Practice what you preach?
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| Sat, 12-30-2006 - 4:06pm |
I spent several hours last night reading up on Pantheism--the idea that 'God' is an impersonal universal force, within all things, both living and not, versus a separate sentient being--and came across the phrase "God is a verb, not a noun" more than once. For Pantheists, there is no set doctrine, no sacred texts... for them, all of Creation is sacred, and they worship by how they treat the rest of Creation. It's a lifestyle more than a religion. It got me really thinking about what I do versus what I believe... so often we tend to talk in the abstract: "I believe..." Yet religion is supposed to be a guideline for living.
So I thought it'd be interesting to compare some of the ways we live what we believe. What are some of the ways you act out your spiritual beliefs?






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Thanks so much for sharing!
> What are some of the ways you act out your spiritual beliefs?
Without thinking, I'll just talk out of the blue!
Excellent post!
I was introduced to the term Panetheism last quarter in a Sociology of Religions class I took and thought *Wow, that's it & I love the idea*!!
What do I do? I stop to smell the flowers (literally), I talk to the birds and trees and anything else (*grin*), I speak to strangers, I let people w/ just a few items in infront of me in line, I practice "the weave" in traffic jams, I try to encourage women who are learning to stand up for themselves ('cos I *know* how tough that can be), I started back to college last year 'cos I want to work w/ special needs kids, I work each year to be more than I was the previous year . . . (I still have a long way to go to become whom I wish to be!!!)
Namasthe, "M"
Kinda like Douglas Wood's book "Grandad's Prayers of the Earth"
The same Douglas Wood who wrote the Old Turtle books?
I think that is an awesome question and since my resolution in 2007 is to delve deeper into my Pagan Faith, it goes right along with my thinking.
I tell people all the time that I dont 'worship', I just live.
Guess it just guides everything I do now. Having fallen into dysfunction as my issues shook out, harming others through this, I try to be very cognizant of my actions, and work to stay in a good place. So it basically comes down to the choices I am confronted with, and the pathway taken.
Sometimes
Sometimes
I see much more than's good for me
The first thing that's on my mind
The last place I look each time
~
worlds undone
Yes, the same Douglas Wood. Grandad's Prayers . . . is an excellent book for grief/mourning work . . . and as Douglas' other works (Old Turtle 1 'n 2) it is absolutely beautiful ~ very *encompassing*!! Not *just* for children . . . .
Yes, reminders of "the little things" and "random acts of kindness" are very important ~~ and coming out to these boards regularly has helped me to find that w/in my Self again and to stay *motivated/encouraged*!
Blessings to All!!
Namasthe, "M"
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I'm a real big proponent of everything is in motion, everything has vibrations and energy and it effects everything else. I believe that every movement, thought, word and deed effects everything else. And I'm a believer that what we concentrate on, we draw to ourselves. I see it with people that always talk about being sick, it's like a self fulfilling prophecy, they will get sick. Or like DH always expects to see bad drivers so when he drives, he's like a magnet for bad drivers. Or my boss' son, he says he's the luckiest man alive and he won three poker tournaments last year making about $10,000.
That's the underlying faith that drives my spirituality so to follow that faith I work on being positive. I subscribe to Positive Thinking magazine, I watch movies with positive messages, I spend time with positive people, I spend my time commuting focusing on positive thoughts, I have my email program send me the message "Today I appreciate..." every morning so I remember to be grateful, I meditate, I smile at people, I listen to peppy music ... and on those days that I can't bring myself to smile at anything, I don't beat myself up over it. I figure I put out a majority of positive thoughts so I allow myself to be down when I need to be.
As I read back over this it doesn't feel like it's a religion and only vaguely a spirituality. But my religion is working with the flow of the universe and this is how I work with that flow ... Awen I call it. It's just unstructured and natural to me ... just the way I like it.
necessary ingredient in living. It's a way of looking at life through
the wrong end of a telescope ..." ~ Dr. Seuss
Thanks for sharing Jodi... that's exactly the sort of thing I was thinking of.
Oh, good question, Jodi.
I try to be as true to my good sides as possible, and I try to understand my dark sides as best as possible. I respect the environment I live in, and I would like to do more to help preserve it. I treat people with respect and courtesy,
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