I like the bit in Life of Pi "take two steps towards God, and He'll come running". It sounds pretty promising for those of us who would like a divine connection. It unfortunately doesn't elaborate on which shoes one should wear, the size of step to be taken, or if indeed you get all the other the variables right, that He won't just about turn because He had to get close before He noticed the dog shit residue on our soles{pun intended}.
My general beliefs are mutable. If a belief doesn't feel right, get it to fuck. Unfortunately, egoistic bureaucracy doesn't allow them to be shed at as useful a rate as would be preferable, but hey ho what you gonna do? I suppose the answer would come from the Zen direction. Train yourself to pay attention to everything all the time.
I can see absolutely no problem with paying attention, except that it's so hard to do without relentless commitment. A perception of the world with ever more detail, beauty and subtlety as a result of sincere effort{non-effort?}, would seem to me to be just the ticket to shake off the stink of the world. It is utterly non-partisan, so even fundies could do it if you changed the label...ahem.
Then there's all the weird and wonderful scientific stuff: quantum mechanics, m-theory, and seminal new thinking in the physics of penis enlargement. It all ties up pretty nicely.
Friends{platonic and non-platonic}, pot,alcohol,humour,food,kids,music,reading and reflection are all tools for me amongst many others i use to help me take those two steps to God, but they ain't workin'. I could do with some advice on how to grow my balls, and get jiggy with the psychedelics again. I do have faith though, i don't see how ultimately any of us can truly stray from the path. We are it, all of us, for ever...
ahem..amen.
Good thread Puff, nice little nucleus.