Thursday
Nov222007
My Heathen Intuition
Thu, November 22, 2007
On my last post there was a comment suggesting that most cyclists are atheists because they are out riding their bikes on Sunday instead of going to church. I get the feeling that the writer’s tongue was firmly in the cheek when the comment was made.
I do not subscribe to any particular religion but I am definitely not an atheist; I am more a devout heathen.
The Native Americans were called heathens by the early European settlers, but after making friends with several Native Americans, and from what I have learned, I believe those heathens were probably closer to their Maker than many of the early white settlers.
I find it very interesting that the spiritual beliefs of the Native American have a common thread with the Australian Aborigine, with the Celtic and ancient British people, and those of primitive tribes that exist today in various parts of the world.
Their beliefs are all closely tied with nature and they all see themselves as a part of nature rather than separate from it, or somehow above it. I find it even more amazing when I consider that these many and various cultures existed at different times in history, in different parts of the globe, and many do not have a written language.
They obviously did not learn these beliefs from other cultures. These beliefs are intuitive rather than learned, in the same way a swallow or a salmon are not taught how to find their way back to the place of their birth, but travel by instinct.
I think the problem humankind has, is that he is too intelligent for his own good. He thinks too much and reads too much second hand information, rather than following his own intuition. I find there is so much psycho-babble on the whole subject of spirituality, that it becomes almost a religion in and of itself. People quote lines from various books, like quoting text from the Bible.
I have also never had the desire to convert to a different religion. I look at another country that is predominantly of a different faith, and I ask myself. Do the people of that country have any less day-to-day problems than we do; are they happier or more content with their lives? I can't see a huge difference, so I ask myself why bother swapping one set of rules to live by, for another.
I believe this much: There is one creative source in this Universe. When I see images from Iraq on TV, I see palm trees. They look exactly the same as palm trees right here in South Carolina, so I find it logical to believe they came from the same source. I ask myself why are people killing each other over a different set of religious beliefs.
This heathen will not be in church this Thanksgiving Day; I will be out riding my bike. My bike is a machine that becomes an extension of my body, and while I am riding, I am definitely connected to the road I am riding on. I am connected to the terrain, the wind and the elements. If everything I can see, smell, and touch came from one creative source, then just maybe I will connect with this same creative source.
I also find it reasonable to believe that I came from this same creative source. I will therefore be connecting with my Maker as I ride, and giving thanks for the many blessings in my life. Some may criticize this heathen cyclist; however, I will not criticize another if they prefer to go to church.
I am not trying to convert anyone to a different belief for this simple reason. The beliefs I have is what was left when I dropped all other beliefs, and allowed my intuition to take over. Neither I nor anyone else has control over another's intuition, so I cannot convert or teach anyone anything.
I do not subscribe to any particular religion but I am definitely not an atheist; I am more a devout heathen.
The Native Americans were called heathens by the early European settlers, but after making friends with several Native Americans, and from what I have learned, I believe those heathens were probably closer to their Maker than many of the early white settlers.
I find it very interesting that the spiritual beliefs of the Native American have a common thread with the Australian Aborigine, with the Celtic and ancient British people, and those of primitive tribes that exist today in various parts of the world.
Their beliefs are all closely tied with nature and they all see themselves as a part of nature rather than separate from it, or somehow above it. I find it even more amazing when I consider that these many and various cultures existed at different times in history, in different parts of the globe, and many do not have a written language.
They obviously did not learn these beliefs from other cultures. These beliefs are intuitive rather than learned, in the same way a swallow or a salmon are not taught how to find their way back to the place of their birth, but travel by instinct.
I think the problem humankind has, is that he is too intelligent for his own good. He thinks too much and reads too much second hand information, rather than following his own intuition. I find there is so much psycho-babble on the whole subject of spirituality, that it becomes almost a religion in and of itself. People quote lines from various books, like quoting text from the Bible.
I have also never had the desire to convert to a different religion. I look at another country that is predominantly of a different faith, and I ask myself. Do the people of that country have any less day-to-day problems than we do; are they happier or more content with their lives? I can't see a huge difference, so I ask myself why bother swapping one set of rules to live by, for another.
I believe this much: There is one creative source in this Universe. When I see images from Iraq on TV, I see palm trees. They look exactly the same as palm trees right here in South Carolina, so I find it logical to believe they came from the same source. I ask myself why are people killing each other over a different set of religious beliefs.
This heathen will not be in church this Thanksgiving Day; I will be out riding my bike. My bike is a machine that becomes an extension of my body, and while I am riding, I am definitely connected to the road I am riding on. I am connected to the terrain, the wind and the elements. If everything I can see, smell, and touch came from one creative source, then just maybe I will connect with this same creative source.
I also find it reasonable to believe that I came from this same creative source. I will therefore be connecting with my Maker as I ride, and giving thanks for the many blessings in my life. Some may criticize this heathen cyclist; however, I will not criticize another if they prefer to go to church.
I am not trying to convert anyone to a different belief for this simple reason. The beliefs I have is what was left when I dropped all other beliefs, and allowed my intuition to take over. Neither I nor anyone else has control over another's intuition, so I cannot convert or teach anyone anything.
Reader Comments (14)
Happy Thanksgiving. I hope your ride is a sweet one.
This one is right on the money. I too will get out for a ride today, and be very thankful for it!
After working in the Navajo Nation and being adopted by a Hopi family on Second Mesa, my deeply engrained ideas of my own culture's 'reason' and 'rationality' were turned over. Anyway, great blog and thanks for your thoughts on Turkey Day.
Bonne route!
Why couldn't you just say that back in the fifties, when a lot of people worked 6-1/2 days a week, Sunday was the only time you could go for a full day's ride?
I've seen myself more as "Pagan" (a much derided term amongst so-called "Christians", but the ethos is similar to your description of "Heathen" (also much derided). The sensation of "one-ness" with our surroundings whilst cycling also struck a chord.
Well stated blog.
That feeling is the reason I ride. Great post.
thanks for the holiday read.
weisan
I got more spirituality out of you Prodigal Child than the religious publications I was indoctrinated with for years.
Too many religions are all too willing to “teach” it adherents, expecting them to suffer in order to be experience “salvation”.
That is where riding a bike comes in: it teaches without pretensions. You do the work, you feel and experience the rewards: a balance of being, developing your intuition, all without claiming some exclusive path to truth.
It is as individual as whoever is on the bike. And I know words fail when describing things we believe, such as intuition. Therefore that can’t be passed on through words, only experience. Yet I can read words and experience the meanings they have to me as shared by the author.
And that is the same with the existence of God, who is what he is, more experienced than known.
Wow, this could have sprang from my own head - but it wouldn't have been worded so well.
Yes, my time on the bike is my Zen-time, or my time to "commune with God", depending on whom I'm trying to describe it to. Better yet, it just is.