Religion
and Beliefs
Warning: This may be controversial. These are my personal beliefs,
And I will stick to them. If I offend anyone, I am truly sorry.
I believe that it’s better to say something than nothing at all.
Controversy is better than keeping quiet.
By the way, I try to be as “normal” as possible.
I try to have lots of fun in life.
I don’t think like this 24/7, just when I have some spare time.
Have any comments: Send them to my e-mail listed on the Main Page.
I HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE
An Interesting Tale
One day, I went to the Activities & Recreations Center at UC Davis. I went
to the quick access internet section, so I can e-mail someone an article. While
I was surfing the web for about 30 seconds, a middle-aged white man diverted
my attention. First thing he does, he reads me a quote off a webpage from the
Book of Thessalonians from the Bible. Then, he asks me: “Are you Christian?” I
knew what my response was “no.” I told him that I don’t believe
in anything, and that I am trying to find my own path. (By the way, I basically
lied to him, because I knew he was a Christian fundamentalist). He could tell
that I knew something about Christianity. As a result, for the next 5 min, he
talks to me about the Bible. Then, a girl tells him to leave the room, because
he has done his preaching for an hour and a half. At that point, I decided to
make up an excuse that I had to meet a friend in order to workout. So, once I
started to leave, he tells me, “God loves you.”
By the way, I am Roman Catholic.
Fundamentalists…great believers yet they are too devout to religion. Jehovah’s
Witnesses and Mormons going door to door to “spread the word,” they
are so irritating. That’s bad enough…now all these missionaries are
finding different places to preach. I go to a computer lab to do work…not
to be preached upon. These people WILL ALWAYS BE STUCK IN THEIR WAYS esp. since
they are adults. They believe that they are right, and everyone else is wrong.
It’s very hard to convince them, otherwise. So, JUST TRY TO AVOID
THEM.
My Path & Some Beliefs
During the past couple of years, I have experience a lot of religious
and spiritual events. At the summer of 2003, I attended a 4-day “silent retreat” named
Kairos (God’s Love). In addition, I also led a Kairos retreat
in November. This retreat is a life-changing experience. Through the
silence,
I discovered
myself more deeply and spiritually.
In September of 2003, I went to the University of San Francisco Memorial
Gymnasium. In this event, I was at the presence of “His Holiness” the
Dali Lama, leader of the Tibetan people. I could feel his holy presence,
and I wrote
down
all of his quotes on a _ in. margin, since I this paper was filled
with other words. I typed up a couple of his quotes, which are listed
at the
bottom
of this page.
During high school, I took a World Religions course. At the beginning
of each class, we meditated for about ten minutes. The best word to
describe meditation
is “mindfulness.” This process is simple yet complex. All you have
to do is close your eyes and breathe in & out. Sounds easy, right....Wrong!
It is so hard to meditate since our mind is constantly thinking. See
for yourself.
Just look for a quiet spot. Take on a relaxed sitting
position. Slowly close your eyes. Then, concentrate on your breath.
Breathe in
through
your nose
and out through your mouth. YOUR MIND IS GOING TO WONDER OFF…Don’t
dismiss this though, but just bring yourself back to the breath. Think
of your breath
as an anchor. See how long you can go.
Currently, I practice my own form of meditation “contemplative mindfulness
through music.” This is a form of dance that has been practiced by many
Muslims and Hindus for thousands of years (I learned this by watching the movie “Laatoo” at
the South Asian Film Festival). What I do…I take my iPod and open it to
one of my playlists. Either I find an empty room or I go to a park alone at night.
It’s like I am doing “Tai-Chi,” but not really. I allow the
music to infuse me, and I am in a “mindful” state during
the length of the practice. My favorite “mindfulness” song is R.E.M.’s “Losing
My Religion.” So ambiguous…that’s what makes it so
great.
In the end, I believe that everyone should find their own path in life.
Every religion in its purest form is great. Once money and politics
are involved
in religion, then it’s not really religion…or maybe not? That’s
the state the majority of religions are in right now. In the end, people should
not force others to believe in something that they don’t want
to believe in. Since everyone is different, each person has to find
his or
her own path.
Some Wise Sayings
“
If good people do nothing, then evil will triumph.”—A paraphrased
quote from Pope John Paul II
I don’t need to mention by name the biggest
atrocity that occurred in the 20th century.
“ Knowledge divides us, wisdom unites us.”
“
Seeking wisdom and some knowledge…since 2003.”
“
By, being one step ahead of the ‘game’ or everybody else, you
have already won.”
“
Our cynical world has a lot of people living in a ‘matrix,’ esp.
in modern countries.”
“
Since many aboriginals aren’t ‘modernized’ or ‘Westernized,’ they
are looked down upon by many.”
“
Television is mindless entertainment that are used by advertisers/big corporations
in order to sell their product.”—Joe Rogan, Host of NBC’s “Fear
Factor”
Lots of TV programs fit into this quote.
“
Human intelligence helps differentiate us from other species, and helps cause
us our toughest problems.”—Dali Lama
“
Only at a crisis point do human beings come together…Looking at the long
term future prospective.”—Dali Lama
Just think of 9/11. Where has that spirit gone? Have we forgotten
about it, already?