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Post by robert on Oct 30, 2009 12:18:27 GMT -5
i started my path alone trying to figure out certain experiences in my life beginning in childhood.
i was raised in a baptist church which allowed no influences outside that which the church considered normal and what i experienced was way outside. so i began searching on my own. i started with one book then ended up with dozens and finally realized that i was just confusing myself. yet when i speak to anyone they always end up recommending another one and yet i know that i am at some point my own teacher.
thoughts, recommendations, opinions?
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Post by pshapiro on Oct 30, 2009 15:24:47 GMT -5
Dear robert,
What exists in the world is the best teacher.
When you want to learn about what happens inside yourself try to see the meaning of what is in front of you in the world and you may find that it has the same meaning as what appeared inside yourself.
What do you want to achieve?
When you find out, let me know and I may be able to show the way that you'll be able to get it.
Thanks
Paul
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Post by zendancer1 on Oct 30, 2009 15:27:49 GMT -5
Robert: Hey, welcome to the club! I also was raised in the Baptist Church and had a heavy-duty fire and brimstone upbringing. After I went to college and got free of some of that conditioning, I thought, "Whoa, what I was told by my family, teachers, church, etc. doesn't make sense. There must be something else going on here that everyone is overlooking." That started me searching for the truth. The story of that search is pretty funny, and if you'll send me your email address, I'll send it to you. Having been raised in the Baptist tradition, you would probably enjoy it a lot.
Anyone raised in a hard-core fundamentalist tradition has a lot of baggage to get rid of, and it doesn't happen overnight. I couldn't find a single clue until I read a book by Alan Watts and then some books about Zen. Those books at least pointed in the right direction, but books can only take you so far. At some point you have to do something to escape the mind. That is where things begin to happen (in different ways for different people). Here's the good news: there is an absolute reality beyond thoughts and it is possible to find it. There are lots of people on this website pointing in the right direction. Cheers.
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Post by robert on Oct 30, 2009 15:46:13 GMT -5
paul, i want to see behind all of the veils. i want to know.
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Post by astenny on Oct 31, 2009 0:46:25 GMT -5
All the books and teachers only help you along your path, but you do need to take time to consider what you have heard and read and compare it to what you believe. Does what you have read or been told make sense to you, or not? The purpose is only to help you, and you may eventually find out that the book or teacher was right and you were not. Until that point they may have achieved what you needed, which was to help nudge you in the right direction. In the end, you make the decisions that matter and the choices of which path to take on your spiritual journey.
One thing to remember, do not feel afraid to ask any question. Yes, some people may stop and say they think it is stupid, but others will stop and say that it was a good question and then try to help you find your answer.
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Post by divinity on Oct 31, 2009 17:28:05 GMT -5
I was not raised in any religion. Best thing my parents ever did for me. The answers are within you.
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Post by robert on Nov 1, 2009 10:47:45 GMT -5
i was actually raised between 2 families. one was strict baptist the other was strict atheist so in the end i had a wide field of view. but as paul said earlier it ended up being my own experience that guides and is still guiding me.
r.
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