How much does the discussion in RF teach you about your self?

[Spirit of Light]

How much does RF discussion make you realize new sides about your self? Both headline and this first question can be seen as one question.

Personally i feel i have changed a lot over the past two year or so i been in RF. And yes i do realize new sides about my self, but also new ways of handling difficult situations

 

[Secret Chief]

Nothing at all, but then I have very poor self-awareness

 

[PoetPhilosopher]

It used to. Then I realized that aiming for a higher self is kind of bottlenecked by what we are to begin with.

 

[ADigitalArtist]

I have definitely transitioned away from the phase where debating why I'm an atheist or debating evolution is of interest to me. I'm more interested in hearing about non-theist 'Eastern' religions than mainstream 'Western' theistic religions.

 

[Twilight Hue]

How much does RF discussion make you realize new sides about your self? Both headline and this first question can be seen as one question.

Personally i feel i have changed a lot over the past two year or so i been in RF. And yes i do realize new sides about my self, but also new ways of handling difficult situations

People drive me crazy.

*grin*

 

[A Vestigial Mote]

I have become far more confident in my life in all ways. I sort of used RF as a sounding board for various ideas that go against the "mainstream" (at least, I am always told that religion/belief in god/etc. is "mainstream" by theists), and the more I did so, and the more I received back nothing but insufficient answers ("just look at the trees!"), excuses ("it was only indentured servitude!") and illogical non sequiturs ("can you see air?"), the less and less the negative, passive-aggressive and even blatant insults from theists bothered me. The more I knew they had next to nothing to bring to bear from an evidentiary standpoint, the more I realized that their getting huffy and using veiled abusive language and remarks was a sign that I was far more secure in my position than they were. And this ultimately lead me to realize that words have no power unless you grant it to them. This is, I feel, one of the most freeing ideas a person can hit upon in this world. You understand and accept that to the fullest extent, and there is nothing anyone can do to you outside of actual, physical harm in order to "damage" you. And the craziest part? It's a grade-school teaching!

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names can never hurt me."

 

[Secret Chief]

People drive me crazy.

*grin*

Ah, but you already knew that from 3D land, yes?

 

[MNoBody]

 

[bobhikes]

How much does RF discussion make you realize new sides about your self? Both headline and this first question can be seen as one question.

Personally i feel i have changed a lot over the past two year or so i been in RF. And yes i do realize new sides about my self, but also new ways of handling difficult situations

Its has helped a lot very much like therapy would. The psychologist asks you pertinent questions and you give the answer. Here you pick your questions and give your answer. Every once in a while the question picked is pertinent even though you weren't aware at first.

 

[Nakosis]

How much does RF discussion make you realize new sides about your self? Both headline and this first question can be seen as one question.

Personally i feel i have changed a lot over the past two year or so i been in RF. And yes i do realize new sides about my self, but also new ways of handling difficult situations

I once went back to find the very first post I ever made on RF. I would have responded exactly the same way now as I did then. Of course, RF was not my first religious forum I was on so I suspect my current online persona was developed on the earlier forum.

However, I am constantly finding flaws in my communication skills which I am working on improving.

 

[Deidre]

RF has helped me examine my own views, and have an open mind of the views of others. Something about posting our thoughts out loud for the world to see, that gives them a life of their own. You can't take them back, but can only move forward if you're not entirely happy with what you posted the first go 'round.

 

[ChristineM]

If nothing else its been an education, its taught me more about other people and their views than about myself. Although i have realised that i should not attempt cutting sarcasm on some people. Its either a waste of time or gets reported.

And it has helped my composition and spelling skills (or lack of skills).

But as a person, the essential me. Not really, i know who i am,

 

[MNoBody]

 

[The Hammer]

How much does RF discussion make you realize new sides about your self? Both headline and this first question can be seen as one question.

Personally i feel i have changed a lot over the past two year or so i been in RF. And yes i do realize new sides about my self, but also new ways of handling difficult situations

I learn more about myself than I do other people here, lol.

 

[icehorse]

I've learned a lot about how religious people think, and as for myself, these debates and discussions have helped me refine my core values. thanks RF.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

How much does RF discussion make you realize new sides about your self? Both headline and this first question can be seen as one question.

Personally i feel i have changed a lot over the past two year or so i been in RF. And yes i do realize new sides about my self, but also new ways of handling difficult situations

Interesting question.
As with all experiences in life, RF does provide learning opportunities. I would say that some of the discussions I get here are of a different nature to the ones I have offline, so it does help round things out, to some degree.
I have an extremely busy non-RF life, work a demanding management job, play and coach sports, couple of kids and a wife, another one the way, etc, etc.
It is so busy (at least, pre-lockdown) that moments of introspection are rarer than they ideally would be. So some threads on RF give me a chance to stop and think about the less pressing things in life, and in some ways the more important things.

Other times I simply use RF as a release valve. This is generally when you'll see me post jokes threads, or whatever, since I'm not much for social media, or other time wasters. It's a weird dual role it plays for me, time waster and introspection, but perhaps the two are more usefully aligned that we sometimes think!

 

[Yerda]

I have definitely transitioned away from the phase where debating why I'm an atheist or debating evolution is of interest to me. I'm more interested in hearing about non-theist 'Eastern' religions than mainstream 'Western' theistic religions.

I feel somewhat similar. I'll talk to creationists about evolution but I've no time for arguing. If asked I'll clarify that I'm an atheist and why but I don't care for arguments for/against god's existence. I've started exploring Advaita Vedanta and it is really interesting and also the Tao Te Ching is soothing to listen to on audiobook.

 

[ADigitalArtist]

I feel somewhat similar. I'll talk to creationists about evolution but I've no time for arguing. If asked I'll clarify that I'm an atheist and why but I don't care for arguments for/against god's existence. I've started exploring Advaita Vedanta and it is really interesting and also the Tao Te Ching is soothing to listen to on audiobook.

Yeah sounds like you and I are in a similar space. Today I was thinking about listening to some Alan Watts lectures just because I hear about him so much.

 

[Mock Turtle]

How much does RF discussion make you realize new sides about your self? Both headline and this first question can be seen as one question.

Personally i feel i have changed a lot over the past two year or so i been in RF. And yes i do realize new sides about my self, but also new ways of handling difficult situations

Not a lot. There is not much to learn about myself by now (coming up to 75), and although I quite enjoy many of the threads, there is almost zero chance that I will be persuaded from my stuck-in-the-mud position so as to form any sort of religious belief. Personality-wise, I am as contented as I could be, so just cope with whatever happens in my life, even though I might prefer it to be somewhat different.