15 replies to this topic

[Jake49]

Albert Einstein said,

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed."

Not that I'm quoting this to suggest it's some "undeniable truth" lol.. but it really meant something to me when I felt in this "I don't know" place I'm in...

As I came further away from Christianity and its conditioning and indoctrination, as well as other thinking and conditioning from the world... My fascination with space, nature, life, all kinds of things opened up even more. Especially with space... and I see the "beauty in its mystery"... and enjoy exploring things about it and all kinds of things.

I seem to be drawn to the science of quantum physics, in a very basic understanding that we are all part of the same quantum field.
I made this piece of music and put some words from videos on it:

http://soundcloud.com/jake49/i-am-you

So... that's part of where I'm at... and it would be so great to hear anything that anybody has to share on spirituality, life anything they've found after Christianity... not that I'm looking for a belief system... I'm just searching.

I have been reading through other topics here and I am just in a place of exploring.. I feel happy with the idea of not searching to "know" anything.. because I want to accept my limitations... and just learn to be. I really like a lot of the Atheist perspective.. and many different ideas and views..

I am currently drawn to the science of quantum physics... and that there is some kind of flow in life, patterns, frequencies, energy... and I think it was Icke who went into describing how we are all part of this energy, I believe he calls it infinite consciousness.. and that we are manifestations of energy... we are this infinite consciousness manifested subjectively from my point of view and your point of view... but that the separation we perceive is in our minds... and really, we are one with everything... with space, with nature, with mountains, with oceans, with creatures, life, each other...

This is a real source for me of understanding the unconditional value and worth we have.. and how I cannot "know" it all... but I can "pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe" of it's beauty and mystery........ and some how find ways to flow with the patterns of life I see through science.

Thank you for sharing anything. It's all great to hear in my journey and I will continue searching and exploring.

[lunaticheathen]

I had no spiritual life inside of christianity. That's really a huge part of why I left, because I want the spiritual, and everything connected to Abraham's god felt dead to me.

I could spend ages just listing all the spiritual experiences I've had, much less trying to describe them. I've met gods, felt Oneness, knelt in awe of Hethert, gotten lessons from Set (those hurt, but were necessary), followed in my dreams by Erzulie Dantor until I got a tattoo for her, and I do believe my story about my attendance at a Vodou St John's Eve ceremony is tucked away in this section. I wrote that a couple of years back, but it's still a vivid memory.

Mine is less science (though science is amazing, and learning new stuff rocks my socks) and more about experiencing the liminal. I do believe in God/s. I believe in spirits, and could be very spiritually fulfilled just communing with my ancestors. And, yes, I do that too. I've had dead relatives show up in my dreams and dorm rooms.

Like I said, I could go on and on. But the main point, which I think differs from others on this site, is that I experienced NOTHING spiritual in christianity. Not once. My spiritual world burst open when I looked outside of christianity, and not before.

ETA: I found that old story. Here's a link, for convenience and funsies! http://www.ex-christ...2-st-johns-eve/

Edited by lunaticheathen, 01 June 2012 - 05:36 AM.

[Adam5]

I am in the process of deconverting after only leaving the church for a few weeks. I think all my past spiritual experiences are either imaginary or simply feelings or emotions, with perhaps the exception of a feeling of oneness with nature.

I do not want to get involved in any religion. The answer to me at this point is to aim to be free thinking, not being bound by any belief system, old age, new age whatever. Just to exist without any imaginary deities, beings or feelings. To just be myself and live my life free.

[Jake49]

I had no spiritual life inside of christianity. That's really a huge part of why I left, because I want the spiritual, and everything connected to Abraham's god felt dead to me.

I could spend ages just listing all the spiritual experiences I've had, much less trying to describe them. I've met gods, felt Oneness, knelt in awe of Hethert, gotten lessons from Set (those hurt, but were necessary), followed in my dreams by Erzulie Dantor until I got a tattoo for her, and I do believe my story about my attendance at a Vodou St John's Eve ceremony is tucked away in this section. I wrote that a couple of years back, but it's still a vivid memory.

Mine is less science (though science is amazing, and learning new stuff rocks my socks) and more about experiencing the liminal. I do believe in God/s. I believe in spirits, and could be very spiritually fulfilled just communing with my ancestors. And, yes, I do that too. I've had dead relatives show up in my dreams and dorm rooms.

Like I said, I could go on and on. But the main point, which I think differs from others on this site, is that I experienced NOTHING spiritual in christianity. Not once. My spiritual world burst open when I looked outside of christianity, and not before.

ETA: I found that old story. Here's a link, for convenience and funsies! http://www.ex-christ...2-st-johns-eve/

Fascinating I haven't even heard of some of those things before! I've heard people say before, "Truth is stranger than fiction".. and wherever my journey is going, I know that a lot of what I used to know, will be something like climbing out of a box into a larger understanding. I guess I'll never stop learning!

I experienced what could be described as spirituality while I was a Christian, but it had nothing to do with Christianity, that's for sure xD

[Jake49]

I am in the process of deconverting after only leaving the church for a few weeks. I think all my past spiritual experiences are either imaginary or simply feelings or emotions, with perhaps the exception of a feeling of oneness with nature.

I do not want to get involved in any religion. The answer to me at this point is to aim to be free thinking, not being bound by any belief system, old age, new age whatever. Just to exist without any imaginary deities, beings or feelings. To just be myself and live my life free.

I really like that perspective... it resonated with me and really that's something I feel I am moving towards... I made this track last week which has the lyrics, "I don't believe anymore, and I don't need belief, when I don't know"... http://soundcloud.co...t-need-belief-w and it's a bit about being in that place of I don't know... Still wanting to search and explore life of course, but not by constructing a belief system, which perhaps (I don't know) could actually be our human ways of hiding inside what we construct, hiding from a profoundly sick society.. in the protection from being hurt by it. I think that's what I've done a lot of in my life.. and..

Like you said, I don't want to be bound by anything, I want to BE... and live my life free.
I like it

[Jake49]

I had no spiritual life inside of christianity. That's really a huge part of why I left, because I want the spiritual, and everything connected to Abraham's god felt dead to me.

I could spend ages just listing all the spiritual experiences I've had, much less trying to describe them. I've met gods, felt Oneness, knelt in awe of Hethert, gotten lessons from Set (those hurt, but were necessary), followed in my dreams by Erzulie Dantor until I got a tattoo for her, and I do believe my story about my attendance at a Vodou St John's Eve ceremony is tucked away in this section. I wrote that a couple of years back, but it's still a vivid memory.

Mine is less science (though science is amazing, and learning new stuff rocks my socks) and more about experiencing the liminal. I do believe in God/s. I believe in spirits, and could be very spiritually fulfilled just communing with my ancestors. And, yes, I do that too. I've had dead relatives show up in my dreams and dorm rooms.

Like I said, I could go on and on. But the main point, which I think differs from others on this site, is that I experienced NOTHING spiritual in christianity. Not once. My spiritual world burst open when I looked outside of christianity, and not before.

ETA: I found that old story. Here's a link, for convenience and funsies! http://www.ex-christ...2-st-johns-eve/

Is there anything that you do to experience things spiritually? do you meditate? do you attend any groups/churches?

thanks for writing back!

[lunaticheathen]

Is there anything that you do to experience things spiritually? do you meditate? do you attend any groups/churches?

thanks for writing back!

Well, as a child, I saw ghosts and other entities, but never in a christian context. Then I was told many of these were fake, but Jesus was real, whom I had never seen! Riiiight.

When I began intentionally exploring spirituality, some things just "happened", some occurred during meditation, trance work, ritual, and other things. I started alone, since I lacked a community for pagan spirituality in Alabama. Once I started practices, the events that "just happened" without me consciously seeking them increased. It was like opening pathways in my brain. It became easier to put myself in a mild trance state and see/feel things just beyond the veil.

When I lived in New Orleans, I had a Vodou community to practice with, and I deeply miss that. I had some very very powerful experiences inside the ounfu. It's not absolutely necessary to have a community to practice Vodou, but it is by nature a communal religion, and I deeply miss them.

Now that I joined Kemetic Orthodoxy, I have a community there as well, but it's strictly online at this point. I've met one other Kemetic in person, but most of us are so spread out, group rites are often done online. Despite most members being far from each other, there are efforts to meet up, even if it's just to have fun together, and there are in-person rituals for major holidays at Tawy House. I've never been to any, and they aren't mandatory, but I would love to go. Most of my devotions to Netjer are done solo, though. The simple daily prayer rite for Kemetic Orthodox devotees is deceptively powerful.

[ufred7]

I'm interested in what you mean when you talk about spirituality. I tried to pin that down for myself for a long time, but I never could come up with anything that seemed plausible and comprehensive.

What, for you, is the definition of "spirituality?"

[lunaticheathen]

I'm interested in what you mean when you talk about spirituality. I tried to pin that down for myself for a long time, but I never could come up with anything that seemed plausible and comprehensive.

What, for you, is the definition of "spirituality?"

It's a slippery term. Simply, though, it is all the activities and thoughts that pertain to the spirit.

Now you're gonna ask me what "spirit" is. It comes from the Latin word for "breath", so it's tied with life, and existing. But, personally, spirit is that stuff that is beyond the five physical senses, most of the time, but also penetrates it. It's not matter, but often inhabits it. It's not emotion either, but one can become conscious of it through emotion.

Ok, this is starting to sound like "it's more like a giant ball of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey....stuff." I'll stop now.

[2Honest]

I really love this piece of music, Jake. I'm bookmarking your cloud page so I can go back and listen to the other tracks. I've listened to part of "Untangle" and it's really beautiful!

I'm in that searching phase, too. Right now I'm involved with a yoga group and many of the women there are into spiritual practices. I shy away from anything that requires me to "check my brain at the door". I had to do that as a Christian in order to maintain belief, so anything that smacks of that is a real turn-off. But I do still long for that feeling of connection with others, and that sense of peace I got from my Christian spirituality. I have been able to access those same feelings when doing yoga, and with dance and movement.

As believers my husband and I were into quantum physics. We were actually introduced to it by our pastor's wife, believe it or not. She incorporates it into Christianity (somehow), When we left church/faith, I sort of put the quantum physics thing aside. I haven't really explored it since leaving. I think for me it was so tied together with faith/god/creation that I just didn't enjoy it once I left those things behind.

So, thanks for sharing this. You've inspired me and renewed my interest in these things. I think I'm finally at a place now where I can learn and pursue things without being afraid that I will fall for something that will just hurt me in the end. I'm having to learn to trust myself and my ability to explore things without getting drawn into something unhealthy. I'm sure you can relate!

Thanks again. You are a true artist!
2H

[ufred7]

Ok, this is starting to sound like "it's more like a giant ball of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey....stuff." I'll stop now.

Yeah, that's kind of where I end up.

[RintrahRoars]

I've learned what love is after leaving Christianity, and I'm still philosophically sorting out why my worldview had to change for me to understand love. Basically in a world of dualism what I now call "love" is impossible. I had to learn that all things are connected to each other, that we have no souls that are separate from our bodies (or no bodies distinct from our souls, as William Blake said) and that we are not spiritually separate from the Earth that gives us life. When I was a Christian I considered this life to be only a shadow of a higher reality that we will access after we died. Now I see that THIS is life. Now I can live life fully and without shame.

[Eugene39]

Hi, Jake. When I initially left Christianity, I had no idea that religion and spirituality were two totally different things. Thankfully, I've since changed my opinion on that. Since "perception is reality", what I see you describing in your original post seems to be generically called "naturalistic spirituality". The night sky or watching water flow by in the creek - that is now my "church". When in religion, I was constantly looking for feelings of euphoria and believing it to be a connection to God. Now, the quiet times of being "merged" with nature is when my spirit is renewed.

[Antlerman]

Hi Jake, welcome to the forums! I look forward to sharing my own journey and where I am now in that long path with you, as perhaps it may in its own way encourage you to find yours. Yes, indeed, there is something beyond the Christian claim on all things spiritual.

BTW, I loved your music. As one musician to another I'll compliment you by saying I could feel you in your work. There is truth and depth in it. I hear a definite connection to Sigur Ros in it, a little Kitaro as well in others?

Here's a link to some of my work I recorded quite a number of years ago now. I've broke from that and am exploring new forms now: http://talkingtimeline.com/music/

[Deva]

Hi Jake! After a very long journey with Christianity, I discarded it, and I went over into Tibetan Buddhism in 2008. I practice at a local Dharma Center. To me, a spiritual life is essential, and I carefully considered my options. I love beauty and a certain amount of ritual. These elements are not lacking where I am at.

[Voice]

I like that too, Jake, you're a natural composer. What else have you done?