God without dogma (Jesus, ritual, morals, Moses, Earth)

[Human Koan]

Synopsis of my own personal spiritual journey thus far:
Grew up in an agnostic household.
Chose atheism after seeing a Christian household first hand (abusive father, repressively dogmatic)
Moved to full blown hedonism for a few years. Refusing traditional morals for being outdated and a hindrance. Expanding/moving my consciousness through occasional drug use.

Piqued an interest in Zen Buddhism once I heard the phrase, "The root of all suffering is desire." This concept resonated with me much more than "sin".
Our attachments to self-image, money, and sex creating suffering all around me became quite evident.

Complete humility and compassion are now my constant (never-ending) goals.

My view of god-> First Cause. Universe/time is created. Assume all is made by god. Then to see god you must only open your eyes. All things are scripture. My neighbour, my cat, my finger, my love, my curiosity. Every instant is god expressing itself through itself to itself. All things and non-things are god. There is no sin in such a world, all is permitted.. but guilt is also god, showing you right and wrong clearly without words.

Anyway this has been a description of my path thus far, I would be interested in hearing about anyone else's experiences and how they have traveled the spirit's path. (If you are a born and raised Christian, perhaps a story about a crisis of faith you've had and how you overcame it).

-Humility is like a Zen Mind, the moment you think you have it, you've lost it!

PS- I strongly recommend Seung Sahn's Dropping Ashes on the Buddha, I found it very inspiring and enlightening.

PPS- Does this question have a meaning?


How 'bout this one?

-_-

[A. Ben-Shema]

In my mid twenties (early 1970’s), while living in South Africa, I started feeling a great ‘religious’ or ‘Spiritual’ attraction. This was something new, as I had not been brought up in a ‘religious’ home. I felt a great need to discover the real meaning and purpose of life. Thus I started studying the Bible and going to various ‘Christian’ church meetings. My search for ‘The Truth’ took me to every community available, from ‘Jesus freaks’ to the Catholic Church (including such groups as Mormons, and Seventh Day Adventists, etc. etc.). However, I did not find what I was looking for in any of these groups. I continued to study the Bible, and a great longing slowly developed within me to be able to meet Jesus Himself. I had come to the conclusion that only by meeting Jesus personally could one actually KNOW the TRUTH – without any doubt. I actually wished that I could have lived during His time on Earth in order to have met him in the flesh! So I earnestly prayed to God to reveal Himself to me, to guide me, as He had to so many people I had read about in the Bible.

As I now look back at this time, I can understand what happened. How God answered my prayers, and the ‘miracle’ that occurred. It did not seem like anything very important at the time, but I was invited to attend a free ‘yoga’ class. I actually thought I was going to learn about Indian exercises – like a health club. When I arrived, I found a group of people of all ages, listening to someone talking of their experiences of meditation. Anyone who wished could take a turn and talk of their own experiences. I was very impressed with what they said, and the feelings of warmth and love that emanated from all of them. They talked also of a Spiritual Master who had initiated them, revealing a method of going within themselves and experiencing the Kingdom of God. At the end of the evening I spoke to several of these people and asked many questions. Inwardly, I was very impressed by their sincerity and wisdom, but I could not accept their idea of following a Master other than Jesus. They explained that God continually sends Divine Teachers to Earth in order to reveal the Truth to every generation of humanity. That Jesus was indeed one of these Masters, as was Krishna, Buddha, Zarathustra, Melchizedek, Moses, Mohammed, Nanak, etc. etc.

I left the meeting with my head buzzing in confusion. What they said made sense, but did it agree with the Bible? The next day I spent studying the Scriptures, and came up with a number of questions. So I returned to the ‘yoga’ meeting that night (it was a regular nightly meeting). After the meeting I asked my questions, and, to my amazement, everything was answered with simple clarity, and to my complete satisfaction. The thing I noticed most was their utter sincerity and deep love. No arguments ever took place, as everything was on a level of deep understanding and love. I had never before experienced the inner joy I was beginning to feel from talking and listening to these people. So I became a regular attendee at these meetings, and began to feel really high from the energy emanating from them.

One night, after coming home from a meeting, while lying in bed, I focussed all my attention to the area of my forehead, above and between my eyes (as someone had told me about). After some time, very suddenly, an extremely bright flash of light filled what seemed to be my entire body! The shock literally lifted me off my bed for a fraction of a second. I was amazed at what had happened. It was completely unexpected, even though I had heard about the Light of God. This experience only lasted for a fraction of a second because it was an unexpected shock, too much for my mind to comprehend. (I must make it clear that while I use the term “shock,” it was in no way a frightening or bad experience – simply because it was totally unexpected.)

To cut the story short, I was eventually initiated into the Gnosis by the Master (1973), and have since had this very same experience many times. The only difference now is that it is no longer a shock, so the experience can last for as long as the correct concentration and focus is there. The Light of God is not the only thing the Master reveals, there is also the Holy NAME (= ‘Word’ or 'Logos' of God), the Divine Sound (or ‘Voice’ of God), and the Heavenly MANNA (or ‘Nectar’ of God). These very real experiences bring about a true transformation to one’s mind – a real ‘re-birth’ into the Spirit – the genuine GNOSIS of God.

This is my story, and my experience.

[Willamena]

Welcome to the forums.

[Human Koan]

Thanks for the story Ben-Shema, that's just what I was looking for. Have you noticed any changes in your behavior since joining with this group and experiencing gnosis?

Thanks for the welcome Willamena, glad to be here

[Prometheus]

If one does not desire anything they will not suffer loss, but they will also never know the joy of achieving a goal.

I wonder how a person can love without desire.

[Victor]

Originally Posted by Human Koan

Synopsis of my own personal spiritual journey thus far:
Grew up in an agnostic household.
Chose atheism after seeing a Christian household first hand (abusive father, repressively dogmatic)

Welcome to the forum and sorry to hear about that.

Originally Posted by Human Koan

Piqued an interest in Zen Buddhism once I heard the phrase, "The root of all suffering is desire." This concept resonated with me much more than "sin".
Our attachments to self-image, money, and sex creating suffering all around me became quite evident.

Really, this is not very different from what many Christians see sin as.

Originally Posted by Human Koan

Anyway this has been a description of my path thus far, I would be interested in hearing about anyone else's experiences and how they have traveled the spirit's path. (If you are a born and raised Christian, perhaps a story about a crisis of faith you've had and how you overcame it).

Well, I believe God without dogma is impossible.

Whether he is a projection of your own doing or some elses; God by default, either binds us or we bind him. It's just the way relationshiops work, whether they are real or not.