As human beings, we have always had this innate need to believe that we are more than just a flesh and blood accident - that we are something special in this Universe of ours and that we do indeed have some divine purpose to fulfil. That desire to believe in something greater than ourselves; to find something tangible on which to hang our existence is totally understandable. Nobody wants to feel that their life has no meaning - no purpose.
Over the millennium men and women have always looked to the heavens for purpose and meaning in life and from the moment the earliest hominids stood up and walked, humanity has been obsessed in creating its various fictions about its existence, its meaning, and its purpose. Religion, Faith, Belief; whatever it is you wish to call it, is and always has been a human construct – not a divine construct sent down to us like manna from heaven.
Over the millennium men and women have always looked to the heavens for purpose and meaning in life and from the moment the earliest hominids stood up and walked, humanity has been obsessed in creating its various fictions about its existence, its meaning, and its purpose. Religion, Faith, Belief; whatever it is you wish to call it, is and always has been a human construct – not a divine construct sent down to us like manna from heaven.
Karl Marx once famously wrote; “Religion... it is the opium of the people.” Many would take this to suggest that religion is a prop for the weak-minded; that it provides people with an artificial, illusory happiness and thus removes those, who believe, from the need to participate in creating a better society.
I would disagree with those that propound this argument that religion is nothing more than an emotional crutch for feeble-minded people. Religion, it seems to me, is the natural outpouring of humanity’s need to explain the clear existence of a “God” or a “Creator” of our Universe. It is also a reflection of our acceptance and understanding that as human beings we are fundamentally flawed and in need of some sort of “salvation”.
I would disagree with those that propound this argument that religion is nothing more than an emotional crutch for feeble-minded people. Religion, it seems to me, is the natural outpouring of humanity’s need to explain the clear existence of a “God” or a “Creator” of our Universe. It is also a reflection of our acceptance and understanding that as human beings we are fundamentally flawed and in need of some sort of “salvation”.
That religion has been used throughout history and sadly still is today, to justify barbaric and inhumane acts against our fellow travelers on this planet, does not in of itself make religion a bad thing. I believe that religion, of whatever flavor, actually teaches us vitally important doctrines to live by. It seems to me that many, if not all of the mainstream religions actually have very similar core beliefs, that are both beneficial and advantageous to the individual, and society as a whole. If we ignore, for a moment, the bastardisation of religious doctrine to justify the actions of evil people, then we can find some truths about life that are common across all the varying flavors and colors of religious philosophy.
Most, if not all mainstream religions actually promote and encourage, “the Golden Rule”; “Do unto others, as you would have others do unto you.” If we respect and value each other, with the same respect and value we should be giving ourselves, then incredible things would happen. The problem, as I see it, is that far too often we not only disrespect and belittle our fellow human beings, we don’t even value and respect ourselves. Once we learn to love ourselves and accept our own wonderful uniqueness and inherent beauty we can then respect and value everyone else’s. The key to implementing the “Golden Rule” is to first and foremost “Love yourself as you are, in all your unique glory.”
Most, if not all mainstream religions promote and encourage the protection and preservation of our glorious and beautiful planet Earth; its creatures and its environment. We are mere custodians of this planet and yet we continue to rape and plunder the resources, at immense cost to our environment and more importantly those who will come after us; our children, our grandchildren and the generations yet born. We were placed here as stewards of this planet and yet we appear to have performed dismally in our assigned roles.
Perhaps the most important tenet of most, if not all mainstream religions is the overarching belief in the redemptive power of “LOVE”. Love is the key to success as individuals and success as a society. When we approach the world, each other, and ourselves with the motivation of love, amazing things begin to happen in all of our lives. Love is the most powerful force in the Universe; everything bad in the world results from one thing; “a lack of love” and if we can tip the balance of the world into love, we can see great change.
Most, if not all mainstream religions promote and encourage the protection and preservation of our glorious and beautiful planet Earth; its creatures and its environment. We are mere custodians of this planet and yet we continue to rape and plunder the resources, at immense cost to our environment and more importantly those who will come after us; our children, our grandchildren and the generations yet born. We were placed here as stewards of this planet and yet we appear to have performed dismally in our assigned roles.
Perhaps the most important tenet of most, if not all mainstream religions is the overarching belief in the redemptive power of “LOVE”. Love is the key to success as individuals and success as a society. When we approach the world, each other, and ourselves with the motivation of love, amazing things begin to happen in all of our lives. Love is the most powerful force in the Universe; everything bad in the world results from one thing; “a lack of love” and if we can tip the balance of the world into love, we can see great change.
I intimated in my last blog that I would reveal just exactly what it is I personally believe in. I teased you with the word “Omnism”. If you look that up in an online dictionary the definition is given as: “The belief in all religions”. I chose this word because although it doesn’t quite express what I truly believe, it comes as close as anything I can think of. As individuals I believe we create our own reality; and religion, (in whatever form it takes), is many people’s reality – their belief. I respect and will always champion their right to believe whatever they choose to believe; whatever reality they choose to make for themselves. It is only when they try to force their beliefs on other people that I would feel compelled to take a stand.
Beliefs change over time; that’s important to understand. What we believed as a child is clearly different to what we believe as an adult. We are programmed, conditioned creatures and until we can break that programming and begin to think for ourselves, our beliefs are those imparted by our parents, our families, our friends, our teachers, and society as a whole.
I can sum up my own personal beliefs (as they are today) in a few succinct paragraphs:
Beliefs change over time; that’s important to understand. What we believed as a child is clearly different to what we believe as an adult. We are programmed, conditioned creatures and until we can break that programming and begin to think for ourselves, our beliefs are those imparted by our parents, our families, our friends, our teachers, and society as a whole.
I can sum up my own personal beliefs (as they are today) in a few succinct paragraphs:
I believe in a power greater than me: Call it God, the Universe, the Creator, The Great Spirit, Yahweh, Allah – I really don’t care. Whatever your construct of this greater power is called, one thing I am certain of is that there is a greater power than us.
I believe we are an integral part of our Universe; that we, like everything else in the Universe are created solely from energy, and as such we have no beginning and we have no end – we just always are. Energy cannot be destroyed; it can only be converted into something else. We are immortal spirits. I can’t tell you what happens when our bodies die, but I do know that we will go on and I look forward to that discovery one day.
I believe in the power of ME and in the power of YOU – The power of the INDIVIDUAL. I believe that the world around us is created by each and every one of us. Our reality is what we create it to be. The power has always been ours – we either surrendered it to others or we never even knew we had it. It’s time to reclaim it!
I believe we are an integral part of our Universe; that we, like everything else in the Universe are created solely from energy, and as such we have no beginning and we have no end – we just always are. Energy cannot be destroyed; it can only be converted into something else. We are immortal spirits. I can’t tell you what happens when our bodies die, but I do know that we will go on and I look forward to that discovery one day.
I believe in the power of ME and in the power of YOU – The power of the INDIVIDUAL. I believe that the world around us is created by each and every one of us. Our reality is what we create it to be. The power has always been ours – we either surrendered it to others or we never even knew we had it. It’s time to reclaim it!
I believe in the power of love. This is not just the “romantic” notion of love, it is so much more. This is the love that is the all powerful, all pervasive love that drives the Universe. We must love life and embrace it in all its joys and its sorrows. The power of love has the ability to change everything for the better and once we discover that our lives will change forever.
I believe my purpose in life is simple – “To be happy” Life is a journey and we are all supposed to have wonderful lives, full of happiness and joy. To find that happiness we first need to discover what it is that gives us joy. For me, it is my writing. If what I write entertains, educates or informs others then I have utilized my unique talent for the good, however, it isn’t necessary for my writing to sell or to be well-read for me to be happy. Those are all highly desirable outcomes, but it is simply the exercise of the writing that makes me happy.
Finally I believe that every day should be utilized to LEARN something new about ourselves, our family, our friends and our world. We are on a journey of discovery and the day that we think we know it all, or that we know all we need to know, is the day we have died; spiritually, emotionally and probably even physically.
I believe my purpose in life is simple – “To be happy” Life is a journey and we are all supposed to have wonderful lives, full of happiness and joy. To find that happiness we first need to discover what it is that gives us joy. For me, it is my writing. If what I write entertains, educates or informs others then I have utilized my unique talent for the good, however, it isn’t necessary for my writing to sell or to be well-read for me to be happy. Those are all highly desirable outcomes, but it is simply the exercise of the writing that makes me happy.
Finally I believe that every day should be utilized to LEARN something new about ourselves, our family, our friends and our world. We are on a journey of discovery and the day that we think we know it all, or that we know all we need to know, is the day we have died; spiritually, emotionally and probably even physically.
So, those are my core beliefs, if you like.
There is so much more that underlies each of these beliefs, but it is impossible to cover them in one short blog. I will expand on some of them in future blogs, but if you want to know more; don’t hesitate to contact me. I can certainly point you in the right direction or perhaps even help you with some advice myself.
Have a great life and spread the love!
Changing the world – one reader at a time!
There is so much more that underlies each of these beliefs, but it is impossible to cover them in one short blog. I will expand on some of them in future blogs, but if you want to know more; don’t hesitate to contact me. I can certainly point you in the right direction or perhaps even help you with some advice myself.
Have a great life and spread the love!
Changing the world – one reader at a time!
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