This really connects to some of my problems with discussions of atheism and spirituality. Maybe anything even vaguely religious is completely delusional; I'm not very good at having faith.
But the most basic and least numinous reasons anyone goes to religion are that they would like to be important and meaningful and have an identity in a world so focused on destroying identity and meaning, and because they would like some chunk of the world to be something which isn't sad oppressive bullshit. One problem I find with how atheism is usually phrased is that people get so focused on religious delusions that they forget that it'd be a lot easier to let those go, if the world wasn't such sad bullshit.
One criticism which people level/which I've leveled at Otherkin is that "you're just doing it to feel special" - why, exactly, is wanting to feel special so bad, anyway? My hope is that this is a gateway to a much deeper, wider awareness. I mean... I've seen Otherkin and pagans use that as a jumping off point to get to real stuff, and certainly part of what draws people is the exotic/trendy nature of Buddhism - but as soon as you get to know Buddhism a little more, it resonates on more than just a coolness level.
My personal opinion is that the whole Otherkin thing has the potential to be a big learning opportunity about transience, about permanence, about ego, and maybe by hanging the "I want to be a noble savage" archetype or whatever on something nobody'd heard of before a coupla months back, maybe these guys will be less likely to fall into the trap of literalism. Heck, maybe watching these guys really bangs home ideas about transience, permanence, and perception which I'd missed thanks to my literalism. I dunno, it's not like I'm very wise about this stuff, I'm only me.
My personal opinion is that the whole Otherkin thing has the potential to be a big learning opportunity about transience, about permanence, about ego, and maybe by hanging the "I want to be a noble savage" archetype or whatever on something nobody'd heard of before a coupla months back, maybe these guys will be less likely to fall into the trap of literalism.
I am totally with you on that. I hold out much hope.
Thank you for this commentary, it adds sympathy that I feel about the matter, but that I was very badly expressing in the original post.
But the most basic and least numinous reasons anyone goes to religion are that they would like to be important and meaningful and have an identity in a world so focused on destroying identity and meaning, and because they would like some chunk of the world to be something which isn't sad oppressive bullshit. One problem I find with how atheism is usually phrased is that people get so focused on religious delusions that they forget that it'd be a lot easier to let those go, if the world wasn't such sad bullshit.
One criticism which people level/which I've leveled at Otherkin is that "you're just doing it to feel special" - why, exactly, is wanting to feel special so bad, anyway? My hope is that this is a gateway to a much deeper, wider awareness. I mean... I've seen Otherkin and pagans use that as a jumping off point to get to real stuff, and certainly part of what draws people is the exotic/trendy nature of Buddhism - but as soon as you get to know Buddhism a little more, it resonates on more than just a coolness level.
My personal opinion is that the whole Otherkin thing has the potential to be a big learning opportunity about transience, about permanence, about ego, and maybe by hanging the "I want to be a noble savage" archetype or whatever on something nobody'd heard of before a coupla months back, maybe these guys will be less likely to fall into the trap of literalism. Heck, maybe watching these guys really bangs home ideas about transience, permanence, and perception which I'd missed thanks to my literalism. I dunno, it's not like I'm very wise about this stuff, I'm only me.
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I am totally with you on that. I hold out much hope.
Thank you for this commentary, it adds sympathy that I feel about the matter, but that I was very badly expressing in the original post.
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