Religion/Spirituality

[BrentRichards]

Originally Posted by Pablo Rafael

Darn right! Now you're finally getting the message. (I mean, am I right everybody? the guy is downright cute.) Brent, I notice you're getting nervous. I'm not hitting on you. My thoughts and motives are completely honorable.

(crestfallen)

PS: Uhhh... Brent, just for future reference: Would it have been OK if I HAD BEEN hitting on you?

(perks up again!)


We have totally hijacked this thread into shameless silliness and flirting. Not that I'm apologizing, just sayin. (Personally, I believe silliness has a major place in spirituality ... and I'm not kidding there.)

[paul]

Originally Posted by BrentRichards

(Personally, I believe silliness has a major place in spirituality ... and I'm not kidding there.)

I agree Brent. Silliness can open a door or window to a closed and dark room. It can be a way in to a place that might otherwise stay locked tight. Silliness removes threat.

[u-dog]

Originally Posted by paul

I agree Brent. Silliness can open a door or window to a closed and dark room. It can be a way in to a place that might otherwise stay locked tight. Silliness removes threat.

Silliness doesn't just push the envelope it removes the envelope and turns it inside out. It removes artificial boundaries to thinking, rearranges them and puts them down in totally new places.

[shadeseraph]

I am taking some days of prayer and meditation with another group of gay men. Please pray that the retreat is full of grace and blessings and for safe travel and God's help and protrection.
________
Black asian

[Blockwell]

I know I am not religious, but I often wonder if how I live and I how I view the world would even be recognized as spiritual. Leaving religion behind when I accepted myself as gay seemed like a no-brainer for me. The churches I had been involved with would not accept me for who I was, and to be honest I never truly believed in any of the supernatural components of Christianity. With this in mind the idea of looking for a religious community that would accept me just didn’t seem necessary or even the right thing to do. I already had a conviction that many people who were the most vocal opponents of homosexuality had already been ‘religion shopping’ for a faith that fit their mindset, so it seemed hypocritical for me to do the same.

I think the vast majority of people have this sense that there is more to life than meets the eye. I recognize this, and I even respect it, but I don’t share it myself. I don’t know why I am unusual in this regard. Everything I have ever experienced seems perfectly ‘natural’ to me. I feel perfectly content to live my life within the confines of the viewable and the tangible. That said, there have been times when the word ‘spiritual’ seems like the only way I can convey the real meaning of what I trying to explain.

For those of you who may have read my few posts, you know that I lost my first partner in an aviation accident when I was 27 years old. I did not take his death well. For the next two years I abused cocaine in an attempt to deal with the pain. I had lost my job and was days away from homelessness when I got into recovery. (I have been clean for 18 years now) There was a point near the end of my struggle that I typically call my ‘spiritual bottom.’ I just can’t think of a better way to describe it. During this period I did the worst thing I have ever done to anyone. At the time I was working as a bank teller and one of my coworkers had dropped $500 from his till on the way to his station. I took it. Not only did I steal it, but to make matters worse my boss was convinced that my coworker had stolen it for himself. My boss (and a pretty good friend too) told me, “Dennis, I know he stole the money, I just know it. I would stake my life on it.” My coworker was fired. I did not feel guilt, I did not feel shame. Instead I just felt empty. It felt like something had left me from deep inside. I utilized that emptiness to my advantage and began to find other ways to steal from work. I never got caught. It was only after I had recovered that my shame and guilt returned. Although I was never able to make restitution directly (Try find finding a specific Jose Lopez in California and you can understand the predicament) I did make restitution through anonymous acts of kindness and generosity whenever I could.

I don’t know whether or not spirituality has a supernatural origin, or whether it is just something in my mind, but I know it has a place within me, and I like myself better when it is nurtured and cared for.

Blockwell

[Zerbie]

Originally Posted by Blockwell

I know I am not religious, but I often wonder if how I live and I how I view the world would even be recognized as spiritual. Leaving religion behind when I accepted myself as gay seemed like a no-brainer for me. The churches I had been involved with would not accept me for who I was, and to be honest I never truly believed in any of the supernatural components of Christianity. With this in mind the idea of looking for a religious community that would accept me just didn’t seem necessary or even the right thing to do. I already had a conviction that many people who were the most vocal opponents of homosexuality had already been ‘religion shopping’ for a faith that fit their mindset, so it seemed hypocritical for me to do the same.

I think the vast majority of people have this sense that there is more to life than meets the eye. I recognize this, and I even respect it, but I don’t share it myself. I don’t know why I am unusual in this regard. Everything I have ever experienced seems perfectly ‘natural’ to me. I feel perfectly content to live my life within the confines of the viewable and the tangible. That said, there have been times when the word ‘spiritual’ seems like the only way I can convey the real meaning of what I trying to explain.

For those of you who may have read my few posts, you know that I lost my first partner in an aviation accident when I was 27 years old. I did not take his death well. For the next two years I abused cocaine in an attempt to deal with the pain. I had lost my job and was days away from homelessness when I got into recovery. (I have been clean for 18 years now) There was a point near the end of my struggle that I typically call my ‘spiritual bottom.’ I just can’t think of a better way to describe it. During this period I did the worst thing I have ever done to anyone. At the time I was working as a bank teller and one of my coworkers had dropped $500 from his till on the way to his station. I took it. Not only did I steal it, but to make matters worse my boss was convinced that my coworker had stolen it for himself. My boss (and a pretty good friend too) told me, “Dennis, I know he stole the money, I just know it. I would stake my life on it.” My coworker was fired. I did not feel guilt, I did not feel shame. Instead I just felt empty. It felt like something had left me from deep inside. I utilized that emptiness to my advantage and began to find other ways to steal from work. I never got caught. It was only after I had recovered that my shame and guilt returned. Although I was never able to make restitution directly (Try find finding a specific Jose Lopez in California and you can understand the predicament) I did make restitution through anonymous acts of kindness and generosity whenever I could.

I don’t know whether or not spirituality has a supernatural origin, or whether it is just something in my mind, but I know it has a place within me, and I like myself better when it is nurtured and cared for.

Blockwell

God, Dennis!!!!! How frightening that you wound up with such an "emptiness!" Terrifying!

I'm glad you had enough *you* left to overcome that. Yeah, that was DEFINITELY a spiritual crisis.

[paul]

Worse yet, Paul, I'm a gay evangelical Republican Calvinist Wal-Mart shopper. I need to be medicated.


ohno ohno, you're shattering all my stereotypes.

truth be known, I am rather fond of Andrew Sullivan's writing

[paul]

Thank you for having the courage to share some of your story. I am sorry for your loss. Life has a way of leaving it's mark. I'm glad you recovered and are here to be a part of this community.

[jessica99]

Hi,


Here is my view on spirituality.

There is energy in everything in the Universe. Everything that you can see, even a person, is all made up of energy. Thoughts are also made up of energy. This is the basic thing to understanding how to manifest healing in your life. All the energy in the Universe has a certain vibration to it because it is always moving. Getting what you want is easy when you match your own energy vibration to that which you want. Anything you want can be yours.