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The belief - 2/10/2008 9:54:42 AM

Aneirin

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From: Tamaris
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Out of interest ;

Say who you are in society, that is who you believe you are and how you fit into the society that surrounds you,

Your belief in law and order ,your country, your chosen ideals and morals, the existance you have built up to live by. An existance you are comfortable living by and you know where you are, and maybe where you are going, your security.

Say one day, perhaps in the space of a few hours or days, everything you have believed in comes crashing down, your whole life as you have ever known it ceases to be.

A revelation perhaps, but how do you think you will be affected by it?

Simply get on with life as you now see it, or is it more complex than that ?

Has anyone been in that situation, and how did you find it, easy, or fraught with difficulty ?

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Everything we are is the result of what we have thought, the mind is everything, what we think, we become - Guatama Buddha

Conservatism is distrust of people tempered by fear - William Gladstone

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RE: The belief - 2/10/2008 10:05:11 AM

MissMorrigan

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You ask some thought-provoking questions. Aneirin. I'm going to have to have some time to think this one through. How about YOU? lol

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RE: The belief - 2/10/2008 10:10:01 AM

laurell3

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I think it's common for people to have revelations or points in their lives when they change dramatically how they feel about things that they once thought were absolutes. In my own life, my priorites and viewpoints have changed dramatically. I learned that who I thought I was was really who others wanted me to be and started being me instead. It's hard to let go of things that are comfortable and known to us, even when it's a positive change. I'm not sure we ever have a choice to do anything other than get on with life the best way we can. Sure, it's more complex than that and it can be frightening, but one step at a time forward momentum works when it is.

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I cannot be defined by moments in my life, but must be considered for by the entirety of my existence.

When you fail to consider that I am the best judge for what is right for me, all of your opinions become suspect to me.

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RE: The belief - 2/10/2008 10:39:12 AM

Aneirin

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quote:

ORIGINAL: laurell3

I think it's common for people to have revelations or points in their lives when they change dramatically how they feel about things that they once thought were absolutes. In my own life, my priorites and viewpoints have changed dramatically. I learned that who I thought I was was really who others wanted me to be and started being me instead. It's hard to let go of things that are comfortable and known to us, even when it's a positive change. I'm not sure we ever have a choice to do anything other than get on with life the best way we can. Sure, it's more complex than that and it can be frightening, but one step at a time forward momentum works when it is.

My experiences, what I have highlighted of your words I can identify with. Something that came hard as is still not that easy to accomodate sometimes.

Not easy in that it is like going back in time to relearn things that should have been. Sometimes I feel like an UM, or at least back in my teen years learning about the world, perhaps a forty year old teen ager with the maturity of age and there a contradiction.

The realisation of what ever existed as the foundations of my castle, are now largely gone, sometimes I try to rebuild those foundations,I assume to get back to the comfort I once knew but they will not hold, they crumble with every attempt.

I was a believer in my country and the organisation of society with it's tiers of existance and the status quo. I served in the armed forces through belief in my country, I won awards presented by Royalty.

Experience though it was, and a good experience in a lot of ways, I now see it as a structure I am not naturally part of .

_____________________________

Everything we are is the result of what we have thought, the mind is everything, what we think, we become - Guatama Buddha

Conservatism is distrust of people tempered by fear - William Gladstone

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RE: The belief - 2/10/2008 10:48:57 AM

laurell3

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Exactly, I felt very much like an unstable toddler learning to walk again. The beauty is although I was scared, I could walk and walk in my own shoes and not someone else's.

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I cannot be defined by moments in my life, but must be considered for by the entirety of my existence.

When you fail to consider that I am the best judge for what is right for me, all of your opinions become suspect to me.

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RE: The belief - 2/10/2008 11:02:22 AM

ownedgirlie

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Yes, I was in a situation where (almost) everything I thought I had believed in, I no longer did (I still believed in my Master). In retrospect, it was the best thing that happened to me. It was also the most difficult, and, in fact, there were friends and family who were quite concerned that I wouldn't come out of it OK.

I ended up having to take an extended absence from work, I got medicated, I went to therapy, and I took a long trip by myself into unfamiliar places, so I could explore and figure things out.

The end result was I rejected my former faith, I learned to find and listen to my inner voice, and I rebuilt myself. It was the most painful year of my life, and yet I came out much farther ahead than I ever imagined I would. I developed a new attitude which incorporates the law of attraction, and spiritual philosophies that are more Buddhist in nature. I went from not thinking life would get better, to knowing I can overcome anything now. I am much more particular in choosing friends, and I have a much more positive approach to life than I ever had.

It took a lot of work. But I had to make the decision that I would overcome the grief, rather than allow it to consume me.

For me it wasn't one day that everything came a'crashing. It was the course of a year, of one trauma after another, until emotionally it was too much and I crashed. I waivered for awhile before deciding to make it better. Master gently coached me on the sidelines, but knew I had to find my way. He approved my month-long solo trip away and had me journal to him daily. I returned having discovered some really important things about myself, and with a new attitude about life.

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RE: The belief - 2/10/2008 11:06:42 AM

hisannabelle

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greetings aneirin,

for me it was a matter of getting on with life. those "life-changing" moments? they do affect, pervasively and completely, but the reality is that time doesn't stop. you just have to keep going. well, i did. i've always kept going because i was terrified if i didn't i'd fall off the deep end and become a crazy homeless bag lady - and having no other option helped, too, i guess. seriously. it's amazing what human beings are capable of dealing with when we're up against a wall - either because of something that's happened in our lives, or some mental/spiritual upheaval, or any sort of combination.

respectfully,
annabelle.

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i have the kind of beauty that moves...

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RE: The belief - 2/10/2008 11:07:26 AM

CuriousLord

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I went from devout Roman Catholic zealot to staunch Athiest in two weeks. Started heading that direction within minutes, but it took two weeks for it to really take hold.

Deep, brooding depression's my answer for this one. I was nihilistic for a long time. And I don't mean "nihilistic" as in "told everyone that everything was pointless".. I mean it as in "didn't care about anything enough to move". I was basically in a coma for a long time until I started developing new values that compelled me to move. I did maintain enough self-preservation (or at least distaste for hunger) to nibble at food I was brought every other day.

And this is why I think it's evil to tell children there's a God, because every one in so many will be gullible enough to actually believe it.

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RE: The belief - 2/10/2008 11:22:33 AM

Raechard

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Aneirin
Say who you are in society, that is who you believe you are and how you fit into the society that surrounds you,

Society doesn't surround me or anyone, society is a myth and does not exist in reality.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Aneirin
Your belief in law and order ,your country, your chosen ideals and morals, the existance you have built up to live by. An existance you are comfortable living by and you know where you are, and maybe where you are going, your security.

I tend to think the law is just and the old saying "Better a guilty man walks free than an inocent man be incaserated" should apply. I tend to believe only people that follow the law fear it and there are many people flouting it and getting away with it.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Aneirin
Say one day, perhaps in the space of a few hours or days, everything you have believed in comes crashing down, your whole life as you have ever known it ceases to be.

This happened when I watched Titanic up until that point I had always thought Kate Winslet could act.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Aneirin
Simply get on with life as you now see it, or is it more complex than that ?

It's not the end of the world she still has a pleasant face to look at.

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えへまにんへえや
Nobody wants to listen to the same song over and over again!

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RE: The belief - 2/10/2008 12:17:25 PM

LadyEllen

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I lost everything that my life was - almost my very life too. It was extremely painful.

But it changed everything too. It was tremendously liberating and remains so. There is no greater freedom than to be ready to die without fear or regret, because it provokes one to live without fear or regret. Few ever realise this freedom.

E

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In a test against the leading brand, 9 out of 10 participants couldnt tell the difference. Dumbasses.

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RE: The belief - 2/10/2008 12:24:04 PM

Aneirin

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quote:

ORIGINAL: LadyEllen

I lost everything that my life was - almost my very life too. It was extremely painful.

But it changed everything too. It was tremendously liberating and remains so. There is no greater freedom than to be ready to die without fear or regret, because it provokes one to live without fear or regret. Few ever realise this freedom.

E

Interesting comment and very true Lady E.

Perhaps it is those that come to that place in time really come to their own realisation, the ultimate test perhaps ?

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Everything we are is the result of what we have thought, the mind is everything, what we think, we become - Guatama Buddha

Conservatism is distrust of people tempered by fear - William Gladstone

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RE: The belief - 2/10/2008 12:41:55 PM

LadyEllen

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In a way Aneirin, I did die. And I suppose death would count as the ultimate test, yes.

Losing everything puts such a different perspective on things. The opportunity to be reborn in a way - to come back into the world devoid of all the attachments one formerly had, all the fears and aspirations - to remake onesself free from expectations and perceived obligations as the person one would wish to be, the person who was always there but occluded by that which was, a person free to choose her own destiny. My experience is likely affected by my gender transition - the cause of both death and rebirth, but it seems a common enough experience regardless of the circumstances.

E

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In a test against the leading brand, 9 out of 10 participants couldnt tell the difference. Dumbasses.

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