Page 1 of 1 [ 6 posts ] 

C2V
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 7 Apr 2015
Posts: 2,666

29 Nov 2017, 8:41 am

Those of you who are religious people (whether theistic, agnostic or atheistic) how involved in your religious practices are you?
I've been inspired by a young woman at a religious group I attend who is very dedicated spiritually, and is herself progressing forward in her involvement with others and her personal practice. She's an inspiring character, and already has a lot of experience in several countries.
So I'm finally taking my own steps to be more involved and progress spiritually. It is something that I know for a fact I need to survive, and I believe the time is right for this to take a greater importance in life.
Anyone else active in their religion? What is involved in your personal religious practice?
Others, if you do have a spiritual belief but aren't particularly involved with it, why not? Would you like to be more involved? Why / why not?


_________________
Alexithymia - 147 points.
Low-Verbal.


elbowgrease
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 1 Aug 2017
Age: 38
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,505
Location: Arcata,CA

29 Nov 2017, 6:25 pm

The best I can do at the moment is recommend the John C. H. Wu edition of the Tao te ching. And either Merton or cleary's version of the art of war.
I'll try to expand on practice later, but may not get around to it.
I find taoism to be terribly reasonable.

The idea of training is to find, observe, understand, and resolve the conflict within oneself. Where I'm from we start with martial arts. How far that extends into a person's life is up to them. I suppose that is the practice part of it, attempting to do that all the time.

My current level of involvement is not what I'd prefer it to be, but I am still working on it as much as I can.



Kraichgauer
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 12 Apr 2010
Gender: Male
Posts: 47,796
Location: Spokane area, Washington state.

29 Nov 2017, 9:38 pm

My wife and I take our daughter to church, and we attend Bible study, where I admittedly argue with other church members in favor of gay rights and modern science.


_________________
-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer


techstepgenr8tion
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 6 Feb 2005
Age: 44
Gender: Male
Posts: 24,195
Location: 28th Path of Tzaddi

29 Nov 2017, 10:21 pm

I'm a ways away from being able to have a proper home oratory but I'm definitely enjoying my studies, meditations, contemplations, and occasional rituals.

As of right now I think I'm at a place where I'm processing society and career pretty heavily, I have my monograph studies and daily prayer at something of a reserve level (maybe a half hour total per day), and I'm thinking that if I summon up a good well of motivational steam I might consider A.'.A.'. somewhere in my mid 40's. A lot could change in the meantime and I could take a completely different avenue but I would like to see at least some rigorous kabbalistic/hermetic system coming back in when the time is right. The whole 'Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel' still has my interest and there are a lot of possibilities for what that could actually be but, from everything I've heard from people who are able to do the formal Abramelin retreat or who end up getting it their Dominus Liminus and Adeptus Minor grades in A.'.A.'. it sounds simultaneously rich, rewarding, and of considerable practical value.


_________________
“Love takes off the masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within. I use the word "love" here not merely in the personal sense but as a state of being, or a state of grace - not in the infantile American sense of being made happy but in the tough and universal sense of quest and daring and growth.” - James Baldwin


aghogday
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 25 Nov 2010
Age: 63
Gender: Male
Posts: 11,596

30 Nov 2017, 12:46 am

Recently, Celebrating a 7th Anniversary of Writing 2555 Days
Without Stop; Starting on this Website on ThanksGiving of
2010; yes, I practice my own Unique Ways of Religion
in Constant Writing of Poetry now in an Over
5 Million Word Plus "SonG oF mY SoUL"
in Free Verse Holy Spirit Creative
Flow; and yes, Technically too;
the Longest Long Form Poem in the
History of Humankind with what now
I Name Completing 808 MacroVerses
Currently with Two Major Chapter 'Bibles';
One Named "Nether Land Bible 2017" that
is now at the 18 Month Point of Writing at
2,258,319 Words with Another Major Chapter
Named "F Book Profile Pic Bible 2018" that is
at the 6th Month Point now Housed in the Description
Area of Facebook Profile Pics at 640,319 Words. Additionally,
"SonG oF mY SoUL" is also named Technically a Longest Bible
Also, as Three Major Bibles all-in-one; I started Writing "SonG
oF mY SoUL" on 8.18.2013; Moving Pass the 51 month Point of
Writing that. Additionally, too, in a Continuous Religious Binding Effort
With All of Nature Plus in what I name God; I not only join Hands Now With
God to Write Poetry; I also Joint Feet and the Rest of my Body in a Public
Praise Dance that now approaches 8500 Miles in the Same 51 Month Period
of Time As the Effort of "SonG oF mY soUL"; Where the Locals here in my
Metro Area tend to name me a Folk Dance Legend of Sorts; but nah, not
into Fame and Fortune; only God Free. Also, "SonG oF mY SoUL"
is Fully Illustrated with over 130K Photos as the Zen Art
of Photography is one of my Special Religious
Binding Experiences with Nature, including
all of Human Cultures. Where Yes; the
Entire Flow of Writing as Estimated
By Micro-Soft Word would take around
44,000 Pages to Print not Counting the Photos
as also Fully Accompanied by YouTube Music
Videos most of the way through too; And yes,
Strength Training is Another Zen Art where
Currently I Leg Press 1020
LBs up to 50 Repetitions
at age 57. Rave-Like Dance
at a Dance Hall, Each Week, is another
Part of the Ascendent Transcendent
Ecstatic Experience With Others in
A Trance like toward Theta
Brain Wave State of Being
as also something
I Currently Do with the
Metro College Age Folks
now for 188 Dance Weeks
as yes; I do Like Numbers
And keep Statistics on what I do
to Measure Execution of Human Potential per the
Greater Inherent Potentials of our God of Nature
Given Human Nature through what Science Names
Epigenetic/Neuroplastic Potential in Just one Lifetime unpacking
DNA when Environmental Struggle Brings the Correct Challenges
that one can also Create to Unlock Genetic Potential and Do even more
Amazing All Natural Human Feats not often 'normally' done by other now.
I attend the Catholic Church I am Raised in Religiously too, every Sunday since
September of 2013; after Recovering from 66 months with 19 Medical Disorders,
including Type Two Trigeminal Neuralgia as assessed as the Worst Pain known
To HumanKind from Wake to Sleep as a Shut-In in my Bedroom Before what
the Professional Treating me named as a Real Life Miracle too as the
Prognosis was that I would Never Recover to Live a Useful Life
Again. Well, some folks don't think what I do is very Useful
and Some Do. Even though, I don't Make any Money
off of the Art for God I do; I reckon a Title
of Folk Dance Legend is enough Reward for me;
Along with the Science assessed Fact too that Meditative
Flowing Dance and Meditation of Free Flow Writing increases the
Grey Matter in the Neo Cortex, Hippocampus, Temporo-Parietal Junction,
Cerebellum, and Actually Decreases the Grey Matter in the Amygdala Reducing
Anxiety in my Case to Nil now; yes, Fearless is quite an Achievement in Life for
Someone Diagnosed By Four Professionals With Asperger's Syndrome as My Sister
is also Diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome too. Anyway; as 'they' say, folks with
Asperger's Syndrome Do like their Rather Narrow and Restricted Interests in
Repetitive ways and mine just so Happens to Be Writing Bibles in Poetic
Free Verse Holy Spirit Flow and Dancing an Ascendent Transcendent
Ecstatic Meditative Free Verse Flow in a Marital Arts and
Ballet-Like Free Style Way of Public Dance. Yes,
Religion
is Loads
of Fun for me and
as Far as all the Old Holy
and Sacred Texts go; the Tao Te Ching
Does Rock to me as although I Enjoy Leading
the Church Choir from the Back Pew in Singing at
the Catholic Church as all this Exercise and Art
has Brought me a very powerful Singing Free
Flow Voice too in Religious Like Binding
ways with all the other Folks
Singing in Church; I pick the
Good Cop Jesus Parts out of the
New Testament and discard what I Personally
View as the Bad Cop parts of the Story Written
By Innumerable Folks in Oral Tradition and Scribes
who Copied the Text For Centuries of Mistakes and
Other "Holy Spirit of Creativity" Scribe Changes as i realize
that the Roman Catholic Version of Christianity was Developed
with the Imperialistic Goals to Spread an Empire too in Constantine
Emperor and Other Ways of Power and Status With Material Gains in making
a Likely Yogi-Like Teacher into a Soldier Sun God, from what Remains in the Gnostic
Gospels as Storied there; sort of like what we See with Politics these Days where Religion
is used as a tool to expand 'certain folks' Political Aspirations too; Even though 'some of those folks'
in their Political Efforts to Get Elected Run on an Avenue against all Verses 3 through
11 of Matthew Chapter 5 in that Introduction of the Beatitudes in that New Testament
Bible Book; A Good Story, those Verses are to me and part of what I identify
as Coming from a Character in the Bible who is Very Much a Good
Cop Jesus to me as of course Jesus is Reported as an Illiterate
Speaking Aramaic Dude where Sects of Oral Tradition Carrying
Folks For around 4 Decades divided in Beliefs as Diverse
as Believing in 1 Christian God to 12 as the Literate
Greeks Cherry Picked the Parts they liked, Decades
After the so-named Yeshua Guy was Crucified
and voila, wrote some Words Down
that Eventually were Modified
by the Roman Empire and Innumerable
Folks After that in Scribe ways too. I decided
that all the Religions to Date are rather Antiquated;
So, I Started my Bible Fresh by mostly Looking within
in Direct Conduit with God; anyway, Words Attributed
to Lao Tzu in the Tao Che Ching Come Fairly Close to
what I see within with eyes and ears of Seeing And Hearing
Well Above any Organs of Sight and Hearing; Kind of like an
All Seeing
Eye on
the top of
A Self Actualizing
Ascending Transcending
Maslow Pyramid as well as the
Agape Love as Faith at the Top of the
Fowler Pyramid of Faith as a Life Long
Evolution Toward an all Seeing Metaphor of
Human Being 'eye' now as well. Keeping in Mind of Course
now with all this Practice Writing Poetry; i Am into rather abstract
And Unconventional ways of using the old Queen Victorian Style of
English. This is about as Conventional as I get now Coming Back to
A 'Wrong Planet', Occasionally, Sort of like a Jonathan Livingston Seagull
who had no choice to Advance Higher in Flight than to go out on Wings of
Seagull
lone
allone with
God; anyway,
when one makes All In
Life Holy and Sacred Full of
Meaning and Purpose; really there is
not much left in this all of life Binding way
of Religion but to Bask in the LiGhT of the
Kingdom of Heaven within alWays at hand
in this Generation then and now. 'Funny', How
Most Christians that I know are Still Waiting For a Dirt Nap;
When the Jesus Dude per all the Folks that Wrote the Story
Clearly Indicate that Heaven is an experience one Seeks and
Finds within. True, though, in my experience, now at least; a whole
Lot of Folks Still don't Get the Kind of Poetry Free verse that comes from
Holy Spirit Creative Flow now; as I sure didn't for Decades either; Soul Evolves
when enough Challenge of DaRK Comes to Make Heaven Finally now. Anyway,
the First
Step
is alWays
Fearless Unconditional
Love in Agape way as well
as the last step as First step
again. Some Folks Write Bibles;
Other Folks Dance; Still Others
Sing Love and Do the 'Warrior thingie too.
Who knows maybe i'M special as i do it all in John 14:12
ways too but True I am no Greater than less than a Grain of Sand
as all that is
means
just
that all that is God
integral as all in all;
No Separation all ToGeThER NoW.

Have a Nice Day With SMiLes; Nice to Fly through on The Wings of God (Love)..:)


_________________
KATiE MiA FredericK!iI

Gravatar is one of the coolest things ever!! !

http://en.gravatar.com/katiemiafrederick


aghogday
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 25 Nov 2010
Age: 63
Gender: Male
Posts: 11,596

01 Dec 2017, 1:43 pm

i Suppose it 'might' make more sense if i give a 'literal' example; yes, only A sample..:)

Jordan Peterson gets most of what i do, at least..:)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X791IzOwt3Q

"And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our soul.
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold.
And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last.
When all are one and one is all
To be a rock and not to roll."

-Led Zeppelin
Stairway to Heaven

SMiLes mY FriEnd Brian
to me at least it's just a little
Scary that some folks
named
this
Song Devil
Worship for
Fear of the dARk..
Truly a Classic it is
and as we already know now..
the Older Bible is full of stories
from old to new not only about
the LiGht of Love and Hope but
the Shadow of Fear and Hate too..
otherWise
the Entire
Book
would be A Lie
yes.. both books
and sure the Koran
as Similar Book too..
but neither are truly lies..
for they both address both
pArts of Human Nature Dark
Through LiGHT as after all in some
pArts the Story of Jesus speaks to the other
Side of
God's
HUman
Nature
too.. yes..
the Serpent..
the Reptile Brain
of Will and Strength
and Reproduction that
Values Life and Survival
Overall All PlAtitudes of Life
that Written Words of Language
And Culture and Organized Structure
of Religion BRings.. yes.. tHeRE is a Piper
within that sings two songs.. one of Divine
Masculine Will and Strength aLong with the
Drive to Mate and Reproduce and the
Lady of Light
who and
that is
the Divine
Feminine
Grace and Love
Most responsible for
all of the Human Species
and other Mammalian Social
Animal Success for it's True We
WiLL NoT
step
up
the
Ladder
more until
We aLL hOLD
Hands toGEThER..
SMiLes my FriEnd for DARk
ShaDows have a Dance and Song
WortH eSpreSSinG too.. the American Indian
made sure that all the young traveled on a Vision
Quest to Face tHeir Shadows to become more fully
Alive
as Wild
and Free
Children of
'The Great Spirit'
that and who lives far
Beyond the Covers of Books
with ends that have forgotten the
means of who and what we even are as LiFE..
The DArk
Side Lives
too.. to dress it
and hide it and to pretend
it doesn't exist leads to Skirmishes
Battles and World War III.. Evil Exists
for those who do not do not undress their
Shadow and Dance and Sing with it first..
Could take
Several
Decades
to come out
but the Shadow
kNows beyond Human Words..
Our Shadow is the source of all Survival
As the Reptilian Brain is still first and last..
Unless we are willing to Dance and Sing our Dragon Free
we
will
always
now be
imprisoned by our shadow..
And for those who scoff at the
Primitive aspect of the Shadow one
need look no further than Trump to See the
Power of the Shadow.. Nah.. Folks no longer
see Hitler
so
he's
come again..
And sure people will
remember for a decade
or so and he will come again..
it's up to us to understand
he lives
in us
too
otherWise
now more folks could see him now..
Anyway.. when i say i'm writing a Bible
it's more than a metaphor.. i'm just literally doing
what's been done throughout all of human written history..
in all Art And as far as my adult restricted links go.. i would be a FooL's
SoUL For
Real iF
i hid my
shadow
in a Bible..
For it surely exists
As tradition in the older ones too..
For those who are among the ones
who have the least eyes and ears
at most
are
the one's
who fAil
to Recognize
God's Shadow in them..
Better to understand the DEvil
'you' finally come to kNow..
And
Moderate
As LiVinG Love
Finally Fully Fearless
Wild and Free Standing
Tall as God's Lion HeaRT
oF Courage
and Kind
Within for Life..
Jordan Peterson addresses this
still "Politically Incorrect" Western
Civilization Dilemma now
as Truly
the
Fall of
Humanity
is the Hidden
Shadow that and
who no longer comes out for
Rough and Tumble Peace and Harmony.. AS HumanisticAlly Directed PLay..
Sure.. After Trump Goes WiLL have thaT aGain God Willing of Love within..
Big Big Big Mistake Cutting Physical Education and the Arts out of School..
Big Big Big
Mistake
to
Lose a SouL Complete..
YeaH iMagine a World.. NoW
Where Everyone Practices Free Style
Martial Arts FoR A Much Stronger Love that Lasts..
Wait! Even some Corporations in the Far East
Do it before Work.. in Tai Chi ways of BeinG..
More Ocean
WHoLE..
NoW
not
hard
to figure
out who
WiLL Rule the World Next as
Balance Always Conquers WithiN Free..
FReED Unless the Folks in the Far East Go
to Star Bucks for an Expensive Coffee NoW
to
Substitute
For Inner Chi/Ki/Qi/Ka Holy Spirit
Force.. Yes.. Free Energy within unlimited.. NoW
True.. my FriEnd.. 'overHear' We've Forgotten How to LiVE Sun Love Force..
And no doubt in pArt at lEast why what i do appeals more to folks over tHeRE..
in some ways.. i'm just anotHeR ET heAR.. heHe.. WitH WinGs oF AiR AnD WateR
SPRinkLeD WitH
FirE AnD EartH
but sure
even
the older
Bible addresses
why on that.. heHe.. STiLL NoW..
what was the name of that other Song.. i think
i'm turning Japanese.. i think i'm turning Japanese
Samurai's Ninja's
iN Mythology
HouSinG
VeHicles and
VessELs of
TruTh and
LiGht Regulating
Emotions and
Integrating
Senses as
All that Jazz..
And many many
World Teachers as
Whitman Sings as
the Priests
of the
Cosmos
BRinG iT aLL BacK aGaiN Beat GoeS oN..
Pipers Dancing and Singing within again more..
Oh yeah.. and by the way tHeRe's "nothing" that
deserves tears more than an Irish Man from
Ireland without the Ire.. My Irish Grandfather
X-Catholic Priest's Mother with Sir Name
Rainsford Claim to
Fame as
A Direct
Descendent
of the Rainsford's
who helped stARt
the Guinness Beer Operations..
as he was Black Sheeped from
His Irish Family and Shadowed
out of Reality tHere when
He Broke from the
Family's Catholic
Tradition then
And did the
Sin of Marriage
For a Priestly Collared 'normal' man...
That Family reached out to us for a Family
Reunion that we were not able to attend in Ireland
for the Illness of my Mother overall.. and speaking of
who thinks who is crazy i understand through the grapevine
of my sister that it offended their 'sensibilities' that i wore my
Sunglasses
at
night..
of course they've
never been to hell
with a crucifixion in their
right eye and ear.. yes.. a worse
than crucifixion pain as assessed by
Science for 66 months from wake to sleep..
i already intuited that would happen before i said
no i wouldn't
go for it's
sad
that some
folks believe that
no one else can carry
a larger cross or write a
more expansive bible lone
in just one lifetime now..
after all by the
Book
John
14:12 gives me full
authority to do everything
i do fully naked and luke hot as well..
i read the whole bible and enjoy every last word and first word..
i don't cherry pick it and hide its/my shadow and or the words in A Book..
no one's taken me up on the challenge to prove me incorrect either..
i wish
they
could/
would
for i'M
guesSing
somEone
could do more
For i would Love to
lEarn somEthing new even better for God Speed..
but it's True iN LiGHT2.. i usuAlly lEarn that from
A Cat and Dog Most..
Or
A
Squirrel
GaTHeRinG
aNotHeR
Sun
FloWeR SeeD For REAL...
Anyway.. Regarding the Video..
Jordan Peterson is a Pretty
Cool Dude but he seriously
in my opinion needs to Curb
A Bit Being
so Anal
About Refusing
to call folks what they wanna be called.. by New Public Regulations..
(Refusing New Transgender Pronouns in Toronto Teaching at Public University)
Verily SpeaKinG After all is said and done it's Human IDentity Freed that counts most..
but i'm surely
not gonna
throw
his
LiGHT
Baby out
for a little
DARk Shadow
Water i for one still see hehe.. speaking of..
Oh yeah.. and back to crucifixions.. even my
Own Mother Refused to Believe i had Suffered
Worse than Jesus by the Word of Science.. in fAct
She Bought a Book To Prove me Wrong as she handed
Me the Book that was soley and souly dedicated to
Express the Deep Suffering in that story in Misery
way for me to Read it before she did and the page
her finger was randomly and synchronistically
inserted.. surely to me.. had the Medical
Literature that
Openly
clearly
stated
that Trigeminal
Neuralgia was the
only real life Torture
Worse than Crucifixion
then.. But Still as Much as She
Loved me she believed what someone
told her about another man who had done
less in regard
of a
Story
of JOB
in real life..
and nah.. i wasn't
just bragging i was
witnessing for Human
Potential in Shadow of
DARk too for one
day to
inspire
someone who goes
to even a deeper hell
than me as i'M sure many
folks have done for hell is
a difficult place to put in any words now..
later she suggested suddenly i was demon
possessed as my words were not my inner voice..
but that was shortly before she fell to Bleeding Brain
Cancer and for me at least i would never hate
anyone for any reason at all.. No one aT aLL
no one.. now.. Not even A DEvil InCarNate..
as i've already livedevil before yes Been A
Devil evilive Incarnate and wished
The eNtire UniVerse allone
away too weak
to kill myself
in pain and
numb
beyond
all words
of measure
alone so
who am
i to Judge..
But it's True
some nows
you have
to stand up
to the ones you
Love To hELp Move the Species as wHoLe Toward liGht..
Out of Cave Art That too my friEnd iS A Value oF ShaDow LiGHt..:)

“I’d rather be a warrior in a garden than a gardener in a war.”

-Sun Tzu

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fesSvXKxYd0


_________________
KATiE MiA FredericK!iI

Gravatar is one of the coolest things ever!! !

http://en.gravatar.com/katiemiafrederick