I'm not anything..

[lcobb2]

but am very spiritual. I celebrate Christmas only for the family connotation (my DH is Buddhist). I love learning about traditions that are new to me: Kwanzaa, Judiasm, Hinduism, Taoism, Buddism, etc. In that vein, I thought it might be appropriate for those folks who are interested in viewing at least one song about Hanukkah. Anyone else have something to share about something that's non-traditonal????

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vrd9p47MPHg

 

[Vee]

Laura,

I have nothing to share.

I am not anything either.

OK...maybe I do have something to say.

My interpretation of Buddhism is that Gautam Buddha did not intend to invent a new religion. He had transcended the need for a label to his spiritual quest. His "teachings" were just him shaing his discoveries and revelations.

Buddhism is an interpretation of Hindu Advaita philosophy. Advaita is about transcending the ego and the ritualistic practise of Hinduism itself.

 

[LauraMax]

Laura,

I have nothing to share.

I am not anything either.

OK...maybe I do have something to say.

My interpretation of Buddhism is that Gautam Buddha did not intend to invent a new religion. He had transcended the need for a label to his spiritual quest. His "teachings" were just him shaing his discoveries and revelations.

Buddhism is an interpretation of Hindu Advaita philosophy. Advaita is about transcending the ego and the ritualistic practise of Hinduism itself.

Oooh I like that. A lot of religious philosophers say the same thing about Jesus. Some say he spent his young adulthood in the Middle East studying their religions & philosophies.

I'm not anything either. My dad's Jewish & my mom's Albanian, so I choose my ethnicity depending on how many gifts I can get.

 

[looking good]

Too Funny Laura

Therese

 

[LaughingWater]

I affectionately refer to myself as an Agnostic Buddhist. In our house, that means trying our best to follow the teachings while not worrying too much about ritual, arbitrary rules, and how we end up. I'm still so much a baby Buddhist though. I think I will always be.

I do love prayer flags ~ I have a set in my dining room, and we put some in our garden during the Summer. There are a lot of sites that describe them, but one in particular summed it up nicely:

The color of a prayer flag and the symbols printed on it create a prayer or offering that the wind distributes to the world each time it brushes against the flag. The Tibetan word for a horizontal prayer flag is Lung ta, which translates literally as "wind horse."

The prayers of a flag become a permanent part of the universe as the images fade from wind and sun. Just as life moves on and is replaced by new life, Tibetans renew their hopes for the world by continually mounting new flags alongside of the old.

Here's a nice photo.

I love the term "wind horse" and often picture a mystical horse racing the blessings and prayers across the world to those who need them. They sell blank prayer flags too, and we've written our own prayers on them.

Some may attach a ritual to the time and place of hanging prayer flags, but I'm convinced God/Spirit Guides/the Universe doesn't really care and is happy to take the good intentions of people any time of the year.

Here's a cool flag site: http://www.westwindflags.com/

 

[tneah]

That Adam Sandler song is the funniest! My DH is Jewish, and I run around the house singing this to him.

 

[beautifulsoul]

Anyone else have something to share about something that's non-traditonal????

I am very spiritual also. I am a Second Covenant Christian which is non-traditional from the churches today. Moses, being the first covenant, was physical and used physical contact points; the sacrifices, tithe, observing of the sabboth, all of which foreshadowed Christ. Jesus died on the cross to provide us with the second covenant and fulfilled all of Moses within Himself. The contact points are no longer physical but spiritual. Our sacrifices are spiritual, our tithe is spiritual our communion is spiritual and we no longer observe a day for our rest but our rest is daily in Christ as we labor with the spiritual tools daily.

 

[nancy324]

I'm a total nothing, too, although I was "born" Jewish and have a Jewish personality, to the extent such a thing exists. But in my old age, I'm considering joining some kind of congregation. I like the idea of being part of a supportive community. I guess I can fake the religion part, or maybe it will grow on me?

 

[elliemom]

I'm a total nothing, too, although I was "born" Jewish and have a Jewish personality, to the extent such a thing exists. But in my old age, I'm considering joining some kind of congregation. I like the idea of being part of a supportive community. I guess I can fake the religion part, or maybe it will grow on me?

That is too funny!!! What exactly is a Jewish personality???? I went to Catholic school my whole life and we had a lot of Jewish students because there were no other private schools nearby. But I never noticed a Jewish personality.
But don't fake the religion part, there are plenty of community services that don't revolve around religion. Like Jaycees, Rotary etc.
ellie

 

[nancy324]

That is too funny!!! What exactly is a Jewish personality???? I went to Catholic school my whole life and we had a lot of Jewish students because there were no other private schools nearby. But I never noticed a Jewish personality.
But don't fake the religion part, there are plenty of community services that don't revolve around religion. Like Jaycees, Rotary etc.
ellie

I guess to me a Jewish personality is like an Italian or Greek or certain other ethnic personalities. Did you see My Big Fat Greek Wedding? It's the same idea. Expressive and opinionated. Incapable of keeping your thoughts to yourself. I also think we resort to humor and jokes more. My will signings are like mini parties. I mean, if you can't laugh at death, it's depressing. So we laugh it up.

 

[LaughingWater]

Expressive and opinionated. Incapable of keeping your thoughts to yourself. I also think we resort to humor and jokes more. My will signings are like mini parties. I mean, if you can't laugh at death, it's depressing. So we laugh it up.

That's me, only I'm Irish and Russian. So maybe it's not Jewish or Catholic or Greek or Italian or any religion/ethnicity at all.

Maybe we're just a little nuts.

 

[Jaffas]

I'm a total nothing, too, although I was "born" Jewish and have a Jewish personality, to the extent such a thing exists. But in my old age, I'm considering joining some kind of congregation. I like the idea of being part of a supportive community. I guess I can fake the religion part, or maybe it will grow on me?

I too am a nothing. Never been to church in my life. I wasn't even baptized. And yet recently I had this exact same thought about joining a church just for the community. I'd never be able to fake the religion part though. Maybe I should try AA instead. Oh, wait I'd have to give up wine.

 

[hiitdogs]

I guess to me a Jewish personality is like an Italian or Greek or certain other ethnic personalities. Did you see My Big Fat Greek Wedding? It's the same idea. Expressive and opinionated. Incapable of keeping your thoughts to yourself. I also think we resort to humor and jokes more. My will signings are like mini parties. I mean, if you can't laugh at death, it's depressing. So we laugh it up.

Expressive and opinionated? Incapable of keeping your thoughts to yourself? I must be Jewish then I knew there must be a good excuse for me

 

[nancy324]

I too am a nothing. Never been to church in my life. I wasn't even baptized. And yet recently I had this exact same thought about joining a church just for the community. I'd never be able to fake the religion part though. Maybe I should try AA instead. Oh, wait I'd have to give up wine.

ROFLMAO

 

[carocaro]

You might want to check out a UU (Unitarian Universalist) church in your area...no faking the religious part necessary and you get the community support benefits too!

 

[LauraMax]

If I HAD to choose, I'd be a Quaker. I just love their egalitarianism, their lack of heirarchy, & their philosophy of peace.