It 's A Crisp, Clear Skies Kind Of Friday Morning Essay

A parallel novel, The Cloud of Unknowing, was anonymously written in the fourteenth-century about the journey of transitioning from a secular life to a God centered life. It begins with the writer addressing the reader in a fatherly manner- this way, the reader is able to connect with the writer even when the journey gets rough. The author states the journey to know God is contemplative, through giving up all previous understandings of God and traveling through a “cloud of unknowing” to obtain a oneness with God. The author also notes that the journey will not be easy and that frustration can happen, but that frustration should be channeled into focus as greater understanding will come as the frustration ends. The hard part of this journey, according to the author, is in having a desire or willingness to work over time to come to oneness with God.

I’m bound into a vicious cycle of obscurity so deep that the choice was luminous. I seem less than myself, but at the same time, I can feel relaxed- even self-righteous, believing that I, a mere mortal, am immanent within this existing plane… And, I ask, Why must we face reality and not become lost in the gray abyss of our mind when it returns to the dawn of darkness from whence it came? Truly, it is comforting there…

Walking alone down the path, the wind blowing through the forest making the trees rustle. I looked up to the green leaves moving and the birds flying around Singing. I stop walking for a split second and I look around enjoying nature but then I hear a scream. I spin around multiple times to see where it came from, so I start to jog down the path quickening to a sprint. I turn my head in every direction not knowing what to do, so I start to walk again, breathing heavily and my feet crunching against the rocky path. I put my mind to the wind and the singing birds again. I get more relaxed when I started to feel rain falling against me. The sound of rain dripping, the birds singing and the wind rustling made me stop and think how peaceful life

Adam Cooper started out as a fifteen-year-old boy, but became a fifteen-year-old man. In the beginning, Adam could not get along with his father, Moses Cooper, and truly believed that his father hated him. Moses was always getting on to Adam for everything he did. In Moses’ eyes his boy could do better than he let on if he would only apply himself a little bit more. “There was nothing that a Cooper man couldn’t do.”

For the amount of time that I was engaged in anchoring my mind to the current moment I noticed that there was a constant battle between myself and my mind, meaning there was strong urge to latch onto the thoughts and find meaning in them rather than just allowing myself to observe these thoughts. According to Chodron (2013) there are five reasons to meditate and one of the reasons is to cultivate attention towards every moment in our lives, which is important as she state “that we have allot of resistance to just being there!” (Chodrom, 2013, p. 4).

In (Matthew 6:6 NIV), Jesus explains the merits of praying to the lord God and the reward of inner peace, “But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret: and your father who sees in secret will reward you.” It is through this conversation with God that Christians pursue peace in their lives. Prayer can either be private or communal, spontaneous prayer is one way that charismatic communities can come closer to God. The act of prayer allows believers to have a personal conversation with God; it alleviates stress attributed to the monotony of everyday life. Besides prayer, meditation is another way of attaining inner peace, it is an ancient practice within the Christian tradition, which has undertaken a recent revival, a global group that reaffirms the concept of praying and meditating for inner peace is Taizé. Not as popular as prayer and meditation, Lectio Divina, generally known as bible studies is a way for Christians to feel connected to God and to finally attain inner peace. The studying of the sacred scriptures on a day to day basis and reflecting on prayers also maintain a continual connection with God. It is vital to maintain equilibrium between prayer and service, whereby an individual fathoms the notion ‘ora et labora’, in order to equally partake in both prayer, and the concept of action whereby ora develops inner peace, which is mirrored through the

Topic #2- Describe and analyze the role that community plays in the conflict of the novel. Does Fast see community as an important asset in the opening days of the Revolution?

I lay back conjoined in pain with other bodies in a strange trance of celestial transcendence. I observe the sky with eyes shut as the internal northern lights throb to the beat of my heart. The rhythmic electric throngs of pain pain pulsates inside my flesh and bones like a patterned grammar that I can almost translate. I have decided to listen to the

The single most common way in which God re-fines us is with the affliction of daily irritation. I know that sitting in rush hour traffic does not seem much like a Holy perfecting of our hearts, minds, and souls, but it may well be our most important and most difficult. Jesus said in John 13:35 that the world will know we are His disciples by the way we love each other. We are called to be vessels of Christ’s love in the world and

As I sat on the back bench of a 12 passenger van with a coffee in my hand and my head on the back of the seat in front of me, I realized I had nothing left to give. All of energy was gone. I had come to the end of myself. We were driving down a bumpy road to an apartment complex filled with new faces from far away countries. As we drove I realized how much we had been doing every day and the weight of the things we had seen started to sink in. The refugees of Clarkson, Georgia had been through so much and I was getting a small glimpse into their lives during this week. However, it was Thursday afternoon and I was tired. We had been helping kids in the school all morning, then explored and ate at an international market, and my stomach was starting to turn from the ethnic food we had eaten. As we drove along and our leader described the after school program we would be working with I realized how physically exhausted I was. I began to pray for strength from God, and I told him that anything that

On a cold summer night the sun was shining brightly in the sky. The sounds of bears were given to my ears in the breeze as it came through the forest trees. Wolfs could be seen in the tree line hunting their pray. Feeling the rugged rocks that you tread on. Fresh air smells like pine scents with a glowing spray of a river. There was a spiritual being present that made my heart quicken and my body became still. HE came to show the way for HE is the truth, the way, and the life for through HIM we well shall see the face of GOD. This started my first step into what is a fantastic journey is exciting yet wondering what is gone to happen. Each step brings peace no matter what the challenge is because HE leads me. Some search to find a round their

The haunting melodies of evening prayer soon began to drift across space and time from the many mosques just beyond the hills. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, reliving the moments that got me to this place. I was halfway across the world, alone in my thoughts, and in a land that once seemed so distant. The sound of water rained from the shower and the music of religion wafted through the air as the sun began to let out its final gasp. For the first time all day I was alone—seemingly at peace.

I lay in the center, listening to soft music my iPod or the birds lulling me into a deep meditation. It is in this spot that I’ve had the deepest conversations with myself, coming to realizations and understandings about my relationships to life, others, and me. The secluded stillness allows my brain to freely wander, explore, and reflect deep concepts coming to profound insights that further benefit me in this crazy journey I call life. The winds, curves, inclines, declines of the trail makes it a perfect path to jog on. The isolation from the outside world makes it easy for my mind to focus on nothing but the task at hand – which is making it all the way around the 3-mile trail without stopping. Although, most times this doesn’t happen because I’m so taken back by the surrounding beauty. I always stop to take in the deep blue sky or the butterflies fluttering gracefully through the field of wild flowers. But when I am running I feel virtually weightless physically and mentally. My mind is blank allowing me to become one with my surroundings. The feeling of the cool crisp air breezing through my hair relaxes me as I intensely run to the heart pumping music blasting through my headphones. The path winds throughout an open field into a forest where you come out by the base cemetery. Passing it constantly fills me with emotion, carrying not only the weight for

The journey through life is certainly not an easy one. As Madonna brilliantly sang, “Life is a mystery, everyone must stand alone;” I believe we all must experience on our own. Although our family and loved ones may of tried to shelter some of us as children, facing our own obstacles was inevitable. I believe silence provides us with the tranquility we need to adhere to our beliefs; the world is filled with distractions, by eliminating the diversions in our lives, we are able to concentrate more on our spirituality. I feel people's surroundings play a big role on their perception of life, being around people is healthy, we are designed to socialize. Although, being one with nature allows us to divide ourselves from mingling with others, and appreciate the blessings God has offered us, such as the sense of sight and all of its wonders. I believe imagination and faith go hand in hand; Since God can not be physically viewed, we must imagine the Lord's presence. Through the combination of solitude, silence, imagination and nature, we are able to develop a sense of respect for our spirituality, and truly find the sacred within ourselves.

Hearing God's Voice can make for an extraordinary journey through this thing called, 'life.' I did not always know, hear or listen to the calling on my life; however, once it happened a vault magically opened up. God sent me to the right place with the right connections, and resources appeared to fulfill each mission. A life journey without God is like walking through a cemetery observing diamonds sparkle in the dust. Those sparks are the aftermath of the deceased who failed to exercise their diamonds on this realm. They looked everywhere for jewels during their journey, only to discover in the end that God never supplies you with a cubic zirconia; it’s always the real deal.