I remember being on an airplane when I was about 6 years old going to Disney world with just my mom cuz she was a single parent. I was afraid of the turbulence and my mom leaned over and said " when God decides its your time to go, it’s your time to go, so relax because even if this plane crashes, you and I will both be in heaven together" or something along those lines.
That gave me such releif and I wasn’t afraid of flying or much of anything really until I hit the age if 15…
I got absolutely wasted the night before a flight with my mom, stepdad and best friend at the time. I got so drunk my mom had to reschedule our flight and I cost her about 1400$ and she was pissed to say the least.
Anyways, we get to the airport later that day and we are on the runway about to take off and this overwhelming feeling of fear and panic came over me. I was a non believer at this point in my life and there wasn’t a single comforting thought in my brain to help me calm down. I white knuckled the entire flight and I have been extremely afraid of flying ever since. And of heights in general…
I wish I could get that feeling back from when I was young… the comfort of not being afraid of death. The solace in believing there is someone out there who loves you no matter what. I just can’t bring myself to believe there is a God anymore… all the horrible things happening in the world. All the starving and dying children… why would I be looked after more than others?
Some say they are blessed because of what they have, but I say aren’t they just lucky they weren’t born in another part of the world?
Am I making any sense to anyone?
I see all these nuns and priests at my job, who have cancer and are at the end of their lives, but they live every day to the fullest even though they may be on deaths door. I want that…
Right on. You’re right. It’s a really important yearning we have: to see purpose and security in the universe. To see that we are growing according to a plan - like the apple seed creates an apple tree (not an oak or a maple). There’s a vision; there’s a path. There’s safety in that.
The thing about believing in God is that God isn’t really dependent on our belief, to exist. I’m not saying that to open a big debate about the existence of God; I’m just pointing out that, whatever creates this ever-evolving universe and saturates it with the force of Life, isn’t something that depends on our belief.
The idea that there’s a being or a power greater than us isn’t new. It’s also incredibly diverse. Some religions and spiritualities view it as being infused in all things - nature, the earth, the air - while others see the physical universe as a creation of a deity. Some philosophers have described the divine as an ideal world of forms: there is “the perfect tree”, the “ideal tree” in the Ideal World, and here in the physical world, we have a million different trees that are copies of that ideal tree - and each copy has its own imperfections (which makes them all unique).
Is there a one-size-fits-all answer of whether god / God exists? No.
Is there grounds to believe that life has patterns and direction, and that if you seek to understand your pattern, and your direction, you will find it? (like the apple seed trying to see its direction towards an apple tree) Yes there is.
You have a path, you have a direction. If you look in yourself and try to connect with other humans in meaningful, sincere, helpful ways, you will find it.
Take care & never give up. You’re a good person who deserves a safe, sober life where you can be your full self.
I don’t think we need a religion to feel, see, or act one way or another. I never believed in a god. And I’m not afraid of death. Maybe of dying but not of death itself. Stardust we are and stardust we remain. I consider myself a humanist in the sense that all we got is this earth along with all the creatures in it. And each other. And all we can do is take as good care of all that. and ourselves. And we need to do it together, just like to remain sober we need to be together because alone it is all too much. IMO there’s no logic, no fairness and no divine plan. But we got ourselves and we got each other and we got to fight to make this world a tiny little bit of a better place. Which, again, includes working hard on making ourselves the best persons we can possibly be. Don’t know if this helps but this is how see it. Love.
I’m not afraid to die or even how I die I keep that mind set that something bigger then me has got me it doesn’t have to be GOD. I don’t often question it or even try to pick holes it is what it is and I feel it. We will handle what’s in the next stage after this. Maybe reading up on diff theories about death from other cultures we are all born to die think its good to make peace with it
I totally understand what you are describing. I would love to know how to live life fully without that fear. I know how to DO it but I don’t seem to be able to FEEL it. The fear goes much deeper than my logical brain.
I was never a religious man myself but over this past year, I’ve been starting to read into the many religion’s and philosophies that are spread through out this world. I took what I already knew and just started to get to the core of these things and I came to the conclusion that the best way to go about religion is to just live my life helping everyone whom I come across. Be Humble, Respect and just be Happy. Because we are fortunate to live the lives we are living right now. That’s the jist of my personal Philosophy.
Hey @Steve92, thanks for sharing a deep vulnerability with us. It is one that I think we all, as humans feel. Whether we are of the mind to ponder it, or push it aside, is what makes us different. I mean, obviously there are so many religions and beliefs, mainly because it’s the single question that all humans share. Why are we here and what happens when we die?
I know people who are very religious and owe all explanations and occurances to God almighty, and I also know atheists who believe in nothing but what science tells them. Ultimately I think the only way to find any peace is to find what makes sense to you. What really resonates with you deep down, and helps to center you when you are afraid or in need of something higher than yourself. After all, isn’t that where religion came from in the first place?
I used to think that religious people needed religion because they couldn’t necessarily make sense of the vastness of space and time, therefore it’s just easier to believe in something that someone else has outlined for them. Which is ok! It wasn’t enough for me. I had too many questions
I remember when I was young, I got this overwhelming feeling (the first time I can remember crippling anxiety) that my mom was going to die. There was nothing wrong with her, I don’t even know where this came from. But I was inconsolable. I cried and cried and told her I don’t want her to die. She kept saying “I’m not going to die! I’m not going anywhere!” …
She’s still here (relief) but what was she supposed to say?! I never got a clear answer on dying, except you go to heaven or hell. Nope, not good enough.
And here I am, a grown adult, who has lived through people dying who were close to me. I’m still afraid.
But being the non-conformist that I am, I’ve taken things from all different religions and beliefs, and I made my own. And you know what the best part of that is?? No one can tell you you’re wrong. Some might try, but no one REALLY knows.
Maybe take your down time, and read about different beliefs and see if anything calms that place in you. There is a wealth of knowledge and philosophy out there. You might just find an idea that clicks.
I believe in our spirit. Spirits don’t die. They move on.
Thanks for letting me spew on your thread, I love talking about this kind of stuff, it’s fascinating to me.
“We are a way for the Cosmos to know itself” Carl Sagan. I like that because that’s one of the wonders of the universe/multiverse - not only that time and space came into being from nothing but if there wasn’t consciousness would it even matter?
Carl Sagan really rules. Although I’m a devout Christian, I love science and especially astronomy and quantum physics. I don’t see any contradiction of being a Christian and a science-based dude. I believe, after all, that God created Big Bang and everything that was before that. IMHO I truly believe that everything is a creation of God and we all are children of God. In the end we have nothing to worry about.
