Ask me about my Spiritual Journey

[Samael_Khan]

Hi guys,

I have been on and off RF for a while so think I should reintroduce myself via interrogation.

My spiritual background:

I was raised Catholic. I defected after my first Holy Communion.

I became an atheist. I questioned my stance after watching Total Onslaught by Walter Veith.

I researched religions to find truth. I became convinced that the Jehovah's Witnesses had the truth.

I was baptised as a Jehovahs Witness at 22. I defected 7 years later via disassociation.

I avoided religion for about 3 years.

I then gradually started my new religious journey.

I am currently seeking spiritual experiences, and am gradually being drawn to exploring Hinduism and Taoism.

Ask me anything about my journey. I am confident that you guys will help me self reflect and clarify and critique my thoughts and views.

 

[Bthoth]

Hi guys,

I have been on and off RF for a while so think I should reintroduce myself via interrogation.

My spiritual background:

I was raised Catholic. I defected after my first Holy Communion.

I became an atheist. I questioned my stance after watching Total Onslaught by Walter Veith.

I researched religions to find truth. I became convinced that the Jehovah's Witnesses had the truth.

I was baptised as a Jehovahs Witness at 22. I defected 7 years later via disassociation.

I avoided religion for about 3 years.

I then gradually started my new religious journey.

I am currently seeking spiritual experiences, and am gradually being drawn to exploring Hinduism and Taoism.

Ask me anything about my journey. I am confident that you guys will help me self reflect and clarify and critique my thoughts and views.

Evolving with knowledge.


As you learn, you grow with your importance of what is true has been developing.

Cudos!

Knowledge is evolving and mankind is learning too.

Makes sense to learn and maintain the capability of developing.

 

[Vinayaka]

Hi guys,

I have been on and off RF for a while so think I should reintroduce myself via interrogation.

My spiritual background:

I was raised Catholic. I defected after my first Holy Communion.

I became an atheist. I questioned my stance after watching Total Onslaught by Walter Veith.

I researched religions to find truth. I became convinced that the Jehovah's Witnesses had the truth.

I was baptised as a Jehovahs Witness at 22. I defected 7 years later via disassociation.

I avoided religion for about 3 years.

I then gradually started my new religious journey.

I am currently seeking spiritual experiences, and am gradually being drawn to exploring Hinduism and Taoism.

Ask me anything about my journey. I am confident that you guys will help me self reflect and clarify and critique my thoughts and views.

Now that's quite the mess you have to entangle there. What caught your attention about Hinduism and Taoism?

 

[Samael_Khan]

Evolving with knowledge.


As you learn, you grow with your importance of what is true has been developing.

Cudos!

Knowledge is evolving and mankind is learning too.

Makes sense to learn and maintain the capability of developing.

Thanks!

I totally agree with you here.

When I was younger i claimed knowledge of knowing absolute truth out of arrogance. Now I am wiser and realise that i am too limited in my perception to know such a thing. All I can do is be a seeker and constantly evolve.

 

[Secret Chief]

Hinduism and Taoism

Where's you at with these then?

 

[Bthoth]

Thanks!

I totally agree with you here.

When I was younger i claimed knowledge of knowing absolute truth out of arrogance. Now I am wiser and realise that i am too limited in my perception to know such a thing. All I can do is be a seeker and constantly evolve.

That final understanding, is evidence of learning by itself.

The more a person learns the greater humility of how little 'we' actually know.

solid.

 

[Samael_Khan]

Now that's quite the mess you have to entangle there. What caught your attention about Hinduism and Taoism?

Quite a mess haha!!!

So I knew quite the basics about Hinduism and Taoism when I was a teenager already. But nothing quite detailed.

Hinduism caught my attention now because studying Ancient Egyptian religion turned my view of multiple god religions on its head. I realised how nuanced it could be. This lead me to looking into the nature of gods in hinduism, which turned out to be quite nuanced so i explored more. The concepts of Karma, the yugas, reincarnation and Dharma drew me in even more on an intellectual level. And the real clincher was reading the Bhagavat Gita which spoke to my soul. Also, and extremely important to me, Hinduism doesnt pressure me to belief anything to conform to a dogma, so I can be true to myself which I think is only logical, and my journey can develop at its own pace. Something which I couldnt do before as a Christian.

My fascination with Taoism is related to life experience and how it compliments where i currently stand in life. I have always felt that my overthinking hinders me greatly in life. There is always a dense of an inner self that my overthinking contradicts and when I am in tune with that true self I am at peace and things go well for me. Even though in Hinduism I am taught about the Atman, the concept of the Tao feels like a closer representation to that feeling of self. Also, in the absence of the NT writings, such as Pauls letters, I began to feel fundamentally lost, and I find the Tao te Ching to be a superior replacement and particularly catered to my issues and current level of spiritual growth.

 

[Samael_Khan]

Where's you at with these then?

I have read the Bhagavat Gita and the Tao te Ching. I am learning practices which seem to me to help me connect with the Atman or Tao, such as meditation. I am going to try out a Tai Chi class tomorrow. But I dont even think I am at the starting line of either religion because I feel like a lost child who is just finding the bread crumbs.

 

[Samael_Khan]

That final understanding, is evidence of learning by itself.

The more a person learns the greater humility of how little 'we' actually know.

solid.

Thanks. And it is quite a humbling revelation. Especially for someone like me who is so ego centric.

 

[Left Coast]

Hi guys,

I have been on and off RF for a while so think I should reintroduce myself via interrogation.

My spiritual background:

I was raised Catholic. I defected after my first Holy Communion.

I became an atheist. I questioned my stance after watching Total Onslaught by Walter Veith.

I researched religions to find truth. I became convinced that the Jehovah's Witnesses had the truth.

I was baptised as a Jehovahs Witness at 22. I defected 7 years later via disassociation.

I avoided religion for about 3 years.

I then gradually started my new religious journey.

I am currently seeking spiritual experiences, and am gradually being drawn to exploring Hinduism and Taoism.

Ask me anything about my journey. I am confident that you guys will help me self reflect and clarify and critique my thoughts and views.

How do your friends and family feel about your spiritual journey? Are they still Catholic?

 

[Bthoth]

Thanks. And it is quite a humbling revelation. Especially for someone like me who is so ego centric.

Exactly. Each of us have an ego a byproduct of self preservation and having choice (free will).

When removing the 'self' as the priority of determining what is true, then the humility of how little we know stands out. Learning 'how it works' or 'the way' (tao) becomes the natural path because then a person never has to know it all.

 

[Secret Chief]

dense

or perhaps sense

 

[Samael_Khan]

How do your friends and family feel about your spiritual journey? Are they still Catholic?

I have quite a diverse group of people in my life.

My dad is catholic and my mom is anglican. They never pressured me on which religion to join as they believe in god but they care about the principles rather than dogma. So they dont go to church because they dont like the corruption. They leave me to my devices, to the extent that only after I left the JWs did they express their dislike of me becoming one. My mom though missed the biblical talks we had. And they sometimes wished I went back there a few times because I became rude to them sometimes and the JWs, for all their problems, try to teach people how to be decent human beings, and constantly reminded us.

My moms distant cousin, who is a JW, thinks I have been eating from Satans table.

All my JW friends shunned me besides one, who I distanced myself from because if he kept in contact with me he would probably be disfellowshipped. And he needed the faith.

One of my close friends played a key role in questioning my beliefs which helped me leave the JWs. He is a Message believer and always jokes that instead of converting me to true christianity he made me an atheist. But we still talk about the bible in good faith and are great friends. I havent spoken to him much about Hinduism or Taoism.

Another close friend is muslim and he is glad I left a cult. He enjoys hearing about my journey. We often discuss spirituality.

Another friend at work discusses these things with me all the time and she is also seeking. I teach her about christianity and other religions.

My girlfriend reads me like a book. She is congolese, so her outlook on spirituality is quite different to what we here are used to. She also studied psychology so she is key in helping me understand that I was still searching when i told myself I was not. She is wary of speaking to me about spiritual things because she says i still have that "eurocentric christian argumentative attitude" that i left behind. But she helps me to grow and is opening my mind quite a lot to african spirituality too.

 

[Samael_Khan]

Exactly. Each of us have an ego a byproduct of self preservation and having choice (free will).

When removing the 'self' as the priority of determining what is true, then the humility of how little we know stands out. Learning 'how it works' or 'the way' (tao) becomes the natural path because then a person never has to know it all.

Exactly. And Christianity has always made me aware of my ego. But the. Replaced ut with group ego. Hinduism and Taoism actually give me tools to overcome it which I am greatful for. For me following the Tao makes perfect sense.

 

[Left Coast]

One of my close friends played a key role in questioning my beliefs which helped me leave the JWs. He is a Message believer and always jokes that instead of converting me to true christianity he made me an atheist. But we still talk about the bible in good faith and are great friends. I havent spoken to him much about Hinduism or Taoism.

Thank you for sharing!

What is a Message believer? I've never heard of that. Some kind of Christian I'm assuming?

 

[Samael_Khan]

or perhaps sense

Yes! Sense indeed.

 

[Samael_Khan]

Thank you for sharing!

What is a Message believer? I've never heard of that. Some kind of Christian I'm assuming?

They are a denominational christian sect.

They believe that William Branham (a key figure in the pentecostal movement and possibly the father of it) was a prophet of God.

They dont have a central authority which has led to many cults developing, such as Jehovah Roscoe's cult.

My friend doesnt belong to the cult version though. Or at least they dont practice it. Learning from his practice of it, they dont force or pressure people in believing or doing certain things, but they do preach fundamentalist style christianity. Each should just do what their current level of spiritual development tells them to do. I do believe that my friends, and possibly his groups, idea of the nature of God, Jesus and the holy spirit is the most fool proof I have found though.

 

[Bthoth]

Exactly. And Christianity has always made me aware of my ego. But the. Replaced ut with group ego. Hinduism and Taoism actually give me tools to overcome it which I am greatful for. For me following the Tao makes perfect sense.

Many religious opinion makers will seek a flaw in a person whereas it appears that you are trying to learn beyond the biased.

 

[Samael_Khan]

Many religious opinion makers will seek a flaw in a person whereas it appears that you are trying to learn beyond the biased.

I am just being honest thats all.

Another fundamental reality I have learnt is that nothing is black and white. Nuance pervades everything. There is good in bad and bad in good, and even the duality of good and evil is laziness on the part of humans to serve our own agenda.

 

[Bthoth]

I am just being honest thats all.

Another fundamental reality I have learnt is that nothing is black and white. Nuance pervades everything. There is good in bad and bad in good, and even the duality of good and evil is laziness on the part of humans to serve our own agenda.

Great!

I know, the black and white facts/foundations have been left open. Exactly as in the good/evil abstracts that are still open for interpretations.