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Some people feel empowered by prayer. If they pray to accept some major problem and they are able to accept it, they feel their prayer has been answered. They feel like they have a pipeline to a power greater than themselves that helps them when they need it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CorporateCowboy
If you want to pray, by all means, do so. My point, as an atheist (in the here and now), is prayer (or asking 'serenity') isn't acceptance. It's the belief a higher being exists who has the power to change things (or to grant us serenity, for that matter). How is that acceptance, and how can it change our lives in terms of philosophy, or the thread?
It doesn't; prayer is simply religion. We must find our own 'serenity' and acceptance (and consider what is/isn't worth fighting for). It begins with asking our own questions.
Some people feel empowered by prayer. If they pray to accept some major problem and they are able to accept it, they feel their prayer has been answered. They feel like they have a pipeline to a power greater than themselves that helps them when they need it.
If they feel empowered by prayer (and they want to pray), then so be it. My point is simply religion/prayer is quite different than acceptance of that which is undeniable and certain i.e. 'it is what it is' (and our ability to come to terms with it).
If they feel empowered by prayer (and they want to pray), then so be it. My point is simply religion/prayer is quite different than acceptance of that which is undeniable and certain i.e. 'it is what it is' (and our ability to come to terms with it).
Maybe. But maybe not. Many people who pray, don't pray for acceptance and they don't get it. They may go to church, but spend years resenting things that have happened to them. If you pray for acceptance you want it, so are likely to get it.
My husband, the natural zen master, used to tell me to go into the bathroom and un-plug his electric razor when I got upset. At first, I was like, WTF? Then, he eventually explained that I needed to un-plug myself (I.e. be more detached). The advice worked, eventually.
Maybe. But maybe not. Many people who pray, don't pray for acceptance and they don't get it. They may go to church, but spend years resenting things that have happened to them. If you pray for acceptance you want it, so are likely to get it.
I disagree with the bolded - acceptance is a conscious thought (regardless of whether prayer precedes it or not); it's the Philosophy Forum as opposed to R&S. ;-)
I disagree with the bolded - acceptance is a conscious thought (regardless of whether prayer precedes it or not); it's the Philosophy Forum as opposed to R&S. ;-)
It's probably more psychology than either religion or philosophy. Acceptance has to be renewed on a constant basis. Like staying sober if you are an alcoholic.
It's changed my life, and I hope that it may change yours. It's very hard to accept whatever this life has to throw at you, but acceptance of both the "good" and the "bad" can really make a big difference in one's life.
Try it out and see if it helps.
It works for some people. For me, I find it a passive cop-out.
It's probably more psychology than either religion or philosophy. Acceptance has to be renewed on a constant basis. Like staying sober if you are an alcoholic.
I agree as to how it's been approached by the OP (and several in the thread relative to prayer) it is more psychology, religion - or even behavior. I simply attempted to steer the discussion into a more philosophical/inquisitive one i.e. acceptance is a conscious thought which involves both reasoning and knowledge (as opposed to the all-too-common one-dimensional posts), seeing as how it's a philosophy forum.
Last edited by CorporateCowboy; 09-13-2020 at 06:24 PM..
For ME, I think the word was CHOICE. It was kind of an epiphany for me. Free will.
It came to me when a guy had wrote me a note, telling me he didn't want to see me again, because I wasn't his body type. I was crushed and embarassed, and in my head I thought "But I can't help the shape I am." But right after THAT thought, another thought popped in my head "But it IS my choice. No one can change me, but me."
And I found that to be really really liberating.
A LOT of stuff happens to us, that are truly out of the blue...but a LOT of what happens to us are the natural consequences of actions we've taken or not taken. It was truly our choice. Maybe it was a bad choice...but it was one I made...and the consequence is what happens.
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