The Way I see it

Concept of Trust

2008-12-28T03:12:00.002-05:00

This is a portion of another one of my papers I wrote...

The concept of trust is very important my life, and is something I do not take lightly. I believe that without trust, a healthy relationship – whether that be with friends, family or lover – can simply not exist because

trust is the starting building block of any relationship.

Once trust is established, all of the other concepts can be established – it is like trust is the tree, and joy, love and faith are the branches that stem of from the tree in their own respective ways. Once trust is established, it opens up the door to love, which allows us to build a personal relationship with someone. Once there is love – regardless of that being with a friend, family member or a significant other – joy comes about and makes way for perhaps one of the most vital concept of life in general, faith. To me, faith is the ultimate goal in any relationship because if I have faith in something, I will never give up, despite of how bad things may seem. With faith I can fight and stick through any rough ride I may find myself in with any one of my family members, any of my best friends or any girlfriend. This same concept is applied to Jesus – once someone is able to trust in him, they can then begin to build their relationship with Jesus and begin to love him, which brings about joy and ultimately establishes faith in Jesus – which is the most important and yet most difficult thing to do in today’s society. To me though, regardless of how difficult life is at certain times, faith is something I always hang my hat on because I know that HE will always be there for me – just like my family and my friends.

Human Nature cannot be altered...

2008-12-27T05:01:00.004-05:00

No matter how well you think you can judge character...you can't. The best way to do so - and I am not talking about judging people just how to be able to tell character from good or bad - is to know people, know how they work, what drives them so on so forth and when it comes down to certain things, every single person is the same but in their own respective ways because character can be falsified...can be an act...human nature...is human nature and it can not be altered in any way, no matter how hard you try.
so by knowing people....it can help you go along way...

How can people act so false?
Fear…
Fear of the bad things that can happen in life. Fear of those things that can hurt us, hurt our spirit which is why people put up walls and are on such high alert and never letting their guard down.

People put up false walls though - why?

People don't want you to know the truth about them because it makes them

feel vulnerable

They are doing to others what they don’t want to happen to them and it's not so much hurting others than it is looking out for oneself which brings me back to human nature...
people will always pick what they feel is better for them HOWEVER, and listen - however...
realizing the difference between what's

best for yourself in the short run in comparison to what's best for yourself in the long run are two different things many people get mixed up

Perfect example...think how many times you've seen breakups, where the one person doing the breaking up was so sure that the relationship was bad, and that the other person was not good enough for them only to see that same person, say for example 6 months later, begging for another chance because they didn't know how good they had it to begin with

Looking ahead to the future, worrying about what will happen tomorrow and knowing that's better for you in the long run as opposed to the short run are TWO COMPLETELY different things that people have to keep in mind.

Why people screw other people over...

2008-12-27T04:55:00.005-05:00

I was having a conversation with a friend one day, and she asked me why I think people get screwed over and here is the response I came up with...

It's almost second nature to just screw someone over...matter of fact, that's human nature...no matter how close you may be with someone, if there is something out there that is better for you and can't include the other person, you will pick the one that's better for you. Now obviously there are certain extremes to that statement but it does hold some truth and the thing is...

we've all done it at one point or another

BUT some people care and some others don’t...while I care that I've done it before and hurt someone and don't want do it again and try my best to avoid making that same mistake twice...there are MANY who just don't give a crap and would rather look out for "numero uno" - and that is just part of Human Nature

The Blues - Emotions, Music and Psychological factors

2008-12-27T04:35:00.002-05:00

Something else i wrote for my religion class in which I relate Emotions, Music and Psychology to Religion...

It is necessary for humans to not only have, but to experience different emotional states in order to function properly. It is unheard of and basically impossible for a human being to not have any types of emotions. These different states of emotions can be anything from depression to joy and anger to happiness along with anything in between. Can emotions be related to religion, and how does the psychological factor and music play into the role of emotions and spirituality?

Humans experience different types of emotional states on a daily basis, whether they are emotional highs or lows. There are many different factors that play into what determines a person’s emotions at that given time though the biggest factor of them all is perhaps the relation between emotions and religion, spirituality in particular. When humans experience emotional highs, it is usually caused by something very extraordinary and something that really touches that certain person. In religion, these emotional highs are also called “spiritual highs” and can lead some people experiencing this to speak in the ancient Hebrew language or “tongues.” Spirituality can help a person be emotionally stable which can then lead that person to happiness.

Looking further into the relation between emotion and religion is by taking a further look as to how God and emotions are related. Having a relationship with God can determine the emotional state of a person and that person’s psychological state. Being in a relationship with God could be the difference between being at an emotional low and an emotional high. Someone could be going through a stage of depression and be close to giving up on life until that person finds religion and begins to build that relationship with God which can ultimately change that persons emotional low to an emotional high. God gets humans in this spiritual high that is not like any other feeling that can experienced by a person.

The human mind is a very powerful machine and is the primary driving force of the human body. The study of psychology attempts to understand the function of the brain. Psychology – it is the scientific study of the human mind and its functions, especially those affecting behavior in a given context. With that in mind, it is fairly easy to see its relation with religion. The human brain is like a sponge - it can absorb and retain all kinds of information and if need be, the mind can be tricked to believe something is true whereas it is completely false – this leads back to the concept of consciousness in terms of being aware of what is true and what is false. The perception of religion is brought into this factor because even though God and religion are real, there is still a psychological factor that plays into this role. How?
Simple - when one first encounters religion that person does not necessarily believe at first hand that the theory of God and religion is real – but then this person is introduced to the actual idea (mind begins to absorb information) and the more the mind learns, the more the concept can seem valid thus leading the human brain to be able to be influenced by the beliefs of others which then in turn causes the person to start believing in the religion and God. Consciousness plays a role in all of this in regards that the human mind must still be aware of what is actually real and what is not. This is the psychological factor of religion – and this can be seen on a daily basis. The brain will absorb any kind of information, and once it is sold on something it can begin to believe it – consciousness comes into play in determining reality from the fictional.

Another interesting theory is the relation music plays in regards to religion. Music can affect emotions and the mind exactly the way religion can. Musicians for instance, can feel an emotional high when they are performing – it is almost as if they are in a different realm or world, similar to the experience one faces when that person is on a spiritual high or speaking in “tongues”. The person gets such an emotional high that one gets lost in the moment and forgets where they are and what they are doing. It happens without thought and when one snaps back to reality that person finds it difficult to explain in detail what they were experiencing let alone how they did it.
This can be closely related to sports as well – this spiritual and emotional high people have either while worshiping or performing is existent in the sports world as well and is commonly referred to as “being in the zone.” When an athlete is “in the zone” that person is nearly unstoppable and it comes without thought and is not a switch that can just be flipped. It is something that occurs in the moment and one usually is unaware of when it is happening, therefore just doing it without thought or knowledge of it. As any of the other emotional highs, the athlete is unable to explain what was done or how it was done – it was just a spontaneous moment.

Emotions and music have played a role in my religious experiences in terms that I find myself getting lost in the music I listen to, often times not realizing where I am or what I am doing. An example of this is when I am driving in the car on my way home; there are times I get lost in the music for so long that by the time I snap out of it I have reached my destination without even realizing it.

The interesting part about emotions and the emotional highs humans experience is that when one is in the midst of them, that person usually does things he/she would normally not do – this can usually be seen by their actions, which are usually carried out in joy.

It is interesting how emotions are related to everything humans do on a daily basis, how they do it and why they do it. Regardless of what it may be, emotions plays a factor in what we as humans do on a daily basis and many times religion is a huge part of it because religion can be something that greatly affects someone’s emotions – and changes how that person reacts to a given situation. Emotional highs and emotional lows are both connected with religion in the sense that religion can get anyone out of an emotional low and bring them right up to an emotional high. Religion is what makes the difference between depression and joy, anger and happiness. At the end of the day, everything is connected with one another. Human mind -> psychology -> emotions -> religion. They all co-exist with one another to form the ultimate goal – religion and a relationship with God

Visions and Dreams

2008-12-27T04:27:00.004-05:00

here is something I wrote for my religion class...

It is human nature to have dreams, to have visions. The interesting part about the two is that each respective individual interprets both, dreams and visions, differently. Questions have been asked about how closely related visions and dreams are with religion and what the concept of consciousness has to do with any of them.
The conscious is closely related to visions and dreams; in fact without a conscious, neither of the two can exist. What does it mean to be conscious? – Being conscious means being aware of and responding to one’s surroundings. How does consciousness relate to religion? Very simple - religion helps people change their consciousness. Before one encounter’s religion, one may be aware of its surroundings in regards to where they are and so forth, but may not be aware of the little things that surrounds them in every day life; not being aware of the little things allows one to miss important signs that are given, messages that are spoken and could possibly miss the significance of certain events. Without religion, one is not aware of what is really out there, that there is more to life than just one’s own life – the existence of a higher power, a divine power. Once one encounters this higher power, it will alter their conscious and change the way that person sees the world and the people within it. One will begin to see the good and evil of people and of the world.
Religion also alters the consciousness in a way that one will begin to notice certain events and the significance of those events. We will begin to come to the understanding that there are no such things as coincidences but that rather, this divine power, has His own plan and that all things happen for a reason, rather than out of coincidence. One will begin to be able to hear and speak to this divine power, and will be able to hear messages. Religion helps one notice the little things in life that would usually go unnoticed, and it alters one’s conscious in that sense that one is able to notice the little things in life. Religion alters the conscious so much that it is near impossible to not change – it is a transformation.

Psychological understandings of dreams can be applied to Biblical texts; one may ask how? Dreams are a series of thoughts, images and sensations occurring in a person’s mind during sleep, or unconsciousness. Even though one is basically unconscious while dreaming, subconsciously the mind is still aware of what is right and wrong as well as true and false. Dreams are related to the biblical text in terms that dreams are made up of visions and images that can give an individual a particular message. The bible gives all kinds of insight of visions and images and describes them in regards to what is wrong and right or true and false. In the bible there are people who have visions and share messages. The bible also stresses the importance of being aware (or conscious) of what is right and wrong and gives us an idea of what is true and false. Dreams, in essence, do the same thing in that regard.

Personal experiences can have a great impact of a person’s consciousness, especially if that experience came into close contact with death. One of the events I experienced has been perhaps one of the most significant events of my life to date. It changed me as a person, as well as my conscious and how I view everyday life.
It’s almost normal for any teenager to get his license, in fact it’s almost expected of them. Some are lucky and receive their first car from their parents while others just have to share the family car. I was one of the lucky ones who got his own car, however, that joy lasted no more than five days. The car wreck I was in left my car totaled, smashed but my body unharmed. In fact, the accident seemed as if it was in slow motion - coming out of a turn, hearing the screech of the tires, feeling the car fish-tail, seeing the embankment to finally seeing the hill – it was not until then that everything went into full speed. It was almost like a replay shown during a football game, where the first part of the play is in slow motion until the announcers hit the fast forward button to get the play over with. I do not remember the impact, did not feel the car turning up-side-down and I was definitely in another realm; mind, body and soul. It’s almost as if once I saw the hill, I passed out and woke up again an hour later, when really it was a matter of a couple of seconds. My consciousness was in such a funk that I casually unbuckled my seatbelt and crawled out of the car to then find myself looking at my car wondering where I was and what had just happened. The more I think about it, the more I realize that God had his hand on me throughout the whole event and that perhaps that encounter with God was so powerful that it put my consciousness in a completely different realm – one I have never been to before.
It was such a powerful experience that it altered my consciousness – and the interesting thing is that I in a way, consider this event a sort of religious experience because I do truly believe that God’s divine power touched me this day. The way I walked through life changed, I started to enjoy life more and began to enjoy the little things. The relationship with my family got stronger and the relationship with my friends got better. This event, my car accident, is my testimony that there is a higher power, that there is a God. I walked away without any scratches from an accident that I was not suppose to survive.

The consciousness is a very interesting part of the human brain – if someone’s consciousness is changed they are more than likely to change as a person. Their awareness of their surroundings increases dramatically, and their brain is more capable of separating reality from fiction. I have found myself thinking about the movie, The Matrix, throughout this entire paper trying to find a way to be able to relate it to this topic and then it finally hit me. This movie deals with the consciousness and is a perfect example – The matrix has two separate worlds to it, one being the normal everyday life and then there is the other world, known as the Matrix. The main character in the movie, Neo is unaware of the Matrix and is living a normal life as most “normal” humans would, and when he is approached by people from the Matrix he simply shrugs of the idea of there being another world out there until he ends up getting caught by agents. However, the more those from the Matrix contact him the more interested he gets until he finally gives in and enters the Matrix and becomes a part of that world. Of course, this is a little extreme and hard to believe that there is another “computer-based” world somewhere way ahead of us in the future (though the idea is not far fetched given the rapid advancement of technology), but this experience Neo has can be related to religion. Clearly, Neo has an experience that alters his consciousness dramatically to the point where he can only believe that there is another world and that he is much more than just a little spectrum in such a “small” world.
Now, how can this be related? It’s very simple – every day, people go through their lives with the same routines – Monday through Friday, work 9-5; wake up at a given time, make coffee, get ready, go to work; then come back home, make dinner, relax, go to bed just to wake up and repeat that exact same routine the following day until the weekend comes around. The weekend is probably the only time where one does not have a routine. People go through these life routines and do not realize that there is something else out there, something far greater than any of us – humans – something that has a divine power and one does not become aware of that until that person has an experience that alters their consciousness so drastically, that they have no other choice but to completely change the person they have been. Religion can have that affect on anyone, no one is exempt from something like that – whether someone has a near death experience, an outer body experience, hears a message, witnesses a miracle or just has a simple vision or a dream – all of these can alter one’s consciousness, and change the person they are.
Personally, I believe that having lived in different places of the world and having lived in multiple cultures, my consciousness had been altered in the simple fact that I am aware of what is out there in the world. There are so many Americans who live such a sheltered life and believe that there is nothing else outside of the United States, but knowing that there is and being aware of the different cultures and how they work and the way they live their lives, makes me more aware of the little things in life – and being aware of the little things in life helps me to believe in something as Religion even easier, because I do not ignore simple messages or visions. Instead of focusing just on the “big picture”, I find myself scoping out the small things that make up the “big picture”. Instead of trying to create the puzzle in one splash, I focus on the little pieces and try to find ways as to how it all can fit together - I do the same thing with life.
Having a different worldview than most of my peers, that alone makes me more aware of everyday life, which helps me notice the little things in our lives, and by noticing the little things I can see religion, and see that there is a divine power - God and his son Jesus – and by knowing that religion is real and the affect it has, it in essence alters my consciousness which leads back to why I have a different worldview, and why I notice the little things and why I am aware of this divine power. It’s like a circle of life almost; worldview->awareness->divine power->consciousness->worldview->awareness->divine power and so on. This is how everything relates to me – everything is intertwined with one another. One cannot exist without the other.
Dreams and Visions. Religion and Consciousness. Religion and Visions. Dreams and Consciousness. Consciousness and Visions. Dreams and Religions. They are all interrelated with on another and they all have the same effect on an individual – they alter who that person is and shape that person into who he/she will become.

What I believe friendship is (part 1)

2008-12-27T03:58:00.000-05:00

What is a friendship? A friendship can not be summed up in one word or phrase, but there are certain ways to describe it. Friendship consists of trust, caring, loving, laughing, understanding, sharing and so many more. But when you really think about it, friendship is much more than that. Friendship is not something that just happens right off the back; it is something that builds up over time. It is something that is special at a certain point and remains that way; it is something that is almost unbreakable. However, friendship's also has its flaws… friends will fight; they will argue, even call each other names. Sometimes they may lie; sometimes they may not stand you. But when you think about it, good, strong great friendships always get resolved, sooner rather than later. That's the part of the friendship that determines how great that specific friendship is, when one can overcome his/her own ignorance and pride, and realize that that friendship is something special, and not worth losing. Friends make mistakes, it happens… you may accidentally reveal a secret that you are not suppose to, you may say something that will offend the other person, you may even do something stupid without realizing it and hurt that person. And when you do get to the point where you have offended or hurt your friend, you will do whatever it takes to prove how sorry you are, how much you care about that person. You will go out of your own way, just to show that person, that friend, how much you care. You will do absolutely anything… just to go make up with that person. You will cry day and night until you see that person smile, you will be angry and depressed until you know that your friend is, if not alright, but getting better. You will do whatever it takes to see them smile, whatever it takes to make them happy, whatever it takes to show them you care, whatever it takes to show them how sorry you are, whatever it takes to fix the friendship, that friendship. That special friendship, the one you always knew you could count on for anything. You will go to unpredictable lengths in order to restore that friendship; there is no doubt about it, because besides family, there is no stronger bond than that of a friendship. There is no stronger bond than that…. That is what I believe friendship is.

Sometimes

2008-12-27T03:54:00.001-05:00

Sometimes
The hardest thing
And the right thing
Are the same
Sometimes
You have to take a chance
But with that chance
You have to be aware
That the result of that taken chance
May or may not be
What you wanted it to be
And you will be the only one
Who will have to live with the consequences

But sometimes
You have to take a step backward
In order to be able to move on forward
Sometimes
You have to let something go
In order for it to completely come back
Most of the times
What you’ve been longing for will come back
But a lot of the times
What you’ve been longing for will not
But you have to keep in mind that
What’s meant to be will always find a way
And that’s the truth
All the times

Sometimes
You just have to let go
And have the faith and trust,
That not sometimes, most of the times, or a lot of times
But that ALL the times
What’s meant to be will always find a way