01 / WHAT I BELIEVE
I DON'T WALK
ONLY
ONE PATH.
“The lamps are different, but the light is the same.”
— Rumi
I don't follow one religion exclusively. My spirituality
draws from Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Shinto, and Paganism:
their teachings, practices, philosophies, and the questions
they encourage me to ask.
I believe that all religions are correct. By that, I mean
that I believe spiritual truth exists throughout religious
traditions, rather than belonging exclusively to one.
I don't think one religion possesses the whole picture
while everyone else is simply mistaken.
I recognize that traditions make different, sometimes
contradictory claims. I don't have a perfect explanation
for how those claims fit together. My belief leaves room
for the possibility that spiritual reality exceeds
what any one explanation can express.
I CAN BELIEVE THERE IS TRUTH
WITHOUT CLAIMING I UNDERSTAND
THE WHOLE FUCKING THING.
02 / DIFFERENT WAYS OF UNDERSTANDING
I CAN LEARN
WHILE KEEPING
QUESTIONS OPEN.
Some traditions recognize one God, others many deities,
and others approach ultimate reality without centering
a creator god. I can take those differences seriously
while finding meaning in more than one approach.
Each tradition develops through particular histories,
cultures, languages, and communities. I want to understand
those contexts rather than collect appealing ideas
and pretend they all mean the same thing.
My spirituality is personal. The connections I draw
describe how I approach these teachings; they do not
speak for every practitioner or resolve their disagreements.
LEARN WHERE AN IDEA COMES FROM.
LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE WHO PRACTICE IT.
ACKNOWLEDGE THE DIFFERENCES.
LEAVE ROOM TO CHANGE MY UNDERSTANDING.
03 / MY BUDDHIST FOUNDATION
START WITH
WHAT IS
ACTUALLY HERE.
Buddhism is the foundation of my spirituality.
The Four Noble Truths, Noble Eightfold Path,
mindfulness, impermanence, non-self, and compassion
influence how I understand my life.
I experience illness, loss, disappointment, uncertainty,
and change. I also notice how craving and attachment
affect my relationship with those experiences.
I want pleasant feelings to stay, unpleasant ones
to disappear, and circumstances to follow my expectations.
Buddhist practice encourages me to investigate those
reactions. What am I holding onto? What am I resisting?
What am I doing that contributes to suffering?
What could help?
UNDERSTANDING
LOOK CLOSELY.
Recognize suffering and examine
the conditions that keep it going.
PRACTICE
LIVE THE TEACHING.
Bring awareness, ethical conduct,
and compassion into my decisions.
04 / IMPERMANENCE & THE MIDDLE WAY
MY LIFE
DOESN'T STAY
IN ONE STATE.
My thoughts, emotions, body, relationships, and circumstances
change. Recognizing impermanence helps me appreciate
what is present without expecting to preserve it forever.
It also challenges the assumption that a painful experience
describes my entire future. Change may be slow, and I cannot
dictate its timing, but my current perspective
is not the only perspective I will ever have.
The Middle Way encourages me to examine extremes:
chasing pleasure until it creates problems,
or punishing myself as though suffering proves commitment.
I want a practice I can live with.
I CAN APPRECIATE WHAT IS HERE.
I CAN CARE FOR WHAT HURTS.
I CAN ALLOW THINGS TO CHANGE.
05 / METTA — LOVING-KINDNESS
GOODWILL
TAKES
PRACTICE.
Metta is one of my most important practices.
I deliberately cultivate goodwill toward myself,
people I love, people I feel neutral toward,
people I struggle with, and eventually all beings.
I offer wishes for safety, happiness, peace,
and freedom from suffering. I don't have to manufacture
a particular emotion before practicing.
I can begin with the intention.
MAY I BE SAFE.
MAY YOU BE HAPPY.
MAY WE BE FREE FROM SUFFERING.
MAY ALL BEINGS LIVE WITH GREATER EASE.
I can wish someone well while maintaining boundaries.
I can recognize their humanity while acknowledging
that their behavior caused harm.
Sometimes distance remains the responsible choice.
Metta challenges how I treat myself too.
I can acknowledge mistakes and make repairs
without concluding that I deserve endless punishment.
The care I practice toward others belongs
in my relationship with myself.
06 / GENTLENESS & BRAVERY
I CAN FACE
LIFE WITHOUT
HARDENING.
Shambhala's language of warriorship speaks to me
through courage, dignity, gentleness, and basic goodness.
I appreciate the idea that bravery can involve
acknowledging fear and remaining open.
I recognize how avoidance, aggression, or withdrawal
can become ways of protecting myself.
I want to understand those responses and develop
more freedom in how I meet uncertainty.
The genuine heart of sadness describes a tenderness
I find meaningful: allowing vulnerability
to deepen my connection with others.
I can be affected by life and still participate in it.
I CAN FEEL AFRAID.
I CAN REMAIN GENTLE.
I CAN STILL ACT WITH COURAGE.
07 / HINDUISM & SELF-INQUIRY
WHO AM I
BENEATH
THE LABELS?
Hindu teachings about Atman and Brahman encourage
me to examine the nature of identity and reality.
I am interested in the possibility of a deeper Self
beyond changing thoughts, emotions, and circumstances.
I recognize the difference between this and Buddhist
non-self. Buddhism challenges my attachment to
a permanent, independent identity. Hindu traditions
offer different accounts of the Self and its relationship
with ultimate reality.
I find both inquiries meaningful without claiming
that their answers are identical.
I can investigate what I take myself to be
and remain honest about what I do not understand.
WHAT AM I IDENTIFYING WITH?
WHAT CHANGES?
WHAT AM I ASSUMING?
08 / DHARMA, KARMA & ACTION
DO MY PART.
RELEASE
MY DEMAND.
Dharma encourages me to consider ethical responsibility
and what my circumstances ask of me.
Karma reminds me to examine my actions
and the consequences they contribute to.
Through karma yoga, I explore acting sincerely
without making my commitment depend entirely
on receiving a particular result.
MY PARTICIPATION
THE WORK.
My preparation, intentions, honesty,
effort, and willingness to follow through.
MY ATTACHMENT
THE EXPECTATION.
My demand that life reward my effort
with the exact outcome I pictured.
Equanimity helps me consider success and failure
without making either a complete verdict on my worth.
I can care about consequences while accepting
that I cannot determine everything.
09 / TAOISM & NON-FORCING
MAYBE I CAN
STOP FORCING
EVERYTHING.
Taoism encourages me to contemplate the Tao,
the Way through which existence unfolds.
Wu wei invites me to explore action that responds
appropriately to circumstances with less forcing.
Some situations call for planning and persistence.
Others require me to recognize a limit,
change my approach, or stop demanding
that reality cooperate immediately.
I appreciate the image of water:
adaptable, yielding, persistent, and capable
of tremendous strength. I want to preserve
my direction while becoming more flexible
about how I move.
WHERE IS EFFORT USEFUL?
WHERE IS RIGIDITY
MAKING THIS HARDER?
Simplicity matters too. I can question whether
more possessions, achievement, pleasure,
or control will provide the satisfaction
I keep expecting.
10 / YIN, YANG & ADJUSTMENT
BALANCE
KEEPS
MOVING.
Yin and yang give me a way to contemplate
interrelated qualities such as activity and rest,
movement and stillness, light and darkness.
Their relationship involves continual change.
I can notice which qualities a situation calls for.
Sometimes I need to act; sometimes I need rest.
Sometimes speaking helps; sometimes listening
deserves more of my attention.
This connects in my own reflection with Buddhist
impermanence and Hindu equanimity, while retaining
its distinct Taoist context.
I don't expect to reach one preferred state
and remain there indefinitely.
11 / SHINTO, PAGANISM & NATURE
THIS WORLD
DESERVES
MY REVERENCE.
Shinto and Pagan traditions connect my spiritual
reflection with the natural world.
I am drawn to practices involving gratitude,
sacred places, ancestors, deities, and spirits.
I recognize that Shinto kami, Pagan deities,
and different understandings of spirits belong
to particular traditions.
I want to learn their meanings rather than
treat them as interchangeable.
Animistic perspectives interest me because
they invite relationships with a wider community
of beings. I believe nature has spiritual significance
beyond what it provides for human use.
PAY ATTENTION TO WHERE I LIVE.
RECOGNIZE WHAT SUSTAINS ME.
APPRECIATE WITHOUT POSSESSING.
LET REVERENCE BECOME CARE.
12 / ANCESTORS & PERSONAL MEANING
THE PEOPLE
I STILL
CARRY.
Remembering my grandparents and other people
who shaped my life is part of my spirituality.
I experience that remembrance as a continuing
connection with those I love.
I COME FROM PEOPLE.
I CARRY THEIR INFLUENCE.
I CHOOSE WHAT I PASS ON.
13 / MY ALTAR & RITUALS
A PLACE
TO FUCKING
REMEMBER.
My altar gives my spiritual life a physical place.
Offerings, meaningful objects, and deliberate actions
help me express gratitude and remember
what I want to give attention to.
01
LIGHT
Candles or another source of light
can mark a moment of attention and remembrance.
02
OFFERINGS
Water, coffee, food, flowers,
or other appropriate gestures of gratitude.
03
SOUND
My singing bowl, music, or silence
can help make a moment intentional.
04
OBJECTS
Stones, crystals, photographs, and objects
connected with meaningful memories or traditions.
05
PRACTICE
Prayer, metta, contemplation,
and time spent paying attention.
06
GRATITUDE
Recognizing what I receive
and considering what I can give.
Shinto's emphasis on sincerity and Pagan teachings
about reciprocity influence how I approach this.
I want my practice to express care
rather than entitlement to a reward.
14 / RENEWAL & ACCOUNTABILITY
A NEW START
STILL NEEDS
FOLLOW-THROUGH.
I find renewal meaningful: a chance to return
with attention after disruption or neglect.
Ritual can help me acknowledge a transition
and commit to what comes next.
I still need to address what happened.
An offering cannot pay a bill, repair trust,
or take responsibility on my behalf.
My spiritual intentions need an expression
in my conduct.
I want to understand suffering, acknowledge harm,
and make repairs without turning shame
into my entire identity.
ACKNOWLEDGE.
REPAIR.
PRACTICE DIFFERENTLY.
15 / WHAT I DRAW FROM EACH PATH
DIFFERENT
TEACHINGS.
A SHARED LIFE.
These are the connections I make in my own practice.
They describe what I return to within each tradition,
rather than everything that tradition teaches.
THE IDEAS I BRING INTO MY DAILY LIFE
| PATH |
WHAT I PRACTICE |
| BUDDHISM |
Mindfulness, understanding suffering,
metta, compassion, and loosening attachment.
|
| HINDUISM |
Self-inquiry, dharma, responsibility,
devotion, and action without attachment to results.
|
| TAOISM |
Flexibility, simplicity, non-forcing,
and responding to changing circumstances.
|
| SHINTO |
Sincerity, gratitude, renewal,
and respect for sacred relationships and places.
|
| PAGANISM |
Reciprocity, nature-centered ritual,
ancestral remembrance, and seasonal awareness.
|
Buddhist non-self and Hindu Atman remain different
teachings. The Tao is not simply another name
for Brahman. I can appreciate several perspectives
while acknowledging where they diverge.
16 / DISCERNMENT & MYSTERY
I CAN BELIEVE.
I CAN ALSO
QUESTION.
I believe spiritual practice requires discernment.
My thoughts, feelings, and interpretations
deserve examination, including when they
feel especially meaningful.
I can appreciate an experience without immediately
deciding it contains an instruction.
I can recognize a coincidence, feel moved,
and leave its explanation open.
WHAT DID I ACTUALLY EXPERIENCE?
WHAT AM I INFERRING?
WHAT ELSE MIGHT EXPLAIN IT?
WHAT DO I NEED TO CHECK?
My spirituality belongs alongside treatment,
practical information, and trusted support.
I can remain open to spiritual possibilities
while acknowledging the limits of my judgment.
WONDER CAN LEAVE ROOM
FOR “I DON'T FUCKING KNOW.”
17 / SPIRITUALITY & RECOVERY
CONNECTION
GIVES ME
PERSPECTIVE.
Recovery gives these teachings a place in
my actual life. I can ask for help, accept limits,
examine my intentions, and consider
what my choices contribute to.
A Higher Power, for me, does not require
adopting someone else's exact understanding of God.
I can begin by recognizing that my immediate
thoughts and desires are part of a much larger world.
My spirituality supports the work I still have to do:
staying honest, participating in care,
honoring commitments, and dealing with consequences.
It also helps me remember what I want
to remain present for.
18 / WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE
BRING IT
INTO MY
EVERYDAY LIFE.
Understanding an idea and living it are different
kinds of work. I can value nonattachment and still cling.
I can practice metta and still become angry.
My practice gives me somewhere to return.
01
Practice metta toward myself
and other beings.
02
Notice nature from wherever
my body allows me to be.
03
Tend my altar and make
meaningful offerings.
04
Study traditions with attention
to their differences and histories.
05
Remember my ancestors
and examine what I carry forward.
06
Ask where effort helps
and where I am forcing an outcome.
07
Take responsibility and accept
support when I need it.
08
Leave room for uncertainty,
reflection, and changing my mind.
AWARENESS. COMPASSION.
RESPONSIBILITY. CONNECTION.
MANY PATHS.
MY OWN
WAY.
I want to understand suffering without becoming consumed
by it. I want to take responsibility without making shame
my identity. I want to care for the world and remain open
to what I have yet to understand.
I believe there are many paths to spiritual truth.
I don't believe I have to walk only one.
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