It'll have been a year and 1/2 by April since I converted to the Taino religion. Some comments on my journey

This'll have been my first post here since Fall 2022, hope everyone's OK and at least somewhat happy gamers, lol. Industry is broken.

So first and foremost, I got an Ancestry DNA kit the summer of the aforementioned year. I'm half Puerto Rican and half Dominican, its like 2 of the same ethnic backgrounds.

But I was more so anticipating heavy results in regards to the Taino. It turned out I'm a total 18% combined Quisqueyan and Boricua.

The most I've given to religious effort was Church participation on Sundays with my mother when I was 10 - 12 years old. The trips were pleasant, but let's just leave things at: I grew up to not ideologically agree with Catholicism for reasons pertaining to identity and the wrongs committed by its followers historically.

Basically, after I got my results, I was awestruck and felt a calling. There's no reason they shouldn't be around today.

As I researched more about Arawak culture and the Zemi, there were times I couldn't help but get emotional. There's lots of talk about the natural world. And tbh it depresses me there is no religious diversity in the Caribbean or South America. Just with sprinkles of surviving tribes like the Pemon.

I've also faced a fair share of criticism from my family, mainly from my father. The best I can do is humor him.

And I'm hoping y'all have an open enough mind to realize I'm not going to Hell. I'm secular with my faith.

I trusted Yucahu to get me through everything from my withdrawal from psychiatric meds, to my current struggle with hypertension. And I trust in him to help with what I plan to accomplish.

The world is s**t because of intolerance. Its within the wise words of kind people to tolerate each other.

And I hope y'all are faithful, with whichever God you praise to.

I'm more of an agnostic myself, but I hope you find inner peace and the answers you are searching for in your journey man. I believe their is likely a greater force, because there is no possible way that humans are the epitome of consciousness.

I'm still searching for answers myself, but I feel as though treating others the way you'd like to be treated and an eye for an eye mentality are important in the journey of self awareness.

Thanks for sharing. I am not disciplined enough to follow any religion too closely. Was raised Catholic and Lutheran, but have also been Methodist, Bahai, and Ananda Marga. Just don't think humans really know enough of what is beyond, to start lording over people and what not. I think it's cool that you've found something though.

Aight. I have formed my own thoughts and beliefs and don't need anyone to tell me how to live or behave.

*Shrugs* If it works for you, good for you.

My primary principle is that every man must find their own way towards their own happiness. As long as people use religion for their own personal improvement and don't push their religion on to others without the latter's consent, I have no problems with religion.

I think my name says it all for my personal beliefs. That being said, you do you, man. Whatever helps get you through life on this crazy planet. Just don't come knocking on my door Sunday morning with a handful of pamphlets when I'm sitting in my boxers trying to get my game on.

It's cool that you are getting in touch with your roots and finding out more about the history and culture. You seem to feel very passionate about it. It's can feel good to have something like that in your life and can help ground you. Also having faith can help you keep your head and not feel like you are going through something alone when everything around you is crazy and nobody else can seem to help or understand.

I'm sort of indifferent when it comes to faith but I'm not against it entirely. It can do a lot of good in the world, especially at the smaller scale, and I think if you think it's helping you then it is helping.

I'm very happy you found something important and meaningful in your life 🙂

I feel a pretty strong connection to my German roots despite not growing up really celebrating it or whatever. It's weird, can't really explain it. I see other people talk about it with their family and I am sort of envious. Like "Oh you guys cook a big German meal with your relatives a few times each year"

Puerto Rican and Dominican food is bomb. Food from that region is severely underappreciated imo. I love me some chicken, tostones, mofongo, rice and beans, picadillo, and so on.

Hey,

I am not religious myself (I am an atheist), but I am glad you found something that works for you :) People who judge others for their religious beliefs are lame. Stay strong!

People who judge others for arbitrary reasons are pathetic.

Have to say this reads like a blog though.

@WitIsWisdom: Thanks a bunch, just getting back to this post and yeah, like I said I'm secular. It's a cross between atheism and religion in that you don't take the illogical aspects of it - creation stories, gods etc - you just learn what can be applied to everyday life and the life after.

@sanghelle56:

Basically, after I got my results, I was awestruck and felt a calling. There's no reason they shouldn't be around today.

And I'm hoping y'all have an open enough mind to realize I'm not going to Hell. I'm secular with my faith.

1.Religions and beliefs die because science is able to remove the unknown and provide a natural explanation.

2.There is no Hell.

3.How are you secular and driven by faith at the same time?

@statisticalpc: You're right that we don't know that much about the universe, but my only drive in faith is that I believe there is a flipside people go when they die. It's natural to think that, but not when things get specific with pearly gates.

I'm secular and know there is no proof with any abode like the Duat, Uhlanga (for the Zulus) or Heaven. I hypothesize praying as I do will give positivity to whatever is the opposite of this domain of living creatures. Everyone and everything dies eventually.

It's why I've preferred science fiction over fantasy, because it's connotative of the things we've figured out or WILL figure out.

You play Assassin's Creed? The in-universe afterlife is a macrocosm called The Grey, where every epilogue of life realm that humans made up becomes real posthumously via their consciousness moving on. I believe less in this but it's also a possibility.

Basically it's a mix of reasons, sorry I couldn't fully answer your third question. It boils down to we need to invest more in science to find the answers.

@statisticalpc: Science doesn't address any of that. And there is much humans still don't know.

@LJS9502_basic: Science has proven plenty of it. Religions were born around natural occurring events like the weather, stars, etc. And just because we don't know something yet, doesn't mean we have to fill the knowledge gap with "faith" or religion.

You're conflating advancements and that is all you're doing. Science doesn't address what you think it does, nor should it.

@LJS9502_basic: What doesn't it address? Let's start there.