I've been having a lot of fun working on my Fractal Cult (http://www.principiadiscordia.com/forum/index.php?topic=27138.0). Yesterday I strung together the inklings of a pamphlet (http://www.scribd.com/doc/42678527/Fractal-Cult-Pamphlet-DRAFT-1) about it, printed it out, and left it in my bathroom, thereby making it REAL.
There's something very rewarding about generating a belief system that is really personalized to your own nervous system. I intend on developing my fractal cult idea until it's driven me totally crazy, and then maybe I'll write a pamphlet denouncing it.
I want MORE. More short-term religions. I want to go totally batshit believing something crazy, then in two weeks spin the wheel and believe something else entirely.
So here is my challenge to you:Invent your own microreligion, something that can be described in 1-5 pages or less.Here are some things you may or may not want to include:
- Symbolism
- Holidays, traditions, ceremonies
- Holy Figures
- What does a member of this religion do?
- Mythological Framework which explains the relevant parts of the universe and how they work
- How to Join
Tip: a good way to open is to describe a problem or tension that people may be having, and then introduce your idea as a means of resolving that tension.
Alright-- then what?If we get a good collection of these we will release them as a booklet or issue of Intermittens.
One of the pitches that I've been mulling over is a call to Atheists. There are tons of Atheists these days, and I want to sell them the idea that it's okay to believe something, even if you know it's not literally true, as long as acting like its true is
fun or
beneficial. There's no reason to be hung up on
being right, it's much more rewarding to be
having more fun than other people.
for my part, I promise that if your religion sounds cool or intriguing or could springboard me into an interesting place, I'll subscribe to it for a while.
:lulz:
Coyote is pleased.
also: you don't need to come to the table with a fully fleshed out idea.
200-500 words is more than enough to give us the gist of it, and we can hash out the details ITT
I'll do a 'worship of memes' one. Basic precepts revolve around the idea that memes are the key part of human perception of the world, and by creating, spreading, and modifying them, you can bend the world to your wishes and gain true ultimate power and all of that. Expect a full writeup in the next few days once my plate is clear; for now this is a placeholder and a declaration of intent.
Quote from: Gray Jester on November 16, 2010, 05:52:25 PM
I'll do a 'worship of memes' one. Basic precepts revolve around the idea that memes are the key part of human perception of the world, and by creating, spreading, and modifying them, you can bend the world to your wishes and gain true ultimate power and all of that. Expect a full writeup in the next few days once my plate is clear; for now this is a placeholder and a declaration of intent.
I'm digging it
I think I'm already in that cult to some extent
here's my spin: (and this is just my take, you can use it however you want, or not, no foul either way)
human beings are essentially extremely complicated meme aggregators. We are the environment in which their natural selection takes place.
information is the real life on this planet, we are just the meat it uses to reproduce - this is not a purely related to humanity, it has been going on since amino acids first bumped into each other in the wild primordial ocean.
they are the paint and we are the canvas
Over time they have managed to transfer themselves into higher and higher levels of coherence
language was a giant jump for them, it allowed them to become more specialized and specific.
the written word was a gigantic jump, it allowed them to encapsulate themselves like dormant bacteria -- it allows them to survive for periods of time without a host, and make ridiculous amounts of high fidelity copies of themselves.
in this model, corporations and governments and religions are like gigantic superorganisms
meta biological organisms
anyway, that's my crackpot rambling on memes.
oh, & related thread: http://www.principiadiscordia.com/forum/index.php?topic=26428.0
Woo, syncrisity!
I have another three weeks of work, but this is essentially what I'm working on in the Cressing Thread, in a way.
http://www.principiadiscordia.com/forum/index.php?topic=27369.0
I'm trying to develop a set of structures based on ideas of narrative, presented through the medium of narrative.
The spiel;
Cressing
We understand much of our life through the use of narratives. We develop stories about our lives that help us define who we are and what we do. 'The day I realised I was an atheist', 'the first time I felt fear', 'the reason I like tea', 'the day I met the one for me', 'I used to be a liberal until...' and so on, are examples of life events arranged in ways that represent narratives. They are stories we use to help explain elements of our personality. When a story is so repeatable and important to an aspect of our selves, ideologies or beliefs that it is indispensable to that element, we call it a mythology. These terms are not implicative of an absence of truth, just suggestive of truth arranged in specific patterns.
Cressing is a three pronged approach to using narratives in conscious life.
1: Synthesising. This is about making sense of your life by identifying the events that have brought you to where you are now. Cressing assumes all patterns/narratives to be essentially constructions, so developing partially consciously fictional narratives is appropriate. For example, I help the poor to pay off the kindness my late friend showed to me when I was poor, before he died. These elements (the friend etc) may be true, but there may be assumptions or constructions made about the particular significance of these events that is conciously engineered to develop a narrative.
2: Following patterns. Cressing promotes the awareness of these synthesised patterns and using these patterns to inform choices in everyday life. This puts the 'narrator' in a position where they are actively constructing their own story. With our example; instead of just helping the poor we look at our role in the story as the protagonist. What aspects of our personality should we develop to maximise our success in this role? What opportunities should we look out for? What elements of my everyday life could be better expressed in a way that enhances my chosen narrative?
3: Using 'Narrative Tools'.
Cressing requires individuals to have a certain awareness of the choices in their lives. Most people can't move effortlessly between narrative strands because we don't all have a wealth of experience dealing with all situations. Personally, when I can back to the city, I had to talk to every person who tried to sign me up to a charity. Now, after being in the city, I can brush them off more easily. The narrative tools are intended to broaden ones life experiences and give opportunities of constructing real time narratives.
Some more information is developed here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KPjMWHZm5tBJm6t_bc0olEBApSwxJ1NSz-ZpvYIeMhM/edit?hl=en&authkey=CL7JhJQK
Also, some of the ideas I've been playing with (and after Net's link, want to play with further) about Aesthetics.
http://www.principiadiscordia.com/forum/index.php?topic=27353.0
http://placiddingo.com/?p=138 (couldn't find where I posted it. The one in my IM)
Our Lady of Perpetual Confusion
TOTALLY different from Discordia, (SRSLY), this is actually a modern take on a gnostic sect, and method for becoming UNSTOPPABLE. The central figure is the IDEA of the Virgin Mary, specifically, her state of mind in trying to wrap the brain around immaculate conception. In fact, in this case, she's considered a representation of Eris. Don't ask us how. It's a metaphor, and is not required to make sense. (If the rest of the church and the pagans can co-opt so can we damn it.) We don't care if this actually happened as described or not, or if anyone New Testament existed or not, it's jsut a jumping off point of Holy WTF. Being a re-thinking of a gnostic sect, this is more about the knowledge, contemplation, and discussion of the WTF that is considered good.
Sacrements:
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot: Any moment of head scratching bewilderment is a good and antural state. In this state, we are CERTAIN we know nothing. Given the sum total of knowledge, known and unknown, this is probably a safe bet. The accepting and realizing of this state is the first part of this sacrement, as it accounts for our basically flawed meat-brainedness. The annalysis and the realizing of something that might work this time is the second. Success is the third part. While not essential, we can't argue that results are snazzy, and lack of them MAY get you killed.
UNSTOPABILITY: If you tell other people what you are doing, they can stop you. They may not like it, or may just be a dick. Even worse, you may be a defeatist, or have a horrible bastard sub conscious, so you may even self defeat! Neither are good, they prevent sucess. The simple answer is to have NO IDEA waht you are doing. Nobody else knows, and you don't know. They cannot stop you with any more certainty than you can stop yourself. You are now UNDEFEATABLE. Sister concepts are CYA (cover yo ass), and KYFMS.
Beer: It's good. Make some time to hang around with your buddies and drink some. Play games and don't talk about anything heavy.
Doing Shit: Exercising WTF and UNSTOPABILITY is worthless if you basement dwell and sockfuck. Be active.
Don't be a Dick: Don't fuckign split hairs about it, just don't.
Holidays:
12/24: Chreaster Eve: STAY OFF THE ROADS. Everyone's crazy today, more than usual are heading to church. Less a Holiday than a suggestion.
12/25: Everyone Else is Out of Work Day: High Holiday of the Sacrement of Beer, which lasts until New Years.
7/4: HOLY SHIT Day: Someone gave the apes explosives! Hit the deck! High Holiday of UNSTOPABILITY, since you may need it to survive.
10/1: September's Over Day! : The weather MAY be nice. High Holiday #2 of Doing Shit
3/15: Fucking enough already: February's pretty much gone! Practice Don't Be a Dick, since that month's a bummer.
End-ish of April: Chreaster Day: Watch more people head to church than usual.
5/1: May Day: High Holiday #1 of Doing Shit, and the kickoff of summer in some hemispheres. While note exclusive to this holiday, this should mark a period of being mindfulness to be commiting the sacrements of Doing Shit and Beer.
Every Day: Watch Out for New Religions Day: If you get an idea for a new church / religion, be careful with it. Even a few casual mentions may get converts or t-shirts made up of it.
I'm thinking of a trope-based religion, based on the idea that we're living in a fictional reality to which tropes apply. Not like the matrix or holographic reality or any of that, but the idea that everything we experience is a story and we fill in the blanks ourselves where reality isn't described, and can manipulate it by invoking tropes. I dunno, I'll elaborate on this when I'm not impaired by alcohol.
word - sounds cool, but very similar to both Gray Jester's meme worship and placid dingo's cressing (http://www.principiadiscordia.com/forum/index.php?topic=27369.0)
Quote from: Cramulus on November 19, 2010, 12:29:40 AM
word - sounds cool, but very similar to both Gray Jester's meme worship and placid dingo's cressing (http://www.principiadiscordia.com/forum/index.php?topic=27369.0)
:sad: I'll try to be more original when my brain cells have recovered.
Cramulus: Your meme religion might benefit from Blackmore's talk on memes and "temes".
link:
http://www.ted.com/talks/susan_blackmore_on_memes_and_temes.html
Microreligion 548203:
The only thing that truly exists is comedy. Laughter is the metaphysical basis of everything. Death is merely when the deity tells you The Joke, and the ensuing humor singularity takes an eternity to finish laughing from.
Quote from: Sigmatic on November 19, 2010, 02:39:54 AM
Cramulus: Your meme religion might benefit from Blackmore's talk on memes and "temes".
link:
http://www.ted.com/talks/susan_blackmore_on_memes_and_temes.html
that's gray jester who's doing the meme religion but good link
QuoteMicroreligion 548203:
The only thing that truly exists is comedy. Laughter is the metaphysical basis of everything. Death is merely when the deity tells you The Joke, and the ensuing humor singularity takes an eternity to finish laughing from.
I dig
does it have a name?
in this quick one shot microreligion-- is shoving somebody down the stairs considered good (morally speaking) if it's funny?
Who is the deity?
If a tree falls in the forest, and nobody is around to laugh at it, is it still funny?
If not, what was the joke before there were people?
Quote from: Unqualified on November 19, 2010, 01:27:01 AM
Quote from: Cramulus on November 19, 2010, 12:29:40 AM
word - sounds cool, but very similar to both Gray Jester's meme worship and placid dingo's cressing (http://www.principiadiscordia.com/forum/index.php?topic=27369.0)
:sad: I'll try to be more original when my brain cells have recovered.
it's all good
I don't mean to dissuade you if you've got a good kernel in your head
merely to draw your attention to the similarity so that you can develop the differences.
my fractal cult seems a little similar to all this too.
maybe we should just collage all these great ideas together until we've got some kind of neophilic irreligious stone soup
Quote from: Richter on November 18, 2010, 05:52:02 PM
Our Lady of Perpetual Confusion
Richter, this is perfect.
There's already iconography for this, no? am i remembering suu making a t-shirt for this? do you have any related images you can post?
Oh, duh. Now I see. Working on a netbook screen, hard to focus on who said what.
In Microreligion 548203 (working title), humor is valued higher than truth, unless being true can enhance the humor of something (i.e. horrormirth). Ethically, there are two camps: That of the stand-ups and that of the sit-downs. The sit downs say that it is justifiable to do any evil deed for the amusement of the self, because all exists for the entertainment of others. They have no friends. The Stand Ups argue that it creates the net highest amount of humor to amuse other people, preferably while they sit still (not Sit Down, mind you!) so that they can all be amused en masse.
Microreligion 548203-ists take the stance that it is noble to adjust one's mind or envoronment so that even boring, serious, or depressing things are funny. "Danes" (non-Microreligion 548203ists) often object to this sort of behavior.
Quote from: Sigmatic on November 19, 2010, 03:19:06 AM
Oh, duh. Now I see. Working on a netbook screen, hard to focus on who said what.
In Microreligion 548203 (working title), humor is valued higher than truth, unless being true can enhance the humor of something (i.e. horrormirth). Ethically, there are two camps: That of the stand-ups and that of the sit-downs. The sit downs say that it is justifiable to do any evil deed for the amusement of the self, because all exists for the entertainment of others. They have no friends. The Stand Ups argue that it creates the net highest amount of humor to amuse other people, preferably while they sit still (not Sit Down, mind you!) so that they can all be amused en masse.
Microreligion 548203-ists take the stance that it is noble to adjust one's mind or envoronment so that even boring, serious, or depressing things are funny. "Danes" (non-Microreligion 548203ists) often object to this sort of behavior.
:lulz: cuz I get the at least one of the references.
More on Microreligion 548203.
They have it that all things exist even when unobserved, because everything has SOME kind of abstruse comedy value to someone. If it doesn't, something funny happens to it. Unfunny things only exist for this reason.
Their deity is unnamed, and unpersonified except occasionally as a rubber chicken. Reality only came into existence because it was funnier that way.
As a thought experiment, I love this. Anything that can give your thought process a little bit of elasticity is a good thing.
In terms of religion, as it's generally understood and perceived, it's all anthropomorphism and projection. So let's just skip the middleman, and worship humankind.
Quote from: Cramulus on November 19, 2010, 03:08:54 AM
Quote from: Richter on November 18, 2010, 05:52:02 PM
Our Lady of Perpetual Confusion
Richter, this is perfect.
There's already iconography for this, no? am i remembering suu making a t-shirt for this? do you have any related images you can post?
Sure thing. I've got one of the shirts somewhere IRL too.
OLoPC has MERCH too. This cunning MERCH has been made by Suu and is branded as a product of OLoPC.
Her imagery for the T-shirts inspired the whole "Virgin Mary but not REALLY Virgin Mary" tie in, as well as "Watch out for new religions Day"
(Which was a wake-up call for me to be careful when bandying about clever religion names.)
Okay, I didn't want to post in here until I had something good, so here's the Religion of Tucson's Creation Myth.
The Creation Myth
There is a reason Tucson is a horrible place. The land itself is sentient. It is angry. It hates us all.
The land beneath Tucson was once beneath a great sea. And it slept deeply in the cool and the dark. The seas receded, and the land's dreams became broken. The sun beat down, and the land grew fitful. The wind blew across it, and the land's surface became dry. The Heat came, and the land awoke.
It was angry, for it wanted to return to the quiet and constant night it once had. New kinds of life sprung into being, and the land became angrier still. When man came to build his cities, the land was wrathful, and drove him to insanity, but man would not – could not – leave. The land wanted man to pay for the scars he had put upon it, and would not allow him to leave. It wanted him to pay.
It took his dreams and broke them, as its own dreams were once broken. It took his will and crushed it. It dangled escape in front of him, only to snatch it away at the last second. And man became lost, there in the desert, though he did not realize it. And it gave the land grim satisfaction to cause man great suffering. And man multiplied, and the land became more enraged and more delighted, had more lives to destroy.
It still yearns for sleep, the land. Until then it will take we who remain and play with us as the dog plays with the rat – shredding us to bits, leaving us when there is nothing left of us. The land is angry. It is joyful. It hates us all.
Holy days:
April - October: "Holy Hell, it's hot" day.
(more to come)
Holy(ier) places:
The Shrine of the Black Madonna, located somewhere near TCC, shown to us by Eater of Souls
The Meetrack, located at 210 W Drachmann
The Wall, located on _______ (got to check)
(more to come)
Okay, so this isn't really a religion as much as SRS SCIENCE, but it's called RETARDED DESIGN.
We've all heard the theories of intelligent design, and how irreducable complexity obviously shows us how blah blah blah whatever, and therefore, God.
This is of course entirely plausible, and the proponents of Retarded Design fully believe the Universe and life is too complex to have developed without a creator. However, why should we automatically assume the Designer is intelligent, before we have carefully observed their work to draw our conclusions?
Let's take a look around.
Okay so there are plants and trees and butterflies, with their fine-tuned cellular, um, things and stuff, all magnificent manifestations of a wonderfully precise design and I UM THERE ARE MONKEYS IN BURMA WHO SNEEZE EVERY TIME IT RAINS BECAUSE THEY GET WATER IN THEIR NOSE OR SOMETHING WHAT THE HELL IT'S A FUCKING RAINFOREST IT RAINS LIKE ALL THE TIME
And the immune system, an incredibly adaptive mechanism which WAIT I'M DESTROYING MY OWN PLATELETS BECAUSE MY BODY MISTAKES THEM FOR VIRUSES? THANKS A LOT FOR THE ITP, GOD OR WHATEVER, OKAY GOTTA GO AND BUY A FEW THOUSAND TONS OF PREDNISONE I GUESS
And just think about the entire Universe. An endless ocean of darkness, sprinkled with infinite amounts of stars and planets - oh, the possibilities! What wonders could we encounter if only YEAH IF ONLY THE OTHER SOLAR SYSTEMS WEREN'T IMPOSSIBLE TO EVER REACH BECAUSE OF AN ASSLOAD OF LIGHTYEARS BETWEEN US AND THEM AND WE CAN'T EVEN ACCELERATE TO THE SPEED OF LIGHT? SERIOUSLY, PISS OFF
So there are two options: either all of this has a perfectly valid reason, but we aren't supposed to understand it because the Designer's plans are too complicated for us, or the Designer is a complete moron who obviously has no idea how things work. We at the Super-Scientific Church of Retarded Design have decided to go for the latter.
O HAI GOD CURE FOR CANCER PLZ
/
(http://www.blogcdn.com/www.urlesque.com/media/2009/04/prayer_child-and-dog.jpg)
SRY GOTTA GO MAKE MONKEYS SNEEZE
\
(http://i53.tinypic.com/21l2w7a.png)
Solves the problem of evil, too. It's okay, Job! All your servants and children died and you lost all of your fortunes, but God can't really be held accountable for that. He's, um, special.
Bravo Herbertina! I lol'd. :mittens:
I love it! Much more satisfying than maltheism! :lulz:
Quote from: Herbertina Merrique V on November 20, 2010, 10:59:55 AM
Okay, so this isn't really a religion as much as SRS SCIENCE, but it's called RETARDED DESIGN.
We've all heard the theories of intelligent design, and how irreducable complexity obviously shows us how blah blah blah whatever, and therefore, God.
This is of course entirely plausible, and the proponents of Retarded Design fully believe the Universe and life is too complex to have developed without a creator. However, why should we automatically assume the Designer is intelligent, before we have carefully observed their work to draw our conclusions?
Let's take a look around.
Okay so there are plants and trees and butterflies, with their fine-tuned cellular, um, things and stuff, all magnificent manifestations of a wonderfully precise design and I UM THERE ARE MONKEYS IN BURMA WHO SNEEZE EVERY TIME IT RAINS BECAUSE THEY GET WATER IN THEIR NOSE OR SOMETHING WHAT THE HELL IT'S A FUCKING RAINFOREST IT RAINS LIKE ALL THE TIME
And the immune system, an incredibly adaptive mechanism which WAIT I'M DESTROYING MY OWN PLATELETS BECAUSE MY BODY MISTAKES THEM FOR VIRUSES? THANKS A LOT FOR THE ITP, GOD OR WHATEVER, OKAY GOTTA GO AND BUY A FEW THOUSAND TONS OF PREDNISONE I GUESS
And just think about the entire Universe. An endless ocean of darkness, sprinkled with infinite amounts of stars and planets - oh, the possibilities! What wonders could we encounter if only YEAH IF ONLY THE OTHER SOLAR SYSTEMS WEREN'T IMPOSSIBLE TO EVER REACH BECAUSE OF AN ASSLOAD OF LIGHTYEARS BETWEEN US AND THEM AND WE CAN'T EVEN ACCELERATE TO THE SPEED OF LIGHT? SERIOUSLY, PISS OFF
So there are two options: either all of this has a perfectly valid reason, but we aren't supposed to understand it because the Designer's plans are too complicated for us, or the Designer is a complete moron who obviously has no idea how things work. We at the Super-Scientific Church of Retarded Design have decided to go for the latter.
O HAI GOD CURE FOR CANCER PLZ
/
(http://www.blogcdn.com/www.urlesque.com/media/2009/04/prayer_child-and-dog.jpg)
SRY GOTTA GO MAKE MONKEYS SNEEZE
\
(http://i53.tinypic.com/21l2w7a.png)
Solves the problem of evil, too. It's okay, Job! All your servants and children died and you lost all of your fortunes, but God can't really be held accountable for that. He's, um, special.
Oh my god I love this!
from http://masksoferis.wordpress.com/2010/11/20/a-message-from-loki/
This message is brought to you through the Universal Divine All-Trickster Exchange (UDATE), which does not exist, yet.
* * *
Have you considered the Norse God Loki as your personal deity of choice? If yes, then jolly well, mead at the usual time and place, and sagas and sodomy and strap-onnery afterwards; otherwise, read on.
Loki has had a bad rap; we know. You no doubt know him as a trickster, a murderer, one that manipulates and leads people and gods alike astray. We don't deny any of that; we merely ask you to consider this — what is so bad in all that, actually?
Loki is a trickster, a liar, a leader-to-astray; why should this concern you? None are as misguided as those that are certain; none so lost as those who know beyond all doubt and question they have the right. This is why Loki is hated; for those that hate him know by experience that one needs to mislead before one can lead, but after the second comes, the first should really be carefully forgotten. Loki is the reminder, the mocking laughter carried on the winds of change. He is he who rips cloaks aside to reveal bent dwarfs beneath the kingly silk, bearded and one-eyed and lame; he is he who wipes clean the huff-clouded mirrors of a fevered soul, of a warrior-fool of hammering blood; though woe spreads in his wake, he carries none within.
If you have ever laughed in mockery, Loki has you; if you have ever admired a quick wit that lowers the strong arm and deflates the proud snarl, Loki has you.
If you are a sour prune, Loki spits you out; but if a crooked smile ever crept up your face, Loki has you.
Have thee then some Loki for yourself in exchange.
And yet, Loki does not beg for followers. He does not hold a booth open at the Theist Fair; not even at the Dark Theist Fair, which is hardly fair at all. He is the god of corners, the god of hidden rooms; he is the god of forest-whispers, the god met on the twisting path through the wood. He is the god met in disguise; the shape shifter and the sex changer, the liar-in-shapes as he is the liar-in-words; he is the god that came down as all the others stayed up building heavens and hells. (Or million-mile Rainbow Bridges and halls for a million drunken Norsemen; gods just have no eye for the subtle and understated.)
For this reason lesser gods have called Loki a Satan, a devil; an enemy of the people; this is a most hurtful truth. Though the bent little monks that gave the name did not know this, the word ha-Satan means nothing but "the Accuser" — and to any would-be tyrant all accusers and nonconformists are Satans in the later sense of the word. As the Norse gods had reacted to Loki with spittle and shaken hammers, so the Christian God of self-flagellating Constantinople and Rome called him evil for standing outside his crown-system of good and evil. And yet Loki has no hooves, no horns; no, he is a god in golden and green finery, glorious and beautiful, and his horns are merely those golden spikes that adorn his helm. Though he accuses, he does not judge; though he accepts worship, he does not demand it; though he tackles, he does not kick the one that is down — in this all he differs from Odin the All-Tedious, "Big Hammer" Thor, "Sonny" Jesus and all the later tyrants and would-be lords.
Follow Loki, dear reader, for this is his promise: "I will not be your light, nor your darkness. I will not save you, nor condemn you. One day I will be behind you; I will laugh with you, and I will laugh at you. I will make and destroy; I will be your eye, and the object of your seeing; all sights but blindness I will give to you before the end. And when on the beach of life that other set of tracks goes away, I will be gone to get some mead for you. I am Loki, Farbauti's son, wildfire son of lightning-bolt, god and giant, liar murderer and thief, and the most honest god you will ever meet."
to be expanded:
The Sitcom Cult
Sitcom characters are the true vessels of the collective unconscious. The solutions to all of life's problems may be found by channeling the wisdom of sitcom characters.
The Full House is a metaphor for the self. Danny Tanner contains the ego, superego, and id (often manifested as his evil alter ego "Manny" Tanner). Joey and Jessie represent the twin cultural influences of humor and coolness. And DJ, Stephanie, and Michelle, the three children, embody the archetypal first, middle, and youngest child personalities as well as the maiden mother and crone. The show explores various mythological dramas and parables framed in the theater of american suburban life in the 90s.
http://cramul.us/2010/06/the-world-is-over-and-i-am-the-only-survivor/
not so much a religion as a batshit worldview
Cat Worship
Cats are divine vessels which must be worshiped and adored by humans. To be in the good graces of a cat is the most holy and enlightened of states. Cat worship is at least 5000 years old.
http://www.pictures-of-cats.org/cat-worship.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_worship#Cats
Mercenary Agnosticism
Selling your prayers to the highest bidder.
Just a basic thought. Will try to think up something a bit more substantial later.
(note: scroll down a few posts for an updated version of this intro)
Introduction
Dear Explorer:
Religious Freedom is our greatest right. You've been sitting by the sidelines watching as other people act like maniacs in the name of something that probably isn't true. And doesn't it look they're having a blast? Why let them have all the fun?
We live in a postmodern world, one dominated by multiple narratives. Many of these greater narratives - such as science, religion, and orthodox consumerism - are internally consistent, self-reinforcing, and mutually exclusive. Most individuals operate under the jurisdiction of a reality tunnel, a set of beliefs and attitudes which filter incoming information to create a coherent worldview. But why limit oneself to a single reality tunnel? We purport to offer you a glimpse at both madness and enlightenment. This book will guide you through an experiment in belief that will leave you simultaneously bewildered and fascinated. You won't know what's to believe, AND YOU'LL LOVE IT.
Every few days, roll on the Religion Randomizer to pick a new reality tunnel. Read the entry for that tunnel and imagine that it is true. And not just true, but the best description of the universe -- with powerful implications for how you should behave on a day to day, minute to minute basis.
Our advice is to select a focus: an object, symbol, mantra, alarm, or other reminder of your new short-term world view. At least five times per day, meditate on your focus and get back into the headspace in which your new religion is True. Embrace it. Wallow in it. Think derivative thoughts. Let it steer your actions. Enjoy it while it lasts. In a few days, you'll roll again and you'll be somebody new.
We have the freedom to believe things that are completely wrong. I say don't just think about it! Try it out, see how it feels, cast it aside later.
:mittens:
Quote from: Cramulus on November 24, 2010, 03:46:01 AM
http://cramul.us/2010/06/the-world-is-over-and-i-am-the-only-survivor/
not so much a religion as a batshit worldview
Wow...
Also, newsfeed!
(intro updated ... I wanted to help expand this as a Call to Atheists, to encourage them to experiment with irreligion.)
Introduction
Dear Explorer:
Religious Freedom is our greatest right. You've been sitting by the sidelines watching as other people act like maniacs in the name of something that probably isn't true. And doesn't it look they're having a blast? Why let them have all the fun?
We live in a postmodern world, one dominated by multiple narratives. Many of these greater narratives - such as science, religion, and orthodox consumerism - are internally consistent, self-reinforcing, and mutually exclusive. Most individuals operate under the jurisdiction of a reality tunnel, a set of beliefs and attitudes which filter incoming information to create a coherent worldview. But why limit oneself to a single reality tunnel? We purport to offer you a glimpse at both madness and enlightenment. This book will guide you through an experiment in belief that will leave you simultaneously bewildered and fascinated. You won't know what's to believe, AND YOU'LL LOVE IT.
Every few days, roll on the Religion Randomizer and select a new reality tunnel. Read the entry for that tunnel and imagine that it is true. And not just true, but the best description of the universe -- with powerful implications for how you should behave on a day to day, minute to minute basis.
Select a focus: an object, symbol, mantra, alarm, or other reminder of your new short-term world view. At least five times per day, meditate on your focus and get back into the headspace in which your new religion is True. Embrace it. Wallow in it. Think derivative thoughts. Let it steer your actions. Enjoy it while it lasts. In a few days, you'll roll again and you'll be somebody new.
I suggest that an intelligent person is not concerned with capital-T Truth. A rational thinker can shift his or her mind into different reality tunnels, and is able to perceive different truths for different contexts. I think it takes more willpower and discipline to be flexible than rigid. And it's better to evaluate truths in terms of how useful they are, and realize that this quality may shift over time.
We have the freedom to believe things that are completely wrong. I say don't just think about it! Try it out, see how it feels, cast it aside later. What's the harm in being "wrong" for a few days if you learn something from that orientation? A short term religion is a great way to expand your consciousness, and get a taste of postmodern madness while you're at it.
Be attached to nothing, treat everything like it is a "straw dog" you can throw away later.
project page created!
http://principiadiscordia.com/cramulus/index.php?title=Microreligions
Please update / expand your sections!
expanded
QuoteCressing
We understand much of our life through the use of narratives. We develop stories about our lives that help us define who we are and what we do. 'The day I realised I was an atheist', 'the first time I felt fear', 'the reason I like tea', 'the day I met the one for me', 'I used to be a liberal until...' and so on, are examples of life events arranged in ways that represent narratives. They are stories we use to help explain elements of our personality. When a story is so repeatable and important to an aspect of our selves, ideologies or beliefs that it is indispensable to that element, we call it a mythology. These terms are not implicative of an absence of truth, just suggestive of truth arranged in specific patterns.
Cressing is a three pronged approach to using narratives in conscious life.
1: Synthesising. This is about making sense of your life by identifying the events that have brought you to where you are now. Cressing assumes all patterns/narratives to be essentially constructions, so developing partially consciously fictional narratives is appropriate. For example, I help the poor to pay off the kindness my late friend showed to me when I was poor, before he died. These elements (the friend etc) may be true, but there may be assumptions or constructions made about the particular significance of these events that is conciously engineered to develop a narrative.
2: Following patterns. Cressing promotes the awareness of these synthesised patterns and using these patterns to inform choices in everyday life. This puts the 'narrator' in a position where they are actively constructing their own story. With our example; instead of just helping the poor we look at our role in the story as the protagonist. What aspects of our personality should we develop to maximise our success in this role? What opportunities should we look out for? What elements of my everyday life could be better expressed in a way that enhances my chosen narrative?
3: Using 'Narrative Tools'.
Cressing requires individuals to have a certain awareness of the choices in their lives. Most people can't move effortlessly between narrative strands because we don't all have a wealth of experience dealing with all situations. Personally, when I can back to the city, I had to talk to every person who tried to sign me up to a charity. Now, after being in the city, I can brush them off more easily. The narrative tools are intended to broaden ones life experiences and give opportunities of constructing real time narratives.
Some more information is developed here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KPjMWHZm5tBJm6t_bc0olEBApSwxJ1NSz-ZpvYIeMhM/edit?hl=en&authkey=CL7JhJQK
I've enjoyed doing this because it's made me think about my own ideas in terms that I wasn't anticipating.
Quote from: Cramulus on November 24, 2010, 02:31:14 PM
I wanted to help expand this as a Call to Atheists
Good point. They should at least get some fun out of the concepts they reject. :D
Quote
Be attached to nothing, treat everything like it is a "straw dog" you can throw away later.
Once again, Discordianism as "Taoism in a clown suit".
Anyway, it's very important, non-attaching. It's always possible to get swept up in the Belief System one was originally just playing with, and lose all "objectivity" or awareness. Lord knows I've been totally convinced by every political philosophy in the book at one point or another. :lol:
Quote from: Cramulus on November 24, 2010, 03:46:01 AM
http://cramul.us/2010/06/the-world-is-over-and-i-am-the-only-survivor/
not so much a religion as a batshit worldview
Dude. Props.
[/slang]
Occasionally I'll (in my mind) play the role of an E.T. inhabiting a human body to explore the planet, or of a person from an alternate Earth, etc. It inevitably brings a certain sense of wonder about the world - a sense of wonder that should we should always have in day-to-day life, E.T. or not.
this may help:
http://www.squidoo.com/microreligion
The case for microreligions
The big brand religions in the United States are mature mass brands. They are pitched to mainstream America and not doing a very good job of gaining (or even holding onto) marketshare.
If you are like me, you seek spirituality, but just do not find it within the boundaries of the mainstream religions. In fact, most Americans agree. Only a small percentage of people go to church regularly in the US. In this market of big stodgy religious brands, why not encourage some nimble newcomers?
Barriers to entry are really low (as you will see below). It's fairly simply to set up a new religion in the US. I'm not asking you to set up a huge religion to compete with the big boys - I want you to set up a MICRO-RELIGION. Something small. Something that you believe in. Use the internet to find other people who believe too.
Many of us have felt the calling. For some it is a faint whisper that there is a better way. Other people get flaming bushes or tablets of stone dropped from the sky. However your deity chooses to communicate with you, I encourage you to listen. And to do something. Create a micro-religion and share the good word.
How to get started
Document your calling. Set down what your religion is going to stand for. Check out the religion starter questions below for help.
# Create a Lens and link it to this one. Welcome to the brave new world!
Spread the word. Talk with friends, comment on blogs, write to the editor.
Starter questions
Who/What do you worship?
Are there any restrictions on who can be a member of your religion's hierarchy? Are men/women/children/cats/dogs allowed to lead?
Are there any texts that your religion thinks are 'holy'?
Is there a ritual or ceremony required to join your religion?
Will you offer marriage ceremonies? If so, who can marry in your religion? [More details later on how to get licensed to marry people]
Is there a ritual or ceremony performed at the death of a member of your religion?
Does your religion have a charitable purpose?
Do members of your religion mark themselves in any way to make it easy to recognize them? Jewelry/costumes/tattoos/hairstyles
If a member of your religion does not adhere to the requirements of your religion, what will happen?
Does your religion advocate the existance of an 'afterlife'? Is it only for members of your religion or can anyone get there?
Does your religion believe that particular days of the week, month, year, century are special?
Does your religion mark passage to adulthood for boys/girls in a specific way?
The Cult of SleepWho/What do you worship?Sleep is the only time a mortal can ever achieve divinity, this time should be considered as the highest degree of sacred and a pursuit above all other things. Morpheus is the god of the cult, and should be worshipped as a hero and champion for humankind.
QuoteZeus called a called meeting of the gods on Mount Olympus asking how the Olympians could make their power greater when dealing with humans. Hera called out that she had an idea, but it required all of the Olympians to work together for short periods of time, no small feat. Her idea was to create short periods of time where mortals were tricked into thinking they were gods themselves, but while they were being tricked they were actually trapped in a state where they would be most vulnerable. Many of the Olympians liked the idea, especially Ares and Aphrodite. However there was one mortal watching this meeting, Morpheus. It is lost to antiquity how Morpheus was able to climb Mount Olympus and witness such a meeting, but after watching this conspiracy he decended the mountian and formed a plan
As the time came for Morpheus to sleep for the first time he felt very tired and slow, but he had hidden a tincture (which is now known as morphine, named after Morpheus) made by the Graeae to put the god themselves in the same helpless state mortals were being put in. Morpheus fought and fought sleep until messengers of the Olympians came. Morpheus put them to sleep by trickery and tincture laiden drink. This went on for a long time until Morpheus had put all the messengers alseep.
After 5 weeks of this the Olympians sought their messengers as nobody was going alseep and thus they could not influence mortals while they were alseep and vulnerable. They quickly found their messengers at the feet of Morpheus and when they saw a mere mortal had done this they asked how. Morpheus told them everything and said that even he knew a secret that the Olympians did not, as the gods wanted mortals to sleep again they offered him domain of sleep and dreams.
From then on Morpheus gives mortals true divinity in dreams (not just the illusion), but the gods are able to do what they will while mortals are asleep.
Are there any restrictions on who can be a member of your religion's hierarchy? Are men/women/children/cats/dogs allowed to lead?There are no restrictions, cats and lazy breeds of dogs are considered more divine. There are no leaders all are divine when alseep.
Are there any texts that your religion thinks are 'holy'?Any personal dream journal. Lying in these can lead to Morpheus removing the adherant's divinity.
Is there a ritual or ceremony required to join your religion?Followers must keep a dream journal, they cannot write in it more then 10 minutes after waking and cannot read from it more then 10 min before sleeping.
Reading somebody else's journal is considered ok only if permitted and only if 10 min before you yourself fall asleep.
The one divine ceremony consists of doing small amounts of Morphine in order to fall sleep.
Will you offer marriage ceremonies?No
Is there a ritual or ceremony performed at the death of a member of your religion?The follower's journal is read aloud in total or select passages.
Does your religion have a charitable purpose?Not for society at large.
Do members of your religion mark themselves in any way to make it easy to recognize them? Jewelry/costumes/tattoos/hairstylesA cresent moon with a 3 star overlay is the symbol (actual images coming sometime)
If a member of your religion does not adhere to the requirements of your religion, what will happen?They may no longer be able to dream, or if they dream the dreams will be recurring.
Does your religion advocate the existance of an 'afterlife'? Is it only for members of your religion or can anyone get there?This is not addressed and is of a great debate.
Does your religion believe that particular days of the week, month, year, century are special?Monthly the second Monday and the last Saturday monthly are considered holy.
Does your religion mark passage to adulthood for boys/girls in a specific way?No
And that's all I got so far.
I am really tempted to make a serious codification.
i loves me some Morpheus. :lulz:
Bump.
Sorry it took me this long to finish this.
Mercenary Agnosticism (sponsored by Caduceus Enterprises)
What do you get from your faith? I mean, what real, conclusively provable benefits do you get from worshiping your deity? More likely than not, nothing. Doesn't matter whether you're Monotheistic, Polytheistic, or even Animistic, you probably don't get a thing in exchange for you worship. You pray, follow commandments, and slaughter a sacrificial goat on holidays, all of which goes to the benefit of the Heavenly conglomerates. Isn't time you got some bang for your belief?
Well, we at Caduceus have taken that idea and turned it into something that any Gods fearing American can relate to; a business. Here at Caduceus we pair up the consumer with a deity that understands their needs.
Here are some of our most popular clients, gods who are dedicated to the well being of their cult.
Dionysus-easy to please, every glass of wine or keg of beer you drink supports Dionysus. Followers of Dionysus can be promised protection from coyote ugly (both the movie and the event), good fortune while intoxicated, and no memory of the humiliating things you did while out of your head. (Disclaimer: Dionysus is not responsible for any criminal charges that come as a result of worship. Remember to worship responsibly and with a designated driver)
Quetzalcoatl- Special Offer! Three miracles of your choice for every human sacrifice dedicated to the Feathered Serpent.
Disney-Conversion is as easy as turning on the television and turning off all higher brain function.
Basic idea is that, going off the common fantasy novel conceit that gods need worship to survive, why is that they get all the prayers and animal sacrifices for free?
So, shop for gods. See what they have power over, see what they want in the way of worship, and try them out. But keep in mind that this is a business arrangement. If the deity doesn't deliver then you can terminate the relationship.
A bit of insider advice, try the dumb gods first. Thor is usually too drunk to care about what you ask him to do.
Oh, and if anyone wants to mess with this, go right ahead.
Cult of Non-Understanding
Who/What do you worship?
Non-understanding (not misunderstanding) is when you have no idea what is happening or how to deal with it. The Cult preaches that non-understanding is the only way to salvation, and that misunderstanding and understanding are the greatest Sins of all.
Are there any restrictions on who can be a member of your religion's hierarchy? Are men/women/children/cats/dogs allowed to lead?
There are restrictions, but nobody can understand them. Therefore practically all types of creatures are allowed to convert to the religion. High Priests/Priestesses of Non-Understanding are ordained by nobody in particular at random every once in a while.
Are there any texts that your religion thinks are 'holy'?
The Cult of Non-Understanding's holy book is L'Œil et l'esprit by the French philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty. This is because the founder of the Cult got it as a birthday present from his schizophrenic grandfather when he was 10 and couldn't understand a word of it.
Is there a ritual or ceremony required to join your religion?
1. Read L'Œil et l'esprit.
2. Write a short text where you give your interpretation of the book.
3. Let a High Priest/Priestess of Non-Understanding read the text you have written.
4. If the text shows an adequate amount of Non-Understanding, you are admitted to the Cult.
5. If there are no High Priests/Priestesses in your area (or you just don't bother finding one), become one yourself and admit yourself to the Cult without ever reading the holy book.
Will you offer marriage ceremonies? If so, who can marry in your religion? [More details later on how to get licensed to marry people]
No.
Is there a ritual or ceremony performed at the death of a member of your religion?
No.
Does your religion have a charitable purpose?
All donations go to hiring people to teach particle physics to first graders.
Do members of your religion mark themselves in any way to make it easy to recognize them? Jewelry/costumes/tattoos/hairstyles
No.
If a member of your religion does not adhere to the requirements of your religion, what will happen?
The member will be excommunicated, but if the ex-member then answers by saying "I don't understand" he/she/it will be de-excommunicated.
Does your religion advocate the existance of an 'afterlife'? Is it only for members of your religion or can anyone get there?
When a Cult member dies, he/she/it will reach Perfection, a divine state of complete Non-Understanding. Non-Cult members will fall downwards for all eternity in an eternal blackness.
Does your religion believe that particular days of the week, month, year, century are special?
The first Monday in June all years that end with 4: Syd Barrett Lyric Interpretation Day
Every second Tuesday: Szygysyz Miahiskh Day. Holiday of no significance or meaning.
Every third Sunday: Ljefgggja Day. Holiday of no significance or meaning.
Does your religion mark passage to adulthood for boys/girls in a specific way?
No.
Quote from: Lenin McCarthy on December 27, 2010, 01:48:04 PM
Non-understanding (not misunderstanding) is when you have no idea what is happening or how to deal with it. The Cult preaches that non-understanding is the only way to salvation, and that misunderstanding and understanding are the greatest Sins of all.
interesting... Can you elucidate the difference between non-understanding and misunderstanding? or is that one of those things where if I get it, I'm doing it wrong?
Misunderstanding is to understand something wrongly. Non-understanding is simply not understanding.
Misunderstanding is also a form of understanding.
I just realized that this means that very orthodox members of the Cult have to avoid all forms of communication with the world around them, but luckily we have a very liberaltarian theology that can be interpreted in almost any way you'd like (including unicorn genocide), so it's not required.
This thread has inspired me to do something I've been thinking about for a while, create a religion around mazes. Anybody familiar with me knows I'm obsessed with the things.
Ok so what is a good program for making pdf books on windows? Preferably something free and easy to operate :mrgreen:
Quote from: tjg92 on January 23, 2011, 08:57:26 PM
This thread has inspired me to do something I've been thinking about for a while, create a religion around mazes. Anybody familiar with me knows I'm obsessed with the things.
Ok so what is a good program for making pdf books on windows? Preferably something free and easy to operate :mrgreen:
Glad this had that effect on you!
the most easy and free way is to use OpenOffice writer, which is free. Then you can print to PDF and VOILA!
Neat-o.
I had a group on Facebook for a while of about five guys. I called the group "Faitharian Religitology" and it was supposed to be a pisstake on the idea that you should "Believe in something". The first and only commandment was: "Obey the commandment 'obey the commandment; obey the commandment.'". The symbol was a cross itself being crucified.
Quote from: tjg92 on January 23, 2011, 08:57:26 PM
This thread has inspired me to do something I've been thinking about for a while, create a religion around mazes.
Your post reminded me that I recently came across a blog that dealt with maze generation algorithms.
I didn't bookmark it then, but fortunately it came up again on Reddit:
http://weblog.jamisbuck.org/
Of course, if you're not a coder, this will probably be abacadabra to you.
trip,
Crosspost that in the RPG ghetto.
Quote from: Triple Zero on January 27, 2011, 08:42:01 PM
Quote from: tjg92 on January 23, 2011, 08:57:26 PM
This thread has inspired me to do something I've been thinking about for a while, create a religion around mazes.
Your post reminded me that I recently came across a blog that dealt with maze generation algorithms.
I didn't bookmark it then, but fortunately it came up again on Reddit:
http://weblog.jamisbuck.org/
Of course, if you're not a coder, this will probably be abacadabra to you.
I'm not a coder, but that looks pretty cool. I'm familiar with all those algorithms by name but obviously I don't know how they work.
Speaking of reddit, it's too bad the discordian subreddit sucks.
we need somebody to do something about that
(http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb163/wompcabal/forum/mustachepipe.gif)