About Me:
My favorite TV programs are Doctor Who, MI-5, Star Trek and Joan of Arcadia. Favorite movie, Lawrence of Arabia. Favorite people, Jesus, Lao Tzu, Chuang Tzu, Socrates, Simone Weil, Bernadette Roberts, Epictetus. Favorite book, The Outsider by Colin Wilson.
I am a Taoist, Zen, Dzogchen, Kabbalist, Eastern Orthodox, Celtic Christian mystic.
I inadvertently erased my former profile info. I am not a non-dualist. This means we are in no sense God. There is God, and everything else. So what is the spiritual journey? I think we are created as a seed of potential. A seed can either germinate, or not. And a seed must have nourishment. So our movement is toward a maturity which can come to understand self and its relation to the structure of the universe, becoming united to God in the process. This union with God is necessary, as God becomes our source of life. This union is not mere mental assent, or belief, it's existential transformation. If you read the words and record of Jesus, you understand that this transformation is not limited to the narrow interpretation shown by today's church.
We live in a sea of all sorts of information. Our capacity to experience the world does not stop at our five senses. Likewise, the world does not stop at the boundaries of the material, there are dimensions of deeper reality of which our being participates. Time is real, but our movement is from time to eternity. Access to eternity is always in the present moment, now.
Religions were invented out of necessity to control the masses. Without it we could not exist. People must have meaning to live, to obey laws, to be civil to each other.
Fairy tales make children dream, so do religious stories. I see nothing but good in making people feel important and needed.
I don't have a religion, but I am old enough not to need one to love myself and others. I do think we are need out faiths and non faiths.
I am new to Beliefnet Forums (and when I tried to read the Terms of Use an ad popped up), so I don't know if it's appropriate to make the following invitation, but here goes:
My publisher, SOPHIA PERENNIS, has a new website dedicated to the Traditionalist School -- Rene Guenon, Ananda Coomaraswamy, Frithjof Schuon and writers influenced by them -- and includes "discussion-streams" on the following topics:
General Discussion: What is "Traditionalism", and Where is It Headed?
Neglected Traditions
Traditionalism and Christianity
Traditionalism and Eschatology
Traditionalism and Folklore
Traditionalism and Globalism
Traditionalism and Interfaith
Traditionalism and Islam
Traditionalism and Psychology
Traditionalism and Spiritual Ecology
Traditionalism and Spiritual Romance
I'd like to invite you to join in any of these conversations you choose. You'll be surrounded by ads for our books but you can ignore these; like the admen say, there's "no obligation".
Just a note to let you know I stopped by today.
RevDorrisMay your year be filled with good health, love, peace, and happiness.
10:24 AM