Spirituality
This entry may be more esoteric than my usual, and for that you'll just have to forgive me... I've been exploring my spiritual side lately, and quantifying my beliefs in that regard - deciding what spiritual concepts I personally subscribe to and the parametres of those beliefs... I have have noted in these explorations, that I am something of a mystic in my belief system... Some of the concepts I embrace in my heart would likely make a die-hard skeptic want to throw up, actually...
I believe in both Fate and Self-determination -- I believe certain significant events in our lives *are* preordained in a general way... For example, I believe there are certain people we are meant to encounter in our lives... However, I believe this is balanced by self-determination... We may be fated to meet certain individuals, and certain circumstances regarding them may be preordained - but how we react to these people and circumstances are completely under our control... And the end result of these foreordained situations is *never* pre-written... How it turns out, is always up to us, even if we could not avoid the issue itself...
I believe in reincarnation -- There is no logical reasoning behind this belief except a *feeling*... I have met a number of people in my life that I just "knew", without really *knowing* them at all... Total strangers that I have met that were like encountering long-lost friends... A deep part of my soul *recognises* these people in a way I can never really explain with words... And I am drawn to those individuals as I am drawn to no others... They fit into my life easily, without me even having to make a place for them, as if they have always belonged, and always will...
I believe in soulmates -- That oft-used and oft-abused term, soulmates... It's tricky to admit believing in this, because so many people apply the term to even the most commonplace of relationships... But for me, soulmates are thus: A person that becomes such a part of your soul, that you cannot imagine how you thought life was complete without them... A person whose happiness means the world to you, much as that of a beloved child - no sacrifice would be too high to know that they were happy, loved, safe, and having a good life... A person whom your heart knows before even your mind does... A sub-context of this belief: I believe many soulmates are those we have loved in other lives, in other times, that we are Fated to meet, know, and love again - for as long as we are incarnate, and even after...
I believe in Heaven and Hell -- But not the Heaven and Hell of Judeo-Christian belief... My belief more closely resonates to the Tibetian Bardo Thodol - that we create for ourselves our own Heaven or Hell, and that even good people can end up trapped in an Afterlife created by their own fears and regrets... I believe the realm hereafter is no better or worse than what we expect to receive... And I believe that once we gain freedom from the negative emotions within us and attain our Heaven, we can choose to re-enter the cycle of incarnation or remain in that realm of peace... And I believe once attaining that Heavenly plane, we will see things clearly enough to make a knowledgable and informed decision about which path is the right one to take...
I believe in God(s ) -- I have no idea what form (if any) God(s) take, but I do believe they/he/she exists... When I look at the world around me, and the physics, the science, and the wonderous balance of the Universe's mechanism, I can't *not* believe... What a wonderous miracle it is to have such remarkable order in the midst of chaos... And I *do* subscribe to the concept and theory of evolution, as well as all the other scientific knowledge we have gained about how our world and it's place in the Universe functions... I view all these things as a self-perpetuating design by a Master hand... Science *reinforces* my belief in God(s), rather than diminishing it...
I have no concrete information to *prove* my beliefs correct... I have only what I feel in my heart to be true... But that is the nature of spiritual belief, isn't it...? Ultimately, it is about Faith... And Faith can never be proven, only felt...
What are your beliefs...? Have you ever analysed them, and attempted to discover what you believe on an individual basis...? Or are you more comfortable with organised religion's "universal" quantifications...? It is my own thought that everyone should question, analyse, and take stock of what they *personally* believe, no matter what religion they subscribe to... (Or even if they subscribe to none, as in my case...) One final belief -- there is no one Truth we can ever know in this life... We can only listen to that little voice inside us that speaks louder than any words ever could...
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It is a difficult topic, as you know having spent time at my journal. For me, my greatest concern is pride. Setting aside my own will for the will of God. It's a tough one!
I do believe in free will, but that there are things put in our way to test our will and strength.
Soulmates are big thing for me because there are those that touch us so deeply that we dont feel the same when they arent in our lives. That they've changed us one way or another.
Heather - Being a former Catholic, I know exactly what you mean... It was so hard to sort through the things I was *told* versus the things I truely *believe*... And I've finally decided I *don't* believe in a "loving" God that is willing to condemn His children to eternal torment... No parent who loved their children would want that, not even for the worst of those children... But I can see Him weeping over the Hells we create for ourselves, as any earthly parent does... And like any parent, if we find our way back (even from the darkest of Hells), He would welcome His children home... I don't feel my beliefs really mesh with what I was taught as a child, but I do believe they make more sense to what a loving God would be...
Charley - I struggle with Pride every day, as you well know... Sadly, it's one of my favourite sins because it allows me to perceive myself in a far better light than I deserve... But I think there are two kinds of Pride: the pride that blinds you, and the pride that encourages you to do better... I think you could take pride in serving God to the utmost of your abilities, if you tempered it with a healthy dollop of humility as well...
Ken - There is a person who touched my life that way, and I (nor nothing else) shall never be the same as it was before we met... I think you, too, know it... (If the sig line you append to each of your posts is any indication) I can only say this: it was worth knowing and loving him... In spite of all the bad, the good was the happiest I have ever felt... When the nights get too dark, I hold on to that... You should too...
Hey I believe most of that stuff too! I have beliefs but they vary, and let's not even get into my pride, the bane of my existence.
Omar - I rather like your pride... *smiles* It's never truely an obnoxious pride, or a blinding one... And - on occasion - you really *are* as magnificent as your pride might whisper... :)
Kell - I have no religion, and am pleased to have it so... It means my search for Truth and Light has no middlemen... It's between myself and the gods... And that's the way it should be, I think...