Varieties of online religious experience: calendar, advent, meditation, Buddhism, Doukhobers, Holy Grail, Popol Vuh, Maya religion

ROVIN' AND RAVIN' WITH MIKE

Religiously Rovin': Internet Pilgrimages

All the links in these articles were checked and revised if necessary July 2004.

With these articles, I need especially to remind you that my ravin' does not necessarily represent the opinions of Peanut.org. None of these articles, rovin' through various religious traditions and practices, actually endorses any set of beliefs, except the belief that somehow, we are not in this enterprise of living in the universe alone. Since Worth County, Georgia (physical home of Peanut.org) is an overwhelmingly Christian community, I feel that it might be more rewarding to look at other approaches, other ideas, again going back to the main theme of my ravin', that the Internet is a great tool for expanding our experience and our understanding.

These articles may not, at first glance, seem to have much religious content, but the measuring of time has always been a special function and concern of all religious communities. Consider how such ancient sites as Stonehenge are aligned to various solar phenomena. Besides, for most of us, our personal pilgrimages are more about moving through time, moving through memory, than about moving through space.

Tricks and Treats on the Calendar

Tricks and Treats on the Calendar-The Sequel

Advent and Age

The Four Chapels of Taos

The Persistence of Memories

Most Buddhists I've known would say that Buddhism has no place in a discussion of religion, that it is, in fact, not a religion, but a way of life, a practice, even (as I've heard more than one Buddhist say) a psychology. There is something very appealing, nonetheless, about the Buddhist way, with its prescription of so simple an act as meditation (which would not, as far as I can tell, be at odds with Christian practice).

Meditation for Ordinary Life

The Yoke

Grand Old Stories, Brand New Year

An Afternoon at the Monastery

How Do You Become a Buddhist
Mothers Day for Buddhists
My Cold-Blooded Buddhist Teacher
Pure Land Buddhism
Theravada: the Oldest Buddhism
What Is a Bodhisattva?
Monks, Metta and the Myanmar Cyclone

These articles allow you first, to visit a Hindu festival, then to use modern technology to discover the sacred book of the Maya, and finally, to look into branches of Christianity that you may not be familiar with.

The Largest Number of Human Beings

Popol Vuh

Spirit Wrestlers and Grail Questers

The FLDS and the Color Red

I hope that all of my writing has some touch of spirituality. So, here is a spiritual look at the human genome... and also a look at a site that uniquely combines the instinct to give, to share, to care... with our contemporary fascination with the Internet. The last two articles don't have a specific religious content, but they do refer you to useful Bible tools, including a great piece of software and free audio recordings.

The Third Fall

Free Food on the Internet

Giving Your Computer a Voice and a Face

Heard Any Good Books (Online) Lately?

The best movies and novels have a spiritual component, not necessarily like some of the garish sword-and-sandal epics, but like these films, which inform human experience, sometimes the extremes of human experience with a reminder that there is something more to us.

Bringing Out the Dead

Dogma

Finding Graceland

Green Mile, The

End of the Affair, The

George Washington

Legend of Bagger Vance, The

Magnolia

Wherever you rove or however wildly you rave, keep your feet dry and your heart full of noble thoughts... especially, I would say, the noble thought of gratitude for all the good that we have, including the freedom to put into practice or not to put into practice our religious beliefs as our consciences dictate to us... but not as anyone else's conscience demands!

Take many more pilgrimages at the Internet Sacred Text Archive.

Donate food daily with a simple mouse click at The Hunger Site.

Rovin' & Ravin' Homepage

Graphic (above) is made up of four photos that I took of an image of the Buddha, which belonged to my Aunt Rose, an Italian-American, who, as far as I know, was not a Buddhist. Perhaps, like me, she found something appealing in the serenity of the Buddha. I find something especially appealing in having a possession of hers and in sharing it with you.