Interesting article, Selina. You seem to have found a way in life that suits you. My question, however, is - why a religion at all? I was raised Catholic, and it took me a long time to overcome all the bullshit and brainwashing that all religions foist on humans. My take on it is that all religions are just means to control people, and it is their vested interest to keep people uneducated and mindless followers (and financial contributors to the religion). Instead of teaching us to think for ourselves and rely on our own instincts, they encourage us to be dependent and to need "leaders". We are taught to need and to rely always on someone else to tell us what to do, instead of teaching self-reliance and true independent thinking. Finally coming to this realization has been magically liberating and empowering for me.
There’s a Darwinian argument for religion as an institution. Humans who engage in religion do better and produce more offspring than those that don’t. [I do plan to write about this on my other blog but need to hunt down more source material] From a psychological standpoint, we are happier and more successful when we have a religious practice. Aspirational religion helps us create meaning, and meaning is an antidote to pain. Even a lot of pain. physiologically, we’re designed to experience that which is greater than ourselves. There is a specific place in our brains that - under specific circumstances - allows us to feel unified with everything. Much of religion needs to be restructured. But humans have been doing that for about all of our existence.
Fascinating. I have been exponentialy happier since I got rid of religion in my life. I agree about feeling unified with everything - but as you say, there is a specific place in our brains for this. In OUR brains. Not superimposed on us by others from outside. In my experience and observation, religion is doing everything possible to override this specific place and co-opt it to its purpose, which is to subjugate and keep us stupid and compliant. I feel much more unified with everything when I think about it rationally, with an open mind, and not in a religious context.
Interesting article, Selina. You seem to have found a way in life that suits you. My question, however, is - why a religion at all? I was raised Catholic, and it took me a long time to overcome all the bullshit and brainwashing that all religions foist on humans. My take on it is that all religions are just means to control people, and it is their vested interest to keep people uneducated and mindless followers (and financial contributors to the religion). Instead of teaching us to think for ourselves and rely on our own instincts, they encourage us to be dependent and to need "leaders". We are taught to need and to rely always on someone else to tell us what to do, instead of teaching self-reliance and true independent thinking. Finally coming to this realization has been magically liberating and empowering for me.
There’s a Darwinian argument for religion as an institution. Humans who engage in religion do better and produce more offspring than those that don’t. [I do plan to write about this on my other blog but need to hunt down more source material] From a psychological standpoint, we are happier and more successful when we have a religious practice. Aspirational religion helps us create meaning, and meaning is an antidote to pain. Even a lot of pain. physiologically, we’re designed to experience that which is greater than ourselves. There is a specific place in our brains that - under specific circumstances - allows us to feel unified with everything. Much of religion needs to be restructured. But humans have been doing that for about all of our existence.
Fascinating. I have been exponentialy happier since I got rid of religion in my life. I agree about feeling unified with everything - but as you say, there is a specific place in our brains for this. In OUR brains. Not superimposed on us by others from outside. In my experience and observation, religion is doing everything possible to override this specific place and co-opt it to its purpose, which is to subjugate and keep us stupid and compliant. I feel much more unified with everything when I think about it rationally, with an open mind, and not in a religious context.
Pagan religion doesn’t have dogma because we have no holy book. Ritual is creative, healing, and inspiring.