My Original Understanding Of The Discipline Before The Course

Many people in today’s society are striving to find more peace and patience in their life as the world around them moves at a rapid pace. Many things can bring a person this peace, but arguably the greatest asset to incorporate into their lives would be solitude. Solitude brings much needed quiet time where humans are free to talk to the Creator of the Universe about anything they want and be humbled by the Lord’s presence. Although solitude can be perceived as boring and pointless, this discipline creates quiet time with the Lord where believers can develop and renew their souls, connect deeply with him, and establish a blossoming relationship with God.

“The Virtues of Isolation”, written by Brent Crane, states that under the right circumstances being alone can provide significant psychological help. The article stated that scientists often associate isolation with negative outcomes due to it having adverse effects on the minds of children. However, when it is voluntarily pursued, it can be shown to have significant befits—some would even say its therapeutic. That temporarily isolating yourself gives you a chance to take a step back and take a good look at yourself. It alleviates the stress on our everyday lives and lets us relax. That the difference between solitude as therapy and solitude as misery depends on the quality of self-reflection that a person experiences, and the ability to reintegrate into social groups when their ready.

I find that after spending time in solitude, I am able to serve others better. The inner solidarity borne out of a heart of solitude lessens my frustrations and enables me to accept others where they are.

Camus’ Siddhartha and Herman Hesse’s The Stranger have recurring experiences of solitude. Whether it be physical or mental, solitude plays a major role in allowing each protagonist reach a point of enlightenment. Through solitude, each protagonist goes through rebirth, their lowest point, and awakening, revealing things about themselves in the process. Although the two protagonists reach enlightenment in the end, the two have very different outlooks, Meursault is a reserved person who goes with the flow while Siddhartha is the opposite. The two works show that no matter what the initial outlook on life is, points of solitude are key to reaching a point of enlightenment in the end.

David said “O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him (Psalm 34:8 KJV). He goes on to say “But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night” (Psalm 1:2 KJV) and he hides God’s Word in his heart that he might not sin against Him (Psalm 119:11 KJV).

The conclusion of the book mentions the importance of spiritual guidance, and the importance of prayer. Prayer is not only to be done is solitude, but

People are quick to turn on their televisions or surf the web when the silence becomes unbearable. Solitude has a lot to offer despite the negative connotations it get. It gives us time to understand who we are. Solitude turn us into independent thinkers. People tend to forget that introverts are good listeners and can become better leaders than extroverts. Their passiveness can help avoid mistakes compared to extroverts aggressively pushing their ideas towards the group. Working in groups comes at a cost because of the need to fit in with the rest. We live in a world where solitude becomes less valuable as we crave things such as having a social life and lack the courage to express ourselves due to the constant thought of failure. Our world fails to realize that failure is what has led to such great success. Growing up with common phrases such as “work as a team” or “two heads are better than one” has led to generations of people believing that the best results come from working together. Proving that even from the start, we are taught that solitude is bad when in reality it allows us to think more clearly and come up with our own unique thoughts. We lose what makes us different and copy what others are doing. Therefore, we need to take a breather once in a while because solitude is always with us. We need to give solitude a chance in our lives or else we cannot be able to listen to the thoughts

With such knowledge, David came to understand the nature of God—and that He is good and He hears the cry of His people. In Psalm 34:3-4, David has rejoiced because he sought the Lord and He delivered him from all

The importance of making study a spiritual discipline is that it is not enough just to believe the truth someone has told me. It necessitates the exploration to learn and see the truth for myself. In making the truth my own not only am I transformed by it but I am also better prepared to give an account of my faith to others.

John Donne’s central theme for “Meditation 17” is that all Christians are United. Everyone is united and no one stands alone. John Donne is adamant that no one should feel left out or be ostracized by anyone. He wants everyone to realize that no one is alone and we all share the same experiences; he describes this idea as “no man is an island” (Donne 2). No man is left floating in the water, instead all men are linked as pieces of the continents.

Solitude is defined as choosing to be alone with your own thoughts. In his January 2009 essay “The End of Solitude” former Yale English Professor William Deresiewicz argues that solitude is necessary for personal identity; however, he worries that this generations views are incompetent. Deresiewicz “believes we all need to have in order to understand who we are, what we believe, and what we value” (“From Inquiry to Academic Writing” 98).

"Psalm 23" comes from the Christian Bible. It is one of the most famous of these Biblical psalms. The beginning of the poem reads, "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want" (line 1). In the poem, the first-person narrator asserts that as long as they believe in God, then they will never be in need. Further, the poem reads, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me" (line 4). This narrator believes completely that no matter what negative issues they may have to deal with in their life, they will be fine because of their faith. The Bible is the written history of the Christian religion and its purpose is both to inspire and instruct people of that faith. The Psalm's purpose is to underscore the potency of the power of belief in Christianity.

As a person I would not be the same if I did not have a respect for solitude. I would be a completely different person than who I have become. My mama has taught since I was young that I can do anything I need for myself and I don’t need anybody to support myself, but she will still always be there. By doing these she didn’t just teach me independence she taught me to still be happy in solitude. I don’t have to have someone else with me to have a good time or enjoy life. That is something I still carry with me.

Weekly Response Paper: Lesson 6 Courtney Beals “A secluded and remote habitation contributes to the removal of distraction from the soul... It is impossible to gain proficiency in meditation and prayer, however, while a multitude of distractions are dragging the soul about and introducing it into anxieties about the affairs of this life… For we must deny ourselves and take up the Cross of Christ and thus follow Him… self-denial involves the entire forgetfulness of the past and surrender of one’s will—surrender which is very difficult, not to say quite impossible, to achieve while living in the promiscuity customary in the world.” {{citation?}}

Through solitude, we have the opportunity to retreat and be alone with God. We are away from the hustle and bustle of our chaotic days. We are not concerned with work, school, or family, which allows us to rid ourselves of the noise pollution that effects “the sacred within.” During times of solitude we can readjust our focus and thoughts on love for ourselves and our love for God. We can center ourselves and as Narsinha Mehta writes, “They are pure in thought, word, and deed. Free from greed, anger, and fear, These are the real lovers of God.” (Easwaren, 1982. P. 148). This time in solitude allows us the ability to confess our faults and motivates us to seek God.