The last few months have been quite
a turmoil for me. Losing faith in a religion I have held since
childhood has thrown me for a loop. There are several things I've had
to reconcile in my brain in order for it to be at peace with the
situation. I needed to know what makes humans behave the way we do,
what makes something morally right, and where spirituality and
spiritual experiences fit into the picture.
I have researched on the internet, read
blogs and forums to see what other people believe and why. I've
thumbed through books, read parts of others, and read all the way through a
couple. Two of the books that made the most difference are The
World's Religions by Huston
Smith and The “God” Part of the Brain
by Matthew Alper (there is a video on youtube on this subject that I
find equally interesting). From my studies I have reached some
conclusions
that have brought me peace.
Spirituality
is universal to humankind. I find joy and wonder in this truth. Not
everybody is the same, and some people seem not to have profound
spiritual experiences, but overall humans are very spiritual beings.
This spirituality inspires, guides, helps and warns. It comes in the
form of feelings, thoughts, a voice, and visions. Some of these
avenues are shaped by the world around us as to what we expect, but
overall are very similar across the board. It creates within us
peace, hope, and empathy.
Sometimes
spiritual experiences prompt us to do things we wouldn't otherwise
do. They give us courage and reason to do something that we are
afraid of. I've read of people who uproot their family for a move
across country, because a spiritual experience told them it was the
right thing to do. Most of the time, everything works out just fine.
It probably would have without the spiritual prompt, but the person
wouldn't have done it otherwise, thus a prompt was needed. It find it
amazing that we humans are wired this way.
I
love how the human mind works, constantly filtering and gathering
information from our surroundings. There is so much at play that we
are not aware of, and I find it fascinating. I can see how a person
can pray for somebody, give a blessing, or deliver a message that is
exactly what that person needs at a given time. I believe this is possible from subtle clues our
bodies pick up on and our minds process subconsciously. Now, I'm not saying there isn't some outside
entity that watches over us and gives us what we need through
spiritual sources, I'm saying that there doesn't need to be. We
humans are wondrous, and though we have found and proven a lot about
ourselves, we don't know everything.
As
much as I want there to be a God and an afterlife, it doesn't matter
if those things are made up in our minds. The thought can give us
comfort and peace, and it serves its purpose. I don't know if we can
ever truly know.. Probably the biggest thing besides hope and peace
these thoughts give is the difference in how we might live our lives.
It may take away some of the fear of dying or the despair when we
lose a loved one. It might also encourage us to not try harder to do
something, to not stand out, to not explore ourselves or the world
around us. We might think it would be OK, because we can do it in the
afterlife, that we have eternity to become more fully who we truly
are. The belief in an afterlife may give us peace, but it may also
hinder our development of ourselves. When we know how our thought
processes affect us, we can change our behavior to counter the
negative and be better people now.
Religion
is the interpretation of spiritual experiences for understanding and
deeper meaning. Promptings, warnings, visions, and voices are given
names
and deeper meanings. Stories are told and rituals held in the hopes
of encouraging these experiences. Drugs, meditation, music and prayer
are all used as avenues to understand the will of God and encourage
communication. Religion is so closely tied with spirituality that it
is difficult to separate the two in the minds of most people. Doing
so causes great distress. This is the reason the challenge to any
religion causes extreme emotions. People feel their personally
spirituality is challenged with any challenge to their religion. I have
to admit this has puzzled
me, and as such, in my ignorance, I have stirred up some unpleasant
emotions in others. This is also probably, what has caused and
continues to cause many wars and conflicts in the world. It is sad to
me, and at times distressing. I don't mind discussing spirituality
and/or religion, but for the
mental sanity of the people around me, I am going to attempt to keep
all discussion of religion out of the public forum in the future. I
think it is OK to discuss spirituality publicly, because it is so
universal, but discussion of religion seems to breed monsters. Again,
I don't mind discussing religion and how I have come to my views and
conclusions, but it seems for a civil discussion to ensue, it needs
to be done privately.
