Welcome

The Buddha said that his teaching are not to be followed like laws, but to be used as guidelines in finding your own spiritual path. Rabbi Brad Hirschfield explained that if there are aspects of religion that you don't like, return to where you were raised and make the changes from there. If you like the ritual, keep it. If you don't, drop it. True religion is different for everyone. This blog is a reflection of the journey I take to finding my personal spirituality. The basis for my spirituality stems from a cross between Buddhism and Judaism, but also includes bits and pieces from other religious faiths.
As I develop my individual spirituality, I am moving from the life of college student into the workforce. Included will my journey to find a job I truly love (this seems to be rare nowadays), that agrees with my personal ethics of peace and non-violence.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Shana Tova

Today is Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year. It is a time for reflection of the past year as well as atonement for past sins. In this sense, when I speak of atonement, I simply mean acknowledging mistakes made in the past year so that you can work on fixing them. I went out the beautiful Kawishwi Falls for the ceremonial casting of sins (mistakes). This is symbolic of starting the year with a fresh start. On the 3/4 mile hike out to the falls, I reflected on major changes that have occurred this past year as well as things that I would like to change. Among the highlights of the year have been graduating college, working at the International Wolf Center for the summer, and going into my second year with my lovely girlfriend. I am truly lucky to have so many great friends and such a loving family. Upon reviewing this past year, however, I was disheartened to think about how angry I was. Along with casting away my sins, I also cast away that anger. My goal for the year is fill empty void with loving kindness.

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