Author Topic: Too Much Thinking? (Read 3143 times)

EJay · « **on:** March 08, 2015, 05:51:56 am »

I posted in another thread that I think TC brings in thinkers.

Is that a requirement for your religion and your god? This is not a facetious question. Do your gods require you to be edumacated about them first or will they teach you, themselves?

Do your gods approach the mentally-challenged? I see that many folks here are educated and thinkers. But what about those that have mental challenges?

I don't have any numbers, haven't asked Mr. Google yet, but do our gods ignore the "weaker-minded?" (Loaded term--used it intentionally.)

Personally, I think that thinking can be a weakness when it comes to communicating with deity. I think my brain gets in the way--too much thinking when I need to focus on my spiritual connections.

baduhmtisss · « **Reply #1 on:** March 09, 2015, 10:16:14 am »

Quote from: EJay;172713

I posted in another thread that I think TC brings in thinkers.

Is that a requirement for your religion and your god? This is not a facetious question. Do your gods require you to be edumacated about them first or will they teach you, themselves?

Do your gods approach the mentally-challenged? I see that many folks here are educated and thinkers. But what about those that have mental challenges?

I don't have any numbers, haven't asked Mr. Google yet, but do our gods ignore the "weaker-minded?" (Loaded term--used it intentionally.)

Personally, I think that thinking can be a weakness when it comes to communicating with deity. I think my brain gets in the way--too much thinking when I need to focus on my spiritual connections.

I don't see why gods wouldn't approach us "mentally challenged", because our mental challenges has nothing to do with our worth.

carillion · « **Reply #2 on:** March 09, 2015, 12:42:54 pm »

Quote from: Raine;172787

I don't see why gods wouldn't approach us "mentally challenged", because our mental challenges has nothing to do with our worth.

I can't speak for Ejay ( and Ejay is on holiday for a couple of weeks) but I assumed by 'mentally challenged' he meant someone with say, severe Down's syndrome or someone who was quite cognitively incapacitated. And that's an interesting question, I think.

But something else in your response caught my eye. Is it 'worth' that determines whether a deity will approach someone?

Aster Breo · « **Reply #3 on:** March 09, 2015, 02:44:51 pm »

Quote from: carillion;172794

But something else in your response caught my eye. Is it 'worth' that determines whether a deity will approach someone?

Just off the top of my head, I think it might depend on which god and why they're approaching the person. If it's a god who is more concerned with getting their work done and less concerned with people's need and feelings, they might approach the person they felt was the best tool for the job -- that is, the person worth more to the god in that situation.

Or are you thinking of worth in terms of "worthiness"? I think different gods probably view worthiness differently, too. F'ex, one god might find the fiercest fighter more worthy, while another god might find the most humble teacher more worthy, depending on what the particular god values most highly.

RandallS · « **Reply #4 on:** March 09, 2015, 03:06:18 pm »

Quote from: EJay;172713

Is that a requirement for your religion and your god? This is not a facetious question. Do your gods require you to be edumacated about them first or will they teach you, themselves?

I'm a Hellenic Pagan. Many of my deities want people who will think for themselves -- at least as best they are able.

Quote

Do your gods approach the mentally-challenged? I see that many folks here are educated and thinkers. But what about those that have mental challenges?

Some are more friendly than others to people with "mental challenges" (which I assume means mental disabilities).

I don't have any numbers, haven't asked Mr. Google yet, but do our gods ignore the "weaker-minded?" (Loaded term--used it intentionally.)

random417 · « **Reply #5 on:** March 09, 2015, 09:07:50 pm »

Quote from: carillion;172794

I can't speak for Ejay ( and Ejay is on holiday for a couple of weeks) but I assumed by 'mentally challenged' he meant someone with say, severe Down's syndrome or someone who was quite cognitively incapacitated. And that's an interesting question, I think.

But something else in your response caught my eye. Is it 'worth' that determines whether a deity will approach someone?

I would say that it does depend on the god, but while there may be an approach, I would imagine the type of approach would be different. The Gods in general ask of us things that we are capable of doing. For us without those "mental challenges", the gods may need/want us to do things, where those of us with, they may be more hands on in caring for.

I think with non omnipotent god forms, because they CAN need things, a relationship with them is often symbiotic, with both sides benefiting. But sometimes too, they're moved by emotion. The Gods are like us in drives and motivation, so while worth can be and often is a factor, i think sometimes they're moved by compassion/love, just as we would be

Altair · « **Reply #6 on:** March 29, 2015, 08:21:56 am »

Quote from: EJay;172713

Do your gods approach the mentally-challenged? I see that many folks here are educated and thinkers. But what about those that have mental challenges?

I don't have any numbers, haven't asked Mr. Google yet, but do our gods ignore the "weaker-minded?" (Loaded term--used it intentionally.)

Interesting question indeed. The god I'm closest too is very much a thinker, largely an embodiment of thought itself; so that would seem to make him shun those with mental challenges.

But he's also the god of "the other": All that is different, far from the norm, he embraces unreservedly. So he would definitely look at someone with mental challenges and regard them as "Oh! One of mine." He'd no doubt be fascinated by the way their brain worked differently.

Faemon · « **Reply #7 on:** March 29, 2015, 09:52:54 am »

Quote from: EJay;172713

I think that thinking can be a weakness when it comes to communicating with deity. I think my brain gets in the way--too much thinking when I need to focus on my spiritual connections.

I've got to make sense if I'm expressing myself to other people and expecting to be understood, even (especially) about spiritual matters. I've also found that it helps if I read other spiritual stuff that makes sense. I've even tied my own ego up a lot in being thinky and reasonable: that's the identity that I default to.

Between myself and my divinities, though? Haha, no. Things rarely make sense, or I can't say them (and not because it's verboten or anything just...wooords...fail...)

DemeterDelusion · « **Reply #8 on:** March 30, 2015, 01:06:31 am »

Odd, I thought I responded to this thread a long time ago.

Quote from: EJay;172713

I posted in another thread that I think TC brings in thinkers.

Is that a requirement for your religion and your god? This is not a facetious question. Do your gods require you to be edumacated about them first or will they teach you, themselves?

I follow the fey rather than gods, but I suppose it's worth weighing in--it seems the last thing they actually want is for someone to hunt around for true information about them and their purpose. If the Good Folk want to teach something, they'll teach it when they want to (regardless if you're ready to learn it, I might add.) I've found going into my faith with no expectations works best in the long run.

Quote from: EJay;172713

Do your gods approach the mentally-challenged? I see that many folks here are educated and thinkers. But what about those that have mental challenges?

I don't like the insinuation that pagans, be it here or elsewhere, are inherently more "educated" than anyone else. It smarts of the crappy New Age-esque "we're enlightened and everyone else is just sheep!!!!" attitude that I've encountered elsewhere. It's even worse here, as instead of sheep, you're literally contrasting educated with the mentally disabled, like there's no contrast between the two. It's just gross :/

Even so, I don't think the Good Folk really care about their human partner/housemate/toy's mental facilities or physical attributes. I sort of get the feeling that sort of see humans in a singular light and don't really consider whether or not one person's abilities differ from another's. It's not always a good thing.

Quote from: EJay;172713

I don't have any numbers, haven't asked Mr. Google yet, but do our gods ignore the "weaker-minded?" (Loaded term--used it intentionally.)

Good Folk, god, or whatever else, I'm pretty sure that they have more pressing criteria to avoid/reject someone than whether or not they can think about in-depth social/spiritual/whatever problems or philosophies for extended periods of time. Not to say that there are *no* gods out there that care about that, but it's really an issue that's going to change from person to person.

Quote from: EJay;172713

Personally, I think that thinking can be a weakness when it comes to communicating with deity. I think my brain gets in the way--too much thinking when I need to focus on my spiritual connections.

Ha. I'm the same way--I used think way too much about what my patron and matron are sometimes to tune in to what they're actually trying to tell me. I'm trying to get better at it now, though.

Jainarayan · « **Reply #9 on:** March 30, 2015, 10:11:59 am »

Quote from: EJay;172713

Is that a requirement for your religion and your god? This is not a facetious question. Do your gods require you to be edumacated about them first or will they teach you, themselves?

It's said that Ásatrú is a religion with homework. I think that is true only to the extent one wants it to be true. There is a large corpus of literature, certainly not as large as Hinduism or Buddhism, but large, despite much of it assumed to have been lost. One doesn't need to read the Eddas and Sagas to learn Ásatrú. There are many books that are re-tellings of the stories. I have several myself, and love to collect different authors' versions of the stories. Some are shorter than others. I especially like reading the ones written for kids.

The short answer is no, it's not necessary. The gods let us know what they want or don't want. I was doing some things in worship that I got a message of "no, don't bother with that, it's not necessary". When I tried to co-mingle and co-habitate certain Hindu and Norse deities, someone told me "absolutely not, it's not our way".

Quote

Do your gods approach the mentally-challenged? I see that many folks here are educated and thinkers. But what about those that have mental challenges?

I don't have any numbers, haven't asked Mr. Google yet, but do our gods ignore the "weaker-minded?" (Loaded term--used it intentionally.)

The Aesir and Vanir are more concerned with how one lives one's life relative to family, friends, community: "kith and kin", than they are about IQs. Thor is especially protective of those who may not be able to protect or think for themselves. I would expect the Big Guy to lay a major smackdown on someone who mistreats a person with some sort of disadvantage, and go out of his way to reward someone who is kindly to that disadvantaged person.

Quote

Personally, I think that thinking can be a weakness when it comes to communicating with deity. I think my brain gets in the way--too much thinking when I need to focus on my spiritual connections.

Yes, one can sometimes not see the forest for the trees. It can be a distraction to one's practice.

Wanderer894 · « **Reply #10 on:** March 31, 2015, 07:44:46 am »

Quote from: Thorbjorn;173566

The short answer is no, it's not necessary. The gods let us know what they want or don't want. I was doing some things in worship that I got a message of "no, don't bother with that, it's not necessary". When I tried to co-mingle and co-habitate certain Hindu and Norse deities, someone told me "absolutely not, it's not our way".
...............................

Yes, one can sometimes not see the forest for the trees. It can be a distraction to one's practice.

Pretty much this. The gods are not without their ways of letting us know what is OK with them and what isn't, what's necessary and what's not, and whether they want to work with us. Depending on how subtle they are and on whether you're paying attention, it may just take a while for to notice (though hopefully before someone has to yell at you or whatever).

As for thinking, I guess it can be a hindrance if it stops you from getting stuff done that needs to be done. Other than that, I doubt thinking in general could be considered a bad thing.

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EJay

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