A fellow that I used to work with periodically said that he didn't need organized religion because he felt closer to God when in the woods. However, I once heard a t.v. evangelist respond to such a statement by asking his congregation how many times they actually stumbled upon someone praying in the woods.

Which opinion do you tend to more relate to, or do you have a different concept?

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"The further the spiritual evolution of mankind advances, the more certain it seems to me that the path to genuine religiosity does not lie through the fear of life, and the fear of death, and blind faith, but through striving after rational knowledge."-- Einstein

I spend a lot of time in nature. I have organized groups who go out in nature and meditate. In my opinion just being in nature is a prayer in itself.

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As a child. I used to walk in the woods a lot. These were actually the most peaceful times I had as the oldest child from a family of 7 kids with an abusive and loud mom. I loved Church too though back then, it was also the most peaceful place in my whole life. I had a faith for God but yet an almost secret (from myself maybe) anger against God for not putting me in a home like the nice Christian families I admired. So Church became just one more constant reminder of what I didn't have. The woods never became that reminder, and I was always/still am in such a really good mood with God in the woods. There is a local park in the woods and I am still always surprised how fast angry moods can turn, mine and my daughters, to very content peaceful times.

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When a man sleeps in his bed, his soul leaves him to soar above, each soul according to its own way.......
The Zohar

I think that the man who felt closer to God when in the woods was closer to his God than a facetious tv 'personality'.

I certainly feel closer to <something> in any wood, or forest, or on a moor, than i have ever felt in a place of worship.



Peace, Love, & Light

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"An object is perceived, or not perceived, according as the mind is, or is not, tinged with the colour of the object. "
Patanjali - Sutra 4:17

I have never prayed in the Religious term - ie in Church or on my knees etc

Always seemed a bit stupid that if God was everywhere what has a particular building to do with it ?
For that matter a certain ritual

Anyway I havent prayed and I have expereinced God


Maybe praying is the truth from the heart and maybe the prayer is to Love to LOVE because that is GOD


God is within Every ONE of us so it seems thats about talking to ones SELF

That reminds me of a statement found in Kabbalah whereas it says that if one didn't know a thing about Torah, he could at least learn the brunt of it by just observing nature.

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"The further the spiritual evolution of mankind advances, the more certain it seems to me that the path to genuine religiosity does not lie through the fear of life, and the fear of death, and blind faith, but through striving after rational knowledge."-- Einstein

[quote=ShyLadyThere is a local park in the woods and I am still always surprised how fast angry moods can turn, mine and my daughters, to very content peaceful times. [/QUOTE]

Sorry to hear about your past, but I can see why a walk in the woods can have the effect on you that it does. My wife and I camped together for about 40 years, and when we were first married, she was wondering why I wanted to go on a short walk alone almost every night-- she wondered if I felt that I needed to get away from her. I rest assured her that was not the case but that I merely needed a few minutes to just be alone with nature. Today, I use walking meditation a great deal, and I very often end up at a park or just contemplating some other natural setting that so much helps me relax.

Over the course of several million years of our evolution as humans, we spent almost all of our time in nature with small groups of people in more natural settings, and I've often wondered that maybe this feeling of contentment with nature is sort of our being called back to our roots. Maybe the problems we find in our major cities today reflects the fact that living in extremely populous cities largely devoid of nature isn't how we spent most of our time as humans.

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"The further the spiritual evolution of mankind advances, the more certain it seems to me that the path to genuine religiosity does not lie through the fear of life, and the fear of death, and blind faith, but through striving after rational knowledge."-- Einstein

All the Prophets and Messengers of God have had periods of seclusion in remote or solitary places as well as being intimately involved in society.. So I think we need both seclusion and social environments for prayer and contemplation.

- Art

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"it benefits us to be thoughtful, not of the glory of our minds, but rather, above all else, of the glory of God."
- Johannes Kepler

I can see why a Televangelist would say that. Televangelists are all extreme fundamentalists. Christianity is at its core ANTI-NATURE. Fundamentalism is the most extreme and irrational form of Christianity. They hate nature. They hate science because it studies the truth about nature instead of the mythology rubbish of the Bible. In fact looking too closely at nature tells Fundamentalists that their belief system if gob****e. They're being conservatives (read, political reactionaries) make their hatred of nature and those who study it hurl abuse at naturalists and conservationists calling them "Tree Huggers".

In contrast, more intelligent people are never fundamentalists. They can go out into the woods or mountains or a waterfall and find a connection with a more rational form of God. It is not unusual for Anglicans, Celtic Catholics, Agnostics, Atheists, Neo-Pagans, and Neo-Druids to take great comfort and almost mystical feelings by nature. I often find our rare woodlands inspiring to my poetry hobby. The Cairngorm, the long fingerlike glacial carved lakes viewed from the mountain ridges of our Highlands are inspiring to me.

I find churches boring. The benches are uncomfortable and the hymns are irritating. Perhaps that is why over a third of our churches have been converted into architectural history sites, mini-malls, banks, libraries, offices, and ritzy apartments.

Amergin

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Militant Agnostic: I don't know, and neither do you. There is no evidence of God so belief is optional.

I agree with you Art...nature is very uplifting and a good form of mediatation...and it does make us feel closer to our source..however having a spiritual goup ie church or whatever with people who truly can share your spiritual experience can be very supportive and uplifting also. It can give you a feeling of confirmation and connection...and it can be great to have others of like mind to share things with..sort of like this forum only it's nice to be able to see each other face to face and be able to smile at each other and give a heart warming and heart felt embrace.

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RevKathyV

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