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Daily Alchemy: a question to think on together
4h ago“When kids are required to study one religion's stories in school, what does a child from a different faith actually gain or lose?”
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On Things I Loved That I Dropped
In a workshop I attended several days ago, everyone ended up sharing, one-by-one, about their experience or relationship with the subject of God (with a capital "G").... - curiousdwk...
To me, there is a difference between stating facts about the State of Israel and generalizations about Jews. I am against Zionism as displayed in the Israeli government, but I am not against Jews.... 🕊️“Awakening” and “enlightenment” are terribly vague terms for most people
🕊️"Awakening" and "enlightenment" are terribly vague terms for most people. sometimes referring to the universal, undeniable sense of being that is so simple and everpresently already here that we almost never think to pay attention to it (without training), except when... It's time to make circumcision illegal.
Here’s the deal. I believe it’s time to abandon this outdated procedure. It’s easy to maintain personal hygiene today and have access to healthcare, which were the two, IMO, worthy arguments for allowing this procedure.... "Our" culture has fetishized Buddhism in a way that over-represents its goodness.
Here’s what I believe is a cultural observation: The buddhism that landed in the "West" has mostly been interpreted through a Green or higher lens (occasionally Orange like Sam Harris), so people think "Buddhism" is (1) itself green and (2) a coherent concept (rather than a wide... Second Coming <--> Positive Singularity <--> Steel-UpTrust? pt 1
Note: Originally written for the participants of the AI alignment X spirituality/metaphysics retreats I’ve co-hosted with Jordan and Anna Salamon, so there may be some references to ideas or people you don’t know.... - annabeth...
I’m reading the hyper-christian boundaries book right now and was noodling on the concepts in the shower yesterday, and I started really resonating with the concept of "reckoning." The accounting version of the word. Putting my expenses next to my income and looking at reality.... - Shivani...
Indian Marriages
I was at a family wedding yesterday and so much happens which at times is not necessary that we forget the austerity of the sacred ceremony like marriage.In Hindu marriages a fire is lit up around which the bride and the groom take circles,while the holy man receives sacred hymes... Something clicked while I was writing this and I had to share it with you. The Greek word for "meek" was literally used to describe a trained warhorse — not a broken animal. Power under control. That's what Jesus was actually talking about.... What makes learning about the ultimate easier in the modern era, and what makes it harder?: The Story
Ten thousand people in silence In 2003, a Burmese meditation teacher named S. N. Goenka filled Madison Square Garden with ten thousand people sitting in silence. Most had found their way there through a website.... I get split here. I think thinking of "them" as beings could just be creating a manifold with which to engage in the supercomputer of the unconscious mind but trying to access this manifold by not believing doesn’t seem to happen much.... - marcello...
Also, these words seem to have a lot of unrelated stuff projected onto them. Maybe because of that vagueness? I have the sense that many believe "enlightenment" (whatever it is) solves more problems than it actually does.... I really see the break up with the very personal God of your youth as an increase in intimacy with God. You evolved in spiritual intelligence. I admire this. And it sounds like you’re in a continued evolution.... (i have no idea) Many cultures didn't. Korean spas, turkish bathhouses (hammams), Finland... So... my guess is some connection to purity culture in the US? like being naked together in public was kinda touchy for awhile-- so add to that, being sweaty together in a dark room.... I like how the Catholic commentary is woven in, there's something real and stakesy and human about wrestling with guilt and transcendence and different metaphysical and religious beliefs, without it needing to make a particular "gotcha" point about religion Yes!... - curiousdwk...
No. Nothing in the Bible is a "verifiable fact": Not the story of creation, or of Jonah and the whale or any story within the Bible. The Bible is book of stories with wisdom and morals but not facts....