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Becoming a nun.

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
in Work & Volunteering
(Feel free to move this thread if it's not in the right place.)

I've been thinking a lot about becoming a nun. The problem is I'm not very religious at all (I only go to church if I'm really miserable.) I want to hide away and dedicate my life to something good though. I appreciate that becoming a nun probably isn't the best way to go about that seeing as if I dedicated my life to a god I'm not sure I believe in, I'd be a liar and a fake.

But are there any non religious nun equivalents? I want to be a good person but I don't want to face the world.

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I'm pretty sure you can do missionary work without being religious if that's what you're thinking about?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I'm not sure if that's what I'm thinking about? Maybe I mean like a commune? I don't really know so I don't know what I'll find if I don't know what I'm looking for.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    In the true sense of being a nun, no you can't be non-religious. By definition a nun is a woman who's part of a religious community.

    If I was you i'd PM piccolo, she's bound to know something about it all.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Go on a walkabout. Get some money saved up and just travel the world. If I wanted to get away from it all, that's what i'd do.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Hiya Grace

    RubberSkin is right, a religious order is devoted to a life of prayer and service. Their day revolves around worship. I am not sure that this would be right for you, given what you said about your own faith. I've got a really good insight into a nun's life from Sr. Catherine Wybourne (@digitalnun). I would recommend her blog, iBenedictines, and A Nun's Life (the latter is American but quite informative).

    It sounds to me as though you are really struggling in yourself at the moment - I know you're having a bad time with your mental health - and I think that making a major decision about the direction of your life would be problematic right now. Are you worried about starting university?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I really want some peace and quiet and order in my life which is what made me start thinking about being a nun. I don't want to go to university any more but I think it would be good to have some structure in my life so I'm probably going to go anyway because it's the least bad of all the options available to me. But where else can I get structure and silence from? I don't want to see other people. I really hate them all.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    grace wrote: »
    I really want some peace and quiet and order in my life which is what made me start thinking about being a nun. I don't want to go to university any more but I think it would be good to have some structure in my life so I'm probably going to go anyway because it's the least bad of all the options available to me. But where else can I get structure and silence from? I don't want to see other people. I really hate them all.

    I used to go to Quaker meetings to get time out. If you're going to UCL (I can't remember what you decided) I can recommend you local meetings that run during the day so you can get some structure out of going to them. They mostly sit in silence and are sympathetic to people leaving without having tea at the end.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    piccolo wrote: »
    I used to go to Quaker meetings to get time out. If you're going to UCL (I can't remember what you decided) I can recommend you local meetings that run during the day so you can get some structure out of going to them. They mostly sit in silence and are sympathetic to people leaving without having tea at the end.

    Yeah, I am going to UCL. Please can you send me the details? I think that'd be really helpful for me.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    How about going on a retreat? I've been on some budhist ones and some pagan ones and i've been on a couple of totally non-religous ones. But most have helped in some way. Or you could go spend some time in a Kibbutz.

    But coming from a Hippy's child, living in commune is not all that its cracked up to be unless everyone is supportive of each other and thats a rare occurance.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    It is worth noting, if you become a nun and get caught doing press ups in the cucumber patch you will be kicked out :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I'd just gain a bit of confidence. You don't have to hide away to dedicate your life to something good.:blush:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Its worth going to a church to a service maybe and talking to someone there, they often have things where they help you find a path, like what was suggested. Or any religion tend to have a way of help. I know our local church do courses for people and team up to run things such as relaxation, testimonys so how someone has got through hard things etc.
    Is this the kind of thing you are on about?
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