Former Mormon.

They're conservative, but they have great senses of humor.

even though all but 3 voted for Obama. My family is very LDS but still very accepting of my partner and I (well most of them, there are a couple that have issues.)

over 10 years ago. Buddhism has bought more peace in my life and makes more sense to me. I'm still a beginner and enjoy learning

We are always students, learning as we go. That's what I love about AMORC there are always things to learn and improve upon.

This is apparently possible only by discarding all beliefs and dis-beliefs.

for you: "The Book of Not Knowing" by Peter Ralston. It's a very helpful guidebook for discarding beliefs.

I like religions that don't require me to believe anything. I don't need to believe in the sky when I can just look at it and see it (although I do have to remind myself that the sky is not actually blue - just as water is not "aquamarine" - it just appears that way).

Distinguishing between belief/disbelief and non-belief has been a key insight for me. It's hard to find writing on the topic, though. Thanks!

There is a classic on the subject, Alan Watts "The Wisdom of Uncertainty". Ralston's book is the handbook that should have come with that classic.

I found Ralston's book very accessible. Don't let the many pages throw you. Ralston takes you step by step and builds gradually so you don't get overwhelmed. It's necessary to do this because the "process" of Not Knowing goes against a lot of programming we got from society.

I found it amazing to actually see how the vast amount of mediated secondary knowledge we acquire actually interferes with directly experiencing our environment.

I ordered Ralston's book on Wednesday night and it arrived Friday morning. My partner and I have begun reading it together - I'm reading it out loud so we can both experience it simultaneously. We are now up to page 40.

What a remarkable book this is. We are both transfixed - this is exactly what we've been looking for. She and I are both on the same path (loosely called jnana yoga), and at about the same point. This is the perfect next step for both of us.

"When the student is ready, the teacher will appear." This has happened once again thanks to your recommendation.

Namaste.

Last edited Sat Dec 31, 2011, 01:16 AM - Edit history (1)

I'd never heard of that ancient Greek philosophical school of extreme skepticism, but it turns out to be very much where I'm at in my journey right now.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrrhonism

It feels a lot like Buddhism in its aim to reduce suffering (achieve mental imperturbability) through non-attachment (suspending all judgments). Add a dash of Advaita, a dollop of direct experience and voila - a spiritual dish fit for No-One!

How can one find enlightenment without having a perpetually open mind?
Just found this group btw. Nice change from A&A.

Hey there GliderGuider

It's what I live for, discovering the mystic within. Belief systems are strange indeed. I live within the boundaries of suspended beliefs.

Being the type of person to question everything, all the religious beliefs I was taught growing up just didn't seem to make sense to me. I finally picked up Mark Booth Secret History of the World and everything seemed to click. Since then I've read a whole lot of books on Kabbalah, Hermeticism, and Eastern and Western mystery traditions. However, for me moving from knowledge of this stuff to uncovering my own relationship with God in a mystic way has been more difficult. If that made any sense at all.

I'm looking for knowing instead of knowledge. Being instead of doing. I want to not-want...

Hmmmm.....

in search of the Ancient Knowledge

It's amazing to learn from the Masters from the Old School.

Studying Buddhism, living as organically as possible, and learning all I can from my grandchildren.
I also believe in Rock and Roll as a path to enlightenment.

Death have made me know that the dead are right here and all that matters is love

I started out using power point, but it had some issues. So, I imported all the slides into Final Cut Pro and made a video instead.

We had a good turn out and everyone was very interested in the subject.

What comes next? Well I think we all return to the Source. The all encompassing Source Consciousness. Same as it ever was!

If you would like to PM me about your experience then that would be awesome. I me some NDE stories.

and I remember wondering how long I had to live myself. So I made contact with two psychic mediums, George Anderson and Laurie Campbell. Laurie is a part of the Arizona State University Afterlife project and she had been someone I researched before contacting her. She works with the FBI and police to solve murders and she had a show on Discovery Science Channel where she and a partner looked for answers to murders. George Anderson is considered the greatest medium alive and is the most tested.

When I contacted Laurie she told me over the phone 60 things that were known only to me. Even sibs didn't know. I had never spoke to her before this and she said no info, just yes or no if I ask. She only asked about three times. She said my mother was young and awesome, that she had been met by my dad when she came over. She said it was like 'stepping from one room to another' and that she and Daddy were with me all the time. She then went into detail to describe the layout of our house which has a very unusual fireplace. She talked about the 'red birds' which were cardinals. We have them all over the house because they were Mom's favorite bird. She told of the Christmas tree in the yard, a small pine that Mom wanted to make into a Christmas tree. She told me that i had to "CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS!" which I had decided not to do that year. She said feed the birds, which was a family project for us.

One of the things I do for a control for me with mediums -besides going to the greatest pros around- is to have a couple of things that only I know and set up. I had taken all the pictures of my family including relatives that were born in the 1800's and invite them to come to the meeting. I ask them to come, that I love them and to show up. All through the seance Laurie kept talking about the 'old people'. She explained it meant people from way the hell back in time. She said she had never experienced that before in decades of readings. She told me about my great grandpa Scott and told me about a 'jeep' going here and there. I told her I didn't know what that meant but she said its okay. Sometimes it takes a while before things make sense. A year later I bought a Honda Element that sort of looks jeep like.

I was told about old dogs and family, about the house and Mom's desire to live outside during the winter rather than spend hard times in Alaska with the snow and cold. It was the most awesome experience of my life. It changed me so fundamentally I could face anything. This came before the NDE.

Roguevally, who will send a PM about George Anderson and the shadow man.

He got me interested when I was in my early 20s ...but lost interest for some reason. Pursued Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh's books I guess. He really struck a cord in me and actually helped me free myself from religious dogma.

I have researched past lives and all that comes with that knowledge. Studied various deep questions and came up with answers to all to some degree. However, for every answer I found created 2 more questions! Eventually I realized I was not smart enough nor is any human capable of understanding all that is. So there has to be a much more simple reason we come here to learn.... and that is to realize that the only truly important thing is to cultivate the Love energy and those bonds of connection we have with others.

Simple... not much else matters. Love is all there is and if you live in the Love energy you cannot fail.

Peace

YM

Especially with how upset I got with people like Limbaugh, Beck etc. with their constant barrage of hate mongering.

However, I have learned to send Love and Light to them. It was extremely difficult at first but I have found it easier to do as the days go by.

Complete Materialist here - what you see is what you get

HOWEVER, I am always searching and all of us are on our own paths

Do what you can not to step on the flowers...

However, the evidence of science (if it can be believed) says that we can only see approximately 4 or 5 percent of all that is. Most of "what is" is not visible. Physicists call it Dark Matter and Dark Energy. I personally don't like the terms, but then I'm not a physicist.

That we can only see "approximately 4 or 5 percent of all that is".

I've experienced a few instances of mental telepathy and a bit of precognition...Had someone else

claimed these experiences before I had them I would have been very skeptical of their story.


That being said, it's very hard to tell someone who's experienced something

that it's non-empirical and therefor "impossible"....I know what I know.

and that we can explore various paths along the way.

There are no sacred cows, only black cows. And those work best with a splash of vodka and kahlua.

When I'm ready to stop playing this role on planet Earth and go to something else here, I will. Got some more stuff I wanna learn. It's fun now, but it's a choice.

Otherwise it is very difficult to do

http://superstringtheory.com/basics/index.html


If the universe is truly infinite....We all must exist and not exist in many different ways and places.

I often wonder what the "other" Earths are like

had a vision of those other Earths, or children of this. They had animals and other forms of life even funnier and more amazing than this one, it was a beautiful vision.

What if that brane's physics is un-conducive for any life? And who's to say, by that brane's laws, that an 'Earth' would form?

"We" exist and don't exist in our current form elsewhere...an infinite amount over...

...as though, existing dream forms of the limitless-existent-sentience known as "I AM".
Only on the altar of the power of the self-existent-truth of sentience, all else can go or stay, sentience remains the constant to know or to know nought that anything happened.

That's not what I'm seeking, just noticed that's the acronym for the group.

*S*O*U*P*

Don't know if that has any significance...

It's whats good for the Soul.

seeking peace from the question "what should I do with the rest of my life"...

with your quest

Now I'm interested in "embodied spirituality". Knowing what is going on in the present moment, in my body, my emotions, my thoughts, and the environment.

Cultivating presence.

Proprioception: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proprioception

There's a story about an anthropologist visiting a Siberian tribe. Hunters of the tribe could not find the deer where they usually were at the time of year and came to the shaman to ask advice. Shaman told them to go to another valley, they did as told and came home with enough food so that the tribe will not starve. Anthropologist asked the shaman: "How did you know where the deer are?" Shaman answered: "How do you know where your hands are?"

I wish you well on seeking your knowledge.

My teachings definitely teach how to deal with thoughts, emotions, and the ego. It amazes me how much I have found out about myself as a result of these lessons.

...the nature of conciousness. And be able to apply that understanding to enhance this world I'm experiencing.

I've tried religion, drugs, education and first hand experience in an effort to better appreciate what my world is offering up. I'm still at the "experience" stage but now I take a longer look at the why of that experience.

I'm almost certain that knowing why something is happening to me will greatly enhance this world I'm experiencing.

.

It definitely is a complex subject. I think the most profound experience I've been discovering is that we all belong to one consciousness, but as individuals we have our individual consciousness. So, knowing that we are all of one mind, has afforded the opportunity to connect to this consciousness whenever I feel the need.

I too, have used various methods to experience my own consciousness. I have had some wonderful mystical experiences because of my dedication to wanting to know myself.

...when I was hauling freight across the lower 48.

This particular morning at a loading dock in LA, Ca, I went into the adjoining coffee shop to hire a lumper to help unload. Those are usually pretty competitive environments with lot's of people trying to get the job.

Before the door had closed behind me, this 'old' black guy was by my side, giving me his pitch. I was a little hesitant because he had to have been the oldest Lumper for Hire, that I'd ever seen. But he persisted with charisma and a sly appeal and won me over.

I had to ask him politely, of course, at the same time complimenting his physique, how old he was...

I don't remember exactly anymore, but he was in his mid-70's.

So we worked away piling buddles of magazines on pallets and pulling them out of the trailer and onto the dock. Chit chatting as we worked, we got talking about the power of the mind, from the smallest incidents to the biggest, most radical presumptions. It took a while for all this to come out but we were soon talking about the power to heal.

Because we were in such agreement on so many things, he told me "...I'm not supposed to tell you this but I've been a Rosicrucian for decades...".

As I drove him towards his home, the job done and him 65 dollars richer, he said that he owed his vitality to being a Rosicrucian...and the fact that he needed the money, knew where to get it and had a nice conversation for free.

His life was full.



.

One of the degrees is totally devoted to the human body and health and healing. We all have this power to heal, it has just been suppressed all our lives. That's why it is so important to re-educate ourselves about it.

I am not a Wiccan, nor a Christian, but I practice magick. I consider myself a witch, but I do not conform to modern paganism as others do, in the neo-pagan material I read. I recently had my baptism in the catholic church revoked in writing, after I contacted the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. I read on many forums that this is not possible, but I have the revocation in writing from the diocese in N.Y.
peace and magick to all.

joey

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]Grew up very sheltered, a good little Catholic girl. The "real world" was a devastating shock, but I began to recover after a couple of years, and to explore other beliefs and ideas. This has been an ongoing process with lots of phases and changes, but it all keeps coming back to union with universal Love (actually not so far from where I started).

Currently, I'm mostly in a panentheistic/pagan/Buddhist mode -- learning how to sense the divine in those I have a hard time loving or even liking, learning to maintain an inner serenity no matter what else is going on, and learning how to remain consciously aware of that universal Love connection at all times.

That's a lot to learn and I expect it to take a very long time.

What I am seeking:

enlightenment, balance, healing

Paths? Any that help get me there. I AM a lone wolf, completely untrusting of organized groups. So I tend to hang out on the fringes of many groups, take what resonates, offer what I feel called to, but never adopt any one total path.

I believe that all, or almost all, paths have the same destination, and something worthy to help along the way. I prefer to focus on the commonalities of various paths, and choose from those universal agreements what seems needed on my own unique path.

I have incorporated elements of various christian sects, buddhism, various native american and pagan systems, some new age stuff...

Edited to add: also logic and reason.

For people who blend logic and reason with their seeking, it is a very natural fit. Nisargadatta, Ramana Maharshi and a number of Western teachers are worth investigating.

It has turned out to be the capstone for my own search, which went through all the same places yours is going, for the same reasons.

I will look into it.

I'm Catholic and a professed Secular Franciscan. I've become disiilluioned with the hierarchy of my Church and am exploring other sacramental Churches ('Catholic' without the 'Roman...they're out there!) I'm interested in non-violence, peace, service to my community, and healing the world (spiritually AND physically).

I see wisdom in many MANY paths. My hero is Thomas Merton.

"My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone." ~TM

Pax et Bonum!

I'm sort of a cross between Buddhist, Franciscan, Native American spirituality, and knowledge seeker of the universe and science.

That sounds like a perfectly walk-able path to me. Lots of overlap between all of the spiritualities you mention.

Pax!

I don't feel all that unique, but apparently I am because I am not in sync with a single person in my family.

I'm a garden variety non-Christian neopagan of no particular tradition.

Unfortunately, I'm married to a very nonspiritual Catholic and I went through a born-again phase when I was raising my children, and the spiritual teachings I gave them during that period "took." They now are appalled that I have moved on from the conservative Missouri Synod Lutheran that I was in the 1980s.

I'm surrounded by batshit crazy conservatives, a couple of whom I actually gave birth to, and at least today I am questioning my sanity.

Maybe I should have posted this in the mental health support group!

asleep.......awakened.........student...........teacher............service

I'm not sure of how I can put this but just in my own words. I usually describe myself as a recovering Christian just trying to find my way spiritually in this life and remain connected to The Source. I am a firm believer that we all are spiritual beings with unique vibrations and unique journeys. I go through a lot of daily meditation done in solitude in order to be in touch with what I call my highest self. Since "waking up" and breaking free from Christianity, I have never felt freer to live and freer to be, and I feel that I have achieved peace with myself. I still recognize that there is a higher power over me which I often refer to as The Most High or The Source as I did earlier, and I choose to let The Source be my guide as The Source dictates to my spirit, not through some written word or set commandments, guidelines, or whatever.

I have been labeled many things from an indigo to a rainbow child, from healer to shaman, and many more, but if I were to identify with any of them it would be an indigo as that would best describe me and perhaps some of my world view too.

it is really fascinating and very real, I have another weekend workshop on Soul loss retrieval and 'Extraction'. essentially a form of alternative healing using a special energy supplied by compassionate spirits.

read Cave and Cosmos by Michael Harner.

it is about making relationships with Compassionate Spirits who want to help us. before the Christian invasions humans had a Symbiotic relationship with beings in another dimension called the Non Ordinary Reality. evidence this system has been found in caves about 70,000 year ago, maybe over 100,000.

it is very easy to do, 85%+ of people journey their first weekend workshop.

Beautiful.
Ive walked a similar path

I aim for the common thread they all share, that "thing" or "essence" or ... whatever one may call it that is present in all things.