Ziran

The earliest examples I'm aware of used the human body as a microcosm of reality, and the constellations as a macrocosm of reality. Then, the individual would become inspired, intellectually awestruck and full of wonder. When this awe-and-wonder are assigned an external locus of control, it naturally produces religious cognition. Faith, hope, etc... bound to the... beyond. Assuming that the individual is successful, consistently, then they have discovered a religious practice. It's the success which determines whether or not the method attempted ( past tense ) was successful. Because of this the successful method becomes a "religion practice" retroactively. It all depends on whether or not the method actually worked. If so, it's a religion. You're very welcome to bring your own definition.

If so, how is awareness distinguished from oblivion?

The religion, at that moment of inception, has only one member.

In the same manner that the religion is invented today. Religious people re-invent their religion every time it's sincerely practiced.

The semantics here need to be precise. I'm not trying to be difficult, but, I'm choosing words carefully to prevent re-explaining. At that hypothetical moment, if there was only one person involved, the "person" is not directly experiencing it. It's still being abstracted through the microcosm of the physical realm. There aren't extant records of this, the very first religious experience. However, the earliest that I'm aware of used either the human body as the microcosm, or the constellations as a macrocosm. ETA: Primitive people directly experiencing reality falls in the category of Shamanism, not religion, imo.

I'm sorry. I'm not understanding the objection. The first person, assuming there was only one, would necessarily utilize the same technique(s) to investigate some "thing" beyond the material realm.

I like to distinguish between awareness ( which is declaring ) and curiosity ( which is inquiring ). YMMV

The totality of experience includes "Let-Down". If the intention was "peaking", seeking a "peak experience", then there will naturally be a let-down when that peak experience ends without an opportunity to ascend higher to a new peak.

Agnostic-Atheism

A religion is necessary if the target of investigation is 100% different from any "thing" in the material realm, assuming there's more than material, of course. Lacking any similar "thing", one would need a linkage, a conduit, a medium, a vessel. It's like making tea. Fire and Water can't tolerate each other without a kettle between them. Religion is the "kettle".

Making a ritual is like making a layered birthday cake, where each and every layer is highly significant and reinforces the other layers. The key is purity of intention, not perfection. Lacking this purity the significance becomes diluted, and the ritual is weak.

"and" sequentially, or, "and" simultaneously? If it's sequential that may be an obstacle. ... because your awareness is sequential? When awareness is directed to the material form and its birth it's difficult to deny them?

IOW: Supra-rational and the source of life? yup "... come into my parlor, said the spider to the fly." She's a brick... house. LINK she makes me feel alive what makes you alive is the pulsing, the rising-and-falling, of the human soul. Chaos is built in to the system

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspension_of_disbelief

IF so, big if, there will be multiple contributing constituents. No singular root cause. This is difficult for the mind to comprehend which is accustomed to linear sequential cognition. Instead, the condition is "felt", rather profoundly. The heart "understands", in plural, what the mind cannot. Further, on inquiry of the complex, the mind is uniquely disadvantaged in regard to troubleshooting the condition. As it polls the possible root causes, one at a time, it will find no contributing constituents are independently responsible. If there is motive, good reasons, for the mind to avoid considering the complex in total, it will easily default into an avoidant posture or attitude. Which can present in a number of ways. Best wishes, good luck on exams

1) Spend time with others who understand what I've been through. 2) Avoid talking about it in detail to everyone else.

That sounds difficult to me. Keeping the peace is a heavy burden. And often thankless. Maybe you're used to it. right. I can relate. If trauma is understood as a permanent engraving, it explains why, even long after the event, even after it's fully processed and compartmentalized, current events and relationships seem to fall into the troughs left behind.

heard engravings on the individual soul? No. Some do, some don't. I'm curious, to what extent do your friends and family know that you're unhappy right now? At this present juncture of your life? Do you feel the need to fake it? If so, that's a lot of work.

It's small compared to what? "Small" doesn't accurately describe it. Regardless, the effect is null because the force being measured doesn't occur in isolation. Once the other forces in the system are included, the materialists win this argument.

are you open about it in real life? friends, family? do they know?

The trauma I'm referring to can't be cured. Yes, it's remembered. It's like an engraving. Even if it's repaired, it's still there in the background. Nothing changes it. May I change the subject? maybe it's not anxiety? maybe it's adjacent? Avoidant? It seems to be a sort of "open-secret". You're not happy? At home?

Realizing the thoughts are stupid and naive is a good thing. Can you connect the stupid and naive ideas with the realization of these attributes such that they're not stupid anymore? Such that they're not naive anymore?

Maybe this is a way to make some progress towards encountering more happiness, day to day? FWIW, I struggle with feelings of loss. I know that I've lost things, people, relationships, etc. But, it's difficult for me, because, after realizing God and Eternity, the notion of loss is peculiar. Not ocd, just staying busy, busy... if the over-use of a coping mechanism is contributing, it's not a disorder. It's perfectly natural. I quoted that part because, if I recall, you've mentioned the chores and mindless tasks in prior posts.

Horoscopes and birth charts are a good way to begin an inquiry or a conversation. They're "ice-breakers", for lack of a better term. Yes, like Tarot cards, because within the system of stars and constellations there is a "full deck" of attributes and a nearly limitless number of different combinations, just like individual personalities. When an individual does a reading for another person, they are not actually reading the cards. They're allowing the diversity of cards to inspire them towards an open-mind. Reading the cards is "emptying the mind-and-heart" creating a metaphorical crucible. Then the individual reading the cards sifts through the thoughts that arise within that crucible, something-from-nothing, seeking resonance. If there is any "magic" involved, it's not coming from the cards. It's coming from the individual's heart-and-mind who is doing the reading. Their psyche is sensitive to the subtle resonance between the thoughts which arise while doing the reading and the sequence of events here-and-now, in the material world. This sensitivity to subtle resonance can present as an inborn talent. Or, more often, it's cultivated and developed as a skill. Almost anyone can do it, and most have experienced it in contra-distinction, as "discord", described by some as an "Uh-Oh feeling", or "something's not right about this." It doesn't need cards. Tea-leaves will do. Watching steam rise. Gazing at the ocean waves. Looking into the stars... The benefit of using cards or constellations is that these are somewhat arbitrary. Using these as the source of inspiration helps to reduce the impact of hidden biases and indoctrinations on the reading. This part, is definitely Woo. There is a hard distinction between material science and subtle readings. Mixing material science into it is a fool's errand. In the material realm, no two things can occupy the same space at the same time. Beyond the material all is concurrent and omni-present. If an individual is looking for information about themself from a material perspective, the best resources are medical doctors and academics. The name is purely spiritual. It isn't part of the physical realm. There's a great deal of potential possessed in the name, for help or for harm. The birthdate is less significant, but, there's a hard link between those who are born on the same date ( using a lunar calendar ). Yes, God desires to be known, regardless of whether God is considered within or without. Most succinctly, regardless of the medium, during divination, using stars, birthdates, cards, or a crystal ball, the underlying mechanism is simultaneously holding "one-and-many" within the "mind's eye". "One-and-many" simultaneously is a revelation of God. With practice, the medium becomes insignificant. The inner-experience becomes the "many", and "God" is realized as "in-between-and-surrounding" granting access to the trance state which produces the insight.

Loss and trauma are exceptions. These are permanent engravings on the individual soul. Loss and trauma are often sharply brought into focus within the stillness. Staying busy in mind and body is a coping mechanism. In isolation of other coping mechanisms, if the trauma and loss remain in focus, the mind and body become "anxious". Judy, are you coping with loss and/or trauma? If the answer is 'no', could these be hiding in plain sight?