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Old 07-29-2014, 05:12 AM
  # 13 (permalink)  
soberlicious
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: "I'm not lost for I know where I am. But however, where I am may be lost ..."
Posts: 5,273
I love your post, sam. The shedding of ideas has been challenging for me, but it has been critical in my journey. As Awuh mentioned, its scary to let go of old ideas. In order to question and move through previous beliefs, one must be fearless in a sense. As much as I desperately wanted out of the cycle of addiction, even more so I wanted to stop being afraid in general. From the Buddhist standpoint, railing against the impermanence of life is the root of suffering. When we cannot accept that everything is always changing, that everything is in a state of flux, then we suffer. When we can understand and accept that truth, we find equanimity. It is not the changes themselves that cause the suffering but rather, it is the gripping or attachment that is causing the suffering.

Originally Posted by Nightswatch
But I also think we can have spiritual feelings without there being a spiritual (in the traditional sense) component. I don't believe in a higher power, but when I gaze up at the billions and billions of stars and the feelings of awe and connectedness wash over me, I equate that to a spiritual feeling.
YES! I absolutely agree with this. Sometimes I am overwhelmed by this feeling. I get this same sense when I look at my children and think about how they grew inside my body. From tiny dots on the sonogram, to young men who stand taller than me. I am awed by things like this.

When it came to the end of the road for me in active addiction, I had a powerful experience. It was that feeling of revelation, of deep knowing. I don't call it a spiritual awakening, but I do call it an awakening. I think it is a misconception that non theists can't have that kind of experience.
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