I Don't Have Time for Faith

I have spent much of my life worrying about what to believe, will there be an afterlife? Will I be punished for following the wrong God? I found that this causes much confusion and heartache and restrains your life from blossoming. There are many religions each with their own guidelines on how you should live. I have been to hell and back in my life always worrying about what people think and if I was on the right spiritual path and if I was so far off the path I would be punished.

I have now learned that if I stop to worry about these things, my spirit is set free. I have started being selfish, not disrespectfully selfish but selfish enough to calculate doing things to make me happy. I'm not talking about materialistic things, I am just talking about physically being happy. Everything I do now revolves around me and my kids, every action I take I evaluate if it will make mine and my kids lives more happier in the future. I have found that as each day goes by that I become more happier and more fulfilled. To my biggest suprise about this particular path that I have taken is that I have indeed worked out that there is no room for God in it, no need to worry about faith. I am not stipulating that there is no God but just that I find it better if you don't have to worry about him. I am a kind natured person so I am sure come any judgement day that I will be fine. We are here for a good time not for a long time.

Letting go of Religion and the way "God" is portrayed imho is a "good" thing. You are free and not bounded by man made laws anymore.

We can look around and pay attention to nature and when we do so.... we have a guide as to how we are to live according to said nature. Look at a child and their innocence. They are so true to them self.... although they have a lot to learn. We too are like children. We can be true to our self... yet know we still have a lot to learn.

Karma is a real thing... its evident in this world we live in. We can then know that if we let someone over in traffic, we are acting according to what we want in return. Plant a seed and it grows.... this again is evident in nature.

We don't need a religion to be a good person and enter "heaven". We are spirit beings having a human experience. This is not my faith... it is my knowing so.

Faith is a tossed around type of word. I don't have "faith" there is a "god". I know there is a God.

Nous is knowing.... en.wikipedia.org...

Peace to you and yours!!! xoxox

Jenn

I think having kids changes a LOT of things about a person's worldview.

Good for you! Love your babies, strive for what's best for them; by doing that you achieve what's best for you, too!

s/f

reply to post by michael1983l


If I may reply, I find you may find yourself happy for making yourself happy again, Michael. ..oOYou've done a great job. Please continiue.

Originally posted by michael1983l
I have spent much of my life worrying about what to believe, will there be an afterlife? Will I be punished for following the wrong God? I found that this causes much confusion and heartache and restrains your life from blossoming. There are many religions each with their own guidelines on how you should live. I have been to hell and back in my life always worrying about what people think and if I was on the right spiritual path and if I was so far off the path I would be punished.

I have now learned that if I stop to worry about these things, my spirit is set free. I have started being selfish, not disrespectfully selfish but selfish enough to calculate doing things to make me happy. I'm not talking about materialistic things, I am just talking about physically being happy. Everything I do now revolves around me and my kids, every action I take I evaluate if it will make mine and my kids lives more happier in the future. I have found that as each day goes by that I become more happier and more fulfilled. To my biggest suprise about this particular path that I have taken is that I have indeed worked out that there is no room for God in it, no need to worry about faith. I am not stipulating that there is no God but just that I find it better if you don't have to worry about him. I am a kind natured person so I am sure come any judgement day that I will be fine. We are here for a good time not for a long time.

edit on 14-11-2012 by michael1983l because: (no reason given)

I don't think you are worried about faith... I think you are thinking about religion. There is a distinct difference between the two, but religion, in my opinion, has crossed that boundary by placing itself as the intermediary of the relationship between you and God, and sometimes even taking the place of Father sometimes. Jesus Christ is the intermediary. How so? He is the archetypal apotheosis for others to follow. Although Jesus was a practicing Jew, his teachings were so unorthodox AND simple relative to the practices during his time that he garnered the ill contempt of the orthodox, ultra-conservative teachers who were regarded highly in society. The teachings of Jesus can be simplified to three simple concepts: Love your neighbor (anyone, especially your enemy, who is around you,) do good, and believe in God.

I think you are doing all three, without recognizing the final part because religion has convoluted God so much.

My opinion is that you don't need religion to have faith. Many of the religious, following nonsensical doctrines and practicing useless rituals, don't have faith, e.g. the Miaphysite monks pillaging and burning villages in the name of truth and Flavian being beaten to death by fellow "Christians" in Ephesus over doctrinal disputes.

I think God works with a sense of normalcy, that is why you think that you have no space for Him. Do you see what I mean when I say that religion has crossed its boundaries that you intermingle the definition of religion and God?

He is working behind the scenes more than you and I can comprehend, but I, on the other hand, like to see and think about the variables involved and how it came to be.

For instance, my friend, F I'll call him for now, was stabbed by his best friend, X, at college 25 times after a night of partying and X was on some drugs. Long story short, my friend survived after multiple stab wounds to the stomach area and lungs. My train of thought goes like this: Obviously, F was not meant to die, so why was this allowed to happen? What is to happen out of this? What are the tests behind this?

Sometimes my questions get answered, for example, my other friend D said that the kid X who stabbed my friend F was a horrible kid and deserves to go to jail for life. I told D that was unfair to say that and I told him to be in his shoes for a split second: X has to go through the rest of his life living with the consequences of his actions, the dark clouds constantly looming that he almost killed his best friend that he knew since young. Maybe Father allowed this to happen to test others that were outside looking in, testing F and his family's ability to forgive, etc. Again this is just my conjecture, but I like thinking about the why, the causes, and the effects.

reply to post by michael1983l


Remember;

Do unto others as you wish done to yourself,

Love your neighbor,

Your life (and subsequent afterlife) can either be bliss or misery, depending on how much you adhere to these two guidelines

reply to post by michael1983l


Choosing to ignore God when times are good will not make him easier to find when times are not so good.

Don't spend a bunch of energy trying to find the perfect religion -- it doesn't exist, but find the one that resonates most for you and work on that relationship. If you can't spare an hour once a week and ten minutes a day to feed your spiritual side, your biggest need would seem to be time management skills, rather than the perfect religion.

Maybe it's faith that brought you there? With God everything is possible.

whoops

reply to post by michael1983l


Peace to you.

I disagree, I believe suffering thus perfects us. You do not have to worry about what to believe if you believe the right thing. But you have given up so that you can enjoy your life. I would rather be crucified.

reply to post by adjensen


The True Religion is that of virtue, and those who practice holy virtue have that religion in themselves. It is simple, not complicated.

I had the exact same epiphany 12 years ago and have raised my 5 children without a fear of an invisible god . They all turned out great.

Originally posted by michael1983l
I have spent much of my life worrying about what to believe, will there be an afterlife? Will I be punished for following the wrong God? I found that this causes much confusion and heartache and restrains your life from blossoming. There are many religions each with their own guidelines on how you should live. I have been to hell and back in my life always worrying about what people think and if I was on the right spiritual path and if I was so far off the path I would be punished.

I have now learned that if I stop to worry about these things, my spirit is set free. I have started being selfish, not disrespectfully selfish but selfish enough to calculate doing things to make me happy. I'm not talking about materialistic things, I am just talking about physically being happy. Everything I do now revolves around me and my kids, every action I take I evaluate if it will make mine and my kids lives more happier in the future. I have found that as each day goes by that I become more happier and more fulfilled. To my biggest suprise about this particular path that I have taken is that I have indeed worked out that there is no room for God in it, no need to worry about faith. I am not stipulating that there is no God but just that I find it better if you don't have to worry about him. I am a kind natured person so I am sure come any judgement day that I will be fine. We are here for a good time not for a long time.

edit on 14-11-2012 by michael1983l because: (no reason given)

You don't need to follow any one religion or path. You can still believe in God, higher power or whatever you wish to call the creator. We all came from the same source. Live your life with love and compassion and you'll never go wrong.