Mel: Glad to know that there's someone, somewhere that knows where I'm coming from! :) I still have friends in Asatru, and still participate somewhat in the "shop talk" about past events and whatnot. I go to gatherings every now and then - everyone understands why I don't participate in the rituals; I just want to see my friends. :)
I've emailed/chatted with many Asatruar around the globe (Australia, UK, Europe, the U.S., Argentina, etc), and it seems that many who leave "the fold" are drawn to eastern religions. It would be interesting to see the motivation(s) behind this dynamic, as I didn't even know about it until I was drawn to Zen. Glad to meet you! ~Audrey --- In [email protected], Mel <gunnar19632000@...> wrote: > > --- On Sun, 27/3/11, audreydc1983 <audreydc1983@...> 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. > ------------------------------------------------------------------- > MEL: Great! My situation was similar...which brings to... > ------------------------------------------------------------ > 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). > -------------------------------------------------- > MEL: Hey, guess what? So was I! And I was mad on runes..and they still do > catch my attention today > ------------------------------------------------------ > 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. > -------------------------------------------------------- > MEL: Oh boy, now THAT brings back memories, both bitter(mainly), and > sweet(very little of it) > ----------------------------------------------------------- > After I left, I continued solitary rituals for a couple of weeks, and then > gradually, weeks turned to months, and I finally stopped altogether. > --------------------------------------------------------- > 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 > -------------------------------------------------------- > 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. :) > ---------------------------------------------- > MEL: Yaayyy! This is amazing. Welcome to Zen! > > with Buddha's grace > Mel > ------------------------------------ Current Book Discussion: any Zen book that you recently have read or are reading! Talk about it today!Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
