Sacred Communication/Journey 2022

 I love talking about long distance hiking and trails because it inspires me to spend more time outdoors and hiking overall- frankly I have been inspired to do a long distance hike for real now. Trails like the AT and Camino de Santiago have interested me for a long time, the thrill of walking and seeing the beauty and simplicity all around is the appealing factor. This class has shown me that hiking is so much more than just walking with the people you care about or know. It is a different beauty all in itself, a connection to God, others and family. God speaks out in the woods, and really when we are least expecting it. The beauty comes if we are willing to wait. Another thing I took from learning about the Camino trail was to not be afraid of having an experience. Dr. Redick has taught me about the sense of adventure and pure joy that comes with having an adventure. I was also thinking about how cute it is that the scallop shell is used as a trail marker, because it is the symbo...

 I feel like Dr. S loves his job.  He has a great personality and passion towards his subject and teaching it to others.  Although he did only teach us one thing for the whole class, he was very in depth and gave us plenty of detail about it.  I feel like I learned more from Dr. S rather than from Dr. Kessler because even though Dr. Kessler covered more, I don't feel like I learned enough compared to knowing a lot about one thing from Dr. S.  The only negative is he did get a little repetitive on the content and that could be because he only really taught us one thing.  Maybe it could have been a little too much time as well, but I don't find it to be that big of a negative aspect. 

 Overall, I think Dr. Kessler did a fairly well job.  He was very passionate and engaging about the subject he was teaching.  He made sure to keep the class engaged by having us get into groups and read on our own so we could try and understand the material first before discussing as a class. It was not a typical lecture about a topic where its hard to stay engaged, the way he held himself and the overall mood of the class made it hard for you to get bored.  He also mixed in some jokes to make his lecture a little more entertaining.  The only negative that caught my attention was he had a hard time staying on one thing at a time.  He was talking about one subject then went on to another which made it hard to keep up with what he was saying.  

 Dr. S was an engaging Professor who kept us engaged with his energy and questions. To me, he was a little all over the place and while the main point he was talking about was pilgrimage, the only thing I got from the lesson was that there is a journey that is available to all persons of a certain belief and age. While the content was interesting, it felt too political for me. I also feel as though the one topic that he spoke of was dragged into an hour long lecture, when Dr. K was pulling in many concepts from what we have already discussed with a passage we had already discussed. I learn better when concepts I am familiar with are applied to passages I am familiar with. I enjoyed Dr. K's lesson and did not really enjoy Dr. S's lesson very much. Another thing I wished Dr. S would have talked more about is how important it is to have an intellectual relationship rather than one of just rituals. I believe that it is important to talk about the importance of intellectual AND ritu...

 I thought Dr. Kessler was a very engaging speaker throughout the class and he did a very good job of getting students engaged in the lesson that he was teaching. One thing I think he could improve on is having more structure throughout the lecture because he was kinda all over the place, but very engaging. Another thing he did was that he was clear on what he was teaching, but he could have focused more on a few things instead of everything. I do not think I would take this class because I do not find this topic very interesting, on the other hand, I would take this professor if it were for a different class. Dr. Kessler talked about the different things we discussed in class including axis Mundi and kenosis. He also talked about the different journeys that people go through in their life which was very interesting.

 1. Sacred place is not chosen, it chooses  2. Sacred place is ordinary place, ritually made extraordinary  3. Sacred place can be tred upon without being entered  4. the impulse of sacred place is both centripetal and centrifugal, local and universal.  I highly enjoyed learning about Lanes axioms because I find them interesting- fascinating actually. There are many places that can be described as "holy" and "sacred" but many people do not feel anything when they step onto the sacred place. I also like these axioms because to me it gives permission to not feel something sacred when stepping into a place: ie, I can go into Mecca and realize it is holy but not feel like I have "entered." I also like the idea that a place chooses and is not chosen. Jacob was tired and went to sleep- and that place turned into a very sacred spot. Honestly, it is encouraging but I feel like it can also be discouraging. A place that is special and you want to be sacred could not...

 I did enjoy Dr. Kessler and his lesson I thought to was very interesting. I believe he is a very engaging speaker and can keep an audience entertained and engaged throughout a period of time. I think he is very knowledgeable and passionate about what he teaches about. His lesson was engaging and interactive as he did not just stand at the front of the room and talk, he allowed us to work in groups and provided us with a handout which makes it more hand on learning. He also mixed in humor and comedy to which made the classroom not as serious and more laid back which I find easier to learn in. I do think at times he ran through material a little fast and was all over the place which did in fact make it hard to follow. I think he could improve a little on slowing down explaining the material a little more in depth especially to the people who have no religious background or knowledge on the information. Overall I do find him a very engaging speaker and kept me in tune the entire clas...

I really enjoyed the Dr. Kessler and his lesson. he was engaging and I could tell he really cares about what he teaches. One of the things I liked was how he printed the passage not only in English, but in Hebrew as well. I have always had an interest in languages and hearing him speak and read it peaked my interest more. Another thing I enjoyed was how in depth he went with the passage. Sometimes I find that people only go slightly in depth and try to cover more information while he brought on multiple perspectives and different interpretations. Dr. Kessler kept me engaged with his lesson and through the multiple engaging factors throughout the class period- we are a really shy class but I feel as though that did not affect him as he made us laugh and kept going with the lesson. Dr. Kessler made sure to explain the subject really well, with the difference between ba-makom and ha-makom. The different perspectives that he talked about that related to Judaism was fascinating and brought ...

  I personally really enjoy nature. I grew up hiking, biking, walking, camping- really doing a lot outside. Most of the time it started with my siblings and I complaining and not wanting to be outside, but then it ended with everyone having a good time in the end. My parents taught me that fresh air is important to health and overall well-being. Enjoying a sunset or the beauty from the top of a mountain is something I enjoy. When we had class on the Lions Gate bridge, I noticed the beauty that was all around. On my walk there, the leaves were different shades of orange, red and green, the weather was enjoyable and the sky had clouds. When I got the the bridge, the sky above the water was pale and throughout the class period it turned more pink as the sun was slowly setting. Walking the trail and looking at fallen walnuts and hummingbird holes was relaxing and refreshing. One thing that fascinating me was when Dr. Redick was talking about how trees have emotions. I understand how a ...