I dare to challenge myself

[F1fan]

To be honest, I finding new aspects of my being every day now.

I did not except this side of me to rise and come forth as it did.
But I am embracing it and want to see where it will lead me.

And I am secure enough to show this side of me in RF. I trust you guys to be both honest and kind. What is happening to me is new to me and I am still adapting to all of this.

As long as you're doing it because you're a punk or goth it's totally acceptable. I wore makeu back in my punk days. Looks pretty damn good. A little edge and the dark side is good for the soul.

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

To be honest, I finding new aspects of my being every day now.

I did not except this side of me to rise and come forth as it did.
But I am embracing it and want to see where it will lead me.

And I am secure enough to show this side of me in RF. I trust you guys to be both honest and kind. What is happening to me is new to me and I am still adapting to all of this.

@Seeker of White Light, this post might come as something of a surprise -- or maybe a challenge, perhaps even a threat. I've no idea how you'll receive it. But this is the one time I'm going to lay my thinking all out before you. I hope it's not too horrifying.

I've been reading your posts for quite some time, and you seem to be on a search. But it seems to me that you don't actually know what it is you are searching for. You examine this belief, or that thought, or some scriptures you don't fully grasp -- and think, "maybe that's what I want." And a while later, it seems, you find out, "no, that's not quite what I'm looking for either."

And then you start again.

I'm going to suggest to you that you start (if possible) as Rene Descartes tried to start -- put aside everything you know, everything people have been telling you, everying the scriptures fight each other about and never agree upon -- and get to a place where you can figure out who YOU are. That's number one. That's where you begin. Descartes, in his Pensees, did exactly that -- until he came to realize that there was one thing he thought he could know for certain: that because I am thinking, then I must exist! Je pense, donc je suis. Cogito, ergo Sum, I think, therefore I am.

Unfortunately, once you've got there (and it's a long journey, as Descartes will tell you), you next have to ask yourself "who am I?" "What do I know?" What do I think about what I know?" "Why do I think it?"

And while you're doing that, you have to rule out ALL of the things that you do NOT know. Somebody may have told you about the "Great Spirit," or about Isis or Zeus or Jesus or Mohammed or Marshall Applewhite or David Koresh, Jim Jones, Buddha, Ahura Mazda, Quetzalcoatl, Joseph Smith -- or hundreds of others -- but YOU do not KNOW anything about them. Nothing at all.

But what do you know?

You know you exist (we did that Descartes, a couple of paragraphs ago). You know you have feelings, you know you seem real to yourself, you know you live among others who seem to share a lot of those things with you. You know how you would like to be treated by the others around you -- so you might ask yourself if that's something you should consider when dealing with them?

Start from scratch. Do some philosophy. Think. Stop trying to find things to believe in that always -- at least so far -- seem to leave you unsatisfied.

 

[Spirit of Light]

OMG, you had a long beard! I would have also made you shave beard and grow out your hair if I was your girlfriend.
She sure seems to be a good influence on you. Do you have any photos of her?
When is the wedding?

No wedding i promised her to not use her photos online. She is a bit reserved on that part.

 

[Spirit of Light]

Congratulations to you. This is growth for you.

You took a chance listening to your girlfriend, and it is paying off for you. You took a chance with this thread and are reading encouraging and supportive words. Everybody is supportive of you and your progress. She may be why you're posting so much more openly and less defensively, and on different topics. You're finding common ground with others now. You owe it to yourself to figure out what's different about the kinds of things you post that lead to discussions that are affirming, and what leads to consternation for you. You refer to spiritual truth a lot, but isn't she your best source of that?

I'll be blunt: You know I'm not a big fan of religion. It's my opinion that you have been looking for answers in the wrong places searching these religions. I've been watching you for a few years now, and I have seen you spinning wheels with these isms that really never make your life better. Recently, that's changed. Why? In my opinion, it's because you've finally found a source of guidance that will actually make your life better, and it wasn't a book. I hope you don't mind me being so personal, but I like you - everybody does - and I'd like to see you continue to grow. I don't want you to miss what seems apparent to me.

Thank you your words are not offensive to me

 

[Spirit of Light]

@Seeker of White Light, this post might come as something of a surprise -- or maybe a challenge, perhaps even a threat. I've no idea how you'll receive it. But this is the one time I'm going to lay my thinking all out before you. I hope it's not too horrifying.

I've been reading your posts for quite some time, and you seem to be on a search. But it seems to me that you don't actually know what it is you are searching for. You examine this believe, or that thought, or some scriptures you don't fully grasp -- and think, "maybe that's what I want." And a while later, it seems, you find out, "no, that's not quite what I'm looking for either."

And then you start again.

I'm going to suggest to you that you start (if possible) as Rene Descartes tried to start -- put aside everything you know, everything people have been telling you, everying the scriptures fight each other about and never agree upon -- and get to a place where you can figure out who YOU are. That's number one. That's where you begin. Descartes, in his Pensees, did exactly that -- until he came to realize that there was one thing he thought he could know for certain: that because I am thinking, then I must exist! Je pense, donc je suis. Cogito, ergo Sum, I think, therefore I am.

Unfortunately, once you've got there (and it's a long journey, as Descartes will tell you), you next have to ask yourself "who am I?" "What do I know?" What do I think about what I know?" "Why do I think it?"

And while you're doing that, you have to rule out ALL of the things that you do NOT know. Somebody may have told you about the "Great Spirit," or about Isis or Zeus or Jesus or Mohammed or Marshall Applewhite or David Koresh, Jim Jones, Buddha, Ahura Mazda, Quetzalcoatl, Joseph Smith -- or hundreds of others -- but YOU do not KNOW anything about them. Nothing at all.

But what do you know?

You know you exist (we did that Descartes, a couple of paragraphs ago). You know you have feelings, you know you seem real to yourself, you know you live among others who seem to share a lot of those things with you. You know how you would like to be treated by the others around you -- so you might ask yourself if that's something you should consider when dealing with them?

Start from scratch. Do some philosophy. Think. Stop trying to find things to believe in that always -- at least so far -- seem to leave you unsatisfied.

Your reply mean more to me in a positive way than you can ever know Thank you for sharing