amoris313: well, I've been looked down upon by christians a lot myself, and had organized pagan religious people try to argue the legitamacy of my 'beliefs' as they put it. But really, I prefer not to be part of any organized religion. I think everyone has a different view of reality and whatever they choose is fine for them as long as they don't impose it on me. My beliefs are based only on my own personal experience- I try not to just believe anything I read, I like to test it out first and see if it's true for me. The basis of my point of view is simple: Reality is Infinite. All things are interconnected. That's it
amoris313: as far as cosmology is concerned, through meditation and astral work, I see a Point Source from which all things come, but it is not male or female and interpenetrates all things (thus, we appear to me to be active functioning parts of 'god' as some might wish to define it). After that, I see many higher more formless and vast consciousnesses that some might call 'gods' but to me they are just more evolved than us presently and perform a different function in the universe.
amoris313: Since I see reality as infinite, I can't possibly accept or go along with any organized religion since reality can't be contained in one little book
amoris313: I'm primarily a spiritual sort of occultist I suppose - not sure how else to describe it
amoris313: I was reading a book on Qabalistic tarot a few weeks ago and the author brought up an interesting point - that Unity is the root of all true religions (in his opinion)
amoris313: through my own searching, it just appears to me that different people are able to take a look at the same phenomenon and interpret it in so many different ways - and then later on those people always seem to argue about who's interpretation is the correct one, which i think is just stupid. The shaman might call what he sees 'the great spirit' or the 'eagle' while the Egyptians call it Nu (or Atum maybe - depending on the creation myth) while the Qabalist might refer to it as the Point Source.
amoris313: no matter where you go you'll always find someone that doesnt like what you think - but all that really matters is that you're happy with who and what you are
amoris313: all you really need for effective magick is a good imagination and a strong Will (and the ability to make use of energy and be aware of it). Spells, rituals, props and tools, are all NOT a necessity for effective magick- magick is after all a psychic activity, one that we all possess to varying degrees depending on skills and experience usually
amoris313: all energy is the same energy to me (just in different phases or at different frequencies) - when we 'power up' with an energy type to do something, we're all dipping into the same cosmic pool of energy and consciousness
amoris313: the physical realm of human perception only shows us a small narrow band of frequencies and possibilities for perception- even science knows this now (which I think is good that the scientists are finally catching up with what mystics knew all along)
amoris313: Really, the conclusion I finally came to is that in order to find the knowledge that I was seeking, all I could do is experience reality for myself and then draw my own conclusions and make my own interpretations
amoris313: viewpoint is a large part of what makes up our realities and how we interpret them - if we look at reality from the viewpoint of duality, then we might see the universe coming from a 'lord and lady' etc...if we look at it for it's Singularity, we might see all things springing forth from one 'god' etc., and if we look at reality for its multiplicity, we might come to the conclusion that everything came forth from many 'gods' etc...I think the truth is that no one thing is true, and that reality is far more vast and amazing than anything I could ever dream of...and I like that. For myself, I look at reality for its Allness. Singularity, duality, triplicity, etc etc etc, I look at All of them, rather than focusing on just one point of view (which would be limiting to me). If I were to limit myself to just one religion or one set of dogma, I'd find myself becoming just another spiritual zealot defending my beliefs as though they are the only correct ones.
amoris313: heheh I hope all that explains where I'm coming from anyway