Whew, let's get away from my last blog! I can't keep up with comments anymore!
I got a great response, though, it's been crazy! It's currently #4 on Top Blogs, and #2 Most Rec'd, as well as Featured. Quite an accomplishment since it was my first 'deep' blog in a while!
Anyway, on to our new topic! I thought I'd talk about my own feelings/experiences and then ask yours! I'll try to respond to all the comments, also.
If you're new here and didn't know, I'm Pagan. And no, that doesn't mean I worship Satan or any of that. I can't very well worship something I don't believe in, now can I?
But anyway, in my own life, I try to consciously experience everything as a blessing, as beautiful, and as spiritual. I'm not perfect, but I try to remind myself that even the things I hate doing are a gift. Sure I might not like having to drive into town to get groceries, but I remember that I have transportation, I have a little money for groceries, and I can walk through the store to get the things I need. Not everyone can say that. Therefore I am blessed. I see a small tree growing up out of an old sidewalk as beautiful, an illustration of how powerful Nature is. I see woods as beautiful, thinking of how old some of those trees are, and what they must have seen in their lifetimes. I'm much more of a spiritual person than a religious person. And I strive to make each day a day of spiritual learning and experience.
My question to all of you is:
Are you more religious or spiritual? And how much does this affect your daily life? Are you only interested in religion one day a week, or does it shape how you see the world, and the things you do in it?
Comments (13)
First I want to say that it's awesome you are Pagan and embrace it. Nothing wrong with appreciating Mother Nature. I do have religious views and opinions but I lead my life in a more spiritual manner. I believe in a stronger force than myself and prefer to call it "God". Being a part of an organization that determines how and when I commune with Him and what I should ascribe to do in my daily life is not for me. I grew up with that and became disenchanted when I could not question. I prefer to act kindly, give what I am able, love unashamedly towards those that cross my path. If my worship consists of hiking a mountain path on a Sunday morning and thanking Him for the beauty in front of me, then so be it. Peace comes to me when the connection is one on one and not it a building listening to someone sermonize. I believe it has made me a more tolerant and open person.
I like the fact that you're pagan. It's nice. I'm pretty much an atheist. I can't help but to be persuaded by Feuerbach's thesis that religion is merely a reflection of a society's beliefs and it's moral code can tell us how advanced the society is that practices it. That being said, I can't help but to also be drawn to Neo-Platonism, especially as espoused by Plotinus, the ancient mystic and philosopher. He believed that everything was an emanation from "The One." Ideas and reason were the most real, and matter was the least real, insofar as it was considered to be devoid of mind. Even though I don't believe it and find it to be ethically problematic, insofar as embracing Neo-Platonism leads to a denegration of the nature, I still can't help but to be drawn the mystical aspects of it.
I used to practice Buddhim (Nichiren Daishonin), but unfortantely, I found the leaders of the sect to be as problematically fundamentalist as many Southern Baptists. One of the breaking points for me was when some of the people belonging to that sect responded to a fellow Buddhist whose daughter was murdered. They suggested that her daughter was responsible for her own death, since it was her bad karma that put her there at the time. To me, that's just inhumane and uncompassionate, and not something I want to associate with spiritually.
Sometimes I feel like there's something sacred out there, and when I experience it, it's like this total mind-transcending experience. It feels like I'm this human popsicle being dipped in a galaxy-sized bowl of peace. I've only ever had those experiences a couple of times. I wish I could experience it more, and I wish I understood how to make it a constant part of my life.
I'd say I'm a combination of religious and spiritual. Both definitely affect how I feel and live day to day.
@AnamcharaConcepts - Thank you! That's the reaction to my religious beliefs I enjoy!
And I love your explanation! To be able to say it's your personal view, and not the absolute truth, is a rare gift these days! 
@UtopianStrivings - I love the popsicle analogy!
And I agree with your feelings on the people suggesting a person could be responsible for their murder. I've seen this in silly urban legends too(like the one about the car that starts to get girls away from rapists, even though it has no battery), and I think it's harmful.
@AlterEgo909 - That's about how I am. I've just seen some people who are only interested in their religion on holidays and/or church day(s). I think it's an amazing feeling to see the world through your spiritual eyes, instead of as a cynic(which I'll admit I default to sometimes!)
I am definitely a combination of both. Balance is very important to me so I try to establish a balance between both. However, people define "religious" very differently since it can be used negatively so as to imply a Pharase-like and/or hypocritical way of living your beliefs.
It affects everything in my life. My beliefs form a basis of who I am and how I see the world so they are intertwined to how I see the world, myself, and how I act accordingly. Actually, I like to learn about other points of view even if they are contrary to my beliefs. For example, I would love to learn more about your pagan beliefs...if you do not mind, that is. I love learning
.
I'm definitely more spiritual than religious. I don't know if I consider myself a Christian or not... the way I think of it, Jesus showed up to tell people they were doing it wrong and missing the point of cooperation and love. Unfortunately, few people paid attention, and if he were to come back today he would have to repeat the same gosh darn thing. That's why I don't go to church.
One of the xangans I subscribe to wrote a blog about reincarnation awhile back, and thinking on that topic helped me define my spiritual beliefs more. I think that nature and spirituality is the same thing, and that there is only one world, through which energy cycles endlessly. Those of this who live in harmony with that, who contribute to the real world, are "reincarnated" in the sense that their energy is joined in that infinite cooperation. The problem with the majority of the human world is that we believe we don't have to be a part of that, and I think that consciences that don't participate in that experiences die when their bodies die. The reason nature is beautiful is because it is truth.
@Blessed_Enigma - I agree on the importance of balance, definitely. And you're right, there is a sort of stigma to the word 'religious.' It tends to evoke images of crazies like Westboro Baptist Church...
My beliefs shape how I see the world, too. I can't separate them from the mundane. And I don't mind sharing at all. I'm thinking of setting up a blog, with basics, then opening it up to Q&A in comments, what do you think?
@randaness - Your views are very much like my mother's!
She can't go to church more than once every few weeks, she sees too much that she disagrees with, she'd rather study whatever she'd like, at home.
That's a very interesting view on reincarnation! I'm pondering it now, and will be for a while now! In the best of ways!
You've so eloquently expressed how I feel about nature and our connection with it! It's hard to explain, I commend you for doing it!
@Child_of_the_Earth -
Thanks! I'm not often eloquent, though I'm trying to grow as a writer. I will be interested to hear the results of your ponderings ^_^
@randaness - I'm not often eloquent, either. I marvel at my blogs becoming popular!
And it's hard to express abstract ponderings into words, but I will say that I believe in reincarnation in the more traditional sense, and this theory has added a layer. Perhaps we are at one with the earth until our souls reincarnate again into a physical form. Or perhaps the ultimate goal is to become one with nature, part of her cycle. It's fun to think over these things!
@Child_of_the_Earth - Sounds good to me!
Personally, I refer to my kind of eclectic Paganism as a form of orthopraxy (correct practice, including but not limited to ritual, ethics, virtues, and the arts of hospitality) rather than orthodoxy (correct belief).
I think that helps shake people from so easily and mistakenly classifying anything they don't know about as a form of Satanism, you know, as coming from the wrong side of The Forces of Good™ vs. The Forces of Evil™ false dilemma.
The spiritual vs. religious dichotomy is a false dilemma that fails to cover a lot of the territory or differentiate between things, something I briefly commented about under my karrie9 nickname, here.
I'm spiritual, religious, but not into religionism -- an important distinction!
Right now, I'm blessed. All working adults in our household lost their jobs within a 2 week period, about 2 months ago now....but we still have a roof over our head, vehicles, and that means I still have my basement studio (in my house) at least for, oh, about 2 or so more months.
No one was laid off before and no one was without employment for any period of time before (except me, but then I've had my work cut out for me at home dealing with raising a family, Autism in the family, and several medical conditions)...but we're getting certified as well as looking for jobs.
Here's to making ends meet and gaining employment.
I balance the tension of life's demands with a more playful creative and yet pragmatic side -- I blog about, design, and sell jewelry (Goddess beads!) online in two different shops. I wouldn't call it full-time employment but it has potential.
Balance, planning, and meeting challenges with as much personal excellence possible is featured in many a Pagan path and I've written about functional virtues from a number of angles a number of times, for example. I also list focus, clarity, purpose, knowledge (self and other), will, virtues, ethics, and other beneficial things as ingredients in things mundane, religious, spiritual, and magic.
So much for Dionysian vs. Apollian dichotomies and their related arguments that if one doesn't have a religious authority to answer to as one has in orthodoxy (monotheist orthodoxy, specifically), then one doesn't have a moral compass or sound structure in life. Bah to that!
I can proudly say that I'm an eclectic non-Monist (everything is not one being) Panentheist (Deities are everywhere) Pantheist (the physical world is Divine) Polytheist (there is more than one Deity) egalitarian involved in orthopraxy (correct practice, including but not limited to ethics, virtues, logic, hospitality and mutual courtesy and respect). Few people take time to understand the paths and different distinctions though, or that I define Deity, Divine, and worship very differently (pluralistically) than the dictionary or even most Pagans do (more on that in my "Higher Power" xanga blog entry).
Besides the problem of a religion vs. spirituality false dilemma I pointed out, with a different world view and even different underlying logic and definitions, my sense of holistic spirituality is very much entangled with my religion...and this affects every day life.
@Child_of_the_Earth - That is such an awesome idea! Go right ahead
. *Does a happy dance*