Catholic Jesus, Buddha, incense, and gold

Today I was in a Catholic Church...probably for the first time in over 8 years, and as I stood in the pew and took it all in, I began to realize why I was enjoying it so much. I was surrounded by hard-wood, red carpets, frankincense, and gold. It was quiet. The vibe was formal, sacred, (and also more patriarchal than I like to admit in this case). I asked myself, "where have I felt this before, recently?" ...And then it dawned on me. The reason it felt so familiar and proximal was that about a week and a half before today I visited the international Buddhist meditation center. There, too, I had found myself surrounded by tall statues, red carpets, quiet humble silence, gold... and Buddhist centers also often burn incense.

I have always been one of the first to find common denominators between religions. Just the same, I was amazed to find these striking similarities in these two very different (or maybe no so different) religious contexts.

How many other religious sanctuaries would provide the same effect?? ...You have to wonder.

Then I wondered about all the things that the two god-heads have in common. But this wasn't about Jesus and Buddha. Many protestant churches are different from this. This was specifically about the Catholic church and the most formal Buddhist places of worship.

Here are some of my thoughts about this...

...I have heard many refer to Buddha as the Jesus of the East. Historically speaking, however, it Jesus would be the Buddha of the West. That's because the first Buddha (Siddhartha Gotama) was actually born about 500 years before Jesus. Anyway, they were both highly evolved human beings who had profound spiritual revelations and were in some ways prophets in that they directly experienced the divine and shared their wisdom with others.

... Jesus and Siddhartha Gotama were both men, and the original followers of these prophets were primarily men, and the living god-heads (like the Pope, and Tibetan Buddhism's Dalai Lama and their respective Cardinals / archbishops / priests, and monks) ...are all men.   ...making both of their religions highly patriarchal.

...Gold, red carpets, and incense: Gold is valuable, Red carpets are regal, and incense is smoke. It makes sense for us to place valuable things such as metals (like gold), around things that we value or worship. I think this is about the personification of divinity. I also think that this may tie back in some ways to patriarchy and power. (Money=Power=Control). Red carpets are not so valuable, but somehow got culturally ingrained as being associated with the sacred. We know that red is a symbol of passion, so maybe that has something to do with it, too. Lastly, in many modes of religion and spirituality, smoke is viewed as having the ability to send prayer and intention up to the gods or into the universe towards manifestation. Smell is also one of the most powerful ways that the brain makes associations. We associate the smell with the sacred. Once we smell it, we quirky become open and poised for spiritual growth.  So functionally, the smell will bring you back and open you to the sacred. Speaking of association, the same goes for gold and red. All these factors form a beautifully self-reinforcing cycle that keeps them in place, and helps these two religions stay strong.

(I final caveat.  There are many Buddhists and Christians who practice in the absence of these factors. I know and repeat this, I was focusing here on larger social and psychological trends)

...Any way you put it, it's amazing what some time in a spiritual place of worship can do for you!

UPDATE: Modern Family Therapy and Pragmatic Spirit

Greetings!
As you may have noticed above above, I have made made some changes to the Title and Description of this blog so that it better represents what I initially set out to do with it. It just took me a little more time to transform it from an abstract thought to something more daily communicated with words...

If you know anything about me, you know that I strongly believe that total wellness is physical, mental and spiritual, and that I try to live from the pou stó in my personal, social, and professional lives. I wanted to have a space to write and share and learn with others about how people are living like this, or grappling with dilemmas related to this. I hope to connect with others who get as much meaning as I do from discussing these kinds of ideas.

Best Wishes,
-Nate

"Me Time" After work

I sometimes pop into a bar after a long day of work. Often I marvel at that wide range if people - mostly people who just finished working, from what I can tell, with ties, blue collars, construction boots, to backpacks. Don't they have families? I'm sure they do, as do I. If I can back the next day, would I find all the same people? I imagine only a few are nightly regulars. I am left thinking about what people do to unwind after work, if anything. Is unwinding even needed? I will go ahead and say YES, especially of you have a family or some other continued responsibilities once you get home! Now the bar is certainly not the go-to unwind strategy, not if you need something regularly, and not if you have a family. The point is thy we should all have a few different thugs to choose from that can help to take a little "me time" before transitioning from work to family. This prevents you from suffering as well as your family from suffering from your unhappiness. I'm only talking about a couple of minutes. I am interested in hearing how you all do this....a good radio show on the way home? ... A hot shower when you get home? Maybe you get your "me time" once everyone is in bed... Either way you're probably doing something and if not I challenge you to think of something that works for you and your family ( if you have one).