Hmmmm Dear Friend i too sat in many different churches trying to touch "God" i too became lost in despair that everyone else seemed to have a 'something' that i just couldn't grasp (Let alone understand) but in retrospect i think now that what the 'problem' was (at least for me) was that i was searching outside of myself...
Religion we both agree is a man-made man-controlled crutch (In it's most extreme and i don't mean to put down anyone by that statement, this is simply my experience/observation)
but i do believe that in these times of planetary ascension/awakening that man is fast out-growing this archaic need to be so controlled and even the religious are now demanding more of their churches and church leaders, of their faith... Religion is evolving/changing in these times too i think...
And so my particular understanding of 'Spirituality' became the "process of reaching into and experiencing/understanding/sensing the 'true self'"... A touching of the inner spirit and once i 'found' THAT, faith no longer became a question for me... Because i had 'proof' of ~God~
i see it like this: Religion throughout history has served the purpose of teaching but also controlling the masses, the simple/easy way to teach the more simple/naive was with fear, and so (the story goes) when some more evolved folke popped up, the church simply controlled it by burning them as witches etc... keeping everyone suppressed... Whereas now many are expecting and rightly so i feel after so much suppression (and perhaps because we are not so afraid now) we are having/looking for personal individual/experiences of our faith/God
My personal hurdle with this process understandably given my understanding (and in my lonely struggle) was in the recognizing and then the suspending of my ingrained subconscious belief system/s, perhaps ingrained in a genetic sense for eons and thus i had to learn (still am) that to experience the intangible that i need to fear not... The fear being (for me) that the tool to understanding is no longer my 'mind'... but something much deeper and more learned and more sacred within...
i see many people confused (as was i) and afraid to take the plunge 'into the self', making excuses (that i too did) often based on the fact that no two experiences are the same, all very confusing if you are coming from an ancient understanding/background of 'packaged religion' and have been so controlled about what we even think!
'Proof' of the experience of spirituality does come (or it did for me) but in a very personal/individual language... It's like trying to decipher a dream... In my experience you can't just pick up a 'know it all' book (Like the Bible) and have all the answers... You have to instead keep a record of your dreams over time and build up your own text/symbolism/language (Because of course no two people have the same experiences/life) and in the process of getting to understand your own personal language, you come to experience that intangible innate inner landscape that is your own spirituality/God
The exciting thing that i am now learning is that the more i reach into myself, the more i find that my inner-scape reaches out to encompass my outer worlde... Sometimes i actually feel like i am in a Harry Potter novel... But hey that's just me and maybe i'm really just mad or worse a witch! Lol! *wink*
Mind you i wish i were a witch for then perhaps Dear Friend i could release you from your cursed pain
X:-(
15 comments:
Nolly, this is such a beautiful post and I feel exactly the same way about religion and about spirit. And it is a very lonely struggle at times. Love and kisses.
xoxo
Ahhh ... what a beautiful post. I am right there with you on this. What personal journey it is to find authenticity of Self which is Soul which IS Spirit ... now *that's* the Holy Trinity if you ask me! ;) Thank you for being so candid and open about yours. Have you ever noticed this journey feels a bit lonely ... until you start talking about it ... then suddenly so many others pop up who feel the same way and we realize we all kinda hide it because we feel like we are the freak?
So nice to meet you and wander around your bloghome. Thanks so much for visiting mine! :) I think we will be good friends!
xoxoxo
Annie <3 <3 <3
Erin when i found your blog straight away whether we became friends or not... when i saw your art i felt that we already were friends <3
All the religions are based on the experience of Truth, then being human, we try and conceptualize that experience. And bring in power struggles and our ego and misunderstanding... it just happens.
It's a beautiful post Nolly. As always filled with LOVE.
Lovely expression, Vicki. :)
I would certainly line up,to help our mutual friend.xx♥
Sighhhh... DeeDee... as always my wiser~one (((hugs)))
...and Natalie i think he loves his Aussy~Angels (Even if he doesn't believe in them!) X;-)
This is a beautiful post, Nolly, very personal and uplifting. It's very similar to my own journey...proof comes in forms known and personal to me. After awhile, I did not need proof anymore, it was ingrained within.
Vicki, what a heartfelt post. It's a journey of discovery and I'm grateful. You are a beautiful spirit Miss Nolly!
LOVE you.... Sandy
Fear is like a drug for religions (and politicians), a cheap and easy "high" that gets them where they want to go, but at the cost of everything for which they stand.
Nolly, many wise words here... finding "God" is never easy and for most, a lonely quest - as we each must travel a different path.
I feel that no matter what one's religious faith is (or isn't), the answer lies within us - within our heart and soul and we must look deeply inward in order to reach our and "touch God".
My "Renee" candle burns for you and another good friend of mine who is suffering.
Sending you love across the miles,
♥ Robin ♥
In contrast to your previous readers' glowing avowals of agreement, I arrive, as usual with smart-alecky doubts and questions.
"i do believe that in these times of planetary ascension/awakening"
Does this mean that you see life on earth as improving? I began hearing this in the '60s, but I'm unaware of any evidence to support it beyond unsupported assertions to the effect that ever increasing numbers of people are achieving higher levels of spiritual awareness. Exactly what this means--or how it is making life on earth verifiably better--I don't know.
"the tool to understanding is no longer my 'mind'... but something much deeper and more learned and more sacred within..."
Could you define what you mean by your spiritual self as opposed to your mental self, and how you can be sure that you are not mistaking the latter (which verifiably exists) for former (which, not being subject to objectively testable standards) might be considered in doubt?
Firstly Snow, i don't blog for compliments, because i secretly suspect that *you* may just be a figment of my imagination &/or a reflection of my~self anyway (YOU could even be some really clever computer program for all i know!) *wink*
Secondly, i believe this worlde is getting 'better' because if i don't ~Believe~ then who will?
...and finally prove to me that YOU are actually ~real~ then i will attempt to answer your last question X:-)
""I think therefore I am" or “I believe therefore I am”.... ?
<3
Marion, Sandy, Barry, Robin
<3 <3 <3 <3
Belief in the truth of anything is predicated upon trust in something. To one like myself it's trust in the basic reliability of my senses and the scientific method. I can't tell how you determine whether something is true or false.
Regarding spirits (whatever THEY are), you might say to one like myself, that the existence of spirits can't be disproven, therefore they very well might exist. This is certainly true, but it--along with your personal account--is all that you offer, if I understand you correctly. The first doesn't impress me because the same could be said of anything--invisible Martians, for example. As to the second, I'm unaware of any experience you've had that couldn't be accounted for in terms of your organic brain. This is the crux of the matter for me. You say you've experienced a spiritual presence, and I say how do you know that your experience wasn't produced within your brain. I can think of reasons to believe it would have been but none to think that it wouldn't.
Let me give you an example. Many people have out of body experiences in which they are looking at themselves as if from the outside. These experiences can be compellingly reproduced by wearing special goggles that do indeed make it look to the wearer like he is standing outside himself. Given this visual evidence, people tend to believe it despite the fact that they know they're wearing special goggles. Certainly, this doesn't prove that out of body experiences are an illusion, but it does show that they can be and that, given what science has taught us about the world, that they most likely are. Subjective experience doesn't prove objective reality.
i've posted a new one for ya Snowbrush X:-)
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