Hang in there, Frank. There are people who care about your well-being, as this thread shows. I know I do.
Best wishes!
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I give up on religion.
- Thread starter Saint Frankenstein
- Start date
Hang in there, Frank. There are people who care about your well-being, as this thread shows. I know I do.
Best wishes!
Desert Snake
Veteran Member
Hey, whatever, but last time I checked, he has theistic by religion, but, like I said, whatever..
adios
I'm sorry! It's hard to reply to each and every post! I need a clone!
No excuses! If you were really serious about replying to each and every post, you would have hired a social secretary by now. Pfft! All I hear are excuses!
Well, since I have no money to pay them with, they have to be people my cats like so they can be paid in kitty hugs. :cloud9:
Sorry to read your depressed. I understand your disillusion with religions your sense of feeling empty might be a case of you looking beyond the Ouroboros which lies the thought of devouring oneself and turning oneself into a circulatory process as living a mind of the mundane. Thinking beings need food for thought I hope you find what is real.
It is your choice, but I personally feel that is the point of religion. Religion is the CPR of a dead spiritual life, and if it fails, then religion is the coffin of spiritual life.
If you don't get out much, that probably is no small factor in depression. I think getting out in the sun and simply breathing the air is the first step to finding connection with yourself. You can't expect to look to religion to lift you out of something when you don't act, so giving up on religion is a good thing if that is how you look to it. We have to take care of our bodies, and our emotions, and our mental health. And there is no one single answer to every problem, but multiple facets all working together. Start with a daily walk.
Drolefille
PolyPanGeekGirl
No, I understood you were serious.
As noted, flippant and particularly rude when someone's opening up about depression. I'm asking for politeness on Frank's behalf as I consider him a friend.
work in progress
Well-Known Member
Sure there are differences within both eastern and western philosophical approaches, but there are general differences between how a person relates to the world and to God in the west, and how these relationships are viewed in the east:
A common thread that often differentiates Eastern philosophy from Western is the relationship between the gods (or God) and the universe. Some Western schools of thought were animistic or pantheistic, such as the classical Greek tradition, while later religious beliefs, influenced by the monotheism of the Abrahamic religions, portrayed divinity as more transcendent.
Much like the classical Greek philosophies, many Eastern schools of thought were more interested in explaining the natural world via universal patterns; without recourse to capricious agencies like gods (or God). Syncretism allowed various schools of thought such as Yi, Yin yang, Wu xing and Ren to mutually complement one another without threatening traditional religious practice or new religious movements.
Eastern philosophy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaMuch like the classical Greek philosophies, many Eastern schools of thought were more interested in explaining the natural world via universal patterns; without recourse to capricious agencies like gods (or God). Syncretism allowed various schools of thought such as Yi, Yin yang, Wu xing and Ren to mutually complement one another without threatening traditional religious practice or new religious movements.
So, the traditional western cultural view of the world or universe, is an agglomeration of inert building blocks, where "life" is provided by an animating force or spirit, that leaves a physical body upon death. The God of the western world is transcendent - separate from the creation and can make and destroy worlds at will or on a whim.
The prevailing eastern worldview has been based on a Creator who is intrinsic and cannot be separated from any aspect of creation, and the entire universe: all living creatures, rocks, water, the stars etc. are not really separate, except when we choose to detach ourselves and view the world as separate from us.
The western cultural view...which I should point out is a product of a switch in thinking from earlier hunter-gatherer and horticultural societies, began about 5 to 6000 years ago in the west; and the rise of fixed agriculture that included raising animals, carried along a change in how we view ourselves in relation to the universe and God. The rise of fixed city-states and agriculture didn't change the pantheistic worldview in the east, and a new study published recently claims that rice farming...and the higher level of cooperation needed, may be a significant part of the reason why the western values emphasizing individualism didn't supercede the community values in the east.
Psychologists have known for a long time that people in East Asia think differently, on average, than do those in the U.S. and Europe. Easterners indeed tend to be more cooperative and intuitive, while Westerners lean toward individualism and analytical thinking.
Now psychologists have evidence that our ancestors planted some of these cultural differences hundreds of years ago when they chose which grains to sow.
"We call it the rice theory," says , a graduate student at the University of Virginia who led the study. "Rice is a really special kind of farming."
The idea is simple. Growing rice tends to foster cultures that are more cooperative and interconnected, Talhelm and his colleagues Thursday in the journal Science.
Why? Because farming rice paddies requires collaboration with your neighbors, Talhelm tells The Salt. Self-reliance is dangerous.
"Families have to flood and drain their field at the same time," he says. " So there are punishments for being too individualistic. If you flood too early, you would really **** off your neighbors."
Rice paddies also require irrigation systems. "That cost falls on the village, not just one family," he says. "So villages have to figure out a way to coordinate and pay for and maintain this system. It makes people cooperate."
Wheat, on the other hand, as well as barley and corn, doesn't generally require irrigation or much collaboration. One family alone can plant, grow and harvest a field of wheat, without the help of others.
So wheat farming fosters cultures with more individualism, independence and innovation, Talhelm and his colleagues say. Self-reliance and innovation are rewarded.
Rice Theory: Why Eastern Cultures Are More Cooperative : The Salt : NPRNow psychologists have evidence that our ancestors planted some of these cultural differences hundreds of years ago when they chose which grains to sow.
"We call it the rice theory," says , a graduate student at the University of Virginia who led the study. "Rice is a really special kind of farming."
The idea is simple. Growing rice tends to foster cultures that are more cooperative and interconnected, Talhelm and his colleagues Thursday in the journal Science.
Why? Because farming rice paddies requires collaboration with your neighbors, Talhelm tells The Salt. Self-reliance is dangerous.
"Families have to flood and drain their field at the same time," he says. " So there are punishments for being too individualistic. If you flood too early, you would really **** off your neighbors."
Rice paddies also require irrigation systems. "That cost falls on the village, not just one family," he says. "So villages have to figure out a way to coordinate and pay for and maintain this system. It makes people cooperate."
Wheat, on the other hand, as well as barley and corn, doesn't generally require irrigation or much collaboration. One family alone can plant, grow and harvest a field of wheat, without the help of others.
So wheat farming fosters cultures with more individualism, independence and innovation, Talhelm and his colleagues say. Self-reliance and innovation are rewarded.
Who knows if the grains you choose to grow explains all of the cultural differences that still exist today between east and west, but it's easy to see how cultures that required high levels of cooperation would develop different ways of thinking about their place in the universe, than in places where less cooperation was required.
Nah. I'm fine.
SkylarHunter
Active Member
I'm not going to give you advice on religion, but maybe you should try a different approach.
What about sports? I love outdoors sports. Anything you enjoy or want to try? It's a great way to feel more alive, more in tune with nature and personally, it makes me feel good with myself.
I think these things wax and wane, to be honest.
Right now, my spiritual life is a bit more bland-feeling. It alternates,
depending on ... well, heaven only knows what.
I would just go with it, and don't force anything. Zenzero's advice about
just Being can help. Kinda mellowed me out just reading it!
Eckhart Tolle's got some good material regarding that. I have one of his
books, "The Power of Now", which I re-read from time to time when I need
a refresher on thought-management, since our experience of the world
really is affected by what goes on in our minds.
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Desert Snake
Veteran Member
I find eastern religions to be filled with knowledge, I think you have a point. In fact, when people are struggling to understand the meaning of an idea in western scripture, I often direct them to eastern literature or scripture for other examples of the concept explained.
Some people seek the truth in religion, some others seek a way of life and others just want something to believe in to fight feeling lost. Other reasons could exist as well!
I personally lean towards the the truth. All religions are rich of details that I doubt anyone would be completely satisfied with those details, but at some point we need to sacrifice and cope with some details for the sake of the greater good, the truth, that might save us all one day!
What the... what did I just say
I personally lean towards the the truth. All religions are rich of details that I doubt anyone would be completely satisfied with those details, but at some point we need to sacrifice and cope with some details for the sake of the greater good, the truth, that might save us all one day!
What the... what did I just say
kadzbiz
..........................
Forget about trying to find a spiritual life. Get back to nature and let it find you.
Eastern religions in all their rhythms lose the World and only find the Self, never considering the symbiotic relationship between the two.
work in progress
Well-Known Member
Yes. And I think you're touching on one of the great faults of modern pop spirituality...the Oprah network....Deepak Chopra b.s. etc. - there is too much focus on spiritual life as if it is something separate from the world around us and finding happiness, satisfaction, or even enlightenment is personal and detached from everything going on in the world around us. I guess I could toss a lot of western Buddhists in this pile as well; because they put so much emphasis on the individual self, and either ignore, or gloss over the fact that people who've lost their jobs or fear job loss...fear foreclosure or eviction and rising personal debt levels, are going to have a lot harder time meditating and finding oneness with the universe than the typical white, middle+ class boomers that typically populate Buddhist and eastern spiritual training seminars.
A holistic approach is going to start with realizing that there is a whole army of people out there who are feeling a lot less comfortable and secure about theirs or their children's futures, and joining others who are becoming active in community organizing and/or community gardens etc., may do a lot more for a person's spirituality and sense of self-worth than 20 minutes of meditation in the morning.
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