Use the drop-down boxes above to navigate through the Website  
Return to Reasoning List
 

Here is a link to this page:
http://www.jah-rastafari.com/forum/message-view.asp?message_group=7811&start_row=1


Non Rastafari relations

1 - 9
Time Zone: EST (New York, Toronto)
Messenger: GARVEYS AFRICA Sent: 1/31/2023 10:50:44 PM
Reply

Would the i dem consider entering into relations with a Non Rastafari?
Do the i dem have experience with this?
Any other religions more aligned and easily compatible than others?

For I
I have recently come to the overstanding that an [Afrikan] Muslim woman, in GENERAL, will be much more disciplined, conscious and aligned with InI ideals as a Rastafari than other major religious denominations, especially Christians. Before I book my hunting flight to Sudan…. interested on any other thoughts.

Or are the I all happily aligned with other Rastafari partners who perfectly align with the I dem personal morals and ideals?

Share the experiences
Inspired from the thread asking about sperm donation


Blessed love
This a Rastafari issues


Messenger: JAH Child Sent: 2/1/2023 11:15:55 AM
Reply

Iyest Love I&I
I do think it can be successful, being in relations with partners outside Rastafari. Even within Rastafari there are people whose practices and views vary vastly. I think mostly finding the person you vibe with, see eye to eye with, feel mutual love and respect, feel you both build each other up, and so on, that's more important.

I have been in some relationships with men who are more on the end of Buddhism or of Ifa, or of Ethiopian Orthodox, and those relationships did not work out for totally separate reasons than the religious/spiritual aspects. Yet I found it very gratifying to learn about their spiritual views. And I have been in relationships with Rasta men, some of them very peaceful, some of them very egoistic. Those relationships didn't work out for reasons totally aside from the fact that we share Rastafari as a spiritual orientation.

Today I share a beautiful relationship with a Rastaman and I think our relationship does work for many reasons aside from sharing Rastafari in common. Actually I first met him before I even knew what Rastafari was, he was the original Rastaman for me haha, but he never did try to teach me or convert me, he just lived his own life and over time I made that trod totally separate from his influence, even when we were not together. I was 21, I was just a party girl, I was all kinds of living in babylon. After we got together I was off doing my own thing and then something in me shifted and he found me a year or two later, dreadlocks, Ital, living clean, and that was really where our relationship took a more serious turn, not because he would rather be with a Rastawomban but because I had reached a state of maturity where I could have a serious relationship.

And just sharing Rastafari does not even mean our Livity is the same. For example I am a very happy plant base eater and he is totally fine eating fish and sometimes egg or milk, he is not strict about it at all. It's something I just shrug and accept because the love and the kindness and the things we have faced together and support each other through are so much stronger to me than those details. And that's not to say the relationship is perfect. We do have challenges. We just always seem to make it past the hurdles and there is a deep connection that draws us together. I am sure were he some other religion and we still shared all those same feelings, the relationship would still work.

I guess the idea of soul mates is trite but when you have that union where you feel like just being together is heaven and you two are god and goddess together in unison, when you feel like you invented love and you're the two divine cosmic lovers of the universe haha sounds crazy but that's how I feel, I guess that is what soul mates means? And I think it transcends a lot, it transcends space and time, it transcends religions for sure - that's my experience. Who knows if it's even the same for everyone, who knows if it's even the same on his side, I'm not inside his mind so I can't say for him what his experience is like. But for me I know I would want to be with him even if he was like agnostic or another religion - as long as he still had that positivity and faith inside of him which is integral to who he is.

I remember when I went to Ethiopia, I was sad to leave him, thinking I would never see him again, and I was sad to find myself not pregnant because we had tried and I had wanted to take a piece of him with me even if he did not come with me. He told me at that time "As long as there's life, there's hope." Now we are here 8 years later and we've had multiple pregnancies and losses and now we're still working, seeing doctors, to have that child we were always trying for. So he was right, even though at the time I thought the chapter had closed on our love, life brought us together again. As long as there's life, there's hope. I'll never forget him saying that to me and it really is a picture of who he is. I think as long as he had that beautiful hope inside of him, regardless of the label he wanted to put on his religious orientation, I would want to be with him.

All of that to say yes - I think true love, deep love, everlasting and otherworldly and unconditional love, can happen outside Rastafari, and I hope all people can experience love on that level in their own relationships whether the religious/spiritual label is the same or not. And it's a daily thing and a constant thing to work at it, to come to greater compassion for each other, to learn to be more selfless and more empathetic and to get to know the person on a deeper and deeper and deeper level. At some point we're beyond religion, we're beyond flesh, we get to the point of seeing that person as a soul and just wanting that soul to be at peace and be a part of the healing of that soul's pain, and feeling mutual care on the same level. It's something I think can only happen with a mix of chemistry and timing and humility and patience and all of the magic in the universe that created love in the first place.

Garveys Africa I wish the I well on the journey to love, whether to Sudan or elsewhere, I know the I have the right womban out there that will inspire the I to even greater heights and even greater knowledge of self, and I hope for the I more Love and more Life in the union that is to come!

Selah Say I


Messenger: GARVEYS AFRICA Sent: 2/5/2023 6:41:08 AM
Reply

I give thanks for the well thought out (as always) balanced response. I will take some more time to consider. As a one who has observed from a far (very far) based on what you have shared over the years, I have to say I find inspiration and Joy in the ongoing union you have found and where this dilemma doesn’t have to occur any longer. I have lived in many different places and since COVID I am in a place of low culture and high slackness but I would definitely rather travel then settle.
Rastafari Love
Blessed


Messenger: JAH Child Sent: 2/5/2023 3:50:38 PM
Reply

Yes haha I have been very open about my own experiences, and I think anyone trying to clock my relationships from afar would realize that love and the path to love is not always a straight line. Sometimes you can be in love with someone but life circumstances keep you apart, sometimes you can even love someone who hates themself and therefore makes it impossible for you to give them love in a way that is healthy for yourself.

My name given to me by my mother is Amanda, meaning Beloved One, I think it is a prophecy in a way that love is a huge essential part of my life, that love is something that comes easily for me also. But that can bring its own problems because not everyone is ready for real love.

I think the best thing someone can do is love themself and have self confidence. This is always going to help because the person who tries to love you doesnt have to face those problems that arise from insecurities.

And Love is certainly everlasting but that doesnt mean relationships are. In fact no relationship can ever be everlasting, because someone will always die first, someone will always be left alone, whether death or other circumstances part you, it's impossible to be married, even emotionally married, for eternity unless you believe like Mormons that your souls continue to be married in the afterlife. I think it's better to view all relationships as transient, and just fulljoy what you can while it lasts, however long it lasts. That takes away that element of fear like what if this person leaves me or what if they cheat on me, etc, even the fear of them dying, because you have come to terms with only having the relationship for a finite period of time anyways. And you can always love a person after they pass away or after you break up. But you can also move on with life and essentially just love life itself more than loving any one individual.

And I doubt that love is something that can be sought out. I think like I said before it has to be a mix of chemistry and timing and magic.

Yes Garveys Afrika the I can move to a different location and maybe there would be someone who is the right parner for the I there in that place. But that doesnt mean where you are now is totally devoid of suitable partners.

I live in a major US city, a place where almost everyone drives expensive cars and gets botox, a place where I would say like the I, has low culture and high slackness. But I did find my mate here, and it was totally random how we came across each other, just in daily life and neither of us was looking, no dating app or match making website or anything which is soooo common today, it was just two humans in real life, eye contact, smiles, all of those things. No one went out and said let me go here so I can find my mate. Just daily living and the vibes were just there.

So yes the I can move locations but that is not to say you HAVE to move locations. Where you are living now, there is definitely ONE conscious person (yourself), so who is to say there are not more?

All the best bredren, may Love find its way.



Messenger: Alabaster oil Sent: 2/11/2023 9:50:12 PM
Reply

I am in a serious marriage we got married not at the court house or the traditional way but rather at a friends house which is also a culture centre/African goods store with witnesses and favourable words in the Ethiopian language Amharic . This was an exchange of vows and we have been together for 5 years now. We both trod rastafari him with his love kd ital eating only fish and milk . And I with my less strict diet occasionally because I hate restrictions , I would say that I don’t always enjoy eating Minsk products but like 12 tribes I eat. Once in a while he would go to nyahbinghi I myself have been away from the tabernacle for a while since having my baby , but yes we make it work .

I dress in skirt and turban and he no longer wears his turban . I want to start praying with him and reading psalms with him and maybe drumming because at times it can feel a lil empty being ras . Since I’ve become and identified myself as a Rasta woman I’ve never been with a non Rasta . U mentioned Islam being similar and I don’t really think so . Perhaps more Christianity , as related to rastafari . Right now I’m feeling a serious pull to explore Islam but I don’t want to change my lifestyle for many ideal that I don’t believe in but I respect Islam for many things I’m not one who likes to be tied down and told what to do. That’s why I choose to be Rasta and whoever I’m with has to be culturally aware of themselves and in tuned with a natural living.

Our chants are pretty sacred and i sure you would want an individual who would be open to the chanting down Babylon .


Messenger: GARVEYS AFRICA Sent: 2/12/2023 11:13:06 AM
Reply

When I say Islam is closer I mean in discipline.

In my experiences Christians are much less disciplined in general compared to those from Muslim countries and backgrounds, who I find much less aligned with the folly confusion of Babylon than their Christian counterparts
This is only true for I personal experience

Discipline for I is more important than the finer details of ideology

I glad to hear you have found one with a similar belief system, Rastafari man an wombman in union. Trinity works. I think your right and you two drumming together sounds like an idea I hope and am sure your Kingman would be open to

Love


Messenger: JAH Child Sent: 2/12/2023 1:29:50 PM
Reply

Greetings beloveds

Sister Alabaster
Are you the same sister who was here a few months ago by a different name, olive branch I think it was?
I notice you change your name from Ointment to Oil, so the name change just has me wondering.

I fully agree that marriages don't have to be legally established. And I see like mine, your relationship is both being oriented toward Rastafari while in practice the actual Livity varies from person to person. And I think this is fine. And I think this also happens in other religions as well.

Similar to the Istren, I still keep my meditation on Rastafari while having interest in other religions. My interest leans toward Buddhism because yoga and meditation is a huge part of my life. But I think Rastafari gives us the free mind to explore different practices and ultimately see how they all relate to and stem from ancient African traditions.

Agreed, "whoever I’m with has to be culturally aware of themselves and in tuned with a natural living." There's a certain point where the ideals and lifestyle differences would just be too much friction to make for a happy home or a peaceful partnership.

Garveys Africa, I can see where the I is coming from on the fact that Muslims tend to be disciplined in their life, but this is not always true. I've lived in an Islamic country and I saw people of all ranges of discipline. My hotel next to my apartment building was renown for having parties and I would see people leaving in the early morning, haphazardly pulling their traditional garbs over their half naked bodies or skimpy dresses and heels. I would often walk in on the doormen of my building sitting on each other's laps and flirting. Quite eye opening. But I realized Muslims are just like anyone, sometimes their religion is in name only while their actual lives are just a mess.

And my experience with African Christians is that they can be very disciplined/closed minded toward any outside belief system. I think Islam and Christianity are similar in that sense. If a person is very strictly devoted to either one, they will necessarily be contrary to the idea that any other religion could be valid.

My christian family members are all very strict and believe that people who are not christian (i.e. myself) are going to hell. I think Muslims have a similar concept that Allah is the only true God and Islam the only true religion and everyone else is damned.

How one could be in a relationship with someone who thinks you are going to hell, I'm not sure.

So I think ultimately it's not about finding someone from this religion or that religion, from Rastafari or from Islam or otherwise. I think it's about just finding that person who sees your value as an individual and respects your ideas even when they are not the exact same, and you likewise see their value and respect them. It's on an individual basis. So just seeing a person's humanity, personality, seeing into their soul, feeling at ease with them, of course all of the other natural things like attraction.

More Love, Selah say I


Messenger: Cedric Sent: 2/12/2023 5:36:02 PM
Reply

Blessed Love Iahs

Personally I made the choice to be ok with entering into relations with a non Rastafari. Same way that I once lived a life without being aware of Rastafari, sometimes all it takes is a few words or a phrase that starts someone's realization in the trod. I think it is important that when looking for a partner, same as manifesting a desired outcome in one's personal life, one focuses on the outcome and ultimate result without focusing on specifics. If one focuses too much on the specifics it can lead one to become blind to the pathways that are trying to be shown or provided.

I think focusing on ways that the I can identify that discipline in a future partner is healthy and constructive. I think identifying virtues and behaviors that one can relate to or admire is important. After that, I think it is important to stay attentive and let the Most High show the I who that person is rather than trying to decide or preconceive the other less important details of that person's background.

Similar to trying to envision details over end results, I feel deciding where one is going to travel to find that special someone can be limiting to the path that is trying to be shown to the I. I always thought I would have to travel to find someone who I wanted to be with, so I can relate to the sentiment, but it didn't turn out that way. I have found myself in situations where I have been hurt from "falling" in love with someone who lives far away. I Isperiences with that have usually led to an attempt at a long distance relationship which I always found a way to tell myself it was a good idea but none of them ever turned out to be. I agree with JAH Child that even though the I might feel surrounded by slackness, because there is one conscious person there, maybe there is one more

I wish I had some good advice for the I or ways to help cope with the loneliness I remember feeling before I met I partner. Instead all I can offer is prayer for the I to find the awesome Empress that is also looking for the I.

HIM Haile Selassie I & Empress Menen I Power




Messenger: GARVEYS AFRICA Sent: 2/14/2023 6:06:35 AM
Reply

Wise words brethren
The long distance ting is a challenge yes but still good to keep certain connections across the waters where one can.
More balance Jah Chid, yes.
Rastafari Live
Uncompromising fire


1 - 9

Return to Reasoning List




RastafarI
 
Haile Selassie I