The Spiritual Path And Meditation Practice

In “The Confessions” by Saint Augustine, he starts on a journey to becoming a Christian. He was not completely invested on converting to this faith or why his mother wanted him to convert so he began asking questions to find reasons as to why he should, but before he could convert he needed to find faith

In considering how the call to be a Christian lead to a transformed life imparts knowledge, understanding which give you discernment for the other two callings because it is all connected as a whole. Answering the first call of being born again is the biggest transformation of humanity. Being transformed is much more than changing behaviors or turning over a new leaf, it is all about renewing your mind to fulfill God's call and purpose in life. "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what the will of God is, what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12:2 (English Standard Version). When I received Christ into my life, my heart (spirit) became one with God, actually transpired; therefore, was a real spiritual transformation from spiritual death to life. Our life becomes one with God. "But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him" 1 Corinthians 6:17 (English Standard Version). That is why the scriptures are so essential for our life; because it is the Word of God. Christians are born of the Word of God which give everlasting life, which is by the Spirit

The Upanishad scriptures suggest that followers exercise their body and mind. These exercises become more important to Hindu practice as time goes by. Through the teachings of Upanishads there is a spiritual essence called “Brahman”. Brahman is a single world soul that is the base of all physical matter, energy, time and space. Brahman is all things on earth and beyond. It is thought that a person’s inner soul known as the “atman”, is part of Brahman and therefore; a person’s innermost soul is part of the single world soul. The meditation associated with the search for perfect knowledge has evolved into a permanent aspect of Hinduism and is known as “Yoga”. During this period Buddhism and Jainism were created as additional ways of reaching enlightenment while denying key teachings and practices.

Measuring meditation time 30 minutes daily, we focused on tracking the processes of mindfulness meditation practice. We identified the three effectiveness keys to reach the goal of this personal improvement mindfulness meditation. The tracking methods were: the days of meditation weekly, the amount of meditation time-30 minutes per day. For the quality of meditation time, we also focused on the amount of effectiveness time while practicing meditation without sleeping. Daily monitoring the processes of interest were recorded and analyzed by the Excel program. The PDSA concept was applied to improving and adjusting the personal improvement strategy plan for the goal attainment. The PDSA cycles were as follows:

I will dedicate the remaining words in this paper to my attempt to reason how these conversions could produce such spectacular and beneficial results. I believe the answer can be encapsulated in one word; hope. Christianity gives hope to those who believe its message. In an attempt to show why it gives hope, I will attempt to provide the fundamental beliefs of Christianity in a few short sentences.

The true meaning of Christian in CCU is defined by this Evangelical orientation, which transcends denominational boundaries. These beliefs in action are defined by four distinct concepts. The first being conversionism, which is the belief that lives need to be changed. Next activism, the expression of the gospel in effort. Biblicism, a particular regard for the bible and finally crucicentrism, a stress on the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. (Session 1 Biblical perspective, n.d.)

At first, his faith in God becomes genuine. He becomes so interested in learning and knowing everything about God. When asked why he prays to God he answers, “Why did I

encompasses suffering, loss and death just through the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Having said that,

The author analyses reincarnation and what it means to the spirits that have just died an experience purgatory against the spirit that has come to terms with death and lived in purgatory. It is an interesting concept to reflect as Adam who has been there a while sees that not everyone gets a great reincarnation, as the human on earth have destroyed what is left.

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).

St. Anthony’s story of conversion from landowner to ascetic, while following the steps outlined by Fowler, also conforms to create the ideal journey as described by Searle. Mark Searle is a theology professor who teaches at Notre Dame University . For Searle, conversion should be viewed more as a “Journey of Crisis” , where conversion to a new faith or belief is one that is inspired by a point of total crisis in one’s life. According to Searle, conversion is a form of transition where one gains a new lease on life and worldview in response to a life altering moment. In the case of St. Anthony, this point would clearly be when his parents die. This represents part of the first of the three stages of the conversion journey according to Searle: The Setting Out.

"The first precept was never to accept a thing as true until I knew it as such without a single doubt."

Erickson gives a great overview of the human experience when a person begins the road to salvation. “All humans are lost to sin, spiritually blind, and unable to believe, however, some action by God must intervene between his eternal decision and the conversion of the individual within time” (Erickson, 2015, p.350). The journey starts with the call that God places on our hearts. Then God starts the conversion. The conversion is an event that changes your life. There may be many conversions. “The first step of the Christian life is called conversion. It is the act of turning from one’s sin in repentance and turning to Christ in faith” (Erickson, 2015, p.351). God converted me many years ago, when I was a child but I have been on many conversions

A conversion is a religious experience that changes a persons beliefs from one religion to another, there are three types of conversion with characteristics varying among them. Mystical experience however is a more extreme form of experience, which is not just seeing hearing or feeling someone but a deeper union with god.

Catholics believe that the resurrection and death of Jesus have changed the meaning and the effect of human death. Death is no longer the end of an individual’s human identity, because the soul continues on after death. The Catholic Church teaches that a soul may go to heaven, purgatory or hell, depending on the quality of a person’s life on earth. “That the body dies, death is a normal natural process” (Ecclesiasticus 3:1-2) Based upon the sacred scripture and teachings of the Church, we know what Catholic believes after death and what follows it. When someone dies, their soul is separated from their body and no longer sustains any order within the natural body. As a result of this, the human body begins to corrupt and is left to decompose on its own. The soul however is completely different as it is immortal and will never cease to exist