Who Has A God Or Godless Spirituality?

[Chava]

If you have a God, what does s/he do for you...feeling of safety, feeling of a good parent or protector?

If you don't have a god, what is your universal sort of connection to? I never related well to God because my mom despised me and I thought my dad was a jack ass...couldn't count on him to not steal out of your own savings. Trusting anyone other than myself seemed stupid. For a while, as a kid, I believed in a God looking out for me. Then he just disappeared and never made sense again. I can't relate to an all-loving and all-protecting being.

BUT it's too isolative, so I take what I can get. I connect well in nature. I might call myself a Taoist, but I don't really call myself anything. I find "god-connection" in trees, worms, the oceans, quiet...all those things and places that I feel connected to...they are outside my family but I feel like I am part of them. I'm part of these beautiful trees around me. I belong to the Earth. I'm protected knowing we all go back to Mother Earth. Rocks, leaves, bird feathers, moss, I'm all that....and paintings...quiet...

That being said, I don't feel like my spiritual muscles are working, but this stuff has helped me in the past.

Interested in what others experience or find. Books, whatever

 

[Ronin]

I've been thinking of this lately, what me & God are these days. Still being a boss I don't want to quit on, still someone who trusts me to watch out for myself and others, get it better. I don't know about protection, but I know about acceptance - and support as dealing with things one just shouldn't accept, but change.

 

[WillyKat]

I'm going to violate my general rule about discussing religion online and discuss religion online. Pray for me...no, ah never mind.

I have to say that nearly my entire life, I've never had any religious feelings at all. My family took us to church, but my brother and I would draw cars on these ID cards sitting in the pew in front of us. About the time I finished high school, the "born again" movement swept the US. My friends all got on board with that and I didn't. That wasn't fun, but I refused to play along (like many people did) and pretend I believed in something that I didn't believe in. I refused to fake it so that I could fit in.

That said, I've had some intense spiritual feelings when I'm out in the wilderness, or let's say when I can sense the wilderness. Beyond that, I consider it personal and don't want to say more.

 

[Ronin]

I'm going to violate my general rule about discussing religion online and discuss religion online. Pray for me...no, ah never mind.

:D I know, right? Some things are just too personal in this or that direction.
Here's saying your sharing is appreciated.

 

[J_trustno1]

Hi @Chava, thanks for sharing this thread. I started to become more distant from God after the age of 9 , when abuse first started happen or maybe when I first realized something was wrong at home. With each week/month/year/s , I became more and more distant from God. Prior to age 9, I used to visit the temple everyday , pray at home and be that whatever you call it being religious.

However, when I was reaching my teen years I was becoming more and more distant from this entire concept because all those people who were superstitious and following the concept of God at home used to berate me , beat me , forced child labor, emotional , verbal and sexual abuse. They were the people who were full of hate and jealousy. They were the ones who had no mercy for any other kid but theirs and they didn't treat animals too well. By the time I reached 18, I was actually an atheist.

However, since therapy from last year and all these experiences of hardships in life , I actually believe in nature. I enjoy the ocean , the trees , love talking to animals (cats , dogs , birds and yes! I also spoke to a buffalo we had back home ). Anyway, let's not get distracted. I believe that if you can manage to treat yourself with love and extend it to other beings that is the most important GOD of life you have right there. I am a thorough believer of "Live and Let others live" , unlike what those religious /God believer abusers did.

Lastly , I am starting to believe in the concept of positive and negative energy. I have only started believing it very recently. I believe it relates to spirituality but I believe in the oneness of the universe and be present at the moment you currently are and enjoying each second of life. This maybe also leading to meditation but I have tried doing at the beach and I felt light as a feather falling slowly weightlessly on the ground. It's an amazing feeling. But reaching this state of mind isn't always easy and too struggle with it at times.

Sorry for diverting the topic. Thanks for letting me share my views on this thread.

 

[thelizardqueen]

When I was younger I believed in God as a one-on-one relationship between him and I. Now I find myself a spiritual person. I don't really believe in God, but I don't disbelieve in him either-he just isn't what I draw my energy from. I draw my energy from the Earth. This is why I find myself MUCH happier in the warmer months. I spend the majority of my days outside when weather is permitting :)

 

[sun seeker]

This is a complicated topic. I'll just share one little bit of my thoughts for now. Something I get from my belief in God is a reassurance that however much we suffer in this world, there is something better out there, so much better we can't comprehend it with our human brains. I've only ever had brief moments of doubting this. It's something I just know. I do believe there is a reason for all this, even if we don't know it. Part of this is about a belief in an afterlife, and part of it is the amazing, wondrous connection between all beings. A love beyond all understanding. It gives me something to live for, knowing that.

 

[Kintsugi]

As @sun seeker said, this is a complicated topic. I call myself an athiest, but that's mostly because the majority of thiests would not understand my beliefs as being thiestic. I'm a strange cocktail of equal parts Buddhist and nihilistic approaches to spirituality.

It's actually a great combination; I believe we all reach enlightenment, and nothing we do in life will change that ultimate destination. ;)

 

[jaccat]

I believe in God but I don't believe in the bible. That's simplifying it massively. When I was little I used to go to a baptist Sunday school. My family weren't particularly religious and I went more because it was something to do, that for any other reason. I liked the stories, but mostly they were just stories to me: moral tales, like fairy tales.

When I was a teenager I went through a really dark patch, I felt like I was drowning in my depression. One night, it all got too much for me I and was teetering on the edge of I don't know what. I suddenly felt a strange sense of calm in the room with me. It's as if someone was beside me telling me they loved me. It was such as strong sensation.

I don't try to explain it, but to me it was a powerful spiritual experience. So yeah, I believe there's someone out there, but I don't feel a need to put a name to them, or tell people what they're like. My friends find it really odd that, after the life I've had, I should have such a belief. They used to be much more religious than me and have lost their belief as they got older.

I also feel a really strong connection to nature. I'm into mythology and legends too, and I'm fascinated by what the world meant to other cultures. When you get down to the basics there are so many connections between them.

 

[rightkindofme]

I'm a Californian which means I'm woo woo. (Woo woo is a loving self mocking term many of us choose to use to describe our general interest in spirituality and alternative religions.) Wiccans, pagans, new agey stuff all fall under the auspices of woo. There are Christian woo woo folks, who still believe in energy movement and such.

California is such a wacky place. Heh.

I believe in a sort non-denomination connection people have. I can be as connected in spirituality to Christians or Buddhists or pagans. I think that human beings must be wired to care about one another on a species level or we would have died out and that species loyalty is enough like spirituality for me. My fellow humans deserve my love, honor, and care. I think the point of religion/spirituality is to inspire you to be a good person (whatever that means to you) and improve the world.

I'm ok with people trying their best, whatever that means to them. My "official" religion is: "It Takes All Kinds."

 

[Chava]

equal parts Buddhist and nihilistic approaches to spirituality.

This makes sense to me. I've had to do Buddhism carefully because sometimes it connects to my sense of oneness and other times I'm somehow using it to reinforce a deep sense of nihilism (had a period where Zen was totally filtered through my nihilism, and also isolation, and it served as a way to let me further disconnect)...why I sort of shy away from even Buddhism, though do occasional group meditation. I just couldn't totally sign myself up because it too weird in my head if not just really curious and organic. But I can understand the truth behind it better too since I really don't have many of the strong nihilistic tendencies anymore...though definitely periods of quasi-nihilism...when I need stuff like nature and no other prescribed path, just more direct experience (which sounds sort of Zen but I don't call it anything).

 

[Upside Down Eagle]

I've come to my own beliefs through Hinduism. Hinduism has so many branches and I have no idea which one this is, but it uses Kundalini yoga, mantras, and the idea of "Sat Nam" (Truth is my Identity). The belief is that your identity is Higher Consciousness, and that in the end everything (even the worms and the trees and rocks you describe) are connected into this. Higher Consciousness is a kind of consciousness that ends up "awakening" (in you) and becoming aware of Itself, which would then be the same as enlightenment.