the more i read through topics and subjects on spirituality in general i never find things for people in my age bracket. what age did you all begin to be "spiritual"? i've wanted to visit china since i could remember and was always interested in their lifestyle and meditation as well. i physically tried meditating around 15-16 and i've been jumping around since. not that it's been that long ago as i'm only 17 now. it feels as if i'm in this boat alone, eh?
a concern about my age comes with the seminars and workshops to... in another 3 months or so i will have completed my half a year vow to only practice my meditation and wall gazing. i wish to attend (wishful thinking here) a kunlun seminar or workshop after. the idea of being 17 years old in a workshop with people 25+ seems to not add up to well in my head. this is what makes me not want to visit local gurus, as i have found a few. any advice?
Full Version: age
QUOTE(mantis @ Oct 7 2007, 10:43 PM) 
the more i read through topics and subjects on spirituality in general i never find things for people in my age bracket. what age did you all begin to be "spiritual"? i've wanted to visit china since i could remember and was always interested in their lifestyle and meditation as well. i physically tried meditating around 15-16 and i've been jumping around since. not that it's been that long ago as i'm only 17 now. it feels as if i'm in this boat alone, eh?
a concern about my age comes with the seminars and workshops to... in another 3 months or so i will have completed my half a year vow to only practice my meditation and wall gazing. i wish to attend (wishful thinking here) a kunlun seminar or workshop after. the idea of being 17 years old in a workshop with people 25+ seems to not add up to well in my head.
we seem to be at odds more often than aligned on this board, no doubt unnecessarily.
my spiritual seeking began at age 9, i think. the deep and serious longing which led to me to eventually spending night after night wandering open fields at the age of 12.
i had always wished that i would find some adult out there, just one night, who understood what i was drawn to and could explain it to me.
that never happened.
now part of my personal mission is to be that guy that i was looking for as a child.
and about kunlun:
who gives a shit! seriously. you're there for you, and you might get more out of it than all of those 25+ people combined! most of the people there will be wishing that they'd begun their journey as early as you did. i promise you.
my only criticism is that i think you're too young to start closing your mind by making absolute claims about what you believe at this point. i don't think that can do anything but hurt your development.
but besides that, it should be fairly obvious that i've (for whatever reason) taken a liking to you. i hope to see you evolve and blow right past all of us who might intimidate you right now with our rhetoric. but for that to happen your mind has to remain open.
i'm 32, and i still try to do my best not to make absolute claims. always open to reconsider all things.
QUOTE(mantis @ Oct 8 2007, 01:43 AM)
what age did you all begin to be "spiritual"?
I was much more attuned spiritually in my teens - then dealing with the day-to-day reality of college, career, and marriage sort of pulled me in another direction. It's only been since I've turned forty that I've really gotten back into "it".
.............
QUOTE(rain @ Oct 8 2007, 01:16 AM)
first memory, 4 years old, the island by my grandparents grave, sulking
"i don't like everybody"..a spiritual encounter with nature and fear prompted by the dissolving of self.
14. poetry. existensialism. surrealism. art. please let go of me.
judo intentionally chosen because it was a sport
then yoga. 1979. she's a little strange.
friends, love, college, music, love, friends, university, love, party, job friends, party, study, clubbing, study, job. dreamwork, regression. healing. being in the woods hurt my head, walking in the mountains made my whole body ache. going to family reunions was nightmare. my father forgive them, they don't know what they're doing. head 360 dgr mental spin. i have to get down. understanding my mothers life and line, seing my fathers life and line, our family. wiser.
yin yang. object subject. new education.
a little bit older a little bit more confused.
more yoga. meditation. new education. no job. art. kundalinirise, job. no job. art. job. love.
pregnant. who shut my brain off? down. earth. silence. no sleep. secondary in own life. bliss. little things.
i have to use my hands. art. bodywork. crying. energy blocks removed. "breathe bitch". work. breathe.
everyday love, passion, hate. fight, you tricked me. compassion, love. forgive me for i've sinned. i promised myself i would not do as my parents, now i am right here repating it all, forgive me. art. slower slower slower. martial art. i finally start laughing again. i am an idiot. hahahahaha. qigong. yoga. meditation. jing. shen. physical. work. routines. caring for my old folks. discipline. bodywork. silence.
silence
"you look so good, not your age at all"
ahh well...sigh..... i'm working on it..
beautiful!!
I think we're in relatively the same boat, and If you want to talk to someone else our age who is more experienced than me send rainbow a PM. I have found that most teachers I have encountered are very open to teaching younger students. There is a local Tai Chi instructor who has offered to teach rainbow and I once a week, just because he wants to get people started at a younger age. I agree with Hundun that you should keep an open mind about everything you practice, and don't get stuck with just one set of ideas. I have changed my mind more times than I can count over the past couple of years, starting with voluntary confirmation class in a congregational church and ending up here.
Good luck with everything, and hopefully we can stay in touch!
-Flynn
Good luck with everything, and hopefully we can stay in touch!
-Flynn
QUOTE(rain @ Oct 8 2007, 01:16 AM)
first memory, 4 years old, the island by my grandparents grave, sulking
"i don't like everybody"..a spiritual encounter with nature and fear prompted by the dissolving of self.
14. poetry. existensialism. surrealism. art. please let go of me.
judo intentionally chosen because it was a sport
then yoga. 1979. she's a little strange.
friends, love, college, music, love, friends, university, love, party, job friends, party, study, clubbing, study, job. dreamwork, regression. healing. being in the woods hurt my head, walking in the mountains made my whole body ache. going to family reunions was nightmare. my father forgive them, they don't know what they're doing. head 360 dgr mental spin. i have to get down. understanding my mothers life and line, seing my fathers life and line, our family. wiser.
yin yang. object subject. new education.
a little bit older a little bit more confused.
more yoga. meditation. new education. no job. art. kundalinirise, job. no job. art. job. love.
pregnant. who shut my brain off? down. earth. silence. no sleep. secondary in own life. bliss. little things.
i have to use my hands. art. bodywork. crying. energy blocks removed. "breathe bitch". work. breathe.
everyday love, passion, hate. fight, you tricked me. compassion, love. forgive me for i've sinned. i promised myself i would not do as my parents, now i am right here repating it all, forgive me. art. slower slower slower. martial art. i finally start laughing again. i am an idiot. hahahahaha. qigong. yoga. meditation. jing. shen. physical. work. routines. caring for my old folks. discipline. bodywork. silence.
silence
"you look so good, not your age at all"
ahh well...sigh..... i'm working on it..
damn, rain.
i think i just fell in love.
thank you for all the advice guys. i too have noticed hundun - it's as if you're a big brother to me in this process, i thank you. after i finish my vow i will begin looking further into local teachers and possibly raising some money to attend seminars that interest me.
flynn, that is great news! i at times get discouraged since i figure no one around me is interested into the spiritual qualities of life, i can imagine it is the same for you. just as cameron said, i believe the school system should include a form of meditation at the bare minimum to get people familiarized with their spiritual side. it's a damn shame really.
flynn, that is great news! i at times get discouraged since i figure no one around me is interested into the spiritual qualities of life, i can imagine it is the same for you. just as cameron said, i believe the school system should include a form of meditation at the bare minimum to get people familiarized with their spiritual side. it's a damn shame really.
QUOTE(mantis @ Oct 8 2007, 07:43 AM)
the more i read through topics and subjects on spirituality in general i never find things for people in my age bracket. what age did you all begin to be "spiritual"? i've wanted to visit china since i could remember and was always interested in their lifestyle and meditation as well. i physically tried meditating around 15-16 and i've been jumping around since. not that it's been that long ago as i'm only 17 now. it feels as if i'm in this boat alone, eh?
I`m not sure what you mean by spiritual, but in this life I consider the start of my "journey" when I was 10. I think I met only two people with similar interests (so to speak) until I was 16. And these two were much older than me (about 20+). When I was 16 I met more people that had similar interests, but they were all at least 5 years older. Now I`m 20 and still haven`t met anyone my age (let alone younger) with such interests. Well, except one of my now ex schoolmates at the university who`s learning Thai massage (and his birthday is two days before mine haha), though that may not count.
QUOTE
a concern about my age comes with the seminars and workshops to... in another 3 months or so i will have completed my half a year vow to only practice my meditation and wall gazing. i wish to attend (wishful thinking here) a kunlun seminar or workshop after. the idea of being 17 years old in a workshop with people 25+ seems to not add up to well in my head. this is what makes me not want to visit local gurus, as i have found a few. any advice?
Why does it not add up well? When I go to seminars in Italy, there`s only one there guy who`s about 25, all the others are around 35 or more I think. And I`m just fine. In fact I feel younger than when I`m at home and I like it hahahah.
What kind of gurus? You have to be careful with that, examine the guru thoroughly. Unless if maybe there is someone well known and acknowledged (and even then don`t leave your common sense at home right away).
well there is a local taoist tai chi group at http://miami.florida.usa.taoist.org/ but what interests me is that there is a kriya yoga center down in homestead which is really only a 20-30 minute drive. allegedly once i graduate high school i'll get my car so that wouldn't be too much of a hassle.
i don't think it'd add up because i know i'd be treated differently in person because of my age.
i don't think it'd add up because i know i'd be treated differently in person because of my age.
I think it's best to focus on the positive aspects of whatever the external circumstance is at hand and also to remember that those circumstances are only the tip of the iceberg. Life is short, make it sweet!
age, smage....I say go where you feel drawn, and don't worry too much about what age you are or anybody else is. Yeah, some people might treat you different but hey, that's their deal. Two stories. Me (41) and my friend Noran (50) once decided to attend a gymnastics class that was supposedly open to adults. Well turns out adult meant 12-19 but they let us in one time anyways. Felt kind of weird tumbling with teens, but you know what, we had a blast. Another time went with my mom (60) out to this local Cuban hotspot. Everybody else was in their 20s, and my mom thought I might be embarrased to be with her. I told her I couldn't care less how old everybody was, I wanted to take her because they have the best chocolate cake in town.
I have been very interested in spiritual subjects since my teenage years as well. Don't think that's that uncommon. Sounds like you know something about who you are, and the direction you'd like to be heading. That's a beautiful thing at any age.
Right now you'll likely be the youngest person at some of the spiritual workshops you'd like to attend. With luck you'll soon be at the median age of the workshop attendees, and perhaps eventually graduate to being by far the oldest spiritual seeker of your group. Whatever....Enjoy yourself.
I have been very interested in spiritual subjects since my teenage years as well. Don't think that's that uncommon. Sounds like you know something about who you are, and the direction you'd like to be heading. That's a beautiful thing at any age.
Right now you'll likely be the youngest person at some of the spiritual workshops you'd like to attend. With luck you'll soon be at the median age of the workshop attendees, and perhaps eventually graduate to being by far the oldest spiritual seeker of your group. Whatever....Enjoy yourself.
QUOTE(mantis @ Oct 8 2007, 01:52 PM)
just as cameron said, i believe the school system should include a form of meditation at the bare minimum to get people familiarized with their spiritual side.
Actually some school systems are starting to teach meditation. It helps to calm kids down and improve their focus.
i'm willing to bet it's because of the surge of "ADHD" not to actually get people into spirituality.
QUOTE(mantis @ Oct 8 2007, 08:12 PM)
i'm willing to bet it's because of the surge of "ADHD" not to actually get people into spirituality.
Yes - that's probably true, but it's still better than medicated kids. Spirituality is such an individual thing I don't think it can be taught in schools. Everyone's path is different.
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