I great friend of mine from university had a saying that I think might help many ILP members here have a more complete and fufilling spirtual expericance. Whenever, she was approced by a JW, Mormon, or Evangelist of and brand, she would simply say:
“Sorry, I never worship a desert God in the forest.”
It was so simple and so clear that they usually never bothered her agian. And I think there is a lot of wisdom to it. If spirtual life is supposed to help you connect with the world, then you should connect with the world in the terms it presents itself to you. You don’t have to go digging through some dusty tome to find an aprropriate deity, just imagen the things around you. What would they do if they had personality? Sort of a form of metditaion to find connections that might otherwise be missed.
I remember, not too long ago, being accosted by some Mormons who were handing out literature at the library.
I accepted their pamplets and read about Christ in America so on and so forth.
Alas, none of it changed my views, but I didn’t make the mistake of assuming beforehand that I live in a spiritual forrest compared to those who follow their Desert God.
That is probably because I do not necessarily limit spiritual life in that it is only supposed to connect me to the world, or reflect a desire for what is convenient (my environment).
The Years of Rice and Salt is a great read btw. Sinc reading it I have been trying to find out what the sound of my first name is supposed to symbolize .
Joe
OMG my first name is on the internet I shall be hacked111 hehe
Happen to know of any sites that mention the concept? I figured it comes from Hinduism, but that religion is just so diverse, and so much about it probably isn’t written in English if it is on the internet, I kind of gave up hope of finding it.