The spiritual quest starts with the individual saying to themself, “I am ready.” And forming an intention to work on their own spiritual development. However, soon after this statement of intent, there emerge problems. To whom should one turn? Who is reliable? For a start we may eliminate as potential teachers and guides all those who receive pay for their teaching. This is reminiscent of Socrates’ idea that the sophists who were paid for their teaching were not to be followed. If you attempt spiritual development by following the teaching of an individual or organization that gets paid for its teaching, you will get stuck on the highway to Infinity. Another guideline is to study the source teachings of any wisdom tradition. Go back to the …show more content…
Sometimes this is hard to discern because people can be very good at appearing to be sincere, but often close observation will reveal whether this person is capable of being spontaneous, if this person is hiding behind a mask or if this person is willing to risk the exposure of their true self. Many of the things we would look for in an ideal teacher or guide spring from basic assumptions. If we assume that the Creator gave us free will, then clearly this would be part of our spiritual development. If we assume that we are all from the same origin, that we are all one, behind superficial differences, then any system of development that does not honor this unity is to be called into question. The search is predicated upon the assumption of ultimate oneness. Sometimes we might come across a person who seems to have “mystical” powers. They might be able to read our minds or perform dazzling feats. It is important to bear in mind that just as “savants” might be able to perform amazing feats of memory or computation, but be unable to make change or write a coherent paragraph, so someone may be able to perform seemingly mystical acts, but be quite unable to aid others in their spiritual …show more content…
It is as if we have a camera running in our heart, recording every deed, every thought, and every impulse. How can there be enough recording time for each life, for all of humanity? The answer is that human time, human years, are but microseconds in higher levels of the universe. An entire geological era might be as but one sentence. So many of the conflicts that we see in the world today and that we explain by invoking events of history, by going back, say 50 or even a hundred years, are in fact conditioned and brought about by tens, hundreds of thousands of years of karma. The battles in the Middle East are between individuals and groups that have been seeking revenge for hundreds of millennia. By recognizing this we, perhaps, realize the extreme difficulty of bringing such a conflict to a halt. We may refer to the story of Dhruva and his herculean efforts. Such efforts would be required by a large number of people if true peace were to become possible, if we look at these conflicts from the karmic point of
At no time, in this natural state, is injustice even possible. As Hobbes so concisely states, "Where there is no common Power, there is no Law: where no Law, no Injustice." (Hobbes 188) Essentially, since every man is entitled to everything, he is also at liberty to exert any means possible -- including violence -- in order to satisfy all of his wants and needs. In this State of War, each individu...
For the great lesson which history imprints on the mind…is the tragic certainty that all wars gain their ultimate ends, whether great or petty, by the violation of personality, by the destruction of homes, by the paralysis of art and industry and letters…even wars entered on from high motives must rouse greed, cupidity, and blind hatred; that even in defensive warfare a people can defend its rights only by inflicting new wrongs; and that chivalrous no less than self-seeking war entails relentless destruction.
Violent Jihad as a struggle against one’s enemies has its root in [these] situations. When the Islamic religion spread over the region, Jihad became a religious tenet and assumed the form of a peaceful, internal struggle to strive for the good and reject the evil in one’s action. Violent, external conflict was never r...
If wars were declared, innocent people would be threatened; therefore, some may argue that wars are unfogivable. Given the devil destruction of wars, those conflicts carried on by arms are conditional. Only defensive war should be righteous, but even the defensive war should be considered as the last resort. According to various religious views, though peace is usually the mainstream from different religious perspectives, defensive wars seem to be a moral exception.
Horton, D.J. (2009). Discerning spiritual discernment: Assessing current approaches for understanding God’s will. The Journal of Youth Ministry, 7 (2), 7-31.
The Souls of Black Folk are a collection of essays composed by W.E.B Du Bois’ highlighting the problems that the African-American race faced in American society. Du Bois describes the feeling of being “shut out from the[ir] world by a vast veil” (4). The veil is a metaphor that Du Bois presents representing a symbolic wall that separates the “whites” and “blacks”. To Du Bois, the veil emphasises the racial boundaries that the African-Americans faced, as well as their invisibility within society in U.S history. Throughout the text, Du Bois makes it evident that the most important issues are education, economic opportunities, as well as the emotional journey being shared. Du Bois states, “He simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both
My life is continually unfolding into a more global understanding of faith, religion and culture where I once thought all was wrong and evil if not strictly Roman Catholic. One of the ways I cultivate my outlook is to analyze the different ways people honor the dead.
THEMES, OBJECTIVE, OBJECTIVITY AND VALIDITY IN LIVY’S –HANNIBAL Livy’s “Hannibal in Rome “ is a historic tale that delves into the conflict between Rome and Carthage during the Second Punic War (Harris,1979).With its rich narrative and detailed accounts of the military strategies of the legendary Carthaginian general,Hannibal Barca, Livy’s work offers a unique perspective on this pivotal moment in an ancient history. This essay therefore explains the main themes, objectives, objectivity, and validity of Livy’s “Hannibal in Rome “, considering both its historical context and its impact on subsequent interpretations of the Second Punic War. To begin with, the main theme portrayed in Livy’s “Hannibal” is leadership. This theme is depicted through Livy’s characterization of different commanders. For example, he viewed
Spiritual formation is a process that morphs as we grow and change. There is no one singular correct path this type of journey takes because each journey is as individual as the person who is experiencing it. Most obvious, the journey will be different from those who identify as religious and those who do not and will diversify with in each category. For example, the spiritual journey a Buddhist takes will be different from that of a believer in Judaism or Christianity. In fact, the journey will continue to diversify between Christians, male and female, age groups, even by demographic location. Consequently, the spiritual formation process is as diverse as it is intricate and we may never be able to discover all the journey options. Although individuals may not actively recognize they are experiencing spiritual formation it is a process that affects all. Because it is in human nature to question, learn, grow, and act, everyone to a certain extent is exposed to a unique spiritual formation journey.
Our whole lives, from the time we are born until now, has revolved around the concept and thought of time. No matter how much we’d hate to admit it, we truly depend on time. Even if we try to escape time, it will always come back to haunt us. It can’t be stopped; it is the reason why we age and always have the stress of being and turning things in on time. Without it, our society wouldn’t be able to function correctly. Time can’t be thrown or brushed away, it is an extremely important element that humankind can’t live without.
Spiritualism is the system of religious beliefs centered on the presumption that communication with the dead, or spirits, is possible (Grolier '97). Spiritualism challenged dominant cultural beliefs of the 19th century (Paul) and is still in practice today.
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.
As abovementioned, spirituality involves a response which presupposes a calling. From a religious point of view, a call can also be referred to as a vocation. What then is a spirituality of vocation? This is in essence a universal call to the Christian gospel. In other words, it is an all-inclusive relationship that is concerned with the encounter...
Spiritual health is the capacity and ability to seek, experience, and express meaning and purpose in our lives often through love, hope, gratitude, forgiveness, peace, and community in order to enjoy a sense of the Sacred (as you understand it). Spiritual health provides the sense that life is meaningful and has a purpose and is defined by the ethics, morals and values that guide you and give meaning and direction to your life.
“Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life.” According to Buddha, everyone needs some form of spirituality to define his or her life and existence. Webster Dictionary defines spiritualism as “a system of beliefs or religious practices based on supposed communication with the spirits of the dead, often times through mediums.” Though this is one general definition of spiritualism, this concept is one that does not hold a conclusive meaning. Each and every single person has the ability and right to create and practice their own idea of spiritualism. From ancient times to present day, the term and practice of spirituality has transformed, particularly from region to region. Despite the discrepancies in practices and overall understanding of this idea, spirituality has had an effect and impact upon all of humanity since the creation of time. This religion that is believed to have been established in the early eighteen hundreds, after two little girls claimed to have the ability to talk to spirits, sparked interest in this spiritual movement, allowing it to spread rather rapidly over many geographical locations. Aside from being recognized as a religion, spiritualism is also believed to be a form of philosophy and a science in which spiritualists believe that there is life after death and try to demonstrate this through the ability of attempting to communicate with those that have passed on. Spiritualism was socially different from other religions in existence at the time because it presented followers with a more tolerant belief system that assimilated the principles and facts from a selection the world's religions. Spiritualism also made it acceptable for women to play a disti...