I joined a christian group

[ilja]

So i joined an evangelic christian group today and took part in a meeting/discussion.

i am/was not fully satiesfied with their interpretation on some of the texts, i wished some of them would not focus on it as a rule book and open up to it philosophically, so i have to learn humbleness here, although they seemed not to be stucked up about it.

 

the prayers felt good, it is different feeling people in an meditative mode then in awake ego, it more pleasant and emotionally empowering. I felt a bit of an unpleasant shamefulness in retrospection, not thoughts but feeling of judging (shame/cringe) myself for the unusualness of taking part in this so openly, so that is good.

Edited April 26, 2021 by ilja
Addition

[Godishere]

Anyone who follows an ideology is a sheep. People will never let go of their silly survival mechanisms.. maybe if they took 250ug LSD they would stand a chance of letting their imaginary worldviews go. Even then, I doubt it. 

No hate brah just stating the obvious

Edited April 26, 2021 by Godishere

[Thought Art]

Enjoy what you learn

[ilja]

@Thought Art nod

[lmfao]

@ilja Best Christian source I ever found was A Course In Miracles. They have a workbook of 1 exercise/idea to apply daily. I never went through with it properly, but I felt it worked when I did it. 

In addition to the workbook of exercises (365 exercises, 1 a day to do for a year), they have a textbook.

Both text and workbook are online for free. http://stobblehouse.com/text/ACIM.pdf I personally practiced the exercises before I read any text. Practicing it is the most important thing

Chapter 2 of the text is such a juicy read though if you're mythologically and symbolically inclined. It talks about the Garden of Eden, something I thought about before. 

Perhaps you might want to make the distinction though between lunatic and fun indulgences into symbology, in the same way someone like Jung might do, and serious enlightenment work. But whatever the case, the exercises are cool. 

Edited April 26, 2021 by lmfao

[ilja]

@lmfao i'll take a look

[The0Self]

I'm looking into joining a Unitarian Universalist church. Seems like it could be fun. No ideology apparently, just self-knowledge, but we'll see.

[ilja]

@The0Self tell me your experience

[Nahm]

@ilja

Learning by experience is great, but I wouldn’t expect evangelical to by philosophical. From what I’ve experienced it’s similar to Catholicism, in that the underlying point is that church in the authority in regard to the interpretation of the Bible, and therefore morality, etc.  Also, did I understand you correctly... one visit and judgment is interpreted as a feeling, and you are glad to feel shame...?  

[Moksha]

My advice: stay way from evangelicals. They tend to be about beliefs, judgment, and self-indulgent emotions, all of which are bait for the conditioned mind.

If you are pulled toward religion, Unitarian Universalist or Buddhism are better bets. Even there, see it as a step in your spiritual journey, which is so much simpler and more beautiful than any religion can deliver. You already are, you just don't know it yet.

[ilja]

@Nahm depends on how you interpret it, but those words were used.

[ilja]

@Moksha @Moksha

thank you for the advise friend

buddhism seems boring

[The0Self]

@ilja Oh I probably shouldn't have used the word "joining." I meant "check it out" lol. Just looked up some churches in my area and saw a couple Unitarian Universalist churches, so I looked up the phrase in google -- definitely seems like my cup of tea.

I'll make sure to report later though.

Edited April 26, 2021 by The0Self

[Nahm]

12 minutes ago, ilja said:

@Nahm depends on how you interpret it, but those words were used.

Holy shit, they already gotcha. 

[ilja]

@The0Self don't forget

[ilja]

@Nahm it was regarding your implication not value asignment

[Nahm]

@ilja

What was the implication? 

[Jodistrict]

54 minutes ago, The0Self said:

I'm looking into joining a Unitarian Universalist church. Seems like it could be fun. No ideology apparently, just self-knowledge, but we'll see.

I was attending a Unitarian church until the Covid lockdowns when they closed.  The services were all on social justice and nothing on spirituality or inner work.  But they did have a meditation group that met each week. 

[Moksha]

2 minutes ago, ilja said:

buddhism seems boring

I hear you. Any ideology is treacherous. Maybe boredom itself is a product of the conditioned mind. When you are present, how can you be bored? Life is infinitely vibrant, when your eyes are open. This morning, a bird with a broken wing passed by my window. A blue jay saw the weakness, and attacked the bird and carried it away. The blue jay was doing what it does, but strangely, from my perspective, is seemed an act of mercy. Nature works itself out.

I'm not Buddhist, but I have resonated with the words of the Buddha. It's not about ideas, thoughts, or emotions. It is all about realizing the source of your suffering, and the ending of it.

[BipolarGrowth]

Find Christians with true devotion and love for God and Christ. You can connect with them on the level of appreciation for the Divine. Of course they will try to indoctrinate you. Your direct experience should already inoculate you against that if you’ve been doing significant consciousness work.  Some well-developed Christians have access to a source of spiritual love and bliss most here on this forum have likely never experienced. That is what they call the Holy Spirit. This is not monopolized to Christianity or their dogma, but their love and devotion to Christ gives many of them a direct experience with this. An experience of the Holy Spirit is likely the best thing you’ll find in interactions with Christians. You can find it in many other places and with other methods, but being with Christians who are truly filled with love for God and Christ might be one of the most likely sources. I’ve spent the past few months in regular/weekly meetings with Mormon missionaries. It’s been a beautiful experience which has shown me that if you cannot connect spiritually with genuine religious seekers (this certainly isn’t many of them) then there is a problem of judgment and over-attachment within you too. 
 

Best of luck. Try interacting with multiple denominations of Christians if the first does not resonate.