I consider myself a Christian man, however I'd like you to consider the following practices:
Fasting
Meditation (or prayer)
Breathwork
Herbal medicine
These enhance your spiritual self and health.
I wonder why these seem to be absent from church.
#grownostr #churchstr
You presume churches are for christians
These were features of early Christianity, hermits living in seclusion. Over time the church, or churches, have consolidated control over practices and, therefore, the people. As these are things you largely don't need them (the church) for, they don't want people doing it. For example, folk or herbal medicine being linked to witchcraft.
However, these are not incompatible with any religion, in my opinion.
As the Roman empire’s power structure collapsed, it folded itself into the establishment church of Rome in order to survive. And survive it has.
As a result, the purpose of the cross, which was to redeem all of creation, has an element within it based on the same spirit of conquest that drove the Roman empire…who crushed all cultures in subjugation to itself. It’s the spirit of Empire. It also brought with it symbols of the spirit of empire dating back to its inception in Sumer and babylon.
It’s a trippy rabbit hole. But in the end, none of that will survive.
Many of these things may be absent from the mainstream Churches and small communities in the West, but fasting, mental prayer, and the like are still very much alive in the larger Christian world. Look to the Christian East.
The Coptic Church, for example, has rigorous fasting regimens that they practice throughout the year. Beyond the Lent that many Western Christians know before Easter, Copts and many other Eastern Christians have a number of other fasting seasons throughout the year, related to various feast days and commemorations. Every year, the Copts have fasts for Nineveh, remembering Jonah's call to repentance, and even one for the Holy Apostles, thinking of their struggles to preach the Gospel to the world. There are many other fasting seasons and customs in the other Churches, whether they be Armenian, Ukrainian, or otherwise.
As to meditation and breathwork, I read a book called "Way of the Pilgrim" a decade or more ago now. It talked about something called the "Jesus Prayer", which believers would pray continually and, under the direction of a spiritual elder, could also connect with certain breathing. If memory serves, these are customs most well-known in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic circles.
If your local community is lacking some of these elements, it might be worth investigating these historic Churches to learn from their beliefs and customs.
Heck, just as an intellectual exercise, I'd encourage everyone to read up on the spread of Christianity beyond the West and how these Christian believers have kept the Faith. Two books to get anyone started:
1. The Lost History of Christianity by Philip Jenkins
2. The Orthodox Church by Kallistos Ware
#churchstr #education
