Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I dont know where to start..I self identify as agnostic I suppose. Like, there is something there but dont know what. But tottering on the edge of atheism. Because nothing "feels" right. I have always believed in the spirituality of nature. And the power of the mind, but not "magical" like in the movies. I dont believe the Christian doctrine. And I dont know what I believe or where to start or how to figure out if what I think is true is and if it has a name. There are so many different names for things. I once had an experience in a dream or vision where I saw that every thing is connected by a series of ties or strings and we are all intertwined and our fates are intertwined. And the people closest are stronger bigger ties. All the ties comes back to single bright spot in the universe. Maybe heaven? Valhalla? I dont have any clue..help!?
Howdy. I suggest you start by finding a quiet spot in natural surroundings. Might be a park, or a pond, or a comfortable log by the side of a creek. Somewhere where birds and animals go about their business and city sounds are distant. Sit, look, and ponder.
Repeat as necessary.
Browse the New Age section of your library or bookstore. I enjoy reading stories about indigenous people and their belief systems. Check out what the net can offer by way of pagan/spiritual sites.
Somewhere along the way, you'll likely trip over a book, or article, or website that piques your interest and desire to learn more.
I was starting think I was not asking the right question. Bookstore is a good place
Bookstore is definitely a good place to start. Also, you might want to check out cultural anthropology to see how remote indigenous peoples have fared over the last few thousand years. Might offer alternatives to the more well known spiritual practices, which might bring you right back to where you started but you will have learned something new on the journey. I started out as a catholic who didn't believe in jesus (seriously), morphed into a pagan who practiced wicca and now identify as an observant reform jew(witch) . You never know where your path will take you.
Also, I was fascinated by your string vision because I am fascinated by string theory.
Bookstore is definitely a good place to start. Also, you might want to check out cultural anthropology to see how remote indigenous peoples have fared over the last few thousand years. Might offer alternatives to the more well known spiritual practices, which might bring you right back to where you started but you will have learned something new on the journey. I started out as a catholic who didn't believe in jesus (seriously), morphed into a pagan who practiced wicca and now identify as an observant reform jew(witch) . You never know where your path will take you.
Also, I was fascinated by your string vision because I am fascinated by string theory.
I read the article and it sounds really cool. my "vision" lets call it, is a perfectly formed memory. I can see it in vivid detail the way one might remember a significant event though I don't think it happened. Much clearer than a dream and in full color (all my dreams are black and white..isn't that a thing?) So don't know what it was. I wish I were an artist so I could draw it.
Why does it need a name? It is you-and it is your journey, your path. Sometimes it can take years to discover what IS your path. And it doesn't HAVE to be an all or nothing-meaning, it doesn't HAVE to be totally Christian, it doesn't HAVE to be totally Druidism, it doesn't HAVE to be totally Wiccan, or whatever. If elements of each of those paths make sense to you, then use them. There is nothing that is stopping you from using those elements of other paths that make sense to you and disregard the rest to create a new path-JUST for you.
Why does it need a name? It is you-and it is your journey, your path. Sometimes it can take years to discover what IS your path. And it doesn't HAVE to be an all or nothing-meaning, it doesn't HAVE to be totally Christian, it doesn't HAVE to be totally Druidism, it doesn't HAVE to be totally Wiccan, or whatever. If elements of each of those paths make sense to you, then use them. There is nothing that is stopping you from using those elements of other paths that make sense to you and disregard the rest to create a new path-JUST for you.
Books are ALWAYS a good place to start.
Cat
CatwomanofV wins again!
This is how it works for me. I have some Pagan practices; as a matter of fact, they were things I always did and thought that I had no idea anyone else did and thought until I discovered mention of them under the "Pagan" umbrella. I currently, but haven't always in my adult life, belong to a Christian parish community, of the type that allows for acceptance of other spiritual paths and a wider range of thought encouraged that isn't always found in some traditions. Through other friends I've learned of other spiritual elements that interest me and am continuing to explore as I go. Life is a discovery process, and that extends to the spiritual as well as anything else, IMO.
The Spiral Dance is a good book to give you some vocabulary about relating to the earth.
I'm not advocating that religion, but it is a good place to start and a "real" book. Some of the new age books are a bit hokey. Obviously written just to be published for money, so it becomes difficult to recomend actual books.
There is a really good anthropology book about the Navajo culture and religion. I'll try to remember the name of it. That's a good one to read about religion and lifestyle all being bound up in one unit. I'll come back with the name when my brain finally digs it out. Actually, if you like fiction, Tony Hillerman has been very careful to represent Navajo religion and culture acurately. That's easier going than an anthropology book.
OP, you do NOT want to start on others opinions. Expressed in "knowledge" in its various forms.
The rea answer is always within. Only YOU can find YOUR path, as it is always YOUR path, not cookie cutter way from someone else. Every guru, real guru, will tell you to abandon all knowledge acquired and look within. As it is your inner voice that tells you to start the search, right? So look within.
That said, Trout here above is right.
MEDITATE. That's it. Nothing else is needed. It is VERY boring. It is VERY time taking, long process. Unless you collected enough of the proper karma and can become enlightened in any every day common situation, like Linchi did.
I'd have only one suggestion, different from Traut's. Dark room, silence, quiet place, CLOSED EYES. it is VERY hard to concentrate when outside, as mind is grasping to any sensory inputs. Collect about 100 hours of closed eye darkness meditation. Come back, follow.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
. You never know where your path will take you. 
