Increasingly Skeptical
Offline Hello. My name is Chandler. In the past I have believed plenty of strange things. But lately I have become increasingly skeptical about subjects that might best be labeled "supernatural". Frankly, I do not believe that anything supernatural would be possible, by definition. But more importantly, I no longer have the desire to believe senational things just to make my life more interesting. And I find that this perspective is a lot more coherent and consistent than any of the strange ways that I have looked at things in the past.
I blame a lot of my past sensational belief systems on ego. Frankly, I wanted to apprehend something profound because I thought this made me seem smarter to myself.
And some strange part of me thought that I needed a spiritual worldview, and that it was just a matter of picking one to suit my personal style. This is of course a silly way of looking things, more like playing a role-playing game than living life.
I am now satisfied with things as they are. There does not have to be magic in the world for me to live my life well.
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How can I be both at your computer and typing this at the same time?
I feel/felt very similar, I just haven't been able to articulate it like that.
Welcome. Have fun.
Welcome aboard.
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"I guess it's time to ask if you live under high voltage power transmission lines which have been shown to cause stimulation of the fantasy centers of the brain due to electromagnetic waves?" - Me
"God is omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent, - it says so right here on the label. If you have a mind capable of believing all three of these divine attributes simultaneously, I have a wonderful bargain for you. No checks please. Cash and in small bills." - Robert A Heinlein.
You blasphemer! Are you telling me I can't fart an invisible Lamborghini out of my ass?
"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers."Obama
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Welcome to the forum.
Our revels now are ended. These our actors, | As I foretold you, were all spirits, and | Are melted into air, into thin air; | And, like the baseless fabric of this vision, | The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces, | The solemn temples, the great globe itself, - Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve, | And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, | Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff | As dreams are made on, and our little life | Is rounded with a sleep. - Shakespeare
Welcome to the forum!
As one who never really bought into the kookie woo-woo stuff, it's always interesting to hear someone's take on why they believed in the claims. And even better is that you wised up to their bullshit. Welcome aboard and hope to see you in the conversations.
"This may shock you, but not everything in the bible is true." The only true statement ever to be uttered by Jean Chauvinism, sociopathic emotional terrorist.
"A Boss in Heaven is the best excuse for a boss on earth, therefore If God did exist, he would have to be abolished." Mikhail Bakunin
"The means in which you take,
dictate the ends in which you find yourself."
"Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government! Supreme leadership derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony!"
No Gods, No Masters!
Welcome to the forum!
I'm glad you rejected belief. Either you see there are supernatural things and you know, or you don't see them and don't know, or you are not sure. Belief (or active disbelief, for that sake) should be avoided. I know it's cheesy, but being what you really are is the true spirituality
Can you enlighten us on what some of these things were? Don't worry, we have here people who believed in even more improbable things. You can also say if you're from a religional or hippy family or not, stuff like that.
Beings who deserve worship don't demand it. Beings who demand worship don't deserve it.
I considered myself a Thelemite. I was interested in Aleister Crowley and other kinds of magic and mysticism.
If it gives your life meaning.
I question.. or don't bother questioning things that I can't see or can't be proven. I have read way too much sci-fi and fantasy to actually believe in any of it.
Welcome.
Faith is the word but next to that snugged up closely "lie's" the want.
"By simple common sense I don't believe in god, in none."-Charlie Chaplin
perhaps it's only a rumor, but don't most "respected" occultists consider crowley a hack and a publicity whore? luminon?
"I have never felt comfortable around people who talk about their feelings for Jesus, or any other deity for that matter, because they are usually none too bright. . . . Or maybe 'stupid' is a better way of saying it; but I have never seen much point in getting heavy with either stupid people or Jesus freaks, just as long as they don't bother me. In a world as weird and cruel as this one we have made for ourselves, I figure anybody who can find peace and personal happiness without ripping off somebody else deserves to be left alone. They will not inherit the earth, but then neither will I. . . . And I have learned to live, as it were, with the idea that I will never find peace and happiness, either. But as long as I know there's a pretty good chance I can get my hands on either one of them every once in a while, I do the best I can between high spots."
--Hunter S. Thompson
Welcome!
Everything makes more sense now that I've stopped believing.
AFAIK, Crowley had quite an unusual life, good occultists should have some control over themselves and not be hedonists, bisexuals, drug experimenters, spies, attention cravers, purposedly causing controversion, and so on. There are technical reasons for that, which directly affect quality and precision of text. Conveying spiritual teachings of high quality requires great self-discipline that Crowley obviously didn't have. I don't mind that chndlrjhnsn rejected Thelema.
Beings who deserve worship don't demand it. Beings who demand worship don't deserve it.