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July 31, 2005

My beliefs

I replied to someone's LJ post recently, and it was regarding religious beliefs. In their response to me, they asked me what I call my belief system, and stated that "there has to be a line somewhere".

This is my response:

There has to be a line somewhere.

Why? Why does there have to be a line? Why should someone have to spell out what their beliefs are in a bullet point presentation? Why should they have to label it?

Since that's what you want, though,I will try to do that for you...beginning with what I am not.

I'm not a Christian, though I think that Jesus was a very, very wise man who taught a lot of important lessons. I'm not a Muslim, though I think that many of the tenets of the Muslim faith are important for helping to define how man should act toward man. I'm not Hindi, though I fully accept many of the ideas from the various Gitas. I'm not Buddhist, though I appreciate and try to follow their ideas regarding finding your harmony with the universe.

What do I call my belief system? Mine. :) It doesn't have a title. Pagan is appropriate for me, as Pagan does not specify any particular Path. The definition of Pagan is:

pa·gan ( P ) Pronunciation Key (pgn)
n.
One who is not a Christian, Muslim, or Jew, especially a worshiper of a polytheistic religion.
One who has no religion.
A non-Christian.
A hedonist.
A Neo-Pagan.

I believe in a trinity goddess, Maiden-Mother-Crone. I believe that each of them governs various stages of our lives, though any of the three can touch our lives at any time. I believe that we are here to learn lessons, to become better, to try to reach that pinnacle of spiritual perfection or nirvana.

nir·va·na ( P ) Pronunciation Key (nîr-vän, nr-)
n.
often Nirvana
Buddhism. The ineffable ultimate in which one has attained disinterested wisdom and compassion.
Hinduism. Emancipation from ignorance and the extinction of all attachment.
An ideal condition of rest, harmony, stability, or joy. (This is my preferred interpretation, btw.)

I believe that when we reach that point of perfect understanding, we will end our cycle of re-births and our spirits will join with that of the universe, increasing the strength of the whole. But I believe that it takes many, many lifetimes of learning before we can achieve that, if at all, and that it's just as important to help guide others as it is to find the center for yourself. I believe that if you don't help others, you never WILL find your center.

I do not believe that ceremonies and the attendant trappings are important in terms of being necessities for advancement. I believe that they are tools, as with any other tool, that can be used to help focus and awareness.

But for all of those beliefs, I have no name, and I have no lines. Others define their beliefs based on what touches their souls, what makes that inner core vibrate with harmony and caring and RIGHTNESS. I don't mean right as in "It's right to be baptized" or "It's right not to eat pork", but rightness as in "For this one moment I have felt myself resonate with the universe around me, and while I can never describe it to anyone else, it's the most wonderful feeling I've known."

So...there you go. My beliefs. Very pared down, and very simplified...and hopefully with as few lines as possible, because I don't want lines to become walls keeping me from connecting with someone else just because we use different names for things.

I hope this helps you understand where I am coming from. :)
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So that's what I said. I'm not sure it will make any sense to anyone but myself, but I honestly hope that when he reads it, he gets a better idea of why I would object to what I felt was a rather elitist and snobbish post regarding religion. So many Pagans get offended at the "My way or the highway to hell" approach of close-minded individuals, but then they turn around and do a variation of the same to people who don't follow the exact same Path that they do within the Pagan community.

It confuses me, really. How can you decry the pushiness of someone waving a King James under your nose and threatening you with fire and brimstone, then turn around and say "I abhor dealing with wannabe Pagans." when they define "wannabe" as someone who doesn't do Circles or isn't focused on what they consider to be the right aspects of Paganism? Isn't that just the same close-mindedness under a different name?

I guess that I prefer to be open about it. As long as you have found a system that works for you, and gives you spiritual support and hope, then I say go for it. The only consideration that I ask is that you don't try to force me into your mold. I will happily share with you what I believe, and listen to what you believe, and will most likely find common ground with you in more places than either of us would have thought...but religion and belief are such an individual thing, that it's hard for me to imagine any two people thinking and feeling EXACTLY the same things. I guess it's possible...I just don't think that would be something I would have happen to me.

Anyway, there we go. My spiritual musings of the weekend. Take 'em or leave 'em. *grin*

Posted by Lys on July 31, 2005 1:44 PM

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