grounded in golan
this past weekend I traveled to the Golan Heights in northern Israel, with a group of American students. The weekend was filled with outdoor activities, two 10-mile hikes in the wilderness, bathing in natural waterfalls, white-water rafting in the Jordan river, and swimming in the Sea of Galilee. It was through these activities that I connected with nature, causing me to become even more grounded than I have been feeling in recent weeks. I am so grateful for this opportunity to live, study, and travel in Israel.
While the Golan Heights is an area often known as the grounds for war and continually disputed territory, it is also a place of peace and natural beauty. The higher elevation made for a different purity of air which accompanied a feeling of spiritual purity. i was among a group of Jews and we stayed in a Jewish neighborhood, heightening the Shabbat experience overall. While I do not understand all of their traditions, I was able to observe, learn, embrace, and even share some of my own beliefs. This religious aspect added to the spiritual atmosphere of the higher grounds in Golan. In addition we visited a local winery, keeping spirits high and feeling nature within all of our senses.
one word that rang true for me throughout the weekend (besides peace) was "transcendence". Feeling ever grounded, as I hiked through the wilderness of nature's temporal sphere, I experienced the sensation one often attains through meditation and yoga - transcending one's own reality to the level of spiritual/physical bliss and unearthly euphoria. I have felt this before in meditation, but I was experiencing it here as I trudged through the brambles on the mountainside and skipped stones on the creek. The best way to describe it would be as Neo approached his interactions within "the Matrix" - a constructed reality in which nothing is fully what it appears, and what is real is questioned by the alternate paradigm of the Matrix. The same invincibility and ability to face challenges (like the opponents' bullets) and tackle them by a simple swing of the arm, a slight ducking to one side, or gracefully escaping into a backbend, became my strategy. Being grounded requires much more than a solid foundation, it requires strength, agility, tenacity, connection with one's surroundings, and the ability to transcend with wisdom and discernment.
While the Golan Heights is an area often known as the grounds for war and continually disputed territory, it is also a place of peace and natural beauty. The higher elevation made for a different purity of air which accompanied a feeling of spiritual purity. i was among a group of Jews and we stayed in a Jewish neighborhood, heightening the Shabbat experience overall. While I do not understand all of their traditions, I was able to observe, learn, embrace, and even share some of my own beliefs. This religious aspect added to the spiritual atmosphere of the higher grounds in Golan. In addition we visited a local winery, keeping spirits high and feeling nature within all of our senses.
one word that rang true for me throughout the weekend (besides peace) was "transcendence". Feeling ever grounded, as I hiked through the wilderness of nature's temporal sphere, I experienced the sensation one often attains through meditation and yoga - transcending one's own reality to the level of spiritual/physical bliss and unearthly euphoria. I have felt this before in meditation, but I was experiencing it here as I trudged through the brambles on the mountainside and skipped stones on the creek. The best way to describe it would be as Neo approached his interactions within "the Matrix" - a constructed reality in which nothing is fully what it appears, and what is real is questioned by the alternate paradigm of the Matrix. The same invincibility and ability to face challenges (like the opponents' bullets) and tackle them by a simple swing of the arm, a slight ducking to one side, or gracefully escaping into a backbend, became my strategy. Being grounded requires much more than a solid foundation, it requires strength, agility, tenacity, connection with one's surroundings, and the ability to transcend with wisdom and discernment.
posted by :: Lisa :: at 1:19 PM
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