So i’ve been going through a lot of learning about myself and the world during my time in quarantine and i didn’t want to rush into speaking about this because i really don’t think that it’s something i necessarily have to share with the world, but I am excited about how much

of my life it has become so here i am! about 3 weeks ago I was scrolling through social media and there was someone talking about how the air benders in ATLA are based on tibetan mahayana bhuddist monks and i was like wow that’s a spiritual practice i don’t know much about.

So i started researching and watching videos about buddhism and it’s origins, beliefs, and practices. I immediately really identified with its teachings. Over the past few years i had expanded veganism into a holistic world view and spirituality incorporating karma and kindness

as my major motivations in life. when i first started reading about buddhism i saw a lot of my own ideas within the mahayana school of buddhism so i purchased just about every book i could find on the subject and got to work. the more i read the more i identified with the ideas.

I have now read 4 books in total on the subject including the main three that most buddhists point to as the defining literature for the practice. I know that i still have SO much to learn about it but i am really excited to have found a connection to a spiritual practice!

my whole life i have always been a spiritual person. i have always felt a greater sense of meaning was out there but i was never able to pinpoint where to find it. I grew up without a ton of religion in my individual family unit, we went to church occasionally and i even went to

a christian vacation bible school a few times, but it never felt like it was for me. in high school i really wanted to find something more and a lot of my friends were very involved with a local church youth group, so i tagged along with them more than a few times.

while i really enjoyed the experiences i had there i always had an underlying feeling of not belonging there. When i look back with a more aware view of myself and my motivations, i think i was more interested in being with my friends after dark on a school night than anything.

Through our college, i learned some about wicca and witchcraft but couldn’t really identify with that either. Plus i feared that i would be disrespecting a beautiful culture by practicing a white-washed version of it.

I still hold that concern with Buddhism, but i know that my intentions are pure and respectful as i live forward with my journey in spirituality.

I am so excited to learn more and connect with other buddhists to learn of their path and any insight they might have for me!

I am a buddhist!

Here are my book reccomendations if you are interested!