Monday, April 21, 2008

So what is your belief?

The other day someone asked me what my religious beliefs are.  My reply was essentially that I do not believe in "A" religion.  The person asked if I believe in God, to which I replied, "if you mean an old white man in a robe floating around the heavens?....No!"  I went on to explain that I like the analogy that Gary Schwartz uses: G.O.D., meaning Guiding-Organizing-Designing intelligence......and then I add Energy.  I continued that each of us is part of that Intelligence and energy......Blasphemy, some would call that!!  I would tell them to get over themselves.

So the conversation continued with the question "Were you raised in a particular religion?".  I was raised in the Lutheran church, not sure which synod......but I do remember sitting in church listening to the sermon at about the age of six thinking, "this is not what it's all about".....and was not judgmental about it, it was more just an observation on my part.  

I think there is some good to be taken from most religions, if not all.......but it goes back to perspective and context.  In my opnion, most western religions, especially Christian religions are exclusionary and fear based, which just does not feel good to me.  I don't believe that there is one way.......as a matter of fact one of the earliest intuitive messages that I got was "if anyone says their way is the only way.....turn and go the other way".  That rubs some dear friends of mine the wrong way.......as does when I say that nobody needs to be saved, there is no such thing as evil or dark forces and Satan is a figment of someones imagination.

I don't actively promote my beliefs, I was asked, so I explained what they are.  My perspective is this;  We are extensions of Source Energy, G.O.D., the Universe, all that is......and we came into the physical plane to experience what we knew as non-physical energy.  There is a big difference between knowing something and actually experiencing it, right?.  So we came into this life time as we have other life times, to learn / remember who we are and what we are truly capable of.  We are creators and the physical plane provides us the opportunity to experience what our true capabilities are.  You can be, do or have anything you decide!!!

But why do bad things happen to people?  Well, I suppose it's bad if your coming from a perspective that there are random acts or was it the "devil that made it happen?".   Perceived "bad" things happen for purpose.......the meaning of which we give to them.  If we want to be victims, we can feel bad that we are not in complete control of our experience and resign ourselves to the fact that Stuff just happens we don't control.......ugh!!  Have fun with that!  Or if we want to be the powerful creators that we are, we view "Bad" things as things that did not work for us, gain contrast from the experience and re-create ourselves anew.  And if we are really keen, we step back from the experience and reflect on what was going on with our feelings and thoughts, beliefs, what perspective and meaning we were giving to prior experiences to see what we did not tune into in order to change the "bad" thing to a "Good" thing.

If we are extensions of G.O.D. as I believe we are, then we have access to infinite intelligence, wisdom, creativity......well every bit of information that ever was and ever will be.  The catch is that we have to choose to have access to it......and it's always there, we just don't listen as often as we should.  Why?, because we don't believe that is the case.  Our belief system is based on separatism from ourselves and definitely from G.O.D.  We were born sinners after all!!!

The funny thing to me is that Jesus knew this, it's what his teaching was all about!!!  Of course, the gospels that demonstrate this were left out of the bible.  Why?  Who knows, the bible was written 1600 years ago.......maybe the council of pagan scholars put together by Emperor Constantine didn't "get" those gospels, maybe they thought they were gibberish, or maybe they thought people couldn't understand it or it was too enlightening...........who cares?  What I have read of them, I can feel in my heart as truth....."Know thyself" was central to Jesus' message, He even went as so far as to teach not depending on him, for that would prevent you from truly knowing yourself.......the divinity within each of us..........He knew that when asked "teach us the way" meant for him to guide the disciples to knowing themselves as no different than he was.  He understood that having others be so dependent on him for salvation was a dis-service to them, something that kept them from truly knowing themselves. 

Don't just believe me, check it out yourself.....or not, but to the nay sayers and fundamentalists, absence of proof is not proof of absence.......Go within to feel what is truth.....invest in knowing, and if your knowing is in organized religion, I honor that as I hope that you honor my knowing!!!   Be Well!!!!

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