Sacred Scripture
Greetings godswappers,
Hi there! Rumors of my death are hella exaggerated. It’s unfortunate that immediately after my little vacation I am unavailable to write due to the general necessities of life. I've been in a classroom where typing would be disruptive. I have done my best to keep tabs on the site and it's really awesome to see so many comments and people supporting the work. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!! I've been bouncing in my seat everyday when I go to see more. :)
While I've been away, I've started a practice of reading holy scripture. I hear about religious folks doing it all the time, they must be getting something from it. As with any part of my spiritual practice I open my heart to see what I really want out of the actions proposed.
What is sacred text? It's my understanding that it is a collection of stories meant to inspire the reader to his/her highest self. Using those inspired by their god(s) as an example of how to behave in the most troubling of times. Some see it as a test of our worthiness. I see the awareness of the test itself as proof of worth. Though I must accept that it's not for me to decide anything other than my perception... What would I do? If ... when my god(s) test me ... have they already? Did I pass? Is this a pass/fail situation? I look to the examples of my elders through, what I conciser, sacred writings.
They offer huge questions, some I'd never considered. They hope to offer answers, from complex ritual to simple inaction, from pacifism to violence, from prayer to silence. They are created out of the images that we will recognize so that we feel safe exposing our darkest secrets, vulnerabilities, and fears. The more familiar the more we are capable of trusting. There are countless ways of building that trust. Different people, even when worshiping the same god(s), will be called to them by different things.
There are no stories I love more than fiction. I believe it gives the storyteller more space to explore the options of tragedy without having to actually be tragic. The stories of my faith are fantasy and science fiction. The most important, to me, is cyber-punk.
"Classic cyberpunk characters were marginalized, alienated loners who lived on the edge of society in generally dystopic futures where daily life was impacted by rapid technological change, an ubiquitous datasphere of computerized information, and invasive modification of the human body." - Lawrence Person (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberpunk)
The one distinction that makes cyberpunk special to me is there is always a part of the story that is virtual. Critical parts of the story involve characters putting their consciousness into a computer and doing things in there. Thing brings up many questions about the nature of consciousness. What is it? Is the body we know necessary to have it? It expands my respect for animate things and inanimate. How am I to know for sure what is sentient? I don't. Cyberpunk teaches me to question even my most basic assumptions. Also, really important to me is that the protagonist is often someone who doesn't seem like a good guy. The hero of the story is often faced with difficult choices around survival of self and survival of humanity. There is never a clear right answer. As with life, the hero is forced to juggle the complicated needs of both. Its really easy for me to relate to it all on a much deeper level than what I find in traditional scriptures.
I've created my religion out of the images I trust in popular culture. It only make sense to me to find the sages of this time and sages of the possible future for guidance. Admittedly, the authors have little faith in humanity. However, their impossible questions aren't all that different than what I've found in the Judeo-Christian bible. Plus, there's usually space ships and robots!!! To me science fiction seems more real, or at least easier to relate to. It's closer to what my heart knows. My heart feels safe learning there.
Learn about this and how you explore your inspiration at godswap LIVE
Our topic will be “applying inspiration daily/regularly”
Monday July 5th, 2010
2519 Mission St
San Francisco, CA 94110
Suggested donation is $10, no one turned away for lack of funds.
I get that this is that day after 4th of July and I plan on making this happen. If no one else shows up, I'll be reading. :)
Thanks for reading. Feel free to offer comments and suggestions in the comment section below.
The god(s) in me honor the god(s) in you. Let's go play.
Rebekah
http://godswap.com
godswap@gmail.com
http://twitter.com/godswap
http://www.facebook.com/godswap
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=117283251633938
http://www.facebook.com/pages/San-Francisco-CA/godswap/117505801602...
Hi there! Rumors of my death are hella exaggerated. It’s unfortunate that immediately after my little vacation I am unavailable to write due to the general necessities of life. I've been in a classroom where typing would be disruptive. I have done my best to keep tabs on the site and it's really awesome to see so many comments and people supporting the work. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!! I've been bouncing in my seat everyday when I go to see more. :)
While I've been away, I've started a practice of reading holy scripture. I hear about religious folks doing it all the time, they must be getting something from it. As with any part of my spiritual practice I open my heart to see what I really want out of the actions proposed.
What is sacred text? It's my understanding that it is a collection of stories meant to inspire the reader to his/her highest self. Using those inspired by their god(s) as an example of how to behave in the most troubling of times. Some see it as a test of our worthiness. I see the awareness of the test itself as proof of worth. Though I must accept that it's not for me to decide anything other than my perception... What would I do? If ... when my god(s) test me ... have they already? Did I pass? Is this a pass/fail situation? I look to the examples of my elders through, what I conciser, sacred writings.
They offer huge questions, some I'd never considered. They hope to offer answers, from complex ritual to simple inaction, from pacifism to violence, from prayer to silence. They are created out of the images that we will recognize so that we feel safe exposing our darkest secrets, vulnerabilities, and fears. The more familiar the more we are capable of trusting. There are countless ways of building that trust. Different people, even when worshiping the same god(s), will be called to them by different things.
There are no stories I love more than fiction. I believe it gives the storyteller more space to explore the options of tragedy without having to actually be tragic. The stories of my faith are fantasy and science fiction. The most important, to me, is cyber-punk.
"Classic cyberpunk characters were marginalized, alienated loners who lived on the edge of society in generally dystopic futures where daily life was impacted by rapid technological change, an ubiquitous datasphere of computerized information, and invasive modification of the human body." - Lawrence Person (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberpunk)
The one distinction that makes cyberpunk special to me is there is always a part of the story that is virtual. Critical parts of the story involve characters putting their consciousness into a computer and doing things in there. Thing brings up many questions about the nature of consciousness. What is it? Is the body we know necessary to have it? It expands my respect for animate things and inanimate. How am I to know for sure what is sentient? I don't. Cyberpunk teaches me to question even my most basic assumptions. Also, really important to me is that the protagonist is often someone who doesn't seem like a good guy. The hero of the story is often faced with difficult choices around survival of self and survival of humanity. There is never a clear right answer. As with life, the hero is forced to juggle the complicated needs of both. Its really easy for me to relate to it all on a much deeper level than what I find in traditional scriptures.
I've created my religion out of the images I trust in popular culture. It only make sense to me to find the sages of this time and sages of the possible future for guidance. Admittedly, the authors have little faith in humanity. However, their impossible questions aren't all that different than what I've found in the Judeo-Christian bible. Plus, there's usually space ships and robots!!! To me science fiction seems more real, or at least easier to relate to. It's closer to what my heart knows. My heart feels safe learning there.
Learn about this and how you explore your inspiration at godswap LIVE
Our topic will be “applying inspiration daily/regularly”
Monday July 5th, 2010
2519 Mission St
San Francisco, CA 94110
Suggested donation is $10, no one turned away for lack of funds.
I get that this is that day after 4th of July and I plan on making this happen. If no one else shows up, I'll be reading. :)
Thanks for reading. Feel free to offer comments and suggestions in the comment section below.
The god(s) in me honor the god(s) in you. Let's go play.
Rebekah
http://godswap.com
godswap@gmail.com
http://twitter.com/godswap
http://www.facebook.com/godswap
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=117283251633938
http://www.facebook.com/pages/San-Francisco-CA/godswap/117505801602...
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