Yeeeeah, but mosques are products of Islam which is faith based, this proposed place is the product of just a desire to meditate for any reason, even if it is just a nice quiet place I guess.
And is stumps meditative place not one based on faith…?
From what I gateher, it’s not based on faith, no. Meditation isn’t just a religious thing at all.
No? This is the stated basis of his faith:
Not sure why I’m arguing about this really, it’s clearly different to a mosque though, unless stumps wants to clarify differently - then I’ll take it all back.
Woud you rather go to this place to relax or a mosque? If not a mosque, consider why.
I would rather not go to either for reasons previously stated. No more consideration necessary. If I want to relax I’ll have a cigar and a glass of water. Or I’ll go for a walk. Or I’ll sit by a river. Or something else in private. Sitting on a carpet with a group of strangers ‘meditating’ is not likely to promote my relaxation.
Now if my goal is to understand my fellows I might just try to engage them in conversation and then think about what they may or may not have said. I doubt that would be very relaxing either though.
Mary, if it’s a place you would not like to go, then don’t.
(I doubt you’ll have the chance anyway)
It is not a place that is for any one religion.
It is a place of faith, yes.
It is a place of faith in humanity among humanity.
It is hardly anything close to a mosque, however.
In fact, I would probably make certain to face the back walls northwest and southwest just to remove the option for someone to face east.
If it looks like one; then it’s because the place pulls from many religious architectural concepts and pulls them into one form.
The right-side room for sitting is more akin to a Zen sitting room than a mosque.
I think you are just picking up on the wallpaper and rugs.
That is something that is only there by representation and limitation of the program I was using.
In reality, those rugs would be more plain single or double color and the wallpaper would probably be less remarkable.
It’s more akin to Martin Luther King Jr. than it is related to Islam.
As well, Mary, I do not wish to disarm man by force so that list was incorrect.
I only wish to disarm by getting man to be close to each other.
I don’t need guns and politics to accomplish that.
Aaah, that was all I was looking for.
Sounds good.
In regards to the labyrinth.
In the previous images, that room is missing.
It’s really quite simple though as to it’s use.
If you just ran up to such a place as this and the last thing you were doing was bickering or venting on something, then you’ll need to release some energy before you will be able to sit peacefully with yourself.
One of the ways that can help is to walk mindlessly in labyrinth.
There are several such practices around today, as Mary pointed out before.
I am just borrowing yet another successful tool and mixing it into this place as well.
I’m working on the Labyrinth room today; I’ll update when I have images.
Oh right, I see. Although I think personally if I was angry at someone or whatever, trying to find my way through a labyrinth would only serve to frustrate me more.
Perhaps you should put some stuff in there to smash up too 
No, that’s too much racket.
It’s also because some people prefer walking meditation over sitting.
Note: the design of the path is not set…this is one conceptual formation.
Here’s the updated floorplan:
Here’s the new room:
So when can we expect the Holy Book of Stumpianity? Or the tenets of Stumpianism? 
Oooh I see, that’s nice yeah I’d enjoy that. I thought of it like a maze that is hard to get out of, but it’s just like theraputic walking in reality.
Raise the ceilings. Better yet take them out altogether. Drop the walls too. Hey we’re outside breathing fresh, fresh air! Try it sometime ye uptight Americans. Then get rid of some stuff; like your humvees and computer games and some of those street guns and bob’s yer uncle stress levels will 
plummet.
It’s called Bomanism, and it’s not a religion; in fact, it even declares that among the first descriptions of itself.
It’s simply a perspective regarding ways to view life.
It has nothing to do with this place.
But it should look spiritual; that’s the point.
To accomplish spiritual impact and rest without requiring any practice or affiliation to any religion.
It’s a shrine of humanity.
It’s purpose is humanity.
Now, Mary, I’m Alaskan.
Just about everything you rattled off in your last post banks little on what kind of person I am.
In fact, most of what you wrote are items I have problems with as well.
Your only position so far has been of badgering. I’m not sure why. This is the least assertive thread premise for pages and pages.
If you think it’s something that you wouldn’t dig; cool.
No one is forcing you to accept anything, or even asserting that it’s the best way to do anything at all.
It’s one guys idea for the rekindling of the brotherhood of humanity in a country where that guy sees a serious lack thereof.
If you think trees will solve it better; right on; start a tree thread somewhere.
cheegster,
Ah, yeah…no…though; that would be funny wouldn’t it?
Go to work late, “Sorry, I got lost in the labyrinth down the street…took me 2 hours to find my way out.”
Reflecting on the conversation…I just thought I’d be a little redundant for clarities sake.
The idea of this place isn’t purely just meditation.
If that’s all it was, then suggestions to go out in the woods, or sitting at home, etc… would be far easier.
Instead, this place is for the idea of uniting people.
As said in the opening post, I believe that the starting point of uniting people is to first get people to feel each other as humans spiritually; which I view as a sense of presence.
So, the idea is a simple one; sit a bunch of people in a room that are relatively random to each other aside from living in the same geographical region, tell them to shut their damn mouths up so they can’t fuck it up with their polluted pretenses, and just have them feel the presence of everyone around them in the room while they clear their minds and emotions.
That’s…pretty much it.
Meditative stress release is a secondary (though it may be a primary for the individual) focus of the place.
It’s a conduit for human sensory of peoples own humanity in collective.
There are volumes of knowledge a person can learn from sitting with another human, shutting up, and just listening to the other person’s presence upon their own senses.
I see several big differences between this concept and a mosque/synagogue/church/etc. First and foremost, this building would not have any sort of formalized rites or rituals. What the individual choose to focus on during their time there is purely up to them. there are no formalized prayer times like those in the Islam faith, nor are there catechisms, hymns, or any thing else that would be attributable to a specific faith. In fact, there not even mention of some sort of formalized structure where someone would be considered a “leader” of this establishment - no imams, priests, rabbis, gurus, pastors, etc.
One thing that all religions have in common is some sort of structure that extends beyond the level of the local church/mosque/etc. They also have specific rituals, rites, and observances of “holy” days that have special significance to members of that particular faith. There is no such structure outlined in this concept. Granted, that raises questions regarding enforcement of the guidelines requiring silence in the building and the wearing of these robes, but that’s neither here nor there. You could easily have a Muslim, a Catholic, a Zen Buddhist, a Jew, and a Zoroastrian sitting side by side, each meditating on something completely different from the others. But they would all share that common bond of meditating, regardless of the individual’s focus once inside these rooms.
If anything, this would be closer to the “moment of silence” observed in many schools than it would to any organized formal religion. The key difference being that the duration of this “moment” would be entirely up to the individual, not based on some external source.
Go tell that to Mohammed or Christ or Buddha or Brian. Doubt they ever actually said go forth and start a religion/faith/movement. If they did I wonder what they would think of it all now and whether it matched their intentions? HELL! here I cometh!:o
Then why is it here in the Religion subforum? Hey you guys it’s ok to fire away at Islam, Judaism, Christianity and Buddhism but leave my spriiiiitual project well alone because it’s coming from a really good place (TheStumps heart).
Shrine? See, you can’t help yourself! When you are dead and gone TheStumpism will most likely be alive and well and living by the tenets you lay down right up there(or your disciples did after you) and then there will be a period of Chinese whispers where it all gets bent out of shape. Then some people will notice that there are others who don’t feel the spirituality and then there will be a bit of hefty repression and… well you get the picture and why I feel afraid, very afraid…maryshelleys and their ilk are going to burn at the stake I just know it.
It’s maryshelley btw. Alaskan, eh? What do I think of when I think of Alaska? Exxon Valdez, melting permafrost, trees and Sarah Palin.
Better go back and check what I rattled off but yes I do have a habit of badgering. Sorry if I’m raining on your parade. Sorry if I’m not articulating well enough the point/s I’m trying to make. Bear with me.
No not now they aren’t but maybe they are a bit pissed off that I don’t dig it. Maybe a few years down the line that pissed off ness might turn into resentment and quicker than you can utter three hail maryshelleys I’m a gentile, an unbeliever and an unenlightened infidel!
When was there a brotherhood of humanity in your (or any) country? Exact date please? See here is the crux. See it?
You don’t know what you’ve lost until it has gone so trees are relevant here.
Isn’t it just!
Because 1. He moderates this forum 2. It fits in here better than anywhere else (spirituality obvs has a link with religion) 3. He wanted some serious conversation on it so it wasn’t apt for Mundane Babble.
I do agree with that though.
Maybe so, maybe no.
The difference is I don’t push it out there in mass.
Because what this place is for is the unity across religions.
In my country, I’m sick of the bickering over who’s right.
I want people to get along with each other spiritually regardless of their religion; ergo…this idea.
And I didn’t say to leave it alone; I said if you don’t dig it, cool.
I’m not here to force someone to go with or against this idea.
Of course I am happy that people like the idea, but I don’t need folks to go along with it…like I said…I’m not even that hopeful such an idea will ever be physically accomplished.
Yep, a shrine…a place of reverence.
It doesn’t have to be religious to be a shrine.
I know several that are not.
I’m not Jesus or Mohammad.
I’m not really sure what you are afraid of in that regard as it is remarkable that they ever became what they became.
They devoted their entire lives to their endeavors…me? No thank you, I have a family. I don’t have time for campaigns and intense crap like that.
There’s literally no possible way anything this thing is doing can be a religion…it doesn’t have an organized format of order.
Hell, there are no tenants to one of these places.
Fair enough, Maryshelley.
That’s too bad that this is what you think of for Alaska; there is a grand beauty here.
Alright.
So…you are worried that IF I ever did somehow accomplish setting up one of these structures in Wasilla, Alaska - a town roughly 5,000 some-odd miles away from where you likely are - and successfully assigned it’s property to the ownership of every religion and science foundation in this city that a religious fervor of the place would take hold and would lead to your prosecution?
And even if it never was…all the more reason.
I still don’t see your point.
Trees are great; they have nothing to do with this idea.
Yes.
Like I said…no one HAS to go; it’s aim is to get people amongst each other for something they crave spiritually regardless of their religion.
What is it that you really fear about this?