So I'll start with a short background: Post-FFXI, I got into health/fitness by losing a good amount of weight by following bodybuilding routines that a friend got me into and really enjoyed it. Along the way I found out about and tried yoga; somewhere around 3 years ago now (! never realized how long ago!) in Michigan I took my first yoga class, and really enjoyed it. After a week of 2x/day, I practiced pretty regularly (couple times/wk) for a couple months, then on/off a for a bit when I moved to CO, and now since about last August I've been practicing at least 5x/wk. More recently, I began meditating thanks partly to a teacher, and have been practicing that daily for about 6 months now and also have been reading on spirituality a good bit (pretty coincidentally ended up with a copy of The Upanishads and reading that really intrigued me, so since then I've read other texts similar to it like the Bhagavad Gita, the Dhammapada, Light on Life, and a couple others). I've been raised Catholic and still do feel like I identify with Catholicism to an extent, but I also feel like there is so much that I've gained in reading about all these different perspectives. I feel like all this has improved my life a lot and though at times it can be difficult, has been rewarding.

So just curious - any of you have similar interests, any advice/questions, or life experiences in general you'd like to share?

I've read those books as well. I went to Niagara University (Vincentian Catholic, but I'm not religious really) and had a religion course that required those.

Interesting viewpoints. Never done yoga or anything, but I do need to get started on rehab soon. Just had another seizure complete with shoulder dislocations and all that jazz so need time to recupe. Religion never did it for me.

Glad to hear it worked out for you though.

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Tread softly because you tread on my dreams-

Lies are a funny thing,
they slip through your fingertips because
they never happened to you.

I've never believed in any kind of organized religion, seems like most of them have it horribly wrong.
I think it's great that it makes you happy or gives you piece of mind but it's not for me.

I get my happiness and piece of mind through my friends or people close to me.
Also drug and alcohol abuse helps pass the days.

Live it up, life is too short to not enjoy it!!!

Ghetto philosophy 101

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Sorry to hear about the seizure/shoulder dislocations =( what were you doing when it happened/are you ok otherwise? How long is it looking to be for rehab?

That's pretty cool that you got that kind of exposure; I went to a Eastern Catholic gradeschool/highschool and really never heard anything about other religions in that time. Although, I do remember when I was young my parents would buy my brother and I any books we wanted pretty much, and I remembering choosing a few books on Buddhism in ~7th/8th grade but never read through them too much at the time. What did you think when you read through them? Anything in particular that really made you think/stood out to you?

I think the Upanishads was a great one to start out with for me because it doesn't really involve a deity which doesn't give it the feeling of a whole different religion but rather just a really interesting collection of observations/stories. The Gita was more difficult to read in that regard because where the Upanishads might have used 'self', it uses Krishna. However, one aspect the Gita speaks strongly to me is in terms of work -- the most difficult part being grasping/applying the idea of working without a attachment to results. As a personal example, I'll use my experience in med school so far. Everything at this point is very focused on exam performance, board scores, and such, and it feels especially challenging to apply this concept. Here's a quote on what I'm referring to:

"You have the right to work, but never to the fruit of work. You should never engage in action for the sake of reward, nor should you long for inaction. Perform work in this world, Arjuna, as a man established within himself - without selfish attachments, and alike in success and defeat"

So let's say I do try my best to apply this in studying for a particular exam, and end up with a great score. First, to stop and to observe how I feel (or, to observe the inevitable 'ego response') in 'like' (doing well on the exam) and trying to even the mind to the same as I would feel in 'dislike' (if I did poorly) is difficult. Then afterwards, how to avoid any expecations of results - whether grades, or the feeling of receiving a good score - if I attempt to approach studying the same way for the next exam, is equally challenging. Even further, applying this to my own practice of meditation I've seen how it's easy to approach it expecting a result of peace, focus, etc. afterwards, but going in with expectation actually undermines the entire process.
[I read Easwaran's translation of both the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita]

I had just woken up and was deliriously tired at the time. Some scammer called my house at 3 AM so I woke up to the sound of that. Next thing I know I'm waking up with both of my parents staring at me. No idea what the hell they were doing there but I figured something was wrong.

Tried to push myself out of bed and realized that my arms just about collapsed under the weight of my own body. Double anterior dislocations (the common kind). They don't know what triggered it. I was drinking the day before (Memorial Day) but I didn't go to sleep late. I've been really good about sleeping enough since I got sick. Just had my first stint with PT yesterday since it happened and I'm sore as possible this morning. Estimated healing 4ish weeks.

I read the Gita more in-depth. I thought it was ok. I'm not really religious at all, so it was more required work than anything. I can appreciate the reason they are written, but I can't sign myself onto a religion. I've seen way too many bad things happen to way too many good people to think there's benevolence up there somewhere. Didn't you have health problems at one point too? Forgive me if I feel like I'm prying, that isn't my intention.

_________________
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams-

Lies are a funny thing,
they slip through your fingertips because
they never happened to you.