I was not trying to imply that there is science that says being raised in a religion and with ritual is better. I've talked at length about reasons why I think it can be damaging (http://altarflame.livejournal.com/478837.html) to be raised with religion and ritual. I think that some of the parts of the people I mentioned, that I like, are related to them being raised religious. I sometimes feel like very specific things I like about my own kids' behavior or outlook are related to ways they were exposed to specific bits of religion.
I've talked before about how meditation totally gives me a lot of the same peace and centeredness that prayer does, too. That doesn't really have anything to do with craving heavy theology and strict rules and rich traditions, though.
UU and such do not and have never appealed to me. That doesn't mean they aren't very valuable to other people. I cannot grasp the meaning or the point of community and ritual devoted to a central focus that isn't capital-t Truth; religion as a metaphor does nothing for me. I don't know how to feel reverence for things, and act as though they're sacred, without really Believing in them whole-heartedly.
This entry is designed to express feelings I have, most of them grief related, many of them romanticizing, all of them personal and based on my own life. None of it is logical, which I tried to make clear. I'm really not here to convince anyone of anything. For instance: I am drawn to the idea of struggling to resist forbidden temptations. I think the concepts of sin and a battle between good and evil make "bad" things hotter and more luscious. I really eat up how that whole dichotomy heightens feelings and sensations and makes all things sexual so much more weighty and dramatic.
It's also crazily destructive, and not good for anyone, or what we should be teaching kids. I don't ADVOCATE that kind of idea. I certainly wouldn't argue other people should feel that way. But I do, whether I want to or not. *shrug* There's no point to the feeling, or objective in telling you, except that I like understanding how I feel, and I like expressing my feelings, and I like it when I can connect with other people who feel like I do.
I'm not trying to argue, either, BUT (haha)...I think it's funny that you say that I have black and white views on religion, and yet you think you can sum up "all of the good things about religion" as replaceable by joining a community group. It goes much deeper than a community group can, for many people. What I miss is not volunteerism or hanging out at specified times; it's feeling I can tap into the creator of the universe directly whenever I want, and like I know at least some of the central answers to life's (and deaths) mysteries. I miss feeling that I can study the same book all my life and still not even begin to unravel it's wisdom, and like I am a better person each time I try. I miss seeing signs intended just for me in every day events, and then thanking somebody specific for them.
"In my life your perceptions are not reality" is something anyone could say to any other person.
no subject
I've talked before about how meditation totally gives me a lot of the same peace and centeredness that prayer does, too. That doesn't really have anything to do with craving heavy theology and strict rules and rich traditions, though.
UU and such do not and have never appealed to me. That doesn't mean they aren't very valuable to other people. I cannot grasp the meaning or the point of community and ritual devoted to a central focus that isn't capital-t Truth; religion as a metaphor does nothing for me. I don't know how to feel reverence for things, and act as though they're sacred, without really Believing in them whole-heartedly.
This entry is designed to express feelings I have, most of them grief related, many of them romanticizing, all of them personal and based on my own life. None of it is logical, which I tried to make clear. I'm really not here to convince anyone of anything. For instance: I am drawn to the idea of struggling to resist forbidden temptations. I think the concepts of sin and a battle between good and evil make "bad" things hotter and more luscious. I really eat up how that whole dichotomy heightens feelings and sensations and makes all things sexual so much more weighty and dramatic.
It's also crazily destructive, and not good for anyone, or what we should be teaching kids. I don't ADVOCATE that kind of idea. I certainly wouldn't argue other people should feel that way. But I do, whether I want to or not. *shrug* There's no point to the feeling, or objective in telling you, except that I like understanding how I feel, and I like expressing my feelings, and I like it when I can connect with other people who feel like I do.
I'm not trying to argue, either, BUT (haha)...I think it's funny that you say that I have black and white views on religion, and yet you think you can sum up "all of the good things about religion" as replaceable by joining a community group. It goes much deeper than a community group can, for many people. What I miss is not volunteerism or hanging out at specified times; it's feeling I can tap into the creator of the universe directly whenever I want, and like I know at least some of the central answers to life's (and deaths) mysteries. I miss feeling that I can study the same book all my life and still not even begin to unravel it's wisdom, and like I am a better person each time I try. I miss seeing signs intended just for me in every day events, and then thanking somebody specific for them.
"In my life your perceptions are not reality" is something anyone could say to any other person.