How did you decide which religious path was right for you?

[Ecco]

"Perceive first.  Then believe." - Victor Anderson

What works for you?  What makes your heart sing?  What has rituals that scratch that itch you didn't quite realise you had?  What has systems and theologies that promote your health, well-being, and development?  What is beautiful?

Start there.  You may not finish there.

I got to Kemeticism with a chasing sequence of mysticism and research, and wound up finding theologies that articulated things I had always known and let me dig deeper, trying rituals on a "Well, I might as well give it a whirl" and finding things that helped settle my depression and help my sense of self.  I got to the Craft chasing a divine direction, trying things out, and seeing what worked, and worked with it for quite some time before saying "This is something I also need."

Building is complicated.

 Darkhawk, I think everything you said is very wise. And I couldn't agree more with that quote you shared.
For me, I have spent a couple of years researching everything that interested me and sparked my spirit. I started out as a teenager primarily studying Wicca, but I had to abandon my study and practice from what I know many of us are familiar with - an oppressive judeo-christian household atmosphere. But once I understood that Wicca was a religion with a very dualistic ideology, it lost its resonance for me and so I began to research everything I could get my hands on about a variety pagan faiths. Re constructionist bloggers have really helped me to understand that an understanding of a god or entity really comes from understanding that god in context of the culture they came out of. I do not identify as a re-constructionist follower, but I say that to point out how reading and diving into research consisting of paths that may not end up being your own is how I have personally enriched my understanding at how widely and diversely divinity works with us. I really feel that study and keeping an eye open to the world is how I have come to where I am today. Right now I have come to a circle within my life that is bound within pantheism utilizing witchcraft to work with the spirits and gods. But I am always learning, and that means that often I find out how I am wrong and so my path has to change in response.

 I hope these thoughts help.

[Hawkfeathers]

With so much information and so many different paths, how did you choose which one to follow? Did you always know one religion was right for you, or did you experiment with different ones? What did you base your decision on?

I ask because I'm stuck between two paths and I don't feel right combining them or practicing each one separately.

I was born into a Roman Catholic family complete with an off-the-boat Italian grandmother. Her candle-lighting and various household things were straight from Stregheria although she wasn't consciously aware of that. I'm just "eclectic" myself at this point, with some aspects of Christianity, Wicca, Native American & others combined.

[MeadowRae]

With so much information and so many different paths, how did you choose which one to follow? Did you always know one religion was right for you, or did you experiment with different ones? What did you base your decision on?

I ask because I'm stuck between two paths and I don't feel right combining them or practicing each one separately.

 
I don't think I'll ever be at the end of my path, but I like the practices I have now. I have found that I am not into herbalism/kitchen witchery much, I like visualization and shadow work, and ceremonial magic is a rare treat. Mostly I am a diviner. I love that ish. Currently I am using tarot and the Bible for this.

I came to my path because I got the message "we are all one" one day. I looked into many definitions of God/religion. but stumbled upon pagan practice, and I really liked the focus on what you do rather than what you believe. As a Pantheist I find it difficult to settle into a religion per se, but paganism has been a good fit so far.

[LilacRaveclaw]

With so much information and so many different paths, how did you choose which one to follow? Did you always know one religion was right for you, or did you experiment with different ones? What did you base your decision on?

I ask because I'm stuck between two paths and I don't feel right combining them or practicing each one separately.

 
I hope there is a quote. It shows the quote. Mine is mix. If it does work I drop it like its hot. Why? I'm not trying to replicate something in a book. I follow my own ethics and work from there.


May the wind always be at your back.

[Merlick]

With so much information and so many different paths, how did you choose which one to follow? Did you always know one religion was right for you, or did you experiment with different ones? What did you base your decision on?

I ask because I'm stuck between two paths and I don't feel right combining them or practicing each one separately.

 
When I noticed that christianity, the religion I had been born into, wasn't the right thing for me, I began searching. I read lots of books on different religions and beliefs, talked to all kinds of people, searched the web and experimented a lot, both with spiritual paths and gods.

It took over ten years to get to the point where I now am and my journey is far from over. There is still a lot to explore and to learn on the path I've chosen or rather the one the gods have spread out before me.

In my eyes, it's not a choice of taking this or that road but more like choosing between wanting to take a step into a certain direction or not. If you feel torn, ask yourself why you feel that way, dig a bit deeper and, most of all, listen to your heart. It's the best compass on the stormy sea which is life.

[Mivi]

With so much information and so many different paths, how did you choose which one to follow? Did you always know one religion was right for you, or did you experiment with different ones? What did you base your decision on?

I ask because I'm stuck between two paths and I don't feel right combining them or practicing each one separately.

 
It certainly does depend on the specific path. As for myself and my culture's tradition, I knew I was experiencing spirit sickness for a few years. The dream messages (VPG thing in our tradition) made it abundantly clear. My mother spoke to a mudang in Korea on my behalf, and she divined that I am indeed meant for this path. So here I am, doing my thing until I can afford my ceremony.

If you're meant for it, you will know. There won't be much doubt for too long.

[suzker]

With so much information and so many different paths, how did you choose which one to follow?

Threw some bones in the air & watched where they landed. Lol.

Did you always know one religion was right for you, or did you experiment with different ones?

Well I guess you could say I 'experimented'. If one counts those online pagan path choosers as experimentation.

I, at the insistence of a friend, tried a few of them. I kept getting Shintoism and Chinese folk religion as my highest scores well above other pagan paths. Such results still, to this day, make me laugh though not for the reason you'd think. For one, though I greatly respect both & those that practice these beliefs, such isn't the only reason why my mindset/mentality has affinity for such practices versus other 'pagan' beliefs.

What did you base your decision on?

Though the concept of throwing bones in the air is rather interesting for I wonder if the raven that perches on the roof daily will think it a new game...  I chose those closest to familial history.

[xGypsy13x]

With so much information and so many different paths, how did you choose which one to follow? Did you always know one religion was right for you, or did you experiment with different ones? What did you base your decision on?

I ask because I'm stuck between two paths and I don't feel right combining them or practicing each one separately.

 
a few too many coincidences led me down my path, then i met my teacher and it all just kind of kicked off from there, then later on i found out my ancestry match perfectly.

[YungMeatRabbit]

With so much information and so many different paths, how did you choose which one to follow? Did you always know one religion was right for you, or did you experiment with different ones? What did you base your decision on?

I ask because I'm stuck between two paths and I don't feel right combining them or practicing each one separately.

 
I tried a bunch of different paths until I got sick of experimenting and decided to go with Kemeticism/Egyptian Paganism...best decision I ever made!

[Qumran@OccultRealms]

With so much information and so many different paths, how did you choose which one to follow? Did you always know one religion was right for you, or did you experiment with different ones? What did you base your decision on?

I ask because I'm stuck between two paths and I don't feel right combining them or practicing each one separately.

Some spiritual paths have no religious component. In my case I was a Christian for many years but then decided religious doctrines seek to distort and limit the individual's conception of the divine.  Furthermore, religion is all too often nothing more than a tool for predator priests to control and defraud their flock.  

On the other hand it goes without saying that not ALL religions or even all religious leaders are self-serving or corrupt.  Indeed, there are many ministers who serve honestly and humbly.  I was one of them myself and for sure there were many others like me.

As it stands now I honor and respect all deities but I do not WORSHIP anything or anyone.  My path is one of communion with divinity, unity with the creative ONE from which all things come forth.

[Queen of Swords]

With so much information and so many different paths, how did you choose which one to follow? Did you always know one religion was right for you, or did you experiment with different ones? What did you base your decision on?

I ask because I'm stuck between two paths and I don't feel right combining them or practicing each one separately.

I was raised without religion, a choice that my mother made because she wanted her children to make up their own minds. I began to investigate religion for the first time when I was 13 or 14, and I started with Wicca. That was more than 20 years ago and I can't honestly remember why I started there. I quickly decided that a solitary practice wouldn't fulfill my needs at the time.

I lived in rural Nevada and had few options for religious community. I decided to give Christianity a try and went to church with a family friend. I'm not sure what denomination she was, but I hated the sermon, which was all about how every person is either like Cain or Abel. I didn't feel comfortable with the congregation, either.

I gave up for a while. When I was 16, I took a World Religion class at the community college and learned about Judaism. I was quite taken with it, until I learned about Zionism. I also came up against the same problem I had so many times before: there was no Temple in my town, no community for me to join.

I continued to be interested in religion, but from a purely academic perspective. I ignored my spiritual yearnings and several mystical experiences. I suffered a lot.

The one thing that remained with me from my exploration into Wicca was an interest in tarot. Eventually, it was tarot that led me back to paganism in 2014. I'm at a point in my life where I'm comfortable with not having a label. I have accepted that even if I find a religious community that is right for me, I will need to maintain a private spiritual practice.

As I investigate various philosophies and pagan religions, I do so with an eye toward values and practices that make my soul sing. Solitary/eclectic wicca still isn't for me because the Lord/Lady dynamic doesn't resonate with me, nor does the rede. Following my values has led me to the ancient Greeks, so at the moment I'm trying to figure out whether polytheism is for me or if I really am just a filthy pantheist at heart.

[RecycledBenedict]

Following my values has led me to the ancient Greeks, so at the moment I'm trying to figure out whether polytheism is for me or if I really am just a filthy pantheist at heart.

With the ancient Greeks (and the Romans) you don't have to chose between polytheism, monotheism and pantheism. All three (and panendeism) are fused into one by the Stoics and the Platonists.

[CaitlinAnn]

With so much information and so many different paths, how did you choose which one to follow? Did you always know one religion was right for you, or did you experiment with different ones? What did you base your decision on?

I ask because I'm stuck between two paths and I don't feel right combining them or practicing each one separately.

 
I have been at this for over a decade now and I still haven't found the right path.  I have changed so much throughout the years that one system has never quite fit me.  I used to run from the term "eclecticism" because I was always taught that it was bad, appropriative, and lazy.  However, I have learned that being eclectic isn't a bad thing and we don't need to change ourselves to fit a mold like I have tried to do for these past ten years.

I would advise you to just take your time.  Things change and what fits you now might not fit you later.  It's not a choice that needs to be made right away.

[Queen of Swords]

With the ancient Greeks (and the Romans) you don't have to chose between polytheism, monotheism and pantheism. All three (and panendeism) are fused into one by the Stoics and the Platonists.

 
Can you recommend any reading for Stoic metaphysical beliefs, FraterBenedict? I read Seneca's "On the God within Us" from his letters to Lucilius and I'm intrigued. Stoicism is something that I feel very drawn to, but I'm not sure where to start!

[RecycledBenedict]

Can you recommend any reading for Stoic metaphysical beliefs, FraterBenedict? I read Seneca's "On the God within Us" from his letters to Lucilius and I'm intrigued. Stoicism is something that I feel very drawn to, but I'm not sure where to start!

You would probably not be surprised of, that the overviews and the translations I have read are in Swedish, so I do not have a good overview of translations into English and overviews in English.

From what I find online, these could perhaps be interesting:

https://archive.org/details/thefragmentsofze00zenouoft

http://thriceholy.net/Texts/Cleanthes.html

If you, or anyone else, is interested in how hellenized Egyptians interpreted Egyptian religion in a Stoic way, Pieter Willem van der Horst translated fragments by the Egyptian priest Chaeremon in 1984: Chaeremon, Egyptian Priest and Stoic Philosopher, The fragments collected and translated.