It's Week 2 and things are starting to pick up pretty fast. However, I am enjoying all of my classes so far. Business Law is definitely my kryptonite for the semester since I feel like I have to learn a completely new language (%^$*#!) so it's a challenge that I'm keeping myself open to :) But the class that I really like the most so far is my religious studies class "Faith & Human Development." It's foreign to me, being able to talk about faith and religion openly in class, but I am learning a lot about interesting theory. Right now we're reading a book called "Finding Your Religion" and I'm reading ahead because I enjoy it so much. Although the book is intended for people who have lost their faith somewhere along the way, the author makes some great points. I came across this paragraph which instantly stuck to me:
"To find one's religion, it's not enough to just open one's mind and think deeply. Each of us must also open all our senses and experience the world. Religion grows from the heart as much from the head, and it cries out to fuse body and mind. Faith is an orientation of the whole personality, a total response. It's not just belief- the holding of certain ideas- which is a function of the mind alone. Beliefs can be expressed in propositional form to which the adjectives "true" or "false" may be attached. Faith, by contrast, is the opposite of nihilism and despair. It may or may not include beliefs, but is much larger; it is the ability to experience the universe as meaningful. Having faith means that our lives hold together and make sense at a deep level, rather than seeming ultimately awry, askew, or absurd. Therefore, your religion is something you not only think about but also dance, sing, eat, paint, and sculpt. To find your religion you must engage all of your senses. You should feel is as well as explain it, hear it as well as see it, taste it as well as smell it."
Since I have already "found my religion" I completely agree with the statements he makes about faith, that it "holds our life together." Since I can't get my daily dose of Liwanag anymore, I feel like my religious studies classes are going to feed my spiritual senses for the semester. My other religious studies class got cancelled tomorrow and Friday, so instead of sleeping in with that extra hour, I'm going to go to school and pay a visit to the Chapel cuz' I haven't been there in awhile and because every day should start with Him. I won't forget that.
