Sacred Communication/Journey 2022

 As we all know, this was a tragic incident.  The ESPN article I read states that the victim was a former football student from UVA.  He opened fire on the charter bus with all of these football kids, but seemed to be picking out certain players.  It seems like he had ongoing drama with those players from when he was on the team and that's what caused this.  There was a hearing in court on the 8th of December, deciding if there is enough evidence to charge him with second degree murder.  In my opinion, and I think I can speak on behalf other college students as well, we want to stop seeing such things happen.  I think the level of concern varies per person, but the end goal is this has to stop.  No matter what the drama was between the players and former student was, but I'm sure it could have been resolved without death.  

 Multiple times during this semester I attended intermural soccer games. This was a very enriching experience and met a lot of new people as well as made new friendships. Sometimes the weather was a bit harsh, but it was still a fun experience. It was also a good source of entertainment as quite frankly, the teams were not very good, but it still provided a good competitive environment where I could cheer on my friends to succeed. Definitely going to get involved with intermural sports in the future and can see myself having a lot of fun with my friends as we take on challenges like that. I also recommend everyone to watch some intermural games especially if someone you know plays, it is just overall a great experience to be a part of. 

 During this semester I made frequent trips to Old Dominion University to visit my friends. This was very beneficial to my mental health and reduced my stress tremendously. It gave me the opportunity to experience a football game at a large school like odu, and got to meet a whole lot of new people along the way. I was able to have a lot of new experiences which I think is one of the most important aspects of being a college student, that being exposing yourself to new experiences. 

As many people were, I was stressed during finals week.  Lucky for me, each of my finals were on different days.  I would take one then spend the rest of the day or the next morning to study for the next one.  I did that for all 5 of my exams and felt heavily prepared for most of my finals.  If I had 2 on one day I can see how it can be even more stressful because you have to study for multiple classes and know all of it while studying for another class.  I now know for next semester that I might want and need to start studying a little earlier than I did this semester, but I wouldn't have known that until I finished this semester.  This was probably the most I have ever studied, even in high school, but like I said earlier, I felt like I could have studied even more and done even better than what I did.  I now know that for next semester and the future. 

 I don't go camping a lot but when my family goes we always have a good time.  We normally go to different camp sites that has things to do during the day.  2 years ago we went to Jellystone camp ground which has a bunch of activities, for my younger siblings, to do throughout majority of the day.  Throughout the day I would either sit outside our cabin and play cornhole, play catch with a football or baseball, they had a basketball court there, so sometimes I would go play, or I would go fishing.  Now that I think about this, I can connect it to our class because going on a thru-hike and going camping are kind of the same.  You don't have much connection on your phone, better yet, your outside doing something to occupy yourself from looking at your phone.  You lose track of time by being outside and seeing what nature has to offer.  

 I've been playing baseball ever since I can remember.  Growing up, I was a kid who got the chance to play a lot of sports like baseball, basketball, football, soccer, hockey, and swimming.  Baseball was the sport that stuck with me.  My passion and love for the game is like no other.  If I could I would have no problem going to the field every day, sun up to sun down, and not get bored.  I could find so many things to do for hours on end.  My goal was to play in college and I was fortunate enough to achieve that.  Every little kid's dream is to go pro, but I want to take it one step at a time.  

 During our class trip to the Nolan Trail, I found it very relaxing once we started walking and saw all the different things in nature.  Fall was just arriving as many of the leaves have fallen off the trees.  This made the trail more colorful as all the leaves were different shades of brown, green, orange, and yellow.  You can see all the wildlife while walking the trail as well.  It seemed like every 5 seconds you would hear a squirrel run by you or scurry up a tree, then next thing you know, your standing 10 yards away from a doe.  I have never been that close considering whenever they hear or see you, they take off in the other direction.  It was also nice to get out of the classroom environment and get some fresh air.  Constant school work can be stressful and this relieved it.   

 In class, we discussed a lot about the state of flow. I have had a similar experience to this state of flow as I prepare for finals. As I study I sometimes slip into what is commonly called "the zone" and I am much more productive and I am able to recall more information than I used to be able to. I have found that this state happens frequently when I am listening to music and with my phone out of reach. It eliminates the distractions around me and I completely get locked in on whatever I am studying. It is an extremely useful tool that is likely going to ensure that I perform well on my exams. It is also a tool that I will have to utilize likely for the rest of my life, not only in college. Anytime I find myself in a spot where I have to get work done I now know the best way to do that. However, it is sometimes hard to get into this zone and I become frustrated, and when that happens it makes it even harder to get back into that zone. So, when I have these difficulties I li...

 Over Thanksgiving, I had a chance to see a lot of my family. It is always nice after lots of stress and problems to relax with family and enjoy good food. It was a good time to unwind from college and refocus my mind on what was ahead. Every thanksgiving we have traditions as a family that are not broken and those traditions always bring comfort to me when I partake in them. I think it is important to have these traditions as families as it helps the family stay connected and gives a sense of pride to be a part of that family. Although traditions are rarely completely unique, they all hold a unique meaning with unique memories for the families that partake in them. It is less about the tradition itself, and more about what that tradition gives to the family. 

 Over Thanksgiving, I had the opportunity to sit in a tree stand to hunt deer. This experience is unique because it is a test of patience rather than stamina like some nature trails are. Sitting in the tree stand above the forest floor and in between several trees, it is a breathtaking point of view. Just sitting there in the harmony of the ecosystem with several animals moving around you is something that is hard to describe and just uniquely personal to anyone who gives it a try. I sat in the tree stand for several hours and it was never a dull moment, and it gives you a lot of time to think introspectively. A great experience, and for anyone who has the chance to do something like this I  recommend taking that opportunity. 

 During my time on the Noland trail, I found it very soothing to be in nature. It was nice to escape the endless hub of consumerism and traffic that we encounter every day in the modern world. It allowed me to slip into a mindset where I could escape the stresses of my normal life, and all that lay in front of me were the endless rows of trees and scurrying squirrels along tree branches.  A few encounters with deer were tame in comparison to places in nature where they do not see very many people. I was able to get a few feet away from a doe which is usually impossible, as they tend to run away at any sign of people. It was really just nice to get a break from a typical day and enjoy nature. I can see why people crave experiences like the Noland trail and take it to extremes like the Appalachian trail which we have learned and researched so much about. I think anyone can benefit from being in nature, as it was where humanity began so I think there is always that instinctual ch...

 An interesting book I purchased earlier this semester was the 48 Laws Of Power  by Robert Greene. This book dives deep into the principles of intrigue and manipulation that have been used since the formation of human civilization. It gives the blueprints to manipulate people in order to gain power. It's a very fascinating read, although it does give the tools to be an immoral person. But there are a few tips that you can apply to your life for certain business opportunities for example, rather than on people in your life. It can also be useful to safeguard against people who may try and use the techniques against you. Overall the book is just an interesting read and you do not really have to keep its teachings to heart. I recommend the book to anyone who is interested in starting a business or entering the business world. I especially recommend the book for someone who aims to be elected to a public position in the future. 

 A book that I discovered that has completely transformed my way of thinking is Meditations  by Marcus Aurelius. Marcus Aurelius was a Roman Emperor who had unlimited power yet he wielded it with kindness, and did what was best for the empire rather than act selfishly like other roman emperors had in the past, such as emperor Nero who was a tyrant. The book is the personal writings of Marcus Aurelius to himself, in order to track his thinking and to help him grow as a person. The lessons he wrote of are timeless, and applicable to the modern world which made this the most influential book I have ever read. It teaches you not to mind the things out of your control and instead focus inward where you have full control of yourself. The book is written for the philosophy of stoicism, but as I mentioned anyone could pick this book up and walk away a changed person when they put it down. 

         I was reading an autobiography titled Can't Hurt Me  by David Goggins. A truly inspiring book that makes you really question just how far someone can push the limit of both mental and physical endurance. Every chapter fully engages the reader and made me personally want to run through walls and climb mountains. I had never encountered a book that was able to move me to act like this one. It also gives the blueprints for self-improvement leaving you with no excuse to remain as you are. He frequently comments about how often he wanted to give up which is showing that even the toughest people out there struggle frequently with these issues of motivation. I highly recommend the book to anyone who has had issues with motivation or discipline in the past and it has personally helped me grow tremendously. 

     This semester I am in a Religions of the East class, as well as this one, Sacred Communications which has been for the majority has been focused on western thought. Growing up in a christian household I've kind of always been surrounded by western thoughts and practices. But being able to learn about eastern religions has been impactfully mind opening and interesting. Grasping and understanding this class has been much simpler than the religion class. I feel that relates to my upbringing. Though there are many similarities between the two, I think the biggest thing I've observed is that the sects and religions of western thought are all very hand in hand. Eastern religions are drastically different at many points.

       The Birthright program was first introduced to me by Dr Stern. While learning more about what it was /is like to be Jewish in modern day America, Dr Stern mentioned this program. Brightpoint provides young adults 18-24 to take a trip to Jerusalem for free. The point of the trip is to engage, see and learn these different components of what it means to be Jewish . To learn and engage with the history of their religion. In perspective this is an amazing opportunity to experience a pilgrimage within their religion. Though there are many positive aspects and benefits from taking on such a pilgrimage, there are still some people that will take advantage of the program. Many students will take the opportunity to go on the trip and not go for the right reasons. They use it as a way to see the world and go overseas to party and avoid the pre-set itinerary, and sometimes even cause trouble. It is said according to the Birthright website, that through a pre screening p...

 In this book, the author talks a lot about how religions are empowering phenomena. I found this connecting to me writing my final term paper because it was very empowering when I finally finished it. I worked so hard and long on this paper and as soon as I finished I felt empowered and happy about myself. This book was very interesting and cool to read overall. It was also very fascinating when they brought up all of these new things that I have never heard of such as mere mortals. Overall it was very cool to be able to relate my term paper writing to this book. 

 In Image and pilgrimage in Christian culture, the authors talk quite a bit about "mere mortals" which means one who is not god. I felt like a mere mortal while I was writing this paper because I had a very tough time writing this paper. I eventually found my way a couple of hours into writing this paper. I find that a common theme while writing papers, I start out having a rough time and as soon as I get the hang of it I glide right through it. Overall this is a great way to think about things like this because nobody that is living now can prove that they are god.

 December 4th, 2022 In class, we talked about the Axis Mundi. The Axis Mundi is the gateway from the spiritual underworld through the earth into the spiritual heavens. The Axis Mundi connects the ideas of spirituality to real-life events. We talked about how trees could be used as an example of an Axis Mundi as the roots of the tree reach underground going towards the spiritual underworld and how the trunk and branches reach towards the sky towards the spiritual heavens. The Axis Mundi in the way I interpreted it as every living organism has a center and could be reached from either the spiritual underworld or the spiritual heavens and you choose your path into what you want to get reached by.

 My final paper is connected to landscapers of the sacred because in the book he talks a lot about his own experiences and the things he had to go through on his spiritual journey. I had a very long spiritual journey with myself during the writing of this term paper. I had to dig deep to find myself in this paper because that was gonna be the only way I was going to stay sane while writing this paper. Lane was reflective throughout the book on his experiences as was I when I finally manages to finish this term paper. I had to be very dedicated in this spiritual journey to end up finishing this on time. Overall I am happy that I got it done and the semester is almost over. 

       In place of Dr Redicks lesson today, we were visited by Dr Stephen Stern as he is also a candidate for employment here at the university. He is currently a professor at the Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania. Dr Stern began his lecture with very high energy and interesting points. Throughout his lecture I often found myself lost or confused. There was a lack of clear structure to his lecture and it was a bit confusing to keep up with. He was very quick to jump from point to point. I felt that often when he was on a roll with a subject he would jump to the next right as I was grasping what he was saying. I feel that compared to the other candidate, Dr Stern wasn't as engaging. I found myself zoning out because what he was explaining was confusing.

 I read this very controversial topic in the manifesto that the Buffalo shooter wrote before he committed this horrible crime. He was being extremely racist in his writing and talked about all race's wrong-doings besides white people. I found this very interesting and wrong. I wish I could see where this guy was coming from, but it is hard to play the devil's advocate when the person is the devil incarnate. He had a few very interesting topics that will make you think about what is going on in this world. Overall this was very interesting and borderline disturbing to read. 

  December 4th, 2022 In class, Dr. Redick talked about flow and I found this topic very interesting. Flow is being very focused and consumed in the spiritual act. If you are participating in a spiritual act and find yourself not wanting to stop and are extremely focused on the topic you are likely in a state of flow. Flow results in being in the grasp of the spiritual moment and is a good thing as you are finding the light in a sense and finding your faith. It gives you a sense of clarity knowing what you want and when you want it you have found the path you belong on.

       In place of Dr Redicks lesson today, we were visited by Dr Samuel Kessler as he is a candidate for employment here at the university. I would positively say that Dr Kessler really kept his presentation engaging, interesting, and as well understandable throughout his lesson. I could clearly understand the structure of the lesson. As a student that struggles with focusing for long periods of time, Dr. Kessler kept his lesson relevant and understandable while engaging. I feel that I took much away from the presentation. I often have a hard time with this in other professors, so I feel that students like myself would appreciate a professor like Dr Kessler. He was intent in all explanations he gave. He was also very obviously passionate about the work he does or has done, as well as an expert in his field. I would personally enjoy having Dr. Kessler as a professor.

 I found this article very interesting due to the explanation of the metaverse and how it might work in the future. They talk about the future of Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg's involvement in it. Zuckerberg basically wants to expand Facebook and make it a revolutionary idea to impress everyone involved. I found this very interesting because I enjoy these types of articles. Overall I am excited to see where this ends up going in the future.

       Today during class we visited and hiked a bit on the Nolan trail. This was my first time getting to visit the trail. Although I was extremely sick with bronchitis, I enjoyed our time on the trail. Getting out in nature on the beautiful day that it was made me feel so much better. Being on the trail I noticed much of the fall leaves and trees transitioning for the season. While admiring the leaves and my surroundings, it reminded me so much of how a little thing such as the leaves transitioning, resembled a little of how I as a freshman am also transitioning. Into college, into the season, and into a new person. Though the leaves will fall and die, the tree will produce beautiful spring flowers. Those flowers remind me of the new semester ahead. As we are in college, we will continue to transition like leaves into the seasons ahead.

       While reading the hikers journals and learning about the trails and journeys these individuals go on, I thought about prayers and how so many people do this in a different and unique way. I personally grew up in a Christian household. My thought on prayer is that to me it is my time and way of communicating with God. In praying I give thanks for my blessing and discuss my personal hardships. I ask God to provide for me, my family, my friends and often those in need. I ask God to use me in ways to show others positivity. For others, they could view this as just asking, or just solely giving thanks. Maybe to others it isn't a discussion with a higher being, and maybe its again solely just them being able to be present in their thoughts and feelings. The idea of prayer and how it's viewed really depends on the person as well as what it is they do or don't practice. As I read and learn more about these journeys, the idea of prayer is such a rich part of a spiritua...

       In class today we talked about the experience of “flow”. Flow is a state of being that happens when the mind, body and soul (in some cases)are engaged in a feeling of extreme focus. To the point where we get “lost” in a sense of what we are doing or sometimes feeling. Oftentimes you will catch yourself or hear others say “I just got so lost in what I was doing” or I was so out of it that I lost track of time. Most of the time that's exactly what the state of flow entails. It can feel like you're in a place or a position, but youre feeling out of it or extremely in focus. People experience flow in many settings and tasks or situations. An example of an experience was shared by a classmate. They talked about driving to a destination like their house. You're conscious and aware of what you're doing but you don't realize once you're at the destination how you got there. Another example a classmate shared was when youre reading a book but you lack that self aw...

       As humans we experience and feel things all the time and in many different and unique ways. Where we experience life has and always will be a part of what makes up a person's background. Sacred places can be found anywhere and everywhere. These places could be a house, a corner, a car, a beach, a store, a room, a chapel, and more. For myself, I find that my room back at home in Chester, is my personal sacred place. My bedroom is my sacred place because this is where many of my core memories and important life changing moments happened to me when growing up. These experiences range from learning how to use the computer, to sleepovers with my friends and brother, learning of certain family members passing, long nights of hard work, crafting, starting my business, singing my heart out, most of my time spent during the pandemic was in my room. The list could go and on. While my sacred space is in my home, its often not like that for everyone. Sometimes people need...

In the book, The Phenomenology of Prayer, the book talks about how prayer brings us as humans closer to the divine. The divine, meaning God. I think that it's really interesting that people don’t just pray to speak to God but also to get closer to Him. I feel as though you can connect this book with the different blogs that we read about trail hikers. When people go on these hikes they are looking for an “opening” or a spiritual passage. I feel as though when someone goes on these hikes it’s their way of connecting with God and getting closer to Him; getting closer to the Divine. This book really showed me what it means to pray and be devoted to God and how to use my religion in a good way. After reading most of the book, some questions did pop into my head. If someone doesn’t believe in God but wants to, should they start with praying? In my opinion, I think that praying should be the first step in wanting to get closer to God. I will definitely carry the information from this boo...

After reading the book The Phenomenology of Prayer, I noticed that a lot of the stories were about people who started out not really praying and then went through a transformation where they found their new love for praying. I liked that a lot of the stories were about what is actually essential within humanity. How and why we pray says a lot about who we are as people. One of the stories was about a little boy who prayed for gelato while others prayed for themselves or for family members to recover from illness. In my opinion, I think that it’s cool that everyone prays differently. It shows that each person and their life stories are different. I could be having the worst day of my life while you could be having the best but we are still in church praying at the same time. I think that the differences in prayer are really fascinating. As someone who doesn’t go to church or who hasn’t prayed in a long time, I thought that it was really interesting to read about different stories of peo...

After reading the book Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture, I now have a better understanding of what pilgrimage means. Before reading the book when I heard the word pilgrimage the only thing that would come to mind is the pilgrims that had Thanksgiving with the Native Americans. However, I now know there is more than one definition of the word. The word pilgrimage that’s used in this book is used to describe a journey that someone goes through within their religion. As mentioned on page 21 of the book, “pilgrimages of all types coexist in the same religious field, and each type influences all the others so that a single pilgrimage system comes to absorb “prototypical, archaic, medieval, and modern” features, with variable dominance at different points in time.” Each different pilgrimage has its own level of importance and beliefs that differ from one another. One of the questions that I raised during this reading is, can a non-religious individual go through a pilgrimage or does...

While reading the book Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture I noticed that they mention different symbols, more specifically dominant symbols, and how they relate to pilgrimages. After having read so much about symbols, I decided to look at the back of the book where they gave summaries for topics within the book. I found the word dominant symbol and it says “dominant symbols appear in many different ritual contexts, sometimes presiding over the whole procedure, sometimes over particular phases”. I think that it’s interesting how different symbols can mean different things depending on when they are used. However, even though they can be used differently, most of the time their meaning is pretty consistent. I find this really engaging and it makes me want to take a deeper look at some dominant symbols that are found within spiritual journeys. In relation to dominant symbols, there are also instrumental symbols. Instrumental symbols are things like candles and the act of kneeling. ...

December 4th 2022  I would like to write about finding yourself for my free write. Finding yourself on your religious journey can be long and discouraging but know if you stay on the path everything works out in the end. There will be many challenges in finding what path you want to follow but there will be a special moment when you figure out what oath you want to follow in your journey of faith. Your path might not be what everybody else picks and that's ok to find what you truly believe in and what makes you the best version of yourself you can be.

For my final outside reading, I found blogs written by a woman whose trail name is Bluebird. Bluebird hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2020. One of my favorite things about her blogs was that she treated them almost as a guide. She wrote some of her blogs on what food to bring, and what equipment to bring, and talked about a ton of facts about the Appalachian Trail. Even though I have no desire to take a hike through the Appalachian Trail, I find it very cool that she gave tips and tricks which could be helpful to others reading her blogs. Out of all the blogs on the Appalachian Trail that I’ve read, hers are my favorite. Her style of writing makes me feel as though I hiked the trail with her. Her blogs relate to our class discussions because she talks a lot about the spiritual journeys that she went through on the trail. She talks about how being out on the trail for months allowed her to reconnect with nature and with God more. After reading all the different types of blogs, I have a f...

For this next outside reading, I read blog posts from Love and Peace on Trailjournals.com. She hiked the American Discovery Trail and wrote about her experiences there. The thing that I noticed about her blogs is that they were much shorter than most of the others that I had read. I like how she chooses to focus more on updating where they are instead of what they’ve seen along the way. Even though it’s interesting to read about what they saw, I find it more interesting to see the distances that some of the hikers can travel in just a day. However, one thing that I learned from reading Love and Peace’s blogs is that I didn’t think that you could drive to different locations. Before reading the blogs or even taking this class I just thought that these hikes had to be completed completely on foot or on a bike. However, that was not the case with these journals. Many of the miles that this blogger traveled were completed by car. In my opinion, driving through the trails has less of a spir...

After spending some time on trailjournals.com I came across these blogs written by a person named Gandalf. Gandalf talks about his experiences on the colorado trail. Gandalf writes about the different people he encounters and he writes about the different elements of nature that he encounters. One thing that I noticed with him is that he questions if he will be able to make it through the entire trail. I find it very interesting that many of these bloggers only begin to question their journey once they’ve already started it. Gandalf said on day 6 of the hike, “ Was I physically fit enough? Was I prepared enough? Was I up to the task? But the biggest question I had was ``I'm too old for this shit”. I just think it’s very interesting to see how these thoughts are usually at the back of their head and that the most important thing is that they start their journeys. One thing that I find fascinating is that a lot of times the entire family is involved with these hiking trips. For examp...

On page 73 of Landscapes of the Sacred, it talks about Native American spirituality and how sacred places are treated within their culture. As I was reading, the book talks about how Native Americans honor and treat these places that are considered sacred. As I was reading this section of the book, I made a connection to this show that I watched. There is this show on the History channel called The Secrets of Skinwalker Ranch. Now, this show is about a group of scientists who study different phenomena that have happened on this ranch in Colorado. On this ranch, called Skinwalker Ranch there have been many animal mutilations, “spaceships' ' or alienlike events that have been observed, and beings (skinwalkers) that have been reported on the ranch. This ranch used to be home to many Native Americans, and I believe that it is considered a sacred place because of the stories and pictures that have been passed down throughout the years. I find it interesting that this book talks abou...

After reading the landscapes of the sacred, I’ve come to realize the severity of having a spiritual/ religious connection. Along with that, I also learned what it meant to go to a sacred place and how it came to be and why they are important. On page 15, the author talks about how in order for a place to be considered sacred, there have to be a ton of stories written or told about it. From pages 16-19 in Landscapes of the Sacred, the author mentions a personal story of how hard it is to find God. He went on to explain his trip to the woods because he was looking for a river. He talks about how he always wants to immediately find and speak to God but most of the time it takes a while. He then goes on to talk about how he was going to leave the woods but felt a calling further into the woods. So, he walked there and leaned against the tree for a while, and then finally after a few minutes of waiting, a female deer walked right up to him. I think that that is super fascinating. The author...

One of the first topics that we talked about in class is liminal. Liminal means threshold. An example would be if you were standing in between a door way it would make you liminal. The idea of something being liminal is both eerie and kinda cool. When we first talked about liminal meaning thresholds, sleeping or dreaming came to my mind first. When we first lay down to go to sleep our bodies enter into a stage where we are almost half awake and half asleep. We aren’t fully asleep and we aren’t fully awake either, we are in some way both. I also feel like you could make a connection between dreams and liminality. Dreams are a part of our subconscious, we enter into a space where we have very little control over what we are doing. I really enjoyed learning about liminal and I find it very interesting. When it came time for us to write our essays on Covid on the Appalachian Trail, I believe that I also made a connection between walking the trail and liminal. Reading all of the blogs about...

Another topic that we talked about in class is how certain things can be considered openings or used as a way to communicate on a different level. Something that I find very interesting is that mountains, trees, pillars, and ladders are different kinds of “openings” or connections for sacred communications. After learning about this, I did have a few questions; How are these things openings? Is anything else considered an opening? How do these openings form? Learning about this was super cool and I found it very interesting. I like the idea that these “openings” are found in different places and not rare places. The idea that these “openings” are found within nature and all around us is super cool. I guess that’s why many of the spiritual journeys that we talked about happen within nature and on the different hiking trails. I also like the idea that dreams are a way that sacred communications happen. I believe that this is because when we are sleeping, dreams come from the subconscious...

One of the topics that we talked about in class was the 4 Axioms. The first one is that sacred places choose themselves. This means that someone can’t go around and decide if a place is sacred, God chooses it. A person can’t decide if it’s sacred or not, God has to give signs to the people who visit these different places. The next axiom is sacred places aren’t sacred to everyone. That means that if I were to visit a “sacred place” and had an experience with God that doesn’t mean that the next person to visit will have the same experience. I would believe that God chooses who gets to experience this and He would probably choose the most believing person. The third axiom is both moving into and out of a center. And finally, the fourth axiom is that rituals make ordinary places extraordinary. Rituals allow you to speak with things, not in our realm so going to an ordinary place and performing a ritual would bring these spirits or beings into this ordinary place and turn it into a sacred ...

Writing the essay on the experiences of hikers on the Appalachian Trail during Covid-19 was not an easy task. I had a hard time writing this essay because of my lack of knowledge on the Appalachian Trail. Since I had never read blogs from trail hikers, I had to spend a good amount of time researching and reading different articles and blogs in order to even begin my essay. After my extensive searching for different blogs written by hikers, I finally had a better understanding of why people hiked the Appalachian Trail. I learned that many of them hiked this trail in order to get away from life and develop a better connection with God and nature. A lot of the hikers wrote about how they were super isolated from the world and so covid had minimal impact on them individually. Also, this trail allowed them to connect with their religion even more or they were able to find their God and establish a new life for when they leave the trail. I find it interesting how people are able to find thei...

When I still lived at home, I never needed a place to escape to, I was able to live my life without needing to clear my mind because the stress of high school is less intense than college. However, when I first got to CNU, one of my goals was to find a place off campus to go where I could clear my head if needed. As I got more familiar with the area I realized that there were so many options to choose from. One of the places that I found is called Huntington Beach. Huntington Beach is a little beach and park about 10 minutes away from school that is located along the James River. I enjoyed going there because watching the waves and feeling the soft sand made me feel more connected with nature. I was able to appreciate the beauty that God created and see the beauty that Earth has to offer even being just 10 minutes away from school. Since being at school, I’ve spent many days there watching the sunset, hanging out with friends, or just simply enjoying nature as a way to decompress from ...

Growing up, my sister and I spent a lot of time playing outside together. However, growing up pretty close to the city, my sister and I rarely had the chance to go outside in the woods and play. Most of our outside time was spent on our street in our neighborhood. So, our class trip to Lions Gate Bridge reminded me of the times when my sister and I were younger and we got away from our suburban life. I found it very interesting to have the opportunity to do our class outside rather than sitting inside of a  building. I really enjoyed seeing the water, trees, and animals that inhabit the surrounding area of Lions Gate Bridge. As I've gotten older, I have forgotten the beauty of nature and how peaceful it can be. More importantly, the class at Lions Gate Bridge quickly brought back the memories of playing outside and the beauty of nature that I had forgotten about. I really enjoyed watching the sunset over the water. Even though it was a cloudy day, you could still see the red from t...

December 4th, 2022  The author of this book also talks about how prayer raises many questions and the boundaries of prayer. As you pray you will have many questions as talked about in the book like why is this situation happening now, or why is it happening now. God has a plan for everybody and it can be tough to stay patient and play the long game but if you stay true to your faith you will find the plan always comes to light in the long run. In the book, the author also talks about how there are boundaries to prayer the biggest example is giving up on praying in a situation in need when the answer is not revealed as soon as you want it to be. This also comes back to the point referred to earlier regarding the questions raised while praying and how God has a plan and you need to be patient and the plan will come to light.

 12/4/2022 I found it interesting reading in image and pilgrimage in Christian culture about different sects of Christianity and the differences in the way they worship. Like how protestants specifically do not like the idea of supernatural intervention from saints while other sects do. Over all I am finding this reading less interesting than landscapes of the sacred.

 11/8/2022 Researching the trail journals for Assignment 2 can be frustrating because it’s a lot of just guessing what hikers will have sacred experiences to talk about. Once I find someone with something valuable to me to say the descriptions came to me quickly. However the searching through journals will probably help me understand the term paper better.

 12/4/2022 I found it interesting that in landscapes of the sacred, Lane mentions that when it comes to sacred objects the more common the item the more sacred it is. He also says that it is not the object itself that sacred but that it simply is a means to access something sacred. I think this is an interesting idea but I’m unsure how necessary I think the distinction is.

 12/4/2022 Axis mundi confused me in the readings from landscapes of the sacred. But in class it was explained more clearly.   What confused me at first was the explanation for the terms axis and mundi. However now those explanations help me remember the term itself. From what I understand its another name for a liminal place.

 10/202022 I hope that I am happy with my choice of topic and thesis. I am concerned that when it comes time for me to sit down and write the rest of my paper that I will want to change it. Usually this isn’t an issue and don’t regret planning things in advance, but I always worry about it. I chose the Camino de Santiago because it was not a wilderness trail but had specific sacred locations along the way. I think the religious nature of this trail will make the paper easier to write.

 December 4th, 2022 The book Phenomenology of Prayer, I found this book to be very interesting as it included many different perspectives on faith including many different religions and cultures. This is interesting because it puts me in the shows of what other religions believe and what their morals are. I find learning about other religions very interesting as I try to find key points and compare them to my own religion and faith. I also try to take some of the morals and points they follow and take away from them to be the best possible version of myself I can be.

12/4/2022 Kanye’s anti-Semitic  comments are pretty aggreges and surprising. Kanye has been openly very right wing for a while now but it seems to have intensified. I think the general consensus is that Kanye is going through a mental health crisis or psychotic break and is not aware of the consequences of the things he’s saying. His career is probably over now which is sad and its unfortunate that Kanye is an example of how fast people can deuterate do to mental health difficulties especially when not being properly treated.

12/4/2022 I thought it was interesting in image and pilgrimage in Christian culture when turner talked about the role pilgrimage played in connecting different distant and isolated societies. Turner claims that many cultures would have never ventured beyond their respective regions and would not have learned of the others existence. I don’t know if you can argue that this was necessarily beneficial but its certainly interesting how historically significant it is.

 12/4/2022 I found it interesting to hear in Image and pilgrimage in Christian culture that pilgrimage is increasing at a faster rate than tourism. Pilgrimages is becoming less obligatory according to turner. He also points out the discrepancies between stories of the resurrection in different versions. And highlights the irrational nature of the versions.

12/4/2022 Porsche is the best enthusiast car company. They are a sports car brand where even its traditionally boring SUVs and sedans are very impressive machines underneath. Porsche is able to significantly reduce manufacturing costs by developing universally compatible parts for similar type vehicles. This reduces the cost of development and manufacturing. This also allows Porsche to have more variations in models by having different parts contained within the same chassis. They also have a long successful racing history and are assembled with high quality.

11/132022 On my own walk on the Noland trail, I made the mistake of going in the afternoon. So as a result, the sun set midway through the walk. The walk back was somewhat scary partially because there were still runners out there and I could hear them coming up behind me or would see them move behind trees.

11/9/22 During my time on the Noland trail, I noticed a similar effect that I had heard described as a “green tunnel”. In parts of the trail you feel very secluded and the sky is largely covered by tree tops. There is wild life I saw a turtle as well as many squirrels, birds, and spiders. Once I had a good distance between me and everyone else I found the trail to be quieter than expected.

12/4/2022 Dr. Sterns presentation was very engaging and interesting. He had a sense of humor which kept the class engaged but his way of communicating was also easy to pay attention to. He engaged a lot with the class which I like. The organization of his presentation or the way he explored and bounced between ideas was also very engaging and made it easy not to lose focus like with many professors I have. I heard others say they didn’t like the way he moved between topics that being said it worked really well for me. I also liked his subject choice. I thought birthright was an interesting topic and had already been curious about it. We mostly talked about the politics associated with going on birthright particular as a Jewish American.

  12/4/2022 Dr. Kessler’s presentation was engaging. I thought he was very funny an di learned a lot about Jewish texts. I would say that I would enjoy learning from this professor on weekly basis but I will admit the choice of topic was not the most interesting to me. The way he organized his thoughts was also just not personally very effective for me. I like to bounce around a lot but he did it in a way that made me loose focus on what he was saying. That being said when I was focused on what he was saying he spoke clearly and I could understand the content. And I think considering the subject choice not being the most interesting he kept student interest fairly well mostly through use of humor. I am unsure but I thought I remembered hearing that the candidates chose the topic they wanted to talk about themselves and if that’s the case I really wish he picked something else.   We learned about genesis 28. We also learned how to interpret Hebrew texts.

 December 4th, 2022 The author of Image and Pilgrimage in the Christian Culture also talks about the relationship between pilgrimage and the spiritual needs of humans. A pilgrimage in sacred terms usually refers to a journey you take to discover your' faith or to "find yourself". This in return relates directly as many people use a pilgrimage to strengthen their faith and establish their relationship with God. People often find themselves drifting away from God and their faith and can use a pilgrimage to reinstate themselves back into their faith and restore their relationship with God. So in return humans, spiritual needs directly reflect by a pilgrimage as many people don't see it as it is a slightly outdated and unconventional method in today's time.

 December 4th, 2022 In the book Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture the author talks about being able to soak in the meaning of the event you are learning about. If you are learning about your faith and come across an event you need to be able to understand and fully comprehend the event so you can fully enable your faith and be committed to it. While learning about the event the author talks about absorbing the event into your mind and comprehending it in a way that makes sense to you. The author also talks about you should be able to incorporate the event's lessons into your own life and be able to utilize those lessons to not make the same mistake or be able to follow the ways of the people who have done well. The author did a very good job on this topic if you don't understand an event in your faith then what's the point of talking about or learning about it.

December 4th, 2022  The author of Landscapes Of The Sacred talks about interpreting sacred places in different ways almost as if opening your eyes to a way you have never looked at it in a perspective. As you travel to a sacred or spiritual place you need to be able to learn about the history and open yourself to new ideas you have never thought about before. Especially if you are traveling to a place with a different culture or beliefs than your own you need to be able to hear out and experience those beliefs because it could to you being more intrigued and you may find that you can incorporate those ideas into your own beliefs. This a very valid and useful point as it could open your faith in a way you have never seen or experienced before. I have seen many ways of faith translate to each other and provide useful tips to be able to follow your faith to the fullest.

 December 4th, 2022 In the book Landscapes Of The Sacred, the author talks about how sacred could be compared to a spatial fixed reality. The author is basically saying that who we are as people is partly comparable to where we are. Ultimately if we are in a good place with good people who believe in the same things and maintain the same morals as us we will in return act as the people we strive to be a "model character". While being placed in a bad situation with the wrong people will lead to you making poor decisions and take you down the wrong path in life and take you away from your life goals. The author talks about how also being in calmer and more neutral places will lead you to be calm and more relaxed, while being in hectic and stressful environments will lead to you being unfocused, undisciplined, and more stressed. Ultimately this is a very good point as he is 100 percent right I believe that who we are as people is partly comparable to where we are and what enviro...

 I read this case for a business ethics project and it interested me, it was about a person who committed fraud in the trucking business. He copied a different trucking company's idea and slapped his logo on it. It was very interesting to read because I would like to see where this guy was coming from. He was running a multi-million dollar industry and he decided to mess it all up by copying someone else's idea. He was rightfully arrested on a fraud charge and he is now awaiting sentencing. This was very good to see because he deserved everything he got. I struggle to see where he was coming from due to this. Overall it was very cool to read about one of the thousands of cases that happen every year that involve business ethics. 

 Assignment two was relatively difficult for me for multiple different reasons including finding good things to write about. I got the hang of quickly because you can find almost any of these journal entries and connects them to a spiritual journey because that it what most of these people are hiking for. Almost all of these people have the goal of finding themselves or finding something that has to do with their own spiritual journey. After reading a few of them I realized most of the people making the entries have the same goal which is freeing themselves from all of their busy and stress filled live. Overall this was a very good exercise and it was very interesting to read some of these entries due to the content inside. 

 When I first read the Covid connection assignment I was skeptical because I did not know what to expect when I read the journals. I started reading the journals and I realized the effect that the coronavirus had on these hikers. I knew that Covid has a big effect on a lot of people, but I did not know that it would affect hikers that much because they are outside and not near many people. After I read a few of them I realized how sad some people got because they could not hike anymore. There are many different similarities between all of the journals that I read including most of them getting off the trail and finishing their journeys at a later date. Overall it was a very interesting and eye-opening experienc 

December 4th, 2022  I was on the internet and came across an article titled: Taking Chances. The article talked about if you have an opportunity you need to take the chance. I see this as very good advice because when taking chances you are betting on yourself. In life, you need to be able to bet on yourself and believe in yourself realizing that you can do anything when you put your mind to it. Realizing what you are capable of is very important due to the fact that if you don't realize what you can do you'll never expand out of your comfort zone you will miss out on opportunities in life that could lead to your succeeding in life. Taking chances can be a high-risk high reward option but usually, the risk outweighs the reward. 

 December 4th, 2022 Back during the summer I went to the beach and took a walk on the beach at night. As I was walking down the shoreline the sky was lit up with stars and the waves were crashing while walking on the sand. While walking on the beach I was put into a mental state of being calm and relieved of all stress I realized that God had put me in this place at the time I needed to be there. I also came to the realization that God made all of this his creation was the earth and everything around us. This was a very special moment for me as it seemed all of the problems on my back had just disappeared. This felt like a weight lifted off my shoulders and to see the beauty of what God had created was a very special and surreal experience.

When I first started writing the term paper I had no idea how I was going to manage to get seven pages down. Once I got the hang of it then I realized I was interested in the top because I could relate to it. It was tough for me to start and write the first couple of paragraphs, but once I got started I was strolling through it with ease. About halfway through I looked back on the semester and how much I had already accomplished throughout my time here. I am very proud of myself that I have done so well in all of my classes in the past few months. I finally got it done and I let out a big sigh of relief because it was the last project that I had to do before finals week. All I have to do now is focus on finals and I am done with my first semester at college. I am so glad I made the decision to attend here and I am so happy I had great professors that have helped me so much throughout this semester. 

December 4th, 2022 I like to read the bible in my spare time to brush up on and strengthen my faith and one of my favorite chapters is 1 Corinthians. This chapter talks a lot about using the gospel in all aspects of your life and including your faith in your decisions. I feel like this chapter has spoken to me the most because I like to include my faith in the tough decisions I have to make throughout life. Making tough choices in life like where I should attend college and many other tough choices in life I pray on and tend to ask God for guidance throughout the decisions I need to make. This applies to me in many ways and I will continue to keep God in my mind throughout all of my tough decisions, so this chapter has helped me and will continue to help me throughout my life.

 December 4th, 2022 Dr. Redick took us on a hike near the lion's bridge and told us to pay attention to the surroundings as we hiked. As soon as we got to the location to start the hike the scenery around us was beautiful we were right beside the James River and the trees were changing colors leading to a beautiful experience. Dr. Redick told us to look around and find signs of what would relate to our class. He told us to look at the trees and pay attention to what they looked like as they could display a sign of what has happened to them some trees were dormant and looked to be dead and you find signs of what had happened to the tree as some had been potentially struck by lighting or some had been blocked from not getting enough sunlight. This showed what other living things had been through and showed that God has a plan for all living organisms and we can relate to that as he has a plan for us even if it is how you want it to pan out.

  Once again this stuck out when I was reading, “ Tell me the landscape in which you live and I will tell you who you are, ‘ declared Jose Ortega y Gasset. By this he implied that place not only has a way of molding a personality, but it serves also as an anchor of human existence. Landscape is a connector of the soul with Being.” I think this serves to be true as people often debate whether or not their personality is really their own or if it is just molded from their surroundings. 

December 3rd, 2022  As I was reading a trail journal from the hiker "Refresh". She focused on getting a fresh start and resetting her mind while hiking on the Appalachian Trail.  I feel this is necessary as in life you will run into struggles and obstacles in life. Getting a fresh start leads to becoming more focused and improving your life overall by stepping away from the distractions and obstacles in your life. Getting fresh also helps build and strengthen your religious relationship. As you look for a fresh start you will step back and want to ask God to help guide you through the process leading you to become invested in your faith. I believe this journal has helped and related to me in many ways as I have had to step back and help strengthen my relationship with God on the journey for a fresh start.

  This stuck out when I was reading, “ It was the prophets, the apostles, and their successors the missionaries who convinced the western world that a rock (which certain people have considered to be sacred) was only a rock, that the planets and the stars were only cosmic objects - that is to say, that they were not (and could not be) either gods or angels or demons” (pg. 22). I think when thinking about Indigenous peoples, they could also play a part in this, when talking about the western world. A big part of their religions and cultures involves sacred geography.  

  Something else that stuck out to my in Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture was from page 33, “They concern the relationship between the timeless message of the founder, whose words and works show how to obtain release from time’s suffering or how to use it to one’s eternal advantage, and the concrete circumstances of time and place. Believers in the message seek to imitate or to unite with the founder by replicating his actions, either literally or in spirit. Pilgrimage is one way, perhaps the most literal, of imitating the religious founder.” Again I think this replicates the things we’ve talked about over the course of the semester. How we only have so much time on earth and believers try to do their best to be close to God or feel close to him in their own ways, such as pilgrimage. 

  While reading this line stuck out to me as  it was something we talked about a lot in class. “Pilgrims sometimes enhance their mundane status through having made the journey.” In Profane Experience and Sacred Encounter: Journeys to Disney and the Camino de Santiago, it also talks about something similar. “It has been said that pilgrims were the first tourists. Traveling to a sacred shrine presented a dual opportunity, see the sights and seek communion with God. Yet ancient spiritual journey narratives describe travels that have little in common with tourism in the modern context. Gilgamesh, Odysseus, Aeneas, Israel’s desert sojourn, and Jesus all wander through the land or over the sea in search of meaning that transcends sight seeing and seeking a vacation experience. With the rise of mass transportation and mass communication many of the sacred destinations for traditional pilgrimage have also become sites where tourists seek to experience a diversion. This milieu increase...

  Once again on pages 38-39 I found something that stood out to me, “ Whatever be the ultimate meaning of prayer…, it is collective prayer… which opens this ultimate meaning (DF 270). That is (and here is a first sense of this assertion): In Judaism you do not primarily pray alone, you need a minyan (a quorum), a minimum of ten men. While one may pray privately, there is special merit in praying with others as a part of a congregation; this is underscored by that fact the Jewish prayers are formulated in the plural rather than in the singular.” There is an example in this from another reading, In Baghdad, Dreaming of Cairo; In Cairo, Dreaming of Baghdad. “They moan in prayer, and the perfumed smoke of that floats into heaven, and the angels say, “Answer this prayer. This worshiper has only you and nothing else to depend on. Why do you go first to the prayers of those less devoted?” Here you can see this could be true not just in Judaism but across other religions too.

 The first entry I did was on the Noland Trail walk and the view from the Lion's Gate bridge, but now I will talk about the amazing horse statue. That statue to me represented the taming of new land because the horse is being tamed in the depiction of the statue. I have seen many statues at museums and such back home, but that is the first time I have seen something of that nature. It made me think about certain things in my life such as the challenges I have and am going to face in my life. I hope that I can conquer all challenges in my life as that man in the statue is doing because it is a symbol in my eyes. Overall I thought it was amazing to see and I will be going to view that statue again in the near future.  

 Another interesting section from Phenomenology of Prayer that I absolutely agree with is "praise is fittingly first in the list of elements of prayer." I believe that along with praise, it is also grief or want that fuels prayer. But in my experience, I always open a prayer with a thank you for so and so, or thank you that this went well. I think that is a beautiful way to celebrate life and a good way to give thanks. I enjoy opening prayers on a happy note, and giving thanks for the good day that I had. I am glad to always open prayer with a happy note. I believe that it makes God happy to hear about the good parts of our days from us, even though God knows what we are always doing. 

  While reading the Phenomenology of Prayer a line from page 15 stood out to me, “ prayer is a deep, quite possibly the deepest decentering of the self, deep enough to begin dismantling or, if you like, deconstructing that burning preoccupation with myself.” While skimming through Notes on Martin Buber I thought these quotes connected to the above quote. “The relation to You is unmediated. . . . No purpose intervenes between I and You, no greed and no anticipation; and longing itself is changed as it plunges from the dream into appearance.  Every means is an obstacle.  Only where all means have disintegrated encounters occur.” (62-63). 

 When we decided to journey on the Noland trail hike I did not know what to expect since I have not been on a walk like that in nature in a very long time. We all met on the lions' gate bridge that had an amazing view of the James River. That was one of the best views that I have seen so far at Christopher Newport University. Regarding the walk, I thought it was nice and relaxing. We saw many little animals including birds and squirrels which was very cool. There were also many different kinds of trees and Shrubs that were many different colors and it was amazing to observe the beautiful colors of nature. Overall I thought it was a great experience and I would definitely consider doing it again. 

  I really enjoyed being able to write my own thesis for our term papers. In high school I feel like I never had that much freedom when it came to writing our papers, it was always something very specific we had to write about. I enjoyed researching for my thesis more than I thought I would, but I did have to alter my thesis a little to make it less specific.  

  I thought our class on Mauna Kea was very interesting and I liked that lecture style with the pictures in the background a lot. I never thought about hiking a mountain with glaciers on it and how dangerous that could be. I also enjoyed hearing about your experiences while hiking. Like all the mosquitoes attacking yours arms. 

  I recently finished a duology: Six Crimson Cranes and The Dragons Promise, which blends east asian mythology and culture with popular fairy tales to create a magical adventure. Which reminds me of the sacred journeys we talked about in class. Shiori, the only princess of kiata is one of few with forbidden magic. Her stepmother, Raikama, has dark magic and she banishes the princess and turns her six brothers into cranes. Shiori is not allowed to speak, because with every word she speaks one of her brothers will die. So, Shiori goes on a journey, alone, to search for her brothers. 

  I finished this chapbook recently and one poem made me think of sacred communication.  Postcards  “ I had already fallen in love with   Far too many postage stamps, When you appeared on my doorstep, Wearing nothing but a postcard promise.  No. Appear is the wrong words. Is there a word for sucker-punching  Someone in the heart?  Is there a word for when you are sitting At the bottom of a roller coaster, And you realize the climb is coming, That you know what the climb means, That you can already feel the flip in your Stomach from the fall, before you have  Even moved- is there a word for that? There should be. You can only fit so many words in a postcard. Only so many in a phone call. Only so many into space, before you forget That words are sometimes used for things Other than filling emptiness. It is hard to build a body out of words. I have tried. We have both tried. Instead of laying your head on my chest, I tell you about the boy who l...