stryper Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 in honor of buffetphan in the cursing thread. that is all. But on a more serious note. As a follower/student/ whatever, of the Micheal Teachings I am kinda used to hearing it called that. I guess the point of this thread is for all of us who have found something other then christianity, What's the wooiest thing you've found in your new found teaching/religion/practice/ whatever? Personally, with the micheal teachings, It has to the stuff that people have gotten about the origins of humanity. According to Micheal, we originated on a planet in the Sirius system. 6million years ago. We were hunt by the local sentient population. A galactic band of animal rights activists "rescued" us and brought us to earth. They then genetically modified us to live on earth. Since that time they have intervened with our genes at least 4-5 times since then. Is it true, I have no clue. However, it's an interesting thought experiment that tickles my fantasy centers of the brain. So I just accept that some believe it and stick to the things closer to the living of this life. So what's your Wooiest? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator buffettphan Posted September 13, 2012 Super Moderator Share Posted September 13, 2012 Aw gee thanks, Stryper. I thought I was offering some sound advice based on my own prior experience in this section of Ex-C. My "wooiest" thing was when I got into A Course In Miracles for a while. Everything is an illusion and life is just a dream ( merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily....) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator TrueFreedom Posted September 13, 2012 Moderator Share Posted September 13, 2012 Reiki, craniosacral therapy, Kinesiology, and N. A. E. T. (natural allergy elimination technique) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator TrueFreedom Posted September 13, 2012 Moderator Share Posted September 13, 2012 still watching for time and space for meditation... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akheia Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 So what's your Wooiest? Wow, that was some hilarious Woo all right. I have to admit, the idea of humans are hunted endangered species brought here by space aliens never occurred to me. The kind of paganism I follow is refreshingly free of woo--nobody I've ever heard in it has ever said anything that contradicts science, to my recollection; nobody's ever demanded we put our minds on hold or insulted our intelligence with stupid shit. Most of the people involved in it are pretty analytical people, not the usual folks one might associate with paganism. Even the myths we read are considered purely allegorical and metaphorical. None of the rituals are expected to have supernatural effects. A while ago I realized there isn't a lot of difference between what I am and a functional atheist, but I'm really not comfortable with that label for myself. I'm sure there is some truly jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring Woo in it, but I honestly can't think of anything really out there beyond the, well, whole idea that yes, it involves pagan gods. After the shit I went through in Fundie-land, I've got a really low Woo tolerance. But wow I could tell some fun stories about some of the pagans I met back when I was a lot more active in that community. That's kind of the problem with eclectic paganism--people can pretty much make up whatever the fuck they want, and that can make for some really insane cherry-picked cafeteria-style homebrews of religions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurisaz Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 Let's see, if I took the Poetic Edda literally (which I don't), there'd be some woo to find in it for sure. Magic. Seriously. Magic. Kind of a fun thought, and one could say that to a degree I'm into that, what with consecrated runestones in my bag and using them every now and then for divination purposes. I'd think it much more probable that the results I read out of it are telling me something about my own subconscious instead of the future. At least I can say that so far I had a 100 % success rate, with only one serious attempt and that one working out correctly Then, the structure of the Eddaic universe. Other worlds, fine. Even nine of them (I'll ignore Pluto's degradation here ). But... umm, dude... those worlds suspended by the branches of the world tree? Whatever you've been smoking, I want some of it! There's much more woo in the book (again, if you assume what you're reading is fact not allegory) but these two immediately occur to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lunaticheathen Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 Well, I don't know about "woo", and this story is really not meant to be theology or even "real" (even back in ancient times, this was purely an Egyptian "lolgods" story), but here ya go. A condensed bit of the Contendings of Horus and Set retold. I laugh until I cry over this, btw. http://bettermyths.c...on-his-enemies/ Suddenly....RANCH DRESSING! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lunaticheathen Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 Of course, even the "regular" stories had some weird shit. Like Isis making Osiris his own golden penis after his got lost because he was cut up, and she knocked herself up with said dead brother/husband and golden dong. Why? SHE'S THA BOSS OF MAGIC. And when a goddess goes rampaging, the answer is beer. But that makes more sense than anything in the bible. I'm still amused by the myth of Thoth and Khonsu, how Thoth played a game of senet to put 5 more not-days on the year so Nut could have her divine quintuplets. WEIRD RELEEJUN, I HAZ IT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antlerman Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 I would say nothing, actually. What I can say is that to others, it may appear woo. If I speak about experiencing being plugged into the stream of consciousness in meditative states for instance, some strict rationalist/materialist would see that as woo. No such thing exists in their experience of the world, and sounds fictional, fantasy, delusional, or the like. I avoid anything that I hear as 'descriptors' like this to be taken literally, as some external reality that you move between, and I avoid speaking of them this way. To danger occurs in how when one speaks about such experiences, others lacking their own experience may take it, or envisioned it, as either being literal realities outside themselves to believe in, or to be debunked. Both hear it from a place of non-experience. When heard and understood as something outside yourself it becomes all these 'fantasy' realms like heavenly mountains of crystal with streaming waters of life, or angels with wings. Even though I can say I have experienced those, using those descriptions myself, I see those as symbolic manifestations of the mind experiencing itself in deeper realization. So in that sense, they are in fact not 'woo'. They are not things, or object you 'believe' in. They are expressions of internal experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackpudd1n Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 lol about as woo-ey as I get these days is my fascination of neuro-theology; ie. the science behind religious experiences in the brain. Otherwise, my magic vs. science debates with dad: Dad: Such-and-such happened. See, it's magic! Me: Actually, there's a scientific explanation for that! (launch explanation here) Dad: Nah, it's magic. Me: No, it's science! Dad: I don't care. I like magic. Me: Science is more amazing than magic! Of course, it's all light-hearted fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stryper Posted September 14, 2012 Author Share Posted September 14, 2012 Reiki, craniosacral therapy, Kinesiology, and N. A. E. T. (natural allergy elimination technique) well Kinesiology is a thing. It is literally the study of how the human body moves and has many practical application. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinesiology However, Applied Kinesiology is definitely something. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Applied_kinesiology so...yeah.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator TrueFreedom Posted September 14, 2012 Moderator Share Posted September 14, 2012 Reiki, craniosacral therapy, Kinesiology, and N. A. E. T. (natural allergy elimination technique) well Kinesiology is a thing. It is literally the study of how the human body moves and has many practical application. http://en.wikipedia....iki/Kinesiology However, Applied Kinesiology is definitely something. http://en.wikipedia....ied_kinesiology so...yeah.... Yeah... My family has benefited quite a bit from Applied Kinesiology and alternative allergy treatments. Woo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VacuumFlux Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 I used to want to be telepathic, and still sometimes feel sad that it seems like that is not a possibility (other times I feel much relief that no one can get in my head and I don't have to deal with the direct contents of theirs either). That was one big motivator in reading about meditation and out of body experiences and suchlike - I hoped that if I got good enough at it, and someone else did too, we could communicate with just our minds. I still find myself drawn to sites about mental powers and astral projection and auras and stuff, though. I have mixed feeling about it all and my attitude towards it, but I generally get around that by telling myself that even if it's not "real" in the sense I wish it were, it's still very useful to explore what I can do inside my own mind and think of it as tapping into my subconscious or something. For example, I've had more than one person read my aura, and they all came up with very different ideas and colors from it. So there goes the whole "reproducibility" thing. On the other hand, the people who did so were friends of mine and did make some fairly accurate observations about my life and mental states. Even if they were just "making stuff up" subconsciously based on what they knew about me, it was still useful to learn about how other people see me and get some other opinions about weaknesses in my personality that I might need to look out for or problems in my life that need addressed. The current woo that I'm indulging in is a website about developing your emathic awareness/psychic abilities (with many caveats about the meaning of "psychic", and warnings not to expect it to be dramatic magic like on tv). I expected to read a little bit, have a good laugh, and move on with my life but it seems like I'm interested enough to read the whole thing and play with the suggested exercises. http://mysilentecho.com/dreamtongue1.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConureDelSol Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 Hmm...dare I mention I played with Raelism for awhile? All based on a guy who said he saw prophets chillin with aliens on a spaceship. At least they're out there fighting against female circumcision. That's more than I can say for most religions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator TrueFreedom Posted September 14, 2012 Moderator Share Posted September 14, 2012 Raelism, eh? Were you able to enjoy Sensual Meditation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stryper Posted September 14, 2012 Author Share Posted September 14, 2012 mmmm sounds kinky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kateastrophy Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 My mom is into Reiki and Astral Projection and Past Life Healing and stuff like that. All seems pretty woo to me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lunaticheathen Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 I kind of love Raelians. Yeah, it's pretty fuckin' out there, aliens bein' our scientist cloner-parents, but they're very sex-positive and love body glitter. What's not to like there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astreja Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 I do love a bit of woo now and then. I have a set of hand-carved runes that I consult now and then for quick advice soundbites, and I regularly see dragons up in the clouds. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephie Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 I used to read Tarot, meditation, attempted paganism of varying degrees, and what not. I still have a soft-spot for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
♦ Fuego ♦ Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 After listening to a professor of physics talk about the the current theories of the nature of matter and its various states at a Mensa conference, I find that science itself can seem pretty damn woo (but have good math and reasoning backing it up). So I tend to go with what works for me, and not spend a lot of time with esoteric concepts and archetypes. I'd still love to find a way to counteract gravity, move big stones like the Egyptians did, use vortexes to instantly get to other spots globally, and so on. But no idea how to do any of it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravenstar Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 hmmm.... my brand of paganism has some woo—being a pantheist there is a belief(?) that energies are in everything and do affect everything—but i try my best to stay on the non-woo side as much as possible, and some others I've witnessed have a lot of woo, especially the new age types who find a new miracle cure in each new substance marketed by some health company (acai berries, south american mushrooms, etc...) or the latest healing fad (sigh or buy into the silliest conspiracy stuff (illuminati, reptilians.. it get's even weirder) I do believe in magick to a degree‚ but I also believe it has a scientific explanation we aren't aware of yet. Maybe it has to do with the observation that some parts of the universe seem to do as we expect them to (I don't explain it well) I like Reiki however... don't know how it works, or what it actually is—but it worked for me (plantar fasciitis GONE! to the surprise of my doctor lol) HOWEVER! I think that christianity has way more woo... angels over your shoulder all the time, god intervening for silly things like parking spots, demons, 'signs' of god seen in the smallest coincidences, speaking in tongues and 'ecstacy' weirdness, conspiracies theories with end of the world stuff, (gotta love Hal and his fear-mongering) prophecy seen everywhere, rumours of satanic cults everywhere and child abuse, satanic rock music, the woo never stopped and there was always one more thing that was supernatural (and really scary).. the entire world was seen as a spiritual or supernatural battleground and each person's subjective 'testimony' is taken at face value, so really i find other systems to be a lot less woo than the christian cults... and I wasn't even a fundamentalist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akheia Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 Everybody's got a gris-gris. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravenstar Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 How do you mean that? Are you saying everyone has their superstitions? hmmm.... I didn't realize that the gris-gris is actually from Islamic tradition, fascinating. (yes, you made me look it up lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akheia Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 Being an ex-Christian doesn't mean you've decoupled yourself from the traditions inherent in the religion. How often have we seen someone who throws off the more obvious shackles of church attendance and science-denial, yet still believes in her heart of hearts that sex is evil or scary? Or that Someone Up There is watching and judging us and will exact vengeance for crimes committed? Or that the world really is just? There are a lot of superstitions that go into a modern human; some are generally benevolent ("people are good"), and some are patently harmful ("people don't lie about important things", "vaccinations cause autism") and even totally absurd ("the government did 9/11!"). Even an atheist can fall victim to a superstition. Part of deconversion is not only decoupling from the outward shows of the religion, but re-thinking all the unspoken dogmas that went with that old allegiance. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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