Anjoulie Woodhead

Beliefs about God - 11/16/2012

3 characteristics of my God is undefined, obtains an unknown presence,  and comforting.  An experience that shaped this understanding is when I met my sister's friend named Amanda where her mom and dad abandoned her when she was a baby in an empty building. She then went to go live with her grandmother and eventually her grandma passed away and therefore causing her mother to commit suicide. Her father is in jail so he is not in her life and she lived with her uncle who did not pay any attention to her. I could not help to think about why God would put anyone in that situation, therefore I can not fully say that there is a concious God. When I am feeling stressed, I revere God in the way that it comforts me that there is a possibility that someone is watching over me. In nature I sometimes feel like there is something watching over me. 

God, who and where are you?

Please show me a sign that you exist

If you exist, and I do sometimes feel your presence..thank you for all of the blessings in my life

After discussing your own concept of God in class, create your own Shema. On your blog page summarize what you talked about by writing:

1. 3 characteristics of your God

2. An experience that shaped this understanding

3. A way that you remember or revere this God

Finally write a 3-4 line Shema- your core idea of God and your response to Him.

Due Friday, Nov. 16th at noon.

Buddhist Reflection - 10/18/2012

 In general during the in class meditation I felt myself being very distracted by the complications of life. I kept thinking about the fact that in Buddhism they believe that if you let go of attachments and desire then you will reach enlightenment. Throughout the meditation session I pondered and tried really hard to think as they do but I realized that it’s the attachments in my life that bring me happiness. Not necessarily the material attachments and desires, but the attachments I have to my friends and family. I believe that all emotions are beautiful, whether they are because of desire and attachment or not. Even though something may not be permanent, it’s the beauty of the presence of that something in one’s life, regardless of what it is. That is a new insight that I learned about myself and about that aspect of life that I had never thought of before. For the most part, it was hard for me to get the racing thoughts out of my head which completely prevented me from focusing on the action we were supposed to do. I really do see how it can lead to someone being stress free as believing that if one follows the 8 fold path but at this point in my life I cannot see myself being enlightened by these thoughts. It was nice to do this during school as most classes bring worries and stress and I was simply able to just think.

            The Bongwonsa temple was extremely beautiful. Because of its location overlooking nature and incense all around there is no way that one cannot be relaxed and feel like they have a break from all of the worries that people carry around in their mind. I could not help but notice the beautiful architecture around me. I was extremely impressed at awed at the fact that in the middle of a crazy city there could be a place of such peace. Everyday people came to meditate in the temple and I was able to see the monks that were permanently living there. Buddhism is lived out in many ways at Bongwonsa. The most interesting thing that I learned that day was that the Buddhist people believe that the incense symbolize the gods, as the smell from the incense is permanent. Seeing some of the people meditation made it very apparent that they were following the step in the 8 fold path of right concentration and that they also had right mindfulness. As we’ve learned, Buddhists believe that meditation is the primary way to achieve the right concentration. In general, I was given a really good insight as to how meditation can really take someone away from the stresses and worries in life. 

Gandhi Reflection

            Gandhi quotes, “A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks; he becomes.” Gandhi’s actions support this quotation when he decides to take a stand against the British due to how they were treating the Indians. He wanted to make a revolutionary stand so that the British would leave India and the Indians could be free and independent from ill treatment. Those were his thoughts and due to those thoughts, he became a leader of this cause. Therefore the thoughts that he thought caused him to become the man he became. The change in which his thoughts influenced him to become a non-violent campaigning hero occurred in the beginning of the movie when he is traveling in first class in the train and he is thrown off because he is an Indian. This is when he realized how unfairly Indian’s in South Africa were being treated and therefore started the non-violent protest campaign. He then was asked to go to India and realized how badly the Indian people in India were being treated as well. He was then urged to fight against the British ruling for India’s independence.

            Another quotation that Gandhi supports with his actions in the movie is “When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible but in the end, they always fall -- think of it, ALWAYS.” He supports this quotation with his actions when the British soldier in South Africa tells Gandhi to stop burning the passes but Gandhi continues to put the passes into the pit of fire. Gandhi is beaten but he does not fight back. He continues to burn the passes and takes the beatings.

            During my experience with yoga, I felt as if I was very in touch with what was happening inside of my body. This was because my focus was put onto what I was doing with my body instead of focusing on distractions or what was happening around me. I could definitely understand the purpose of these rituals within the Hindu religion because in the Hindu religion it is important for their souls to be one with the ultimate reality underlying all phenomena and when you are completely focused on what you are doing instead of distractions of life, one is allowed to focus on being one with the ultimate reality.

Stonehenge Worship

It’s inner and outer circles

Allows beauty to meet the eye

Perfectly aligned to the sunrise
When the sun shines in the middle, we know the gods are present

In a circle to surround the human sacrifice made
The blood shed from the throwing of the stone
Blood falling perfectly in the middle, sinking into the earth
As it sinks, it turns into water for our crops

We all fit perfectly within the circles together, joining us as a community
And come together after the sacrifice for prayer

Showing our love for the gods and this beautiful plain we were given

Showing our worthiness of life

Jesus in the Christmas Carols

I will be talking about the carol 'Away In A Manger' sung by a choir in the Hebden Bridge town centre in England. This song was written by Martin Luther. This carol was written to celebrate the birth of baby Jesus. This carol is talking about when Jesus is sleeping on the hay in the manger after he was born there and is praising his birth and his importance. This part of the Christmas story is in the Christian scriptures in the Luke section. In this carol, Jesus is portrayed as the Lord, a savior, and a blessing to all of mankind. He is called "Lord Jesus" and "little Lord Jesus". This carol displays that he has the ability to bless people, care for people, and make people able to go to heaven.