Religion = Depression

[Happy Wanderer]

Originally Posted by BigJohn

Because you noticed that post, I am sending you two spare keys I made to the Kingdom of Heaven. I am also included a round trip pass so you can leave and come back to Heaven at your own pleasure as many times as you want.

I liked your comments on Animism. Conversing with a tree, cloud, rock, etc. brings a person into a close, personal relationship with our environment.

What a lovely post! Thank you, fancy having 2 spares!

Now, I have a confession to make. As a younger woman I used to collect beautiful stones and pebbles, and at that time, had a stone polishing drum to maximise their appearance.. However, I realise now I had no right to remove these articles from their natural environment and keep them for my own enjoyment. How selfish is that?!

However I do thank them for their beauty and their peaceful vibes. (I have them around me during meditation) Oh, and if I am given flowers or pick some from the garden myself, when they're ready to be put in the compost heap I always thank them for their service, and for the pleasure their presence has given me.

[BigJohn]

Originally Posted by Happy Wanderer

What a lovely post! Thank you, fancy having 2 spares!

Now, I have a confession to make. As a younger woman I used to collect beautiful stones and pebbles, and at that time, had a stone polishing drum to maximise their appearance.. However, I realise now I had no right to remove these articles from their natural environment and keep them for my own enjoyment. How selfish is that?!

However I do thank them for their beauty and their peaceful vibes. (I have them around me during meditation) Oh, and if I am given flowers or pick some from the garden myself, when they're ready to be put in the compost heap I always thank them for their service, and for the pleasure their presence has given me.

When I was a child, one of the things I would do is get very close..... about 1 foot, from skunks. They were interested in me but did not want to really become my friend. They never sprayed me.

A funny experienced happened when I was about 15 years old. We had a Border Collie and she would go out and get the cows. One day, she came home in pain. She got too close to a porcupine and the porcupine got her in the face. Now thinking about it, the porcupine did not get her in either eye but she did get it on her lips and around her mouth.

I got her to sit down, and one by one, I pulled them out and put them to my right. When I was almost done pulling out the porcupine quills, I had moved to the right and I believe all the quills I had pulled out, were not in my butt.

What could I do? I had to pull them out....

I don't know why I wrote that last account but that is what came to my mind.

One time, I had a big garden and I told all the animals to leave my stuff alone. One turtle didn't listen but what could I do, she was laying her eggs. What a privilege. Then their was a snake..... I was looking for who was taking my strawberries when I looked up and at the end of the row was a snake eating only 1/2 of each strawberry. Why only 1/2 I never did understand that. It turned out, the snake became a great teacher for me.

[HoliPsychCo]

[quote=Molearner]

Originally Posted by HoliPsychCo

HoliPsychCo,

Thanks....I appreciate your balanced outlook. Especially for acknowledging what religion has brought to the table. In addition to the specific things that you mentioned the promotion of education and the establishment of institutions of higher learning could possibly be at the top of the list. The progress of this nation and this world was, in large part, due to the advance of education.

It is quite common on these forums for people to express great bitterness towards religion.....not remembering that relgion has played a prominent role in developing their very ability to bring reason and light to the very things they advocate.

There is definitely a place for those who separate themselves from religion....the question might be asked what do they bring to the table in the way of contribution to society ? It might be as visible as what religion has done.....and in many cases....has been made possible by the very things that they castigate.

I was listening to a podcast on Stoicism the other day, and they were talking about religion. He stated that he was brought up in a Mormon home and that they were strict when it came to their religion. He went to college and realized that many of the practices were not sitting well with him. He said that he decided to move on and not practice it anymore. Which makes sense, being raised in a Catholic household there is a lot of influence. Many of the beliefs I do not practice because they did not serve me. They brought on suffering and I don't believe that it is okay to practice something that causes suffering. I think when a belief or something we've learned and no longer serves us, it is our responsibility to leave it in the past. Religion--Catholicism, to be specific, was hard to unlearn, especially when my family found out. I had to accept that this was for me and not for them. Unlearning would help me move forward in my life.