“By finding one’s true purpose, clearing away blockages to energetic functioning, therapeutically dealing with problems and hindrances along the way, finding support from appropriate networks, forging a strong sense of individual identity, self-worth and entitlement, and getting into contact with supernatural sources of power, both movements promise to help make individuals “the best you can be.” (Religion, Spirituality and Everyday Practice, 13) Finding one’s spiritual path can take a life time and prove to be difficult because spirituality comes with time, wisdom and life experiences. Religion, culture and tradition all have a huge impact on one’s life and play distinct roles in finding one’s purpose and developing as a whole. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary the definition of spirituality is as states “the quality or state of being concerned with religion or religious matters”. In the book Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya the themes of spirituality and independence are exactly what young Antonio is trying to find. This book portrays the struggles and positive experiences of a young boy on his route to finding his own identity.
Finding your spirituality and your path in life is not easy for anyone and was proven very difficult for Antonio Marez. Antonio Marez grew up in a devout Catholic family where a solid sense of faith kept them strong. Antonio’s mother and father grew up in two completely different places with different beliefs, values and goals. This difference actually makes it difficult for Antonio to figure out what his own purpose is. His mother desperately wants him to become a priest and his father who is a vaquero or cowboy wants him to follow in his footsteps. Antonio states “Now we have come to live ne...
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...elt at ease with the answers his father had given him (248). Antonio needed this insight from his father and it was the talk that he needed for him to realize that he chooses his destiny and he can choose his path to spirituality on his own. As the realization becomes more real Antonio thinks to himself, “Take the llano and the river valley, the moon and the sea, God and the golden carp – and make something new” (247) After Ultima dies, Antonio’s journey into manhood really. He now has a new understanding and appreciation for life which will pave the road to his spirituality and independence.
Works Cited
Anaya, Rudolfo. Bless Me, Ultima, Warner Books edition, 1994. Print.
Giordan, Giuseppe, and William H. Swatos. Religion, Spirituality and Everyday Practice. Dordrecht: Springer, 2011. Web.
"Spiritulaity." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014
Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima is a magical-realism novel about Antonio, a young boy at the mere age of six turning seven, realizing the many cruelties the world has to offer. As he matures, Antonio is conflicted while trying to choose between the career expectations from his two divergent families and attempting to figure out a true religion. Anaya depicts hidden messages to help the reader comprehend a perceptive insight of Antonio’s inner schism through symbolism.
...rest became a nightmare. Enrique’s time apart from his mother made them more like “strangers” than family. Filled with anger stemming from the years apart from one another, he refused to obey his mother’s wishes to live healthier. While lost in family chaos, he turned back to his addiction of drugs crashing his dream of a perfect family dynamic. Though his dream became a nightmare, he was able to achieve it through one core trait where his inner strength help drive him to not give up his dream of seeing his mother. This signifies that if a person is willing to work hard to achieve their dream through diligence, it can be met. Though the outcome may not be what one hoped for, being able to say you accomplished something is soul-pleasing. His success in making it to the U.S. regardless of many downfalls satisfies one missing piece in his broken puzzle of a life.
...derneath. Relgious beliefs plays a very important in the creation and moulding of one's character and personality. One's destiny and fate can be determined with one's current living habits and ways, however with determination and hard workd, a hard life can be changed. Caring for the young physically can also represent the love transfer emotionally for the innocent. Sometimes desire and dedication can't change one to something they aren't meant to be, to something they aren't for there are many natural obstacles that exsist for a reason. These concepts play a valuable role not only in one's adventure in self-discovery, but also a trip around to discover and to live life. No matter what conditions and obstacles one face, one should always believe in themself for with hard work and determination, one should be and would be rewarded with valuables beyond this universe.
Smith, Huston. World’s Religions: A Guide to our Wisdom Traditions. San Francisco: Harper Collins, 1994.
Through assisting her, he gains new experiences that contradict his traditional Christian teachings, which encourage him to be open-minded and bold as he challenges everything he believes. The Belly of the Whale demonstrates Antonio’s heroism by highlighting his courage to discover answers to his questions, even after he finds “only silence” (Anaya 233) at his first communion, as he realizes that he cannot find the peace in God that he had hoped for.
Worthington et. al. (2011) says historically, religiousness involved individual and institutional elements; however, now spirituality is thought of as an individual phenomenon and linked with meaningfulness, New Age beliefs, and personal transcendence. Additionally, spirituality is described in personal terms like one’s relationship with God, and as a result, spirituality is more highly regarded than religion. The authors define spirituality as a feeling of closeness and having a relationship or dedication to God or a higher power; this can be a religious experience or a nonreligious one. They state that what one considers sacred is usually related to the awareness of social influences. According to the authors, four types of spirituality have been identified based on closeness to God. First, is religious spirituality. Religious spirituality’s connectedness to God is based on one’s specific denomination and the closeness is specific to the deity identified. Second is humanistic spirituality. Humanistic spirituality involves closeness to humans. This type of spirituality fosters a loving connection with a specific group of people and a sense of selflessness and concern
In the novel, Bless me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, a boy goes through many more experiences than any child in the hot summer days in Santa Rosa, New Mexico. He witnesses the deaths of his close friends and family. This boy expresses his emotions and grief through his dreams, only to wake up with fear and confusion in his mind. Antonio’s life is filled with dreams that foreshadow future incidents, as well as influences Antonio’s beliefs of religion and ideas of innocence.
...ment in which the story takes place. His ellaborate description of the llano shows you the beauty of Spanish America and helps you to understand the restless culture of the vaqueros who wander across it. Also, Anaya gives you a detailed description of El Puerto. The village in which the Lunas reside. The imagery in this description also helps you to understand the culture of the farmers, the calm and quiet people who plant their crops by the light of the moon and live in peace. Imagery plays and important role in this novel because without it, certain aspects such as the point of views of both the Lunas and the Marez faimy, would never be understood .
Spirituality refers to the perspective of that which is valued in life, and that which must to be upheld and defended under any and all circumstances, regardless of the social environment and surrounding conditions.
Eastman, Roger. The Ways of Religion: An Introduction to the Major Traditions. Third Edition. Oxford University Press. N.Y. 1999
These key character traits, portrayed by the patriarch, are inherited by many his descendants throughout the novel including his older child, José Arcadio, inherits his immeasurable physical strength and his impulsiveness. As a teenager, José Arcadio was seduced by the local fortune teller, Pilar Ternera and later impregnates her. However, José Arcadio lacked the same core value of family that his father felt, and he even went so far as to run off with the gypsies before his son is born. After his disappearance, a devastated Úrsula took off to try and find her son. She never found him, but she did discover the route to civilization, bringing forth a new era fo...
Smart, Ninian. "Blackboard, Religion 100." 6 March 2014. Seven Dimensions of Religion. Electronic Document. 6 March 2014.
Durkheim, Emile. The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. Print.
Hopfe, L. M., & Woodward, M. R. (2007). Religions of the World (10th ed.) New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Ganga and Kutty stated (2013) spirituality refers to a path of life that enables people to seek reason of their existence and helps people explore challenges. Ganga and Kutty (2013) conducted a study on adults to see if spirituality had positive effects on their life, meaning did their life have purpose or value. Each participant partook in a study that asked questions about their life and purpose. The study consisted of a daily spiritual experience scale, it was a point scale that consist of 16 items to be rated on a 6-point scale. The results concluded that spirituality has positive effects on their life when seeking their purpose. Each participant felt that he/she had a purpose and that their life was valuable and meaningful (Ganga and Kutty, 2013). According to Ganga and Kutty (2013), spirituality is a way for people to discover the meaning of their life. Spirituality is a personal adventure to understand answers to the questions they seek to find about their spirituality and purpose in life. It says spirituality is a set of beliefs and practices that concludes with life changing paths that make a person’s life meaningful. Spirituality has been viewed as an important factor when realizing the purpose of life. Ganga and Kutty (2013) expressed spirituality enhances our emotions, thoughts, beliefs, relieves stress and it finds meaning and purpose of one’s life. I believe