Doctrine : Other Religious Influences

Other Influences

I have a number of other influences on my beliefs as well. "Whatever works" would be a good way of putting things... Christian leanings A few years ago I started going regularly to Unity Church services. I'd never considered myself to be Christian. While a teenager I was forced to go to Sunday services for three years. All I heard was the dead rhetoric of a stale religion. And yet, the Unity services move me. Whenever I go the topic is something that I needed to hear, right on the spot. My experience of the church is that it is a very open, accepting body of people. These folks practice what they preach! And, thankfully, the techniques they teach (which include a form of collective creative visualisation called Master Mind) actually work for me. The best way I can sum up my experience is by the following quote, taken from the Daily Word: I am a unique creation of a loving God. My individuality is a gift from God. Such a gift allows me the freedom to explore my own thoughts and feelings and then to live my life the best way that I know how. With God's guidance, I recognise what is right for me. If others have labeled me "different" because I don't fit an image they have of me or because I'm not living my life as they think I should, I bless them and continue on my path. I know that by being a unique individual, I'm moving toward my greater potential. I extend this courtesy to others and do not limit them by stereotyping them. Rather, I recognise that they are unique creations of God, just as I am. God has blessed us with the gift of individuality. (May 5, 1995) I'm sure you can see the attraction... Christian Links Unity Church Of Practical Christianity Unity Church of Christianity Home Page Unity of Sydney Room 204/127 York St, Sydney 2000 First Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbus, Ohio On being a Gorgi Gallae For three years I had a Didiki for a lover. She was also rediscovering her own routes which her own family (being converted baptists) sought to obscure. She did have gifts which, when she concentrated on her heritage, were brought to the fore. We are no longer together, but I still keep in touch. I guess in that time I developed and interest in the Rom and certain Rom customs. Now I am not Rom. I have Welsh, Briton, Scottish and other sources running in my blood -- I'm a Gorgi, which means foreigner or gentile in Rom. And yet these are not my roots. In the past I've felt dispossessed not only from others but from myself. What better culture to interest me then, than that of a peoples dispossessed and distrusted by others? But there's more as well. While I seek roots where I can, I still have a strong desire for travel and adventure. Rightly or wrongly, the Rom are associated with both. I guess I'm a Romophile! So how is this relevant to belief and religion? For one thing I do Tarot at the markets and elsewhere. Before I started, I questioned whether this was right and appropriate. The answer came not only from Hellenic sources (it was customary for a supplicant at Delphi to leave a gold coin before receiving a reading) but also from Rom custom. Ever heard of a Gypsy not taking payment for some dukkering? The did fortune telling to survive, and that's where I'm at right now as well! The Rom originated from Northern India, and their language reflects this, though words from different cultures are incorporated into it as well. And words shape meaning. Apart from being a gorgi dukkermengra, I also consider myself to be a Rauni. The name of my car is the Kuhsti Rauni, and her performance matches that name. She is my gypsy wagon, allowing me to travel to adventure. When I was with my didiki lover we had the Vardo, a 1980 Mazda van, and it performed much the same service. And as a witch, I'm either a chovahani or a chuvvenhan, and live near Wongaresky gav. The house I'm in has a double sink, something thought a necessity by Romany for hygiene. And I have the strongest feeling that my next lover is going to be an itinerant. And why not? Anyway, it is a culture that in part I adopt for my own ends, and also an attitude of mind. Kuhsti Bok! On being Trekker What, you never thought that being a Star Trek fan could be a religion? Think again! So how can Star Trek possibly be a religion? Three ways, actually. Firstly, the level of devotion of Trekkers is in general quite high. Because on the whole, Trek is well written, and concentrates on characterisation, it's easy to project oneself into the characters. The show is "worshiped" as a central icon and a unifier for all members. Star Trek is the Granfalloon that the karass of fandom revolves around. Secondly, Trek has been used by Teresa Moorey in Paganism: A beginner's guide (pp 60-69) to demonstrate four divisions of function in humans! Mr Spock represents thinking; Dr McCoy represents feeling; Captain Kirk represents Intuition and Scotty represents sensation. Cool, eh? Thirdly the series can be shown to be run in parallel to the Bible. The original series (TOS) is the equivalent to the Old Testament; Next Generation to the New Testament; Deep Space Nine to the Apocrypha; and Voyager, well maybe the Book of Mormon <g>. Main characters get resurrected, and moralistic values abound. Not every story has a happy ending. Of course the bottom line is that I'm a fan, and I probably don't take Trek too seriously as a religion (taking Trek too serious cuts down on my enjoyment of it). Lastly, the figurine representing The Goddess on my altar is that of Jadzia-Dax. Jadzia-Dax is a Trill, and this is the nearest thing to a transsexual that you will find on television (Dax's last host was Curson -- a man). What better image for The Goddess for me? Dr Crusher represents Athena, and K'Ehleyr represents Artemis; Deanna Troi represents Persephone and Uhura represents Iris. Wicca takes its images from mythology. Star Trek is just that -- modern mythology. Trek Links Star Trek The official Paramount Site. Holodeck 3 Has lots of interesting fonts & software. U.S.S. StarQuest Homepage Babylon 5 & Star Trek Info & links On being Yetinsyny There are no doubt some philistines who consider the reference above to Trek as a religion as a joke. While there is some humour there, it is not exclusively so. If you really want a humorous religion, than you should join the Church of the SubGenius. SubGenii (Yetinsyny) are followers of J.R. "Bob" Dobbs, or "Bob" for short. The Church of the SubGenius is the Cult of Cults, where you pay to find out what you believe in! The SubGenius mythos is "non-denominational" because everything is incorporated into it. There's no escape, from anything (but there is hope). Yetinsyny believe that things on Earth are run by The Conspiracy (The Con). Those not in the conspiracy are Dupes of the Conspiracy -- doomed to frustrating and incomplete lives because they believe the junk that the Con feeds them through its control of the media. However, some escape and achieve their full abnormality potential. These are the SubGenius, who have a Yeti bloodline stretching back to prehistory. "Bob" is the sacred supreme salesman, come to restore Slack in our lives, and save us from the dreaded X-ists. In the mean time Yetinsyny (who are the "Overmen" and "Overwomen") make do with the pursuit of SLACK and the consumption of Habafropzipulops (Frop). They organise into groups (Clenches) and celebrate at "Devivals". There are but two cardinal rules that Church members must follow: Anything that a SubGenius says or writes is holy writ, & It is the duty of every church member to "schism" from the established orthodoxy. My church name is the Reverend Octobriana Oberwoman, and I belong to the Terra Australis Clench (an all FeMale2 group), and the Superior Mutant Support Group. I haven't been terribly active of late, but that that's because I'm pursuing SLACK in my own inimitable way -- and Slack has high priority to the SubGenius. Think it's a joke? Well of course it is, but that doesn't mean that it isn't true! And when the X-ists appear in the sky and the "reverse-time" universe collides with our own, you'll be laughing maniacally too... ...I'm a paid up SubGenius, so I'm covered. How about you? Subgenius Links SubGenius Home Site If you want to know anything about being SubGenius, this is the place to go. P.O. Box 140306, Dallas, TX 75214, USA SubGenius Pamphlet #1 Manifesto for a modern age. More links to SubGenius Sites Check 'em out, if your eyes and brain are up to it! Index of SubGenius Related NewsGroups All the dope about the dirtiest, weirdest, slackiest collection of folks to post to a newsgroup. Beware -- we specialise in taking on fanatics and flame wars! Smallsville Slack Cool Site! Octobriana's Publishing Pages The home of Laura Seabrook's Queer Stuff and Transcendence.