Since you know nothing about my childhood (or anyone else's here), you shouldn't cast aspersions on it (or anyone else's here) based on no evidence.
Besides, the idea that childhood traumas cause problems later in life is probably overrated in the United States.
What we know for sure is that far more Europeans, Canadians, and East Asians are free from religion than Americans, Mexicans, Arabs, and so on. Generally speaking, the richer a country is, the less religious it is (the United States, where only scientists, Jewish Americans, and Asian Americans are largely irreligious, being among few exceptions).
>Hostile isn't the word; more like contemptuous.
It seems to me that you are a lot of contemptuous toward actually-existing religions (which are all organized -- otherwise, they don't last very long) than I am, the only "religious experience" that you cherish being fleeting private experiences of your own.
>Also, I have not been able to get my meaning across very well if she
>talks about this:
>
>" you may even find what looks (to outsiders) like senseless dogmas
>and rituals are actually time-tested ways to discipline bodies and
>minds in such a way that you would be able to achieve an experience
>"beyond labels, language, images, anticipations, attachments" as you
>put it."
>
>How can any dogma or ritual (which is old) get you to the truth
>(which is always new)? Why would it be necessary to discipline the
>body? What's wrong with the body?
Nothing is wrong with the body. Disciplining the body is not the same as torturing and bruising it. It is just that the mind is not independent of the body: e.g., "Peripheral beta-endorphin level and pain perception are modulated by intensive physical exercise and by regular physical, but not by mental training" (O. Øktedalen, E.E. Solberg, A.H. Haugen, and P.K. Opstad, "The Influence of Physical and Mental Training on Plasma Beta-endorphin Level and Pain Perception after Intensive Physical Exercise," Stress and Health 17.2, <http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/jws/smi/2001/00000017/00000002/art00892>, March 2001); and "[F]or many variables there is now ample evidence that a definite relationship exists between exercise and improved mental health. This is particularly evident in the case of a reduction of anxiety and depression. For these topics, there is now considerable evidence derived from over hundreds of studies with thousands of subjects to support the claim that 'exercise is related to a relief in symptoms of depression and anxiety'" (Daniel M. Landers, "The Influence of Exercise on Mental Health," <http://www.fitness.gov/mentalhealth.htm>). Dancers, athletes, etc. all discipline their bodies to achieve the state in which it is impossible to "know the dancer from the dance." Some of the established religious practices can help you do the same.
Here's an interesting article:
<blockquote>A cohort study was done on 1396 deaths seen among 4352 Japanese male Zen priests during a follow up period from 1 January 1955 to 31 December 1978. Standardised mortality ratios were computed for major causes of death by comparing with the counterparts of the general Japanese male population. The SMR for all causes of death was 0.82 (p less than 0.001) and the SMR values for cerebrovascular diseases, pneumonia and bronchitis, peptic ulcer, liver cirrhosis, cancer of the respiratory organs, and cancer of the lung were all significantly smaller than unity. Taking regional mortality differences into account, a similar computation was made dividing the cohort into two subcohorts-- that is, the priests living in eastern Japan and those in western Japan. Both subcohorts showed a highly significantly smaller SMR than unity for all causes of death. With the exception of only a few causes of death for which the observed number of deaths was small, they also showed such reduced SMRs for nearly all of the causes of death tested. A questionnaire survey on the current life style of active priests showed that they smoke less, eat less, meat and fish as they follow the more traditional Japanese dietary habits, and live in less polluted areas, but their drinking habits do not differ much from that of the average Japanese adult man. Possible reasons for their reduced mortality are discussed. (M. Ogata, M. Ikeda and M. Kuratsune, "Mortality among Japanese Zen Priests," Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 38.2, <http://jech.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/abstract/38/2/161>, 1984)</blockquote>
Dogmas and rituals aren't necessarily old. Nor are truths always new. New studies of old dogmas and rituals may discover scientific grounds for physical and mental health benefits of old religious dogmas and rituals (like eating less, sticking to traditional diets, etc.). -- Yoshie
* Critical Montages: <http://montages.blogspot.com/> * Monthly Review: <http://monthlyreview.org/> * Greens for Nader: <http://greensfornader.net/> * Bring Them Home Now! <http://www.bringthemhomenow.org/> * Calendars of Events in Columbus: <http://sif.org.ohio-state.edu/calendar.html>, <http://www.freepress.org/calendar.php>, & <http://www.cpanews.org/> * Student International Forum: <http://sif.org.ohio-state.edu/> * Committee for Justice in Palestine: <http://www.osudivest.org/> * Al-Awda-Ohio: <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Al-Awda-Ohio> * Solidarity: <http://www.solidarity-us.org/>