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Love how you phrased that! (Bolded)
As I stated upthread, my husband became an angry atheist due to horrible experiences with Catholicism. He couldn’t even say the word God without anger because he couldn’t separate out organized religion from God.
Decades later via some mysterious impulse (LOL ) my husband started going to Advaita Satsangs and developed a powerful meditation practice even doing weeklong silent retreats.
He came back from one retreat where he had the deep ONENESS experience and told me,
“ I believe I experienced what you keep calling God!!”
And now he has no anger or separation when we discuss God or spiritual experiences…..
My door/portal to God opened through Jesus experience, his through Advaita….
This is beautiful. All religions at their very fundamental level inspire the very same impulse - to seek.
And how many myriad ways in which we seek? Within one single religion there are multiple ways. And within one religion multiple people seek in multiple ways. Does it not reflect the way we experience the world and the universe itself? Religions are porous. It is people who draw the borders and raise the walls out of ignorance. Krishna, in the Bhagavad Gita, says all who seek me are dear to me. They are mine.
The path I am on is lit with Lord Shiva, Buddha, Jesus, Rumi, Meera. One Cosmic Lord of the Universe, the others incarnated, avatars. A little bit of “avaterism” is in all of us, in some measure or other and which connects us all.
Peace and Namaste.
Yikes is right. I'm just a little tired of people saying they are one thing, and acting like another. There are those right in this thread who harass, lie, pick apart posts, misquote and are trolling around looking for someone to attack. Do you see where I'm coming from?
Alright, let's start over. What exactly is your religion?
.
Yes, I know exactly where you are coming from — and that’s why God invented the Ignore Button — LOL
(That was a joke in case you didn’t get it )
There’s irony here as you complain about others trolling and harassing you and then call my experiences dangerous and “ a bunch of woo and arrogant.”
Because of that I won’t go into my personal journey w you, but will say I don’t have a “religion” I have a “relationship” w God.
I still think you have a lot of courage and a healthy hungry inquiring mind but Feel free to use the ignore button on me ! LOL
Last edited by mountainrose; 08-26-2022 at 07:32 AM..
There are those right in this thread who harass, lie, pick apart posts, misquote and are trolling around looking for someone to attack. Do you see where I'm coming from?
.
OMG, you have described them exactly!! Do you seem them too? I totally see where you are coming from, my friend.
But what a blessing. The responses to their trolling, the calm, patient and inspiring posts are the golden part. If not for those we both see we would not have the opposite in these forums. Ying and yang, good and evil, good and bad, darkness and light. That is the way it is. No evidence, no science can explain that, other than, ding-ding-ding, Karma!
Yes, I know exactly where you are coming from — and that’s why God invented the Ignore Button — LOL
(That was a joke in case you didn’t get it )
There’s irony here as you complain about others trolling and harassing you and then call my experiences “ a bunch of woo and arrogant.”
Because of that I won’t go into my personal journey w you, but will say I don’t have a “religion” I have a “relationship” w God.
That is a pity. We have lost an opportunity to know you, Mountainrose. Maybe in another forum or thread you will feel more safe.
P.S.
I actually tried hard to be an atheist for a few years as it was so much easier!!
I am NOT saying atheists are lazy, but FOR ME atheism is the easier path…..
his post isn't about atheism. his post is about "why believers believe."
what he went to great lengths to describe and analyze and provided in depth detailed explanation for is "why believers believe." clearly it is something he wrestles with to the point that he has to explain it in great detail to himself and others.
atheists analyzing the mental state of believers, has nothing to do with atheism. just like believers analyzing in depth the mental state of atheists has nothing to do with any path of religion and spirituality they may choose to follow or practice.
It is not atheists analyzing the mental state of believers, it is an explanation about how the brain works.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tzaphkiel
the phrases i bolded from his own post apply to him: He "must have an explanation" why believers believe; he "just wants an explanation that feels right" for him, why believers believe; for him it "relieves the psychological tension" he clearly has around why believers believe; the explanation for him which he must have "is very simple and reassuring" and therefore it is "relatively easy to accept" for him, why believers believe. For him this simple reassuring explanation he provides himself to relieve his psychological tension around why believers believe, allows him to "map a large question" "into a more manageable headspace." And this allows him to "give credence to the plausibility of things" that he "would really very much like or need to be true." what is it that he "would really very much like or need to be true" regarding why believers believe? that believers are "prone to be deceived" and that believers "see that which is not there" and they "don't want proof."
Or it is looking at the known evidence about why people believe what they do.
An excellent article from a former atheist scientist who evolved his belief/understanding in God through his work and discoveries in the miracles of science. Very similar to what I was trying to convey.
This was a symposium through Pew research called Religion and Science: Conflict or Harmony?
There are MANY stories of scientists who reconcile their belief in God THROUGH their love of science and discovery of this amazing universe.
Quote: from former atheist in article
“But how can you be both a believer and a biologist? I’ve certainly been asked that question on numerous occasions by people who find out that I’m a geneticist who studies DNA every day and I’m a Christian. After all, don’t you realize that evolution is incompatible with faith? If you believe in evolution, how can you be a believer? That’s the usual kind of concern.”
But do they reconcile their beliefs, because naturalism is the conclusion of science, and has been for over 2000 years. It is never a god did it. Just because many scientists are religious does not mean the science support their religious claims. They may just be presuming a god behind naturalism, as in the question "where do natural forces come from"?
But then that raises the question, where do God's properties come from? If you say they are inherent in God's existence, then we can argue natural forces are inherent in existence itself.
Einstein comes to mind although he never declared anything, but his words speak. Something like 90% Indian scientists pray every day. Real scientists have no quarrel with spirituality, or the existence of a higher power.
But do Indian scientists pray to the same god Einstein / Plato / Lao Tzu would?
But do Indian scientists pray to the same god Einstein / Plato / Lao Tzu would?
Who gives? Is there a point that you are trying to make?
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) my husband started going to Advaita Satsangs and developed a powerful meditation practice even doing weeklong silent retreats. 
)
