Do You Agree With Albert?
INTRODUCTION
I can’t seem to find the right words to begin a new chapter in my life. This is not only a research paper for a class in school any more. It symbolizes the beginning of what I have longed to do since I arrived at Santa Clara a few years back. I have had a yearning for a philosophy that makes sense to me personally; one that does not have to conform to anything I have studied so far. This is my chance.
Although the format I have chosen is not the most elegant, it does organize my thoughts in the clearest way. My thoughts are summarized like a diary starting with my initial impressions and quickly jumping from idea to idea in an effort to understand Fritjof Capra’s The Tao of Physics.
DAY 1—PRELUDE TO LITERATURE
Growing up as a young boy in Mallorca, Spain, I attended Sunday Mass with my mother and brother every week, never really giving it another thought—it was just something we did out of habit. I was content being a Roman Catholic for as long as I can remember until one very important episode in the fall of 1996. I was registering for my new high school (a Catholic one for the first time) when I noticed there was a special discount for practicing Catholics. Of course, to prove your religious affiliation, a letter from your Church’s pastor had to be submitted. This is when my faith in institutionalized religion took a major fall. For my family to be recognized as practicing at our church, a minimum sum of $250 a year had to be donated. Typically, my mother dropped in a few dollars when the collection basket was passed, but the parish had no way of determining how much had actually been donated. If there was no record of family contributions, the letter could not be written. To clarify this discrepancy, they offered a personalized envelope to drop into the collection basket to regulate how much money we actually donated. In one fell swoop, a $250 check was donated and a letter of recommendation yielding a $1000 waiver sent out. Beginning that day, I could no longer face the institutionalized Church and since then have looked for other sources of inspiration in different religions—particularly Eastern Philosophy.
Writing as a Re-Vision. Eds. Beth Alvarado and Barbara Cully. Needham Heights, MA: Simon & Schuster Custom Publishing, 1996.
The idea of enlightenment and the feeling of liberation seem unattainable most of the time. However, once you discover a gateway, such as literature or meditation, it becomes easier to reach your goals of becoming open-minded. Azar Nafisi’s “Selection from Reading Lolita in Tehran” describes the struggles she and her students face and how they use literature to escape from their atrocious life. Similarly, “Wisdom” by Robert Thurman explores the idea of reaching a nirvana-like state where people become aware of their surroundings and the nature of themselves. Nafisi and Thurman state that once people have attained the knowledge to reach an utopian, nirvana like state and have unmasked themselves from a pseudo-self mask put on for society, they must share their knowledge with others. Both Nafisi and Thurman propose that in order to act out selflessly and become an honest, true self, an individual needs bravery and courage to escape from their comfort zone and reach a state of compassion.
Sullivan, Barbara. "Introduction to The Awakening." In The Awakening, ed. Barbara Sullivan. New York: Signet, 1976.
Nancy Ammerman writes Sacred Stories, Spiritual Tribes: Finding Religion in Everyday Life to convey her findings of studying spirituality and religion in the ordinary life of her sample population. The inspiration for this book came from previous data about Christians and the “Golden Rule,” the concept of treating everyone how you would like to be treated (3). In order to understand this concept better, Ammerman decided to study religion and spirituality in everyday life. Her population included 95 people from the Boston and Atlanta areas. These participants came from “Catholic, liberal Protestant, conservative Protestant, African American Protestant, Jewish”, Mormon, Wicca and Neopaganism as well as an internet chat group (11). Unaffiliated participants were also
While buried, so deep beneath the cavity of adversity, finding hope is nearly impossible. But, it is the ability of decisions that aids as the last gleam of hope retrievable. After facing many struggles, it becomes almost involuntary for someone to put up a guard. With using that strategy, and the transgression of time without progress, there’s a certain ignition of comprehension. Change needs to occur, and a complete remedy of that
Mead, Frank S., and Samuel S. Hill. Handbook of Denominations in the United States. Nashville, TN: Abingdon, 1995. Print.
Bloom, Harold. "Rebirth and Renewal." Google Books. Ed. Blake Hobby. N.p., 2009. Web. Dec. 2013. .
Looking at a story, the key word, story, we looked at the little albert study. Albert B, or Little albert was a boy who back in 1920, that was studied by a behaviorist John Watson. It was study in which a loud noise, like a loud bang on a bar, happened behind Little Albert, when he was given some type of small furry object or other objects. Watson showed that the research went very well, when in reality, that may not have been the case, and the identity of Little Albert is not fully known.
Sullivan, Barbara. "Introduction to The Awakening." In The Awakening, ed. Barbara Sullivan. New York: Signet, 1976.
I come from a small family whose members include my immediate family. Like most Haitian-American living in my region, religion is a fundamental part of my upbringing. I was practically raised in a church and attended church three times a week as a child. Members of my church acted as parents to me and my sister and disciplined me with my mother consent. They played an active role in my upbringing and shaped my norms and taught me was considered appropriate and inappropriate. For example, I was taught to kiss adults and elders on the cheek when saying hello. I was told that I couldn’t address adults by their first name, and most importantly I was taught to always bite my tongue and always respect my
...is beginning…"(58). Again, the reader sees similar goals in finding resignation, but vastly different paths and attitudes in that resigned state.
Oskar believes that the key is somehow connected to his father and decides to embark on a mission to find the key’s owner. He believes that this will help him make sense of his father’s death and he goes to every person in New York who shares the last name to find the key’s owner. In his adventure of self-discovery, he makes new friends and forms unique experiences that help him take his mind of his father’s death. The people Oskar meet all share some grief in some way. Eventually Oskar finds out that the key is vaguely connected to his father and was in the vase his father bought in an estate sale and that the key opened a safe box. Through sharing his story, Oskar helped everyone he met to overcome their sorrows and they also helped him cope with his own. The experience allowed Oskar to share one last adventure with his father. Within Oskar’s story, Foer incorporates the stories of Oskar’s grandfather and grandmother. Oskar’s grandparents were both survivors of a WW2 bombing in Dresden, Germany. Oskar’s grandfather is mute
Martin, Wendy, ed. "Introduction." New Essays on The (Awakening. New York, NY: Cambridge UP, 1988.
Around 1886 Albert Einstein began his school career in Munich. As well as his violin lessons, which he had from age six to age thirteen, he also had religious education at home where he was taught Judaism. Two years later he entered the Luitpold Gymnasium and after this his religious education was given at school. He studied mathematics, in particular the calculus, beginning around 1891.
In this moment in time, there is no assurance as to where writing will take me as I follow this pathless “woods.” However, I hope that at the end of my journey, this decision will make all the difference as well.