MysticMonist
SPNer
- Dec 18, 2017
- 8
- 6
- 42
Aman asked me to talk a little bit about my mystic background. Short answer is I grew up Christain and studied Lutheran theology in undergraduate then became Zen Buddhist then studied Hassidic Judaism then recently became Baha'i with an interest in Platonism.
That really doesn't describe me other than to say I'm indecisive and a serial convert!
I thought I'd share a story of one of the significant moments of my life when I first prayed in Hebrew. I was a Buddhist at the time. My teacher had recently passed away and I was adrift. My meditative practice had become a wreck and I was looking for some sort of magical practice or mantra to fix it. Now that I was without a teacher the guilt and doubt from leaving my childhood faith in God haunted me. It was difficult to meditate and moments of peace became more elusive. So I experimented with Pure Land Buddhism and some Hindu Shiva devotion. Still felt lost. Then I stumbled across an Hassidic Jew who taught me Shema (Hear oh Israel, the Lord is One, the Lord is your God). I remember praying that standing in my kitchen and I began to weep. It wasn't a mantra, it was alot more. I felt God's presence more clearly than anything before.
I studied Hassidic Judaism and soon found that peace I sought was right here and was a prayer away. I saw God's presence in all things. I ended up becoming frustrated with all the rules of Judaism. So I studied the Quran, one of my favorite texts. But I didn't mind much meaning in the trappings of Islam. Im now a Baha'i, but I don't know how much of the teachings I really believe.
But that fire for God still burns with me. I am a mystic and a monotheist before anything else. I love that we encounter God in prayer and He begins to live in our lives. I adore the many scripturers that contain His words. I read the first few lines of the Siri Guru Granath Sahib and loved it. I'm trying not to read it too fast, I want to rreally absorb it's wisdom.
That really doesn't describe me other than to say I'm indecisive and a serial convert!
I thought I'd share a story of one of the significant moments of my life when I first prayed in Hebrew. I was a Buddhist at the time. My teacher had recently passed away and I was adrift. My meditative practice had become a wreck and I was looking for some sort of magical practice or mantra to fix it. Now that I was without a teacher the guilt and doubt from leaving my childhood faith in God haunted me. It was difficult to meditate and moments of peace became more elusive. So I experimented with Pure Land Buddhism and some Hindu Shiva devotion. Still felt lost. Then I stumbled across an Hassidic Jew who taught me Shema (Hear oh Israel, the Lord is One, the Lord is your God). I remember praying that standing in my kitchen and I began to weep. It wasn't a mantra, it was alot more. I felt God's presence more clearly than anything before.
I studied Hassidic Judaism and soon found that peace I sought was right here and was a prayer away. I saw God's presence in all things. I ended up becoming frustrated with all the rules of Judaism. So I studied the Quran, one of my favorite texts. But I didn't mind much meaning in the trappings of Islam. Im now a Baha'i, but I don't know how much of the teachings I really believe.
But that fire for God still burns with me. I am a mystic and a monotheist before anything else. I love that we encounter God in prayer and He begins to live in our lives. I adore the many scripturers that contain His words. I read the first few lines of the Siri Guru Granath Sahib and loved it. I'm trying not to read it too fast, I want to rreally absorb it's wisdom.
