Living through an American Recession

Dealing with never ending life changes. Who says making lemonade is the best thing to do with those lemons life throws at you?

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Non-Religious persecution

What is it about the human mind that naturally seems to want to categorize and compartmentalize everything. It seems we must associate ourselves with religious & political organizations, feminist, race or humanitarian groups, clubs & cliques and when we don't we become wanderers, vagabonds and pretty much scowled at by the general population as "lost". I am by no means "lost."

In my experience, people who are part of any group that believe in a single god, creation from this god, a great spiritual war and a punishment/reward system seem to be the most dangerous forces. Since I associate myself with no group, organization or club it appalls me that these groups seem to know what is best for the rest of us.

Every human, animal and plant has been granted the right to exist in the universe. Life itself needs many elements to flourish; food, water, gasses, sunlight, shelter, social interactions, love. Our nature is to be curious about our universe, to explore and discover. We do it from the moment we are born. We feel love and fear, it's natural. But so many people seem to wonder into churches met with a promise that "this is what you were searching for".

The feeling of love happens when we let go of fear. When you turn  on the light, the darkness goes away. It did not cease to exist, the light is now on. When we are in fear we can't feel love. Our minds are focused on our bills, car issues, health issues or whatever. When we go to church our focus is now on a something else, a promise that everything will be ok letting "Jesus take the wheel".. That feels good, comforting and that's wonderful just like your mother hugging you after a bad day at school listening to your experience and telling you everything will be ok.

There are the rest of us who feel our existence to be something different. We focus our thoughts on art, science, children or dancing; we feel love and peace just like you.

I am not looking for anything, I am discovering everything. 

Too many times we get so focused on the end destination we forget to see the things in between. Being a painter taught me it the process of painting that creates the painting itself. One of the most bitter/sweet experiences I've had was when my car broke down and had to rely on public transportation, bikes and walking until it was repaired. My perspective of the world completely changed. I never realized how many cigarette butts there were on the road. My perspective of people changed, assumptions and judgments dissolved, found money, got a glimpse into people's lives listening to conversations on the bus, and felt a sense of convergence of beings all going to the same place coming from different experiences. It was quite eye opening.

It was then that I realized how different beliefs in the afterlife, ghosts or gods was completely irrelevant to life itself and how these beliefs manifested into judgments, hatred, pity or bad behaviors. When science makes a new discovery they advertise it making everyone aware of it's existence. This discovery may be completely irrelevant to one quarter of the population and no one forces you to change your life base on it. Religion reels people in with promises of virgins, gold, health and eternal life in love and peace. SOLD, who wouldn't want that? But it's the fine print one must read...

A hierarchy reward system listing all it's "side effects" of following a god or belief system. Hell, fire, persecution, a being that is watching you 24/7 creating "god fearing people" hiding in closets, under covers and in dark ally's. People manipulated into tithing (which oddly means tax), going on missions of recruitment, although they call it "educating", making people repent and feel guilty so they can make you feel better. Sounds very controlling to me. Create a problem, bring a solution and people will love and follow you. Classic model.

So after being manipulated into seeing the horrible sin in the world they are driven to go out and make the world a better place. Well who doesn't want that? We all do.  In their hearts they want to save people from hell and eternal suffering, it's natural to want to help someone you know may get hurt. Doesn't it make you angry when someone insists on doing it their way knowing they are going to get hurt and having an "I told you so " moment? Well when it comes to the afterlife, there is no way to have an "I told you so" moment. We are all guessing, and to claim to know a god, heaven or hell exists is just being hopeful.

Once your mind attaches itself to a belief, that belief then stops your mind from continuing to explore new possibilities. Science holds to a system of understanding that says "At this moment, given all the information available, we believe x,y,z to be true" As soon as there is more information available, the belief changes. Religion feeds off this phrase as their "I told you so" moment referring back to a god for answers.

The kindness and love taught throughout religion has been poisoned with greed, control and politics filtering it's agendas into the general population by passing laws that persecute those who don't believe or care that no such god exists taking away human rights. You have the right to believe, I have the right not to believe.  Morality is not owned by religion.

I have heard many people say "god will take care of him". ONLY perhaps if he does not ask for forgiveness. According to religion, if Hitler asked for forgiveness before he died he's going to be walking those streets of gold with you for eternity along with all the other murderers, molesters and bombers. If we're all here to learn and experience life, what's the point of a hell? Seems a pointless game of souls the gods play on us.

My point being is that if you want to educate people about your belief system, forcing laws on them, calling the names, excluding them from your circles, killing the infidels, scaring the shit out of them with hell is not the way to do it.Everyone has the right to believe what they want. Christian people would not like Muslim laws implied on them nor do it's citizens want any religious laws implied on them. It contradicts the right to practice statement in the Constitution. Which basically means "We don't practice religion, but if want to, you have the right to."  And no one is taking away anyone's right to practice in America, so why is it allowed to flow into our government? Who's being persecuted here?

WHY???? 
I have been called horrible names by the same Christian people I once prayed with. Pitied by believers and reminded of my place amongst the fire, seen lesbian friends denied rights others have and loose property to the government because they were not married and become homeless, women bringing children into the world abusing them because their church frowned on abortion then condemned them for being single parents and having premarital sex. How is this positive for peace in the world?.

Until I began to entertain all possibilities on the existence of a god and excommunicate myself from the church did I realize how nasty the people were that I spent the first 15 years of my life with claiming to be so loving. I once heard in Sunday school that "believing in Jesus was going to be hard because the devil is everywhere and trying to win the war by tempting you into sin. The world is full of sin." Making me see the world as a horrible, scary place. Church control IS the scary place, the world has been nothing but beautiful to me. When I started flowing with nature, life became easy and smooth.

One does not need religion  to feel love, to smile and show compassion towards our world. To see someone struggle should not come with persecution and judgment. Put away phrases such as "god will help them", perhaps your god is working through you to do just that. You were granted the universal gift of awareness and it is YOU who can choose to help or not. Humans make mistakes, education helps them to avoid future mistakes, not threats and fear......  




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