I'm in a Limbo-split

Yeah, unclear title but it's a unclear problem. For a couple of years i spent my freetime and even officetime ( Bad little worker! ) reading up about the more esoteric side of life and i think (to much but also that) i've got it figured out, IN THEORY. I mean i have a picture of it and nothing that comes up about reality dismisses the picture i have. So the problem is, that i (think i) know this whole experience of reality is in itself a mere blink of time in a timeless universe, that there is in fact no goal to achieve than the ones you give yourself. And more of that liberating but sometimes depressing stuff.

Liberating in the sense that the human rat-race is not something i have the urge to join for the sake of joining because 'it is the way the most spend their life', liberating in the sense that you get some quiet of mind and another perspective on life in general and other things make a lot more sense, speaking for myself of course.

Depressing in the sense that the rat race is something i cannot join in good conscious without seeing through the emotional emptiness of working untill your old enough to spend the 5-10% of your free life to 'do what you want to'. If it all doesn't matter what you really accomplish in your life besides the value you give those accomplishments (wich is purely subjective of course) It doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things.

I read all i can read with learning something new that sounds right and everything i know falls inside the picture i made, everybody is right about what they do, every religion has her given power, every ritual has his (subjectively) given function. And underneath all those self-made rules, dogma's and limits is, well, the workings of the universe doing what it does to help you build your illusion untill your sick of it or it has done it's job to poke a hole in it, or [whatever]

This is not something to be happy about really, or proud for that matter because if life is nothing more than the search for happiness my sister is a lot further advanced than me, without any interest in this esoteric stuff. It has it's upsides and yeah (imo) they outweigh the downsides. I just have the nagging feeling i have the keys to a REALLY cool car but cannot find the contact, i just figured out how to open the door and sit in it. ( bad analogy but the best i could think of )

So to be short, i'm between the beaten path laid down for society as a whole, knowing it for what it is (imo) and a totally happy experience, just past the mental barrier of drinking the reality cool-aid (imo) but in front of another barrier that makes it possible to experience the other one. I feel i'm stuck but cannot put the gini back into the bottle.

At this point i'm open for any suggestion that can help me guide the rest of the way, i have some money that could give me the space to travel and support myself. I don't really trust the western watered down version of gnosis/spirituality/[whatever] so that is not an immediate option for me.

edit:just give me any tip that pops in your head, thanks


To be shorter: I'm in limbo.

And even shorter: Crap.

[edit on 26-11-2008 by Harman]

reply to post by Harman


Well, I can relate to your dilemna...in addition to what you said, I find the majority of people I encounter to be indignant idiots...so, I got that going for me as well...

The thing is, I HAVE to interact with these individuals on a regular basis because I HAVE to work..if I was a trust fund kid, I would drop it all and seek answers else where...you said you have some cash, so I would highly reccommend traveling to a plethora of areas - both known to be a hot bed for philosophy as well as spirituality...

I'm not a supporter of organized religion, but they too have people worth listening to - you just have to know how to filter it...but the answers you seek are apparently not in your immediate vicinity - otherwise I would think you would have gained some insight as to what you truly want from life - and it's damn hard to determine that for most people Harman...

I read all i can read

And yes, the Rat Race cannot be won - the only finish line is death...




But you can still win at life if you take the time to search for the answers to its most compelling questions...looks like you are already doing that...good luck Harman.

reply to post by chapter29


Thanks man . I got over the 'disdain of humanity' though, i could even drink a cold one with the meanest bastard out there, as long as he/she doesn't eat me of course. You can despair over it all you want but that doesn't help, my friends, family and collegues do not share my interests, i life in one of the closely populated parts of the world and that is not the most ideal situation to be floating around it seems, but you can try to fight it or accept it how it is, that everyone is just living in their own bubble. Including you, me and everyone else as long as their heart is beating of course.

I have some money, not to much though but enough to do stuff and if arranged right do it long enough (as in, go into the very simple life somewhere in rural Asia or something)

Organized religion is not for me, it does have some truths in there but sitting in a church or whatever religious building listening to stale old texts does not fill this need inside of me. I'm not easily swayed by dogma's so it'll keep me hungry.

And well, i already stepped out of the ratrace for a big part, i mean i'm still in it but just chilling in the back rows enjoying the scene instead of backstabbing the front men. Thanks for the support and good luck to you too. Hope this topic will be able to help you in some way

I struggled with this for some time. At times depressed and elated with the realization that granted absolute freedom, and yet in that freedom at the same time absolutely nothing. What was there to care about if nothing mattered? What was there to happy about? What was the point in even bothering anymore?

What I came to realize is that the realization is only one aspect, that it doesn't always include acceptance and application. When I found these, I realized a simple and beautiful truth.

The key to happiness is simply being happy.

I thought too simple perhaps until it sunk in that as nothing material ultimately matters, I am free to choose. To slip out of the grip of the material world and instead hold it or let it go as I wish. That is to say, whatever we do, we can do it with the knowing that it is not the measure to the goal but rather a way to pass the time we have and accomplish whatever is our heart's tasks. And not to limit ourselves as any task we are given can fulfill the heart if we only listen.

Perhaps you'll see that it isn't so much what we do, as the intent with which we do it. To me the intent means only one thing: To fulfill love in others as much as in myself. Simply balance.

Originally posted by TravelerintheDark
I struggled with this for some time. At times depressed and elated with the realization that granted absolute freedom, and yet in that freedom at the same time absolutely nothing. What was there to care about if nothing mattered? What was there to happy about? What was the point in even bothering anymore?

What I came to realize is that the realization is only one aspect, that it doesn't always include acceptance and application. When I found these, I realized a simple and beautiful truth.

The key to happiness is simply being happy.

I thought too simple perhaps until it sunk in that as nothing material ultimately matters, I am free to choose. To slip out of the grip of the material world and instead hold it or let it go as I wish. That is to say, whatever we do, we can do it with the knowing that it is not the measure to the goal but rather a way to pass the time we have and accomplish whatever is our heart's tasks. And not to limit ourselves as any task we are given can fulfill the heart if we only listen.

Perhaps you'll see that it isn't so much what we do, as the intent with which we do it. To me the intent means only one thing: To fulfill love in others as much as in myself. Simply balance.

Thanks for the reply. And also with that i'm pretty much doing it, almost nothing can bring me down in general so being happy is a choice i make daily, without any conscious effort but i'm just halfway 'there' wherever and whatever that is. The bodily peace, seeing every viewpoint, accepting everyone as they are and the last year even liking the percieved irritating ones in our midst is not really a issue anymore, before this road of escaping the illusion i was pretty much depressed for a few years not knowing why exactly. Untill i read some populair new age/spiritual book that opened my eyes for the first time and gave me a jolt of energy, never came down from that and i started to see little changes in my life.

I let go of my greatest love that 'wasn't just that into me' and more of those things that burden the heart while not being helpfull anymore. In short, stopped fighting it but not surrendering to the percieved pointlessnes of life. Even last week i 'returned the favor' to another woman that was/is stuck on me, had a date, and a great time but at the end of the evening i made it very clear that a relationship is not happening because i missed the 'funny feeling' in my stomach with her while i did get it with other women so that would be dangerous for her and my happiness if i ever get that feeling with someone else while being entangled with her (had a relationship of almost two years with her).

So yeah, i'm there but i would love to not only know on a academic level but feel on a soul-level what this is all about. The love i felt and still feel for that other woman is, i think, just a glimps of the feeling to be had when you really break through the veil of this intricately woven interpretation of reality.

So i'm talking the talk and on the outside walking the walk, liking it by the way but i'm still in the dark for the most part. I'll see and feel it when i'm dead but it would be nice to 'get it' while i'm alive

[edit on 26-11-2008 by Harman]

reply to post by Harman


I sat for a while thinking about how to respond, but, honestly, I'm not sure there is anything I can say that you won't already understand. From where I sit, you appear to have firm grasp of what you need. I like to think the same of myself, but yet there are so many moments when I feel there must be something I'm missing. Despite the fact that it is contrary to what I feel as truth in that everything is always as it should or needs to be, there are times when I feel simply unfulfilled. In these moments I'm acutely aware of how utterly alone I feel. And how wonderful it would be to have one person near me who I shared not only my life with but the perspective and understanding. Someone who just "gets it". But it appears that isn't the way it's working, at least for now.

If this is where your heart is, I'm afraid I can't offer much in the way of help, as it's an answer I don't have for myself. I hope though, if it is this way, that you do find what you're looking for.

Originally posted by Harman
Liberating in the sense that the human rat-race is not something i have the urge to join for the sake of joining because 'it is the way the most spend their life', liberating in the sense that you get some quiet of mind and another perspective on life in general and other things make a lot more sense, speaking for myself of course.


So to be short, i'm between the beaten path laid down for society as a whole, knowing it for what it is (imo) and a totally happy experience, just past the mental barrier of drinking the reality cool-aid (imo) but in front of another barrier that makes it possible to experience the other one. I feel i'm stuck but cannot put the gini back into the bottle.
[edit on 26-11-2008 by Harman]

Methinks you traded the material illusion of achieving some kind of goal that makes life worthwhile for the spiritual illusion of achieving something that makes life worthwhile.

So yeah, i'm there but i would love to not only know on a academic level but feel on a soul-level what this is all about. The love i felt and still feel for that other woman is, i think, just a glimps of the feeling to be had when you really break through the veil of this intricately woven interpretation of reality.

Is it really love or just your genes programmed by nature to pass itself on to the next generation? The feeling you get afterwards is just nature's way of thanking you for a job well done (so that it can continue and experiment with creating life) and shouldn't be confused with the sense of freedom brought forth by an understanding or lasting insight of the grander scheme of things. The first is very temporary and given, the latter is more permanent and self-made.

[edit on 26-11-2008 by Dragonfly79]

This is somthing ive only recently realized and understood. Infinity veiwed from outside of time would have a pattern, or design. That design would be god. My personality... my very thoughts are shaped by the pattern of infinty that i am living in. I am a sum result of my expreiances and thoughts, which are in turn the sum result of the design of infinity. I used to veiw myself as a person with everything grown by myself on the inside, but now i see myself as a sum result of everything givin from the outside. Not an image or an item... but an outline that can expand beyond myself and into infinity.

reply to post by TravelerintheDark


That's the spot, exactly. Sucks, but doesn't and the whole nine yards

Originally posted by Dragonfly79

Originally posted by Harman
Liberating in the sense that the human rat-race is not something i have the urge to join for the sake of joining because 'it is the way the most spend their life', liberating in the sense that you get some quiet of mind and another perspective on life in general and other things make a lot more sense, speaking for myself of course.


So to be short, i'm between the beaten path laid down for society as a whole, knowing it for what it is (imo) and a totally happy experience, just past the mental barrier of drinking the reality cool-aid (imo) but in front of another barrier that makes it possible to experience the other one. I feel i'm stuck but cannot put the gini back into the bottle.

Methinks you traded the material illusion of achieving some kind of goal that makes life worthwhile for the spiritual illusion of achieving something that makes life worthwhile.

You may be right but then i'm really screwed, mentally. Where do i go from here? I know that the consensus reality we all life is perverted somehow and there are so many other ways to life that would make almost everybody so much more happy than this but my search could have led me into another ego-driven reality where i deem myself 'better' or more 'knowledgeable' than other without having anything to show for it, at all. And the problem is that i really have not found the 'spiritual illusion' of something worthwhile, yet. And maybe i have to find it to dismiss it but i'm not there yet. That is for sure and the reason for this topic really.

So yeah, i'm there but i would love to not only know on a academic level but feel on a soul-level what this is all about. The love i felt and still feel for that other woman is, i think, just a glimps of the feeling to be had when you really break through the veil of this intricately woven interpretation of reality.

Is it really love or just your genes programmed by nature to pass itself on to the next generation? The feeling you get afterwards is just nature's way of thanking you for a job well done (so that it can continue and experiment with creating life) and shouldn't be confused with the sense of freedom brought forth by an understanding or lasting insight of the grander scheme of things. The first is very temporary and given, the latter is more permanent and self-made.

Heh, if it was just the practice of sharing my genes the one i let know that it just wasn't going to work would not get that message because i would be happy to exchange the genes perpetually while not thinking about it untill i found my next 'gene-target' and about the few i fell for hopelessly ( one as a primary and first big love including a relationship and a few follow up flings i had with her and another not really less but coming in second and without any meaningfull 'gene exchange' to speak of ) it would be pretty much a misguided 'thank you' or 'pat on the back' because it failed miserably on both accounts but i will always have some kind of connection with them, even if they'll get married tomorrow i will be happy for them without some real remorse (i think). It's not a love (or primal urge) that screams at me 'YOU HAVE TO HAVE HER, NOW!' but a deeper feeling that does not really fit into a 'we just have to get born, procreate, protect and die' way of how we are seen by some, no more than a survival-based collection of genes happy too eat, poop, have sex and die because of some evolution. I don't think that we have been created by some bearded God or something but i do think there is *something* that permeates through this whole universe that made up some 'base rules' to make a place/time where conscious is able to solidify enough to experience itself through other shards of itself.

Anyway, thanks for the attempted wake-up call. It's appreciated more than you know.

reply to post by Wertdagf


Well said


[edit on 26-11-2008 by Harman]

reply to post by Harman

...I got over the 'disdain of humanity' though, i could even drink a cold one with the meanest bastard out there, as long as he/she doesn't eat me of course. You can despair over it all you want but that doesn't help...

I like this part - I feel the same

I'm going to have my moments - unavoidable I think - but wallowing in despair is a kind of panic - and panic makes it difficult to think or function

having said that - I've done my fair share of wallowing - so, maybe something we each have to work through in our own way in our own time

back to your original question - the one thing I've been able to decide for myself is - it's not so much what you do - but how you do it

I'm less concerned now with the choices I could or should make - I've started to see that my approach to life is what makes the most actual difference in my life

the rest of it somehow shows up as I need it

it's not a perfect system :-)

but, my options are clearer now that I've stopped thinking about them as much




[edit on 11/29/2008 by Spiramirabilis]

lol i am ever amazed at the intricacies of the universe and its ability to toy with me.

i just wrote an half page essay in reply to your post and before posting for some bizarre reason i clicked on a random link and i lost it all. i think the universe wants me to keep my mouth shut on what i think so im just going to say this.

welcome to the club, yur well on the way to the answers u seek. u dont need to travel to asia everything u need is right where u are. if u do feel like u want to see asia then travel there for the experience not the knowledge no one society has a monopoly on wisdom even though they think they do. what i have learned is that the truth is what u want it to be so following somebody else or their version of the truth will lead u nowhere. it sounds cliche but the answers are withing u they always have been u just need the right keys to unlock them. the more u think the more u will think u know.

best of luck on your adventure im sure it will be grand.

If you feel that you've figured all this out then you could skip ahead and work on the next level.

Earth's energy field is taking on quite a bit of coarse energy in the form of fear, anxiety, hatred, etc. You could become an energy transducer and convert that coarse energy to refined energy and release it back out into the field.

It's one way to feel more connected to existence. It may also make you feel more complete in yourself by giving you an extra dimension to operate in.

Plus, the more refined energy there is available the less affect the fear tactics will have overall. Like fear, refined energy can be contagious. Produce it, transduce it and release it back out into the field.

You seem to have already made the necessary adjustments to be able to manipulate subtle energy no matter what's going on around you. That's the requisite mental work that you've done. Now, you can take control of that and do something with it while becoming even more connected to your world, both outer and inner.

Oh man. Are you ever right! That's what I'm doing now, being a transducer, and I'm completely aware of it. It hurts like hell sometimes too. The other day, as all the Mumbai affair was heating up, I could feel it. I wasn't following the situation via the media at all. I could just feel it. Like bolts of angst to my heart chakra. I was spacey and angsty at the same time. But it's part of the reason I'm here right now.

I would like to add too that even once you've reached that glorious point of acceptance, there will likely be a time when you feel as though you lose that understanding. You again find yourself discontent and angry and frustrated, like you can't find peace anywhere.

If you have some money, why not create a situation for yourself where you will be completely self-reliant? Drop off the grid. Then you can be free to enjoy solitude when you need it but are also free to commune with others when you need that.

Have you figured out your function here? Are you performing your duty? Those who reach the awakened state have a role to play. It would be wise to figure that out now, while you have the time and opportunity, and then start the work itself.

I'm a healer in many different ways. All of these have been revealed in particularly unusual circumstances and have not been sought by me consciously (ie, I didn't sign up for Reiki courses or study Shamanism). And yet, in my particular spot on the planet, I am gaining respect and authority as a healer amongst those already consciously practicing these things. But there's no such thing as coincidence.

Perhaps that's your place to start now. Start looking for the signs, the "coincidences" that are surely all around you. Someone must be pointing you in a particular direction. Are you missing it?

reply to post by Spiramirabilis


Thanks for the post . And yeah, it are good points you bring to the table. a few years ago i wrote something that had the titel 'An end to thinking' (losely translated) and it worked and works nicely when in a worry about something outside of your control that frustrates you in any way.


reply to post by TiM3LoRd


Thanks for that and my condolences to your original text .

I'm not searching for 'masters' to follow blindly or something i would go into a sect or something if that is the case. Allthough i would like some kind of guided teaching to help me trigger myself. I know i'm already 'there' but knowing is not experiencing and that is something i'd like to get to. So not worried about my immortal soul just thinking i would love to take this psyche for a ride . And Asia is something on my 'to do list' anyway just for the experience itself not in the wisdom it may harbour, it would be a plus though but who knows maybe just being in Asia will trigger some kind of ephipany somehow.

reply to post by Cons Piracy


Good post and made me re-realize that being positive and relatively immunized in regards to the games being played with us while having trust in the future helps bring that possibility into reality. There is so much undirected unconsciuousness around us that it can be steered for negative and positive purposes. And i'm an apt believer of the '100th monkey phenomona' so not being herded into the prepared worldview does more good to more people than just me even if it is not directly so. Thanks .


reply to post by CosmicEgg


I have found my 'bliss' so to speak and that is writing about the psychological deception that wreaks havoc on our potentially glorious society, the division, polarization, degrading, economic/social fear and the deception that veils the reality of our being. (mostly on Dutch sites by the way and to people that normally don't read this kind of stuff where it could do the most good, imo). So not a physical healer, more one of the psyche, i'm pretty good into coaxing people subtly out of their 'bubble' so that they are able to accept the truth of the matter that is now going on around them and they will not be baffled if something big and shocking happens, insulating them from the brunt of the mental rape. but on the last sentence 'Are you missing it?' Yeah, maybe i am. So lingering midway from bubble-land to being really connected. Although i do suspect i already have te connection going because otherwise i would not feel the things i feel and pick up the knowledge i have. Now i think of it some stuff i 'know' to be true and later on i read somewhere that it is a pretty well-known concept and that sort of thing. Maybe i'm just expecting to much of it and the channel is already open only without bells and whistles. Thanks for the thought provoking post


[edit on 30-11-2008 by Harman]

Originally posted by Harman
reply to post by TravelerintheDark

 

That's the spot, exactly. Sucks, but doesn't and the whole nine yards

I can say assuredly that you never know how, when or why. But wide eyes and an open heart insure that we don't miss it when it comes along.

Originally posted by TravelerintheDark

The key to happiness is simply being happy.

IMO, These are the most important words on ATS right now. You have to bloom where you grow. You can't over analyze your purpose or path. You just have to live the very best way your circumstances allow, and strive
for good in this world.

reply to post by TiM3LoRd
Kudos to your points as well.



[edit on 30/11/2008 by kosmicjack]

reply to post by Harman


Have you heard of Damahur in Italy it would be the ideal getaway for you.

"Damanhur is an internationally renowned center for spiritual research. Situated in Valchiusella Valley, in the Alpine foothills of northern Italy, Damanhur is a Federation of Communities and Regions with over 800 citizens, a social and political structure, a Constitution, 40 economic activities, its own currency, schools and a daily paper." 1 They have a "university that attracts philosophical and spiritual students of all ages from all over the world. They describe themselves as the result of the practical application of a spiritual philosophy in harmony with the environment and our Planet."2

Harman it may well be that you are very open minded and dare I say it more complex than most. You see most mindsets can only take on board a limited number of belief systems, which is why many will find a religion or belief and stick to it dogmatically. However you like many here have come to realise that just one or two areas of teachings, religions etc don't fully resonate with us, we’re more complex. So the first question you should ask yourself is what makes you resonate, then dive in! If you don't know then this should be the number one question on your mission statement. Of course many on ATS can guide you (you can U2U me anytime) and throw suggestions at you and recount their own experiences but in truth you must find the diamond in the rough yourself. It is part of the journey of you life and is probably one of the most character building exercises you will experience in this lifetime. If you’re questioning spirituality itself don't. Spirituality is the new science and although its name doesn't do it justice it is the culmination of many personal experiences, logic and cherry picking pooled together to find interesting intersections that actually correlate and resonate amongst many. There are rewards as well, sometimes of such overwhelming magnitude that when you experience them you will cry like a baby.

I have a suggestion for you which has worked wonders for myself, maybe you should experiment a little with what you already know try on other suits so to speak if you still don’t find one that fits then may I suggest you visit my thread on Reading the Code of our Reality. The reason I have suggested it is that it is a religion of thought unto itself and the results are unquestionable precious experiences. You have to have a keen understanding of systems and the awareness of a hungry bird of prey. You have to understand your mind in order to improve you reading abilities. You must allow yourself total freedom of thought and action. Become what you are observing, unless we're talking about your enemies in which case treat as hazardous!

Choose the light.

Donations can be made by calling 0800 Plugmein!

reply to post by pharaohmoan


Nice one. I have been thinking about Damanhur not to long ago and it is still a option for me to try out. It will be next year because i want to celebrate my 30th birthday at home and i have a friend that i'm friends with for 25 years in the same year so those two markers will be celebrated before i 'bug out' indefinetly .

I'll check out your topic again by the way, thanks for the food for thought. And if i do it i do want to be sure that my friends and family are not about to be plunged into the big global stir i think i see forming on the horizon because in that aspect i could be useful for them (i think). But in any case i could go on a 'internship' at damanhur just to see if it clicks and 3 months of relative spiritual freedom could be all i need for all i know.

reply to post by Harman


I got depressed just reading your thread. Yes, I have been there countless times. Ever read the book "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" or watch the movie? Existentialism at it's finest.

So the problem is, that i (think i) know this whole experience of reality is in itself a mere blink of time in a timeless universe, that there is in fact no goal to achieve than the ones you give yourself. And more of that liberating but sometimes depressing stuff.

Exactly. It is a timeless reality. We may experience time, but in reality, there is no time. It's just an illusion.

Liberating in the sense that the human rat-race is not something i have the urge to join for the sake of joining because 'it is the way the most spend their life'

You probably experienced an 'existential crisis.' Sometimes I wonder if those people realized long time ago, way before us, and just went on and 'chop wood and carry water'

A Zen Master was asked how his life changed when he became enlightened. He replied “Well, before enlightenment, I would carry water and chop wood. After I became enlightened, I carry water, and chop wood.”

If it all doesn't matter what you really accomplish in your life besides the value you give those accomplishments (wich is purely subjective of course) It doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things.

Bingo.

I read all i can read with learning something new that sounds right and everything i know falls inside the picture i made, everybody is right about what they do, every religion has her given power, every ritual has his (subjectively) given function. And underneath all those self-made rules, dogma's and limits is, well, the workings of the universe doing what it does to help you build your illusion untill your sick of it or it has done it's job to poke a hole in

I am not so sure about this. Perhaps happiness lies in our freedom. If a person is stuck in a religion dogma, then this person is not truly happy until he is free from that.

Buddhism has a lot to say about this subject. A person is not truly happy until he or she is free from all attachments. This is one of the most difficult concept to grasp and is probably why enlightenment is so difficult to achieve.

So to be short, i'm between the beaten path laid down for society as a whole, knowing it for what it is (imo) and a totally happy experience, just past the mental barrier of drinking the reality cool-aid (imo) but in front of another barrier that makes it possible to experience the other one. I feel i'm stuck but cannot put the gini back into the bottle.

Go for the middle path

At this point i'm open for any suggestion that can help me guide the rest of the way

Like TiM3LoRd said,

welcome to the club, yur well on the way to the answers u seek.

To be shorter: I'm in limbo. And even shorter: Crap.

So am I. And so many others.

You are not alone.

[edit on 2-2-2009 by Deaf Alien]

Good insights you give there Deaf Alien

I am not so sure about this. Perhaps happiness lies in our freedom. If a person is stuck in a religion dogma, then this person is not truly happy until he is free from that.

Buddhism has a lot to say about this subject. A person is not truly happy until he or she is free from all attachments. This is one of the most difficult concept to grasp and is probably why enlightenment is so difficult to achieve.

I want to comment on that. to force yourself to go beyond that weak spot ( whatever it may be) you first have to be confronted with it ese you would not learn anything. So things that are bad for you will come up so that you can work things out and be the better for it. Religion can make people happy because as a whole it may be sick, locally you have great communities that pull people together, and if someone is not happy inside that bubble he has to learn to accept it or escape it and that will be the lesson given, imo of course.
Again, thanks