After reading the whole of “Sacred Pathways” I have identified my preferred approach to connect with God as “Naturalist”. Being outdoors takes me away from the reality of life and everything that is going on and allows me to more clearly focus on God and allow him to strip away the stress. Not only are the distractions gone but I feel closer to God surrounded in what he made. Even if I’m just looking up to the sky – I’m amazed by how big he is. Or When I see the birds, I’m reminded of his care and love for me as he cares for them.
My Experience with Naturalist Approach
On one experience using this approach I took my bible, put on my gum boots and went for a walk on our farm. On the way I talked to God about desperately wanting to be closer to him but not knowing how. I walked down to the small stream that runs through our property and I sat on the bridge which I would call my “Gethsemane”. There I was reading my bible and in it God showed me there were idols in my life that needed to be removed. After receiving this revalation I laid down, gazing up to the sky as I
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Another thing I see as a weakness is that it’s not appealing to go outside when the weather isn't good and in Winter that is most days which makes this approach difficult to implement all year round.
The strengths of this approach is that you are surrounded by what God created, which helps you to see God and not feel like he’s distant. You can see his beauty and power in all that he created. Being outside is good place to find rest in the simplicity of nature. We can see Scriptual truths come alive and God can speak to us through his creation, like in my experince, this couldn’t have happened inside my
It looks as if this spiritual relationship intends to be more complete and sacred; aspiring to an awakening, and cooperation of one’s heavenly, higher self. One’s union with the Divine comes forth as an earthly reality; illuminating a freedom, and calmness within one’s spirit.
God uses Jesus to help the population in all different ways. Jesus helps the blind see, he clothes the poor, and overall, can cure anyone who is worthy. God shows his presence through Jesus so the people of earth have someone to follow. Even today we see God work his wonders even without the presence of Jesus. God shows miracles which no one would believe if they were not reality. God’s presence in the world is mediated through nature and reality as seen in the readings of The Gospel of Matthew and The Book of Exodus.
Have you noticed that we feel a powerful desire to connect with nature during difficult times? Whether we are injured, depressed or sad our inclination towards nature increases. Patients in hospitals recover faster if they are in a room with a nice view. Why? Because nature is so pure and powerful that can restore our spirits and heal our bodies and minds. The beauty of nature has been praised in art, poetry, writings and films. Naturalists, poets and writers have documented the many benefits of spending time in nature. "Calypso Borealis" by Muir and "I wandered Lonely as a Cloud" by Wordsworth are two great pieces of literature where our hearts are filled with an indescribable emotion. John Muir and William Wordsworth express their relationship
The wilderness allows people to escape the crazy hectic lives they live daily and just unwind. Chris McCandless was “ unheeded, happy, and near to the wild heart,” throughout his soul-searching journey in the wilderness (Krakauer 31). Many people like Chris will experience different sensations in the serene wilderness, however it calls
Nature can keep its blissful purity untroubled in the moment, not convicted by what all society has brought into this world. Furthermore, many find nature as their safe place, the one place they can go too, and no one can interfere with their happiness. John Muir and William Wordsworth noticed the peaceful nature brought to their soul when traveling on their journey. Do not let your hands be weak, for you shall be rewarded.” – 2 Chronicles 15:7 John Muir and William Wordsworth both faced challenges to get to where they were going.
The extra theistic landscape includes stories from the participants that include beliefs that transcend the mundane, but are not related to the belief in God. The third path of spirituality described by Ammerman is ethical spirituality. This is essentially the common ground between the theistic and extra theistic landscapes; ethical spirituality “is that real spirituality is about living a virtuous life, one characterized by helping others, transcending one’s own selfish interests to seek what is right” (45). Ammerman has found that most of the participants consider themselves spiritual and religious, the minority consider themselves spiritual but not religious, these participants included those from the unaffiliated and the non-attenders. This is the fourth and final path Ammerman outlines in chapter 2 of her book. As Ammerman continues, she describes activities of the theistic and extra theistic such as, praying, reading scripture, meditating, and using music as a way to show
The Peruvian Communist Party (PCP-SL), better known as Sendero Luminoso (‘Shining Path’) was a maoist guerrilla organization in Peru. The parties roots can be drawn to the Andean department of Ayacucho, one of Peru’s pooerest and uneducated areas, where ill even the 1950s landowners continued their serflike manner of treatment toward the natives existence. The escape their dismal lives, Ayacuchans turned toward education, migrating by the thousands in their attempt to escape that existed for them back home.
There is a famous quote by writer Joseph Campbell that says, “Your sacred space is where you can find yourself again and again”. That says, everyone has a sacred space. For some that is their bedroom, for others it is a religious or spiritual place. No matter what, however, everyone gets the same feeling, the same release from their sacred place, but some people must go further, or make a pilgrimage to get to their sacred space or spaces. I will be addressing the sacred places of pilgrimage in Buddhism.
Joy Harjo did a tremendous job in explaining to the reader that one can relax oneself through prayer and nature. We can all relate to the idea of allowing ourselves into places not yet imagined and feeling at peace. She connects the idea of peacefulness with nature and prayer in a well thought language that allows her to still connect herself to her Native American ancestry. Harjos metaphors and images of nature and prayer are effective in getting her point across as well as making a deeper connection with her Muskogee Creek heritage.
...ng in pure nature the flame of spirituality is re-ignited. The person is in a virtual Eden.
Moved by faith in God, we commit ourselves to promote the healing that rises at one as well as the other private and environmental levels from integrated lives dedicated to serving God and humanity. Works Cited Keepers of the garden: Christians and the environment. by John T. Baldwin, Retrieved October 12, 2011. King James Bible, Retrieved, October, 13, 2011. www.mightystudents.com/essay/specific.actions.Christian..
I’d like to state the most obvious observation that I’ve made about spiritual formation; that is that I will always need to be seeking for ways to nurture my personal spirituality throughout my life. I know that to most people this may sound like a “duh” statement, but for me it has truly become a reality and one that I must admit I have been struggling to embrace. I was brought up in a church that, like most traditional churches, stayed happy living in the “comfort zone” of their Christianity. They took everything that the Bible said at face value without digging in to find out why they believed what they believed. I had never been challenged to look deeper into the text. In the past few years I have felt the need to tunnel out of this cave of what I feel is best labeled “Christian ignorance”. In the process though, I have had to come to terms with letting go of the things that brought me comfort and provided me with what I thought it took to have a close relationship with God. Some of those things were tangible. Most were not. The things that were the least tangible actually ended up being the hardest to let go of.
...e unfolds, the belief in the theories presented becomes easy to understand in that the Word of God is real and infallible. It is truth and has authority for God breathed and inspired people to write. This prophesies happened in due time and the wisdom presented became guidelines to live in happiness and peace, notwithstanding, grace and eternal life. The bible instructs us to be faithful to His Great commission and to live our life in a way that pleases Him. These with the other things that He has spoken and have come to pass, I have enough reason to believe Him.
After moving to Bismarck from India, in time of distress I found solace by visiting the church with my neighbor who was kind enough to let me go with her. My aim then was to pray and be able to connect to god and find peace. For me what matters most is that I am close to god, what matters most is that I should connect to god and be able to reach him.
Outdoor recreation is something that everyone needs. Finding that place within yourself that allows you to forget about everything. Whether that be playing with your kids in the nearby park, fishing with your grandfather, hiking with someone or just by yourself you learn something new about yourself. Some people use recreation to forget about something and they use being outside as a calming effect. Williams and Stewart (1998) believe that nature, as a place, creates an emotion bond, has a complex meaning to the person, and that people have this draw back to the place. To get the same feeling that someone would get while doing an activity in nature to simulate Williams and Stewart’s (1998) belief, I recently participated in an