Just joined, and looking to meet fellow Dudeists in LA, NYC, Edinburgh, London

[Rev. RJ Dudemiester]

Namaste!
I just joined the church and ordained myself today. A Facebook acquaintance of mine happen to list Dudeism as their religion, and curiosity got the better of me...

I'm about to leave town for a tour with a musical, and I will be in NYC for two weeks, and then in Edinburgh for all of August, with a two week vacation in London. Would love to meet any and all Dudeists in those towns for a few beers, laughs and good times!

When i get back to LA, I would love to meet with fellow Dudeists and discuss the goal of starting an LA congregation (unless there is already one, is there? if there is, please let me know!)

Here is my story-
I've lived through the whole cycle of faith and involvement in organized religion:
was once a devout Catholic convinced that I was being called by the One and Only True Catholic God to become a priest!
Then I studied the very dark and horrific history of the Mother Church-
I became an Agnostic.

I then studied the histories of the other major world religions-
I became an Atheist!

Rejecting organized religion, I immersed myself in art, and studied the ancient history of theatre (before the Greeks) and, randomly: physics-
I became a Quantum Mechanical Mystic.

Then I rediscovered Allan Watts' "The Way of Zen", probably the the best book on the history of Buddhism, as well as Karen Armstrong's "The History of God", probably the most informative, factual book on the history of the big three Theist religions-
and became a Secular Quantum Mechanical Mystic Buddhist, seeking catharsis through the practice of performance art, with Roman Catholic tendencies toward the baroque when it comes to ritual.

theatre is my temple
creating theatre (or any art) is my practice
and the live event of presenting the show to an audience
is my Zen/nirvana/catharsis (in religious terms: my salvation)

I have long considered starting my own religion... But I realized that I don't have the time to do that... then this friend introduced me to Dudeism. This is a religion that I can be an active member of without compromising my convictions! And it contains everything that I would have established as tenants of my own Church, so why re-invent the wheel?

I'm about to go on tour with a show, so I will be shure to spread the word on my travels. And when I get back to LA, I would actually want to start a local chapter, if there isn't one already. Any advice, suggestions, or help that you or anyone in this group can give would be deeply appreciated!

[Zen Dog]

Well dude, and this is just,like, my opinion,I don't see dudeism as a religion as such.Well, not in the accepted sense.Any ceremony is conducted in a bowling alley and is more like a way of being, and this here website is just a way of linking up with fellow travellers.Talking of which,if you are in London for the next 2 weeks, I live just an hour down the line.Any day from tomorrow 2nd Sep except 5th 6th 7th 8th 10th 9th possibly(feeding the monkey) would be good for a meet up and share perspectives a few oat sodas and maybe a game if I can find an alley up The Smoke or nearby.

[anthonyabidesdude]

hey man, if you let me know which musical it is in london i might be able to go see it then hook up? (going to a musical is the only way for me to justify going to london, though it's not that far, 30 mins on the train to waterloo)

[Zen Dog]

Well dude? The old roller blind is coming down on the window of opportunity.