Rachel Filson

Ma’at

The daughter of the sun god Ra,

A goddess of harmony, truth, and justice

She wears a feather on her head,

Associated with the balance of earth things

The representation of balance

Everything with the Egyptian culture;

Centered on how everything has a place in the world;

Government affairs, seasonal changes, and religion.

If a person shall die,

Their heart would be weighed against the goddess,

From the belief

“The heart was a sole substance of a persons, emotions, thoughts, and actions”

The goddess, usually seen with the Ankh

Thought of as charting the suns path

An act opposite of Ma ‘at would be considered crime

Teachings became known as what compared the conscience of a person

http://www.kingtutone.com/gods/maat/

Hinduism in Action Reflection
    Gandhi said the ever so famous quote "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." Gandhi, from the beginning wasn't very fond of violence, and such. He would do what was right to stick up for what he believed in. If he had to go to jail, get beaten up, he would take it. He refused to fight back, and thats what he got other people to believe in as well. If some one was to trip you, and then you say "If you are allowed to trip me, I am able to trip you." Then the other person would use the argument again, and would repeat that. It would be a never ending cycle, and with war, it really would make EVERYONE possibly "blind."
   “’Love they neighbor as thyself’ is not something we Hindus prescribe to, but it is something we could learn from.”- Gandhi. Explaining that, you should love everyone, know matter what religion they are, what beliefs they have, but to respect them as another human, just as you would respect and care for yourself. He says that it is not something that hindus practice, but it is something that wouldn't hurt to start believing, and practicing, it would result in peace, and awareness of all of the other things going on around us. 
   After doing yoga, I felt relaxed. I have never felt that way before. When we were laying down, and  most people fell asleep, I stayed awake, I paid attention to everything the nice man was saying, and when he was talking about my feet, I would concentrate on that, and I would spend time relaxing that part of my body, and by the time he mentioned the heart, lungs, etc. I was completely relaxed. That great feeling lasted me the rest of the day. I was stretched, and I was breathing, and thinking calmly. I might want to start taking up Yoga daily, or weekly! When I think of the Hindus religion, I think of the peace, and freedom that they tried to have and make. After that meditation, and other flexible moving, I can see how that reflects to one another. They practice the calmness, even when they were being beaten up in groups, and when they were being put into stressful situations, they kept up with it, and accomplished what they needed. I think that relaxation really helped them out and take a different approach then anyone would expect! 

Buddhism: Following the Path to Enlightenment

Reflection #3

 Following the Path to Enlightenment was not the easiest thing I have ever done. I had a great amount of a hard time taking away all of the distractions, not only around me, but also what was going on in my head. I kept thinking about how I was hungry. What assignments I had to get done for my next class, and I just couldn't focused. While doing the first parts of the meditation, I didn't understand the point of it, I didn't show my respect for this tradition. After actually trying it out,and working through it, eliminating al of the distractions I had, I was calm, and I was relaxed. I didn't have any worries, or any concerns. I realized that Buddhism is about that as well. They want peace and belief. I knew that, but not until I experienced it during our meditation, and our experience at the Bongwonsa temple. 

      What I learned about myself was that, I do worry about everything. I don't give myself a break, I always worried about something, or someone. I can never just go with the flow, I have to plan everything out, and I have to follow it. I even realized that once I think about something, I can't stop. If I get a bad grade, thats all I think about until I get a  great grade or another bad grade. I didn't even know that stuff during my meditation. I figured those out afterwards, after I thought about it for this and for the worksheet we had to fill our during meditation. You don't realize those things until you have to think about them, or until you have be given the time to have the be what you are thinking about.

Judaism 

Characteristics of G-D
1. G-d is my savior 
2. G-d is for the good
3. One g-d
Experience with g-d 
I had a Bat Mitzvah when I was 12 years old, I had all of my family and friends join together at my Temple, and I lead a whole service including leading the shabbot, my torah portion, and many other parts to a service that lasts from 3-4 hours. I was thankful for being able to have that amazing experience and to have been able to learn the language of Hebrew. (VERY DIFFICULT!) 
Remember G-d 
I pray in hebrew regularly, and I thank him for what I have been given, the good and the bad. I thank him for my suffering because it is what makes me who I am now, and it gives me the strength now, and for my future. 

My Shema 

My whole life I have had the same opinion on g-d. It has blossomed, and grown like I have, but it has stayed positive, and has been in an honorable way. He is my savior. G-d is one. Being Jewish my job is to ensure that I have a strong relationship with my g-d or to try to have a special connection. When I am scared, happy, depressed, stressed, anything really; I pray to g-d. I don't take g-d for granted. I don't ask for the better, I ask for things to play out the way they are supposed to, and for me to have support and happiness in the end. I have grown a significant amount of trust in g-d, and it has turned into a large amount of respect. G-d you have helped me.

Christmas Carols 

                                                              "Away In A Manger" 
"Away in a Manger" was originally publised in 1885, the author is unknown, but the music was composed by William J Kirkpatrick in 1895. This specific carol is making reference to when jesus is a baby, and is in the manger. Jesus is only a baby at this point, he is referred to as "Little Lord Jesus." It is mentioning how he is laying in the manger instead of in a bed. He gives hope and peace to the people. "Be near me, Lord Jesus I ask thee to stay, close by me forever, and love me I pray. Bless all the dear children in thy tender care, and take us to heaven, to live with thee there. While singing these carols, the other two girls that were with me had explained each different one in detail, and really expressed the meaning. Although I didn't know many of the carols, I easily chose "Away in a Manger." I have heard of it, but I didn't know it. Some of it seemed self explanatory, but it was deeper then I thought. I appreciated spending time with my two friends, and having them give me knowledge on things that felt like rocket science to me. 

http://www.carols.org.uk/away_in_a_manger.htm