Don't believe in god - but the flaw is, if you are referencing free will, the grant also applies to be the worse they can be
Americans who identify as spiritual, experience greater life satisfaction
- Thread starter wegs
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Sorry but (God is that he is to be a grantor of all wishes) is NOT my quote (is why in italics)
From wegs (see the panel above) and I was questioning if god is NOT the granter of all wishes, did wegs have another use for him
Oops... i didnt read the other part an thout it was you'r statement
Don't believe in god - but the flaw is, if you are referencing free will, the grant also applies to be the worse they can be
Well sure... an the irony is... we have no choice but to accept Gods gift of free will
No problemOops... i didnt read the other part an thout it was you'r statement
Good pointWell sure... an the irony is... we have no choice but to accept Gods gift of free will
But what is alternative
I will do everything you tell me - ??? that's the other option?
Good point
But what is alternative
I will do everything you tell me - ??? that's the other option?
Yes thats a serous prollem... so what i an many others do is to cherry pick from Holey Books... an just make up new beleifs to suit our personal needs.!!!
That way we can still be sanctimonious wit-out the burdens of old-time-religion.!!!
Nevertheless, a sketchy "news" source seems to have taken a step forward - there aren't many major news feeds being managed by experienced and competent journalists these days. It's worth some attention.
And to specify the relevance: any direction of implication when reporting a simple (mechanism free) correlation is provided by the reporter. To report a correlation between self-estimated life satisfaction and self-estimated spirituality as ordered like this:
spiritual -> satisfied
is a different report, different news, than reporting it ordered like this:
satisfied -> spiritual
and both differ significantly from this:
spiritual+satisfied is more common than either alone (which is not even necessarily the reported case - the report is a bit vague on that matter )
or this:
spiritual+satisfied is a plurality of Americans self-characterizing on those two axes.
Good to have a non-political example of an issue that has emerged in several threads here.
Perhaps the spiritual have meagre wishes and a lower level of satisfaction.
Slartibartfast
Registered Member
They should be more satisfied after all their life consists of a fantasy in which they don't die. I wonder how satisfied they would be if they lived in reality.
Hiya wegs.https://www.huffpost.com/entry/american-...ea2631c34e
Thought this was interesting. Though I may be biased, I tend to agree.
This isn't to say that ''feeling connected to something larger than one's self,'' needs to take the shape and tone of spirituality or religion. Actually, this article points out that religion without spirituality, isn't going to offer much. That seems obvious, considering that religion tends to be legalistic, and legalism doesn't bring peace.
When you find the time to read the article, I'd be curious to know what you think.
I have to tell you that I find this whole idea of being spiritual but not religious very modern, and life style oriented. It’s the kind of thing people who are kind of well-off, conclude.
Kind of like those who say they they yoga, to keep their bodies subtle, and empty their minds. But don’t really have an understanding of the real meaning of yoga, and what its real purpose is. But if they do know tend to reject it as totally out-dated, spooky, and irrelevant.
They tend to view spirituality as some kind of emotional experience, silence, or a feel of connectedness to something greater than themselves.
Spirituality starts with the acknowledgement that one is spiritual being. From there one desires to learn more. This learning has to be done under the supervision of a spiritual master. Meaning one has to surrender to such a person. So surrender is the beginning stage of spirituality. Self-realisation is the goal. Very difficult to achieve in this day and age.
Religion is for the masses, as opposed to the individual one on one with a spiritual master.
The goal of religion is to condition a society to the point surrender. It does this through teaching the practitioners to abstain from lust, greed, and envy, by regulating their sex life, what they eat and drink, what activities they should and should not take part in, and why they should and should not say, what they should and should not wear.
The reason for this, is to distance oneself from the activities that keep us in the material conception of life (I am my body), which is regarded as animal life.
In this day and age, religion has lost that discipline. So now religion (in general) is whatever we choose it to be, as is spirituality.
My 2 cents
Recovering from spirituality begins with the recognition that you have a problem.
Six signs you're meant to be a spiritual master...
https://gostica.com/spiritual-growth/6-signs-meant-spiritual-master/
https://gostica.com/spiritual-growth/6-signs-meant-spiritual-master/
Hiya wegs.
I have to tell you that I find this whole idea of being spiritual but not religious very modern, and life style oriented. It’s the kind of thing people who are kind of well-off, conclude.
Kind of like those who say they they yoga, to keep their bodies subtle, and empty their minds. But don’t really have an understanding of the real meaning of yoga, and what its real purpose is. But if they do know tend to reject it as totally out-dated, spooky, and irrelevant.
They tend to view spirituality as some kind of emotional experience, silence, or a feel of connectedness to something greater than themselves.
Spirituality starts with the acknowledgement that one is spiritual being. From there one desires to learn more. This learning has to be done under the supervision of a spiritual master. Meaning one has to surrender to such a person. So surrender is the beginning stage of spirituality. Self-realisation is the goal. Very difficult to achieve in this day and age.
Religion is for the masses, as opposed to the individual one on one with a spiritual master.
The goal of religion is to condition a society to the point surrender. It does this through teaching the practitioners to abstain from lust, greed, and envy, by regulating their sex life, what they eat and drink, what activities they should and should not take part in, and why they should and should not say, what they should and should not wear.
The reason for this, is to distance oneself from the activities that keep us in the material conception of life (I am my body), which is regarded as animal life.
In this day and age, religion has lost that discipline. So now religion (in general) is whatever we choose it to be, as is spirituality.
My 2 cents
Hi Jan, welcome back.
Since posting this thread, much has changed with my faith, I'd say it's growing...and I'm drawn to the teachings of Jesus. I don't like to discount the term ''spirituality'' however, to mean something insignificant because to my way of thinking, many people have had bad experiences in ''religion,'' yet they still may believe in a higher power. I don't care for the word ''religion,'' because it tends to foster legalism, imo. What do you think?
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Jesus had some good moral teachings. But perhaps his most consistent message was about the necessity to believe in God and in Jesus himself.
Which teachings are your drawn to? The ones about God, the ones about morality, or something else?
It's a mistake to believe that God is needed for morality, so if that's what's drawing you into religion I'd urge caution. I think it's better to think for yourself than simply to surrender yourself blindly to the teachings of one "master", whoever they may be.
You have to go there. Don’t you?
You think you know enough to tell another adult what you think they should do.
Shame on you.!
You should take a good look at your own questionable belief system. Especially the part that makes you think you’re allowed to tell others how they think, and what they should do, according to you.
Get off your high horse, Jan.
Adults give advice to other adults all the time.
wegs doesn't have to take my advice. Whether she values my opinion at all is entirely up to her. But the advice I gave there is hardly radical. I just said "be careful", in effect. I wouldn't want to see her sucked into a cult because she decided to throw caution to the wind based on some of its teachings appealing to her own moral sense. If you like the look of one cake in a shop, you're not therefore obliged to buy everything they are offering for sale. You might end up eating more cake than is good for you.
Jan, you do make me laugh at times. I don't know how you manage to keep a straight face when you're posting that kind of hypocritical nonsense. You spend practically all your time here telling other people what to think about your private God.
Why don’t you wait until she asks for advice before chiming in?
She’s a grown woman. She can think for herself.
I’d ask you to back that nonsense up.
But I know you can’t.
I just thought I’d throw that out there.
My2cents.
I think the clue was when she typed “What do you think?” Or am I just old-fashioned that way?