Opensewer Gathering #8 Columbus, Ohio Friday, March 30, 2001.
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	SUMMARY - The Gathering and Discussion by Joshua Kaufman Five people attended the Columbus Opensewer, a decent turnout for the first meeting in a new city. We've got to start somewhere, right? The discussion started on the topic of religion and multiculturalism. After a number of introductory views were shared, we came to a general agreement on a few points which set the mellow tone for the rest of the discussion: No one present considered themselves very religious or actively practiced any religion. It's okay to practice any religion that one chooses to practice. This doesn't necessarily mean that "it's all good, man," but rather that people around the world are very different, personally and culturally, and no one should be able to dictate what someone chooses to personally believe. Regarding the ideas of "right" on "wrong": There are no absolute rights and wrongs. Most ideas of what is right or wrong may be based in religion, but culture also plays a very large role in determining these moral issues as well. Realizing that no one in the group practiced any religion, and that we were agreeing quickly with one another on each question that came up, it became increasingly challenging to stay on the topic of religion. As we were discussing the relationship between materialism and religion, the book The Celestine Prophesy came into the discussion. Most of those present agreed with the comments within the Atlantic article--except for one person. That attendee practiced a healing technique known as "Reiki" which, although not directly related to the ideas of The Celestine Prophesy, shares many of the same ideas on vibration and energy transmission. The attendee described the practice as well as some its more famous followers. This led into the first heated discussion of the evening, and many questions on the topic of "alternative medicine." While the discussion wasn't quite as intense as expected, Opensewer 8 Columbus was a great start. We're all looking forward to the next one! At Town Addiction 363 East Town Street : Map (614) 224-8308   Jump to: Cleveland | Columbus | Ithaca Back to Opensewer 8 Main Page