James D Cheeseman: Lane 2

In Lane's book, he recalls the time he was walking in the woods, and clearing in the woods thing occurred. This really related to me, as I often taken vacations up to Maine, and visit my aunt and uncle, who live in rural Maine on the banks of the Kennebec river, and own so much land, most of it being woodland. Just strolling up there, and when you just sit down and wait, so many creatures come across your path; rabbits, snakes, birds, insects, toads, frogs, foxes, deer, and even the occasional moose. It allows a connection to nature like no other. When an animal crossed my path while exploring the woods, I wouldn't ever try to harm the animal. I just wanted to see them for what they were; critters, existing in their own environment. I enjoyed viewing them and in letting them pass, I felt a connection on a spiritual level with them.

James D Cheeseman: Lane 1

The four axioms that Lane describes made me really reevaluated my spiritualism. I was very apathetic of the idea of religion, seeing as man has warped the whole worship system. But what the explanation of sacred place of Lane's axioms, it made me realize that the feelings I experience should cater to my concept, and not the way others decide to describe them. The way if you find sanctuary in a place, as sometimes I do in nature, made me feel like this certain place did not exist through my own fabrication, but it was already there, choosing that place. The many places I have felt this connection with have varied it distance and other factors, but the feeling is very similar in my experience.

James D Cheeseman: Natural Setting 1

I remember some of my friends and I decided to have a picnic over in Newport News park. They live rather close to it, so we all took various foods and other things for the picnic. Some friends that graduated also came with us, just returning from a tour, as they are musicians now. As we came upon a clearing we laid out several blankets to sit on. After we ate, we sprawled out on the blankets and turned our gaze upward. It made me recall the whole idea of sacred place. Looking at the sky, watching as clouds floated by, felt ultimately relaxing. This gave me a sense of safety in the nature setting. It felt like I had made a connection with the space I inhabited. The concept of sacred place that really stood out to me was that it is where the planes of existence met, and I felt that when I engaged on this experience.

Emily Cole: Outside Reading "The Teachings of don Juan"

Over the summer I read Carlos Castaneda’s book “The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge.” While the whole book really is just about the author taking drugs and writing about it, I enjoyed Castaneda’s writing style and learning about a culture I knew nothing of previously. One of my favorite passages was from Castaneda’s entry on Thursday, August 17, 1961. This entry is specifically important to the book in that it is when Don Juan declares that he has made up his mind to teach the author the secrets of a man of knowledge, which is one of the most powerful forces on earth. After experimenting with peyote (or Mescalito) the author didn’t like his body’s reaction to it, but don Juan took a different interpretation and saw that Castaneda could be his “chosen man.” In the midst of don Juan’s proclamation of this, Castaneda says that he was frightened by the Mescalito. To this, don Juan remarks, “Fear is the first natural enemy a man must overcome on his path to knowledge. Besides, you are curious. That evens up the score. And you will learn in spite of yourself; that’s the rule,” (p. 57). What struck me with this quote was how resoundingly true it is- fear is our first natural enemy. It’s something physical and emotional that is very hard to control, but as don Juan said, with fear comes learning, and this is one way that one may become a man of knowledge.

Emily Cole: Outside Reading "In The Heart of the Amazon Forest"

Henry Walter Bates’ account of his adventures “In the Heart of the Amazon Forest,” the reader is able to learn firsthand of the environment and especially the species found by said author. This specific edition is published with three parts of Bates’ journals, “Blow-guns, Turtle Hunting and Alligators,” “Toucans, Vampire Bats, Foraging Ants and Other Creatures,” and “Departure.” In this first chapter, the author proclaims, “The whole of the country for hundreds of miles is covered with picturesque but pathless forests…” (p. 2) in which Bates discovers and studies hundreds of species of animals, mostly insects. Because of this, the book goes into a lot of weirdly descriptive insect behavior, something I’m really not interested in. But other than that, Bates’ writing is very easy to follow and interesting; its sort of like reading “Planet Earth,” and will really entertain as much as it informs one about the Amazon.

Emily Cole: Image and Pilgrimage, Appendix A: Flow

M. Csikszentmihalyi’s term Flow coined in 1975 describes, “the merging of action and awareness, the crucial component of enjoyment,” (p. 254). Here, Turner describes flow as a matter of being proactive, requiring total involvement and a logical chain of action to action. The example used to describe this term is the act of plays or sports. An actor knows that he is acting, but he “cannot be aware that he is aware,” which would interrupt the actor’s flow. There are four components to flow listed here: centering of attention, bracketing, framing, and a set of rules. With these four components, Turner writes that “there is a loss of ego…the self becomes irrelevant” and that a state of flow is so enjoyable that sometimes people trade up a comfortable life for its sake.

Crystal Kernan #15 Personal Choice

I have thoroughly enjoyed this class and it has made me become more open-minded to other things. I guess that is the purpose of this class since it is a part of the liberal learning curriculum. I love the fact that Dr. Redick is more down-to-earth and personable than a lot of the other professors on campus. Everything from personal stories, to the movie, Cold Fever, and all of the video blogs has opened my eyes up to a whole new world. Being a business major, I am beginning to see how one could easily get wrapped up in the business world of being the most efficient and productive at all times. In class one day Dr. Redick mentioned something after we were done watching Cold Fever in reference to the business world. He said, "Sometimes you have to take yourself out of the business machine and all of the monotony and just enjoy sacred time and space." I was just like "Wow," he really hit it on the head. There is nothing so important that we as living human beings should pass up really enjoying all the wonders of the world. Stop and take time out by yourself sometimes just to reflect and clear your head. This class has truly been amazing. I feel as if everyone will walk out with a better understanding for wilderness as a sacred place.