Change is difficult (ritual, rejecting, Earth, beliefs, choice)

[Willamena]

Originally Posted by Kungfuzed

Well, here I am. A complete Atheist. Now what? By no means do I consider this to be the end of my spiritual journey through life. Should I just kick back and let life take me wherever I end up? Should I actively pursue something completely different? Or should I put all my energy into solidifying my beliefs so I can be impervious to all those who would deceive me? One thing that scares me is to reach a point where I stagnate. What if I stop learning because I already know everything? It's happened before. Believe it or not I used to know everything and omniscience is quite overrated.

My recommendation would be to put your energy into being you. The rest should follow, naturally.

Originally Posted by Kungfuzed

Recently, someone in the forum suggested I try to see things a little differently, just to pretend as a thought experiment. All I'm doing is to try to see something from someone else's perspective - to take how they see the world and pretend it is my own belief, if only for a few minuets. I find this to be much more easier said than done. First of all, my imagination is pathetic. It takes a lot of energy just to visualize how someone else sees something. At the same time I also have to fight off my instinctual critical thinking that immediately attacks the new idea as if it were a virus invading my body. When I tried to turn my critical thinking off it feels like I'm standing on the edge of a beam on a high building and I grab on to the girder and won't let go for anything. Why do I hold on to my beliefs so tightly? How will I ever learn if I'm wrong if I never seriously consider it? I have such a hard time putting my own beliefs aside long enough to really understand and experience what someone else is describing to me. When you are presented with a new idea are you able to seriously consider it's validity without your mental antivirus software telling you "I already know what is true so if this doesn't line up with it I'm going to shoot it down" ? Can you make yourself really believe something that you currently don't believe, even just for a few minuets?

It does sound like you're trying to warp yourself (you as your beliefs) into a particular form, and I wouldn't expect that to be easy. Pretending allows one to circumvent the shape-changing - but belief is always true to oneself, so it's always going to be pretending to try to see another's viewpoint.

It is possible, with more information, to change a point of view. The library and Internet provide information (library's generally a more reliable source), and talking with people, too. WIth information can come new understanding, and with that we can find our beliefs have changed.

The suggestion about philosophy was a good one for a couple of reasons. One, philosophy is the practice of asking "why?" and that's just what you're doing. You've already started a philsoophical journey with that question. When you read about philosophy in books, you'll read about people's methods of answering those questions. You don't have to trust their answers to be the right ones, but amongst all the answers they came up with, you will certainly find one that resonates with you, that "makes sense." (Maybe even, ideally, a bit with each of them.)

Secondly, it can help you find the words to define your beliefs. I found that to be important, for me. If you have the right words and their corresponding ideas at hand, the critical thinking will work constructively to help build the idea of 'you'.

[Willamena]

Originally Posted by Kungfuzed

When you are presented with a new idea are you able to seriously consider it's validity without your mental antivirus software telling you "I already know what is true so if this doesn't line up with it I'm going to shoot it down" ?

I know I can't, I shoot down ideas all the time; but if I read it a dozen times, I can find a way to reply to it from my own beliefs without verbally 'shooting' the other person down, and that's a good thing.

[Jeremiah]

Originally Posted by Kungfuzed

I daydream alot without even realizing it.

I do the same thing. So much so that I miss what people are saying when they are talking to me, and it does make books hard to read.

But my theory is to get something in my brain, so I have something constructive to daydream about.


Here's a short easy read

http://www.neatorama.com/2007/02/06/...al-quotations/