Hello

[Crazy Bear]

Hey there!

I'm a religious studies major in university and I'm attempting to embark on a late-blooming spiritual path that I think would like to begin now.

I was baptised Christian as a child but my parents were very liberal about religion. My dad is more of an animistic pagan than anything, gettin' all close with nature and waving at trees as if they were old chums. He and I have some Native American roots, which we both identify strongly with and admire the culture/religion. Religion ultimately escaped the growing stage of my life, though, and for all of high school and a fair deal of elementary school I was nothing. Agnostic. In this period of time I can count my religious interactions on one hand. The Mormon fellows who came to my house often and tried to give me homework. The Jehovah's Witness who thought I was a lost soul and always asked for me by name at my door. And I read the Dao of Pooh and had the occasional talks with my dad.

Then I moved out and long story short I decided to do my second major in religious studies. In my first year of university I learned a lot about Dharmic religions and next semester I am registered for advanced classes on Daoism and 'Contemporary Alternative Spirituality'.

Through all the essays and academic studies I find myself craving these kinds of divine connections I learn about in my classes. I find myself wanting to be religious. And so I come to you ladies and gentlemen in hope that you might provide some help.

I've read the Daodejing, the Bible, and the Koran (English translation ) as a start. Reading is all well and good, but it's not the philosophies and the stories, it's the practice that I want. The practice that I've always felt distant from.

Thank you for listening,
Eric

 

[Revoltingest]

Greetings!

 

[Breathe]

Welcome aboard.

What practices do you need?
And what are your beliefs on certain things, such as the existence/nature of God/s, souls, the afterlife, etc?

We also have a Seekers DIR that you will appreciate. I petitioned for it.

Have you tried the Belief-o-Matic quiz? It's not a great quiz, but it will give you some idea of where to start.

 

[Gaura Priya]

Herro!

The best way to practice is to seek out actively those practioners... It really brings out religion from its conceptual, theoretical and hard theological side to its more practical one.

And the Gita has to be part of your essential reading list... if not for just mere curiosity, it will also enrich your understanding of Dharmic religions as a whole.

 

[Crazy Bear]

Welcome aboard.

What practices do you need?
And what are your beliefs on certain things, such as the existence/nature of God/s, souls, the afterlife, etc?

I'm not sure what sort of practices I need yet.

I already have a lot of what I believe figured out in my head, it's just two major details that I think are important: (1) if I believe in gods are useful/a powerful enough symbol to deserve worship and (2) how do I make religion part of my daily life? So far I've got meditation, but I haven't yet ventured into prayer or rituals or anything which, I think, is something I would like to do.

I believe in an all-pervasive force sort of like the Dao or the Holy Spirit or the Hindu Brahman and I love the idea of the Brahman-Atman relationship. Somewhere I read that realising the Dao and experiencing the Dao are two different things, and I think I've realised it, but I'm just trying to experience it.
But I can't stop there and be happy, can I? Nope. I'm definitely an animist. Every living thing (and perhaps some non-living objects and/or ideas) have spirits. I'm a firm believer of this because of personal experiences. I believe in the interconnectedness of all living things. I think animal spirits are harmonic with the 'Dao' or force or whatever, but humans are not.
Right now I think people such as the Buddha and Jesus were people who became harmonic with the universe (defined in Buddhism as Nirvana) and tried to spread the love, as it were.

I am hugely agnostic about post-death experiences. It doesn't much concern me, either.

Also antagonistic about gods. I believe in one God, which I don't have a name for but insist upon calling the Dao, it seems, for now. But I recognise the power of symbols and such so I don't know if it's worth worshipping gods such as Ganesa or Thor, etc.

We also have a Seekers DIR that you will appreciate. I petitioned for it.

Have you tried the Belief-o-Matic quiz? It's not a great quiz, but it will give you some idea of where to start.

I'll check out the Seekers DIR later, thanks!

And I have, actually, I found a link a few days ago when I was lurking here by your suggestion. 100% Unitarian Universalist or Universal Unitarian or whatever. 93 or 97 or something Liberal Quaker, and 80-some% Mahayana Buddhist. The first two just seem to be titles for 'people who do what they want' which is definitely me, and although I love Mahayana Buddhism it doesn't encompass everything I believe.

 

[Crazy Bear]

Herro!

The best way to practice is to seek out actively those practioners... It really brings out religion from its conceptual, theoretical and hard theological side to its more practical one.

And the Gita has to be part of your essential reading list... if not for just mere curiosity, it will also enrich your understanding of Dharmic religions as a whole.

I'm... A bad people person. How would you suggest finding practitioners to speak to and such? I think it would be weird if I just went to a temple/church/mosque/etc. and just walked on in.

The Gita is beautiful! Read some of it for my Hinduism class next year. It's on my book wishlist. Any translations you would recommend?

 

[Caladan]

Welcome to RF Crazy Bear!

I've read the Daodejing, the Bible, and the Koran (English translation )

But you do know that the Dao De Jing, and the Bible (whichever Bible you are refering to) are also 'English translations'?

I can relate to what you are saying. while I am an atheist I also have some pantheistic tendencies, they manifest in being a keen traveler, in other activities such as trekking the outdoors, etc.
and I suppose they always manifested themselves in the study of World religion. sometime just being a seeker is a career in itself, and you get to study much.
I think that pursuing the humanities, and in your case religious studies academically is a great practice which exposes us to plenty of relevant material.

 

[Crazy Bear]

Welcome to RF Crazy Bear!


But you do know that the Dao De Jing, and the Bible (whichever Bible you are refering to) are also 'English translations'?

Yeah, but I've never heard the claim that the Bible or the Laozi aren't valid if you read them in English. I talked to a Muslim roommate once and asked him about his religion and he said you needed to read the Koran in Arabic.

I can relate to what you are saying. while I am an atheist I also have some pantheistic tendencies, they manifest in being a keen traveler, in other activities such as trekking the outdoors, etc.
and I suppose they always manifested themselves in the study of World religion. sometime just being a seeker is a career in itself, and you get to study much.
I think that pursuing the humanities, and in your case religious studies academically is a great practice which exposes us to plenty of relevant material.

We sound similar! I quite appreciate nature, travelling, etc. I moved to Newfoundland from Ontario a year and a half ago. Touched the ocean for the first time, talk about strongest religious experience I've ever had.

 

[Breathe]

<<snip>>

I would suggest you check out:

Vai&#7779;&#7751;avism (Vi&#7779;&#7751;u-centric Hinduism)
&#346;aivism (&#346;iva-centric Hinduism)
And possibly Sikhism

These three have &#257;tman-Brahman conceptionhood, and the final one speaks of God has many 'names'.

Although to be honest, I think that Paganism may be right up your alley. Taoism (you could look at Folk Taoism, if you like) may be worth looking into, too.

As you have mentioned Native American ancestry, it may be worth looking into Native American beliefs. Sadly I don't know much about them so I can't offer much advice, but I would suggest you search up what your tribe believed in and pursue that further.

I would suggest you look into Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism, but I'm not sure if those religions would interest you.

And I have, actually, I found a link a few days ago when I was lurking here by your suggestion.

What do you mean?

100% Unitarian Universalist or Universal Unitarian or whatever. 93 or 97 or something Liberal Quaker, and 80-some% Mahayana Buddhist. The first two just seem to be titles for 'people who do what they want' which is definitely me, and although I love Mahayana Buddhism it doesn't encompass everything I believe.

I know what you mean, I totally do. I would personally suggest you avoid (for the moment), going into Buddhism with your beliefs with &#257;tman-Brahman, since a large chunk of Buddhists refuse to accept &#257;tman, Brahman, or God-concepts. You may, if you do, go the way I did and end up feeling a bit isolated and searching for community elsewhere.

I'd suggest you look past those few, though. Take the test a few times, see what comes up. It'll often be quite different.

In addition, of course, I'd suggest you read some other scriptures. If you haven't read the Bhagavad G&#299;t&#257;, and the Gur&#363; Granth S&#257;hib, I would suggest you do that as well.

Finally, if you find yourself coming on the path to something, but you're nervous - phone them up, speak to them a bit, and ask if you can visit to discuss and experience it. Note some religious groups are funny about the term 'conversion', too, so use terms like 'follow'.


If you have any questions, you can PM me any time. I know too well how frustrating isolating being a Seeker can be.

 

[Caladan]

Yeah, but I've never heard the claim that the Bible or the Laozi aren't valid if you read them in English. I talked to a Muslim roommate once and asked him about his religion and he said you needed to read the Koran in Arabic.

It is important in many cases, if we discuss the Bible or Dao De Jing in scholarly or academic matters, or in various matters of interpretations. you will notice that some debates on our forum involving the Bible also focus on mistranslations. from Hebrew to Greek or to Latin and to English.

We sound similar! I quite appreciate nature, travelling, etc. I moved to Newfoundland from Ontario a year and a half ago. Touched the ocean for the first time, talk about strongest religious experience I've ever had.

when I am in nature its when my pantheism is at its best. although it doesn't make me religious per se, it makes me understand why religion exists.

 

[Crazy Bear]

I would suggest you check out:

Vai&#7779;&#7751;avism (Vi&#7779;&#7751;u-centric Hinduism)
&#346;aivism (&#346;iva-centric Hinduism)
And possibly Sikhism

These three have &#257;tman-Brahman conceptionhood, and the final one speaks of God has many 'names'.

Although to be honest, I think that Paganism may be right up your alley. Taoism (you could look at Folk Taoism, if you like) may be worth looking into, too.

As you have mentioned Native American ancestry, it may be worth looking into Native American beliefs. Sadly I don't know much about them so I can't offer much advice, but I would suggest you search up what your tribe believed in and pursue that further.

I would suggest you look into Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism, but I'm not sure if those religions would interest you.

Thanks for the list of suggestions, I will start googling when I get the chance. For now, though, I've got classes to attend.

What do you mean?

Sorry for the poor wording! I was lurking around and you had suggested the quiz to some other poster. I clicked the link and took the quiz.

I know what you mean, I totally do. I would personally suggest you avoid (for the moment), going into Buddhism with your beliefs with &#257;tman-Brahman, since a large chunk of Buddhists refuse to accept &#257;tman, Brahman, or God-concepts. You may, if you do, go the way I did and end up feeling a bit isolated and searching for community elsewhere.

I'd suggest you look past those few, though. Take the test a few times, see what comes up. It'll often be quite different.

In addition, of course, I'd suggest you read some other scriptures. If you haven't read the Bhagavad G&#299;t&#257;, and the Gur&#363; Granth S&#257;hib, I would suggest you do that as well.

Finally, if you find yourself coming on the path to something, but you're nervous - phone them up, speak to them a bit, and ask if you can visit to discuss and experience it. Note some religious groups are funny about the term 'conversion', too, so use terms like 'follow'.


If you have any questions, you can PM me any time. I know too well how frustrating isolating being a Seeker can be.

Thanks again for the guidance! Do you have any suggestions for good Gita or Guru Granth Sahib (can't say I know of this text. Is it Sikh? I haven't studied them) translations?

 

[Crazy Bear]

It is important in many cases, if we discuss the Bible or Dao De Jing in scholarly or academic matters, or in various matters of interpretations. you will notice that some debates on our forum involving the Bible also focus on mistranslations. from Hebrew to Greek or to Latin and to English.

I agree. Learning Chinese right now so I can attempt to get a better perspective of Chinese texts. I'm a polyglot, partly because of the importance of reading religious texts in the original. I have books on Hebrew, Arabic, New Testament Greek, Old Norse, and Cree. I realise the importance as much as the next guy

when I am in nature its when my pantheism is at its best. although it doesn't make me religious per se, it makes me understand why religion exists.

That's powerful. I like you.

 

[Caladan]

I agree. Learning Chinese right now so I can attempt to get a better perspective of Chinese texts. I'm a polyglot, partly because of the importance of reading religious texts in the original. I have books on Hebrew, Arabic, New Testament Greek, Old Norse, and Cree. I realise the importance as much as the next guy

We are lucky to have a few people who are proficient in Hebrew, Greek, Latin or Arabic. so some debates can get interesting.

That's powerful. I like you.

Same here. I always find it interesting that in this age people still search for meaning and experiences which go beyond the everyday.

 

[Breathe]

Thanks for the list of suggestions, I will start googling when I get the chance. For now, though, I've got classes to attend.

Enjoy your classes.

Sorry for the poor wording! I was lurking around and you had suggested the quiz to some other poster. I clicked the link and took the quiz.

Oh, okay. Awesome.

Thanks again for the guidance! Do you have any suggestions for good Gita or Guru Granth Sahib (can't say I know of this text. Is it Sikh? I haven't studied them) translations?

Very welcome.

Gur&#363; Granth S&#257;hib is the Sikh holy text, yeah. It's a damn good read if I do say so myself. It's so highly esteemed by Sikhs, it's considered as their gur&#363;, their spiritual teacher. Unlike many religions, it's not revealed by God. It's more like Psalms than, say, the Quran.

Gur&#363; Granth S&#257;hib: Sri Granth

I have a preferred Bhagavad G&#299;t&#257; style; a truly beautiful one, if I do say so myself. It is by Swami Prabhavananda. You can read it here:

The Song of God: Swami Prabhavananda's Translation of the Bhagavad Gita

It's my preferred style because it shows the poetry behind it, and makes it look even more beautiful.

Hope this helps.

 

[Quiddity]

Welcome to the forum.