Life paths

Religious, agnostic, atheist, spiritualist, new ageist, scientologist, satanist, pagan, any other? Who or what are you and why? What led you to the life path that you now traverse?

Ps please no judging, this is a thread to get to know and better understand each other and our differences.

Atheist until something/one proves me wrong. Very open-minded, though

I for one was born into a traditional ndebele tribe where some form of "magick" was practised, raised in a christian orphanage and foster home from five till now at nineteen, experimented by researching cults and other religious mediums, briefly tampered with minor wiccan stuff, mostly reading, practised a hippie-style, earth based way of life with the label of agnostic from 14 to 17 and between 17 and now i discovered via new ageism, my current path of spiritualism.

The basis of spiritualism in my opinion is that everything in the uni and multiverses, is energy, and everything in existence is connected by this energy.
We as humans easily influence each others energy vibrations and can either increase (positive) or decrease (negative) each others energy vibrations. In a nutshell, spiritualism to me isnt so much about beliefs and written lore as it is about your personal walk, how you treat yourself, others and your environment (gaia-mother earth) is what matters, in my path i have personally experienced god in many aspects, nature, simple gestures, everyday events and my own actions, all reflect the bit of god-like energy that all of life contains.

And what led you to atheism ben? Have you always walked that path?

I find myself to be very open minded, perhaps too much so, unless ( no offence to them) it comes christians and their faith. The reason being, personally, i have never met a single truly happy christian with a decent moral life who has truly "walked the walk" ive met wiccans who lived cleaner happier lives than most of my christian associates, also i despise their path thanks to my hypocrytical and judgemental christian family

I am like Ben, an atheist, and I don't think anyone can change my mind. Not open minded about religion at all. But I also Love buddah. and no buddah was not a god, he WAS a real person

Jamie i agree, the buddah was a very intruiguing icon, another who fascinates me is his holiness the dalai lama. Such a man of peace in these troubling times

I believe in God don't get me wrong but I don't belong to any religion so I don't go to church I wanted to and then now I don't since I don't want to be judged for something that I know I don't care to be judged for.

Before for 10 long years I was an atheist though to be fair, so that's why I don't want to be judged but YEAH I believe in God just don't belong to any religion.

I like that Hazel - a good way to live. In my opinion, if you do right by others and respect EVERYONE you can't be far off the right path. Just live and do the right thing - no one can ask anymore.
*Hazel - as above, I've just never seen proof otherwise, and though my parents were brought up in religious households, they didn't really follow the idea of God up with us. We were just told to respect people and all their beliefs

I'd definatly say I was an atheist, I respect others right to believe in what they will up untill the point where they knock on my door and tell me how i should raise my child, at that point my respect for them is lost. It amazes me how many religous folk will take credit for all the good in the world but doesn't understand the premise that if "god" is responsible for that then he/she/it must be responsible for say bone cancer in children.....if this is so the "god" is evil and vindictive and doesn't deserve the respect he dogmatically commands.

Obviously this is just my opinion and not meant to provoke or antagonise anyone it is just one illustration of why I'm not a believer. I would say though that there are aspects of the "energy" beliefs that I will conceed do make sense, Ultimately we are all made up of stardust, and carry the same energy signatures as objects millions and billions of miles away, I like the thought that this energy somehow connects us all and we are closer for it.

Yeah i hear ya demonic angel, its part of why ive experimented so many paths, also just plain curious hehe. But yeh, dont let anyone ever make you feel small cause of your beliefs, i never shared mine cause of that and cause i feared "the wrath of god" but how i figure is if it dont kill ya it cant be very wrong, every religion preaches love and peace just with different names and stories, so the moral is love one another and be respectful, then youre as good as god

Thank you Hazel btw I'm Mori just a different username I'm not The Fairy Marry Poppins since it doesn't go with me right now I'll eventually put it back but for now my broken heart is going to stick to Demonic Angel.

Naughty mouse, this is exactly why i question christianity, they preach "god is love" then "oops, god decided these people arent good enough so lets:drown,set alight, turn to salt, let fathers give their daughters to be raped rather than gods angels, lets put jesus in a temple where he commits acts of violence throwing shit around but call it *righteous anger* bull!!

Ok sorry my last post came across agressive, but yeah, point is, none of those are acts of a loving benevolent deity. At least in hinduism and others they have several gods so each one has their own personality, purely benevolent or purely manevolent but not contradictory

Any muslims around? What is your (muslim) opinion on the extremists who go around being suicide bombers? Do you support their cause, how do you feel about it, why do you feel the way you do? If you do support their cause, please provide some insight as to why, what you see their actions to represent, do you envy them, hate them, love them fear them?

I would agree, it is similar for many religions, I mean if you take a look at the catholic church purely as an example, with hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of grieving parents who genuinly believed were told that their unbaptised childs soul will be trapped in limbo was nothing short of abuse in the most horrible of ways, to tell a parent this, that their child would unlitmatly be consigned to hell repulses me....and then the pope decides after reading a 41 page report that took only three years to compile that the church will end the state of limbo is laughable.

Again this is not to provoke anyone just a statement of fact, the catholic church did do this it is very well documented its just that to me, if you believe in a monotheistic religion or any religion then you can't cherry pick whats good and whats not if you argue that yours is the "one true god"

Clearly I'm no Muslim but i have friends who are and they are genuinly disgusted by the acts of extremests, they are not Muslims, they bend the word of the book to suit there own needs. Ironically they use the the same stories from the quran as Muslim haters do to enlist easily led minds.

You will see that most uneducated haters will use passages from the stories in the quran to back up their neolithic view that Muslims are bad people, really it is almost laughable, the passages they use are from STORIES of war within the quran not its teachings.

Personally I find that Muslims are much more open and able to discuss their religion without freaking out where as debates with christians seem to spiral into slanging matches. just my opinion though.

Well said, Ben. The way Muslims have been maligned is despicable. And yes, the idea that unbaptised children can't enter heaven is an evil that only adults could have devised.

Ah yes i very much agree with you. In all walks of faith people tend to "window dress" their faith, choosing what they feel will please the customer and calling it the sole truth. The only truth i know is that all religions are biased, its a "divide and conquer" thing, im not saying i support the NWO, but imagine a world with one religion, one ruler, one people, it might be eutopia... But then, it might also be hell

Sammi: I thought you weren't religious, Rady?

Rady: Spirituality is not religion. Religion divides people. Belief in something unites them.

I just googled quotes from the Flight of the Phoenix
The quote above was at the top though it was said in the middle of the movie
Most of my poems have catholic overtones . I was more of a practicing catholic when I began writing on a regular basis

Religion has crashed and has been reassembled
I am thinking out loud about the homonyms of rite /write /right/ Wright Brothers symbolizes homo-erectus taking a spiritual flight by daring to believe in something

I wrote a book and self published it in the hopes it would unite members of my immediate family
My mentor ( who had passed before the catholic ritual of last rites ) stated in his last lecture that Christianity is opposed to alienation . I have felt just as alienated around professed Christians as professed atheist and agnostics

There is a saying that you have got to stand for something or you will fall for anything

My nephew took us back to where our kin live that do not live in Tennessee . I allowed one of my older sisters to encourage alienating me from the children and grandchildren of my oldest sister who has passed away . I am sure(have faith )that God loves my sisters just the way they are

I am not really sure what I am in terms of categories or titles. I do not believe in God, but I don't really consider myself an athiest because there are many things I don't believe in that don't bring with them a title.

I'm just a chap wandering around taking bits and pieces of truth from all manner of sources. I tend to keep that truth to myself, especially if it is based on personal experience.

I am a nondenominational Christian. I grew up Seventh Day Adventist, did not go to church for quite some time after this church as a child and started attending the church I now work for in January of 2011.

I have always believed in God, however I did not follow until I went back in 2011 and rededicated my life to Jesus. I believe that Jesus is my personal Savior who has sacrificed His life for my (and everyone else) sins.

I don't know that I have any specific thing that lead me to my life path, I've just always had this belief and it makes all the sense in the world to me. I have witnessed and experienced God's hand and movement in my life, and the relationship I have with Him is truly an incredible life experience.

I do not consider myself religious, as religion to me is different from spirituality. I do not follow a religion, I follow God/Jesus. :)

I am a witch and proud of it. If it harms none, do what you will. So much has been done in the name of religion that it makes me despair of the human race sometimes.

Kevin you seem to be on the same page as me, ive simply labeled myself is all, i class myself as agnostic spiritualist, my path is about seeking truth and peace without neccesarily following any doctrine.

Britt, i admire your great faith, i truly hope that it continues to serve you well.

Cassie, i somehow sensed that when i saw your fb pic, you have that air about you, i couldnt point it out at that time but now it all makes sense, you resonate as a light-worker ie, witch of the good kind. Your soul is also very old,this isnt your first time here, far from it.

I'm a conglomerate:
Jungist-Agnostic-Zen-Spiritual-Scientific-Existentialist

I believe in and personally experience the spiritual essence of the universe, but doubt we could ever truly comprehend it, yet I hunger for the revelations that the scientific method provides while attuning myself to the rich panolpy of the unconscious, all while fully accepting the absurdity of existence.

Larry - that's the best answer given yet, lol. "Absurd" sums it all up nicely!

I'm with Larry on this one. Well said, sir.

Tangent:
My boyfriend and I went to the Washoe Club last weekend (famous haunted destination in Virginia City, NV). We entered the crypt where corpses were once thrown before being buried in the graveyard. A couple in their 40s were using ghost detectors to detect fluctuations and spikes in electromagnetic fields (characterized by many as signs of paranormal activity). They were talking unidirectionally to the ghosts and waiting for answers with some recording equipment. I guess they go back later and listen to the recordings with some type of filter to detect the ghosts' responses. They were really into it and definitely believed in ghosts.

I don't believe in ghosts. I indulged the couple politely and it was the highlight of my night. So interesting! I love learning about others' beliefs and what led them to have them. After we left, my boyfriend wanted to joke about intense ghost-believers, but I didn't find it funny. I think what others believe in is fascinating and real, if not to me specifically, it's real to them. I don't think believing in ghosts or spirits or gods is something I will ever be able to do because that's not how my brain works, but that doesn't mean my line of thinking is right. Who knows!?

I'm catholic. I grew up in a catholic environment. However, my dad's side of the family were first catholic, by the time I had any understanding of religion, they were now practicing some other religion.

I believe in Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ aside from that I don't enjoy having conversations about beliefs with SOME christians. There are some cool ones though.

I am wiccan and i honour male and female deities in my path. as a wiccan, i acknowledege the polarity od the Divine. my god is not alone and will never be. i love the goddess. she has been in my life since i was a little girl because i was raised as a pagan. here african and indigenous traditions melded with christianity and as a result, religious identities are not clear-cut. my family followed an afro-brazilian religion and still does. but everything changed in 2003 and i embraced another pagan path. and yes, i am afraid of saying i am wiccan although i always wear my pentagram. people still associate us with satanists and some other atrocities which is ridiculous. Here are our beliefs:

.The Divine is present in nature, and so nature should be honored and respected. Everything from animals and plants to trees and rocks are elements of the sacred.

.The idea of karma and an afterlife is a valid one. What we do in this lifetime will be revisited upon us in the next. Part of this idea of a cosmic payback system is echoed in the Law of Threefold Return.

.Our ancestors should be spoken of with honor. Because it's not considered out of the ordinary to commune with the spirit world.

.The Divine has polarity -- both male and female. In most paths of Wicca, both a god and goddess are honored.

.The Divine is present in all of us. We are all sacred beings, and interaction with the gods is not limited just to the priesthood or a select group of individuals.

.Holidays are based on the turning of the earth and the cycle of the seasons. In Wicca, eight major Sabbats are celebrated, as well as monthly Esbats.

.Everyone is responsible for their own actions. Personal responsiblity is the key. Whether magical or mundane, one must be willing to accept the consquences -- either good or bad -- of their behaviour.

.arm none, or something like it. While there are a few different interpretation of what actually constitutes harm, most Wiccans follow the concept that no harm should intentionally be done to another individual.

.Respect the beliefs of others. There's no Recruiting Club in Wicca, and the Wiccans are not out to preach at you, convert you, or prosetylize. Wiccan groups recognize that each individual must find their spiritual path on their own, without coercion. While a Wiccan may honor different gods than you do, they will always respect your right to believe differently.

Larry, I'm with you on that 100% personally i believe that all walks are good and right so long as they are honoring the beliefs and basic humanity in others, harm none and treat all as equals.

Quite frankly i think that our group is brilliant, note how we all have different paths, yet we are discussing them maturely with no knocking of each others beliefs, this is the type of thing that i wish all in the world could experience, a non-judgmental place where you can be free to express who you are as a soul without being persecuted.

Also, Larry, I agree, I have a persistent need to know more and have solid (scientific proof) yet also the beauty of the spiritual experience that calls to all our deepest souls.

And yes, I adore that about the wiccan creed, to honour the masculine and femminine of all, for we all have a balance of both within us, the yin and yang, but too often society makes it taboo to believe that we all have both within us, but as the old adage goes, "there can be no darkness without light, no sun without the moon, no male without female, such an existance would be detrimental to the natural order of things, even the earthworm is both femminine and masculine"

Karla,
I used to be part of a Celtic research group that had many Wiccan members. The Texas branch did a lot of camping & I was exposed to many experiences with them. Very interesting way of life.

Glad you liked the experience Larry! hollywood insults us when they portray our way of life. it is good to know you had the opportunity to see what Wicca is.