How strong is your 'faith' ?

[Anatta]

Not a lot, but I suffer rather heavily from depression and anxiety, and have a long history of my feelings being invalidated and shot down. I think it's understandable that I don't exactly have much self-esteem, if one were to know how my life has gone.

Kia Ora Trixie,

Sorry to hear that, I hope you have now/ or will soon develop techniques to help built and maintain your self esteem...

Metta Zenda

[Elspeth]

I felt (and still feel) as strong sense of spiritual curiosity and fascination with the unknown and possibly unknowable.

Maybe that's exactly why so much of my detachment from and disassociation with Mormonism (when I was a little over 16, but really it had been building for a few years before that) centered on the word "faith" itself. At that age I was feeling more and more social pressure to make a declaration of "faith" in terms that I could not resolve with my sense of personal integrity. I'd had no mystical experiences that were anything but dubious, and I was not willing to lie in order to deliver something I felt I was being coerced into saying.

I continued to study religion and mysticism over the years, though, including active involvement in some aspects of religious practice and study (in fact I was the one who found our various -- Reconstructionist Jewish -- congregations) during my time with my ex.  I also continued to explore the history of Mormonism, and it's connections whether real or accidental, to Early Christian mystics and gnosticism.

My attachment to religious stories and symbols was apparently sufficient that, when Celexa sent me into full-blown mania, the hallucinations could have easily been described as religious visions, albeit, they were visions of a Goddess religion that was largely unrelated to any of the existing myths and religions, except in very general terms. If I were a more practical person I probably would have started my own religion based on those visions.  Whatever they were, they were actually pretty cool and my only regret about them is that biochemically, it was necessary to crash and burn for about 12 month after them before I could return to anything like my previous levels of functioning.

[Catherine Sarah]

I say "Prone to collapse and doubt on the ability to rebuild," but in the long run I sense something may grow out of the ruins.

Just at this point in time I have many other competing priorities, and some may say I'm putting the cart before the horse. However, practicalities have to prevail during this time. Once the dust has settled I'll be in a better place to evaluate the damage and prognosis of some form of new spiritual relationship, perhaps.

Well after all, I can't expect to resume the old known relationship, my brain has been marinated in oestrogen long enough for all horizons to have moved substantially. Even to the way I squeeze the toothpaste out of the tube has changed. 

Huggs
Catherine

[Anatta]

I felt (and still feel) as strong sense of spiritual curiosity and fascination with the unknown and possibly unknowable.

Maybe that's exactly why so much of my detachment from and disassociation with Mormonism (when I was a little over 16, but really it had been building for a few years before that) centered on the word "faith" itself. At that age I was feeling more and more social pressure to make a declaration of "faith" in terms that I could not resolve with my sense of personal integrity. I'd had no mystical experiences that were anything but dubious, and I was not willing to lie in order to deliver something I felt I was being coerced into saying.

I continued to study religion and mysticism over the years, though, including active involvement in some aspects of religious practice and study (in fact I was the one who found our various -- Reconstructionist Jewish -- congregations) during my time with my ex.  I also continued to explore the history of Mormonism, and it's connections whether real or accidental, to Early Christian mystics and gnosticism.

My attachment to religious stories and symbols was apparently sufficient that, when Celexa sent me into full-blown mania, the hallucinations could have easily been described as religious visions, albeit, they were visions of a Goddess religion that was largely unrelated to any of the existing myths and religions, except in very general terms. If I were a more practical person I probably would have started my own religion based on those visions.  Whatever they were, they were actually pretty cool and my only regret about them is that biochemically, it was necessary to crash and burn for about 12 month after them before I could return to anything like my previous levels of functioning.

Kia Ora Elspeth,

Narcotics and other forms of mind altering drugs were often used in ancient times by 'spiritual people' to induce visions...Which ironically has lead to many people having 'faith' in 'other' people's imagination/visions which promises some kind of reward if they do or punishment if they don't. ..So yes you could have started another 'faith-based' religion and possibly become quite wealthy and powerful... 

Metta Zenda

[Elspeth]

So yes you could have started another 'faith-based' religion and possibly become quite wealthy and powerful... 

It's been some time since my Mom also left the Mormons. Some time ago she mentioned to me something about admiring the insights I had back in my teens when, as part of developing as a writer, I cobbled together a fake set of "scriptures" based on randomly selected bits of available books. Fragments from turn of the century patent medicine guides to human health, too few and too incomplete bits of pages from science textbooks that, without any organizing structure, could have frozen a culture's progress for centuries. It was an interesting exercise, and I got the impression  when she brought this up not too very long ago, that it might have played some role in her own break from Mormonism. Not really sure... there have been so many factors for both of us.

I have no doubt you are right about the wealth and power, but what damage would that have done to my karma? Where is Joseph Smith's soul now? How many more lives must he go through to make up for what he did in the one where he went by that name?

[Mohini]

I was born and raised Catholic, and being Filipina, most of my family, nuclear and extended, belong to the Christian religion.

I studied many religions, up and down, from Unitarian Universalism, Sikhism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, the Baha'i Faith, etc. and continue to study even to today. I now practice as a full-fledged Vaishnava Hindu, and still go to the Hare Krishna temple once in a while.

In Hinduism, the word 'faith' is generally called 'shraddha,' but it certainly does not encapsulate 'belief  without evidence;' in Hinduism, faith is an attachment to something, a clasping or cleaving to a chosen principle or belief. To me, therefore, faith and logic can be simultaneously harmonised.

My full-blown agnostic atheist boyfriend attends the Unitarian Universalist congregation once in a while, and I tag along as well. However, there is nothing more refreshing for me, than a puja (worship ritual), or listening to kirtan (mantra meditation, and singing God's names), reading the Gita (like the Bible of Vaishnavism) or seeing the Deities at temple. Faith in Krishna, or God, is very personal to me.

[Anatta]

I was born and raised Catholic, and being Filipina, most of my family, nuclear and extended, belong to the Christian religion.

I studied many religions, up and down, from Unitarian Universalism, Sikhism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, the Baha'i Faith, etc. and continue to study even to today. I now practice as a full-fledged Vaishnava Hindu, and still go to the Hare Krishna temple once in a while.

In Hinduism, the word 'faith' is generally called 'shraddha,' but it certainly does not encapsulate 'belief  without evidence;' in Hinduism, faith is an attachment to something, a clasping or cleaving to a chosen principle or belief. To me, therefore, faith and logic can be simultaneously harmonised.

My full-blown agnostic atheist boyfriend attends the Unitarian Universalist congregation once in a while, and I tag along as well. However, there is nothing more refreshing for me, than a puja (worship ritual), or listening to kirtan (mantra meditation, and singing God's names), reading the Gita (like the Bible of Vaishnavism) or seeing the Deities at temple. Faith in Krishna, or God, is very personal to me.

Kia Ora Mohini,

I'm  happy that you have found peace in the Hari Krishna movement, I don't know much about them, but I do know they have fantastic vegetarian restaurants and very cheap tasty food, and staff always smiling, I dine in them every opportunity I get, unfortunately which is not very often...

I guess I have faith in their wholesome vegetarian cooking, and they've never disappointed me...

Metta Zenda