Thanks for the tip on where my post went--
And those that were by some other people-- but I see why they ended up getting removed. Sorta sad.
Thanks for all the nice responses.
I think I'll choose to stay off of the other thread for now. I was learning so much from other people-- I hope they continue, because I'm a "NewBu" (groan).
I think one can have a Christian heritage/outlook, but still have Buddhist-influenced sensibilities or appreciate its various philosophies. But maybe not?
If we have a choice as to enter a labyrinth or not, then I think we most definitely have the choice to not enter a maze. And that thread temporarily hit a recursive loop. I have not the chops for such a coarse discourse.
However-- to make this somewhat relevant to mind/body stuff-- has anyone else ever had the chance to walk a labyrinth? I don't know if I could do it now or not. 'Twill be something for me to find out.
But one thing that I learned on it, is that there is a certain section in it, that has you turned away from everyone as you go forward. Even though you know that there are other people in the labyrinth with you, you just can't see them.
I remember feeling a sudden fear that I was not going to be able to keep going, even though in reality, I was simply about five feet away from them, and all I had to do at any point was just jump across it. It was just a pattern of painted lines!
Yet I really felt very keenly the separateness of us in this strange little mini-world. What helped me to keep stepping forward was to just keep reminding myself that even though I couldn't see them, I could still sense them, and even if I couldn't sense them at every turn, they were actually there.
But all of that awareness of who and where I was in relation to others, and the various comforts of those thoughts-- did not, unfortunately, keep me from being mowed down by other people who wanted to get through it and out of there at a faster rate than mine.
I got jostled aside, because there's only room for single file. I mean, this was a spiritual exercise, and a people were anxiously causing other people to lose their balance.
That was when I really took to heart the knowledge that no matter how well you're trying to move forward with as much grace as you can muster, you just can't control what comes at you.
All we can do is respond, and sometimes it's hard to not flail a little bit and fall off the path, in order to not fall completely down and out of it.
It was better to temporarily forget the desire to be graceful and look a bit like a silly cartoon, than it was to pretend to be restored to balance and then go ker-splat.
So then I felt forgiveness for those that had pushed me aside, because they must have been scared or hating the whole thing, and wished they hadn't even begun. I know I have felt like that many times.
Has anyone read Kitchen Table Wisdom by Rachel Naomi Remen? I love one of the stories in there about a young Buddhist man who helped his roommate overcome a chemical addiction. Has anyone else read that? I found it very helpful.
Lisette