Home
0
I see a lot of sadness and anger in this forum (duh!) and I would like to help out in that area. I can't cure your acne, but I think you can get really emotionally drained and the happy moments in your life can become less and less frequent, so I think a lot of you guys need a break from that and that is where I wish to help.
I know some of you who know me will be shocked at my more positive side, but just remember that I am only human and we all have our “good� and “bad� sides.
I found my peace through meditation. And, out of all the religions and philosophies, even the eastern ones, I found Tantra to be the best for me. Actually, Tantra is not even a religion, but just an outlook on life. What I like about Tantra is that it is very accepting of ourselves... more than just 'very' accepting, but TOTALLY accepting. What I have discovered about the eastern philosophies like Buddhism and Tantra is that they actually SHOW you in more detail about how to accomplish a lot of the things that Christianity only glosses over... such as HOW to be non-judgmental and the real benefit of forgiveness. (I know I slip-up sometimes in this area, but I used to be worse!
)I used to be an atheist, and not out of rebellion, but just for intellectual reasons. Even Buddha was an atheist at one point. Tantra is actually considered a science. It mainly consists of 112 meditation techniques that require NO faith. You try the meditations and EXPERIENCE the results. If one technique doesn’t work, then try another. You see, that's the difference between Christianity and the meditative-style of religions and/or philosophies. Christianity does not encourage you to go in and actually experience God or the universe, or whatever. Many preachers will look at you strange if you talk about closing your eyes and quieting your mind for 20 minutes a day. They just sorta say, "be forgiving" and "do not judge others" and expect you to just will yourself to be that way when actually, that's not all that helpful. There are actual techniques that allow you to work on these SKILLS and really feel their effects immediately. The most important point about eastern Buddhist-type religions is that they are non-intellectual. You don't just read someone's words and contemplate a concept or idea. You have to actually DO something. They are mental activities that reveal truths that cannot be gained through conceptualization but only known through direct experience.
After being an intellectual and atheist for so long, I finally see the limitations of the logical mind. The mind has it's advantages, but it is only a utility for survival and nothing more and will not bring you true joy. The mind is where judgment and criticism comes from and basically gets way out of hand and causes many problems when it becomes the master of your life. You are constantly judging yourself and sizing yourself up according to certain standards. You need a break and need to love yourself again.
Anyway, if I were to suggest some reading material, I would suggest The Book Of Secrets by Osho. It's all Tantra. Another good one is Courage - The Joy of Living Dangerously, also by Osho. I like reading Osho because he touches on all religions... Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, everything. Osho died in the late 80's and was considered to be a modern day enlightened master... like a Buddha. He has an excellent way of explaining things and will challenge your beliefs to live a more fulfilling life.
Amazingly, the whole Book of Secrets (over 1000 pages) is online. If I were to suggest one chapter to read as an intro to Tantra’s attitude of total acceptance, then it would be this one: http://www.otantra.net/oTantra/VBTv1/chapter08.html
Here is another good intro to Tantra, as Osho teaches it:
http://www.newfrontier.com/nepal/osho-tantra.htm
Good luck,
Al
