I've just had a revelation of sorts. I was meditating and started thinking about many of the mandates that various philosophies expect their followers to adhere to. For modern day Christians, for example, this focus is almost exclusively on issues of morality (thou shalt not...). I don't know if the other religions or philosophies have lost their way like Christianity has, but I will assume so. Most people have no idea why they're doing the things they're doing. It's how they were brought up; it's what they were taught - whatever.
When it comes to morality or even lifestyles, I have to make the analogy of running. I use this analogy because I understand it well and it is often what forms my frame of reference for other things. I was basically a self-taught runner. I studied a lot, read articles, practiced techniques, took advice from others, learned from mistakes, and kept learning and improving. I also eliminatd from my life those things that would make me a worse runner. I even stopped playing basketball because of the risk of injury. I was 'religious' about my running, both in terms of what I did and what I didn't do. The goal, of course, wasn't to be religious or strictly adherant to my practices. The goal was to be able to run as fast as I could and win races. In pursuing that goal, I became dedicated and strict in the conduct of my life. But someone else could not come along and copy me and expect the same results. It's a question of cause and effect. The habits did not cause the success; rather, the pursuit of success caused the habits.
In terms of spiritual religion and social morality, how does this analogy apply? (And what was the revelation I had?) At the risk of oversimplifying the subject, the OBJECTIVE to pursue in the spiritual realm is enlightenment. It is a hightened state of awareness and 'intunement' of and with the spiritual elements of ourselves, others, and the universe. Religions are supposed to be paths of development to reach enlightenment. In pursuit of enlightenment, you should learn what impedes your progress along the path and eliminate it from your life.
There are things in life that you should avoid. But your motivation for avoiding them should not be (or doesn't need to be) conformity to the rules of a religion or the social norms of a culture. Your motivation should be to remove from your life things that interfere with your pursuit of enlightenment.
On that note, I'll point you to a link that demos a game I bought recently. Now, I don't do video games as a general rule - I spend enough time with computers as it is. But this is one game I have really come to enjoy. Check out The Journey of the Wild Divine.
The Journey to Wild Divine is a unique program for mind & body that links biofeedback hardware with your computer to create an enlightening experience of wellness.
Learn new breathing and meditation techniques using biofeedback to create a renewed sense of balance. The perfect addition to your wellness program for a happy mind and a healthy body.
We've been playing this game once or twice a week now. Sierra is quite good at it, but there are times when you have to slow your heart rate down in order to get through a level and she has trouble with that. I think her natural heart rate is so fast (like most kids her age) that the system reads that as not being relaxed. Still, it's fun to navigate. The running analogy breaks down at a certain point, but this is a tangible example I can give you. There are things that would interfere with our ability to play this game, for example. To play this game well, you should avoid these things.
