Chinese Traditional Religion

This one is the next largest religion,and it is comprised of many different religions."Chinese traditional religion" is meant to categorize the common religion of the majority Chinese culture: a combination of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, as well as the traditional non-scriptural/local practices and beliefs.
Fifty years ago religious Taoism was one of the largest, strongest institutions in China. Since the Cultural Revolution and the government's campaign to destroy non-Communist religion, Taoism lost, for the most part, the main mechanism through which it remained distinct from the larger Chinese religious environment: its large numbers of temples and Taoist clergy.You  can read more about Chinese religion here.

I have been consulting the I Ching ( prounounced ee-ching) for the past several years. Brian Browne Walker's  version is simple and concise and has been a grest help for me in times of uncertainty. Coins are thrown 6 times to create an odd or even number, to create trigrams. The combination of the two trigrams create a hexagram -there are 64 different readings possible.
It is an ancient form of  divination and philosophy. The qualities the I Ching counsels one to embody are modesty, awareness, acceptance, adaptability, compassionian, restraint, innocence, perserverence, tolerance,  reticence, devotion to inner truth, conscientiousness, balance and inner independance. The qualities the I Ching urges us to let go of are fear, anger, desire, arrogance, aggressiveness, anxiety, harshness, cunning, goal orientation and self indulgence.

Also the book refers to the "Sage". "the Creative" "the Higher power" and so on. One can put the word "God", "Allah", "my Higher Self", "the universe" "the great spirit" or what ever term suits. It is for anyone to use.

Ganesh 7"x7" watercolor on paper ( in my sketchbook)

Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of India. Hinduism is often referred to as Sanātana Dharma (a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal law") by its adherents. Generic "types" of Hinduism that attempt to accommodate a variety of complex views span folk and Vedic Hinduism to bhakti tradition, as in Vaishnavism. Hinduism also includes yogic traditions and a wide spectrum of "daily morality" based on the notion of karma and societal norms such as Hindu marriage customs.

Hinduism is formed of diverse traditions and has no single founder. Among its roots is the historical Vedic religion of Iron Age India, and as such Hinduism is often called the "oldest living religion"or the "oldest living major tradition".

Ganesh is the Hindu God considered to be the Remover of Obstacles, Lord of Beginnings, Patron of Arts and Sciences, Lord of Intellect and Wisdom. 

Atheist Symbol Abstraction, watercolor on paper, 7"x7"

According to the Internet University of All Knowledges where I am getting my masters degree (;

I learned that Atheism is the third largest group of "religions" in the world, Christianity being the first at 2.1 billion , Islam the second at 1.5 billion,. Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist at  1.1 billion).

from http://atheists.org"

 Atheists  define their lifestyle as follows. An Atheist loves himself and his fellow man instead of a god. An Atheist accepts that heaven is something for which we should work now – here on earth – for all men together to enjoy. An Atheist accepts that he can get no help through prayer, but that he must find in himself the inner conviction and strength to meet life, to grapple with it, to subdue it and to enjoy it. An Atheist accepts that only in a knowledge of himself and a knowledge of his fellow man can he find the understanding that will help lead to a life of fulfillment."

Buddha, 5"x5" acrylic and paper on panel

This season is rich with religious and spiritual experience. Each day I will explore a different religion and post some words gleaned from my search.

When things go wrong in our life and we encounter difficult situations we tend to regard the situation itself as the problem, but in reality whatever problems we experience come from the side of the mind. If we were to respond to difficult situations with a positive or peaceful mind they would not be problems for us; indeed we may even come to regard them as challenges or opportunities for growth and development. Problems arise only if we respond to difficulties with a negative state of mind. Therefore, if we want to be free from problems we must learn to control our mind.

This painting was done from a drawing given to me by my friend Tori.

Spirit , 8"x8", acrylic on panel

I have been going to different churches a lot lately. I consider myself a spiritual person, but not exactly religious.
I don't really know where I belong, but I like comparing the different philosophies and seeing where the connections are. 
I do believe in love and kindness. That's pretty universal.

This is for my monthly challenge group-our theme this month is "spirit".

ch- ch -ch- changes

It started out easy-but I had to change it a lot- still working on this one.

Everytime I looked at it I didn't like it. I put sand in the paint and scumbled it on the foreground, when that dries more color will go on top- lately I feel like I need more texture in my painting. I like it more now.

Hope everyone had a grateful Thanksgiving- I sure did!

Happy Thanksgiving! (Work in progress)-untitled (for now)- 20"x20" acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

I hope all of you have a wonderful day - where ever you are- with friends, family or

 out and about.

I am so thankful for all of you -

 I know you are out there and sharing 

what I do with you has been the most gratifying and wonderful experience. 

Eat a lot! (and go Pats!)