[Mountain Mule]

I was raised in the Christian church and considered myself a Christian until at age 17 I stumbled onto a book on the Holocaust on the shelves of my local public library. Way back then the New Mexico school I attended didn't teach about the Holocaust, so I was completely stunned. I did not understand how a loving Christian God could allow such a thing to happen. And of course, all manner of atrocities and horrors happened prior to the Holocaust and after. If there is a God, he's asleep at the wheel and can't be bothered to wake up.

As far as the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament, I still feel that they are strong guides to lead a spiritual life and they give meaning to my day to day existence.

In my 20's I discovered Buddhism and its message of compassion toward all touched me deeply - especially treating all sentient beings with compassion - even one's enemies.I try to do this but of course I fall short constantly. Still, it gives me a spiritual path (as opposed to a religious one) that I can aspire to follow.

I do believe that there is some sort of "Intelligence of the Universe" - for lack of a better term - and I have had some very profound spiritual experiences which showed me that there is more on heaven and earth that my small intelligence can even dream of.