Stress Center Peer Support

Jason,

Something that I find, frankly, irritating is that many people I encounteer automatically correlate God, or a creator, with the Bible. You do not have to believe a word of the bible, believe that a word of the bible is the word of God, or believe that Jesus was the son of God to believe in a creator of the Universe. It's obvious that your fears, skepticism, and your worry about going to hell, or trusting in God is based entirely on a God described in the Bible. Why limit yourself to believing in the God the bible describes?

For you, since you seem to be very leanant towards worshiping and believing in a God for your spiritual fulfillment, I would recommend checking out some Unitarian Churches. They are all over the place. They are mainly composed of theists.

Go Here if you are interested: <A HREF="http://www.uua.org/" TARGET=_blank>http://www.uua.org/</A>

The bible is a great, wonderful, and inspirational book. However, one does not have to believe that it holds any "other-worldly" significance in order to respect its wisdom. Not everyone in the world believes the bible is a book written by men who were influenced, inspired, directly told, etc.. to write it-- by God. Personally, I think it is not the word of God.

Also, I don't want to sound like I am entirely detering you away from Christianity. There are many great ministers/priests etc. who would be able to help you with your fears of doubt about Christianity. The majority of biblical "believers" do not take the Bible word for word but none the less believe that the Bible is the word of God. So with that they are saying that... yes it is up to interpretation but it is still the word of God.

I hope that will help.. Good Luck!

- John

Just wanted to say Merry Christmas to Everyone... Regardless of my religious beliefs, I love Christmas and traditions. May the Christmas tradition live on! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

Hi, BeatAnxiety--

I was brought up as a UU. Right now, I consider myself to be Buddhist-Pagan, and I attend a Buddhist Temple on occasion. I was also a Psychology student in college (love this subject!), though I switched over to teaching...even though I'm not currently a teacher, either (I have the BA, not the credential)...perhaps chalk this up to anxiety to some degree, I suppose .

I actually clicked on the View Your Posts link because I really like your avatar. I like to give the two-finger piece sign a lot .

Posted by Missouri gal:
Tom -
You asked if I can recommend any good reading on Zen. A great book is "Buddhism Plain and Simple," by Steve Hagen. He was my teacher for 10 years in Minneapolis. The book has helped a lot of people; it's a basic introduction.

Hi Missouri gal, thanks for the recommendation. I looked for that book on Amazon but I couldn't find it. I'll probably look for it next time I go to Borders. Instead I bought a book called "The Way Of Zen" by Allen Watts. I've read a couple of books by him in the past and I love the way he explains things. He was one of the first successful interpreters of eastern thought to the western world. He said in this book that he was the smartest person that was willing to take on the task at that time. I got a chuckle out of that.

With Buddhism, it's important to seek out a teacher. Much can be learned from books, but there is a direct person-to-person transmission that is so much more powerful. I learned so much from my teacher's presence, how he is in the world.

I wish I could find a teacher. I don't live in the most culturally diverse area though. The town I live in has a population of about 95. The closest teacher I could find on the internet is about four hours away. Who knows though, maybe there is a great Zen master living quietly in the woods somewhere around here that I'll bump into one of these days. I think I have a better chance of getting struck by lightning though.

posted by BeatAnxiety07:
Going back to the breath is just a way at attempting to prevent the mind from focusing on other thoughts-- although, turning your focus onto your breath did require a thought... This is what makes mediation so hard.. its attempting to not think and simply be.

Hi John, It seems that when I reach that point that one is trying to reach when meditating that it is only for a fleeting instant. It's like you said, the realization that your mind is resting in it's natural state requires a thought and the moment is gone. Just learning to let thoughts float by without shifting the object of meditation to them is a skill that has turned me into a much more relaxed individual though.

I think the reason a lot of people feel that Buddhism is about worshiping Buddha is a result of their own beliefs (bias) interfering with their learning process. The basis of western religions is creation, a deity, and worship of that deity. When one hears religion they immediately think God, Worship, Heaven, Hell, etc..

I think this is what Allen Watts was saying when he said that Buddhism is the religion of non-religion. This is why I often tell people that Buddhism isn't a religion at all.

I am also grateful for this thread. Very new to the community and sense from what i've read that this is a good place for me right now.

GuitarTom I am wondering if you have ever read any of the writings of Avatar Adi Da Samraj? In his earlier years he was known by other names (such as Bubba Free John, Da Free John, Heart Master Da, Da Kalki, Da Avabhasa, etc..) I know that Alan Watts had endorsed some of Avatar Adi Da's earliest books. About "The Method of the Siddhas" subtitle: Talks with Bubba Free John on the Spiritual Technique of the Saviors of Mankind.[The Dawn Horse Press. 1973, 1978]

Alan Watts said:

It is obvious from all sorts of subtle details, that he knows what IT's all about...a rare being. The West finally has a genuine Spiritual Master. I can't believe it. He is really here. I have waited for such a One all my life. Alan Watts September 14, 1973.


Beloved Adi Da came into my life (as I recognize Him in his human form/ consciously) in 1991 when I was 28 years old. I had grown up Catholic and we were good church goers throughout my early years and through high school - my mom had converted from Protestant faith (not church going) and my dad grew up Catholic, going to Catholic schools, and church etc. It was interesting because my dad never went to church with us, except for Christmas and Easter, at least that is how many memory has it. He may have gone at various other times, but in general it was mom who brought us all each week. For me having the church community and making that weekly connection was very important. Yet, from an early age there was something in me that never felt really at peace with what I observed/felt there. The biggest thing that stands out in my mind was I knew my relationship to God was about much more than going to church for an hour on Sunday. Yes, there was Cathechism too during the week, but somehow for myself -there was something missing. I needed/wanted something more. As I grew up, went to college, I found I could not go to church Saturday afternoon and then be partying all night or partying at night and then go to church on Sunday. It just never felt right, I saw my Catholic friends able to do this and a lot of others as well, but I could not understand how that all fit together. I reached a point of soul searching and allowing myself to look, listen and find what moved me, at my core at heart. During the next ten years of my life I read a lot and began to experience a variety of things, learned massage therapy and other healing modalities, went on retreat, read "An Autobiography of A Yogi", had exposure to chanting, meditation, yoga, vegetarianism, and in general started to get exposure to Eastern schools of thought, Buddhism, Hinduism, Zen, the Guru traditions, etc.

In 1986 or '87 I had an amazing experience reading a book by Shirley McClain ("Dancing in the Light") [a couple of other books had a major impact on me as well: "The Power of Positive Thinking" by Norman Vincent Peale and Ram Das's "Be Here Now"] Anyway, at this point I had an experience that literally changed everything about my life ... as I read from "Dancing In the Light" I had a bodily/soul shift experience that opened me up to the truth of my life and purpose here. I KNEW, and I mean KNEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!11 without any shadow of doubt that all that I was here for on this earth was to know GOD! It was the most ecstatic moment I had ever experienced in my life up to that point time. That recognition freed me in a way that nothing had ever come close to before. I got it at the cellular level that all of my experiences and everything I had ever gone thru or would ever go thru was only in order to teach/show me/help me to understand myself (TRUE SELF) / ie. GOD. and I also knew that this was also the case for every other being. My life became a beautiful, yet challenging and mysterious journey from that moment forward.

Tom, I know i've gone on, I want to share more, but time is pressing and work will come early in the a.m. please write if you want to talk more. I am in NH. I have some very good friends in Maine, who have a monthly study group that may be of interest. email me when you have a chance if you wish.

I look forward to getting to know everyone more and to moving along this journey of self-discovery and moving beyond the selfdoubt, shame and depression that can sometimes overwhelm me. My mom died suddenly last year, and it seems that a lot of my patterns that I have been somehow able to manage with up to this point in my life, are now feeling not so managable. Thank you all for listening.

Hi ShiningTime,

I have not read any of Avatar Adi Da Samraj's writings but it sounds like from that quote from Allen Watts that maybe I should.

Tom, I know i've gone on, I want to share more, but time is pressing and work will come early in the a.m.

Please do share more when you get the chance, I enjoyed reading your post. It sounds you have an understanding/purpose that most of us only wish for.

Tom

I am just joining the program and peer group and I am absolutely thrilled to find this topic. It feels good to have something I can relate to. As time goes on I will no doubt have more to discuss, but for now I am grateful.

Someone already beat me to it earlier in this thread, but I must repeat it because it so TRUE: THIS IS THE MOST RIDICULOUS THREAD THAT I'VE EVER SEEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Originally posted by deedee00:
Someone already beat me to it earlier in this thread, but I must repeat it because it so TRUE: THIS IS THE MOST RIDICULOUS THREAD THAT I'VE EVER SEEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That is quite an interesting opinion. Taking into consideration that this thread is in the top five most viewed and most active threads in this section, I guess people either like to read ridiculous things or I guess a lot of people are finding comfort in it. But thanks for the negative comment.