What religion do you follow most closely to?

I've been wondering about religion lately... how we came to segregate beliefs into their own subcategories and how we group together innately and mold our true beliefs to fit into that we associate with. For all my life I have seemingly wanted to do this, like I was scared to not do so. But lately I just stopped thinking about it because I failed to find anything to associate. And I find it quite silly to have the strong want to do so anyways. I do not know what I believe yet, is that so bad? I hope I'm not alone. And, no, I would not say I'm "agnostic" because I do feel a higher presence, I even like to pray, but I have none to address to.
The closest I have come is that of the Native American Lakota people, but even that isn't a perfect match...
What do you think?
What do you believe?
(a blank check for preaching, I know)

 

Nope, you're not alone. I don't understand the need to follow specific religions. I've spent a lot time figuring out what I believe and its still a constantly evolving thing, so it makes no sense to me that people can commit to one belief system their entire lives.

 

Does believing in one system then make other systems wrong or irrelevant? Do you then stop searching? If you need belief then perhaps take parts of what you need from all systems that seem right to you and disregard those parts that don't.

 

I am a muslim first, before anything else.

 

And after that-what's next?

 

nothing, its all I need...

 

Do you have other interests? Are you learning anything in addition to your Islamic belief?

 

I speak 5 languages, I have 4 degrees, I am a translator as well as an interpreter, I have a diploma in math and science, you?

 

And me? Certainly not as educated as you. You've done well. It would appear that Islam is not all you needed.

 

I would not have got though all the work without my faith, and that is the truth.

 

That's good. Fare thee well,brother.

 

Al Salamu Aleykom , peace be upon you....

 

My religion is an anti-religion, weirdly.

I'm a Luciferian. I tend to see Lucifer the way he was seen in the pre-christian religions, the bearer of Light, the one who brings freedom and knowledge. Knowledge is power, freedom is power, and so this belief system (I prefer that to the word "religion") pushes the practitioner to become more powerful, more aware of who they really are and more in control of themselves (because you're not powerful if you're not in control). It is also very opposed to any form of worshiping and uniformization of beliefs, opinions and practices. The only motto is "be fair" and I think that's enough to live a good life.

 

Jedisim... my the force be with you..

 

Thekarthika, perhaps you are not looking for a religion, but a spirituality. A religion is an institution---a man-made structure of codes and ethics and rules. A spirituality is connection with the divine. The Lakota do not have a religion, but a spirituality. Many indigenous people around the world do not have religion, only spirituality.

I am curious though, what issues, or problems, or misfitting, did you have with the Lakota way?

 

If it is your way, go my brother and lead us to this path..

 

orginized religion is mostly a crock, mindless sheep being led to slaughter....Starting all these endless wars in the name of one fucked up god or another.....:-/

 

I have found too much Hypocrisy and manipulation in instutional or organized religion. I think there is truth to all religions, but they are a product of planter-societies and the birth of civilization and the institution. They were formed with the group ethics that shaped these early planter villages. Therefore they are trapped in a dualistic frame of mind: in group-out group, good-bad, right-wrong. As institutions they must maintain control and grow, otherwise they will fail. This dualistic perspective of reality does them well for such purposes.

This dualism also reflects man's psyche as it grew out of the planter societies, which is dominated by the duality between the ego and the shadow. Indigenous spirituality maintains a more healthy and realistic reflection of the subconscious---a multiplicity. There are many aspects to the conscious and subconscious mind, all of which plays a role to a healthy psyche. Problems arise when the greatest focus is on the ego and the shadow, for the ego represses the shadow. It is a deeply repressed shadow that leads to internal struggles, and projected outwards, creates others into the enemies we want to smite down.

 

Religion is one thing, and very much subject to the problems pointed out.
Yoga is a different area or approach to spirituality, as are various shamanic traditions.
To my mind the main problem with religions is that they all ask you to believe in things which can't be verified by experience. This is where both shamanism and yoga are different. In both instances, the whole thing is about personal experience.
And I think that's what matters. Not blind belief, or emotionalism, not kow-towing to some man made system of rules masquerading as emmanating from the divine.

I agree with mountain valley wolf that it all began with the move towards fixed agricultural societies.
One aspect of the problem seems to be that we can't go back to being hunter-gatherers - we're pretty much stuck with 'civilization'.
It's interesting to note that both the shaman and the yogi are usually considered figures who exist at the edges of society - 'drop outs' if you will, whilst the religionist is more concerned with controlling society, laying down rules, maintaining dogma etc.

 

I agree BlackBillBlake. I also find the indigenous spiritualities to be very experiential. There is no simple belief in a God requiring an existential leap, because you cannot experience it directly. The indigenous spiritualities (especially of the hunter-gatherer cultures) deal directly with spirit in a very live way.

We cannot go back to a hunter-gatherer life style (unless grave catastrophe forces whatever survivors remain to do so, I guess anything is possible). But I do think that mankind can evolve to where the duality as a dominant perspective gives way to a multiplicity. We are seeing the rise of the feminine (as consciousness shifts towards the feminine aspect of the mind, duality breaks down--as in the black and white is suddenly bordered by a grey); modern technology is creating a diversity in taste and interest that has never before existed; People are exploring spirituality and other religions like never before; and the issues of pollution, global warming, and dwindling resources are forcing mankind to consider nature at a deeper level.

I think that mankind's survival depends on shifting focus from the ego-shadow psyche to a more wholistic integration of the self. This will certainly not happen overnight, but our years are numbered if civilization obstinately continues down the current path.