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Vichar

Member
So... I am a recovering Catholic. Lifetime seeker. Several times I've seriously considered converting to one religion or another, ultimately always returning to the faith tradition of my upbringing. Last year, totally unexpectedly, I woke up one day and started to doubt again. I started to pray for God to teach me how to follow God without denominational affiliation. I was about to start pursuing formal membership in the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) when I realized I would just be changing my affiliation, and not following God directly.

...

Thank you for letting me share.

Before diving back into another religion, philosophy, or spiritual pursuit of any kind, I would suggest expanding your horizons a bit with an open mind. Ask yourself what you want from your life, and ask yourself why you think the purpose of life is. Consider what kinds of thoughts and feelings made you feel fulfilled, not simply just happy. It might even be helpful to examine what kinds of careers and pursuits are out there in the physical world. A person only has so much attention energy they can spend in a given day, so this is a good time to ask yourself what is worth spending time putting your attention on.

I can only speak for myself, but I've only ever been happy with my spiritual pursuit when I had tangible results. I studied the world's religions and I went to church for a while. I never felt anything actually happen in church, so it wasn't for me. Without trying to recruit anyone into anything, I would just like to state that there are spiritual practices out there which yield tangible results you can experience yourself: actual experiences that are not emotional reverie, vision quests, or things you make up inside your own imagination.

For me, a spiritual path is something that makes you a better person, and the proof that you are moving forward is in the kinds of thoughts and feelings you have moment to moment. Do you feel more love in your life? Are you treating other people better? Are you proud of your actions today as opposed to yesterday? What is your relationship with God? Is God merely to be worshiped from afar, or is it actually possible to have a direct conversation / communion with God? These are questions I ask myself when I examine my daily practice, and in the past when some of the answers were not to my satisfaction I moved on from what I was doing.

I wish you success and fulfillment in your personal journey.
 
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