Question of the week: alternative religious and spiritual practices.

[moonvoice]

Alright, I'll admit it, I've forgotten to keep up with the questions of the week. Here's one though, courtesy of tsukikokoro:

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Have you been involved in religious or spiritual activities before animism/shamanism? Or, alternatively, do you combine animism with spiritualities not traditionally associated with animism; such as monotheistic practices?

What drew you from other spiritual practices to animism, and/or, what draws you to combine animist practices with other belief-systems now?

Comments

[tsukikokoro]

I was briefly a teenage Wiccan before I came to animism. Solo-practice was just not for me, I had no draw to the Lord and the Lady, and the small group of us that would occasionally gather on the holidays/important dates was poorly informed on ritual and boundaries and a whole heap of stuff (myself definitely included).

Right now, I blend rinzai zen buddhism with neoshamanism. The discipline, awareness/mindfulness, and exercises of rinzai zen buddhism have been really essential in my life. It is, ironically, the part of my spirituality that requires the most faith. I call myself a neoshamanist because I believe in the Otherworlds, because I believe that is the path that best describes the universe we live in according to my own experiences. My belief system is currently, and may forever be, a work in progress.