amra@ihuxj.UUCP (Steven L. Aldrich) (11/10/84)
Anyone care to discuss the beliefs/practices of differant religions
concerning prayer, meditation, and fasting? I don't recall seeing
any discussion(s) on these topics before.
I'm mainly interested in the ways in which these "concepts" are
incorporated into the religion. How much emphasis/information
is given to/about these three forms of worship?
Are they "primarily" for the individual practioner's use or do
they also have a place in "public" (as in religious services) forums?
What methods/means/practices are utilized to bring one closer to
the diety involved? What is the "basis" for these beliefs/practices?
Is there a specific goal in mind when these activities are performed?
What are your experiences with these three means of worship/practice?
Have they been, on the whole, positive or negative in effect on your
daily life? Has regular practice of these three aided or deterred your
faith? How long does it take for the "full effect" to take hold?
I look forward to hearing YOUR VIEWS on the above. Thanks for your
time, effort and attention. Have an Interesting Day/Life!
Best Regards,
From The Resident Zen-Baptist:
Steve Aldrich (ihnp4!ihuxj!amra)
"Your Daily Life IS Your Temple & Your Religion!" from The Prophet chuqui@nsc.UUCP (Cheshire Chuqui) (11/18/84)
In article <742@ihuxj.UUCP> amra@ihuxj.UUCP (Steven L. Aldrich) writes: > > Anyone care to discuss the beliefs/practices of differant religions > concerning prayer, meditation, and fasting? I don't recall seeing > any discussion(s) on these topics before. Part of the answer lies in how you define prayer and meditation. To me, they are in many ways one and the same-- you are clearing the randomness out of your mind and thoughts to concentrate upon the link you have with your deity. True Zen meditation takes this a step further by attempting to clear all thoughts; perhaps to leave your mind completely open for your deity. Either way it is a time for relaxation, reflection, and communion, both with your deity and yourself. I personally have been meditating since High School. The form of the meditation varies greatly-- at one end a simply adoptation of certain mental relaxations similar to those practiced in Yoga, at the other end I was at one time involved in research into things that involved using a very deep trance state, sometimes hypnotically generated, to open my mind for various reasons. At this point in my life most of my meditation is simply the removal of the clutter a person in todays society invariablly has filling up the mental spaces. Learning to throw it all away when neccessary is a great alternative to ulcers. I've experimented with fasting, mostly in high school, and I've never been a great fan of it. Fasting really does nothing more than modify your body chemistry, and the changes in the chemistry are what causes the effects people feel with fasting. Not all of these changes are positive, and I prefer to take care of my body. There is a sect in India that flaggelate themselves with wires and allow the wounds to fester-- the poisons generated by this put them into very strong religious visions during meditation. I don't do this, either, for the same reasons. Any artificial modification of the body chemistry (this includes drugs) can only cause an artificial vision-- it doesn't open you up to revelation, it simply distorts reality in some way. chuq -- From the Department of Bistromatics: Chuq Von Rospach {cbosgd,decwrl,fortune,hplabs,ihnp4,seismo}!nsc!chuqui nsc!chuqui@decwrl.ARPA This plane is equipped with 4 emergency exits, at the front and back of the plane and two above the wings. Please note that the plane will be travelling at an average altitude of 31,000 feet, so any use of these exits in an emergency situation will most likely be futile.