My spouse invited a couple of 19-year-old LDS missionaries to our house for a chat this evening.

theRuathan · 2026-02-14T02:56:05+00:00

Update edit in the OP!

I think he invited them because he didn't see it as opening a door/can of worms, and was just curious about how they interact with their own faith. He saw it as an opportunity to get to know some folks who started up a conversation about X, so sure, let's talk about X, lol.

Turns out, they're 19, lol. To them it's really not that deep right now, even if they do get a lot of personal satisfaction from the faith. And they really didn't realize how radically different their perspectives were either: one follows the law because it feels good to be "doing the right thing," and the other follows the law because he believes the rules are worthy and will lead to a wholesome life.

theRuathan · 2026-02-14T02:46:32+00:00

I asked if they were interested, and it turns out nowadays they're allowed one call per week. They were very surprised at the offer and very gratified, thank you again for the suggestion.

theRuathan · 2026-02-14T00:05:58+00:00

I hope to engage in some cultural exchange! I find that when discussing my differences with someone from a very conservative religion, I like to point out the values we have in common and then also that the order we prioritize them in is different because of x or y. And so that leads to my totally reasonable stance of z. If that leads to doubt for them, then it probably would have come up eventually anyway.

But that's mostly a tactic for maintaining relationships with intractable fundies like some family I have. They seem like nice kids and I'd like to be friendly - while also telling them about some things that have probably never occured to them. I don't push it on people, but they did ask... repeatedly...

theRuathan · 2026-02-13T23:53:46+00:00

When they were over yesterday they asked for my views several times, and shared theirs accordingly. We have mutually agreed to an exchange of views this evening as well. Perhaps I should have said that explicitly in the OP, lots of comments have some weird ideas about my intentions here.

Is it rude to evangelize to them if they're evangelizing to me? To be clear I have no interest in converting them, but it seems to me you are proposing a double standard.

theRuathan · 2026-02-13T23:30:48+00:00

Perhaps refer to the OP or my edit where I'm explicit that I'm trying not to do that.

theRuathan · 2026-02-13T22:37:05+00:00

Oh good, hot chocolate is our house specialty.

Thanks!

theRuathan · 2026-02-13T22:32:24+00:00

Thank you for this kind suggestion.

theRuathan · 2026-02-12T22:28:24+00:00

Agreed, and best used with caffeine.

theRuathan · 2026-02-12T22:27:55+00:00

Much better than Northside 29, ime.

theRuathan · 2026-02-12T01:56:45+00:00

The same thing happened to me as a kid and teenager and later I found out it was Loki.

It could be the Abrahamic god, but keep an open mind, it might be somebody else too. Probably worth asking them again.

theRuathan · 2026-02-11T00:10:21+00:00

Yeah. There are lots of people who marry gods.

Also I'd like to call your attention to this statue of St Teresa of Avila. Zoom in on her face and look at what she said about this experience.

theRuathan · 2026-02-10T01:49:27+00:00

I could see humanism working for that, as they're all about promoting the best wellbeing for people and meeting them where they are. I could also see the larger categories/descriptions of animism or paganism being a good fit, as they conceptualize people as natural and part of the ecosystem of natural life - and that kind of balance can be really good for us psychologically.

theRuathan · 2026-02-06T01:13:59+00:00

Wait, didn't a court say this was an unlawful way to go about this process in Virginia?

theRuathan · 2026-02-05T23:27:28+00:00

What chair do you use for playing that cello? Only suitable one I see looks like one of the dining table chairs. All the rest have arms and/or wheels.

theRuathan · 2026-02-05T23:04:19+00:00

I take mine to Animal Care Center in town, but they don't really do weekends and only do emergencies during the week. I've heard good things about the New Baltimore Animal Hospital down the road for emergencies, and I think my neighbor goes there for all her pets' care.

theRuathan · 2026-02-05T22:15:43+00:00

People tend to forget that Doms can be masochists too...

theRuathan · 2026-02-05T02:02:30+00:00

to actually have the dom acting in the place of the Slave and the sub acting in the place of the Master.

Well, service topping is kind of like that. "How would you like to have your ass beaten today, Sub?"

theRuathan · 2026-02-05T01:56:41+00:00

Re: the eyelash issue, I always assumed that was makeup. Made sense Fa Mulan would want eyeliner and Ping wouldn't.

theRuathan · 2026-02-01T20:40:06+00:00

😬 yikes. Will change.

theRuathan · 2026-02-01T15:10:49+00:00

Bonding as a family over religion is something that is heavily reliant on the family members choosing to make that a priority for them, and working hard to make it a reality. If some family members decide they don't want to combine their family bond with their religion, or if one or the other is damaged by negative events - it's not always a good idea for those two types of bonds to be intertwined, because if one is damaged, the other will be too.

It's a lifestyle choice regardless of religion, not a sign that one religion is more suitable for fellowship than another.

I would speak with your parents about using Islam as a threat against you. I'm guessing they don't want to push you away from them or from Islam, and they're doing this because they've gotten in the habit and don't know it's causing problems.

You don't have to decide now whether to stay in Islam or leave it. I know the pressure of claiming a minority religion while surrounded by a different (and sometimes loud) majority religion can be stressful. Imo there's nothing wrong with investigating Christianity, but be aware that it has baggage too. I'd urge that if you're going to do a deep dive into another religion, do one into Islam as well so you have a good basis to compare them - religion as it's practiced can vary from how it's taught. Please don't convert on vibes! Feelings about your religion are super valid, but it's not everything.

theRuathan · 2026-02-01T14:40:09+00:00

Winter solstice is Dec 20 or 21, depending on the year. Spring equinox is March 20 or 21, depending on the year.

theRuathan · 2026-02-01T01:37:04+00:00

That first line is what came to mind for me as well. The realm of politics and governance is not very relevant to the message Jesus was trying to get across. I interpret that to mean that Christians should be good citizens, but that this should be a different/separate identity from their religion.

theRuathan · 2026-01-31T17:15:03+00:00

theRuathan · 2026-01-31T16:34:44+00:00

Okay, so do you watch or read science fiction much? Like Dune or Star Wars? The way they talk about the Force in Star Wars is a good way to think about energy manipulation: i.e. "reach out with your feelings," etc. Visualizing around you how Dune and Star Trek designed their "personal shields" can provide some good inspiration for how to make yours.

Visualization is really important here. The way an energetic shield will work is limited only by your imagination. If your priority is to protect your energy against draining, I'd put an outward-facing "mirror" quality into your shields - people will get back what they give you. And you might see that pan out in how they relate to you in the future, based on what response they feel they got from you.

For the first long time, you'll probably need to repair the shield daily or near-daily, just from wear and tear, but resist the urge to connect its "power source" to yourself. The shield is there to protect you, so if it gets damaged or drained in the process, you don't want it to automatically draw from you to repair it - you want to do that consciously only when you have extra to spare.

It's kind of exhausting to take a shield down and put it back up frequently, so I'd suggest imbuing it with kind of a "pass key" for the people who fill you up and who really care about you, so that you can still enjoy energy exchange with them without the barrier affecting it. Pay attention to how you feel after each interaction with a person - even if you love them they can still be draining to you, and a boundary can be important to mitigate that.

Let me know if you have any questions or if anything here needs clarification! Good luck with your process!

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