I don't have the language skills needed.

[Unveiled Artist]

Don't believe in my English? What does that mean?

I don't think it's your English skills that causes difficulty in describing religious concepts. I think you're concerned what others say and have preexpectations that when getting the same question you reply as though you expect nothing new.

In general, I think your English skills are fine just there are other reasons it's hard for you to articulate beliefs not so much cause of language.

 

[JustGeorge]

Yes, mostly all RF members I speak with/discuss with on a daily basis there not a problem at all. Only a few seem to zapp my energy every single time and they don't even know they doing it.

I must build a spiritual wall to protect my self from those poopy folks

You can ignore without using the ignore function, too. Just because one makes a post, I'm not obligated to respond, even if they quote me. There are a couple of people that do that to me here; I might roll my eyes in person, but feel no need to engage.

As far as building a spiritual wall, I wouldn't say its worth all that, but it definitely is good practice(spiritual or mundane) to train oneself not to react to things that don't require reaction. If there's a fire, move, but if someone has made a rude comment towards me, it probably does not require a response. And once you move past responding, you can work on moving past caring about it. Why should I care if someone makes a rude remark? They're the one with the problem(being rude), not me.

And I'm sure I've said it before, but chose wisely what forum you make your posts in. Don't want to argue over your spirituality? Don't put it in debates, 'cause then it will happen. There's also a 'theist only' private forum for those who don't want to argue about whether or not God exists(and likewise one for atheists who don't want to hear scripture thrown in their faces).

But try not to stress too much... just get out your spiritual toilet paper and use it to wipe those poopy people from your realm of influence.

 

[Spirit of Light]

I don't think it's your English skills that causes difficulty in describing religious concepts. I think you're concerned what others say and gave preexpectations that when getting the sane question you reply as though you expect nothing new.

In general, I think your English skills are fine just there are other reasons it's hard for you to articulate beliefs not so much cause of language.

I don't fear, / concerned what other say or think about me or what I write about
What I do struggle to understand is when I say "it is my understanding" and some people keep saying it's wrong, or stupid just because they them self do not believe it to be so.
My posting in RF is only my own belief, and understand of spiritual life. So no I can not answer every single thing about how and why.
And like this morning I had used up every grain of energy to try to explain"my own belief" I do not try to convince anyone else. I just answer questions

 

[JustGeorge]

I don't fear, / concerned what other say or think about me or what I write about
What I do struggle to understand is when I say "it is my understanding" and some people keep saying it's wrong, or stupid just because they them self do not believe it to be so.
My posting in RF is only my own belief, and understand of spiritual life. So no I can not answer every single thing about how and why.
And like this morning I had used up every grain of energy to try to explain"my own belief" I do not try to convince anyone else. I just answer questions

I've noticed the fastest way to end some of that is to stop engaging.

"This is your spiritual experience? But! Its wrong, 'cause its this thing, and could be this other thing, and furthermore, you should be following my worldview, which is the only logical one out there!"

To respond with, "well, you're entitled to your opinion" and moving on without further discussion usually stops it.

 

[Hold]

Sometimes my husband plays music too loudly, and I ask him to turn it down. He'll ask why, because I like the song, and I tell him its so loud I can't hear it. He thinks I'm nuts, of course, butI don't know of any other way to explain it. Curious if others struggled with it.

I have a family member who loves music and is well informed in classical music and it's history and literally listens to his eclectic choice for the day, everyday. He is completely unaware that the volume is adjustable. Thankful we have a single home or I would expect neighbors to choke him...

 

[Spirit of Light]

I've noticed the fastest way to end some of that is to stop engaging.

"This is your spiritual experience? But! Its wrong, 'cause its this thing, and could be this other thing, and furthermore, you should be following my worldview, which is the only logical one out there!"

To respond with, "well, you're entitled to your opinion" and moving on without further discussion usually stops it.

In most cases yes but a few will never stop, they just change tactics

 

[JustGeorge]

In most cases yes but a few will never stop, they just change tactics

And for those, there are a handful of options. You could:

Ignore them
Moon them
Make friendly jokes
Ask what's it to them

And I'm sure there are many more things one can think of that you could do without allowing your energy to be drained!

 

[Spirit of Light]

And for those, there are a handful of options. You could:

Ignore them
Moon them
Make friendly jokes
Ask what's it to them

And I'm sure there are many more things one can think of that you could do without allowing your energy to be drained!

I did actually block a few today, to hopefully be able to regain my inner energy.

 

[Hold]

In most cases yes but a few will never stop, they just change tactics

I have never found you to do poorly in any exchange with a member. However if this subject bothers you while off line I would simply refuse to interact with the troublesome member. Not recognizing someone can send the message more than words can...imo

 

[Spirit of Light]

I have never found you to do poorly in any exchange with a member. However if this subject bothers you while off line I would simply refuse to interact with the troublesome member. Not recognizing someone can send the message more than words can...imo

I know I should do as you describe, but for some reason I feel guilty if I don't answer to people's question

 

[sun rise]

i struggle since i am not at the moment able to understand why "my thoughts" isnt seen the way i do it.

Just the other day my wife said something about getting dressed that I interpreted as her telling me to get ready as well. She laughed and said I missed it - she was commenting on our dynamics about getting ready to go out. We've been married for over 50 years and we're still working on getting better at understanding each other.

Her use of language is often not about the literal facts but a commentary about the nature of how we have related to each other over time.

 

[sun rise]

I know I should do as you describe, but for some reason I feel guilty if I don't answer to people's question

"for some reason" struck me as meaningful. I wonder what might happen if you looked within and asked yourself what that reason is.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Basically, you are doing fine in RF, and most people here like you. Just take care of yourself. Check with employment agencies as to what job might suit you. Do the blocks regularly. Go slow on starting topics. If you start one, there will be comments. You can, however, participate in the one's already there. You see, being the OP is inviting comments, which you then have to answer. I rarely start topics. So, I can abandon a topic easily.

 

[Spirit of Light]

"for some reason" struck me as meaningful. I wonder what might happen if you looked within and asked yourself what that reason is.

Strange that you asked this today, because I did ask Allah for advice today about exactly that question.
What happens was that this answer come back.

Give your answer to the ability you have been given through your spiritual practice, and let the receiver take what they see fit to them, and leave it with that. Don't try to be the knower, just be.

 

[Spirit of Light]

Basically, you are doing fine in RF, and most people here like you. Just take care of yourself. Check with employment agencies as to what job might suit you. Do the blocks regularly. Go slow on starting topics. If you start one, there will be comments. You can, however, participate in the one's already there. You see, being the OP is inviting comments, which you then have to answer. I rarely start topics. So, I can abandon a topic easily.

I have been put on disability benefits, so no more work for me...but I understand what you saying

 

[sun rise]

Strange that you asked this today, because I did ask Allah for advice today about exactly that question.
What happens was that this answer come back.

Give your answer to the ability you have been given through your spiritual practice, and let the receiver take what they see fit to them, and leave it with that. Don't try to be the knower, just be.

That's an amazing coincidence!

 

[Spirit of Light]

That's an amazing coincidence!

Yes that's for sure

 

[Unveiled Artist]

I don't fear, / concerned what other say or think about me or what I write about
What I do struggle to understand is when I say "it is my understanding" and some people keep saying it's wrong, or stupid just because they them self do not believe it to be so.
My posting in RF is only my own belief, and understand of spiritual life. So no I can not answer every single thing about how and why.
And like this morning I had used up every grain of energy to try to explain"my own belief" I do not try to convince anyone else. I just answer questions

Did someone on RF say you're stupid or wrong?

We're not questioning your intelligence just in the last convo the reasoning behind your beliefs. But I (readers) can only guess based on what you say and the context from your past conversations. It's hard to explain it but those who are more direct in their opinions it's most likely just their character not an accusation (crossing fingers?)

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Are you sure that it's a matter of not knowing how to express yourself in English? You've expressed this sentiment clearly. You find it exhausting to present your opinions on spirituality so much so that you need a break from that. I'm guessing that if you wrote in plain Norwegian and ran it through an English translator, that your experience would be about the same. Perhaps it's language skills in general - difficulty expressing ideas in words.

Still, I don't think so. I go by this post of yours to say that when you are discussing something concrete, you can do so. Although you say that to you, your belief is very clear, I'd suggest that the problem is that you don't actually have a clear idea of what it is you are pursuing that you call your spiritual journey, and don't know what to say about it in any language. Ask yourself why it is in only that one area that you are becoming frustrated and need a break.



I might be one of those people you are describing. I know that I have asked you several times without getting a response from you just what it is you are doing and trying to do, and how this activity has changed you or benefitted you. I suspect that the reason is because what you are doing is not different from many others do without the trappings of those who speak about spirituality (Look out, because here comes some free advice).

My wife is a good example. She has a significant connection to nature. She gardens daily. She plants what the bees and butterflies like, and takes delight in them. She can identify them. She was raising monarch butterflies until the wasps and fungi began destroying them in their cocoons (even in an enclosed mesh and wood box), and this grieved her, so she stopped. She put of feeder to attract the hummingbirds, and a fountain for the songbirds. She is singing much of the time. She loves to have her dogs close. She paints. She loves to cook. She loves art and travel. She is at war with nobody.

And yet, she never uses the word spirituality. She doesn't have any rituals to get into any particular mood, no woodland sounds playing, no special or deliberate meditation practices, no incense burning, and no namastes or references to goddesses.

We have friends that do do all of that. They're both acupuncturists, they both post inspirational memes on Facebook, and their language is dripping with this culture of spirituality. She likes to post pictures of the evening or night sky with the moon and planets, always being careful to let us know what house of the zodiac they are in, and maybe throwing in a little pagan mythology. They'll celebrate Samhain and Saturnalia rather than Halloween or Christmas, because the letter are too profane for them now. I think you get the picture.

And yet, I don't see them as being any better off than my wife, no more centered, no wiser, no happier, etc..

And so I am trying to find out from you as well as others just what it is you seek, what you think you have found, and what it does for you, because I suspect that what you are doing is looking for that same sense of order and purpose using a method that I don't believe adds anything, and can in fact be distracting, and even counterproductive if you are expecting to gain some kind of arcane knowledge or transcendent existence through masters and gurus that I believe never comes from them. In short, I suspect that if you dropped all of the spirituality jargon and just focused on finding and pursuing what activities give your life meaning - maybe playing your harmonica or hiking through the woods - you would find your answers that I suspect that the path you have chosen isn't providing you.

That's how I read your frustration here: not a language thing, but a clarity of thought and purpose thing that leaves you unable to express anything in that area except the desire to find something that I suspect is right living and right thinking, and your frustration in having little to show for it. You frame this as an inability to express ideas that you hold clearly, but that's not credible.

I don't know if I'm on the right track here or not, because you wouldn't discuss these matters with me, and I have been left to speculate why. I suspect that you are insecure and fearful of looking there too closely. If that's the case, this is a good chance for you to recognize that and adapt your approach to discovery.

My choice would be to cast off the trappings of spirituality, of trying to find the right religion and guru to take you to where you want to be. Words of wisdom might be coming from other directions, directions that you consider mundane, profane, in the box, and just not getting it because it's not couched in the language you think is necessary to find enlightenment. I offer the example of my wife. You can get there yourself directly, no middle man needed, no ism, no guru, no sacred writings. It sounds like your life is already conducive to that. Focus on what's around you that brings you happiness and pursue that, not so-called enlightenment by external sources.

If you want somebody to follow, follow yourself. You seem to have already figured out that a simple life is more satisfying. You've mentioned a mini house and mini car, and living in a relatively natural environment in relative seclusion. Excellent. You're halfway there.

Now examine the source of consternation in your life, and make the necessary changes there. Reconsider why you are having the least spiritual aspect of your life in the area of the pursuit and expression of spirituality and what that means. I suggest that it means that you're barking up the wrong tree. Maybe it's all of the spirituality stuff distracting you from self-discovery. I'm not saying don't pursue a spiritual understanding and relationship with your world. I'm saying that perhaps you can do it better yourself naturally. Perhaps you can't do it at all as long as you are distracted by this otherworldly understanding of how to find what you are looking for.
.

@Conscious thoughts

This wraps up my point better. I watched a video about spiritual awakening (SA) awhile back and the signs and what to avoid. In the latter, she said if you're not clear yet in your understanding (SA is the questions not answers) then people you talk with who don't share your views can confuse you or distract you. In other words, SA weakens people and in my opinion if you consider your beliefs beliefs, they can change. But if they are facts they are easier to articulate (say in your native language). People can distract you from being confident in what you Know is true.

Anyway, I agree with IANS that it is most likely finding clarity in your beliefs more so the language in which you choose to express them.