When I was agnostic it was quite uncomfortable. Sitting on the fence always attracts extremists from both sides – the religious missionaries (not just LDS) want you in their camp and the fanatical atheist types want to force you to agree with them. And neither can see any other point of view. They both think they are completely right, but they are so obviously wrong at the same time, and this shows in their behavior. It is hard enough to make up my own mind, but when I did, I found it in alternative spiritualities. I felt I was being pulled hither and thither all the time – as much as through my indecisive thinking as through the badly thought out arguments of my would-be persuaders.

I think I just don't like change in any direction, and when I die it shall come as a great shock to me. I think we are all energy and that soon our energy will be dispersed into the cosmos to be redistributed to other life forms. But who really knows what comes afterwards? I must admit I think I would love to float around with my loved ones, eating mangoes and drinking wine! It seems a bit far fetched but I live in hope, and my crystal readings suggest this is the case.

I'm reading Stephen Hawking at the moment for the first time. He is a lot less psychotic than Richard Dawkins. I'm not really that bright you see, and I thought quantum physics was out of my league. Even though I do believe that our personal vibrations determine our place in the universe. It is more accessible than I thought, but it doesn't really deal with the issue of negative energy as much as I'd like. Basically he makes a good case for the argument that nothing existed before the universe came into being (not even God or universal consciousness). I profoundly disagree with that, because of my experiences with other realms.

However, no matter how unlikely my cherubim and seraphim are, I either can't or won't let them go completely. My house has many effigies of the Buddha, and I possess a "Good News" Bible. I also put healing crystals around the house, dream catchers and regularly use sage smudging to cleanse my home of the negative energies of EM fields, and bad people I encounter.

You lost me at "Stephen hawking being . . . a lot less psychotic than Richard Dawkins."

Psychotic?


Psychotic; relating to, denoting, or suffering from a psychosis.
"a psychotic disturbance"


synonyms: severely mentally ill, insane, mad, certifiable, deranged, demented, of unsound mind, out of one's mind, not in one's right mind, not together, crazed, lunatic, unbalanced, unhinged, unstable, disturbed, distracted, stark mad, maniac, maniacal, manic, frenzied, raving, distraught, frantic, hysterical, delirious, mad as a hatter, mad as a March hare.



Spirituality for me includes being open and nothing is more closed than being judgmental about someone's thoughtful offerings who has studied and analyzed and offers what they have found to others.

I can't figure out if you have all the answers or none of them.

One things is for sure, bets hedging is going on and Pascal might be proud.

Elder Berry Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> One things is for sure, bets hedging is going on
> and Pascal might be proud.

Any more hedges and it would be the maze in the Shining.

All work and no play. . .

Yes, getting the right crystals is very important. That’s why Uncle Rico’s time machine didn’t work. I’m kidding, life energy uses electron spin fields to transmit information in a lossless (energy-wise) manner. Crystals can amplify them. If you believe.

The percentage of biologists identifying as Atheist is way above average. Maybe they have a reason to be offended by theism. Dawkins doesn’t do himself any favors with his overzealous sales pitch.

Everyone should believe what works for them. This life is like Star Trek’s holodeck where your dreams (or nightmares) come true. You have to think it and believe it to manifest it. That’s why the Priesthood works, but also why Mormonism is so damn stupid. You have all this at your disposal and you’re wasting it on 19th century poverty and social hangups.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/23/2019 11:05AM by babyloncansuckit.

And I've always known I "believed" different than others. I don't discuss my beliefs with others or try to get them to see my way of thinking. It doesn't matter to me what everyone else believes as long as they don't try to get me to go back to the LDS church.

+10

So you followed the church’s advice even though you knew better. Being a woman in the Mormon Church didn’t work out for you?

I actually was going inactive at the time I met my "husband." I had about had it with the singles ward and the attitude of married people thinking I had done something that made it impossible for me to find a "man." I had been proposed to by 3 nonmormon men and could had many nonmormons asking me out all the time, but the mormons didn't like me. I guess I was too independent.

So then I met my future husband and I liked him, he asked me out, we dated for about 7 months, but he kept wanting to spend time with Dennis and, if Dennis wasn't busy, then he could go with me. I finally asked him what was going on and I found out. Then the lds leaders told me he was damned if he didn't change to straight. I fell into suicidal depression over this. I had a faith crisis in a massive way.

But I didn't know what to do and, so when he decided to get married (after 18 months of hell dealing with the leaders), I married him (and i was dating someone else). I had to save him. I'm that type of person--and he knew it and so did the leaders. I'm still the one who puts up with too damn much shit.

I didn't know "better"--I didn't know what to do. In 1983, where could I turn to find out about gays? Well, they told me not to tell anyone.

My dad told me--after he figured out he is gay--that I was too intelligent to end up married to someone gay. Then he told me, "He was born that way." How many times have I said that my dad wasn't TBM?

I didn't know what to do. I was living a hell I can't begin to describe and I would NEVER EVER go through what I did again. I would end it all.

I didn't listen to my inner voice--I listened to them. My inner voice was SCREAMING RUN.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/24/2019 02:41PM by cl2.

I spent a good ten years post-mormonism going back and forth with christianity, then Buddhism, then my own personal belief in god, then back to Christianity again.
None of it ended up making any sense, and I got nowhere. Although it was a little jarring to stop hanging onto a various concoction of beliefs and prayers that I called ‘my spirituality’, it was still easy to let them go as they didn’t make sense.
Having said that, I do find that some other things are good for my wellbeing. For example: yoga, aromatherapy oils, hiking outdoors in the countryside and the mountains and in the sea, meditating about the vastness of the universe and the wonders thereof. I guess some people would call that spirituality, I call it self-care and leading a mentally and physically healthy life. And it’s separate to my interest in science and evolution, but the important thing to me is - none of it contradicts it; the confusion is gone and my mind is clear.

Wow, I was just in the garage having some very strange thoughts about the scientific and the paranormal, when I came in here and read this. You echoed a few of my thoughts.

I just had this weird thought that, really, we're just a bunch of chemicals that somehow became sentient. How did that happen? Who are we to say that some form of energies can't also become sentient, even though we can't understand any of it scientifically - yet.

My spiritual niche seems to involve spaghetti and meatballs for some odd reason.

Ah, a fellow Pastafarian. Are you part of the Olive Garden sect, or Old Spaghetti Factory sect? Or part of the IKEA Heresy? Pickled herring instead of pasta! Sacrilege, I tell you!!!

Ra-men.

Hey, THIS is the place to eat mangoes and drink wine with loved ones. That paradise is here, on Earth. If there be something afterwards, it better be a whole lot better than that!

Here’s an essay you might find useful. The first line is, “A symbol is not what it symbolises.”

BLAKE & COVERING CHERUB

https://ramhornd.blogspot.com/2012/02/blake-covering-cherub.html?m=1

Hi guys, an update. A friend of mine told me about Sober October, I may do it. I had a sober life until I stopped being Mormon!

But I still like the idea of fasting. A modern day secular fast, although far gentler than Ramadan or Lent. Or something which I have just googled called Yom Kippur. There is also Meat-free Monday, which I find enjoyable and do a few days each week.

Whatever my attitude towards religion, even the sheer physical endurance, the sense of achievement, and the fact that there is some sort of idea of solidarity with the poor and suffering in the world, means it works for me. I recently spoke to someone who had been doing Ramadan since he was seven years old, and I can't help but be impressed by this. Thanks to this, and some of the positive information I've read on Islamic history on this forum, I am starting to investigate Islam on here. Now I know from RfM that Islam helped create the modern world and is not negative.

I'm fascinated by all the different belief systems and cultures in our planet. I want to see the good in them, although I know there can be very real and obvious problems in human society and religion can often be a huge point of disagreement, resulting in violence.

But I'm fascinated by Ramadan, and want to see if I can do it - even once just to try - and to feel some connection with our Muslim brothers and sisters. I'm not sure if this attitude will be welcomed or approved. I expect it to be tough. In fact the thought terrifies me.

It sounds as if you like to pick and choose what you want to believe and what you want to participate in. That may or may not work when you try to connect with an organized religion. They tend to want you to do things their way and not just participate cafeteria style.

Got any recommendations for a decent disorganized religion?

U might enjoy Mennonite as I do, 'religion light', but a lot depends on each congregation, little Central Command, ha ha

Yeah, go it alone. That's my recommendation. LOL!

For me, going it alone is not ‘disorganized’, it’s total chaos, with a complete lack of diversity!

Hahahaha!! And here I though you had multiple personalities!

He does. The personality that denies diversity is dishonest but kindly. It's the others you have to worry about.

As EOD's daughter says, "in my father's mind are many Mansons."

elderolddog Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Got any recommendations for a decent disorganized
> religion?

Mormonism (only joking!).

Seriously, the OP is a nudist who wants to "investigate" Islam? I can't see a happy ending to that story.

Ronald McDonald Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> elderolddog Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Got any recommendations for a decent
> disorganized
> > religion?
>
> Mormonism (only joking!).
>
> Seriously, the OP is a nudist who wants to
> "investigate" Islam? I can't see a happy ending to
> that story.

I think you can take good things from many faiths. I don't think we will become Islamic, I like wine too much, but it has been good for us to learn about their culture. I have learned a lot about Islam from RfM, and all the positive aspects of it.

Can't we all get along?

I've felt overall mostly agnostic -but have to admit there is something to be said for feeling like wanting to belong to some sort of a group, and finding comfort in traditions and/or rituals.

That said, I've not felt compelled to belong to any one particular church or faith. Browsing a few of the more open minded ones, plus at times taking a look at another more traditional faith, none of them really make me want to spring into activity

But I see nothing wrong with occasionally going to either to try out new experiences, make friends, etc. usually at holidays e.g. Thksgiving & Xmas.

I spent a decade post mormonism exploring other religions. Meaning I read about them and considered them. I clung onto my faith in god too. One thing I did repeatedly was to pray endlessly about problems I had, and when that wasn’t enough, I would fast. This was not good for my health, looking back on it. There may be health benefits for fasting, but it’s not really necessary. It wasn’t good for me with my busy lifestyle that’s for sure. I’d also like to say that none of those prayers during fasting were answered either. So it really wasn’t good for me psychologically. I put my struggles with my appetite and losing too much weight down to the mindset I had and I think I was traumatised by going to extreme lengths to find a god who isn’t there.
I have felt a lot better since becoming an atheist. Cherry picking from different religions didn’t make sense and was doing my head in. I’m open to praying to the universe in some kind of scientifically-spiritual way; it’s as far as I’m willing to go. Doing yoga is also good for me and I guess that’s a spiritual thing and not a religious one. That, and music makes me happy.

"the fanatical atheist types want to force you to agree with them" ... your fantasy world.