MRE Final Worship Project-Meditation

What is meditation?
"Meditation is a practice in which an individual trains the mind or induces a mode of consciousness, either to realize some benefit or as an end in itself."  

That was quote I found from the internet, but what meditation is for me is a practice in which we want to find inner peace in our minds and body. 

How to Meditate
Click Here for a video that teaches you how to meditate

What I did.
What I did by myself for meditation.  On my school bus, I was the only high schooler.  So what I did was that I meditated throughout the whole bus ride.  Even though there were little kids talking, I've tried my best to block out all the distractions to focus on my thoughts and to myself.  When I got off the bus, I took a deep breath and felt very peaceful.  I felt like doing good to my family for the rest of the day.

What I would like you guys to do.  Listen to this while meditating
What I would like my classmates to do is to sit on the floor.  I'll like them to cross their legs, keep their back  straight, hands at their knees, and to close their eyes.  Try to calm your body down, and after that only think peaceful thoughts.  While meditating, sometimes the peaceful thoughts will come right to you.  Try to maintain your posture, and thoughts for 5 minutes when I tell you to stop.  Then I would like at least 4 students to tell me how they feel, their peaceful thoughts, and if they think meditation is a very useful tool they'll  probably use somewhere in their lives.


Quotes from two different celebrities.(Click on their name if you don't know them)

 "It’s like, imagine the ripples on top of an ocean. And I’m in a rowboat, reactively dealing with the waves and water coming into my boat. What I need to do is dive into the deeper solace, the calmness beneath the surface." -- Dr. Oz

 "Transcendental Meditation has been incredibly valuable to me both in my recovery as a drug addict and in my personal life, my marriage, my professional life. I literally had an idea drop into my brain the other day while I was meditating which I think is worth millions of dollars." -- Russell Brand

This shows that all kinds of people in all kinds of situations can use meditation to give themselves meditation to do better in life.  Meditation is for everyone!

Spirited Away Questions

Give 2 examples of these beliefs in context from the movie.

Kami-The belief in spirits.
Yin/Yang-Zaneba, and Yubaba.  One good sister(nice), and one bad sister(mean)

• Why did Sen (Chihiro) have to go on this spiritual journey? 

Chihiro had to go on this spiritual journey because she had to save her parents from being pigs permanently.  Also, she did not know where her house was, and the path to her car was blocked with huge amounts of water.  She had no choice but to stay at the amusement park to work for Yubaba the bathhouse witch to prevent herself from disappearing completely into the spirit world, and from turning into a pig(like her parents), or a coal.

• What did she learn? 

She learned that hard times can be overcome if you try hard enough.  Throughout the movie we have seen lots of struggles from Chihiro, and how all the hard work paid off at the end of the movie.  She tried to keep a positive attitude, and tried her best to succeed.  At the end of the movie, she was completely the opposite person at the end, and began to be thankful for everything in her life.

• How was she changed by changing her beliefs?
• She began to be thankful, and grateful for everything in her life.  We've seen her listen to her parents immediately when they asked her to do something, and we seen her become more confident and ready for the new house and school.  Hopefully she stays like this for a long time. 

Gandhi

“An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.”
In this movie, Gandhi and his friends discuss how they should react with the pain the British is giving the Indians at that time.  Everyone but Gandhi says that they should fight by with violence, but Gandhi says this quote and explains that if everyone fighting about everything. the world would be very corrupt and everyone would not get along.

 “When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible but in the end, they always fall -- think of it, ALWAYS.”

This quote was said when Gandhi was fasting.  This quote means that all the violence that the British are doing seems invincible and strong at that time, but in the long run the violence would never end in a good result.  Peace, love, and truth would result in a positive way.

This movie showed me a deeper view of Gandhi's non-violence act and think that the world should not fight against each other but get along

Easter Questions

 Questions for an Easter reflection: 

1. Why is the theme of "second chances" so appropriate in the Easter story?
The theme of "second chances" is appropriate in the Easter story because Easter is about Jesus dying on the cross for our sins giving us a "second chance".
2. Why type of God gives second chances? 
 a forgiving god, a saving god

3. If Jesus was really God, how does His death and resurrection give the world a second chance?
The story of jesus dying on the cross then resurrecting from death gave the world a second chance.  Jesus dying made many people have regretful feeling of the things they have done that disappointed themselves and that would have disappointed God.  Jesus resurrecting gave the people a second chance to confess their sins to Jesus Christ.  With this happening, people realized that getting a second chance is very hard, so they should make good use of their first chance.

Shema

1.  My God loves everyone, and is loved by everyone.  My God is a spirit in my heart.  My God is everything.
2.  A experience I had with my God was on the first day I was in Hawaii.  In the hotel I tried cutting a apple, but I tried cutting it too hard.  I accidentally cut my hand.  My bed and the place where I was standing was covered with blood.  When I was in the car with my parents to go to the emergency room, I prayed to my God asking for help and that I would be fine after I come back from the hospital.  After I got my stitches the doctor said that my hand just needs to be stitched for one month then it would be fine.  I thank my God for preventing my hand from serious injury.
3.  How I remember my God is by going to my church most of the Sundays. (Whenever I can wake up early enough).
4.  The King of all things
     O'Lord that had blessed me with life everyday.
     I come to thou thee to give thanks
    To show thou king the love i have to him

Sacred Place Poem

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Kennet_Long_Barrow

Poem

West Kennet Long Barrow
Is The Place To Go
When You Pass Away
And Want To Get Down To The Floor

There are no trees around

That would have dropped leaves on ya

But there are some stones

That'll protect you from intrudas

When I first saw the WKLB
I was like"Oh my!  What can this be?"
I then started to get closer to it
I then saw a hole where a human body can be fit

I started digging, and digging
Looking for some treasure
I was gonna give, but then I found somethin
A human child's skeleton next to its motha

I was amazed of what I have just found
Piece of old history at my feet
I began thinking, and think of what I should do
"Maybe I should cover it up with some sheets"

I was excited
Didn't know what to do
Maybe I should call ma momma
Maybe she'll give me a clue

The WKLB
became constructed in 3600 B.C
Took 15,700 man hours to make
I bet the workers were baked (by the sun)

It's noted to have 46 burials
Ranging from Lil babies to the elderlies
Lying down there
With tombs filled with charcoal, bone tools, and beads

The WKLB ain't no joke
All time spent weren't wasted
The people buried ain't no originals
It is special

The WKLB
Known to be the place that has special death ceremonies
Was probably a very religious place for very religious people
Me and ma mamma be proud of my discovery.

Religion Influence in our Daily Life

This article is on how religion influences us in our daily lives.  Click here to go to the article.