How devoted are you to your beliefs?

[inavalan]

Originally Posted by ImthatIm

The easiest answer would be like an NDE except I was not near death so I guess
it might be called an OBE but I was not trying to do anything except I was praying in a Native American Ceremony.

So these ceremonies happen in the dark so at the time I did not realize I was
pulled out of my body.The place I entered was also dark but not unpleasant.
I thought I was still sitting where I was, then I saw this pin point of light.
I was like cool and it kept getting closer and I watched it and then I seen many
tiny golden drops of liquid Living Light.
When they came close I felt a warm wind full of Divine Love and then the light and wind blew right through me
and any self conscientiousness vanished and I felt the most overwhelming amount
of Love and acceptance and instantly I knew I had come from this Light and I knew
I would return because I was this Love Light. I knew it was my Source.
Then some communications happened and an entity turn me around and brought me back
through the ceiling. It was at that point I knew I was not in my body. I could see
all the people in the ceremony and also what the Medicine Man was doing. I asked him later if in fact it was as I described.
He confirmed he was doing what I had described.

I know my story is a bit vague but I hit the main points.

And lets say it was all in my mind. Even so if it is delusion I will stick with the delusion, because it was the most real thing that has happened thus far in my life. And my life keeps getting better and better since experiencing this event.

I will also add that there was effects in my body of continuing in this state of seeing and acting out of this Love Source for about 7 days and it gradually faded.

Then years later I had to learn to operate more and more out of this Divine Love by expressing it out of my core being.This is harder done then said.
I still do not operate or express to the level of that experience and have much room for growth.There is much unlearning to do.

This experience for me is like a compass for me and I often say Love is my compass.

Hope this helps.

Thanks.

Interestingly, during one of my first OBEs I experienced too that overwhelming love and peace from a non-physical being (being that had the appearance of a relatively young woman). It marked me too for a long time.

Originally Posted by inavalan

Thanks.

Interestingly, during one of my first OBEs I experienced too that overwhelming love and peace from a non-physical being (being that had the appearance of a relatively young woman). It marked me too for a long time.

Good I'm not delusional.

I should state I had a hard time for years right after because I convinced myself I had been left, like dropped off on a foreign planet.
No one really understood what I was trying to say.

I finally got a clue I had to somehow express through my being or become that Divine Love and express it.
Which things started going better after that.
Not just talk about it but participate in becoming it on the inside.
Taking risks and showing as much Love as I could at any one time.

[sentient]

To me it isn’t about beliefs as such, it is rather how we experience the ‘spiritual dimension’ according to our soul’s or “mind stream” (Buddhists might say) patternings.

I have learned so much on this forum and also how the word “awakened” can have so many different meanings.

According to my understanding & patternings “awakening” is like NDE and OBE – similar to how people – who actually depart from this life experience, -what I trust the Buddhists call the “Clear Light of Emptiness”.

A friend from my youth came to visit, 4 years after his passing - wanting me to channel him in order to show me his death.
He didn’t show me the ‘blackness’ – only the moment when his ‘soul’ rose to meet and merge with the most glorious, radiant, brilliant aware living light ….. i.e. the Source, God, Spirit, Emptiness whatever you want to call it.
And how breathtakingly beautiful Creation is bathing in this light!
Love in the absolute sense.

This is also how ‘shamanically’ we are in this life “awakened” to Greater Sacred Reality and then you just need to live up to what you have been shown.

*

“Astral” also has a different function in ‘shamanic’ spirituality.

When you pray or ask ‘Spirit’ to show you something – the answer often comes through a ‘vision’ – which I trust comes through Astral means.
So ‘Astral’ is only there to facilitate/bring/download guidance from ‘Higher Self’ or 'Spirit'.
This I trust is what Buddhists call the ‘Wisdom Dream’- whilst awake:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exjlR7izakg

From Lama Yeshe’s “The Bliss of Inner Fire”:

The practice of dream yoga is part of the illusory body yoga. In order to accomplish it, we need to be accomplished in meditation on the clear light of sleep; and in order to succeed in that, we need to have experienced the clear light in the waking state.
First we learn to work with the clear light in the waking state, and then in our sleep.

Well, when you work with the clear light in the waking state – you realize – this reality is also a dream – so the asleep state just becomes another aspect of working with the clear light.

*

But what does the dualistic mind do. It thinks that ‘Astral’ is a “spiritual path” in itself or a way to get “powers” for the separate self identity.
And I couldn’t advice people strongly enough to not to go ‘there’, not until you have been “awakened to the Light” and working with it the dream aspect just follows naturally.

I feel like this old bloke giving Astral warnings:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Htu8FchIjg4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04cPCPn7x0c

*

[Jainarayan]

I think I am fairly devoted, maybe too much for some people's liking. I am a white westerner, an Italian-American who became Hindu. I don’t necessarily like to use the words proud or pride when describing how I feel about becoming Hindu, but that is the sentiment. I am very happy being Hindu. It gives me a certain peace when I’m at my home shrine, and at temple, and when I’m distressed. Gandhi said something to the effect that when he was sad or distressed he’d open the Bhagavad Gita and find verses of inspiration; that is how I feel.

[meetjazz]

As far as spirituality is concerned, there are a lot of subjective truths that can not be measured, from this point of view, would be this considered or is considered as woo-woo, superstitions,..Surely there is something like basic psychology and philosophy, well In fact, psychology is basically renamed or rebranded philosophy, which we all can use and should use, that is based on objective facts around our understanding of ourselfs as a species. I am personally a ''kuan yin devotee'' (kuan yin is an goddess), which means that judging by modern science, that I'm totally superstitious, living in a fantasy land,..like everyone else which in any way believes higher beings and so on. I personally had almost 30 years strong painkillers addictions, I have eat them every day like candies, I had smoke over 20 years about 2 packs of cigarettes a day,..I stopped with all of it practically through the night.. became a vegetarian... through the help of a goddess and the higher world, how crazy sound this? Very crazy I guess,..but it is true for me, that have bring me ''miraculous healing,'' so to call subjective truth some woo-woo, fantasy land,..because we can't measure it or hit with a hammer is crazy and indeed extraordinary anti-scientific. People visit mental health professionals, visit various therapies, ...for years and years and It can't bring them to quit smoking let alone something bigger. So when we are talking about spiritual beliefs, subjective truths and science, I think we need to be very, very, very, very careful as far as this is concerned, we are in this area only at the beginnings to study our inner universes and realities.

[Shivani Devi]

It is not so much that I am devoted to my beliefs...I am devoted to the direct manifestation of them, with the Divine playing the "chicken vs egg" game.

I think that the tenacity of conviction arises from my lack of a fully developed and integrated "Theory of Mind" which is responsible for being able to see different perspectives through the eyes of others and so I can only see reality through one perspective - mine.

Autistics, Chimpanzees and those with Narcissistic Personality Disorder all have an underdeveloped or absolutely no "Theory of Mind" due to brain traumas and structural abnormalities.

Because we can only see ONE side of the coin...we may understand that another side MAY be there, but it takes a faith we do not have to believe/accept it, so, we become particularly devoted to our own beliefs.

Funny thing is, others may tell me that being attached to my beliefs and labels and mental constructs are all a "bad thing"...but I don't think so, in fact, I am very proud of being attached to my desires, letting my ego express itself naturally, requiring labels to navigate my world and living happily in Duality, falsehood and lies..I wouldn't have it any other way...not that "any other way" actually exists for me, because if it did, I would find myself going around in ever-diminishing circles like the Ouroborus... happily disappearing up its own backside... at least I would like the option of being able to remove my head from being up mine once in a while.

[FairyCrystal]

A very good question.
I think for me it's related to my innate nature and strength, which is to inspire, motivate, stimulate.
That goes hand in hand with me being eager to learn.

I have learnt throughout life that I have difficulty dealing with people who cannot be inspired, motivated and so on. To me interacting with such people equals barging into a brick wall as it's a direct clash with my nature.

I have the same thing when I come across people with very fixed beliefs and views, the way many are who follow a specific method or religion. Many of them feel / act / believe / think that their method is omnipotent and all-knowing, and theirs only.
The reason I do NOT follow any one method, and seriously dislike religions, is exactly that: none are all-knowing, none encompass everything, and even leave out bits that don't suit them.

Do I argue with them? Not really. I rather avoid them. They're not my tribe, I don't resonate with people who are so fixed/fixated on one thing.

Some methods I simply have no affinity with. For me that would be the Indian / Hindu thing. Something in me shuts down when I see words like Anahata, pranayama and so on. These are the only ones I recall, I cannot even remember them. Something in me is resistant to it. I have explored it in the past, it's not for me.

To be honest, I abhor fixing on any one method as a sole method. Because they have stuff missing and because they tend to come with rules and regulations, even Wicca, maybe especially Wicca. I met this girl once who was part of a coven and wasn't allowed to wear pendants / symbols. What the hell? I would not be able to accept that. I wear what I want, when I want.

I may argue when it's about stuff like that as when something infringes on personal freedom I get quite erm... upset
Same if something is about suppressing women. Infuriating! I still try to avoid argument as it angers me too much.

As for "How do I feel about people who refuse to change their view on things that the rest of us know to be different, are facts"... I do not resonate with such people. I do not understand how someone can turn a blind eye to it and not be able & willing to grow and learn.

[Altair]

For me not so much. I have specific beliefs about reincarnation, various 'higher' beings and their roles, how and where the *soul* comes from etc. but all of this just isn't important to spirituality. Beliefs are of the mind.

To me, spirituality is all about doing the practice and improving. Beliefs are secondary because practices can give outcomes you do not expect. You may believe x and then y happens, so it's unimportant. The spiritual path is about living it, improving, changing how you live and find more alignment with our divine nature..

Any belief system, or any 'image', psychic phenomena (talking to spirits, bending spoons etc.) that comes up is often a side show and most of it seems more like a distraction. Do the practice and seek/find peace. Then, if it has beneficial ripple effects to others [family, colleagues, animals, random encounters] (all of this is heart related) you know you're on track. If not, and the feels only stay inside, and we are indifferent about other life, or hateful and fearful, then we need to figure out what is going wrong, IMO.

[Shivani Devi]

Originally Posted by FairyCrystal

A very good question.
I think for me it's related to my innate nature and strength, which is to inspire, motivate, stimulate.
That goes hand in hand with me being eager to learn.

I have learnt throughout life that I have difficulty dealing with people who cannot be inspired, motivated and so on. To me interacting with such people equals barging into a brick wall as it's a direct clash with my nature.

I have the same thing when I come across people with very fixed beliefs and views, the way many are who follow a specific method or religion. Many of them feel / act / believe / think that their method is omnipotent and all-knowing, and theirs only.
The reason I do NOT follow any one method, and seriously dislike religions, is exactly that: none are all-knowing, none encompass everything, and even leave out bits that don't suit them.

Do I argue with them? Not really. I rather avoid them. They're not my tribe, I don't resonate with people who are so fixed/fixated on one thing.

Some methods I simply have no affinity with. For me that would be the Indian / Hindu thing. Something in me shuts down when I see words like Anahata, pranayama and so on. These are the only ones I recall, I cannot even remember them. Something in me is resistant to it. I have explored it in the past, it's not for me.

To be honest, I abhor fixing on any one method as a sole method. Because they have stuff missing and because they tend to come with rules and regulations, even Wicca, maybe especially Wicca. I met this girl once who was part of a coven and wasn't allowed to wear pendants / symbols. What the hell? I would not be able to accept that. I wear what I want, when I want.

I may argue when it's about stuff like that as when something infringes on personal freedom I get quite erm... upset
Same if something is about suppressing women. Infuriating! I still try to avoid argument as it angers me too much.

As for "How do I feel about people who refuse to change their view on things that the rest of us know to be different, are facts"... I do not resonate with such people. I do not understand how someone can turn a blind eye to it and not be able & willing to grow and learn.

Wow, I also see that for everybody who does have a belief, there will always be somebody out there who has the polar opposite one. Maybe this is the reason why World Wars start.

At least one thing good comes from this.

At first, I thought I was in the minority of one on here, believing what I do, because it seems that a lot of people are like Fairy in regards to having set beliefs about not having any set beliefs.

Until I realise that on the Indian sub-continent, there are 1.4 billion of us and how Hinduism is so diverse within the various schools of it that it pretty much covers everything out there (contrary to BELIEF)...then again, also through this and all the posts I have made lately, I have come to the realization that I am more "religious" than "spiritual" because my beliefs are structured into a systematic outline of practice, which Hindus call DHARMA (apologies for speaking a foreign language other than English).

This is not really a direct reply to you either, Fairy...just thoughts, said out loud, based upon what you have said and I understand fully that our paths take us on directly opposite journeys, but that is totally okay and fine with me.

It actually goes to beautifully illustrate how the New Age movement has distanced itself from Hinduism by using the excuse of "religion" then they usually give examples relating to Christianity and NOT Hinduism...which always highly amuses me.

Like I said, these are just observations not criticisms, but it is also interesting to think about on what levels there can be no separation in the Duality between "Hindu" vs "Hinduphobe".

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Hindu_sentiment

[Altair]

Originally Posted by Shivani

It actually goes to beautifully illustrate how the New Age movement has distanced itself from Hinduism by using the excuse of "religion" then they usually give examples relating to Christianity and NOT Hinduism...which always highly amuses me.

Yes that is funny..

Though it has to be said that ''religion'' itself is a 'western' concept and colonialists gave rise to the concept of Hinduism as a religion.. :-)