One thing that puts a lot of secular and rationalistic thinking people off of spiritual disciplines is the requirement to follow certain religious traditions or revere certain historical figures that any rational person cannot in good faith do. Even the word spirituality can be problematic as it implies belief in non-corporeal substances that cannot be observed by today’s scientific methodologies. It is interesting to note that the word spirit actually comes from the Latin, spiritus, which means breath. The word spirit has over time been adopted by religions and faith schools to be used as this catch-all term to describe anything wispy and undefined. Anything that is separate from the material body that we cannot observe. It is a shame that …show more content…
We also see on a daily basis that religious approaches to human rights and tolerance are often stuck in the time of their conception. This doesn’t mean that we should throw the baby out with the bath water so to speak. A lot of religions, when the politics, cultural and racial contexts of the time of their conception is removed are in the end an attempt to make the human being look beyond it self and aim for something greater.
As I discussed in a previous blog post, Christianity teaches at its core the sacrifice of self through the lessons of the cross. But to get there we need to look past the intolerances towards certain groups and unscientific claims that it makes. Islam teaches complete submission to the will of Allah. This again teaches the disregarding of self and of personal desires and submitting to a divine being. It is a shame that the submission is made to a creator that promotes violence against non-believers and promises paradise to believers who kill themselves in his
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When you notice that you are caught in thought and no longer on the breath, without frustration on annoyance bring yourself back to the breath.
6. Do this for as long as you like, it can be 5 minutes or 1 hour. It’s up to you.
Mindfulness meditation is one of the easiest methods one can begin to use and at the same time one of the most difficult methods to do correctly and sustain it over a period of time. When doing this method of awareness practice you will very quickly begin to see the reactive nature of your mind and how quickly it attaches to every stimulus that it is given.
This exercise is just a tool and like all tools it has it’s strengths and weaknesses. Just like press ups or sit-ups are done to help strengthen certain muscle groups. This exercise is done to help strengthen your non-attaching awareness and concentration. Don’t attach to this exercise or any exercise.
I have heard recently critics of meditation saying things like true personal growth is about helping others and trying to reduce the problems in the world and not sitting meditating on ones own mind. I think this criticism highlights the lack of understanding most people have with how problems and suffering arises in the world and how best to deal with them. I will leave you with this quote from the great Burmese – Indian meditation teacher, Satya Narayan
Lastly, the Holy Spirit gives everyone a gift according not to gender but to God’s will.
Religion 120 has taught me something more than just the meaning of religion. I would argue that I will be taking away more knowledge from this class than any other class I have taken so far in my college career. The learning path Professor Robert takes has benefited me throughout the semester. The learning path I took persuaded me to open my mind and absorb and understand the ideas of other individuals. After I opened my mind up and read all of the content we were assigned in class, along with listened to my classmates and professor Robert’s take on religion, I was able to picture religion as something other than just the physical place of worship and discussions taken place there. When most individuals think of religion they think about going to church and not much else. Religion is so much more than just the physical place and the individuals leading the practice. Religion has the potential to help guide you in life, along with giving you a sense of meaning in this big world. Religion has the power to help you connect with individuals like yourself,
I’ve been taught from an early age to believe that no dream is ever too grandiose. Therefore, I took it upon myself to not only dream but to also work tirelessly towards making my dreams, my reality. I’m the product of the garment hemmed and fitted by multiple hands- family, friends, mentors, and strangers included. I’m made aware that my fate lies only in my hands and to never wait for someone else to decide it solely based on their limited view. Also from an early age, the difference between being ordinary and extraordinary was heavily instilled upon me. To numerous people of similar background, graduating high school and going on to attend college is extraordinary- a grand accomplishment in fact. Similarly, balancing 18 credit hours of classes, working 16 hours during the school week and volunteering on the weekends while maintaining
List the religion(s) from our study this semester you believe are represented in, or have influenced, the United States’ system of governance. Give specific examples of the element(s) represented for each religion, and how they are represented. Are there “threads of truth” all the religions we studied share, which are represented in our civic society? Cite scripture passages from each religion to back up your claims. Cite specific laws, documents, currency, patriotic music, sculpture, etc. that illustrate your assertions
When I first think of the word spiritual I think of my Christian roots, but as I have grown older the word spirituality has been something I think about quite often. The ways the world connects, whether between people, nature or both and how a person feels connected to the world or a higher being. I believe that spiritually can come in many shapes and forms. One of the ways I feel most spiritually connect is through dance.
A great miracle has occurred, the Holy Spirit is among us. After the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit came to the Apostles. The church has begun on this day, rejoice! Pentecost, as this day is now known, is thus the church’s birthday. The events of this day are said to have been fantastic. It started off with all of the Apostles gathering in one place. All of a sudden, a sound came from Heaven, it filled the house where the people had gathered like a strong wind. Tongues of fire rested on their heads, they were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began speaking in other languages as the Spirit granted them the ability to speak.
Mindfulness meditation is the practice of intentionally focusing on the present moment, accepting and non-judgmentally paying attention to the sensations, thoughts, and emotions that arise.
Thats right. Breathe... inhale, exhale. You are sitting, you are thinking of practically nothing except your inhaling-exhaling. Now, concentrate. This is best done somewhere you like. The objective of meditation is to imagine. Image what you like to accomplish. You can increase your willpower through meditation. Better yet, visualize yourself whatever you want to accomplish in life. Think about it over and over again. What are you doing? What does success look like? Picture it with as many details as possible. I am going to leave this article up to this point. If you have some time, feel free to edit it. Another method is to relax starting with your fingertips and toes, work your way up to you arms and legs etc. Then relax your chest and stomach, then your head. You should be in a state of rest. I had best results when I was sitting cross legged on a soft mat with my eyes closed. Try rolling back your eyes
1. In a minimum of 100 words, describe the basic teachings of Zoroastrianism. What a fascinating religion, Zoroastrianism is! I never knew this religion existed. The first time I heard the word “Zoroastrianisam” it was a few months back when someone on Facebook was talking about Gal Gadot, the actress that plays wonder woman and saying that she is Zoroastrian, like it was a bad thing. Then, I found a chapter in my text book pertaining to Zoroastrianisam and I was excited to read the chapter, just to see what they are talking about. I asked myself, why would this be a bad thing if someone is Zoroastrian? I learned that this is probably the oldest monotheistic religion on the world and most importantly, the base for 3 major religions. Judaism,
Another state of consciousness is meditation. Meditation is the focusing of ones attention to clear the mind and produce relaxation. There are three major approaches to meditation. The first approach is Transcendental meditation. Transcendental meditation involves the repetition of a mantra, usually a Sanskrit phrase. The participant sits with his or her eyes closed and meditate for 15 to 20 minutes twice a day. The second approach, mindfulness meditation, was developed from a Buddhist tradition. Mindfulness meditation focuses on the present moment. For example, the participant might move his or her focus throughout the body, from the tip of their toes to the top of their head, and paying very close attention to areas that cause pain. The third approach is breath meditation. Breath meditation is when a participant focuses his or her respiration-the process of inhaling and exhaling in a rhythmic pattern. Most people believe that proper breathing can help one self to be stress free. Researchers agree that most people can benefit from some sort of systematic relaxation
The spiritual aspect of the individual is essential because it is the foundation, on which people make decisions that influence not only the way they live, but the way they perceive their health. All aspects of a person's spiritual perspective are critical and in order to holistically, take care for our patients, it is indispensable to incorporate it, as part of our plan of care. This approach will definitely help to improve outcome and enable patients to live a better-quality life.
Utilitarianism theory is an ethical theory that focuses on the outcomes of actions to determine right and wrong. The death penalty goes against it and it could be impractical because we are individuals and cannot be lumped together to explain an idea. We are all different, and one cannot get total Utilitarianism to explain ideas and actions of people. With the theory, the death penalty would be justifiable because it is the best action to action to take with someone kills another. The theory holds that the death penalty is what maximizes justice and the actions of the State. In other words, the theory holds that the death penalty is the "best moral action".
I am a self-motivated and dependable with a dedicated approach to training and academic advancement. Possessing caring and approachable demeanor, which is invaluable for this field, I am also inquisitive and always looking to sample new things. My brother in law was undergoing depression and unfortunately terminated his life while I was in high school. It was a very tragic moment for both families.
Meditation is very difficult to describe and can only truly be explained once experienced. It is the practice of mental concentration leading ultimately through a sequence of stages to the final goal of spiritual freedom, nirvana. The purpose of Buddhist meditation is to free ourselves from the delusion and thereby put an end to both ignorance and craving. The Buddhists describe the culminating trance-like state as transient; final Nirvana requires the insight of wisdom. The exercises that are meant to develop wisdom involve meditation on the true nature of reality or the conditioned and unconditioned elements that make up all phenomena. The goal of meditation is to develop a concept in the mind.
If standard meditation doesn't work for you Harris suggest two other types of meditation. One type is walking meditation. Walking meditation is simple to do. All you have to do is set a certain distance in which you choose to walk and you pace yourself back and forth while focusing on one central point which is not looking down to your feet. The other form of meditation is compassion meditation. In this style of meditation you are picturing someone and wishing them good vibes. You generally start with yourself