My experience.
I grew up with many different religions, but catholic has been the biggest influence of my religious experience. I moved around a lot when I was young, by doing so I experienced moving from church to church also. At each church I became a member, I was always confused and it never made sense as to why I was there. Even as a child, I remember thinking the same thing over and over, I would say "Are you kidding me?" I could never see it, I just never got what the point was.
As I grew older and began to learn about addiction and co dependence, I began to see a pattern that certain people and religion always seemed to go together. It seemed as if it were mostly troubled souls that got really involved, by troubled souls I mean people with confusion and possibly living to find a meaning in life. I always found that instead of a way of life religion was like an entity by itself, it was an object that would either save you or bring an afterlife of pain and suffering in hell. I found (especially in the catholic religion) that it was all about going through the motions, following what someone told you no matter how ridiculous it sounded. We would go to church on Sunday, then proceed to curse god, curse other people and in general live the destructive lifestyle that unhappy people live and not even consider anything but our own best interest.
It didn't take more than a child to see that religion (as it is practiced today) to most people is like a crutch in life, they feel like they are doomed if they do not follow it. It is common for people to think they are doomed by a lifetime of hell if they don't accept that god will save them. This is practiced out of fear and if you don't follow, you will not have a good experience in your afterlife, or more specifically, you will burn in hell. I find this very interesting because, we only work at it for our own personal happiness but many teachings refer to helping others.
But these rules of happiness we have to follow, only apply to people. There are many millions of other life forms on earth that are exempt from any rules we must follow. They survive by killing, stealing, taking each other's partners, not going to church on Sunday and many other commandments we are supposed to live by.
It is only our interpretation of what bad and good is!
Well, isn't it only our interpretation of hell as bad? It is what we have learned growing up in society that hell is hot and hot is unpleasant? On an emotional level, isn't a life of eternal damnation only bad because we are afraid of it? If you said no, I am sorry that is incorrect; and that, is not an opinion. We, as people, choose to live in an unhappy existence, it is not something forced on us.
This is absolutely true, you identify with what is familiar to the way you feel. Some women stay with men that physically abuse them; one might say that is hell, but the women getting abused often seek out a man that will mistreat them. This is not in any way done on a conscious level of the brain, but is what they associate as love because it is the only thing they know. My point is extreme here but true, what one person would think is hell would just be what they know as a regular state of life. This goes for the physical body and your mental state of mind.
This relation to bad and good is from inside, it is how we feel about ourself
This happens everyday in everyone's life, our opinion of a loving partner will be completely absurd to another person with a different view. We seek out someone who is similar to how we feel inside which is why one person would pick a partner that will abandon them and another will pick a partner that will stay strong in their times of need. Contrary to popular human belief, this is not the hand we are dealt. You are in control of your life. You choose (most of the time subconsciously) to receive what you have or not have.
Don't forget to bookmark or add this page to your favorites so you can return later.
We appreciate your support, this website would not be possible without you.
Thanks
Mark Babineaux
