Suppose this is a bit of a weird thread and am not posting this so someone can convert me.... I come from an atheistic background...my dad seems to be one of those militant atheists and also falls into the anti-theist category My mom is an agnostic atheist My sister is a Christian(previously agnostic) My brother-an atheist Two of my cousins: the one is more on the agnostic side and the other on the atheistic side Rest of family-a few agnostics but mostly Christian Friends-Agnostics,atheists,pagans,Christians,Spiritual but not religious,new agey,etc very eclectic I used to feel relatively sure of my opinions about religion and spirituality,however,all the different influences along the way seem to have muddled me a bit.I feel I am becoming more and more interested in spirituality as time goes by.Trying to keep an open mind and go with the flow.One side of me,I suppose its due to my background says I am being ridiculous,the other side says that I am not and the third side says that I am freaking out.Not sure which side is winning either....So please,no conversion tactics,debates,etc have had enough of them by now as you can all imagine...I am simply asking where do I go from here?I dont know what is going on with me lately...I suppose it is a journey and I should just go with the flow and see where it takes me...if anyone has gone through something similar on the site some advice would be appreciated.Just advice.Thats all.Thanx. ---------- Post added 24th Mar 2014 at 08:38 AM ---------- My post seems vague and cant help but think its because I am going through all kinds of things in my life at the moment...I suppose I should not have posted anything...I do not have as many friends as I used to and most of them are online friends...suppose this post asks too much and too little at the same time...should have never posted about something so personal either...sorry...on the other hand some links/websites to visit would be appreciated...I know a few but a fresh perspective is always interesting.Do not feel obligated to reply to this in any way though,I suppose this thread does bend the rules a little...just not sure where to from here thats all.
Well by the sounds of things the only thing you a certain of is that you REFUSE to pick a side (either find a religion or deny it completely) - please don't think I put 'refuse' in caps to suggest its a BAD thing I just wanted to emphasise it. I mean realistically, what you asking is difficult to address, because obviously we can't exactly advise anything other than 'keep doing what you're doing and see what happens' without sparking some sort of debate or making it seem like a 'conversion' tactics! I mean it's not like you can even say the merits or downsides of either path without it sounding like we are trying to persuade you one way or the other So instead I'm going to ask you something. Forget specific religions for now, because that's not going to help with this particular question (but it might come in later). You currently are 'interested in spirituality'. So I ask you this. What are you LOOKING for? Your answer could take many forms. Perhaps you're looking for something to guide you, a way to live your life on something to follow. Perhaps you're looking for comfort or answers or challenging questions. What are you LOOKING for?
Guidance,challenging questions,experience,being caught up in beauty,mystery and just being.That can all be interpreted in different ways though,through different means. ---------- Post added 24th Mar 2014 at 08:53 AM ---------- Freedom. ---------- Post added 24th Mar 2014 at 08:55 AM ---------- enlightenment ---------- Post added 24th Mar 2014 at 08:57 AM ---------- Vision ---------- Post added 24th Mar 2014 at 08:59 AM ---------- Balance.Interconnectivity.Should probably stop now. ---------- Post added 24th Mar 2014 at 09:01 AM ---------- A sense of both being unique yet the same.A feeling of belonging.A feeling of being true to myself and others. ---------- Post added 24th Mar 2014 at 09:02 AM ---------- A feeling of being lost in the feeling,lost in the moment.Does this all make sense?Awe,and wonder
I mean the thing is that on either side of this it can be argued you can get those things. Would you get those things if you looked into religion more deeply? Sure. Is it a good idea? No idea, personally I don't think so, but then I'm...I guess anti-theist, just not in any way militant about it. I can point out easily that you can get all of those without even looking into spirituality let alone religion, but then that's not necessarily right for you either. Thing is I'm struggling to ask the question I want to ask with using the phrase "You can do that without religion/spirituality", because I don't want to go against what you asked in your original post. SO if this question comes out wrong, I apologise. Of all the things you just mentioned, where do you imagine you might look and how will those help you?
People must think I am freaking weird...sorry...it was unreasonable of me to post this thread... ---------- Post added 24th Mar 2014 at 09:06 AM ---------- I am interested in aspects of eastern spirituality,pantheism and mysticism.I used to be an anti-theist which makes all of this confusing for me.
No it wasn't, and no we don't. There is nothing wrong with thinking about things like this and there certainly isn't anything wrong with asking about it. Hell, as I said I'm anti-theist doing a degree involving religion and philosophy, I do the things you seem to want to do EVERY DAY.
Makes sense ---------- Post added 24th Mar 2014 at 09:08 AM ---------- I love nature,people,discovering,mystery ---------- Post added 24th Mar 2014 at 09:12 AM ---------- Perhaps I am wanting to hold onto something because my life feels screwed up.I dont know anymore. ---------- Post added 24th Mar 2014 at 09:15 AM ---------- One of the things I love(people)is more of an interest I suppose...Awaiting a reply,but not expecting anything.Going offline a bit.Feel I need some space to think a bit.
