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[–]leculdesac 12 insightful - 1 fun12 insightful - 0 fun13 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

Oh, sure. So, to me, lots of terms used in a variety of spiritual traditions as well as science correspond to the same universal truth, which is that there is some part of us that can connect with something a lot larger than ourselves when we radically quiet our minds and connect with our "unborn nature," our "unconditioned nature." This is consistent with Buddhism, mystical Christianity (Christ within), and the science of neuroplasticity.

So, when Paul said, in Christ there is no male and female, or enlightenment teachers refer to some deep part of yourself that is beyond the polarities and conditioning of this word, or 12 step programs talk about a "higher power" and how trusting in that can change a lifetime of destructive behavior, or neuroscientists talk about adult neuroplasticity and how sustained meditation can lead to radical changes in attitude/opportunity, they're talking about connecting with some part of ourselves much greater than worldly identity. It's much greater than our privileged status and even more importantly it's greater than our traumas and victimization.

This is part of what liberation theology is about--when you're radically able to connect to a sense of something larger, you're much more at peace and paradoxically a lot more effective in addressing oppression, because you have a source of strength, open-mindedness, and capacity to not take the messages of your oppressors personally.

To me, gender identity obsession is the opposite of mindfulness. Instead of stopping to connect with something much deeper in yourself, you're running around obsessing about some false "self" you are and how much you want to control other flawed humans' perceptions of you. It's the antithesis of spirituality. All spiritual teachings encourage us to find an inner space away from our worldly identities, and this movement not only is obsessed with creating a social identity through endless attempts at manipulation, but they actually have conditioned their orgasms to it.

Probably not what you expected. I was an atheist when I was very young, but I realized that identifying a peaceful place of connectedness where you live in the "I don't know" paradoxically opens you up to "miracles," meaning, seeing possibilities that were impossible in your prior conditioned world view. So you can call it neuroplasticity if you want and simply commit to meditation--our words are just vocalisms from a bunch of hairless primates, and they point to the same thing.

Good luck.

[–]Bitchcraft 8 insightful - 1 fun8 insightful - 0 fun9 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Wow, this is all over the place. Help me understand:

"Science says we can connect to something larger" ? Adult neuroplasticity is the idea that we can form new habits, learn languages, change our preferences, rather than being stuck with the brain we developed during puberty -- it just takes more effort. I don't understand how you relate this to "connecting to something larger".

"[...] how sustained meditation can lead to radical changes in attitude/opportunity [...]" when somebody tries to take away my ability to speak freely, how does meditation help?

I'm an atheist because I think faith-based belief systems have no credibility and tend to be run by people with ulterior motives, not because the belief is "useful". In order for me to not be an atheist, some faith-based system -- be it gendered souls, Christianity, whatever -- would have to meet it's burden of proof.

[–]leculdesac 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Maybe "it's all over the place" because you are incapable of taking a broader point of view. I don't have time to waste arguing anymore. Good luck.