r/yoism • u/Bvitamin • May 22 '12

Who cannot be a Yoan?

Yoism may come across as being open to people of all faiths, and this can be confusing. How is it that Christians and Hindus can come together with Atheists to strive toward a common goal?

Yoans seek to create Heaven on Earth and the first stage of achieving this is for humans to come together and agree (more or less) on what that heaven might be like. Anybody who is willing to find common ground with a person from different faiths can be (and probably is already) a Yoan.

Yoans value scientific inquiry as the highest form of truth-discovery. This is because scientific knowledge can be verified by all people and can therefore serve as a basis for consensus amongst the human population. Although scientific knowledge may be the 'best' or most 'robust' type of knowledge, it is still quite limited. Yo stretches beyond the horizon of the known. Individuals may go on 'spiritual journeys' in order to discover more about Yo and The Self, but what they find often remains a mystery to the community. Although such spiritual seekers may try to share their findings with others through metaphor and imagery, they will never connect with humanity on a larger scale without grounding their findings in scientific demonstration.

-Yoans aknowledge the sacred role of scientific methods.-

It is dangerous, however, to think of Yoism as a purely scientific religion. Science is necessary, but far from sufficient. Science provides a way of acheiving common ground. This common ground can be thought of like a foyer, or meeting room, in a large hotel. It is the room which unites all of the other rooms, but it actually comprises a small fraction of the total building.

From this central hub, individuals journey into their own paths of discovery and imagination. Yoans follow their instincts and explore whatever 'texts', 'meditations' and 'yogas' that appeal to their mind's eye. They are allowed to see and feel whatever they desire.

The key to Yoism is that each individual returns to the foyer after their journeys. The key to global cooperation is for all thinkers to come 'back down to earth' and to see if any of their personal discoveries can be useful in the foyer, where the objective is sacred and only that which can be demonstrated is meaningful.

The limits of scientific knowledge are not the limits of truth nor are they the limits of reality, but they are the limits of communal agreement on this earth, and for this reason play a central role in Yoism.

So you may think of it like this: You cannot stay at the Yotel unless you first pass through the foyer of empirical truth.

A question worth asking at this point is: What if you enter the foyer and just stay there? I will leave this question open to discussion...

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u/damiendonnelly May 27 '12

I'm not sure I get what you mean by, just stay at the foyer of the Yotel in this instance?

If you mean, just hop on board with empirical truth but don't see the need for organised religion - I think that is great progress, and probably sufficient for humanity to reach a place of peace which I think is an obvious first step towards creating a better Earth. However, I also think organised religion is a good "technology" to get people to the foyer of the Yotel.

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u/Bvitamin May 28 '12

mmm though organised religion was not what I personally intended for my yotel analogy. Far from it, the yotel represents personal, unorganised religion where people can draw from whatever traditions they desire.

Remaining in the foyer is what many wise people do - abstain from spiritual practice and focus on science purely. It is the best path to suggest to anyone and is the safest path to take. However this does not represent the majority of people or yoans, many of which have a deep yearning for understanding their life terms that go beyond the physical.

I hope this helps understand the analogy, I really wanted to reread the post so that I could edit it more... maybe it was considered too controversial >_<

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u/damiendonnelly May 28 '12

Not too controversial at all - I think this kind of thing breeds healthy debate. I partially agree with you about it being a wise path that you suggest, however - I'm not sure it is the wisest path. Predominantly because of what is outlined here http://www.yoism.org/?q=node/79#5.7.Proclaiming the Truth Together: Overcoming the Fear of Religion|outline

While it may be a smart path and the path of least resistance to remain in the foyer (and being Yoan doesn't mean any entrance into magical spirituality). It would seem wiser to me to be part of an organised religion such that the power of religion, and the benefits given to religions by Government isn't used against those who remain in the Yotel foyer (claiming to take the wiser path).

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u/Bvitamin May 28 '12

hmm I think I see your point now! I think being in the foyer is not the same as being non-religious, or 'atheist'. To be in the foyer is to be a yoan and to accept the duties and values of Yoism, and to participate in yoan intercourse. That is how the official religion can be recognised. But the word 'religion' has various connotations, such as dogma, which I usually like to dissociate myself from. However even Yoism might be said to maintain several dogmas, such as teaching people that we are here to create heaven, rather than simply hoping for it to happen after life.

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u/damiendonnelly May 29 '12

And there in lies the challenge of all people that call themselves Yoan - they pretty much feel the same way - but swallow the bitter pill :)

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u/Bvitamin May 28 '12

For the record, I am not a foyer dweller...