I wasn't sure where to post this, but i suppose this is as good as anywhere.


I am male..26..and i have recently come to an interesting place in my life.  I have always felt different, and i know i have an old soul.

I was raised as a christian and because of my nature i grasped onto it with conviction...only to later question my faith in my early teens. 

I feel that this created a schism between what i felt as god and what my microcosm self had already accepted as truth.   I have struggled with this for years, as well as some other personal issues...I "kinda" tried embracing a more spiritual path a few years ago but my shadow was stronger than me.

But now...i feel i am ready to try again.  At the moment i feel comfortable saying that :

I believe in an anthropomorphic/panthiestic "god"
I believe in reincarnation but dont know how it works
I believe that all religions have value because they are all ways to communicate with "god"
I believe in the "other side" .. the world of spirit (outside of time)
I believe our souls connect us to the other side and when our bodies die we return to spirit

there are other opinions that i have but these are ones that i am confident in.

one of my biggest problems has been shaking free of the guilt i feel for abandoning christianity.  

I remember feeling very connected to god when i was a blissfully ignorant young christian, but once my faith was shaken by my need for truth i feel i lost that connection...and i am trying to find it once again.   

I am looking for anyone who has gone through something similar...or any advice, encouragement, or even criticism.

Thank you

Why do you believe in these things? 

We must be careful not to insist that reality conform to our ideology, but create our ideology out of what we observe from reality. 

 

all

Aug 24, 2011 -- 2:05PM, allthegoodnamesweretaken wrote:

Why do you believe in these things? 

We must be careful not to insist that reality conform to our ideology, but create our ideology out of what we observe from reality. 

 

all

these are not things that i have taken on a whim.   i have been searching for truth for most of my life now...and these are conclusions that i have reached through reasoning, personal internal observation, as well as observations of consistencies throughout different religions and profound experiences that are experienced by people worldwide.

 

I feel that spiritual connection is a natural part of being human...i am trying to find a universal way...maybe a "free form" way if you will...to connect to that higher power, free of the dogma and limited perspective of a man made religion.

Aug 24, 2011 -- 3:42PM, anonymous_soul wrote:

Aug 24, 2011 -- 12:01PM, Sacrificialgoddess wrote:

Honestly, I am not sure how you are using the word "god" here.  It doesn't seem to conform to any definition I would use.

i use the word god for lack of a better word.  it works for me.   i am describing the all....the infinite...a non personal god-force.   transcending all religions and universal to all life.

 

Maybe deism? 

Aug 24, 2011 -- 3:48PM, anonymous_soul wrote:

these are not things that i have taken on a whim.   i have been searching for truth for most of my life now...and these are conclusions that i have reached through reasoning, personal internal observation, as well as observations of consistencies throughout different religions and profound experiences that are experienced by people worldwide.

 

I'm not accusing you of taking them on a whim.  I'm accusing you of trying to hard.  A possible analogy would be hectically trying to find your glasses, when they are just pushed up on your head.  Don't try so hard that you reason your way out of things. 

Aug 24, 2011 -- 3:48PM, anonymous_soul wrote:

I feel that spiritual connection is a natural part of being human...i am trying to find a universal way...maybe a "free form" way if you will...to connect to that higher power, free of the dogma and limited perspective of a man made religion.

 

Yeah, research deism.