I am a 26-year-old wife and mother of two. I may be young but I have a well-rounded variety of life experiences. Some of that includes dealing with blended families, in-laws, parenting, and strange dreams. There are other topics I have a broad base of knowledge in and I will typically lean towards those more than others. They happen to be my favorite categories.
If you ask a question, the typical response time is within 24 hours.
**Please note that I am not a certified counselor. I am just an average lady who wishes to give you an honest opinion.**
Gender: Female
Location: Pennsylvania, USA
Age: 26
Member Since: November 18, 2006
Answers: 35
Last Update: April 2, 2007
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Hi, I'm only 17 years old, but throughout my life I've been fascinated with the Jewish culture and religion. My family doesn't really have a religion, although we always observe christian holidays such as Christmas and Easter, mostly because of tradition and the town we live in. My Uncle is Jewish, so my cousins are, but they don't really practice much of the faith except around their gradnparents. Is it weird that I want to convert to Judaism? Is it possible? If so,how would I go about doing that? Can you be Jewish without being of Jewish descent? (link)
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If you are curious, I would encourage you to visit a local synagogue if there is one. They are usually very gracious with visitors and will help you learn as much as you want to know.
It IS possible to convert if you are willing enough, however, it is not something to be taken lightly. There will be classes to go through at the synagogue and you will need to worship on a regular basis to remain an active member.
For more information, try Judaism 101 at:
http://www.jewfaq.org/
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Not sure if what I am experiencing is mental or spiritual.
OK, I am not depressed. I have been treated for that in the past. So I know what depression is like, this is not it. I have a decent job, a great family and no real problems. I am an easygoing person who loves everyone.
Here's my story:
My family and I were waiting at a stoplight when suddenly out of no where I got this powerful urge to cry. I tried to fight it, I had nothing to cry about. As we sat there at the light waiting, an ambulance appeared in the distance. It was in front of us, heading our direction fast. The closer the ambulance got the stronger the uge to cry became. By the time the ambulance had reached us, I could not fight it anymore. I was quietly crying when my boyfriend noticed and became concerned. He asked me what was wrong and all I could say was "I don't know." It wasn't just the urge to cry. I had an overwelming feeling of deep sadness as the ambulance passed. I didn't feel like myself. I felt lost and extremely confused.
I think I may have even blacked out for a few seconds. Everything went blurry and my body felt limp.
Our light turned green after the ambulance passed.
As the distance between us and the ambulance grew the feeling faded. Before 10 minutes had passed I no longer had the urge to cry. I was able to sit up in my chair and see clearly. The emotional heavyness that hit me so fast, was gone just as fast. Afterwords I felt drained, exhausted and emotionally raped.
This does not happen every time an ambulance gets near me. Just sometimes. Never had one quite so strong before. When I am next to someone at the store or workplace, no where in particular. I feel as if I know how they are feeling. The stronger the emotion the more sure I am of the feeling. Sometimes, I think I can tell what an animal is feeling. Not what they are thinking, but how they are feeling emotionally.
Could this be real?
I cannot run everytime an ambulance passes me. Although the thought has crossed my mind. I hate the feeling of being emotionally raped.
Is this a question for the mental health section?
Thanks for letting me ramble. I am open to any advice you have.
Thanks,
Tammy-AKA hnstymtrs
(link)
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You might have been responding to a subconcious trigger upon seeing the ambulance. What I mean is, if something negative happened in your past that is related to hospitals, accidents, or emergencies, it is a very real possibility that seeing and hearing the ambulance triggered the response you had in a way much like those who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome respond to reminders of their past.
Also, the presence of an ambulance in our society rarely brings good news, as a medical urgency always precedes the need for the ambulance. Those who have had depression in the past (I have had and been treated for this as well) tend to have a heightened awareness of our emotions, good and bad. In some cases, one cannot help but 'feel' for the victim we know is out there, and as a result, it is very easy to experience the uncontrollable urge to let our emotions overtake us.
Or, and this is just a silly wild theory, you are a psychic empath and can pick up on the emotions of others, but there really is no way to prove this. However, if you experience these things more often in a variety of situations and do not again receive a diagnosis of depression, then it woudl be something to consider.
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Does anyone know of any good deism or "natural religion" websites or books? (link)
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If you type 'deism' into google, you can actually be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of sites connected with deism and natural religion.
The following is a site that is mostly from reference standpoint:
http://www.experiencefestival.com/natural_religion
While these sites are geared more towards internet-based community discussions:
http://www.positivedeism.com/
http://www.dynamicdeism.org/forum/phpBB2/index.php
As for books, really the best bet is to head to your local book store and sift through their 'religion' section. The larger stores (Barnes & Noble) have more selections to review. If you can't get out of the house, a friendly book site like Amazon can help you sort through a plethora of titles, which offers customer ratings and reviews at the same time.
For example, I managed to find this book on deism that has excellent (five stars) reader reviews:
Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (do a search in the amazon search toolbar)
The key is to sort the results by 'Avg. Customer Review". Once you find a book that interests you, either purchase it from the website, or write down the title and head to the nearest book store or library.
Edited to add you may need to copy/paste the URLs to your browser address bar.
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