Randotidist
Slightly elevated Bonobo
Hello lovely people
I would be very interested to hear from any of you who abandoned their 'birth religion' in favour of other traditions but who then ultimately 'came home', so to speak.
Has your spiritual journey been informed and enhanced by being involved in other traditions/religions for any length of time?
[...I'm aware of reading an article about the Dalai Llama some time ago where he suggested that westerners should ideally look to their own traditions for spiritual truths and insights rather than seek other paths, which if I remember correctly, he said was often fraught with misunderstandings and confusion due to cultural differences...]
As someone who angrily rejected the predominant religion of my country of birth as a teenager, and then looked into other, mostly eastern, cultures and traditions for many years, it has come as a huge surprise (and with many self-deprecating chuckles and an almost-constant deep sense of wonder and joy regarding my travels!) that I am currently finding/gaining immense insights from the 'mystical' side of Christianity. This is a part of my 'birth religion' that I do not recall ever being shown or taught to me, which I think is a real shame.
I'm in no doubt that sitting with various meditation groups, reading traditional works from various traditions, listening to a huge amount of podcasts from various teachers of many lineages (and even pounding my hard-earned cash via Amazon books) has ultimately been of great benefit and huge influence on me.
I think without lolloping along this skittish path of mine I doubt I would have developed the 'tools' to appreciate and benefit from what was practically under my nose the whole time.
Via the interviews and book(s) of Francis Bennett (a former Trappist Monk) and Fr. Thomas Keating I have developed a great love and appreciation of the works of Meister Eckhart, St. John of The Cross , the Gospel of Thomas and John Scottus Eriugena. But it took a complete rejection of 'mainstream' modern Christianity to appreciate them (and, bizarrely, to find them!)
I feel 'settled' and 'at home' these days, but without being able to access these other beautiful traditions I doubt I'd be here now typing these words.
Hope to hear some interesting stories.
Your friend,
Paul:group:
'Panentheist', probably
I would be very interested to hear from any of you who abandoned their 'birth religion' in favour of other traditions but who then ultimately 'came home', so to speak.
Has your spiritual journey been informed and enhanced by being involved in other traditions/religions for any length of time?
[...I'm aware of reading an article about the Dalai Llama some time ago where he suggested that westerners should ideally look to their own traditions for spiritual truths and insights rather than seek other paths, which if I remember correctly, he said was often fraught with misunderstandings and confusion due to cultural differences...]
As someone who angrily rejected the predominant religion of my country of birth as a teenager, and then looked into other, mostly eastern, cultures and traditions for many years, it has come as a huge surprise (and with many self-deprecating chuckles and an almost-constant deep sense of wonder and joy regarding my travels!) that I am currently finding/gaining immense insights from the 'mystical' side of Christianity. This is a part of my 'birth religion' that I do not recall ever being shown or taught to me, which I think is a real shame.
I'm in no doubt that sitting with various meditation groups, reading traditional works from various traditions, listening to a huge amount of podcasts from various teachers of many lineages (and even pounding my hard-earned cash via Amazon books) has ultimately been of great benefit and huge influence on me.
I think without lolloping along this skittish path of mine I doubt I would have developed the 'tools' to appreciate and benefit from what was practically under my nose the whole time.
Via the interviews and book(s) of Francis Bennett (a former Trappist Monk) and Fr. Thomas Keating I have developed a great love and appreciation of the works of Meister Eckhart, St. John of The Cross , the Gospel of Thomas and John Scottus Eriugena. But it took a complete rejection of 'mainstream' modern Christianity to appreciate them (and, bizarrely, to find them!)
I feel 'settled' and 'at home' these days, but without being able to access these other beautiful traditions I doubt I'd be here now typing these words.
Hope to hear some interesting stories.
Your friend,
Paul:group:
'Panentheist', probably
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