Do you need a relationship with God in order to believe in yourself? Many people do and it seems that most religions support the idea. Who and what is God? When you believe in the manifestation of God, you believe in you.
Is it that we need something to believe in to find ourselves? A few months ago I was at a street fair and there was a booth promoting Islam. Their phone number had whyislam in it.
I didn't really talk to them about Islam but I did read their sign which was about learning self restraint during Ramadan from the pleasures of things like eating, drinking, smoking and sex with their wives during daylight hours and is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and submissiveness to Allah.
Whether it's Judaism, Catholicism, Protestantism or whatever, people seem to need something in which to believe. They need something to encourage restraint. It's like their personal growth and personal change programs are dependent on their relationship with God. Why? Can they not trust or believe in themselves? Do we need to believe is something like a god in order to have permission to believe in ourselves? Do we need to believe that we are sanctioned by God to believe in ourselves or experience self worth?
Spirituality: What is spirituality? According to Wikipedia
1. Spirituality refers to an inner path which enables one to realize the basis of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.”
2. Meditation, prayer and contemplation are spiritual practices which are intended to develop an individual's inner life. Connectedness yielding a more comprehensive self is a spiritual experience with nature, the cosmos, the human community or other individuals.
3. Spirituality is often experienced as a source of inspiration or orientation in life.
4. Spirituality goes beyond material realities.
Spirituality really has nothing to do with God, but it seems that every religion believes that love of God is a path to being spiritual—that personal growth and personal change is dependent upon it.
This is both true and untrue for it depends on their view of who and what God is. Practically all religions believe that their God has some kind of personal investment in each believer or non believer. Now this is also true, but we need to define God, for this is where the crazy twist is. Religions believe that God is an entity outside themselves and greater than human. Wow this is really something. And as you know it's not new. In fact most of us who have been exposed to religion have learned to believe this way.
But there are so many questions and if it weren't for the Qurans, Torahs, Bibles, Vedas, Upanishads, epics, Puran-as, and the Bhagavad Gita, and so on of the various religions maybe we could have common understanding. But these great books (I call them great because they have survived the centuries) have you rely more on faith than on reality and common sense. In fact every thing that doesn't have a logical answer is explained away by faith in a deity.
If you study all these great books you'll see that there is but one focus and that is how humans are to treat other humans and how to live with restraint to things like stealing, murder, sex. Likewise to “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” These great books are about how to treat other fellow human beings respectfully and what works in relationships.
And there's nothing wrong with any of this. In fact is all makes sense except for the religions who attempt to control sexuality with guilt.
The ten commandments talks about relationships with other humans and not having idols before God and that God is a jealous God.
The entire premise is that some separate deity (God) gave this tablet to Moses with the ten commandments. Again we're asked to believe in faith. Faith that Moses went up to a mountain with a burning bush and the Jewish God inscribed this tablet and that when he witnessed his people sinning that he smashed the tablet.
Let's go beyond faith for a moment and look at common sense. No where in any of these Bibles, Quarans, and so on do they look at the essence of the universe other than to say in the Jewish bible that God created the universe in six days and the seventh day he rested. And no one (except for a few fanatics) really believes that each day was limited to 24 earth hours as we know them today.
Who is this God that created the universe anyway? What is God? You know when most of these great books were written, the science of mathematics, for instance, was limited to counting shillings in material transactions. In fact many transactions never involved money or shillings they ofter were no more than an exchange (barter) of material things—chickens for bread and so on.
These great books were written by the scholars and disciples of the time who had more questions than answers. The focus of life during the time was more about how humans treated other humans to support personal growth and personal change—not that we've answered all those questions but the reality is that very little was known of the sciences as we know them today.
It would have been incomprehensible to think of any God having any thing to do with the sciences. Yet, if God created the universe and life he obviously knows a lot about the sciences. Why is it that no one thinks about God having any connection with any of the sciences?
When the mathematician solves a problem, he thanks God. When the chemist solves a problem, he thanks God. When the physicist solves a problem, he thanks God. When the biologist solves a problem, who does he thank? God?
They believe that in some way God has led them to the solution or understanding of the problem on which they were working. God knows enough to help these scientist solve the most intricate problems.
But just suppose that God is the law of physics. Suppose he/she/it is also the law of biology. Suppose he/she/it is the law of mathematics, chemistry and probability. You know the strange thing is that there is mathematics in biology, chemistry, physics, and probability. In fact all these sciences are intricately connected. Humans have identified these laws and named them, but maybe they are all one law. P (Probability),M (mathematics), C (Chemistry), and B (biology)--PMCB.
If you combine all these laws (PMCB) you have the creation of the universe and every living and non living thing. In fact every living and non living thing is the manifestation of these laws. We could say that everything is God. You are the manifestation of God. You are God. The snake in your back yard is God. The mosquito that bites you is God. The sofa upon which you rest is God. The Morgellon's disease which haunts and infects you is God. There are no silent subliminals or dreams instilled by an external deity. You (God) creates your own dreams.
Does God care what happens to you? Do you care what happens to you? Do your friends and family care what happens to you? Of course. You and your friends and family are all God and everyone you know cares and yes, there are those who you don't even know who care about you. For instance the stranger who pulls you from your burning car cares what happens to you.
Are you a jealous person? Jealousy is a something that most every human being fights for many years and sometimes forever during their life time. So yes, Moses said that God is jealous and yes you bet you are and it's something with which you constantly fight in your personal growth and personal change program. And yes, do you have binging temptations, or to do drugs, smoke, or drink too much? All of them are idols you put before you—God.
In summary if you're looking for something in which to believe, how about believing in you—God—the manifestation of PMCB. Find the inner path through these laws to realize the basis of your being. Use meditation, prayer and contemplation (all stress techniques) to develop your inner life to have faith in yourself for your personal growth and personal change program. Use this understanding to connect with nature, the cosmos, the human community or other individuals. Remember we have yet to comprehend things like ESP, the skills of Edgar Cayce, our inner connectedness, and so on. Use your life and talents as a source of inspiration and your orientation in life and remember that spirituality goes beyond material realities and likewise know that the manifestation of health and wealth is yours to choose as the universe provides through the PMCB all that you desire.
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