Amulet

In a location where deviating from the 'required' norm puts us under the threat of danger, that is beyond Fundamentalism, that is Extremist. There's no way I would even speak the words. There are people who profess Fundamentalism. If they engage to argue, I reject their label. Fundamentalists don't mingle with Heathen to argue. The longer they hang around, the more they are exposing themselves to "evil" which they should be staying away from. I don't find there to be an issue there. So it leaves the people pretending to be Fundamentalists to have an argument about right and wrong and to make me wrong - there's no point to that as you said. That goes for any closed-minded convo. It's just...dumb. For anyone who isn't a fundamentalist or even riding that line which is the experience I have most often, using the label as a reference point brings up productive conversation. I don't find that it is used against me, but again, I am only speaking from my own experience. This has been the larger part of my experience, and the former much less. But also I am not in a Bible Belt area or one that is so conservative that people would be vandalizing my home or anything if I didn't profess to be something they didn't approve of. Times are gettin' scary though!

In the end, it doesn't. For someone wanting to try to relate or gain some understanding, it does. In a lot of cases, I would like to know. Without intentionally pigeon-holing someone, or going by a label, it is a starting point to work from and build on. As for me, I don't like labels on myself either, but I find that I can use them in an effort to be more helpful for relating that my "kind" may not mean what they think. They need the referencing point first and if open to discussion not stay so locked in to their stereotype. Interpretations vary so widely these days.

Thanks there are some really interesting points here. I think one of the biggest misconceptions is that Atheist means Anti-theist. And unfortunately a lot of the arguments that come in come from ignorance. And also, there is a misconception that Atheism conflicts with ritual practice. For someone to learn that Buddhism is an atheist religion can confuse people. Satanists mentioning Atheism must make people's heads explode.

My condolences for your loss cuchulain. If I may ask, how was it determined that she was a Druid? I think family has a large role with religion. Mine certainly added their share of influences on me. There is an indigenous/family/tribe/familiarity thing that rings pretty loudly for me on this topic. It's a great question. I am not one for statistics really but an interesting point came up regarding being creatures of habit that may be something to ponder: They say over 50% of the population in the US lives within 50 miles of where they grew up. (Something like that.) If true, it is a strong case for living within the confines of familiarity, and perhaps a fear of venturing outside of it more permanently. There are other factors involved of course. There always are. That said, religion is also known to be similar in that respect from what I understand. Many are the religion they are because they grew up in it. And they will stay in it because it is familiar, and may perceive religious association as requirement to stay friendly with the "tribe." My mother was set to be a Catholic nun. She was raised in a convent. Catholicism is huge where she grew up. Things changed of course, and she isn't a nun. She met my father (who is not Catholic) and made a life. I have one younger brother. Growing up, my father was pretty much hands-off when it came to any religious stuff. With my mother, we learned the Catholic prayers and devotions. Read the Bible if we chose to. The local church still held mass in Latin for certain holidays which we would attend in proper dress and we would also attend midnight mass. We learned the rosary and about absolution. We said Grace at the table. And, went to Vacation Bible School wherever it was being hosted nearby during the summer if logistics allowed for it. Perhaps having parents of two different ideologies made a difference. My father didn't practice anything. My mother was teaching us about Catholicism but it did not seem like being Catholic was a "have-to" as much I perceive that it was an introduction to tradition she knew. I don't recall her teaching us from the Bible offering verses. If I had questions, she didn't go deep into interpretation. I never went to catechism. Actually, one day in church when communion was being given, she asked me if I wanted to take communion and I said I don't know what it is. She explained it and pushed me out to go get in line. I got in line to go through the process. That was my First Communion experience. So I'm not really sure where she was at with Catholicism. But she has always claimed it to be her belief system and still does. To this day she still prays to Saints etc. But just because she claims to be Catholic and is rather...unorthodox about it, does it make her a Catholic to other Catholics or does it just make her a practicing Christian? What if 10 years from now she abandoned the Catholic ideology for something more Messianic without me knowing and she gets a Catholic burial? Had she been proactively engaging and reinforcing practice and ritual, it might have been a different story early on. There was an acceptance within our environment for this one thing at least, that if we did not choose her religion we would still be considered family and not be suffering any repercussions for choosing differently. I think that made a huge difference. I don't identify with the religion, and don't recall that it was a requirement to "or else." Even when it was the only thing I knew and was being taught and had no real resources to go to and even explore with at a young age, I decided for myself. But also, my relationship with my mother was often strained. That could have had an effect with some of my decision making. I doubt it, but that is something that might be factored in as a possible influence.

This is a nice perspective. Grounding is always such an important part of any kind of channeling or doing higher chakra type of work. -- Jonathan, It may not have come across in text well enough, but I am not making the connection with your reference to weight problems and astral travel. Is that in reference to chemical imbalance mentioned in the previous reply?

Was thinking the same. Even the concept of what Logos is or means has all sorts of different flavors depending on the area of study. I don't equate it to universal consciousness. Probably the opposite of anything universal for me. In my practice Logos is half of a perspective to study and needs its counterpart to be considered whole truth. Kind of bi-partisan-like. Difficult to explain. Obviously the quest for labels is always going to be something to iron out, lol Is Stoic considered more like on the hardcore logic/proof/evidence/absolutes side of things? Or is it more liberal than that?

Agnosticism, Atheism, Freethought, Humanism, Ietsism, Irreligion, Naturalism, Nontheism, Objectivism, Rationalism, Skepticism, Secularism Question for this group: In your experience with explaining your beliefs to someone, what do you run across as being the biggest misconception about your way of life?

Aww. The same could be said for anyone arguing the nuances, though. I think it's a matter of someone taking something too seriously and needing to be right (or not be wrong) with wherever they happen to be on the meter. The Apathetic Agnostic Church actually exists as like a congregation?

The term I know for that one is Apatheism. I wasn't sure if it was a slang term. Another one is Ignosticism. And I don't know if that one is slang either.

Oh I believe you. I have seen those kind of conversations go off the rails. Unexpectedly I've seen Buddhist communities go through that with the 'varying degrees' of atheism and orthodoxy between eastern and western and seeing those arguments makes me scratch my head. And of course the side gallery is watching this thinking, "attached much?!"

I know there is a list of different Atheisms but Stoic all by itself wouldn't be ringing any bells off the top for me. I would probably squint my eyes and say, "huh?" lol Probably the opposite of the intelligent conversations you would have hoped for. (To open with anyway.)

Intentionally or unintentionally, what items do you own that broadcast your belief system publicly? For example, a pendant or bracelet with a charm on it such as a cross, a pentacle or a reiki symbol, a Darwin fish on your car, shirts or other clothing or jewelry? I have japa/ mala bead bracelets that I wear but they are kept under long sleeves. I would not wear the bracelets if I was wearing short sleeves. I wear a pendant with a symbol that few people would know how it is interpreted. Nothing on my car. My home is also fairly discreet. You?

Thank you for the heads-up. The sidebar is removed temporarily until I can find a fix.

A new forum section has been introduced named Interpath Academia & Scholarship. The forums within this area are not open yet, with the exception of the previously existing area Interpath Dialogue... The new forums will be open to allow posting into within the next 24 hours. by Friday the 14th. The keywords associated with each area are references and not an be-all or end-all. If you feel an identifying keyword is missing or is misplaced, please let me know either by posting a reply here or sending a PM. My Innkeeper account has posted "introduction" information about posting in the new areas. A welcome post and quick-help/summarizing FAQ was added to the ULC Minister's Introduction Junction as well. A temporary area named Ritual & Ceremony is set up so that I can get a proper count of ceremonies posted on the forum. This will determine if the area should stay or if the topics should merge elsewhere. If you have original ceremonies to add to that forum, it expresses an interest to have it remain a part of the forum as its own area. Thank you for your patience and support, and have a beautiful day!

It is lovely they took the time to write and share their thanks. And gratitude to you as well for forwarding their message. He is missed. I wish his family love and comfort.

..."through sickness and health." someone else's paradigm is it true to self?

Recent changes: Part of the forum cleanup process has included going through nearly every topic in every section to find its proper category for "filing". Once old topics were placed in areas more true to their content, the next step was to archive them to a proper place and as best as possible not simply mass dump them randomly or delete them. The side effect of sorting this way is the reason for the re-naming or consolidation of some of the forums. My apologies if it is causing some confusion. We are at the home stretch! Most of the topics that have been created are where they "should be." (Some areas more loosely than others while there is still movement going on.) Archiving continues. In each forum's description the '~ helpful keywords' to reference for posting have been updated for some areas. On the front-end, the areas available to begin conversation in may look a little bit light at the moment, but in the back, there are six new forums waiting to be opened up. Almost there! Thanks for your patience!

Forum arrangement: Is it nearly completed? Feels like forever...

Vocabulary I need a dictionary Or a Thesaurus... / kireji

After reading this article: Here’s How a Child Sees a Van Gogh Painting I wonder what your thoughts are about the following: In the scenario in the article, the children are guided to see a new perspective, and as a result, they are introduced to needing to find context to re-map their comprehension. Do you think that searching for context and perspective is something that we learn by instruction? Is a habit of human nature? Is looking for perspective something that we generally apply under certain conditions? In the case of the children, their broadened investigation was prompted by external guidance.

@Joyful 5 syllables 7 syllables 5 syllables That's all there is to it! Here's mine in 5/7/5 It was a long day The weather was hot here, too! Simmer down, sunshine!

Aww! Hugs! I am having trouble believing you are introverted! It's close! I was telling a friend who took the test recently and was also about 50/50 there's a word called Ambivert to go with Introvert/Extrovert and when I've mentioned it, nobody seems to know what it means!

I love this. Thank you! Five things I am grateful for today: 1. Perspective. 2. Serendipity/Kismet that shares helpful insight and advice. 3. The support of my partner. 4. Sharing a hug with someone who needed it. 5. The ability to access places on the internet to find wisdom.

Shhh! Murph's birthday is this week on the 5th and we want to wish him an early Happy Murphday Birthday, Murph! (This is the year he regenerates.) Thanks for being great, Murph! Have a great week! Good day, sir!

Absolutely noted, and thank you for bringing that up. In my case I should have phrased it differently. I would not be the person they hope to have perform the task in a case like you mentioned!