simplykali
New Member
Mid-Coast Maine REPRESENT!
Posts: 47
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Post by simplykali on May 2, 2009 11:30:52 GMT -5
I think spiritual practices, when practiced often enough, can become your personal religious regime. I've started to create real recipes with a purpose, only I don't put my energy into the recipe until it is time to eat it (since I think it would be unfair to my boyfriend and his mother.) I mean, if I want to do well on a test the next day and make dinner accordingly, I should only put the energy into my portion of food. And since this has become a daily ritual, to put energy into my food or give thanks or, most often, both, I think that by now it could count as a religious practice.
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Post by E on May 2, 2009 13:35:37 GMT -5
Ooooo! Good Point!
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Post by Denethor on May 2, 2009 14:48:31 GMT -5
All I can hear is my mother's voice in my head saying, "If everyone else jumped off a cliff... " Heh. Having grown up with a mother who was the neighborhood table-pounding atheist, I have to avoid her "voice" in particular when dealing with spirituality... For instance, know that line in RotK about "some wizard's pupil"? I've actually heard that line from my own parents. For another instance, when I wanted to join a Lodge, I was petrified of what I'd say to her if the matter ever reached her ears. I avoided the issue by the simple expedient of waiting until she died. Sometimes that coldblooded atheistic practicality comes in handy.
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Post by blackrose on May 4, 2009 8:46:48 GMT -5
I've given up, for the time being any, trying to discern what of my own life and belief and practice may be considered 'spiritual' and what may be considered 'religious'. Sometimes I think it is a false dichotomy created by those disillusioned with organized religion... they do not think of themselves as religious, because of the specific negative connotations it holds for them... and yet still wish to express that they are not irreligious, as it were... In some senses I have a religion for I have "a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs." Except that my moral code governs only me... and my devotional and ritual observances are... sporadic... However, I am more prone to accept the definition of religion as "a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects" - in which case I am not part of a religion... Mayhaps I have a religion, though I am not part of a religion, nor am I particularly religious... I may or may not be spiritual, depending on the reckoning thereof... for I am concerned with things of the spirit... and with things metaphysical and "super"natural... but I am not spiritual in the "seeking enlightenment and transcendance" sense, which seems to be the predominant understanding currently... I oft don't consider myself very spiritual, being influenced by said notions... Darkk, on the other hand, considers me very spiritual, in my own way... I wrack my brain and tie myself in knots, trying to live up to notions and ideal which I don't even necessarily agree with... all for words and meaning and a sense of belonging... to what? Any... I'm rambling... Just remember - a religious regime that you choose to follow can't be oppressive Also, a note of the grab-bag thing. I have never been against borrowing from or being inspired by other cultures or systems. I think it, like all things, should be done with knowledge and respect, else you just look like an ass. However, what I have, and continue to have, a problem with is when people borrow from a culture, often out of context, and then claim a connection to that culture through the practice... or when they adapt something to themselves, and yet continue to insist it is the same practice... or when they claim titles, lineage, history or connections to things which they do not have, have not earned, and do not understand...
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Post by Shannon on May 4, 2009 9:44:08 GMT -5
I think spiritual practices, when practiced often enough, can become your personal religious regime. I've started to create real recipes with a purpose, only I don't put my energy into the recipe until it is time to eat it (since I think it would be unfair to my boyfriend and his mother.) I mean, if I want to do well on a test the next day and make dinner accordingly, I should only put the energy into my portion of food. And since this has become a daily ritual, to put energy into my food or give thanks or, most often, both, I think that by now it could count as a religious practice. Exactly, Kali. I'm looking to have daily practices- no matter how unconventional- that will become religious practices.
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Post by Denethor on May 4, 2009 14:17:57 GMT -5
Well as to "spiritual" vs. "religious"...not sure of where I'd draw the line, but:
Call a thing "spiritual" and I'll look into it on its own merits, judging it against my own backdrop of what has worked for me in the past and what hasn't, what has resonance for me and what doesn't, what makes sense to me and what doesn't, at least, I'm discovering, until the Critical Thinking Daemon gets ahold of it.
Call the same thing "religious" and I'll immediately go to "Aack! Religion! Get it off, get it off!"
But, I'm not sure where the line gets drawn, it keeps shifting.
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Post by E on May 4, 2009 17:48:26 GMT -5
Aack! Religion! Get it off, get it off!. ;D
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