A Change In Me

@discreetNickel2070

I really should commend you for being a free thinker! It sounds as if you are probably a very accepting person of people and their differences and not dogmatic. I too took a journey in regard to my spirituality quite some time ago. The way my thought process went was kind of thinking about how people are simply born into religions. Told by their parents what their faith is, how to think and what to do. I had friends of many faiths and still do. And my faith taught me to "love another" and be excepting of everyone. As an aside, being an atheist and not having a so called faith, is still a faith in my book.

I began questioning everything and thinking about who knows who is wrong or what is wrong and what is right? How are we to know in regard to religion and spirituality? For me, I took the tour of many religions. I took a college course on religion, taught by a free thinking professor. For me, it was a great experience. It allowed me to think, delve deeper. Think even more than I had ever done before while giving me access to book recommendations of what I should read and things I should consider on my journey to make up my own mind. To think about who I am, what I represent as human, and maybe just what sounds right to me.

Through my little journey, I decided I would never refer to myself as religious, but yet spiritual instead. Religion is man made and some religions were created with a certain agenda in mind. What I did was branch out, grow more, understand others and love one another even more. I guess for me, I took what I wanted to away from everything that I learned in my process.

I kind of came back to the religion that was imposed upon me earlier in life, to come back to one strong belief. This was my choice. But it involved one strong belief. But I pulled what I wanted to from everything I read. Some how and some way, my one strong belief makes me to be a certain religion, but with my own spiritualty, I know I am a part of all of it and a part of everyone now. I am not religious, but yet I am someone that is deeply spiritual. The majority of the religions boil down to one basic tenant anyway "love one another". No way I can go wrong there. And I still pray.

I guess you might have a spiritual journey to consider but I also understand you have your family to consider, a family filled with devout Christians. In regard to your family and divulging your newer thoughts and beliefs, what is the rush with telling them all? I see it as sometimes in life we feel as if we have only 2 choices. Do or not do. So in your instance it could be to tell them or not to them. Many times the 3rd choice is so often missed. The third choice could simply be the wait and see approach. To enjoy your thoughts, your feelings, go on this journey on your own, read, understand and just be a human! I don't see it as any rush to share, divulge, confront, but go along on your private journey of spirituality as opposed to religion. Religion and spirituality is a private thing many times anyway, and just a feeling in your heart and soul. I hope this was of some help my friend!