I'm going to try a Unitarian Church!

I recently found out that a co-worker of mine attends the local Unitarian Universalist church. In addition, he and his girlfriend, who like me are in their mid-twenties, are starting a young-adults group at the church. Unfortunately he's going to be on vacation for the next couple weeks, and I'm not comfortable enough with new situations to try going to the church without someone I know.

I'm really excited though! And I've suscribed to their young adult listserv to keep up with what's going on before I try out the church.

Truth and the Sacred

I can tell when some things are true. They reveal powerful things about the Universe.

I recognize some things as sacred. They connect to the deepest parts of my soul and remind me that I am part of something so much larger than myself, my family, my city, my country, or even my planet. That I am part of all that is living in this Universe. That I, myself, am sacred as well. I am every bit as holy as the Sun and Moon and Stars above and the Earth beneath my feet.

Usually when I encounter truth it is something someone says to me or that I read in a book. When I encounter something sacred it can appear in so many forms. For me, the most common form is music. But there are days I see the sacred everywhere and I am truly grateful.

Elemental

According to BeliefNet's What's Your Element Quiz I'm a water person. They describe water people here. A lot of that applies to me. The scary part of which is:

All that feeling can lead to its share of problems.
Depression and addiction are Watery illnesses,
and flowing with dark, negative feelings can make
some Water people irrational, or even psychotic.

According to the stuff at BeliefNet water people are ruled by emotion and feelings. I'll buy that. I need to feel things, knowing them doesn't get me anywhere. I need to feel that I am safe, not be told that I am. I need to feel that i'm loved, not hear the words "I love you". I need to feel a higher power in my life.

My Anthropology Project

I'm taking a course in Ethnographic research Methods this semester. As part of the course I have to do a research project including real fieldwork.

I've decided to research the way religion and dedication to religion affect the way a student deals with stress. While I know religious people are more likely to pray, I'm also curious if other things they do, like regular church attendance help with stress. I also want to know if they are as likely to use other coping mechanism that are common among students like drinking.

I'm also curious about the degree of stress that might arise from religion itself. Students are more likely to try religions or at least denominations different from the one they were raised in. They are also likely to do things they may have been taught were wrong like drinking alcohol and premarital sex.

Anyway, should be interesting research. More info to come.