From: Holger Wagner (Holger.Wagner@mail.lrz-muenchen.de)
Date: Mon Nov 03 1997 - 14:31:28 MST
I'd like to share my definition because I think it works very well with
Extropianism:
I never considered myself religious because I never believed in anything
I couldn't prove to myself. Now, I don't say "god doesn't exist", I just
say I don't know and I don't care. A few years ago, I discovered that I
very much like some of the ideas behind Buddhism and Hinduism. I didn't
have the time to really dig into those religions and what they are all
about, but one thing seemed pretty clear from the literature I've read:
those religions are about EXPERIENCE instead of dogmatic laws for people
not capable of living nicely together without a "god" that threatens
them with "hell" if they don't obey those (very sensible) rules.
I've also read a little bit about primitive cultures, who used drugs to
alter their state of minds. I'm not sure if this can be called
"religion" - but I like considering religion is something positive,
something valuable (instead of misinterpreting it with inquisition).
Reading about these rituals reminds me a lot of today's clubbing
culture.
I've discovered that with the right music (that I really like), and the
right people (that create a good atmosphere), I can pretty well get
myself into a mood of "trance". It's quite different from doing drugs,
even if drug use may have inspired "going that direction". And this mood
of "trance", with the whole event is what I call "religion". It's quite
impossible to describe the feelings involved - but the effect is quite
positive: simply a different perspective :-)
It's - simply put - a form of very intense relaxation. It's the kind of
thing that makes you go "wow", and two days later, you still say "wow" -
but you're able to concentrate on things that are more down-to-earth.
Oh, and it's rather inspiring (in terms of giving you creative ideas,
both about art and solving problems).
I'm not sure, but this might be pretty similar to meditating (meditating
calms you down, while this pushes you real hard - but I consider both
rather "spiritual").
Anybody with similar experiences? I believe that I achieved this kind of
control simply by seeing what was possible, and then trying to
self-improve myself.
later,
Holger
--
o---------------------------------------------------------------o
| "That's the funny thing about memories, isn't it? We are not |
| what we remember of ourselves, we are what people say we are. |
| They project upon us their convictions - we are nothing but |
| blank screens." ______________________________________________o
o________________/ Trevor Goodchild in "Aeon Flux" |
\__ mailto:Holger.Wagner@lrz.uni-muenchen.de __|
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