April 15, 2004

• Bohemianrapsody had a quote from some interesting articles on Shamanism:
  

  “Shamanic ecstasy is the real “Old Time Religion,” of which modern churches are but pallid evocations. Shamanic, visionary ecstasy, the mysterium tremendum, the unio mystica, the eternally delightful experience of the universe as energy, is a sine qua non of religion, it is what religion is for! There is no need for faith, it is the ecstatic experience itself that gives one faith in the intrinsic unity and integrity of the universe, in ourselves as integral parts of the whole; that reveals to us the sublime majesty of our universe, and the fluctuant, scintillant, alchemical miracle that is quotidian consciousness. Any religion that requires faith and gives none, that defends against religious experiences, that promulgates the bizarre superstition that humankind is in some way separate, divorced from the rest of creation, that heals not the gaping wound between Body and Soul, but would tear them asunder… is no religion at all!” Jonathan Ott

  Someone took issue with the wording and asked for an english translation which I found a bit odd because other than the latin, most of it looked english to me, so I figured I’d convert it to more common parlance:
  

  Shamanic ecstasy is the real “Old Time Religion,” of which modern churches are but dull re-creations. Call it what you will — the mysterium tremendum, the unio mystica, or simply the eternally delightful experience of the universe as energy — shamanic, visionary ecstacy is an essential condition or element of religion. It is what religion is for.

  There is no need for faith as it is the experience of withdrawing the soul from the body itself that gives one faith in the intrinsic unity and integrity of the universe and in ourselves as integral parts of the whole. Experiencing shamanic ecstasy reveals to us the sublime majesty of our universe and the constantly changing, brilliant miracle that is everyday consciousness.

  Any religion that requires faith and gives none, that defends against religious experiences, that expounds the bizarre superstition that humankind is in some way separate, divorced from the rest of creation, that heals not the gaping wound between Body and Soul, but would tear them asunder… is no religion at all!

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  In other news, apparently Northern Ireland has electoral rules which ban “idiots and lunatics” from voting. While I kind of like the idea we couldn’t really apply it here – I mean, can you imagine banning over half the population from voting?

  • 3:28 pm
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