-Removed-I won't say why kellyjay does it--he already said why in a few posts previously.
I can speak to why I do it...
Dopamine
For some reason copying out blocks of anything seems to reset my brain when I find myself experiencing racing thoughts (or as the Buddhists call it "monkey mind"😉. And as kellyjay says, the texts somehow seem to "stick with" you. I actually learned that little trick a few years back at university.
After I have copied texts (which I sometimes give away--I'm working on a book of affirmations for my granddaughter), I seem to be able to settle my mind down enough to actually do some original writing.
I wonder if this is why Christian medieval monks spent so much time writing out texts and Buddhist monks sit with ink, pen, and rice paper....
@dj2becker saidWho do you think promotes "hate" in this community?
“Promote what you love rather than bashing what you hate.”
It seems you are using "bashing" here as a synonym for disagreement in the course of discussion and debate, is that fair?
Do you feel any Christians here "hate" agnosticism and atheism and spend time "bashing" those stances?
@hakima saidIs this for you a spiritual discipline similar to lectio divina or are you looking more towards the writer and the writing 'becoming one' in a kind of buddhisty way? Is it in any sense an act of faith in an improved future or strength of spirit? Is it the words themselves or the act of writing that has primacy?
I can speak to why I do it...
Dopamine
For some reason copying out blocks of anything seems to reset my brain when I find myself experiencing racing thoughts (or as the Buddhists call it "monkey mind"😉. And as kellyjay says, the texts somehow seem to "stick with" you. I actually learned that little trick a few years back at university.
After I have copied texts (which ...[text shortened]... monks spent so much time writing out texts and Buddhist monks sit with ink, pen, and rice paper....
@ragwort saidI just started doing it and I felt better...
Is this for you a spiritual discipline similar to lectio divina or are you looking more towards the writer and the writing 'becoming one' in a kind of buddhisty way? Is it in any sense an act of faith in an improved future or strength of spirit? Is it the words themselves or the act of writing that has primacy?
everything else you mentioned are by-products which may or may not develop. I am a writer, so the act of writing out words is comfortable.
My dad was a scientist and was comfortable with numbers. I would dare say mathematics practice was a spiritual experience for him. Whenever he was in the hospital and feeling in distress, he used to count by prime numbers forward to 100 and then back again. I remember one time when he had forgotten this coping strategy and I sat beside him counting “2,3,5,7,11...”. Pretty soon his blood pressure and heart rate eased up. I think his counting did for him what my writing out volumes of words does for me.
I consider it a spiritual practice because when I do it, I am in a state of being that connects me to that which is beyond myself and then brings me back to myself so that I can create.
By the way, I love the term “buddhisty way”.
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@hakima
Although I dabbled in Buddhism it was not a complete fit for me but I still think of some things as a bit buddhisty.
A couple of days ago I was spreading manure on my allotment garden. The repetitive physical acts settles the mind as well as the knowledge of completing a task needing doing. The mind can contemplate the detailed inter-relationship of the processes involved in production as well as the direct connection with (hopefully) the food on a plate. There can be the almost artistic appreciation of the neatness of a section of plot neatly mulched. Finally there must be a faith in those processes as well as the principle that "he who does not plough the field awaits the harvest in vain".
I guess this must be a similar experience although it is our choice whether to interpret it as spiritual.
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@fmf saidI can see your trap. You want me to say who is promoting hate and then accuse me of being hateful by pointing them out. Not interested.
Who do you think promotes "hate" in this community?
It seems you are using "bashing" here as a synonym for disagreement in the course of discussion and debate, is that fair?
Do you feel any Christians here "hate" agnosticism and atheism and spend time "bashing" those stances?
@dj2becker saidThe three straight forward questions are simply about your OP.
I can see your trap. You want me to say who is promoting hate and then accuse me of being hateful by pointing them out. Not interested.