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P&S Moderators: JackARoe | Cheshire_Kat
Anyone got life all figured out?
- Thread starter BornAgainYogi
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Erikmen
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She
I am sorry, honest mistake.
Smoky
Bluelight Crew
There's no figuring it all out… Trying to do so is to suffer. ime/o. The more I learn the less I know
herbavore
Bluelight Crew
Haha! No problem. I don't know half the people's gender that I interact with on here and I have to say, I find that refreshing. But thank you for your warm words. You bring a lot of kindness to TDS and I know a lot of people (including me!) really appreciate it.
I have certainly never seen anything you have written that makes me think you are egotistical! What makes you say that? Anyway, thank you for your kind words as well. To be perfectly honest the reason we haven't interacted that much--especially here in P&S, is that half the time the discussions are way over my head!
Hi, Smoky!
Erikmen
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True!
Xorkoth
Bluelight Crew
I also agree that I have never perceived you to be egotistical willow. 
ethnocat55
Bluelighter
I guess because I used to have so much more energy and I used to do so many wild things and now I feel a bit like I am just treading water. You know making enough to pay the bills but not much else etc. I was chatting with an old friend today and he says he feels the same and we used to party together. I,m not saying I will never party again, I am sure I will ! Trouble is I guess, I think a lot about the World I live in and the mess it's in whereas before maybe I didn't think about the bigger things as much. Until recently I was involved in politics in my own small way ( I was a Union rep in the government sector) and the horrible corruption in the upper ranks of the company has disheartened me and had its effects, that's why I left that job. So now I am happier because I left that job, but alas I am now poorer with little security! Lol, so as I said previously one or the other. Peace
BornAgainYogi
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Bump
herbavore
Bluelight Crew
I would say that this poem by Ellen Bass sums it up pretty well for me. I carry a line from Rilke in my wallet. A friend gave it to me a long time ago. It says, "Let everything happen to you: the beauty and the terror." But this poem says it more specifically.
I think it is the phrase in that last line that made me type out that poem in this thread. You have to 'enter your life'. How you do that seems completely up to you.
NSFW:
I think it is the phrase in that last line that made me type out that poem in this thread. You have to 'enter your life'. How you do that seems completely up to you.
swilow
Bluelight Crew
I also agree that I have never perceived you to be egotistical willow.
I didn't mean it to sound self-denigrating. I just meant that I have a powerful sense of self that has made my life both beautiful and tragic. I'm not a person that can take things lying down though I realise the absurdity of trying to confront the universe.
There's one thing I've come to realise is central to keep in mind when it comes to religion. Especially the major religions, meaning not just the 5 greatest ones, more like the 25-30 most popular belief-systems we have in the world, so practically no one are immune (and Atheism/Evolutionism would be among those). Is that religion, by definition, exists as a controlled way of practicing or learning what is for the most part kept out of reach for humans - i.e. the world beyond, your spiritual/eternal nature, divinity, etc. That is, there are innumerable theories and hypothetical belief-systems corresponding to it. Most of which use different words or concepts for the same things so the seeming conflicts are really more about semantics. Still most will take these literally and be drawn into it.
All the variety and fractured nature of these beliefs then lead to so much confusion it makes it unattactive for most to want to explore in any depth and even if they do there is still so much confusion it makes it hard to get a glimpse of the truth. Most will focus on one small part of the truth and one approach to spiritual development which makes it limited what you can achieve within the frames of it. Maybe someone dedicated can come to a state of relative enlightenment at the end of their life. But by then it's too late for most as they're too old and the young are unwilling to listen to them as they can only resonate with those of their own age so the cycle begins again. Either way, it keeps the truth well and truly out of reach for most, so it can be almost seen as as bad as nothing. But out-lawing religion or practice of spiritual beliefs, which is what all religion start out as, has always proved to be a failure. Even if it has been attempted endless times, due to fear of the liberating and empowering effect that spiritual enlightenment can have on the individual, which can lift up the lowest to the highest and inspire different forms of rebellion. Or it has been seen as a threat to most in power of a human society for those reasons.
But whenever they have been out-lawed there has always been those who have been taught from within and people have always come together and started underground movements and with time this was seen as more dangerous as there was no way to exercise control over what was going on. So establishing an official religion everyone had to follow at the risk of different forms of punishment was seen as preferrable, especially when it could be combined with different social and political programs, and this became the norm. The religious differences aren't as important as people can imagine. The focus and presentation is mostly what is different and there is virtually none that teaches the whole truth or even the right approach. The idea of religious freedom has been given so much emphasis as for the most part there hasn't been and still isn't in a way.
(I took this from the Universal Think Tank)
All the variety and fractured nature of these beliefs then lead to so much confusion it makes it unattactive for most to want to explore in any depth and even if they do there is still so much confusion it makes it hard to get a glimpse of the truth. Most will focus on one small part of the truth and one approach to spiritual development which makes it limited what you can achieve within the frames of it. Maybe someone dedicated can come to a state of relative enlightenment at the end of their life. But by then it's too late for most as they're too old and the young are unwilling to listen to them as they can only resonate with those of their own age so the cycle begins again. Either way, it keeps the truth well and truly out of reach for most, so it can be almost seen as as bad as nothing. But out-lawing religion or practice of spiritual beliefs, which is what all religion start out as, has always proved to be a failure. Even if it has been attempted endless times, due to fear of the liberating and empowering effect that spiritual enlightenment can have on the individual, which can lift up the lowest to the highest and inspire different forms of rebellion. Or it has been seen as a threat to most in power of a human society for those reasons.
But whenever they have been out-lawed there has always been those who have been taught from within and people have always come together and started underground movements and with time this was seen as more dangerous as there was no way to exercise control over what was going on. So establishing an official religion everyone had to follow at the risk of different forms of punishment was seen as preferrable, especially when it could be combined with different social and political programs, and this became the norm. The religious differences aren't as important as people can imagine. The focus and presentation is mostly what is different and there is virtually none that teaches the whole truth or even the right approach. The idea of religious freedom has been given so much emphasis as for the most part there hasn't been and still isn't in a way.
(I took this from the Universal Think Tank)
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murphythecat
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so now religion has always shown to be a failure?
my religion is changing my life for good and has brought nothing to me but peace, understanding and happiness.
maybe your religion isnt bringing what you need, but no need to generalize. how can someone say, without having practice the different religions, that none brings the truth. totally idiotic and he sonds like a guy who tries to convince himself
I see huge and major difference between most religions BTW. At least, love is teached, but after that, I see seriously huge difference between religions.
my religion is changing my life for good and has brought nothing to me but peace, understanding and happiness.
maybe your religion isnt bringing what you need, but no need to generalize. how can someone say, without having practice the different religions, that none brings the truth. totally idiotic and he sonds like a guy who tries to convince himself
I see huge and major difference between most religions BTW. At least, love is teached, but after that, I see seriously huge difference between religions.
pill_billy
Bluelighter
but at what cost do you get your peace and happiness?? giving up free thinking and the abilty to ask questions and get answers that arnt made up??
and if you basically discredit most scienctific data in favor of the bible then do you really have any understanding of the world?? (and sry but religion and science do not go together at all)
in the end if religion is what floats your boat then by all means pray away but try n be honest about what you are trading away for those feeling... just like with dope... i love the feeling i get from it but i have to trade away too much to get that feeling so i dont/ cant do it...
murphythecat
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the bible? im not christian.
to think that all religious guys give up free thinking is false. I used to be buddhist before I discovered the buddha teaching. I was already thinking alike, then I found how close my vision of the world was to the buddhist, hence adding the buddhist precept and beliefs has been a natural progress for me.
if someone doesnt agree with his religion intelectually and he feel he give up free thinking, his religion should be questioned. a belief system should be well understood and should accord to our values, otherwise yes religions are dangerous.
but for me, I can honestly say, that I see my religion as very helpful and is very guiding and I intelectually couldnt agree more with budhist precepts and the noble path and the more I practice, the more I see the value in it.
to think that all religious guys give up free thinking is false. I used to be buddhist before I discovered the buddha teaching. I was already thinking alike, then I found how close my vision of the world was to the buddhist, hence adding the buddhist precept and beliefs has been a natural progress for me.
if someone doesnt agree with his religion intelectually and he feel he give up free thinking, his religion should be questioned. a belief system should be well understood and should accord to our values, otherwise yes religions are dangerous.
but for me, I can honestly say, that I see my religion as very helpful and is very guiding and I intelectually couldnt agree more with budhist precepts and the noble path and the more I practice, the more I see the value in it.
pill_billy
Bluelighter
thats the problem with religion in general... everyone chooses what best fits their view of the world... if any religion is right then there is no choosing based on how you feel about everything... its either right or its wrong...
im not saying hindus and buddhists dont seem to be a little more on point... but still in the end its all made up...
and anyone that tells me they know 110% for sure what happens after you die and then ask for money to keep the show rolling... idk just seems a lil sketchy to me....
murphythecat
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hi!
why talk about others? why do you care if someone may feel he know what happens after life?
Some people always talk about others and think they can understand another being and then judge him. people should only concentrate on themselves and find their own truth.
once you know and have no doubt in some values you think are necessary in life for your own happiness, you will try to find a religion that cultivate the same values.
I think there are truth in life and values that need to be ingrained otherwise happiness is impossible.
Murphy, what do you think of Theosophy which is pretty much a synthesis of all the main religions? That is, if you've ever looked into it, there's no shame in admitting no as it's quite esoteric or inacessible. Buddhism is a large part of it, otherwise the Gnostic approach to Christianity, and pretty much the mystical version of all religions. I find at the mystical or innermost level religions become more and more alike.
I don't get restricting yourself by the limits of one (especally mass) belief-system and don't think I could. But those who make blanket statements about religion, like describe all religous people as unthinking or mindless, have only looked at religion in a very superficial way like reading "Science for Dummies" and thinking you can have an informed opinion on the basis of that. Although I find this is all most want to be informed, and to be honest about it, most prefer to discuss it at that level and for everyone else to also approach it at that level (or, "You have an alternative view of one of the mass religions? That's just unfair, I'm not prepared for that").
No, but aside from making fun of someone's ignorance, this is also the level which most seem to prefer to approach Christianity, even if they're informed on religion as a whole and even can embrace some of the mass religions. But as I like to say, the way Christianity is introduced to us is almost a form of reverse psychology, or the most off-putting way possible. It's just the natural outcome for most to turn away.
I also read that only as little as 1% Western Europeans go to church these days, so statements about society being "brainwashed by religion" are a bit out-dated these days (It would have been fun when arguments like that really made sense ore reflected reality). It's more like brain-washed by the media, which also is highly anti-religious or anti-Christian in our case. Popular culture or how something is presented in the form of music, movies, and the general media after all influences 99% of how people think.
The bible holds no power these days and I'm honestly amazed by how many still talk like it does. The theology which has the most influence these days has to be contemporary "New Age" philosophy - an eclectic blend of Theosophy, Paganism, Spiritism, Eastern mysteries, and Gnostic Christianity with personal channeled material added to the mix (to be rough) but it has also been marketed to and it can lead you down many paths.
I don't get restricting yourself by the limits of one (especally mass) belief-system and don't think I could. But those who make blanket statements about religion, like describe all religous people as unthinking or mindless, have only looked at religion in a very superficial way like reading "Science for Dummies" and thinking you can have an informed opinion on the basis of that. Although I find this is all most want to be informed, and to be honest about it, most prefer to discuss it at that level and for everyone else to also approach it at that level (or, "You have an alternative view of one of the mass religions? That's just unfair, I'm not prepared for that").
No, but aside from making fun of someone's ignorance, this is also the level which most seem to prefer to approach Christianity, even if they're informed on religion as a whole and even can embrace some of the mass religions. But as I like to say, the way Christianity is introduced to us is almost a form of reverse psychology, or the most off-putting way possible. It's just the natural outcome for most to turn away.
I also read that only as little as 1% Western Europeans go to church these days, so statements about society being "brainwashed by religion" are a bit out-dated these days (It would have been fun when arguments like that really made sense ore reflected reality). It's more like brain-washed by the media, which also is highly anti-religious or anti-Christian in our case. Popular culture or how something is presented in the form of music, movies, and the general media after all influences 99% of how people think.
The bible holds no power these days and I'm honestly amazed by how many still talk like it does. The theology which has the most influence these days has to be contemporary "New Age" philosophy - an eclectic blend of Theosophy, Paganism, Spiritism, Eastern mysteries, and Gnostic Christianity with personal channeled material added to the mix (to be rough) but it has also been marketed to and it can lead you down many paths.
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murphythecat
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theosophy is a philosophical approach. a philosophical approach means thinking. I prefer to experience rather then to think.
I believe thinking is a major hindrance and a big barrier toward happiness.
I believe that meditation, which begins only when you stop the thinking process, is much more helpful to human beings. at least, it has been for me. i used to ponder a lot, and it brought me a lot of good, especially toward morality and equality, but thinking is limiting to being here right now ime.
I believe thinking is a major hindrance and a big barrier toward happiness.
I believe that meditation, which begins only when you stop the thinking process, is much more helpful to human beings. at least, it has been for me. i used to ponder a lot, and it brought me a lot of good, especially toward morality and equality, but thinking is limiting to being here right now ime.