Hello everyone!
This is my page devoted to my thoughts and personal beliefs. I know some of you may be saying "oh no, not another one of those," but I assure you that this one is different if only for the fact that I am not preaching or recruiting. I am just elaborating on what I have come to believe without the help/force of my parents.
Lets see where to begin, I will start by listing what I believe without explanation, and then I will come back to explain things.
1) My personal beliefs can be classified under the New Age, New Thought, Neo-Pagan religions.
2) I do not believe in organized religion.
3) I believe that everyone, every creature has a soul.
4) I do not believe in God.
5) I believe that everything that happens is predestined.
6) I believe that to become an individual you must work hard.
7) I believe in past lives and rebirths.
8) To each his own.
9) I believe that anger and hatred only make us sick and forgiveness lets us move on.
10) I believe that everything and everyone is important.
11) I believe that there are some people you meet in life who will change the way you are.
12) I do not believe in heaven or hell.
13) I believe that judgment based on appearance is wrong.
14) I believe that everyone should try to love life.
15) I believe that we can learn many things if we only listen.
Explanations:
1) As quoted from http://www.speakout.com:
New Age An umbrella term for a wide range of personal and individual beliefs and practices influenced primarily by eastern religions, paganism, spiritism.
Belief in Deity: God is the impersonal life force, consciousness, ultimate truth and reality, the incorporeal, formless cosmic order personified within all people and matter - God is all and all are God. Incarnations: Most believe there are no particular incarnations to worship as all in the universe are embodiments of God. Many of the world’s prophets, including Jesus, are viewed as reincarnations of the Christ. Origins of universe/life: The universe, life, and matter were not created by God but "are" God. The universe and life emerged out of the creative power of the eternal universal life force. After death: Some believe in continual rebirth - no death, as life is spirit. Some believe that our souls rest for a time before deciding on a new body (or bodies). Heaven and hell are states of consciousness, self-imposed, due to ignorance of God as all. Why evil? No original sin and no Satan and no evil. Most believe people make "mistakes" when they are ignorant of the power of goodness, which is God, within themselves and others. Some believe evil is perpetuated through accumulation of past-life wrongs and spiritual ignorance. Salvation: Salvation lies in the realization of oneness with the impersonal life force, thus unlocking one’s healing potential. Awareness can be heightened through methods that induce altered states of consciousness, e.g. hypnosis, meditation, music, drugs; and through intercession, e.g. crystals, tarot cards, amulets, fortunetellers and psychics, channeling. Some believe the salvation of humanity will occur when critical mass is reached as more and more people converge in celebrating their oneness with God and with each other, which will bring a New World Order or new Planetary Order, resulting in oneness of civilization and one world government, peace and harmony. Undeserved suffering: Suffering is the result of greed, hatred, and spiritual ignorance in a person’s, or humanity’s, past lifetimes, which returns as suffering (karma). Suffering is sometimes viewed as occurring for a specific purpose, to further spiritual growth and learn a life lesson, e.g. the death of a young child may occur because the parents need to learn not to take life for granted. Suffering is also seen as illusory in that it results from attachment to bodily pleasure and pain, and only the universal life force within, God, truly exists. Contemporary Issues: Abortion is not condemned, as there is no official doctrine. Generally adherents are supportive of a woman’s right to choose abortion.
New Thought An umbrella term for diverse beliefs that emphasize experiencing God's presence for practical purposes, such as healing and success. Examples include Unity, Religious Science, and Divine Science.
Belief in Deity: There exists one God -- Universal Mind, creative intelligence, omnipresent --- principle (not a being), impersonal force which manifests itself personally, perfectly, and equally within all. Incarnations: No particular incarnations, as God is within all equally. Some believe Jesus was exemplary of someone who fully realized his divine nature, and therefore is the "wayshower" (shows the way). Origins of universe/life: The universe and all within it are expressions of God - the creative intelligence - with no beginning and no end. After death: Some believe in continual rebirth as a gift from God so that all may become immortal, as was Jesus Christ, with each lifetime a preparation for the next. Others believe the individual soul merges with the universal spirit after death. Why evil? No original sin and no Satan and no evil. People make "mistakes" due to ignorance of one's true nature as Perfect Mind and Love, which is God. Salvation: Salvation lies in the realization of oneness with the impersonal life force, thus unlocking one’s healing potential. Licensed practitioners counsel on spiritual healing for problems of the mind, body, and life. Some believe Jesus is the "wayshower" to salvation. Some believe that all, regardless of actions, will be saved by the grace of a loving and forgiving God. Most believe that spiritual awareness of God’s omnipresence, that God is all and all are God, leads to personal and humanity’s salvation. Many believe that repeated reincarnations are God’s gift, each lifetime a preparation for the next, until "perfection" is reached, which is God. Undeserved suffering: Suffering results from ignorance of one's true nature as Perfect Mind and ceases with complete realization that we all are one with God, the Universal Mind. One can heal personal suffering through New Thought practices, often with the assistance of New Thought practitioners. Contemporary Issues: There is no official doctrine on abortion; therefore, abortion is not condemned.
Neo-Pagan A community of faiths bringing ancient pagan and magickal traditions to the modern age -- including mostly Wicca but also Druidism, Asatru, Shamanism, neo-Native American, etc. Neo-Pagan is an umbrella term for various and diverse beliefs with many elements in common. (See Pagan Path Selector below) Some Neo-Pagans find no incongruence practicing Neo-Paganism along with adherence to another faith, such as Christianity or Judaism.
Belief in Deity: Some believe in a Supreme Being. Many believe in God and Goddess - a duality. Many believe there are countless spirit beings, gods and goddesses, in the cosmos and within all of nature - God is all and within all; all are one God. The Great Mother Earth, or Mother Nature, is highly worshipped. Divinity is immanent and may become manifest within anyone at any time through various methods. Incarnations: No human incarnations are worshipped in particular, as all of nature and the universe are considered embodiments of God and Goddess, or of gods and goddesses, worthy of respect, reverence or worship. Origin of universe/life: Generally there is no conflict between observations revealed through science and Neo-Pagan beliefs on origins of the physical universe and of man. Many believe in a supreme intelligence that created a duality of God/Goddess who then created a spirit world of gods and goddesses as well as all of the universe and nature. After death: Many believe in reincarnation, after some rest and recovery in the "Otherworld." There is generally no concept of hell as a place of punishment, but some believe wrongdoing can trap the soul in state of suffering after death. Some (Wicca) believe the soul joins their dead ancestors who watch over and protect their family. Some believe that life energy continues in some, if unknown, form. Some believe in various spiritual resting places. Many say we don’t or can’t know what happens after death. Why evil? "Evil" is imbalance. Most believe there is no evil but rather that people sometimes make mistakes. Wrongdoing results when we forget we are one with the universal spirit. Salvation: The concept of "salvation" is essentially irrelevant; rather the belief that people can attain spiritual balance and harmony with each other and Nature. The path includes group ceremonies, dances, songs/chants, prayers, meditation, trance, altered states of consciousness, the metaphysical, magic, invoking or evoking deities or spirits, Tantric practices. Intercessors are commonly used: psychics, seers, shamans, tarot, Oui-Ja Board. Ethical choices are influenced by belief in rebirth and karma - that one is rewarded or punished within this or after this lifetime for one’s choices, and an ethical code to do no harm. Undeserved suffering: Most do not believe in Satan or any spirit Being as the cause of suffering. Some believe in karma, that choosing to live a life of wrongdoing and pain will naturally result in suffering in this or later lifetimes. Many view suffering as a result of spiritual imbalance in one’s life or on the planet or in the universe. The focus is generally on healing suffering rather than answering definitively why it exists. Issues: Abortion choice is supported by many, but beliefs about abortion range from "pro-life" to "pro-choice." Views on divorce, homosexuality, and gender equality are generally very supportive of human differences, equality, and personal choice. Many believe that involvement in community action, especially regarding environmental concerns, is integral to the belief in human interdependence and worship of the Earth Mother. Many promote strict nonviolence to humans and animals.
I find that speakout.com does a good job of explaining religion however I will add that I may not exclusively agree with one religion or another and I have many more views than that which have been listed.
2) The reason I do not believe in organized religion is this: I have come to believe that far too many children are forced into religion by their parents without the choice of discovering others. I have also found that there are a lot of religious people that have reached the point of fanaticism. I have personal views on many things especially when it comes to homosexuality. My beliefs defy the teachings of a majority of organized religions. I do not believe in God (I’ll get to that in a minute) but I have been the target of some fanatics saying that I will go to hell (which I too do not believe in) due to my sexual orientation. My only response is this: Your God creates all people, does he/she/they not? And you are taught to be peaceful to one another? And your God punishes those who are not as he/she/they intended? Why then would your God create only to kill those in which he/she/they has created? It really doesn’t make sense in my mind yet it does in the minds of some fanatics. I must now say that not everyone that has a difference of religious opinion with me is a fanatic, in fact I pride myself on being an individual and hearing the opinions of others but I do not appreciate those who judge me for a preference that is only my business and no one else’s.
3) Everyone, every creature has a soul: the body in it’s physical state of matter is just a shell, a case if you will, for the soul and the soul is what the person/mind really is.
"We are not human beings trying to be spititual, we are spiritual beings trying to be human."-?
4) I do not believe in God. That is to say that I do not believe in the "man upstairs." I believe that we, as spiritual selves are in charge of our lives and the way in which we live them.
5) I believe that we, as spiritual beings (before birth) create our life. We figure out everything that is going to happen to us before we get here and everything that happens, good or bad is a lesson that we will learn from eventually.
6) You must work hard to become an individual: from the moment you are born you are being molded by your parents and their ideas. As you get older there are many more who will try to make you like them (peer pressure) and think like them. To become an individual you must break free from what you are taught, think about why you believe what you are taught to be true, what your thoughts are about the things you are taught and then decide for yourself what you believe in and why you believe it. I am not saying that everything a parent teaches is a bad thing but I have met children who will give you "their" opinion about something and have it come word for word out of their parents mouth. This is why I believe that there are so many racist, bigots (and I apologize for making this classification) in the world. A child learns hatred directly from the people they know best, their parents. Some children break free and become individuals later in life with different beliefs while some grow to be racists without reason, other than that is what their parents taught them.
7) As I think there is no heaven or hell I believe that a spirit continues to live. After the death of a body the soul has learned what it has wanted from that life, they then go to the "celestial library" if you will only to do research about their next life in which they then design and manifest. This is an ongoing process.
8) To each his own: others leave me and my views to me and I’ll leave your views to you.
9) Anger and hatred fill our bodies with unwanted things that agitate us and make us sick, you hold in the bad and you get bad (sick), I know this for a fact, I held so many things in for so many years that my body literally got pissed off with me and stopped functioning properly. I learned to forgive and I am now well.
10) I pity those who do not realize that everything and everyone is important, from the simple things in life to the outcasts that no one seems to be friends with. Enjoy the simple things because they are a privilege, befriend the outcasts, a person is a person is a person. You meet so many incredible people in life and you are literally passing up an opportunity to meet another by judging others. Who knows, one day they may save your life.
11) I believe that there are some people you meet in life who will change the way you are. I am not talking about the peer pressure groups that make you someone you’re not, I’m talking about the people that help you become a better person, a soul mate, a friend for life, anyone that changes your life in a positive way.
12) As for heaven and hell I think that souls continue living therefore there need not be a place to keep the souls of the dead either for pleasure or punishment, just a "celestial library" in which the soul spends a little time researching their next life.
13) Judgment based on appearance is wrong, look to the inside because that is where the beauty truly lies.
14) You get more out of life if you love it.
15) If we only listen to those who are around us we can learn amazing things, experiences, ideas, stories anything, we just have to take the time to listen.
I thank all who read this page. It is only my intention to share my thoughts in a passive way, you found me, and to bring up new ideas. Feel free to e-mail me your comments, opinions, arguments, anything! I love a difference of opinion, when two minds collide we can only learn more.
Indi
My Poetry Page
A Political Activist Page
Richard Bach quotes
The Messiah's Handbook, from Richard Bach's Illusions
More Richard Bach Quotes
Lycos-See Ya There To Chat
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