cwsims85 Posted March 12, 2016 Hello, and greetings from a fellow traveler along the Way. My name is Carl, and I am from a very small town in East Texas. I live with my partner, who I have been with for six years, and our animal companions. I have been interested in Daoism for many years, since I was about the age of eighteen, when I first discovered it, but have more recently traveled down the fruitless and forlorn path of atheism, rejecting all forms of philosophy and religion. I have found that this creates a rather nihilistic and depressed mindset in me, and have therefor returned to the peace, and beauty that I have always found in the Dao De Jing. I am glad I found this place, and I look forward to getting to interact with you all. Carl 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marblehead Posted March 12, 2016 Hello cwsims85, and welcome. Your membership is approved and we're happy you found your way to us. We look forward to accompanying you on some of the way that you still have to go. Please take the time to read the two posts pinned at the top of this Welcome page and take a look at the forum terms and rules. This covers all you need to know when getting started. For the first week you will be restricted to ten posts per day but after that you can post as much as you like. Also, until you’ve posted fifteen times in the forums, you’ll be a “Junior Bum” with somewhat restricted access and will be allowed only two private messages per day. Good luck in your pursuits and best wishes to you, Marblehead and the TDB team Hi Carl, Reading your post was almost a deja vu moment for me. Sounds pretty much like my progression along the Way. I think that you, like I, read too many of the wrong literatures about Atheism. And yes, those kinds can easily lead one toward a nihilistic mentality. Bad stuff. You are welcome to jump right in ongoing discussions, revive an older thread, or start a discussion in the "Newcomer Corner" sub-forms to expand on your introduction or ask general questions to help you get started. May you enjoy your time here. Marblehead 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
manitou Posted March 12, 2016 (edited) Hi cwsims85 - I too identify with your post. the Daodejing is the only tome that I really relate to because of its insistence on the Void, essentially a no-god point of view that realizes that there is Order in everything, that our bodies reflect (and some would say cause that order); that we are a microcosm to the macrocosm. I was brought up typically Christian and fully rejected that, in the sense that there's anything anywhere out there directing traffic. However, I do see beauty in the enlightenment of the words of the Nazarene, I love the wisdom of the various Sutras; I see now the interconnectedness of all points of view, which meet in the metaphysics once a particular path has been transcended. And I see the workings of Logos in quantum physics; it's all just One as far as I can see; no external god anywhere. we are essentially on our own; in fact, some would say we are It. So glad you're here. Manitou Edited March 12, 2016 by manitou 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RiverSnake Posted March 12, 2016 Welcome to the forum. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
