Background: I am in a Catholic family and i was raised catholic, went to catholic schools from preschool to 8th grade and i grew to despise everything about God or religion. All because i've heard the stories one too many times, been told that Jesus died for our sins one too many times, and have had to fear God ever since the day i was born. Problem: A couple months ago i began to feel like i needed to have something fill that religious void that Catholicism burrowed in my heart and mind. it feels like i am missing inner peace. it's like somebody punched me in the chest and the pain is not going away. Anyway, i began to wonder about other religions and why the people that practice them seem so content with their god. I guess i just want to be pointed in the right direction so i can find my inner peace and understand the world around me. i'm just so confused and i really don't know where to start. Google just pointed me to all those crazy tv evanglists and that is a road that i do NOT want to go down. I just want to fill the empty feeling in my heart and soul. it's a real bummer. thanks for your time...i really appreciate your help. it means a whole lot to me and i hope that all of you find your inner peace, wherever it may be. thank you lovelies. =]
Religion is something I spend A LOT of time thinking about it. Most people I know that 'worship' a God, or Gods, don't even know ANYTHING about it. They just believe what they think that should believe. What theyr told to believe. The fact that you're actually thinking about this shows that you are not like the shallow clones =] lol i love you lizzie =] Right now I don't know what my religion is...but theres not a rule saying that you HAVE to have a religion. On second thoughts, my religion is music and nature and other arts lol But maybe that empty feeling needs to be filled with something other than religion related things. I dunno hun but I hope you feel better soon love you heaps and heaps lizzie, im a very happy girl to know you =D Peace Love Jane
Try thinking up with your own spiritual outlook on life, no one person is really any more qualified to define that void than you are.
Just look around and research different religions. Find one that suits you... or just have general faith. You can be spiritual without books and practices if you'd rather. Don't worry about it... Just either find the religion that you like best, or be spiritual and have faith on your own.
i'm sort of in the same situation as thehippie_08. even up ti knoe, i'm in a catholic college and i'm constantly being bombarded with all these religious bullshit. currently, i am not practicing any religion; however, i still have faith in a higher power. my problem is that sometimes because i don't have a particular religion to stick to, my notion or right/wrong becomes blurry. it's like i don't have a basis for knowing what's good or bad..
All religions are hierarchical systems with the in group and the out group. You enter them and if you follow the rules you get power and status in the group. Often the power corrupts people and they lose themselves and become a tool of the system or an exploiter of it. There was this one teacher guy I liked named Krishnamurti. He said truth is a pathless land. I tend to agree, however I do use astrology to help me understand myself and to guide me. It has really helped. That's my thing. To do it I don't have to belong to any clan or church or even association of astrologers. There's always the temptation to join some kind of group. Being a human can be very lonely. When you're brought up with strong religion, you're right, this does create a void. I've seen people like that who got into other religions and just ended up being the same as their parents with a differnt name to the setup. To really be their friend, you have to join the group. The problem is they always want to fix you and with so many different religions out there, which one is the truth? They also tend to fight with each other inside and outside the group and cause other strife. There's good advice in some religions. For instance, I think the 10 Commandments are pretty reliable. After that I just try to not hurt others. Why not keep it simple and just follow your heart? Find an activity that inspires you like art or music or science or whatever and get good at creating something beautiful in the world that lifts you up and others as well. Keep seeking the truth and don't let anybody tell you what that is but you. It's not necessarily easy being honest with yourself either. Sometimes you can find people who will tell you the truth about yourself without trying to convert you to their "thing." I think it's kind of cool there's no roadmap. Makes the world more interesting if you ask me.
The problem with Religion is that they present Morality as fact, and then try to force others to adopt those beliefs. Just try to discover a religion to fit you, and try not to get forced into a religion.
Why not try out the faith that is anti-organized religion? http://www.rainbowcovenant.org/pages/faq.htm
Just look up faiths you've not heard of, or know much about. Try a selection of the following (not saying these are uncommon, just that many in the West don't really know a lot about them) : Baha'i Jainism Hinduism (in it's myriad different forms; basically it's pick-n-mix as far as gods go) Shamanism - again, there are as many different forms as there are shamans. Buddhism - basically two fundamental paths, Therevada and Mahayana. Therevada stresses the importance of achieving Buddhahood, that is, enlightenment of the self is the highest goal. Mahayana stresses the importance of becoming a boddhisattva - one who has attained enlightenment, but remains in samsara (the world) to bring enlightenment to, as it's put, "all sentient beings". As you can tell, I have strong Mahayana leanings myself Good resources: http://buddhism.kalachakranet.org/ - sort of specific to Tibetan Buddhism, but a great site. The Tao Te Ching: http://www.religiousworlds.com/taoism/ttcstan3.html Taoism is a complex topic, probably the best, certainly the most humorous outline of it is http://www.rotten.com/library/religion/taoism/ http://www.rotten.com/library/religion is a good site to visit anyway - it's obvious the guy writing it is an atheist, so approaches the topic of religion from a neutral perspective. Plus, it's damn funny in places.
thank you all for your advice and some of that witty banter that livens up any conversation...i really appreciate it, i will definately check out all those sites. i'm just so sick of dogma.
same way with my family. i was raised a catholic and my parents almost died when they discovered i followed more of a wiccan lifestyle.
you know i've always been interested in Wicca...it always seemed quite intriguing to me...just the thought of being closer to the earth makes me happy. i like that, but my parents would flip...oh well, they'd just think i'm weird. and it's easy to buy books, but then you have to buy the candles and all those other accesories...it's too much work for a girl with no job and no money to handle. you know?
Haha, accessories are, by definition, not required. yes, you have your "tools of the trade", but I've (successfully, I might add) done magickal spells and rituals with a breadknife. There's no need to spend vast amounts of money on athames, magic wands with crystals stuck on (not that they even work particularly well IMHO), elaborately engraved Books of Shadows (oh please, how Hollywood is that name?) etc etc. For my notebook 9spellbook, whatever) I used a spiral-bound pad I got for 99p at WH Smith (a stationery shop here in England). Hedge witchery did me fine. Also I'm of the opinion that male witches are just that - male witches. We're not "warlocks", that word has a more ritual magic/Thelemic/jack Parsons connotation to it. If you find a coven they will most likely insist on doing things their way. Which is, again, religion (from latin religare; to be obligated, something that must be done) as opposed to spirituality. Take heart from the hippy philosophy: find what works for you, and anyone who says otherwise doesn't know shit.
your advice blows my mind and gives me this great idea. if i want to believe in something, i might as well just believe in myself. i mean, it's always worked for me before and i never usually let myself down. and there is no damnation involved in believing in yourself. i think i've found something....yeah. most definately. faith in yourself is the most important thing one should ever have. and faith is faith, whether or not it be attached to the God and Goddess or straight up Jesus. So i'm saying fuck it, and believing in myself.
I'm not sure if that's really a substitute. Many religious people also have faith in theirselves, next to their faith in God. Didn't you, before you were doubting your christian faith?
