Nature religions

[Gerald Wilgus]

I have always been awed by the natural world and the mechanics of the universe.

Humankind is a part of nature and its cyclic processes. I think many people tend to forget that, living as most do in built-up areas without connection to our natural surroundings - being bricked up against the elements, we tend to lose touch with them.

As humans, we are extremely limited in our physical senses - there is so much going on around us, sights and sounds of which we are absolutely unaware. Discovering that these things exist and how (and why) such natural processes function might be felt to be a spiritual endeavour in and of itself, in that discovery often triggers an inner awakening in the form of knowledge - a kind of euphoria (that eureka moment) that can be said to alter the minds and psyches of those who come into understanding - expanding in comprehension from that point onward.

As scientists, it is possible to explore nature in all its glory and in doing so it does tend to instil a sense of awe (or at the very least, understanding and respect) for all creation.

“An experiment is a question which science poses to Nature, and a measurement is the recording of Nature’s answer.” – Max Planck

For me, I sometimes think that sentient life is the cosmos becoming aware.

 

[Alexandria]

For me, I sometimes think that sentient life is the cosmos becoming aware.

You're not alone in that thought, @Gerald Wilgus. Hypothetically speaking, perhaps it already is!
Can our brains help prove the universe is conscious?

 

[Ken]

I think you have found the ability to meditate through nature. I see myself as spiritual, not religious and have at times experience what you feel, a near pantheistic oneness with the natural world. I have even used hikes as a type of walking meditation of being present in the now.

Indeed, pantheism is a religious doctrine that considers god to be the universe itself, incorporating all elements of the universe.

Pantheism - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Kemetic]

@Duna I'm kind of a nature worshipper, in a sense.
I'm a pagan and I worship the Deities of Ancient Egypt. I interpret this religion, for myself, as an essentially animistic religion. A pharao is just a tribal shaman with an empire and a big pile of gold.
The deities and myths are metaphors for natural phenomena and human archetypes. Land, water, animals and humans - everything is part of the same world, and the divine can manifest in even a modest and unexpected shape (come one, who else has Gods that are mice, beetles or bricks?)
It's difficult to describe, actually. I just feel that the Egyptian religious concepts give me a "language" to talk with all the non-human parts of the natural world.

In English, I only know specifically Kemetic(=Egyptian ) pagan online communities. There's a great pagan forum I know, PanPagan, but it's in German

PanPagan-Das Portal für Heiden | Mehr als nur ein Forum

Das PanPagan-Forum beschäftigt sich mit dem Glauben, den Kulten und Riten von nicht-abrahaminischen, vielfach polytheistischen Religionen sowohl von persönlichen als auch historischen Standpunkten aus. In unseren Themenbereichen finden sich primär europäische (germanisch, keltisch, römisch...

www.panpagan.com

 

[Forest Cat]

@Duna I'm kind of a nature worshipper, in a sense.
I'm a pagan and I worship the Deities of Ancient Egypt. I interpret this religion, for myself, as an essentially animistic religion. A pharao is just a tribal shaman with an empire and a big pile of gold.
The deities and myths are metaphors for natural phenomena and human archetypes. Land, water, animals and humans - everything is part of the same world, and the divine can manifest in even a modest and unexpected shape (come one, who else has Gods that are mice, beetles or bricks?)
It's difficult to describe, actually. I just feel that the Egyptian religious concepts give me a "language" to talk with all the non-human parts of the natural world.

In English, I only know specifically Kemetic(=Egyptian ) pagan online communities. There's a great pagan forum I know, PanPagan, but it's in German

PanPagan-Das Portal für Heiden | Mehr als nur ein Forum

Das PanPagan-Forum beschäftigt sich mit dem Glauben, den Kulten und Riten von nicht-abrahaminischen, vielfach polytheistischen Religionen sowohl von persönlichen als auch historischen Standpunkten aus. In unseren Themenbereichen finden sich primär europäische (germanisch, keltisch, römisch...

www.panpagan.com

The Åsatru religion is fun for the whole family. A good old fashion laid-back pagan religion with good food and good times for heathens. And nature is a big deal in it. There's a Åsatru meeting close to where I live now and then, that's always fun.

Asatru - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

simple.wikipedia.org

 

[Duna]

@Duna I'm kind of a nature worshipper, in a sense.
I'm a pagan and I worship the Deities of Ancient Egypt. I interpret this religion, for myself, as an essentially animistic religion. A pharao is just a tribal shaman with an empire and a big pile of gold.
The deities and myths are metaphors for natural phenomena and human archetypes. Land, water, animals and humans - everything is part of the same world, and the divine can manifest in even a modest and unexpected shape (come one, who else has Gods that are mice, beetles or bricks?)
It's difficult to describe, actually. I just feel that the Egyptian religious concepts give me a "language" to talk with all the non-human parts of the natural world.

In English, I only know specifically Kemetic(=Egyptian ) pagan online communities. There's a great pagan forum I know, PanPagan, but it's in German

PanPagan-Das Portal für Heiden | Mehr als nur ein Forum

Das PanPagan-Forum beschäftigt sich mit dem Glauben, den Kulten und Riten von nicht-abrahaminischen, vielfach polytheistischen Religionen sowohl von persönlichen als auch historischen Standpunkten aus. In unseren Themenbereichen finden sich primär europäische (germanisch, keltisch, römisch...

www.panpagan.com

Wow, that's interesting. Never thought much about the Egyptian belief system, other than I thought about the Roman or Greek, all very civilized societies in their time.
Thanks for the link, I will look it up (German's no problem)

 

[Kemetic]

The Åsatru religion is fun for the whole family. A good old fashion laid-back pagan religion with good food and good times for heathens. And nature is a big deal in it.

True, but for some reason it never resonated with me, even though it would be the obvious choice based on my country of birth. And there's just such a small number of actual ancient sources - and I'm a nerd, I just appreciate that we have a huge amount of religious and philosophic literature from Egypt that dates back as far as the 3rd millennium BCE.

 

[Outdated]

I love the quote at the beginning of this track, I think it says it all:

 

[330]

The Åsatru religion is fun for the whole family. A good old fashion laid-back pagan religion with good food and good times for heathens. And nature is a big deal in it. There's a Åsatru meeting close to where I live now and then, that's always fun.

Asatru - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

simple.wikipedia.org

I have dabbled in this when I was younger . Still have my runes

 

[Duna]

The Åsatru religion is fun for the whole family. A good old fashion laid-back pagan religion with good food and good times for heathens. And nature is a big deal in it. There's a Åsatru meeting close to where I live now and then, that's always fun.

Asatru - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

simple.wikipedia.org

I've known people who were into Asatru, very cool. Had a lot of fun, until we got arrested because a few were too much into the Germanic thing, and that was while I was living in Germany where anything that can be remotely be connected to 1930-1945 is tabu.

 

[Duna]

I love the quote at the beginning of this track, I think it says it all:

I was granted just a glimpse into Australian Aboriginal culture, but it had a great impact on me!

 

[Kemetic]

Wow, that's interesting. Never thought much about the Egyptian belief system, other than I thought about the Roman or Greek, all very civilized societies in their time.
Thanks for the link, I will look it up (German's no problem)

Egyptian religion is a lot more subtle and complex than the simplified bits you find on most documentaries or websites. Forget all the pyramids and all the gold: the texts are the real treasure.

PanPagan has a relatively small number of active members, and they are very diverse, but most of them have an affinity for nature. And they are, on the whole, a well-educated bunch of people with lots of knowledge in their respective traditions. I'm sure you can get some interesting ideas and concepts if you check the archive and perhaps start your own thread.

 

[Gerald Wilgus]

I was never religious, not even a deist. The things of which I can be certain of is that the Cosmos is naturalistic and materialistic. I am not moral, but I am ethical. The closest I come to religion is Buddhism stripped of the superstition.

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

I have a strong connection with natural plants, especially trees, water, especially rivers, animals, rocks and weather. The divine can be found in all.