Hello from someone searching...

Greetings,

I'm Christin from New York, and am grateful to be a part of these forums.

I was born and raised a Protestant, but lost my faith as a young woman when I came out as gay and was rejected by my parents and my church. Since then (about 10 years ago), both my parents and my church have come a long way, but my religious leanings have nevertheless been forever changed.

As of right now, in the spirit of full honesty, I must admit I am somewhat of an agnostic. I have found the most profound peace in yoga and meditation within the past 3 years or so, but have not spent much time studying the Gita or attempting to transition into a new faith.

I feel that there is something greater than ourselves out there, whether it is God or something else, but I'm not sure. I'm a doctoral student in psychology, so I spend a lot of time studying philosophy and just generally thinking about existence, and I'm not quite ready to believe that something happens to our souls after we die - that is, right now I feel that we may just die. But this doesn't have to be terrifying! Just as we didn't care too much about the fact that we didn't exist before we were born, I suppose that once we die, it may not bother us terribly.

Anyway! Not trying to be overly morbid in my first interactions here, but just trying to give folks a feel for where my head is. I'm a thinker. I'm open to new ideas, and will challenge those ideas I feel lack support and/or logic. I'm a researcher and so I'm wed to evidence...

And yet, yoga has provided me with peace. Not just concretely - not just in my body, my muscles - not even just in my brain. Yoga gives me peace in my mind. It gives me quiet. Stillness. It helps me breathe. It reminds me to smile even when it hurts. And it teaches me to slowwwwww down.

This is where my name in this forum comes from. I may not have studied the Gita, but a man named Thich Nhat Hanh has spoken to me through his wise books. He says, "Smile, breathe and go slowly." And so I try.

I look forward to learning from you all,
Christin

Vannakkam smile : Good advice there. Welcome to HDF, and I hope your time here is well spent, as it is in the Yoga studio.

Aum Namasivaya

Namasté,

Welcome, Christin. I too was raised Protestant and later discovered Hindu philosophy by way of physical yoga practice. I hope that you will find this forum as welcoming, challenging, and educational as I have. :)

Indraneela
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Oṁ Indrāya Namaḥ.
Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya.

Welcome! Do not fret about what happens to your soul, the peace you feel from Yoga is your atman coming out to say hello.

In hinduism - one never dies (in literal sense). One only leaves the body i.e. death is the incident when the mind leaves the body.

It is mind which "I" lives through. It is state of mind we need to culture and nurture towards better state.

Neither we are answerable to a seperate God. We are constituents of the whole system which has been named as God. Hinduism teaches (not preaching) us to understand this fact logically. We are supposed to question till we get the facts right.

So take charge of yourself, make yourself knowledgeable and act accordingly. :)