Greetings to all from a searcher
Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 7:30 pm
Hello to everyone, its great being here.
I have been visiting the forum on and off and I have finally decided to officially become a member. As for an introduction I will try to put it into a "nutshell" and try to keep it short. Please forgive me if I do not.
I grew up in in what might be considered a very fundamentalist christian household. In fact, my whole life was centered on the Bible and its literal interpretation. As time went on I studied Biblical and Systematic theology and became an “Elder or Minister” in my denomination. By the mid-nineties I went through what might be described as a spiritual crisis which resulted in my questioning most of my long held beliefs. Many things I once believed in just did not make any sense.
I left the denomination and eventually drifted into Catholicism for a number of years. I was intrigued by the mystical side of Catholicism especially through the writings of St. John of the Cross and Teresa de Avila. Through these Catholic mystics I was exposed to contemplative prayer. Contemplative prayer comes down to a releasing of the self and a merging with the ultimate reality. These mystics describe this merging as oneness with the divine that can only be described as pure love. Personality ceases to exist as this oneness is achieved. At the time this actually seemed kind of Zen-like to me.
Even though I found all of this to be quite interesting, the nagging doubts continued to haunt me and I eventually became disillusioned with religion altogether.
As for eastern religions my first exposure was reading “The Science of Religion” by Paramahansa Yogananda when I was in Junior High School along with other books on Taoism, Hinduism and Buddhism. I have also been an avid reader of various Buddhist magazines such as Shambhala Sun and Buddhadharma. Many of the articles have given me much needed and practical advice when it comes to living in our very perplexing world. I am also considering enrolling in the online courses at the FPMT website to become better acquainted with Buddhist beliefs.
Do I consider myself a Buddhist? To be honest I must answer no. At this point in time I might consider myself simply as a searcher with lots of questions and very few answers. One point that I always like to keep in mind is that to find answers we must become an empty vessel and leave our opinions and preconceived beliefs at the door. Only then can we be open to the truth.
All I have to offer is my empty vessel.
Once again I thank all of you for having such a great forum.
Peace and Love to all.
Namaste
I have been visiting the forum on and off and I have finally decided to officially become a member. As for an introduction I will try to put it into a "nutshell" and try to keep it short. Please forgive me if I do not.
I grew up in in what might be considered a very fundamentalist christian household. In fact, my whole life was centered on the Bible and its literal interpretation. As time went on I studied Biblical and Systematic theology and became an “Elder or Minister” in my denomination. By the mid-nineties I went through what might be described as a spiritual crisis which resulted in my questioning most of my long held beliefs. Many things I once believed in just did not make any sense.
I left the denomination and eventually drifted into Catholicism for a number of years. I was intrigued by the mystical side of Catholicism especially through the writings of St. John of the Cross and Teresa de Avila. Through these Catholic mystics I was exposed to contemplative prayer. Contemplative prayer comes down to a releasing of the self and a merging with the ultimate reality. These mystics describe this merging as oneness with the divine that can only be described as pure love. Personality ceases to exist as this oneness is achieved. At the time this actually seemed kind of Zen-like to me.
Even though I found all of this to be quite interesting, the nagging doubts continued to haunt me and I eventually became disillusioned with religion altogether.
As for eastern religions my first exposure was reading “The Science of Religion” by Paramahansa Yogananda when I was in Junior High School along with other books on Taoism, Hinduism and Buddhism. I have also been an avid reader of various Buddhist magazines such as Shambhala Sun and Buddhadharma. Many of the articles have given me much needed and practical advice when it comes to living in our very perplexing world. I am also considering enrolling in the online courses at the FPMT website to become better acquainted with Buddhist beliefs.
Do I consider myself a Buddhist? To be honest I must answer no. At this point in time I might consider myself simply as a searcher with lots of questions and very few answers. One point that I always like to keep in mind is that to find answers we must become an empty vessel and leave our opinions and preconceived beliefs at the door. Only then can we be open to the truth.
All I have to offer is my empty vessel.
Once again I thank all of you for having such a great forum.
Peace and Love to all.
Namaste