[Natasha]

Interesting responses!

My beliefs:

I definitely do not believe in any Judeo-Christian myths, except perhaps as parables.

I do not believe in afterlife or "supernatural," but I tend to have an over-active imagination.

I do believe that some things work. For example, White Tara is a personified symbol of compassion, and therefore this "goddess" does exist in each of us. By meditiating on her, one can increase your awareness of this and act more compassionately.

Higher beings are personifications of our conscious/ superego. "Lower beings" are manifestations of our fears. This all happens in our mind.

Or, psychics, I think are people who are really good at reading small signals, such as body language, that other people put out. Maybe there is energy fields and such, but I have never witnessed it, or had it affect me.


My story:

I do have an interest in these things. When I was a teenager, those tests they made you take in high school listed "Minister" among my possible career paths. And all those silly little online quizzes that teenagers are wont to take would give me an angelic or celestial result, whenever one was available. At the time though, I was a devout Atheist (I am still an atheist, but since I am now more secure in my beliefs, I am not so close-minded.)

I eventually, though started feeling like maybe I was missing something. Definitely not the religious practices I turned away from many years ago, or anything else too "wishywashy" for my tastes. Now, I am interested in things that would make sense to me, such as meditation practices: I have started doing the chakra cleansing exercise Erin posted, because that makes sense to me. My feelings are in my mind, and by medtitating on something I can change my mind and therefore change what I feel and how I act.


I think any path or belief is "good" if it helps someone be a better person, although I dislike many traditional religions because in some ways, they promote small-mindedness, and not thinking for yourself. This, of course, does not apply to all religious folk.