Spiritual Journey 3.0

[Samael_Khan]

Hi guys,

RF is a very important place for me. Before I became a member I stalked these threads for years because I was investigating different religions, as I was raised Catholic and then became atheist, and at that stage my curiosity was reinvigorated by the book The Great Controversy and the video series Total Onslaught by Walter Veith, two Seventh Day Adventist related media that shocked me to my core. Eventually I came across the Jehovah's Witnesses and was baptised and remained one for seven years, during which time I became an actual member of RF. Then I left that religion and became Atheist again, as atheism seems to be the detox stage that I need in order to recover from previous beliefs, probably because it is a result of a pendulum effect and that stage is where I have to find myself without the risk of being indoctrinated into another group.

I have gradually recovered and am now in my third spiritual awakening. This is more personal. With my first faith I didn't have a choice. With my second faith I was using purely reason but I was so arrogant that I thought that I knew the truth in my early twenties and made a commitment. Now I wish to focus on what I feel is right, what I connect with and what I experience.

Therefore I would like to renew my journey. I have already disqualified the monotheistic faiths in terms of being true, because I have studied them enough to know that they are not. I hold them as valuable only in so much as their recorded details and wisdom tell me what our ancestors have experienced before and can guide me in various aspects of life because they are the spiritual experiences of others. I don't like exclusivism because I consider the innevitable result to be dogmatism, ignorance and disguised hatred, so disguised that many believers themselves don't feel hatred in their hearts.

I have started looking into the religion of Ancient Egypt, Hinduism, Taoism and Buddhism. I am very attracted to polytheism, Hinduism and Gnosticism. I think that the symbolism behind the Occult, Magic, mysticism and sacred symbols to be fascinating. But everything seems so overwhelming to research.

So I need your help. Many of you have travelled your own personal journeys. Could any of you give me guidance on where to start mine?

 

[JustGeorge]

So I need your help. Many of you have travelled your own personal journeys. Could any of you give me guidance on where to start mine?

Within.

I might ask, why is the research overwhelming? Are the sources you're using not set up for your learning style? Are the sources you're using all that of others? Are you remembering to check in with your own experiences?

Are you having your own experiences? If not, what can you do about it? Maybe try meditating. There are lots of different kinds. Try a puja(if you do something 'off', it will still be fine). Draw a sacred symbol. See what it does for you.

I love books. I have a personal library. But some of the most valuable things I've learned I was taught by the Universe(to put it non-specifically). Books are good tools to show you ideas of where to go next. Maybe they have a few 'recipes', metaphorically speaking. But they're not required in many of the spiritual paths you've listed.

Throw away labels for now. Its not important to an 'explorer', and there's no rush to pick on(one needn't ever choose one at all, if they don't wish it). Just let the river take you where it will.

I look forward to hearing more from you on your journey.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Hi guys,

RF is a very important place for me. Before I became a member I stalked these threads for years because I was investigating different religions, as I was raised Catholic and then became atheist, and at that stage my curiosity was reinvigorated by the book The Great Controversy and the video series Total Onslaught by Walter Veith, two Seventh Day Adventist related media that shocked me to my core. Eventually I came across the Jehovah's Witnesses and was baptised and remained one for seven years, during which time I became an actual member of RF. Then I left that religion and became Atheist again, as atheism seems to be the detox stage that I need in order to recover from previous beliefs, probably because it is a result of a pendulum effect and that stage is where I have to find myself without the risk of being indoctrinated into another group.

I have gradually recovered and am now in my third spiritual awakening. This is more personal. With my first faith I didn't have a choice. With my second faith I was using purely reason but I was so arrogant that I thought that I knew the truth in my early twenties and made a commitment. Now I wish to focus on what I feel is right, what I connect with and what I experience.

Therefore I would like to renew my journey. I have already disqualified the monotheistic faiths in terms of being true, because I have studied them enough to know that they are not. I hold them as valuable only in so much as their recorded details and wisdom tell me what our ancestors have experienced before and can guide me in various aspects of life because they are the spiritual experiences of others. I don't like exclusivism because I consider the innevitable result to be dogmatism, ignorance and disguised hatred, so disguised that many believers themselves don't feel hatred in their hearts.

I have started looking into the religion of Ancient Egypt, Hinduism, Taoism and Buddhism. I am very attracted to polytheism, Hinduism and Gnosticism. I think that the symbolism behind the Occult, Magic, mysticism and sacred symbols to be fascinating. But everything seems so overwhelming to research.

So I need your help. Many of you have travelled your own personal journeys. Could any of you give me guidance on where to start mine?

I used to be a theist myself and a devout Christian for over 30 years , so I got quite a bit of insight as to what it's like.

Basically I just came to the conclusion that I wanted to return to where I started, which was the point where I was born before any of it was introduced, and that was without any type of God anywhere and just start again with a clean sheet.

It did take me a while for my belief in God to extinguish, but I didn't do it because I wanted to, I did it because I allowed it to dissipate naturally, employing one simple philosophy to keep doing it until you can't do it no more.

In my case , I just kept on believing in God until I just couldn't believe in one no more , and I never had any regrets because this is a natural path for me.

Don't know if it'll work for you, but basically you just got to do your own thing and keep doing whatever it is until you simply can't do it anymore.

I just let nature, the universe teach me, not people teaching me.

 

[Nyingjé Tso]

Relax and allow yourself to explore, don't seek the "only true truth" and which label it belongs to so you can adopt it.
Find what makes you feel settled and happy. What makes you passionate about, what makes it feel like a joy and not a chore or a duty.

Try stuff, see what works and what doesn't. Explore things, places, people and see where you feel like home.

If someone tries to sell their religion or path to you or convince you that you should stay because it's the only way and nothing else, walk away. Walk elsewhere.

Eventually you'll see that the travel is more interesting and fruitful than actually finding the destination. It's about opening your mind and settling where you feel content and comfy in there.

 

[Samael_Khan]

Within.

I might ask, why is the research overwhelming? Are the sources you're using not set up for your learning style? Are the sources you're using all that of others? Are you remembering to check in with your own experiences?

Are you having your own experiences? If not, what can you do about it? Maybe try meditating. There are lots of different kinds. Try a puja(if you do something 'off', it will still be fine). Draw a sacred symbol. See what it does for you.

I love books. I have a personal library. But some of the most valuable things I've learned I was taught by the Universe(to put it non-specifically). Books are good tools to show you ideas of where to go next. Maybe they have a few 'recipes', metaphorically speaking. But they're not required in many of the spiritual paths you've listed.

Throw away labels for now. Its not important to an 'explorer', and there's no rush to pick on(one needn't ever choose one at all, if they don't wish it). Just let the river take you where it will.

I look forward to hearing more from you on your journey.

The research is overwhelming because each topic is so dense. I will never learn enough ot seems. And life is overwhelming.

You have stated a clear problem I have: i don't rely on my own experiences. It seems like I am blocked from my inner self. I rely on others research as I always have. I simply don't trust my own experiences because i am too focused on a materialistic research method which is popular in the west.

Thanks very much on the tips. What is a sacred symbol? It sounds interesting because I am a designer and an artist, and i love symbolism. What is sacred symbolism and how do i incorporate it?

I have relied heavily on books. Academic stuff and spiritual books. What I like about Hinduism is the idea that even though there are books, experience is what matters. I must just find my own experiences.

And .. i am such a labeller... I find it difficult not to label things.

Thank you so much for your reply! It is already helpful.

 

[Samael_Khan]

I used to be a theist myself and a devout Christian for over 30 years , so I got quite a bit of insight as to what it's like.

Basically I just came to the conclusion that I wanted to return to where I started, which was the point where I was born before any of it was introduced, and that was without any type of God anywhere and just start again with a clean sheet.

It did take me a while for my belief in God to extinguish, but I didn't do it because I wanted to, I did it because I allowed it to dissipate naturally, employing one simple philosophy to keep doing it until you can't do it no more.

In my case , I just kept on believing in God until I just couldn't believe in one no more , and I never had any regrets because this is a natural path for me.

Don't know if it'll work for you, but basically you just got to do your own thing and keep doing whatever it is until you simply can't do it anymore.

I just let nature, the universe teach me, not people teaching me.

I can sort of relate. I myself had a feeling to reset. I did this with christianity. Then that belief dissipated.

My problem is that just letting nature and the universe teach me is scary and feels too uncertain for me. But i also suspect that that is a good thing. I am outside of my comfort zone

 

[Samael_Khan]

Relax and allow yourself to explore, don't seek the "only true truth" and which label it belongs to so you can adopt it.
Find what makes you feel settled and happy. What makes you passionate about, what makes it feel like a joy and not a chore or a duty.

Try stuff, see what works and what doesn't. Explore things, places, people and see where you feel like home.

If someone tries to sell their religion or path to you or convince you that you should stay because it's the only way and nothing else, walk away. Walk elsewhere.

Eventually you'll see that the travel is more interesting and fruitful than actually finding the destination. It's about opening your mind and settling where you feel content and comfy in there.

Thankfully my personal experiences have lead me away from seeking the only true truth. And i am averse to people religious salesmen.

I am starting to see that the journey is interesting. I am just overwhelmed by yhe fact that I dunno where I am heading and I dont have a map. It scares the hell out of me.

Thanks. I will try to take note of what works and what doesnt for me.

 

[Twilight Hue]

I can sort of relate. I myself had a feeling to reset. I did this with christianity. Then that belief dissipated.

My problem is that just letting nature and the universe teach me is scary and feels too uncertain for me. But i also suspect that that is a good thing. I am outside of my comfort zone

It does come across that way because universe actually is completely indifferent to our wants and needs, but at the same time universe is like a gentle benevolent caregiver and also a brutal executioner without any rhyme or reason behind it all.

What calmed my fears in face of this frightening and cold heartless reality was the indigenous acknowledgment that, "It is not we who owns the land, but it is the land who owns us." and for some reason that brought about a lot of comfort, because it was the universe that has given me life as much as it will take it, leading me to think that this isn't going to be the only sole existence I will ever know once I am gone from this planet.

 

[JustGeorge]

The research is overwhelming because each topic is so dense. I will never learn enough ot seems. And life is overwhelming.

It is dense! There is so much to learn! You won't learn it all in this lifetime. And that's fine.

You have stated a clear problem I have: i don't rely on my own experiences. It seems like I am blocked from my inner self. I rely on others research as I always have. I simply don't trust my own experiences because i am too focused on a materialistic research method which is popular in the west.

There are a lot of books out there written to guide a person to experience. They're not usually the scholarly tomes, but things that other people have written in hopes that they can help another. If you're not ready to 'let go' yet, that might be a good medium for you. They often have exercises, guided meditation, or ways of recommending action in addition to your reading(and may require it for you to understand the rest of the text!)

Thanks very much on the tips. What is a sacred symbol? It sounds interesting because I am a designer and an artist, and i love symbolism. What is sacred symbolism and how do i incorporate it?

What a sacred symbol varies a lot for most. Sacred geometry is pretty universal, but any tradition you're looking at will have them. In Hinduism, some wear their symbols right on their foreheads. The 'om' is well known. The Egyptians have an ankh. The Druids have the 'awen' symbol. (Most traditions have more than one.)

I have relied heavily on books. Academic stuff and spiritual books. What I like about Hinduism is the idea that even though there are books, experience is what matters. I must just find my own experiences.

You will, in time.

They may even find you, just remember to be open to them!

And .. i am such a labeller... I find it difficult not to label things.

Its a habit I had to break myself of. It wasn't serving me.

Thank you so much for your reply! It is already helpful.

Glad to hear that.

 

[Samael_Khan]

It does come across that way because universe actually is completely indifferent to our wants and needs, but at the same time universe is like a gentle benevolent caregiver and also a brutal executioner without any rhyme or reason behind it all.

What calmed my fears in face of this frightening and cold heartless reality was the indigenous acknowledgment that, "It is not we who owns the land, but it is the land who owns us." and for some reason that brought about a lot of comfort, because it was the universe that has given me life as much as it will take it, leading me to think that this isn't going to be the only sole existence I will ever know once I am gone from this planet.

I think of it as "from dust we were born and to dust we will return and then we will help other beings come to be". That and the idea that the land owns us does give a certain peace in the sense that even our deaths aren't for nothing. It is part of the eco system. And hopefully we will be reincarnated.

 

[Samael_Khan]

It is dense! There is so much to learn! You won't learn it all in this lifetime. And that's fine.

There are a lot of books out there written to guide a person to experience. They're not usually the scholarly tomes, but things that other people have written in hopes that they can help another. If you're not ready to 'let go' yet, that might be a good medium for you. They often have exercises, guided meditation, or ways of recommending action in addition to your reading(and may require it for you to understand the rest of the text!)

What a sacred symbol varies a lot for most. Sacred geometry is pretty universal, but any tradition you're looking at will have them. In Hinduism, some wear their symbols right on their foreheads. The 'om' is well known. The Egyptians have an ankh. The Druids have the 'awen' symbol. (Most traditions have more than one.)

You will, in time.

They may even find you, just remember to be open to them!

Its a habit I had to break myself of. It wasn't serving me.

Glad to hear that.

Last night I was reading the Upanishads. From the outset the compiler explained that these are the experiences of individuals. Somehow this is more soothing because I don't feel pressured to accept what I am reading completely, it isn't all or nothing. It is more like I am encouraged to explore and grow in spirituality wherever that takes me. My girlfriend and I are studying a book on Night Magic which does involve various exercises.

Is the cross in Christianity considered a sacred symbol? If it is then I think I understand what you mean.

I must definitely be opened to experiences.

 

[JustGeorge]

Last night I was reading the Upanishads. From the outset the compiler explained that these are the experiences of individuals. Somehow this is more soothing because I don't feel pressured to accept what I am reading completely, it isn't all or nothing. It is more like I am encouraged to explore and grow in spirituality wherever that takes me. My girlfriend and I are studying a book on Night Magic which does involve various exercises.

Is the cross in Christianity considered a sacred symbol? If it is then I think I understand what you mean.

I must definitely be opened to experiences.

The cross is indeed a sacred symbol.

Enjoy your journey!