old life with her new life. Although, the skill of creating a Hmong wedding might not be useful in the United States they still create a lot of joy and this joy can lead people to understand one another in a new found way. A new joy that was found in the new life of the bride and groom, but also there was the connection between two cultures. There was a greater understanding and
Bringing Life or Seven Years in Afghanistan is a story from an Engineer alumni from ORU, Joshua Atkinson, that recounts destitution and honor from working to develop a devastated Afghanistan. His memories from the dreaded 9/11 attacks has detailed Atkinson's journey to Afghanistan for working with the nation and the people during the outbreak of the war. His novel has only great telling from life in Afghanistan to showing difficulties in rebuilding the country to even the calling God has called to him for.
Living Buddha, Living Christ has taught me the true meaning of Buddhism, and it demonstrates what the path to true enlightenment is. The following concepts have stood out to me, and they are ones that I relate to on a more personal level. Buddhism has perceptions that are not always seen by everyone, but they are concepts that are important for our own happiness.
"When a trout rising to a fly gets hooked on a line and finds himself unable to swim about freely, he begins with a fight which results in struggles and splashes and sometimes an escape. Often, of course, the situation is too tough for him."
A strong sense of self, in the words of William Shakespeare, is “To know what we are, but not what we might be.” In the book, A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, the main character, Gene, ¬¬struggled with having a strong sense of self. His lack of identity negatively affected his life. The major consequence of his absent sense of self was his burning envy and hatred toward his extremely athletically gifted friend Finny. Gene’s lack of identity and hatred toward Finny led him to shake a limb if a tree that Finny was climbing. Finny fell and broke his leg. He later died when the bone marrow escaped into his blood. Gene’s behavior caused Finny’s death but there is reason to believe that Finny would have died anyway. For example, Finny could have been killed in the army, Finny’s lack of caution caused him to break his leg again, and the branch would have broken since it was already weak causing Finny to fall and die.
“The Sweet Hereafter” portrays the grief stricken citizens of a remote Canadian town traumatized by a terrible accident, and the impact of an ambulance-chasing lawyer who is attempting to deal with the grief in his own life. The film also depicts the grieving subjects susceptibility to convert grief and guilt into both blame and monetary gain and the transformation this small community faces after such a devastating event.
The Color of Christ describes an interesting, yet complicated, relationship between religion and race. The image of Christ plays an important role in the formation of different religions. The color of Christ has not always been predominately portrayed as white. The Puritans did not believe in religious imagery, thus destroying any images of Christ. Jesus was not solely depicted as white until the mid-nineteenth century. Before then, Jesus came from Jewish roots and had brown eyes. The formation of this blond hair, blue eyed, white Jesus came about as the nation itself began to change as Catholics and Jewish immigrants came into the United States and whites began to grow in power. Before white Jesus emerged, people in different cultures depicted Jesus as their own. During the civil rights movement, some black people portrayed Jesus as a black African with an afro comparing the struggles of Jesus with the struggle of their people in the south during the civil rights movement in order to make their Jesus more relatable to suit their own religious obligations and constitutional objective...
...carnation. After speaking to her about my religion ethnography, she offered that she practices Hinduism with her family and would be more than happy to open her home to me. I was honored that they gave me this opportunity, and understood that I truly was interested and not just writing a silly paper for a class. This information on Hinduism gave me more respect for my friend Adhita, as she plans to stay committed to Hinduism her entire life. I gained appreciation to the devotion, as well as the loyalty to good and bad karma. When first approaching the Sahai home, I felt slightly uncomfortable. Hoping the family wouldn’t judge my religion, and would be open about talking about theirs was my biggest concern. While this doesn’t even start to touch on the entire religion, I am confident I captured what was truly important about this religion to the Sahai family.
In today’s ever changing world people must adapt to change. If an organization wants to be successful or remain successful they must embrace change. This book helps us identify why people succeed and or fail at large scale change. A lot of companies have a problem with integrating change, The Heart of Change, outlines ways a company can integrate change. The text book Ivanceich’s Organizational Behavior and Kotter and Cohen’s The Heart of Change outlines how change can be a good thing within an organization. The Heart of Change introduces its readers to eight steps the authors feel are important in introducing a large scale organizational change. Today’s organizations have to deal with leadership change, change in the economy,
The first step I took was to learn about their religion and culture; I visited the temple (church) where most of the people interact and worship. The West Indian community is made up of mostly Hindus. Hinduism is the main religion in India where they worship many forms of gods and believe that after you die, you return to life in a different form. While visiting the temple, I learned that within this community, they all share the same values and beliefs. Their mission is to continuously grow, have adults and youths participate in the community and raise money to have events to celebrate their...
While Kierkegaard’s analysis of the superiority of the Knight of Faith in relation to those who follow the aesthetic life or ethical life is correct, he fails to acknowledge that faith can be rooted in joy and love, and can be far more spiritual and fulfilling than faith alone. This is the angst-ridden and unfortunate symptom of an existential despair, and does not truly reflect the complicated relationship between man and God.
Nanda, S. (1998). Arranging a Marriage in India. In P. DeVita (Ed.), Stumbling toward truth: Anthropologists at work (pp. 196-204). Illinois, U.S: Waveland Press.
Customs and traditions differ from one part of Nepal to another. A conglomeration lies in capital city Kathmandu where cultures are blending to form a national identity. Kathmandu Valley has served as the country’s cultural metropolis since the unification of Nepal in the 18th Century.A prominent factor in a Nepali’s everyday life is religion. Adding color to the lives of Nepalis are festivals the year round which they celebrate with much pomp and joy. Food plays an important role in the celebration of these festivals.