Friday, April 2, 2010

Student Writing: An Essay and a Poem by Sam A.

--by Sam A.

The Importance of the Unity of the Physical, Mental, and Spiritual Levels of Life 

“Fear not that life shall come to an end, but rather fear that it shall never have a beginning.”[1] In order for one’s life to successfully begin, one must always enjoy and develop the physical, mental, and spiritual aspects of one’s life. Even nations such as America have also struggled through many eras, working towards a more fulfilling wholeness. 
 
Throughout the years, my physical, mental, and spiritual evolution has struggled through changes, thus bringing me closer and closer to the ultimate goal of enlightenment. By reading through the multiple eras I have covered, I have been able to better adapt to changes, developed a deeper understanding of America’s history through reading literature and poetry, which has allowed me to attain a deeper level of understanding of life.

During the period of the colonists, people were focusing on establishing businesses in order to make the most money possible. They did not care much for the mental and emotional levels of life. When we were studying this period of time, I was in the process of a fairly significant growth spurt. It was interesting for me to be reading about an era which solely focused on the physical aspects of life, rather than enjoying the wholeness and beauty of life. As I would suddenly grow from morning to morning, I learned from the colonists that taking care of the physical levels of one’s life is a significantly important foundation for one’s mental and spiritual growth. The essays about the colonists that we read in class inspired me to support my physical growth through a better diet, less intense activity to allow my body to easily grow, and an increase in my daily intake of vitamins.

After getting the Sidhis, it has been an interesting experience to watch and analyze (karma mimamsa) my thoughts and see how they compared to when I didn’t have the Sidhis. It seemed as if my mind was analyzing not only the concrete levels of everyday activities, but also their true essence or their abstract values. The poet Emily Dickinson had a profound effect on further developing this level of thinking in my mind. The more we read her work, the more I developed the ability see the diversity of the different levels of abstractness and concreteness of simple things. In one of her poems she wrote, “I heard a fly buzzing—when I died—the stillness in the room, was like the stillness in the air—between the heaves of storm.” She starts out by mentioning that she heard a fly buzzing. The she quickly moved to the fact that she heard it when she died, unifying (yoga) the abstract and concrete levels of that moment in time.

The Native Americans best represent the spiritual levels of life because of their constant effort to unify themselves with nature and ultimately God. For example, the Native Americans would respect the animals in their surroundings as much as they would respect their people. When one animal would be killed for nutritional purposes, the people would say a prayer and bury the bones of the animal in order to show their gratitude for its life. During the time I was reading different passages from American Indian writers, my father was in the process of getting a Rumi poetry reading set up in Fairfield. Since Rumi talks about extremely complicated ideas of life, it is sometimes hard to understand the essence of what his message is. By reading the passages of the Native Americans, I was able to get a simpler basis of spirituality. One instance, was when I read “The Night Chant.” The passage gave me a more pure feeling of my surroundings, allowing me to better understand the detailed descriptions of the world that Rumi was living in. I am extremely grateful for the new analyzing and understanding skill that the passages of the Native Americans have given me, because I now can truly feel and experience the beauty of not only Rumi’s work, but other world renowned spiritual writers like Gandhi.

The main thing that I have learned from all of these eras combined is that for physical, metal, and spiritual levels of life, one can never fully understand and master one of them at a time. Instead, one must gradually develop all three of these areas together as one unified force. By just reading about the transformations of America, it proves that when one of the three aspects is solely focused on and the other two completely forgotten, then the people of that time seemed to be unfulfilled and separated from the rhythms of life that the Native Americans focused on. As we neared the New England Renaissance, one could see a more holistic population due to the various different styles of writing and beliefs.

Resources: [1]: John Henry Newman: Cardinal, Priest, and Poet., Feb. 21st 1801- Aug. 11th 1890.

Over the Cliffs and down the River Fade our Memories, Gone Forever

Cherish every moment of life’s glamour,
For they will never return.
Some make us grow and some make us burn.
They sprout difficult lessons to learn.
Fade our memories, gone forever.

The game of life requires one’s awareness to withstand forever.
This awareness must come from inside.
Let your consciousness glimmer and glide,
Through the devious world outside.
Fade our memories, gone forever.

The beauties of life lie within the Listener.
Granting the wishes of those who preserve.
 The angelic nature we are meant to observe.
It is important to show ones verve for the higher purpose we serve.
Fade our memories, gone forever.

With His love and support, all bad bonds shall sever.
He guides me through his light and makes me grow.
If one is humble and worthy this He will bestow.
Divine love and light seep deep into my marrow.
Over the cliffs and down the river,
Fade our memories, gone forever.

Copyright 2010 by the student writer, all rights retained by the author, printed with permission

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