[FireWater420]

I am Agnostic. I believe in a higher source of power, but I dont want to put a name to it. I dont follow all the rules to ANY bible. I try to learn about religions... put together what I think is right, then live my life based on the beliefs I learned from different cultures. I could say my religion is pieces of many religions put together. I can't say what is in any bible is factual. But I can say I do know what right and wrong is. I know how to be peaceful and giving, respect nature and other living beings, not just the concious. Sometimes I see religion being forced upon people. Which I think may be the worst way of going about teaching someone. What exactly are all the religions goals torwards? Peace I believe. When you sit down and think about what the bible says.... then all the other bibles in the world... cultures that dont even know what a bible is. You can always ask yourself. What is right?

[shecky7]

Religion is Belief of ANY KIND. All thought is Religious.


Right is when we can focus attention and experience what is happening in this moment.

Wrong is when we 'suppose' that our erring belief that experience can be 'wrong', which has triggered an emotional response to experience which is unpleasant, is taken for granted and colors over the timeless now we all are capable of experiencing with stuff like time, which creates room for anxiety, boredom, etc..... but first time exists...right?


What the hell did she just write thru me anyway? Don't answer me, I am merely an oh-see-can-you-say hierophant. Conversing with my shelves.:partysmile:

[IndigoEarthAngel33]

Just follow your heart and stop thinking. We live in our own minds and we sleep too much. Who knows what is right or wrong, just know who you are, emanate the truth, your love and light and let your intuition guide your way.



Namaste

[supersmoke]

I have never been a religious man even though this has put me at odds with family and friends at times. I have never thought it wise to follow a path where one does "good" under threat of later punishment, but rather because of an internal desire to be better.

I have thought on this long and hard and have come to believe that there is a creator being out there. I don't believe that it is as personal and interventional as most religions would have us believe. The core of it for me is that there are too many perfect and interconnecting forces in this universe that we are just now seeing. Our science has evolved to the point where we can now catch a glimpse of the perfection that is our universe from the physical rules that govern motion and interaction to the simplest interactions between animals and plants.

I feel that this creator is a lonely but patient being who has laid out a path. A path studded with obstacles and hurdles that we must overcome and grow as a result of overcoming them. Eventually we will grow into being worthy and able to take a place beside this creator and interact on a meaningful level.

I also believe that what we roughly term fate, destiny, karma, or luck just a tangenital glimpse of this path. When we do good and right, we progress along a positive path leading us closer to the creator. When we do wrong or exet negative force we stagnate and prolong our journey.

Death for me isn't an ending or even a pitstop on the way to a paradise or purgatory. I believe it is just a necessary transition from the physical to the spritual. Some meet death early and unprepared and will have more work to do as a spiritual being than those who have gone on as a matured and contented soul. Thae only tragedies in this life are the pains and suffering we allow to mar our existence as we travel the path.

This then is our greatest human hurdle. To create a world where the span of a human life is a series of ever increasing challenges that make us better than what we were. To overcome hate, and pride, and envy. To rid ourselves of the need to master others, but only to master ourselves. To see every moment as an opportunity to advance one's intellect and spirit to prepare for the next stage in our journey.

This is just my peception and belief, if this conflicts with yours, okay. I am content to follow my path and allow you to follow yours. I wish you all well and my sincerest hopes that your life is filled with contentment and love. Pain is physical and ephemeral and will not follow us after death's transition. Fear not, but take heart in the glory of the human soul. It is our only true possession.


Warmest regards,

Supersmoke

[ScrewyLewy]

Dear Firewater after reading your post I think you do know what is right and wrong. Everybody in this thread should just relax as life is simple. Live the golden rule and medicate. If you can't because you don't have access, funds or fear of punishment than that is wrong.
Love each other and share.
Peace!

[danx_qz0]

"The straight path is as difficult as it is simple. were it not so, all would follow the straight path."

-Gandhi

[vborn]

To philosophically answer 'what is right?' I'd say that I know what's right and what's wrong, but I choose via freewill to do what's wrong in mostly all situations. I don't want peace, nor do i pray for the safe-being of anyone. I like hurting people both physically and mentally.

I think the reason why the majority of people preach that all should do good, is that they know for society to work, you need more do-gooders than exploiters.

[Nailhead]

I don't like discussing my religious beliefs because they are continuously evolving, and most people wouldn't understand them anyway, but these are some things I believe to be true:

All creatures are just capsules for spirits to reside in temporarily. The living capsule gives a spirit more control over their world than they would have otherwise, so all spirits would logically want to do good during the short time they have in their living body.

The question of what is good or bad is a question that we cannot allow ancient beliefs to answer with such certainty. This is a question that must be asked continuously as we continue to evolve into more intelligent and capable beings. The spirits that reside with us know what is good and frequently remind us through messages that can take the form of anything from a poem, movie, or be incorporated into certain aspects of a religion. There are no evil spirits, but rather the negative things we experience are the result of our own lack of intelligence and ability to grow as one collective organism of planet earth.

Perhaps someday the news will become a bit more thought provoking with a different take on a typical report; "Today a young man on acid realized that all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration, that we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively. There is no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we are the imagination of ourselves. Here's Tom with the weather...."