Sacred Pathways 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.

The book is divided into seven parts. The book focuses spiritual growth and it is a manual for building a Spirit-filled life in a world where perfection can only be found in God’s loving vision. Ortberg helps us gauge your spiritual health and measure the gap between where you are now and where God intends you to be. As the author emphasizes on

In Conrad Philip Kottak’s “Rite of Passage” he mentions the three stages of a rite of passage. Anthropologist Arnold Van Gennep defines these stages as Separation, Margin, and Aggregation. Victor Turner, another anthropologist, focused on Margin, which he referred to as liminality. Not only can a rite of passage be an individual experience, but it can also be a communal experience which Turner called “communitas.” Many of us experience this “communitas” in different ways such as my Hispanic culture that experiences quinceneras. Quinceneras are a rite of passage for young girls’ transition from adolescence to womanhood. I for one never experienced this rite of passage.

Evidence has linked a strong relationship between spirituality and medicine. There is a positive correlation between a patient’s spirituality or religious commitment and health outcomes. A spiritual assessment as a part of a health assessment is a practical step to incorporating patient’s spiritual needs into practice. The FICA Tool and HOPE Questions provide serve to assist clinicians in the spiritual assessment process. By examining the research done using these tools, it has been determined that the FICA Tool is easy to use and provides basic data on a patient’s spirituality. The FICA tool is both reliable and valid. The HOPE Questions are

Henri J. M. Nouwen’s book, Reaching Out: The Three Movements of the Spiritual Life, examines three aspects of spiritual movement in which he unveils how humanity relates to self, others, and God to achieve true spirituality. The first movement revealed is the movement from loneliness to solitude, second is the movement from hostility to hospitality, and finally, is the movement from illusion to prayer.

The main characters Toundi from Houseboy and Firdaus from Woman at Point Zero were unable to complete their rites of passage. It is evident from the begin of both novels that neither character would be reincorporated into society due to their incapability to “follow the rules” that were set for them as second-class citizens. In Firdaus’ case, women lived in a patriarchal society where women were supposed to be the submissive gender. However, she demonstrates the need for women to take charge of their lives and not live under the power of men. Toundi, on the other hand, attempts to encounter a life filled with advancement and improvements from the Whites, however soon realizes that the French have no intention of allowing Black people to

Both assessments also placed him in the Secure/ low avoidance category. Upon consideration of the participant’s answers to the assessment’s questions, he is currently in Elkind’s final stage, the search for comprehension and Fowler’s fifth stage, Conjunctive Faith. The participant in this interview has indeed reach a point in his spiritual growth where he can see the underlying meaning/reasoning of his relationships. While some times still baffled by the behavior of his father, the relationship that he has with his father, other constants in his life, have meaning can ultimately explained through scripture and personal a connection with God. According to Elkind, religion is a natural result of mental development with such complexities, that it ultimately requires our intellectual needs to be gratified by spiritual development as we progress in age, and it is evident that the interviewee has allowed spiritual development to satisfy and bring meaning to that which he could not understand on his own (Hood, Hill, &Spilka, 2009). As for Fowler’s stage of Conjunctive Faith, it is described as place in one’s development where a willingness to converse with those of other faiths in the belief that they might learn something that will allow them to correct their own truths. As minister and someone that has studied theology, the interviewee has had the opportunity to dialogue with several people different faiths and openly admitted that many of them have contributed to his spiritual growth. No longer viewing everything that is found in biblical scripture in a literal sense, he views the theological challenges that are presented to him by those of a different faith as tool to discover as

Spiritual Gifts are special divine empowerments given to us through the Holy Spirit. These Gifts however are not for our own personal benefit, instead the main purpose is to equip us to be able to serve and glorify the Lord while Jesus continues His ministry though us. When we use our Spiritual Gifts to glorify the Lord we are contributing to the overall heath and growth of the church. 1 Peter 4:10-11 shows us that we have each been given a Gift by the Holy Spirit and when we use that Gift we find the strength we need to build up the Church. The Gifts of the Spirit are messages of wisdom, knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, miraculous powers, prophecy,

Spiritual disciplines will prepare us for our journey in Christ. I feel if understanding correctly, the classical Christian Pilgrimage remind us that we all have issues requiring regular examination. In chapter eight, the classical Christian Pilgrimage tells us we are at different stages on the path of wholeness in Christ. However, in my thoughts some areas of our Christian journey we may be doing well, but in other areas we have not touched at all. Not to mention, these are the place we are not ready or capable of handling yet, however, as we mature in God and He knows what we can handle, then we are awakened. God awakens us to our true selves which have not been completely revealed. In reality, once we reach maturity to God, he reveals all that is hidden deep inside of us (the real us/you). By the same token, he let us see the inner behaviors, attitudes, desires, in fact how we measure up in them being Christ-like. I feel the awakening stage deals with the comfort of being set free of these issues that are holding us back also causing detours on our path to wholeness in Christ. Equally, the threat is being afraid to see who we really are; also how far from Christ-like we really are. We must first be awakened from our separation also alienation from God (Mulholland 79-82).

Thus, I need a guidance from the Spirit in both aspects of my spiritual journey – "being" and "doing". I want to deepen my connection with God and bring a good

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

Throughout the book, the author carefully details the need for balance between theology and spirituality, and psychology and Christianity. Though the author discusses methods and approaches that are spiritual but based on a strong theological foundation. “Nothing is more crucial to an effective Christian life that a clear awareness of its foundation” (p. 25). Essentially Crabb (1977) maintains that spirituality is a product of the correct thinking associated with strong theological foundation.

We rush to the next truth without reflecting on what we have learned.” Pgs. 9-10 Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren

I will explore a few of unique approaches as outlined in the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius Loyola. I will describe my experience of integrating some of the concepts of spiritual direction into my practice.

Spirituality plays a very sub sequential role in my personal life. First of all, spirituality helps me govern what is right and what is wrong in my life. Many of the decisions that I make everyday, I believe are a direct result of my spirituality. For as long as I can remember I have been raised to believe that I should live my life the way God would want me to live it. Therefore, whenever I have a decision to make, I have to consider, what is right? And what is wrong? Second of all, it also helps me to feel more secure about what will happen to my spirit once my life here on earth is over. I believe that there is a better place for our spirits once we leave this earth.