Helmer Noland Trail

On the Sunday before leaving for Thanksgiving break, I decided to take a trip out to the Noland, before the sunset on the beautiful evening. It was about 45 minutes before the sun was about to set, and I found myself just sitting there looking around. I was planning to go on a walk through the trail to hopefully just relax and get my mind off of everything going on, but the music I had playing definitely was distracting me from everything else around me. I wasn't paying attention to much, except for the many dogs who were walking past me. Once I was about fifteen minutes into the walk, I decided to turn off my music, and instead, take everything else in that was going on around me. Once it was silent outside, all I could hear was the ruffling of the leaves in the trees as they were blowing in the wind, and the sound of people walking past me. After a while, I didn't see anyone else out on the trail, so I was then able to stop in my tracks for a moment and look at everything around me. The colors of Autumn were painted all around me and it was an amazing feeling. I felt truly excluded from the world around me and it was a feeling like no other. I felt like God had placed me in this specific spot, just so I could experience this feeling. I really needed this short getaway from the outside world, and I was finally understanding the power God has over us and I was shown the gift of creation and kenosis through him.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Roberts The sacred part of Disney Land

Student choice. Yesterday in class, Dr Redick discussed his trip to Disney Land. He explained how everyone in the park is always happy because of the effect the atmosphere has on people. This always happy atmosphere, headed by the staff members, who are put through special training, are always. This has an effect on people to smile and continue the happy experience. Lane describes the axioms of a sacred place and the second axiom is that a sacred place is an ordinary place, ritually made extraordinary. So what makes Disney Land extraordinary? Disney Land is an ordinary place that is made extraordinary by the gleaming staff members that influence the park-goers to remain happy and make their trip extraordinary.
Read more

Swanson Kenosis and Prayer

December 6, 2018 [Phenomenology of Prayer] In the Phenomenology of Prayer , Benson and Wirzba express that the correct posture of prayer is kenosis, which is the intense decentering of self. Kenosis is important for prayer because it empties the mind of everything that is distracting to the consciousness and focuses full attention on God. When your mind is gravitating towards your schedules or other thoughts of the day and not directly in the moment, you further yourself from God and limit the possibility for clear communication. I tried to pray today using this method. In the beginning it was difficult to pray because I was limiting myself by believing it was foolish and childish, letting my ego get in the way. I realized this and then tried to clear my mind and not say anything instead. Once my mind was clear I felt a little more comfortable and tried again but was still distracted by some of my thoughts. Although I did not feel like I was having a genuine connection, my self ...
Read more

Ian Fein Own Topic #1

The other day I became overwhelmed with all the stress of the world around me, and instead of continuing to do my work, I decided it was time for me to take a break and cool down. I decided to go play basketball. By playing basketball, I was able to break free of the thoughts of stress and instead subconsciously focus on the simple things; the bouncing of the ball up and down, the angle I would need to put my arm at to make the shot go in, and going over to where I would next shoot the ball from. Similarly to a hiker on the Camino or the AT, I was able to encounter the flow experience as played the sport I love. I was not in the wilderness, however, I was able to break free from the stress of life and instead focus on the moment. 
Read more