SurferNerd
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My Spiritual Beliefs- What would you clasify me as?/Personal Belief Thread
Firstly, this is a serious thread, despite the expectation of ludicrous responses, I made it in the hope that at LEAST one worth while response will be elicited (BE that person!)
Notes to the forum-
I’m just at a point where I’m trying to determine my philosophical/spiritual approach to life. I accept that it’s ever evolving, and will never be complete. I’m the analytical type- I read into everything. In my model of reality, I’ve grown to a point where I accept that everyone holds their own beliefs and operates from the most positive driven approach they can with that belief-set. My official ‘religion’ is Catholic, not that my family actively practices. Basically, I got bored and tried to ‘write-down’ what I believe so far. This is actually extremely difficult (those who have tried it should know) and I accept there are direct flaws/wholes in my reasoning, but oh well.
On that, please do not post ‘rebuttal’ to the philosophical positions I state here- the purpose of this thread is not to debate. After all, if you read my first belief- there is no point challenging my beliefs anyway (at least not directly).
*Definitions- According to my reality-
Belief- An assumed truth, mental acceptance of an entity’s validity; actuality.
Religion-I have conceptual issues with the word ‘religion’ in itself; people often use the word to define their beliefs, yet it is their beliefs that actually define their religion. Religion to me basically means an institution which collectively promotes and engages in the practice of certain beliefs through the grouping of like-minded individuals.
My Beliefs-
1) THE MAP IS NOT THE TERRITORY. Everyone operates from a unique position, with a different model of reality. Hence directly challenging someone’s beliefs is a useless waste of energy. That person CAN be exposed to new beliefs and their beliefs can be changed, but it has to be an active choice by the person.
2) ‘Truth’ is in itself flawed- it is simply a neurological function of our perception. The foundation of a belief. In my opinion, truth is inherently paradoxical as it is a relative concept amongst individuals yet this fact in itself must be accepted as absolute for it to have any validity.
3) Knowledge for me is the key to growth. Power, being the ability to influence, is effectively knowledge in the ‘information age’. In the times of early humans- power came through brute strength, the in the monarchy times it came through heritage, then capital (Industrial age). Those with great power head religious organizations- i.e. The Pope is viewed amongst those of Catholic affiliation as having the most information on God and as a result holds an infinitely powerful position.
4) I do not deny the existence of a higher power- but due to my belief on knowledge, I actively decide to not follow a hierarchal ‘religion’ where there are more ‘powerful’ MEN then myself. I believe that on Earth I am the highest power, as essentially I am my ‘mind’- I am the only one in control of the amount of knowledge I have or the decisions I wish to make.
5) I think in summary, we all seek ‘enlightenment’- any form of spirituality could be summarized into “Who are you?” My understanding as so far on that question stops here. I am me. That’s as elemental as I can determine.
6) I choose to belief there has to be SOMETHING after we die, despite no scientific evidence documenting such existence. For what reasons? Optimism? Security? These are benefits and economically there is no cost in believing (unless you’re a scientologist!), so simple cost-benefit analysis here. The only false argument I see for believing in an after-life is “I can’t comprehend nothingness, the incomprehensible”. This is paradoxical as this paints the after-life as the polar opposite of nothingness (which may not be the case) and relatively the ‘after-life’ is just as incomprehensible as nothingness.
7) I am highly scientific- I feel the Big Bang Theory is plausible for the explanation of the physical evolution of the universe and so is Darwin’s for the physical/emotional evolution of living organisms. That however does not mean I attribute them to the ABSOLUTE explanation of existence. A higher power could have caused that singularity to explode etc or perhaps ‘God’ is equal to all the energy in the universe. Since matter=energy this would actually be consistent with Christian philosophy that Jesus/God is within all of us.
8) Prayer is just an affirmation. Affirmations are powerful. Everything we feel is a result of our internal representations of outside stimuli. When outside stimuli match-up with our internal representations it gives us the feeling of security/happiness. Through affirmations, we can change our beliefs so that we operate with a more ‘open’ map. The more expanded your ‘map’ is; the more outside stimuli will match up and the more you will achieve positive results.
9) We hence control all of our emotions. The reality that our sensory modalities produce is what our mind allows it to produce. Most people are just not CONSCIOUS of this and often blame many external forces for how they are feeling.
10) I’m quite Nihilistic. I don’t believe we have any objective ‘path’ or existence. And even if I was wrong and a higher power does give us a path, they allow us enough freedom to question it regularly and ultimately ‘shape’ it ourselves. In fact, the belief that a higher power exists does not actually pre-suppose that that power ‘cares’ at all for us. In any probability, that power could hate us or ‘punish’ us anyway, despite living what we believed to be a ‘moral’ life. Morality is not absolute. How can we guarantee that the higher power is not ‘cruel’ by our relative standard of ‘cruelty’? Additionally, I believe we decide to create our ‘path’ for ourselves and environmental factors play a huge role, especially in religion. A large percentage of the population are religious because they were born into that environment. An Islamic person could tell you that he would NEVER be Jewish, but that is his belief that he has created based on his current reality of being Islamic. These ‘cause and effect’ problems arise constantly, as once a person has been raised with a certain belief they can not think ‘before’ they had that belief. If the Islamic man had been born in an Israeli family, I think the outcome would have been highly different.
11) Much of the reality I see is Impermeable. Constant flux, things ceasing to exist and then not-ceasing to exist. I accept this for my current life in this moment, but I can’t deny that on a macro level the universe or the ‘after-life’ could be ‘absolute’ and fixed.
12) Holding no ‘belief’ based on my definition of belief is impossible. Even atheism is a belief- as it is a reality about spirituality that these people hold true.
13) Since I choose to guide my own life, I seek self-actualization constantly. I believe firmly in the power of goal setting. Not achieving what I seek is ultimately my own fault.
14) I don’t believe in pure altruism.
15) Ultimately, there is no correct spiritual belief (how could this be judged). They all have their value, and I find many concepts across a wide range of ‘religions’ appealing. Anything which empowers a person into growth is beneficial. The only limitation is when people develop ‘limited’ maps of reality and attempt to push theirs on others, causing conflict.
Some ethical positions-
We are biological machines with an insatiable desire to mate. Sex should occur when both people seek it. Attraction is not a choice. I do not believe inherently in “sins” or “sex” as an act of evil/temptation. Hence in my view, sex before marriage is perfectively acceptable between two willing parties. Contraception is perfectly acceptable. Abortion should be utilized carefully and restricted, but it is acceptable when the sex was not between two willing parties (i.e. rape) or the future birth of the child would not be cumulatively beneficial to the child or the parents- mainly due to them being too young, financial reasons, substance abuse, and risk of illness for child etc.
And of course, we are all intrinsically of equal value- hence the colour of a person’s skin/sexual orientation does not concern me at all. It does not affect the path I choose. There are DIFFERENCES though in people’s ‘relative’ social value- that is why some humans are more attractive as potential mate’s then others.
Edit- *Forgot to add in, I'm against the death penalty.
Also, this is becoming an expression of more 'personal spirituality' amongst the replies. There are already many threads pertaining to organised religion. A member of any organised religion is more then welcome to post, yet I am saying this here as my goal is not to create a debate or argument of any kind. I'm not looking for an 'Organised V Personal' debate. That said, anyone posting their personal beliefs should take into consideration the map of people who follow organised religion. I'm sure with the appropriate respect (see my first belief) we can have a SUCCESSFUL discussion without anyone feeling offended or emotionally reacting. Of course, anyone with intelligence will also ignore the numerous troll posts that will inevtiably appear time-to-time in order to stir conflict. IGNORE THEM.
Surfernerd
Statement of Beliefs
As at 17 the January, 2009.
Statement of Beliefs
As at 17 the January, 2009.
Firstly, this is a serious thread, despite the expectation of ludicrous responses, I made it in the hope that at LEAST one worth while response will be elicited (BE that person!)
Notes to the forum-
I’m just at a point where I’m trying to determine my philosophical/spiritual approach to life. I accept that it’s ever evolving, and will never be complete. I’m the analytical type- I read into everything. In my model of reality, I’ve grown to a point where I accept that everyone holds their own beliefs and operates from the most positive driven approach they can with that belief-set. My official ‘religion’ is Catholic, not that my family actively practices. Basically, I got bored and tried to ‘write-down’ what I believe so far. This is actually extremely difficult (those who have tried it should know) and I accept there are direct flaws/wholes in my reasoning, but oh well.
On that, please do not post ‘rebuttal’ to the philosophical positions I state here- the purpose of this thread is not to debate. After all, if you read my first belief- there is no point challenging my beliefs anyway (at least not directly).
*Definitions- According to my reality-
Belief- An assumed truth, mental acceptance of an entity’s validity; actuality.
Religion-I have conceptual issues with the word ‘religion’ in itself; people often use the word to define their beliefs, yet it is their beliefs that actually define their religion. Religion to me basically means an institution which collectively promotes and engages in the practice of certain beliefs through the grouping of like-minded individuals.
My Beliefs-
1) THE MAP IS NOT THE TERRITORY. Everyone operates from a unique position, with a different model of reality. Hence directly challenging someone’s beliefs is a useless waste of energy. That person CAN be exposed to new beliefs and their beliefs can be changed, but it has to be an active choice by the person.
2) ‘Truth’ is in itself flawed- it is simply a neurological function of our perception. The foundation of a belief. In my opinion, truth is inherently paradoxical as it is a relative concept amongst individuals yet this fact in itself must be accepted as absolute for it to have any validity.
3) Knowledge for me is the key to growth. Power, being the ability to influence, is effectively knowledge in the ‘information age’. In the times of early humans- power came through brute strength, the in the monarchy times it came through heritage, then capital (Industrial age). Those with great power head religious organizations- i.e. The Pope is viewed amongst those of Catholic affiliation as having the most information on God and as a result holds an infinitely powerful position.
4) I do not deny the existence of a higher power- but due to my belief on knowledge, I actively decide to not follow a hierarchal ‘religion’ where there are more ‘powerful’ MEN then myself. I believe that on Earth I am the highest power, as essentially I am my ‘mind’- I am the only one in control of the amount of knowledge I have or the decisions I wish to make.
5) I think in summary, we all seek ‘enlightenment’- any form of spirituality could be summarized into “Who are you?” My understanding as so far on that question stops here. I am me. That’s as elemental as I can determine.
6) I choose to belief there has to be SOMETHING after we die, despite no scientific evidence documenting such existence. For what reasons? Optimism? Security? These are benefits and economically there is no cost in believing (unless you’re a scientologist!), so simple cost-benefit analysis here. The only false argument I see for believing in an after-life is “I can’t comprehend nothingness, the incomprehensible”. This is paradoxical as this paints the after-life as the polar opposite of nothingness (which may not be the case) and relatively the ‘after-life’ is just as incomprehensible as nothingness.
7) I am highly scientific- I feel the Big Bang Theory is plausible for the explanation of the physical evolution of the universe and so is Darwin’s for the physical/emotional evolution of living organisms. That however does not mean I attribute them to the ABSOLUTE explanation of existence. A higher power could have caused that singularity to explode etc or perhaps ‘God’ is equal to all the energy in the universe. Since matter=energy this would actually be consistent with Christian philosophy that Jesus/God is within all of us.
8) Prayer is just an affirmation. Affirmations are powerful. Everything we feel is a result of our internal representations of outside stimuli. When outside stimuli match-up with our internal representations it gives us the feeling of security/happiness. Through affirmations, we can change our beliefs so that we operate with a more ‘open’ map. The more expanded your ‘map’ is; the more outside stimuli will match up and the more you will achieve positive results.
9) We hence control all of our emotions. The reality that our sensory modalities produce is what our mind allows it to produce. Most people are just not CONSCIOUS of this and often blame many external forces for how they are feeling.
10) I’m quite Nihilistic. I don’t believe we have any objective ‘path’ or existence. And even if I was wrong and a higher power does give us a path, they allow us enough freedom to question it regularly and ultimately ‘shape’ it ourselves. In fact, the belief that a higher power exists does not actually pre-suppose that that power ‘cares’ at all for us. In any probability, that power could hate us or ‘punish’ us anyway, despite living what we believed to be a ‘moral’ life. Morality is not absolute. How can we guarantee that the higher power is not ‘cruel’ by our relative standard of ‘cruelty’? Additionally, I believe we decide to create our ‘path’ for ourselves and environmental factors play a huge role, especially in religion. A large percentage of the population are religious because they were born into that environment. An Islamic person could tell you that he would NEVER be Jewish, but that is his belief that he has created based on his current reality of being Islamic. These ‘cause and effect’ problems arise constantly, as once a person has been raised with a certain belief they can not think ‘before’ they had that belief. If the Islamic man had been born in an Israeli family, I think the outcome would have been highly different.
11) Much of the reality I see is Impermeable. Constant flux, things ceasing to exist and then not-ceasing to exist. I accept this for my current life in this moment, but I can’t deny that on a macro level the universe or the ‘after-life’ could be ‘absolute’ and fixed.
12) Holding no ‘belief’ based on my definition of belief is impossible. Even atheism is a belief- as it is a reality about spirituality that these people hold true.
13) Since I choose to guide my own life, I seek self-actualization constantly. I believe firmly in the power of goal setting. Not achieving what I seek is ultimately my own fault.
14) I don’t believe in pure altruism.
15) Ultimately, there is no correct spiritual belief (how could this be judged). They all have their value, and I find many concepts across a wide range of ‘religions’ appealing. Anything which empowers a person into growth is beneficial. The only limitation is when people develop ‘limited’ maps of reality and attempt to push theirs on others, causing conflict.
Some ethical positions-
We are biological machines with an insatiable desire to mate. Sex should occur when both people seek it. Attraction is not a choice. I do not believe inherently in “sins” or “sex” as an act of evil/temptation. Hence in my view, sex before marriage is perfectively acceptable between two willing parties. Contraception is perfectly acceptable. Abortion should be utilized carefully and restricted, but it is acceptable when the sex was not between two willing parties (i.e. rape) or the future birth of the child would not be cumulatively beneficial to the child or the parents- mainly due to them being too young, financial reasons, substance abuse, and risk of illness for child etc.
And of course, we are all intrinsically of equal value- hence the colour of a person’s skin/sexual orientation does not concern me at all. It does not affect the path I choose. There are DIFFERENCES though in people’s ‘relative’ social value- that is why some humans are more attractive as potential mate’s then others.
Edit- *Forgot to add in, I'm against the death penalty.
Also, this is becoming an expression of more 'personal spirituality' amongst the replies. There are already many threads pertaining to organised religion. A member of any organised religion is more then welcome to post, yet I am saying this here as my goal is not to create a debate or argument of any kind. I'm not looking for an 'Organised V Personal' debate. That said, anyone posting their personal beliefs should take into consideration the map of people who follow organised religion. I'm sure with the appropriate respect (see my first belief) we can have a SUCCESSFUL discussion without anyone feeling offended or emotionally reacting. Of course, anyone with intelligence will also ignore the numerous troll posts that will inevtiably appear time-to-time in order to stir conflict. IGNORE THEM.
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