Spirituality and Mentality Survey
My friend Nermin posted a survey she needs people to fill out for her thesis. I filled it out at work, and spent a few hours doing some much needed introspection.
Go here: http://nermface.livejournal.com/190439.html?#cutid1 to take the survey. Come one. It's a fun one. Here are my answers:
Hah, I love these things. This is awesome. I took a lot of time out during work to fill this out, so under question 9 you could add, "filling out questionaires that compel me to evaluate my life." Hope this helps.
-Eric
Spirituality & Mentality
(There are some questions that ask you to rate a statement on a scale
of 1 to 5.)
1 = I strongly disagree with this statement.
2 = I disagree with this statement.
3 = I neither agree nor disagree with this statement.
4 = I agree with this statement.
5 = I strongly agree with this statement.
1) Age : 22
2) Sex : Male
3) Religious Preference:
Other: I don't believe it's right to believe in just one thing, or too put all your faith in belief. I like to study a lot of different ways of living and viewing the world, including different faiths. All of them have their good points, but the bad points make them not worth following. I choose instead to follow ideas, which are much easier to
change than religion. Life changes always, and so will our view of it, so our ideas need to be updated, reviewed, and questioned. You can't always do that with religion. If I had to say what I believe in most, I would have to say it's doubt, the ability to question one's own convictions and admit that they are flawed and will always have room to become better. As to the question of whether or not I believe in God, I belive more in the possibility that God exists than I do in believing God does or does not exist. As much as I believe in doubt and reevaluation, I belive in possibilities. I want to make a distinction between religion and spirituality though. I am spiritual, not religious.
4) Education Level:
Some college
5) Was religion or spirituality enforced during your upbringing? Yes
6) a-If you have answered yes to the previous question, have your beliefs changed? How so?
Absolutely. I was raised Catholic, and had to attend CCD classes (Confraternity of Christian Doctrine) when I was younger, which were like bible classes. Except we didn't study the bible. We studied workbooks that were made based off of the bible. Half of the text in the workbooks never appeared in the bible, yet they were supposed to teach us what different stories in the bible meant. I had a lot of questions, and was never offered any answers, just cold shoulders and harsh remarks. I was chided for poking holes in our teachings. One day, during winter when I was somewhere between 8 an 10 years old, I actually ran away from CCD in the middle of a blizzard, in a town I was unfamiliar with. I always been intrigued with how people are born into religions, and what the implications of that might be. For instance, if I had been raised without any religious teachings, would I have taken up a religioun later in life? Would it be the opposite of my life now? Being born into a religion definately made me more discerning and inquisitive as an adult, and far more skeptical of religions and why people choose to stick to their beliefs.
b-If you have answered no to the previous question, have you gained an
interest in any religion or spirituality? Which one and why? N/A
7) I have had a significant event occur in my life in which it aided
in my current beliefs. 5
8) If you are active in spiritual enhancing activities, please list a
few methods.
Nature is very spiritual for me. I like to explore the characteristics of nature and how they expose a lot of fundamental truths of the cycles of life, how sometimes it's necessary to endure hardships in order to experience growth, similar to how nature dies down in the fall and winter to ensure that life blossoms and flourishes in the spring and summer. Nature related activities also go along with this, such as camping and hiking. My old roommate refered to nature-related activities as "communing with nature," which pretty much sums it up. Actually, he may have only meant that when it comes to finding a good place in the woods to smoke pot, but that's a completely different matter.
I haven't done it in a long time, and I should do it more often, but I used to fast with a friend of mine. We'd end a night with a healthy and balanced meal, mostly of vegetables, and then fast for the next 3 days, only drinking an assortment of teas with honey and lemon. The first day is always hard, but on day two and three I always had very spiritual experiences. Those fasts were the only times when I actually had a lot of energy, lacked any headaches or body aches, and got a near-perfect night's rest, being able to also wake-up early without an
alarm clock. Everything just seemed to slow down to a point where I could understand everything that was going on, and the last two days were always very contemplative. I'd relfect on my life a lot and had an unusually positive outlook. Fasting sort of jolted me into moments of clarity.
Being around other people who are very deeply tied into a spiritual lifestyle inspire spiritual feelings in me. Surroundings are everything, and what we choose or are forced to have around us greatly influences our mood and dispositions and outlooks, especially what we are inclined to do action-wise. I've had a great many spiritual
experiences from being in front of a friend in a small room who was singing and playing a guitar. Music can be very spiritual.
To me, grand insights into life are always related to spiritual insights. I don't differentiate the two from each other very often. As a poet, I feel my writings are usually spiritual insights.
I haven't partook in them in awhile, but psychedelic mushrooms always brought me spiritual experiences, as they would bring me to a very introspective and reflective place in my mind or perhaps soul, and then I would go from there to being extrospective. It's an experience that reset, so to speak, my body, mind, and soul, my very convictions of life, from the inside out. They were great times for me to reevaluate everything that had happened in my life and what direction I was headed in. I never looked at them as drugs, and never tried to abuse them. Everytime I bought them, I would hold them and wait for a day where they seemed ok to do. I wouldn't say, "I want to go trip." I would just let the trip find me. Another thing my old roommate said, to paraphrase, was never do drugs to have a good time, but, if you're going to do them, use them to enhance an already existing time. I once held onto a batch of mushrooms for a year before the right time came for me to take them. I tried to make sure never to use them to escape.
Trying endlessly to realize that humans are egoistic and selfish beings, and the pursuit to try and be less selfish, and make more decisions based on what those around me need, rather than what I need, is part of my spiritual outlook.
9) What are some ways you alleviate stress?
Everything above, I suppose. Communing with nature, fasting, music, being around the right people and right environments. Cathartic experiences alleviate stress for me, so it's possible to alleviate one kind of stress that won't go away with another sort of stress that is only temporary. For example, if you're having a really bad day, rather than trying to avoid what's bothering you and facing it may help to reduce the stress and tension that was being caused. A cathartic moment like breaking down and crying can alleviate stress and filter out a lot of bad vibes. These days, I'm having hard times trying to combat stress, because I don't have any of the right people and right situations and environments around me, but instead just a lot of bad vibes and unenjoyable people and places. In times like these, I need to rely more on realizing that a better version of me is my own higher power. That is, if I try to see all the different paths my life could take, and all the different me's that they would lead to, I need to figure out which is the best me and what kind of person I want to grow into. From there, I try to make choices now that will ensure I reach that person. I should clarify that though, because the point of it isn't to actually become that person. Every choice I make to try and become that person changes all of the possible paths that my life could go down, and in turn changes the "best" future me. I have to periodically go back and look at it all. But yeah, when things are at there worst, I have to rely on my own will power, and my own choices to alleviate stress and unwanted aspects of my life.
10) I have a lot of hope and faith in people when they are in tough situations. 3. This is always a double-edged sword with me. I had to pick a 3 because it's really a 1 and 5. I'm torn between being hopeful that people make the right decisions, knowing that the ability to be great lies in us all, but there's also an element of fear in there. I know full well that people are capable of just as much good as they are bad. If I look at it in a statistical manner, I'd have to lean more for expecting that they won't make the right decision, because every year there seems to be more bad than good in the world, and frankly I'm not at all happy with where humanity seems to be headed. This is especially true because it's extremely difficult for people to be selfless even most of the time, if not some of the time. In the end, our decisions tend to be more motivated towards ourselves, and not
others.
11) I find answers to life's questions and issues through prayer, etc.
1
All that aside, it's been an unconstructively constructive day. Those are sometimes that best kinds.
Go here: http://nermface.livejournal.com/190439.html?#cutid1 to take the survey. Come one. It's a fun one. Here are my answers:
Hah, I love these things. This is awesome. I took a lot of time out during work to fill this out, so under question 9 you could add, "filling out questionaires that compel me to evaluate my life." Hope this helps.
-Eric
Spirituality & Mentality
(There are some questions that ask you to rate a statement on a scale
of 1 to 5.)
1 = I strongly disagree with this statement.
2 = I disagree with this statement.
3 = I neither agree nor disagree with this statement.
4 = I agree with this statement.
5 = I strongly agree with this statement.
1) Age : 22
2) Sex : Male
3) Religious Preference:
Other: I don't believe it's right to believe in just one thing, or too put all your faith in belief. I like to study a lot of different ways of living and viewing the world, including different faiths. All of them have their good points, but the bad points make them not worth following. I choose instead to follow ideas, which are much easier to
change than religion. Life changes always, and so will our view of it, so our ideas need to be updated, reviewed, and questioned. You can't always do that with religion. If I had to say what I believe in most, I would have to say it's doubt, the ability to question one's own convictions and admit that they are flawed and will always have room to become better. As to the question of whether or not I believe in God, I belive more in the possibility that God exists than I do in believing God does or does not exist. As much as I believe in doubt and reevaluation, I belive in possibilities. I want to make a distinction between religion and spirituality though. I am spiritual, not religious.
4) Education Level:
Some college
5) Was religion or spirituality enforced during your upbringing? Yes
6) a-If you have answered yes to the previous question, have your beliefs changed? How so?
Absolutely. I was raised Catholic, and had to attend CCD classes (Confraternity of Christian Doctrine) when I was younger, which were like bible classes. Except we didn't study the bible. We studied workbooks that were made based off of the bible. Half of the text in the workbooks never appeared in the bible, yet they were supposed to teach us what different stories in the bible meant. I had a lot of questions, and was never offered any answers, just cold shoulders and harsh remarks. I was chided for poking holes in our teachings. One day, during winter when I was somewhere between 8 an 10 years old, I actually ran away from CCD in the middle of a blizzard, in a town I was unfamiliar with. I always been intrigued with how people are born into religions, and what the implications of that might be. For instance, if I had been raised without any religious teachings, would I have taken up a religioun later in life? Would it be the opposite of my life now? Being born into a religion definately made me more discerning and inquisitive as an adult, and far more skeptical of religions and why people choose to stick to their beliefs.
b-If you have answered no to the previous question, have you gained an
interest in any religion or spirituality? Which one and why? N/A
7) I have had a significant event occur in my life in which it aided
in my current beliefs. 5
8) If you are active in spiritual enhancing activities, please list a
few methods.
Nature is very spiritual for me. I like to explore the characteristics of nature and how they expose a lot of fundamental truths of the cycles of life, how sometimes it's necessary to endure hardships in order to experience growth, similar to how nature dies down in the fall and winter to ensure that life blossoms and flourishes in the spring and summer. Nature related activities also go along with this, such as camping and hiking. My old roommate refered to nature-related activities as "communing with nature," which pretty much sums it up. Actually, he may have only meant that when it comes to finding a good place in the woods to smoke pot, but that's a completely different matter.
I haven't done it in a long time, and I should do it more often, but I used to fast with a friend of mine. We'd end a night with a healthy and balanced meal, mostly of vegetables, and then fast for the next 3 days, only drinking an assortment of teas with honey and lemon. The first day is always hard, but on day two and three I always had very spiritual experiences. Those fasts were the only times when I actually had a lot of energy, lacked any headaches or body aches, and got a near-perfect night's rest, being able to also wake-up early without an
alarm clock. Everything just seemed to slow down to a point where I could understand everything that was going on, and the last two days were always very contemplative. I'd relfect on my life a lot and had an unusually positive outlook. Fasting sort of jolted me into moments of clarity.
Being around other people who are very deeply tied into a spiritual lifestyle inspire spiritual feelings in me. Surroundings are everything, and what we choose or are forced to have around us greatly influences our mood and dispositions and outlooks, especially what we are inclined to do action-wise. I've had a great many spiritual
experiences from being in front of a friend in a small room who was singing and playing a guitar. Music can be very spiritual.
To me, grand insights into life are always related to spiritual insights. I don't differentiate the two from each other very often. As a poet, I feel my writings are usually spiritual insights.
I haven't partook in them in awhile, but psychedelic mushrooms always brought me spiritual experiences, as they would bring me to a very introspective and reflective place in my mind or perhaps soul, and then I would go from there to being extrospective. It's an experience that reset, so to speak, my body, mind, and soul, my very convictions of life, from the inside out. They were great times for me to reevaluate everything that had happened in my life and what direction I was headed in. I never looked at them as drugs, and never tried to abuse them. Everytime I bought them, I would hold them and wait for a day where they seemed ok to do. I wouldn't say, "I want to go trip." I would just let the trip find me. Another thing my old roommate said, to paraphrase, was never do drugs to have a good time, but, if you're going to do them, use them to enhance an already existing time. I once held onto a batch of mushrooms for a year before the right time came for me to take them. I tried to make sure never to use them to escape.
Trying endlessly to realize that humans are egoistic and selfish beings, and the pursuit to try and be less selfish, and make more decisions based on what those around me need, rather than what I need, is part of my spiritual outlook.
9) What are some ways you alleviate stress?
Everything above, I suppose. Communing with nature, fasting, music, being around the right people and right environments. Cathartic experiences alleviate stress for me, so it's possible to alleviate one kind of stress that won't go away with another sort of stress that is only temporary. For example, if you're having a really bad day, rather than trying to avoid what's bothering you and facing it may help to reduce the stress and tension that was being caused. A cathartic moment like breaking down and crying can alleviate stress and filter out a lot of bad vibes. These days, I'm having hard times trying to combat stress, because I don't have any of the right people and right situations and environments around me, but instead just a lot of bad vibes and unenjoyable people and places. In times like these, I need to rely more on realizing that a better version of me is my own higher power. That is, if I try to see all the different paths my life could take, and all the different me's that they would lead to, I need to figure out which is the best me and what kind of person I want to grow into. From there, I try to make choices now that will ensure I reach that person. I should clarify that though, because the point of it isn't to actually become that person. Every choice I make to try and become that person changes all of the possible paths that my life could go down, and in turn changes the "best" future me. I have to periodically go back and look at it all. But yeah, when things are at there worst, I have to rely on my own will power, and my own choices to alleviate stress and unwanted aspects of my life.
10) I have a lot of hope and faith in people when they are in tough situations. 3. This is always a double-edged sword with me. I had to pick a 3 because it's really a 1 and 5. I'm torn between being hopeful that people make the right decisions, knowing that the ability to be great lies in us all, but there's also an element of fear in there. I know full well that people are capable of just as much good as they are bad. If I look at it in a statistical manner, I'd have to lean more for expecting that they won't make the right decision, because every year there seems to be more bad than good in the world, and frankly I'm not at all happy with where humanity seems to be headed. This is especially true because it's extremely difficult for people to be selfless even most of the time, if not some of the time. In the end, our decisions tend to be more motivated towards ourselves, and not
others.
11) I find answers to life's questions and issues through prayer, etc.
1
All that aside, it's been an unconstructively constructive day. Those are sometimes that best kinds.