religion

Posts about religion, skepticism, and how it fits into the scientific world.

My Truth: Think for Yourself
History is not just the evolution of technology; it is the evolution of thought - James Redfield, The Celestine Prophecy. Today, this evolution of thinking has created a Virtual Global Village, where we're beginning to view a centralized world. Or maybe we can say: development is returning to the source because it might all have started as one big village! Before I elucidate my point, let's go through a broader grouping of popular thought processes. As of now, we have four notable outlooks:
By Sri Devi Om5 years ago in Futurism
Losing My Religion
Hi, I'm Nathan, and I'm a recovering evangelical. It's been 12 years since my last quiet time. My childhood was spent in the church. Son of a Baptist minister. At church every Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday evening. Saved at six, baptized at seven, rededicated by the last night of summer camp in 8th grade. I ate the crackers, drank the grape juice, and knew the books of the Old Testament, New Testament, and page numbers for the greatest hits in the hymnal by memory.
By Nathan Garvin5 years ago in Futurism
The Magic in Everyday Items
When people think of "pagan" or "magic", they often think of donning a ceremonial robe, waving a wooden wand carved with runes, and kneeling before an elaborate altar covered with statues, stones, and other magical bric-a-brac. What people fail to recognize is that the "magic" itself comes from personal connection and intention. No fancy costumes or tools are required for that.
By Little Alice5 years ago in Futurism
Encounters with the Cosmic Jesters
Being apart of many facebook groups surrounding psychedelics, I've gotten to know common themes that emerge during peoples experiences. DMT, being one of the most powerful visual psychedelics, often immerses people into a realm outside of our own reality. Many people report encountering intelligent otherworldly beings often described as being, well, indescribable. Some people, however, describe what they believe to be encounters with extraterrestrials, Angel's, demons, gods and goddesses, as well as a slew of other "beings" including elves, insects, tricksters and so on. One of the most common experiences is a feeling of familiarity with the beings they encounter. Unfortunately people often also experience great discomfort during some of their encounters and a sense of "I shouldn't be here" as opposed to belonging. Whether these experiences are, as Carl Jung would suggest, archetypes of the collective unconscious, or true encounters with sentient beings outside of this realm of existence, is not what I came here to discuss. Instead, I am going to share my own encounters with the Jester "archetype" or "beings" over the course of the last couple of years.
By s0lacium5 years ago in Futurism
The Mortality Question
I just saw a slideshow with a beautiful song tributed to a rather young looking man who was an Uncle to the person. He seemed like a great person to be around and I have no idea why he passed on. The tribute was beautiful. Last week I saw that a close family friend died. I searched through our mutual friends on Facebook to find out why but didn’t find the cause anywhere. It seemed to be a car wreck. From as far back as I can remember, my people in the Caribbean die from car accidents way too often. I don’t know about you but 2020 questioned my mortality on more than one occasion and I’ve concluded that there are worst things than death. Let me explain...
By Leah Ella5 years ago in Futurism
Organized Religion
It is my understanding that organized religion is relative to whomever is relating to the idea. There are many people who do not identify with any religion, as there are people who devote their entire lives to the doctrines and morality of a religion, and of course everything in between. David Steindl-Rast proposed his idea of organized religion in a way that truly got me thinking about how I see it now, and how it has been a part of my life all along. He begins by explaining the roots, or the experience of mystical awareness, in order to illustrate how organized religions comes about. Steindl-Rast goes on to explain that it is in the moment we begin to make sense of our experiences that organized religion begins to sprout. “Moment by moment, as we experience this and that, our intellect keeps step; it interprets what we perceive. This is especially true when we have one of those deeply meaningful moments; our intellect swoops down upon that mystical experience and starts interpreting it” (Steindl-Rast 12).
By Amanda 5 years ago in Futurism
Unlucky for Lady's Day
What links the Ladybird, a versatile Norse goddess, her Roman counterpart, every woman in Germany and a Christmas office party ritual? Furthermore, what has all that to do with paraskavedekatriaphobia and the reason for setting fire to your socks on the roof of a skyscraper?
By Ian Vince5 years ago in Futurism
Dear Mind, From A Fellow Heart
I had a chance to be censored, or should I say my right to have faith in anything openly denied me, and so I come to a quagmire. Can one possibly be allowed to freely write uncensored, about such censorship, on a platform that has censored him? Is this a multi dimensional thing where certain "Rules" of reality apply? I am one who believes the only impossibility is the concept of impossibility, and because we fail to realize this, we are the only thing rendering anything impossible. So, shall we give it a go?
By John Everett5 years ago in Futurism
The Nature of the Cosmos
Very few cultures have the Norse perspective of cosmogony (a view on the origins of the cosmos). The Norse cosmogony enlightens a culture aimed on orderly civilization protected from the anarchic outside, a perpetual cycle of creation, and the gods settings an archetype for which the warriors efforts were patterned. From the constant give-and-take involved in creating life to the high value placed on honor and competitive accomplishments, the Norse have evolved their view on the cosmos based on their grand narratives that give meaning and sense to the world that is much more timeless and universal than other religious cultures. Before the Norse were converted to Christianity, they thrived with their own highly sophisticated and intricate religious customs. As they were forced to convert to Christianity, many of their texts and myths were burned to ensure their conversion. Even with such events, a plentiful amount of medieval texts were left untouched in Iceland; this is where most of our knowledge of the Norse religion stems abundantly from. The Norse peoples wrote myths involving the creation of the universe being ongoing and participatory, the consequences earned for winning a noble battle, and the importance of helping the Gods defeat the giants even though they are aware of their preordained defeat. In the Norse creation myth, we see the sacredness of their beliefs and continuous acts in keeping the cosmos perpetual through every exploit and action made.
By Beige Shell Writings5 years ago in Futurism
11 Enlightenment Quotes For Spiritual Seekers & Mystics
I am bringing this old-school spiritual enlightenment path back from the past. No secret society here. No sacrifices. No costumes and no joke! Just mystical wonders.
By Holy Itch5 years ago in Futurism
Letters to Brighid
Charm of Cloak and spear(from a class put on by Rev. Kirk Thomas) Call I the Cloak of Brighid the High One. Call I the Long-Striking Spear of Lugh
By Ashtore Driver5 years ago in Futurism
Arianrhod- My favorite
To my Celtic folk, magic welders, and pagans of all kinds Welcome! Well, I got news for you all, As I was researching many goddesses for the article this week I found not just a great but an amazing goddess. I picked her because of her triumphant story and her ideas on the definition of a virgin. Now without further ado the Goddess I picked in the name is Arianrhod.
By The Celtic Spirit5 years ago in Futurism