Help me believe in god

KellyPrettyBear
reply to post by Bisman

 

One has to hit absolute rock bottom to then move beyond that.

KPB

That happens but I am pretty sure you can take a more gentle road if you want to and grow spiritually slowly.

reply to post by James1982


So...you don't actually want to believe in a god. You just want to know how it happens. I have suspicions and ideas, but no factual answers. And I'm sure you'll get a lot more from actual theists on the subject.

My belief in a higher power ( God ) comes from experience. If you have never experienced the spirit of God then maybe it's not meant for you to. I don't really know. We are all here for a reason and It's my belief we are to "soul search".

I don't think God endorses one religion over another and do not consider God to be affiliated with religion itself.

Everyone has a philosophy of life. Everyone believes different even when labeled the same.

"I am" is an expression in regards to how one expresses them self.

Express yourself any way you want. God loves you no matter what. That which I consider "God" is an unconditional love of energy.

reply to post by MamaJ

If you have never experienced the spirit of God then maybe it's not meant for you to.

Which means some (read: a lot) are damned from birth?

As to the rest of your post...I don't see how one can endorse the Biblical god and utterly disregard the Bible itself in the same sentence. I know, I know, you just did it. Clearly, it can be done. I see it a lot around here, actually. Rather amusing in its own way. I just don't see how it works.

Unless it's not the Biblical god you hold in such high esteem? Some other deity, perhaps? A higher power of your own understanding?

reply to post by James1982



The Tao that can be told is NOT the eternal Tao. There are no words to describe it. If You are looking for it on the interweb You'll never find it. First, look "within"

Google is god!

Just believe in yourself and mission accomplished.

reply to post by LewisStulePhD


I didn't know the Tao was a god. I thought it was a path, a philosophy. After all, "Tao" or "Dao" literally means "path" or "way".

reply to post by RUFFREADY


It depends, to some people humans are gods.

Without worlds all that is left is reality.

Reality usually is not seen because many words brings many judgments, opinions, assumption


Judgment, assumptions, opinions have nothing to do with reality it is just a commentary to it.

Generator
Operator
Destroyer

There ya go. A perfect understanding of G.O.D. Now all you have to do is learn how to survive the process while still retaining some semblance of peace of mind.

I have given your post a lot of thought...................
It seems to me that what is missing is the belief in your soul not God.
If one does not believe they have a soul how can they believe in God?

Look at the world we live in today. All of the violence our youth is desplaying.
I actually believe this behavior stems from the lack of belief in ones soul.
If you know that you have a soul then that naturally leads to the belief in a Higher Power.
If you think that you don't have a soul then you are no better than any other creature that walks the Earth.
Your just an animal, nothing special about you, so why should you act any different than an animal.
We teach our kids in todays world just that.
They are not anything special, their ancestors came from primordial soup. No Higher Power to answer to so behave as you like.
They need to be taught that they are special, that they are loved and even when mommy and daddy are not there someone has their back and is watching out for them.

I was not raised in a religious home, actually our childhoods sound very similar in this category.
Due to certain events in my life and things I have witnessed there is no other choice for me but to believe in God.
Why?
Because I know he exists.
I have all the proof I need but I can not prove it to you.
My advice.......
Do some soul searching.
I pray you'll find it.
Quad

reply to post by James1982


I look at it this way: If you are convinced that there is no God, then you will likely never be convinced by anyone outside yourself that one exists.

Belief and disbelief are both acts of complete faith. As such, my faith, no matter how strong it is, will not be sufficient to counter your faith unless your faith is weak or flagging and getting ready to shift anyhow.

Faith doesn't need proof, only strength of your conviction. If God himself, any god, were to sit down next to you and do miraculous backflips in an attempt to prove himself to you it would only work if you were open to being convinced. If you were convinced He doesn't exist, then no matter what he did, it wouldn't be enough.

Do you want to know why I believe God exists? OK

Every tiny variable in the universe that had to be mathematically exactly right in order for things to develop as they did. Scientists know they were more likely to settle at other values but they didn't. To me, that's a miracle.

Tectonic activity and the moon being the way they are and working the way they do to effect things on Earth. We wouldn't be here without them. That's a miracle.

Jupiter being what it is and where it is in relation to the Earth? That's a miracle.

As we look around the universe and discover new planets and new solar systems, we are beginning to understand just how rare our circumstances are. It's truly miraculous.

I could go on and look at other areas, but all these things just point back to God for me. To others, they merely make us lucky. It all depends on where our personal faith brings us in the end. For you, I guess we're just lucky

YouAreDreaming
Just believe in yourself and mission accomplished.

This ^^

All spiritual paths will likely lead you to this position. God is not some kind of external thing that you can examine with your ego.

Don't try to find God in dogma or teachers/gurus. Find your God self through the exploration of non ordinary states of consciousness. Here's a small list of activities to consider if you are serious about setting out on a spiritual journey

Fasting
Sweat Lodge
Entheogens
Meditation
Astral Travel
Floatation tanks
Vipassana
Chanting
Spinning
Scrying
Tantric sex
Yantras
Toning
Drumming

LittleByLittle

KellyPrettyBear
reply to post by Bisman

 

One has to hit absolute rock bottom to then move beyond that.

KPB

That happens but I am pretty sure you can take a more gentle road if you want to and grow spiritually slowly.

edit on 24-10-2013 by LittleByLittle because: (no reason given)

Good point. I myself was always 'volunteered' for the 'bucket of cold
water in face repeatedly' path, so I've never personlly experienced
'slow spiritual growth'.

Thanks for pointing out the obvious.

KPB

reply to post by ketsuko

Faith doesn't need proof, only strength of your conviction. If God himself, any god, were to sit down next to you and do miraculous backflips in an attempt to prove himself to you it would only work if you were open to being convinced. If you were convinced He doesn't exist, then no matter what he did, it wouldn't be enough.

Actually, if a god were to exist, it would be easy for that god to convince me of its nature, because the word god doesn't automatically mean all-powerful. It just means greater than us. But no being has come forth and demonstrated such a nature to my face...certainly not the Christian god. Nor have I seen anything that forces me to admit to knowing of such a nature.

reply to post by James1982

You're setting up a loaded question and/or false dilemma.

You can be made to believe anything, but that is not to say that what you are made to believe is not real.

The answer to your questions is faith. If you are given a perspective, and you have faith in whatever that perspective is, you will believe it, but that is not limited to a belief in a religion, or a belief in God - it is how your mind believes anything.

E.g. You have given faith to the perspective that reality is solely physical. You have been made to believe the perspective that, mind, and will, are merely abstract effects of the physical. It is obvious, however, to the spiritually minded(those with a spiritual perspective), that mind and will are lateral(equivalent or roughly equivalent), or superlative, to the body's role in reality. However, the faith you have in your perspective, doesn't allow you to have faith in the spiritual perspective.

"So how can I believe in god?" : If you change your perspective to one that requires spirituality, then you will not have to work so hard at being faithful - your mind, and will, will do the hard part for you. Reality, with the correct perspective, requires God. What you have to have faith in, is that he is who he says he is, and that he will do what he says he will.

Hope that helps.

reply to post by AfterInfinity


And I say that's not necessarily true. People who don't want to believe won't, even if a thing is as plain as the nose on their face. A god could land on your nose tomorrow, and if you are convinced there are no gods, you wouldn't believe.

If that god landed on your nose and you believed it was a god, then you were never convinced there were no gods, you were always open to that belief. In essence, your faith in no gods was weaker than the reality of a god.

AfterInfinity
reply to post by MamaJ

 

If you have never experienced the spirit of God then maybe it's not meant for you to.

Which means some (read: a lot) are damned from birth?

As to the rest of your post...I don't see how one can endorse the Biblical god and utterly disregard the Bible itself in the same sentence. I know, I know, you just did it. Clearly, it can be done. I see it a lot around here, actually. Rather amusing in its own way. I just don't see how it works.

Unless it's not the Biblical god you hold in such high esteem? Some other deity, perhaps? A higher power of your own understanding?

edit on 24-10-2013 by AfterInfinity because: (no reason given)

I don't see where I disregarded the Bible... please tell me where that is said or implied in my post.

Why are some or a lot damned at birth? I dont think anyone is damned as in the hell the ancient philosophies speak of. Nothing or nowhere that leaves us damned for eternity.... I just don't see where there is evidence of such.

Maybe people have experiences they just pass it off as coincidence whereas I don't. I am a deep thinker, feel deeply and consider myself overly empathetic. I have had A LOT of death surround me. I have also had experiences of the dead whereas they come and tell me what they are doing. No joke ... I believe in a knowing that tells my inner being there is a force some call God.

I don't think the name of the creator matters. As for me... I AM called a lot of names.... I answer to many as well.

reply to post by openyourmind1262


" Logicical thinking say's ",,,so u hear voice's?

I'll admit didn't read the entire thread but I did read the first page...

Belief in God is faith-based...

Faith is biblically defined as both the substance of things hoped for and the evidence that things exist that are not yet perceived with the senses...

things hoped for....hope for God...hope for Christ...hope that your life is not meaningless and that there IS a plan and that you CAN escape the current condition of life....

evidence of things not yet perceived....evidence of God...this comes with experience...

The bible says seek and ye shall find, knock and the door will be opened...

Sincerity is key.

A2D