When one argues that “religion is
the belief in some ultimate reality,” one must first ask themselves the
question, “what is reality?” The meaning
of reality can be interpereted into so many different meanings in itself. Is there ever a truth, or only a truth for
me? We, as individuals, tend to base our
realities on our own individual perceptions, and our perceptions are based upon
our experiences and senses (sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch). When we realize that no two perceptions are
ever really the same, only then can we connect with others, with hopes of achieving
a “shared perception” or “shared truth.” Once we recognize this fact, we can
then begin to better assess the rest of the statement.
I can only speak for myself, an my
interpretation of the statement, “religion is the belief in some ultimate
reality,” and for me, I interperet this sentence as, “religion is the belief in
some ultimate truth.” I personally,
cannot talk of truth, but rather, only “truth for me,” based upon my own
perceptions, experiences, and interpretations.
I have never been a person who bases my thoughts, opinions, or actions,
upon what another person says, thinks, or feels about a certain subject. I take pride in allowing myself to experience
all different types of situations, and experiences so that I can base my own
thoughts and opinions upon my own encounter with them. I have always felt like experience was a far
better teacher than anything I could find in a book or be taught from another
person.
Do I believe God to be real,
DEFINTELY! This “truth for me” is not
based on anything except for my own personal experiences with him. The synchronicities that cannot be explained
by anything other than a higher power, miracles, that seem to come out of thin
air, these are my own personal experiences that can only be explained by
knowing that a person who is capable of creating this vast world, and all of
its beautiful creations, could have given me these signs from the skies, or
placed the thoughts within my mind that allowed me to know that my faith is
pure and true. In fact, in moments of
doubt within my own mind, where I have questioned my own faith, as if out of
thin air there have been grand displays/signs that immediately erased any doubt
that I ever had. Could it be
coincidental that I was given this “larger than life” sign at the exact moment
of doubt, or during my lowest/weakest moment in life? Who else would have the
ability to go within my mind, read my thoughts, and give me that ostentatious
pretension of the power of his abilities?
Being the “thinker” that I am, I tried to recall, interpret, and
identify reasons for these events, but was unable to come up with any answer
than it being forces of grand design.
Just as with any relationship
(coworker, boss, family, personal, group, etc.), a healthy relationship is
formed as you learn to accept, respect, and get to know that person. It is the same dynamics that will lead a
person to a healthy relationship with God, as you accept and get to know your
god, on a personal level, you will bridge a tighter bond. Just as with any other relationship, when you
forge this bond (and have this supportive relationship), the person is there for
you when you need them. This is how god
has been there for me, once I showed my love and genuine friendship with him,
he has supported me thorough every endeavor since that moment!
So do I rely on the credentials of
an author who wrote a book on religion, or do I rely on my own experiences? I feel, just as with any other thing you are
taught in life, there will always be a slight doubt in your mind, unless you
seek the answers and find proof yourself.
When you see and experience things with your own senses, it is then that
no matter what you have been told, or read in a book, you have firsthand experience
that will erase any doubt or belief that you may have ever had.
For me, the test has always come
first, and the answers later, and this is no different with my relationship
with God. When I would question myself,
my motives, and my abilities, I would tend to fail. Luckily, being the resilient person that I am,
I never gave up. Instead I viewed this
as a learning experience and marched on.
Eventually I quit questioning myself.
I knew my heart and intentions were in the right place, so just as
machine needed energy to run, this love was my energy. It was only after I learned my lessons that
God gave me the signs that let me know he has been here all along and that I was
on the right path. It is these signs
that have allowed me to accept challenges and obstacles, and to know that it is
all in his grand design so that he can teach me and allow me to become the
person he needs me to be.
In my opinion, it is one God that we
all pray to or worship, the only problem is that we have all have attached our
own meanings, interpretations, and perceptions to them. Individuals, most acting upon their ego, tend
to defend their own beliefs/perceptions, and come at the issue from an “I’m
right perspective.” If they think about
religion in the same matter that they should view every other thing in life,
they would realize that if a picture was taken with a camera and twenty people
viewed that picture, there would be twenty different descriptions of that
picture. We are going to interpret the “issue,
thing, religion” based upon what is important to us, social standards, chemical
and biological make up (how our body and mind works), and conditioning from our
lifestyles and pasts. What stands out
for one, may be of the least importance to another, what one finds beautiful,
another may find repulsive, what one might find as fun and unique, another may
find as being mundane. As we are able to
place ourselves “out of the box” and think and view things from an open minded
viewpoint, we may be able to obtain different perceptions to our one reality;
in my opinion, this takes lots of practice and the ability to clear away
thoughts, expectations, feelings, and opinions, as well as getting to know
individuals who are very different from yourself. Only as you get to know them, on a very
personal level, will you be able to share their perceptions, reasoning,
thoughts, and experiences.
In my opinion, god is so vast, and
capable of anything, and he knows exactly what it is that we need in our lives,
so he allows us to receive his gifts (no matter what they may be), that will
help us to reach that point of love, both for ourselves, and others, so that we
are able to find that ultimate peace and happiness no matter what is going on
in our lives or what we may be experiencing.
Just as we are all unique individuals, he has created us; therefore, he
recognizes that fact, so he provides for us exactly what we may need which
means different spiritual practices and religions. Since God is the ultimate role model of
acting upon the “SUPER-EGO” and ALL MIGHTY, he does not need the recognition
for his efforts. The importance for him
is to bring this happiness and peacefulness into people’s life, to teach them
to love one another and our lands; therefore, he does not mind by which name we
may call him, as long as we call him! I believe
that no matter which God you pray to, he is one of servant leadership. In no way does he need recognition or claim,
his actions come from intrinsic values; therefore, his goal is “goodness and
unity,” not recognition!
With the ultimate goal being for
people to act upon Love (the light), rather than anger, fear, and hate (the
dark), we can realize that it is truly one GOD that we pray to, and put our egos
to the side, and accept the fact that we are all brothers, who are just
interpreting the “big picture” based upon our needs, lifestyles, and
interpretations, and to base all of our actions and behaviors upon LOVE and
ACCEPTANCE for all! <3.
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