Damus
Alan ₿ profile picture
Alan ₿
@alanbwt
My story —

Grew up in a Catholic family. Went to mass every Sunday. Believed in God as it was portrayed by the Church.

As a teenager, I began questioning religious dogma, and came to the conclusion that it’s all nonsense. There is no God. There is no afterlife. Credulous people are simply engaging in wishful thinking, as a way of coping for their inevitable death. I became a staunch atheist, and scoffed at religious people all through University.

As an adult, I started exploring Eastern philosophy and religions, starting with the Bhagavad Gita. This led me to the works of Alan Watts. I realized I was missing half the picture. God needn’t be thought of as some external ruler pulling the strings from afar. God is better thought of as the divine essence that dwells within every being and non-being. In this sense, it’s true that you cannot die, because “you” are everywhere and everything. In the words of Alan Watts, “You are IT” aka “Tat Tvam Asi.”

At the same time as I was reading Alan Watts, I had a series of profound religious experiences of my own, wherein I experienced the oneness of being firsthand, which eviscerated any strains of atheism or alienation from existence itself altogether.

This search for the Truth continued, and is what has led me to #Bitcoin.

So if you are reading this, and are an atheist, all I can say is that you are on the right path — and that it’s good to question every assumption — but you are not there yet. Keep searching.
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HODL · 139w
I’m currently stuck somewhere in agnostic land. Literalism and low IQ / mean Christians drove me away from Christianity. “I like your Christ but not your Christians. Your Christian’s are so unlike your Christ.” -Ghandi Buddhism made sense after many psychedelic voyages. Am largely sympa...
fridgemagnet · 139w
Déjà vu, very similar story and have stumbled across Alan watts this year. His work has resonated so much, that I’m about to buy his books!! Thanks for sharing your journey
Edward · 139w
I had a very similar journey as you except after learning eastern spirituality and teachings, I went back to my Catholic faith. Still finding my way, and my understanding of God and spirituality has evolved and matured since I was younger. My biggest issue with eastern spirituality is equating one...
feline · 139w
Interesting journey. Will do some research on Alan Watts, thanks for sharing! I previously read Gita too, the one with commentary from S. Radhakrishnan. It is a great book, I think it is time to re-read that again...
Anchorite · 139w
bota.org is what triggered my spiritual experiences. It's Christian mysticism but incorporates many teachings from the Gita. Check out "Spirit of the Upanishads," recommended in the coursework. https://www.yogebooks.com/english/atkinson/1907-01upanishads.pdf
Zombie Node · 139w
Nice story. I’ve had some religious experiences, grew up in evangelistic churces. Turned to agnosticism when I realized my prayers were not being answered or acknowledged, and it’s not like I was praying for a lot of Bitcoin. More like that my ex wife would listen to me and stop abusing my son. ...
The Big D-Base · 139w
I was an atheist until I met the Devil... It was a fat nurse with an N95 mask chasing my kids with a syringe. We are all sinners and have all been deceived.
SystemOptOut · 138w
Alan and Terrence McKenna have some divergent views on religion but are two of the most incredible, down to earth geniuses humanity has ever produced.. there are many paths to the big tree of true... enjoy walking whichever you find yourself traveling on, bc it is YOUR path, and it couldn't be any o...
pv · 138w
Had the experiences of oneness 3weeks ago, since then i felt much love for everything and have a light pressure in my third eye. Still figuring things out but i feel really good. The thing that started my understanding was the law of one series on youtube by aaron abke: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v...
Sourcenode · 126w
My path was nearly the same, minus being brought up Catholic. Alan Watts had a profound impact on me and helped me launch my own journey.