--- On Sun, 27/3/11, audreydc1983 <[email protected]> wrote:
Steve:
I started zazen for a selfish reason - for a quiet, mind-relaxing time, all to
myself - and shortly afterward, I realized that I had stopped grinding my teeth
when I slept. So - I continued, because of direct health benefits. :)
I had integrated zazen into my religious practice.
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MEL: Great! My situation was similar...which brings to...
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I was Asatru then (Asatru is a reconstructionist religion...it attempts to
recreate the religion of pre-christian Europe using historical accounts and
archaeological evidence).
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MEL: Hey, guess what? So was I! And I was mad on runes..and they still do catch
my attention today
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I had been disillusioned with Asatru for some time - it has it's own negative
dynamics, most familiar to major religions, but some unique to itself.
Ultimately, it was the internal politics of my group that forced me to leave -
I was a board member, and I had seen several schisms occur right before my
eyes. The experience was ugly, sickening, and wrong - I had no desire to
continue the farce that was my involvement in the rituals and board proceedings.
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MEL: Oh boy, now THAT brings back memories, both bitter(mainly), and sweet(very
little of it)
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After I left, I continued solitary rituals for a couple of weeks, and then
gradually, weeks turned to months, and I finally stopped altogether.
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MEL: That's what happened with me. There was no point being with any group, as
both personal and belief differences had gone too deep and wide for me
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I just couldn't believe in many gods, one god, or anything anymore. I wanted to
be a clean slate for a while - to just learn, absorb, and BE. Throughout this,
I kept sitting. Then, I started reading more about zen, and Buddhism in
general.
That said, I'm still a beginner. I sit because I find peace there - in a
religion that is not a religion - peace to experience, to learn, to know
myself, to BE.
No strings attached. :)
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MEL: Yaayyy! This is amazing. Welcome to Zen!
with Buddha's grace
Mel
