# data[].attributes.body
What is Spirituality

Spirituality has many conflicting meanings for many different people. Spirituality means for me a quest to find the truth in the highest priority.

# data[].attributes.body
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZUx_3BJR-Y

# data[].attributes.body
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood,

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

# data[].attributes.body
The poem, The Road Not Taken, is a personal favourite that heavily relates to my life and spirituality. The poem details the experience of not always following the crowd, making personal decisionsand defining your own spirituality.

# data[].attributes.body
The ritual of marriage is often used as one of the most defining rituals uniting two people. There are many elements that define certain actions as rituals, and this essay provides an insight to how marriage is a ritual critiquing the elements of the ritual and the use of Lovat's 5 step approach to a ritual.

The ritual that has been chosen is marriage. This ritual is recognised as the union of man and woman typically by law. The act of marriage is often a religious event and it is derived from the Catholic Church as the divine right of marriage. The purpose of the ritual is essentially to unite people to an everlasting life together bound by the government and often the church.

There are many elements to the ritual that influence how it is different to other rituals. These elements are place, time, participants, leader, community, signs and symbols.

The place of the ritual often depends on the people who participate in the marriage. Places may include beaches, churches or town halls. Though, almost all consist of a priest to unite to the two getting married. There is no specific time when the ritual of marriage is performed. It is a seasonal event that does not require a specific time period for the ritual to occur within. The people who are involved in the ritual of marriage are the two being united, the best man and woman and the families. Though it is seen as an individual event between two people, there are many other participants that partake within the ceremony. The leader is often a priest or someone bound to be able to unite the two. This leader position is often limited to men though it is known that woman also can be the leader that unites the man and woman. For the community, it is a joyful event that has a positive effect on the community. There is no immediate effect on the community though it does unite families to be one with brothers-in-law and mothers-in-law etc. being formed. The most prominent symbol regarding marriage is the rings. Each ring symbolises possession to each respecting partner. The ring is a well represented symbol that is recognised everywhere around the world. The ritual also allows the presence of a higher being uniting the two people in love, allowing them to remain honest and pure for each other.

Through the use of Lovat's 5 step approach, we are able to analyse each of the steps used and how they contribute to the ceremony

Step 1: The participant leaves the ordinary or mundane world and enters the ritual.

This is signified as each member of the ceremony, the bride and groom, don't see each other before the wedding and enters each of their respected rooms

Step 2: The participant engages in some type of preparatory rite

The bride and groom begin to get changed into their outfits

Step 3: The participant experiences a central or high point of the ritual

This is done by the actual ceremony and the climax when both members of the ritual pronounce "I do".

Step 4: The participant joins in some form of celebration in the ritual

This is signified by the after party where the community celebrates the ritual. The couple then enjoy a honeymoon which is a celebration of their marriage

Step 5: The participant leaves the ritual and returns to the ordinary world.

This is done after the honeymoon as they return to the real world.

This analyses how the ceremony of the marriage is a ritual by the inclusion of elements of the ritual and the analysis of it providing an insight of how God and the search for a higher being influences the outcome of the ritual.

# data[].attributes.body
A spiritual practice that I have discovered is the act of meditation. Allowing for me to be by myself alone with my thoughts is a difficult realisation though it allows me to calm myself and listen to what I have to do. It allows me to be in touch with myself

# data[].attributes.body
Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage!  It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

“Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.  Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

# data[].attributes.body
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[”

“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.

A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him.  The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"

The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

# data[].attributes.body
Both of these scripture passages inspire me to search and be spiritual to find a higher being. The scripture where Jesus walks on water inspires me to believe in Jesus and myself and to not let fear control my actions. The scripture regarding the Good Smaritan teaches me to treat everyone was I would like to be treated and be a neighbour to everyone and live in the ways of God