The chapter begins with an imagined encounter in the mountains near a friend's cabin that prompts asking big questions about life and the universe. Go back and review them. What has prompted these questions in your life or in the lives of your friends and family? Both positive and negative experiences can evoke such pondering and reflection.
Symbols found in religions often have a universal quality. Try taking a basic symbol such as fire or water or one of your choice. Put the word in the center of a page of paper. With radiating spokes coming from it, write down what the object can be used for or how it manifests in the world. As you study the religions in the text, look for your basic symbol to appear, and watch for its characteristics to convey ideas and concepts found in that religion.
Consider the eight great elements which religions manifest to some degree. How do you currently answer or understand them? At the end of the course, you may want to revisit them and see if your answers have changed. These are also great questions with which to interview others. This could develop into an interesting project. You could interview a cross-section of people or you could explore the diversity within a single tradition.
The second pattern of comparison in religions includes views of the world and nature. Reflect on your own views of nature. Have they changed over time? Where on the spectrum of attitudes is your understanding? Interview some friends for their views.
