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NO PLAGIARISM
COURSE: REL 331: Religion and Personal Experience
The journal is not a summary of the reading. It is not your “opinion” since opinions do not require support. Instead, it is a thoughtful response which shows that you’ve read the material thoroughly and reflected on it carefully and can give good reasons to support your beliefs and what you are saying. It is not a discussion of what went on in class. It should show your own “voice,” i.e., it should show that you are doing the thinking and not someone else. On the other hand, you may acknowledge the contributions of others (“Jane pointed out to me that ….”). CHECK OUT THE ATTACHED DOCs FOR MORE INFO ABOUT HOW TO START AND DO THIS ASSIGNMENT.
1- we watch a movie call “Of Gods and Men” for three classes.
2- Ram Dass, Still Here.
3- About the Moyers’ video …
It shows you two ordinary people who want to control their dying as a part of their living, and they want physician-assisted suicide. They both love life and are clear-headed, that is, they aren’t deranged life-haters and they are competent to make the decision. They don’t need or want other people to do their thinking for them.
Physician-assisted suicide is illegal in LA, legal in OR.
The man with ALS is concerned that he will have to take his life before he wants to since if he waits too long he won’t able to do it.
The male (Catholic) oncologist in OR says he would be willing to give sedatives to east pain even if he knew this would lead to the patient’s death (this is acceptable in traditional Catholic teaching) but not give a drug that would kill the patient (traditional Catholic teaching calls this “euthanasia”). The female oncologist thinks in this sort of case there is not much moral difference: she’s willing to provide the deadly barbiturate mixture that will end the patient’s life.
The moral question is: are these practices morally acceptable?
The political/legal question is: should the government acknowledge the citizens’ right to make their own decisions here?
Name
1
Name
REL 331: Religion and Personal Experience
The student is reflecting on the readings; he’s not summarizing. He uses MLA style for papers and MLA par. doc. to show how he’s reading the texts. His writing is clear, grammatical and very thoughtful. His entries are dated.
His word count was 9,494. This quantity was much more than he needed for an A, as he knew; he was writing for his own learning.
Journal 2
February 16, 2010:
Ken Wilber discusses the problems and temptations of fame (Wilber 4). Fame has such a strong allure for the human ego to resist. I can’t help but think of the young musicians, athletes, and actors in the world today. There is so much temptation for young people to resist in the first place, and the attainment of worldwide fame can be a recipe for disaster. Child stars in entertainment become world famous almost overnight and find themselves with unprecedented amounts of money, free time, and fans. Human beings have enough temptations to fight off just being alive on this earth, so it is obvious to see why so many young stars eventually become corrupt.
Wilber was reading Christopher Isherwood’s diary. He quotes Isherwood saying, “It’s fantastically difficult – and yet, what else is life for?” (7). I just thought about the competing attitude in American society today. The ego is allowed to prosper and develop. I think most people would laugh in the face of this type of theory claiming denial of the ego. Yet, it is the most powerful and liberating endeavor in life. I also think it is natural for young people to have stronger egos, and then gradually learn to rid their thoughts of such selfishness as they age. In my own experiences, I have found that teenagers typically have the strongest egos of any age.
I am only beginning to see the interconnectedness of things I once considered fragmented and separate. Wilber mentions Jack Crittenden who writes about the idea of the fragmented knowledge (14). When I started my academic career at the university level, I was overwhelmed by the complex and seemingly disparate topics. Now as I enter into my final ascent before graduation, I am now able to see the interconnectedness of all of my studies. Life truly is one extremely intricate relationship.
Ken Wilber states, “I don’t believe that any human mind is capable of 100 percent error” (16). I am amazed at his willingness to listen to people rather than ignore. It can be very easy to dismiss someone deemed crazy or ignorant. But, that does not mean that an individual is incapable of rational thought. Every human being has their own potential to develop their unique gifts and talents. Denying this fact would simply be arrogant and ignoring the valuable perspective of another human being.
The foreword by Jack concerning Ken Wilber does a great job of recognizing the unwillingness of other fields to acknowledge the possibility of their competing fields of being correct (17). Imagine the possibilities of a world in which all of the disciplines would work together and help each other. In addition, Jack quotes Wilber in his foreword saying, “I hope I’m showing that there is more room in the Kosmos than you might have expected” (17). In other words, everyone is not just part of this universe together but we all belong here as well. There is no need to try to exclude others we deem unworthy. We are all unworthy, and therefore, we are all worthy.
Wilber’s discussions about Treya are very special and unique. He says, “Ever since Treya’s death, I have tried to tell people how I feel about them before they are gone, before it’s too late” (21). He has grown from the past mistakes he has made. Even more impressive is their willingness to share their story for the betterment of others. I can imagine that those journals are very personal and private, yet here they are displayed as a powerful teaching tool for the world. She should be commended for displaying the courage to not only face her own reality but to also contribute her story with those who want to listen and learn.
In Wilber’s letter written to his friend Huston, he explains how the most wretched and divine are equal in that they are both part of this Emptiness (22). Sometimes, it is difficult to remember this type of true equality. I know many people preach about equality and talk about how important it is, but in reality there is a huge discrepancy between these ideas and what actually occurs. Racism is still rampant throughout the world, and yes here in America too. I like to take the idea of equality a step further. Diversity, to me, is not just something to be accepted in the world. Rather, it is what makes the world so exciting and interesting. Diversity should be celebrated and enjoyed. Comment by University Technology Services: Amen. Not so sure the Taliban is all that big on it though!
The terms translation and transformation were very clear to me upon my first reading of the subject (26). The ego prefers translation because it gives the self meaning. Transformation is much more difficult for the ego because the ego is ignored, and the ego does not like to be ignored. I personally find translations very helpful in my own life. These small, continuous steps of translation are very useful to most humans because they are not ready to change right away. Rather, they need preparation and stimulation to change. But, these new beliefs are not nearly as helpful are transcending the self.
Ken Wilber makes it clear to me that I had been going about the process all wrong. He says, “The very desire to seek spiritual enlightenment is in fact nothing but the grasping tendency of the ego itself, and thus the very search for enlightenment prevent its” (31). While I thought I was on a path toward enlightenment, it was really my ego leading the way. A spiritual journey led by the ego will always be futile even though it has the ability to convince the self it is on the right path. The ego is dangerous and sly. The key is to be aware of its prevalence. Comment by University Technology Services: But as you said, we have to start somewhere.
I have always been opposed to elitism in the sense that it precludes the majority from acquiring the full experiences of life. Wilber says, “All excellence is elitist… but spiritual excellence is an elitism to which all are invited” (32). Whether it is the academic or athletic world, there is the perpetual contention about who the best is. The beauty of spiritual excellence is that everyone is included without question of credentials. There is no judgment about whether one is worthy or not. Everyone is invited to the “table.”
February 18, 2010:
Ken Wilber responds to one of the letters written to him about Grace and Grit by stating, “Suffering is a constant reminder of the pain of being human, but also one of the most elemental ways that we all connect with each other, because we all suffer terribly at some point” (49). No matter how powerful, wealthy, famous, or brilliant an individual is, there is no escape from the pain and suffering in this world. It is simply an inherent aspect of our universe.
I really admire Ken Wilber’s proclaimed ability to remain conscious through all stages of life (51-53). I think it is absolutely fascinating that he is able to stay conscious throughout the entire day as well as during dream states. I have had several instances in my life where I have been aware that I was dreaming. Sometimes I could control my actions in my dreams, while other times I could only observe. Regardless, these were only a few isolated occasions. Comment by University Technology Services: Proto-Wilber!
I find myself responding particularly well to some of Ken Wilber’s writings because I tend to have an affinity to the natural world. For example, he writes, “You do not see the sky, you are the sky. You do not touch the earth, you are the earth. You do not hear the rain, you are the rain” (53). I can relate to these statements because I have felt them before. I am able to understand the feeling of recognizing the oneness of the universe. I have always had a strong, eerie sense when I am alone in nature. It has always felt right to me.
February 19, 2010:
Ken Wilber writes, “Ken Wilber is gross-level manifestation of what I-I really am, which is not Ken at all, but simply the All” (54). I am having trouble accepting the idea of no identity. My personal background is based on the idea that everyone has their own unique eternal soul. However, it seems as if Wilber is saying that there is no such thing. In his view, everyone and everything can be clumped together and are indistinguishable. Comment by University Technology Services: A Xian view is: unique but not separate. Everyone is both a) the whole and b) unique, etc.
Wilber proves his point about life very well with the analogy of the movie. He states, “Sometimes you get so caught up in what is happening on screen that you forget it’s just a movie” (56). I think everyone can relate to this idea. Basically, suffering is the result of the illusion of the world around me. This illusion is all due to the fact that I have become attached to things of this world. I am stuck into a cycle of identifying my essence with finite objects and ideas. In reality, my essence is eternal and indefinable. I can sense and feel that peace that ensues after this realization. It is not to say that life is not important, but instead to live without expectation and control. I like to think of life as being the most precious gift of all, but at the same time it is something that I remain calm and poised about.
February 20, 2010:
Ken Wilber summarizes the quadrant system by saying, “Each level can be looked at from the inside and from the outside in both individual and collective forms” (59). I do admire his integrative approach to the world, but it is something that may be impossible to construct. He writes about these ideas as if they are factual, but his ideas are subject to error just as any other human being. This integrative approach is uniquely Ken Wilber’s ideas, and therefore it is partially a product of his environment and belief system about the world.
Life as I know it is all about the waking state. Thus, I think human beings have great difficulty moving beyond this idea. Ken Wilber says, “Ultimate reality must also be fully present in deep dreamless sleep, and anything that is not present in deep dreamless sleep is not ultimate reality” (64). Life may indeed be a deep dreamless sleep, but I am not yet in position to understand that idea because I do not have any experience with such levels of consciousness. Comment by University Technology Services: Maybe everyone does for microseconds.
February 21, 2010:
Although detachment is an extremely difficult task to achieve, the rewards can be immense. Wilber says, “Thus you are released from the terror and the torment that necessarily arise when you identify with a little subject in a world of little objects” (65). The eternal reality that is the universe has only the limits that which we place upon it. The human mind has the capacity for boundless potential, yet it also has the ability to prevent prosperity. It has enormous potential for positive benefits as well as negative results. Once the ego is able to be defeated, life assumes almost a game-like quality. There is no longer a worry or stress about results. Life is just accepted as it arises. There is a realization about the inability of the human being to control the flow of life. To me, life is all about interpretation. Without an understanding or realization of perspective, life can seem overwhelming and become very frustrating. Therefore, I commit to living my life with a constant view of the “big-picture.” In other words, I try not to ever lose sight of what I deem important in my own life. Of course, the important things in life will differ from person to person, and this is where the factor of interpretation clearly reveals itself.
The need to wake others up from their own suffering is discussed as well (67). I think there is a common human desire to want to help people find some relief from suffering or pain.
Name
Dr. Anderson
Death and the Meaning of Life
September 2013
Journal One
[This is an excerpt from an A journal, 4,000+ words. The student is reflecting, not summarizing. He documents and demonstrates his reading of the text. Even if no quotation is used, documentation is necessary. With Tolstoy, there were no page numbers, so he used chapters.]
August 30th
Having only read Tolstoy from a philosophical viewpoint before, I was pleasantly surprised with this short story “The Death of Ivan Ilyich”. Something that I noticed throughout these first three chapters is that the root of Ivan’s unhappiness seems to lie in the lack of acceptance around him. Ivan seems to want his family to grasp the concept if his imminent death and respond appropriately. They don’t, however, and this fuels his bitterness. When he says “…no one felt for him, because no one even wished to grasp his position” (Tolstoy, chap. seven) I think that is a clear profession of what bothers him most about his illness. His sickness not only isolates him from other people like himself, but more than that, the people of his social class that surround him don’t make an effort to comprehend how his isolation must feel. Gerasim is the only one who doesn’t pretend that the circumstances are better than they are: “Gerasim alone did not lie” (chap. seven). That candid honesty is what brings Ivan some semblance of peace. It’s the mere acknowledgement of Ivan’s suffering that elevates Gerasim to a higher status in Ivan’s eyes.
It seemed to me that Ivan feels as if the people around him are ignoring not only his plight, but by association, Ivan himself. The inevitability of his death is being glossed over, and his family is pretending as if all will be well. Ivan’s impending death is the central aspect of his life, and when his family pretends that it is not even happening, it appears to result in the feeling that they are ignoring Ivan himself. He wishes to be “pitied like a sick child is pitied” (chap. seven) and no one is giving him that. His family is sugar-coating the severity of the situation, perhaps in an attempt to make themselves feel better about it, but in doing so, they are treating Ivan with borderline disrespect.
The daughter, Lisa, is “strong, healthy, evidently in love, and impatient with illness, suffering, and death, because they interfered with her happiness” (chap. eight). While this sounds so harsh and selfish on Lisa’s end, this was something that I understood perfectly. When I was a freshman in high school, I became good friends with a girl whose mother had cancer. I met this girl when her mother was in the late stages of her sickness, and for that reason, I never had the chance to meet the mother. One evening, while I was at a sleepover with my very best friend at the time, my father called me to tell me that the mother with cancer has passed away. Now, even though I had never even met the mom, I felt overwhelmed with guilt for having fun at this sleepover. I felt guilty for laughing, guilty for enjoying myself and guilty for being happy, simply because there were people close to me who were not able to do any of those things at the moment. I couldn’t stop thinking about my friend and the pain that her family must be feeling at that moment. It was hours before I was able to smile without feeling a pang of remorse. Lisa is tired with the sickness of her father, and I believe it is because she is tired of feeling sorry for enjoying herself. She is in the prime of her life, she is love, and she should be able to celebrate it. But how can she justify being happy and bubbly when her father is so ill? I doubt she resents her father, but I do believe that she is growing to resent the illness that is stifling her happiness.
One more part from this assigned reading really stood out to me. The concept of childhood being the only thing that isn’t worthless is a very interesting one. I have had extensive conversations with my father about how the memories of childhood are often idealistic. It seems to me that as we get older, our childhood memories become more and more pleasant. The good memories that I have of my childhood are absolutely perfect—there is no negativity tarnishing them. But when I mention the same memory to my parents, they will remember something about that same memory that isn’t good. If I say “oh, remember that time we had baby chickens for pets? They were so cute and fluffy!” my mom will say “don’t you remember how many times they bit your fingers?” I don’t remember the negative parts of those memories, only the good parts. I think Ivan is doing something much like this. It’s not a conscious decision to block out the bad things from our youth, but our mind does it anyway. The innocence of childhood lends itself to perfection of our memories. It seems that they took place in a flawless world where nothing ever went wrong, but we both know that is not possible. Ivan says that “the further he departed from childhood and the nearer he came to the present the more worthless and doubtful were the joys” (chap. nine). It seems to me that as circumstances become more serious, they lose their joy. We, as humans, tend to lose sight of the good when there is bad alongside it. As we grow up, the things we do take on more gravity, and each decision becomes more weighted. If we think too hard about everything, it becomes very easy to look over the happiness that can be found.
September 4th
The one word that I would use to sum up these six chapters we have read would be “bitter”. Ivan is so overwhelmed with bitterness that it almost overshadows everything else. He is bitter towards himself for not living his life like he could have, he is bitter at his family for pretending that everything will be okay, and he is bitter with the hope that comes and then is gone as quickly as it appeared. It has crossed my mind that perhaps some of the pain he feels is a result of the bitterness eating away at him. I know firsthand that anger can cause physical ailments, and I have often heard that bitterness does that same as it chews away at people’s insides. It would be perfectly logical that the intensity of the suffering he feels is heightened by the resentment that he harbors.
In chapter eleven, Ivan starts to look at his life in a different way. He confronts his wife and says “all you have lived for and still live for is falsehood and deception, hiding life and death from you.” To me, this is a manifestation of regret. Regret seems to be a curse that accompanies terminal illnesses. With sudden deaths, such as car accidents, people don’t have time to reflect back on their life and think about what they could have done differently. There is no contemplation, and thusly, no regret. But when someone knows that their life is coming to an end, they have the opportunity to think about all that they did. In cases like Ivan’s, the period of contemplation is even worse, as there is nothing to do except lie in bed and reflect. Ivan has nothing to do other than think. There is nothing to keep his hands busy, nothing to keep his mind occupied. All he can do is sleep and think. He begins to see his life as one lie, and consequently, he starts to drown in regret.
September 6th
The first thing that occurred to me about this book was the small type. The second thing was that it is beautifully written. I just wanted to mention that. Now that that’s out of the way, we can move on to the meat of this entry. Something is off about Veronika. She gives two reasons for wanting to commit suicide, and they don’t really fit together very well. The first reason she gives is that everything is the same: “Everything in her life was the same and, once her youth was gone, it would be downhill all the way” (Coelho 7). The second is that everything was wrong: “everything was wrong, and she had no way of putting things right” (7). If she had only said one of these reasons, nothing would have seemed strange, but pairing the two together is suspicious. The first reason exhibits boredom, but the second outlines a fear that arises from a lack of control. Here is where the problem arises. She states that everything in her life is the same, but that is a conscious choice. She is in control of her life, and she could shake it up if she truly wanted to. However, her second reason shows us that she is absolutely desperate for control. If she was desperate for control, then the stifling control she has held over her life should be a comfort to her. If she—as a woman desperate for control—feels that everything in her life is
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Journal Getting Started
Journal: Getting Started
4/17/13
The journal is not a summary of the reading. It is not your “opinion” since opinions do not require support. Instead, it is a thoughtful response which shows that you’ve read the material thoroughly and reflected on it carefully and can give good reasons to support your beliefs and what you are saying. It is not a discussion of what went on in class. It should show your own “voice,” i.e., it should show that you are doing the thinking and not someone else. On the other hand, you may acknowledge the contributions of others (“Jane pointed out to me that ….”).
The dates of the entries need to be included.
MLA parenthetical documentation is required. Do not use “on page …” instead of parenthetical documentation.
It should be well-written and well-structured. To achieve this, virtually all students will need to rewrite as they go along, not at the end when the journal is due. Get help for this – from the LRC, and if that’s not working, from the instructor.
You want to show humility – you actually don’t “know it all” — and respect for the author — the same respect you would like to receive. Generally, saying “I was interested” or “I was bored, etc.” should be avoided. Avoid phrases such as “I like/dislike”; instead, address the content — what is being said and how it is said and what you have to say about this. Don’t evaluate the work or “criticize Shakespeare.” On the other hand, saying “Romeo and Juliet were quite young by our standards today (Juliet was around 14, Romeo a few years older]; they must’ve been more mature than we are today” is OK, but “Romeo and Juliet is a stupid story; they were too young” is not.
You may criticize yourself, however. “It’s amazing how much more capable Plato was than I; I’m going to have to do a lot of work here just to stay even.” Not, “Plato is confusing.”
There are many different ways to create a journal entry..
You can relate the readings to other readings (“Moses here sounds like Jesus in Matthew”) or other media in our culture such as plays, TV Shows (“This is like the time on ‘American Idol’ when …), movies, cartoons, music, etc.
You can relate the readings to the world at large and to current or historical issues (“I’m wondering if the invasion of Iraq is actually compatible with Jesus’ teachings on peace and love of one’s enemy.”)
You can relate the text to your own life (“This reminds me of when my mother got ill …”). However, if you do this, you must be focused on the issues and avoid being simply “chatty.”
The reflections need to develop a relevant idea. The reader of your writing should be able to come away with new insight about the issue or idea at stake. If the reader just knows more about you, this is only personal and is therefore irrelevant to the assignment.
The writing can be “multi-genre,” that is, there can be different kinds of writing in the same journal. One entry can be more personal while another can be more analytical, discussing the reasoning, structure or thesis of the reading. Poetry can be included. The responses can be more imaginative (“When I read this I got an image of an icy waterfall ….” “The feeling I had after I read this was ….”) or more straightforward (“Muhammad faced difficult practical decisions of war and peace …. I can see now why today Muslims ….”). You can question the author and/or the problem without coming to a definite conclusion: “In one place she says this (8) but later on she says something else (47). Maybe it’s because …. I need to think about this some more.”
You can look at the material with different “lenses.” Religious: “In the Catholic faith people report visions, and Native Americans also have visions. Now what I’d like to know is ….” Moral: “How could the United States break its treaties with these people?” Psychological: “They certainly show a lot of courage, but how does it affect children’s growth and development?” Economic: “The Sioux economy is hunter/gatherer; now how in the world ….” Gender-conscious: “His language sounds patriarchal to me, yet the women ….”
You can refer back to earlier entries and correct your misunderstanding or narrow-mindedness. “I said on 9/14/08 that the Sioux had a ‘primitive’ idea of God but now I can tell that was my ignorance talking.”
