I’m not sure if this is the right community to post in (maybe y’all can comment more appropriate ones if that’s the case) but basically, I’m not sure what I believe in spiritually. While I believe in an afterlife and that my loved ones who are no longer here are there I’m uncertain If I believe in god, reincarnation, chakras, etc. I’m uncertain which religion to try to validate this belief that my loved ones are in a better place, but I know that I want life/spiritual guidance, community, and inclusion (both as a Queer person and a general outsider.) I just need some help figuring this part of myself out, is there anyone I can talk to about this? What should I do?
Not spiritual myself but you might want to look into Unitarian Universalism. It’s all about diversity, inclusivity, and spiritual exploration without a particular set of required beliefs or dogma. I believe it’s mostly concentrated in the US but you might find congregations elsewhere around the globe.
Fin some balanced perspectives. Remember people on Lemmy are fanatics, just with atheism and Linux instead of Jesus or Donald Trump. Thanks opinions here with a grain of salt and talk to people in the real world. People you respect and whose spirituality makes sense to you.
Many years ago I realised that any believe system based on fear of something can’t be trusted. If it tries to manipulate you in any way, it’s just that, manipulation. Maybe that was helpful centuries ago among fearful people, I don’t know.
From what was left, all that stuff didn’t really matter, specially if it was true because it is some sort of wait and see and meanwhile it doesn’t affect me.
There was a book I read maybe 25 years ago about this that helped a lot to shape how I see spiritualism. I could try to find it if you’re interested, I don’t think it would be hard to find.
I have this displaying as a bot account?
Death is a paradox. Whoever lives, can never see whats behind the door, and those who are dead, can never experience it, because to experience, you need to live.
You can paint the door colorful, create stories and paintings. But painting the door, will never describe or explain how it looks behind the door. Its just a painting of hopes. Hoping what it might be, but very likey isnt.
We can never shut off, we can never imagine the nonexistence. Its impossible for the consciouss mind to not experience anything. But we want to know. It makes us afraid to not know, which is the reason why we try to explain it and go on.
So, I would say. Find the picture that creates an inner peace within you. Or rather, create one, that fits with your viewings of the world and experience.
Its impossible for the consciouss mind to not experience anything
Lot of people would disagree on this. A lot of spiritual practices are exactly about experiencing the non-experience, experience what cannot be described, explained or thought. If you’re lazy, a big enough of an LSD dose will bring you there in a couple of hours.
Its… still something. It will never be nothing.
And I think I was there with meditation. Also, never had acid more than 300ug so unsure if more will give you such a thing.
But nothingness is still an experience. But true nothingness is only for dead people, which we cannot even dream of.
Good luck. I came out the other side as non religious. As a non believer. I have helped in ceremonies for different religions because family. I will be headed there in bit because they need help… You are who you are.
For me it isn’t really worth thinking about unfalsifiable things? If you’re looking for guidance, community, and inclusion, go join a socialist org or a queer community center?
Nothing says you have to believe the same thing everyday, or even moment to moment. Think of your spirituality as kind of story, or a painting, or a song that you sing to yourself. Wouldn’t it be boring to sing the same song every day? There isn’t just one “greatest” song/poem/story/painting because you can’t fit all human experience or emotion into just one of them. I like to treat spirituality this way. Play with your relationship to life’s mysteries. Make an art of it to entertain and comfort yourself.
To be clear, I have some core values that I don’t change, and these inform my politics and how I interact with other people. When it comes to things like death, “the meaning of life”, the origins of the universe etc, I’m most comfortable with fluidity.
It’s a journey and you don’t have to fit into anyone else’s box. Anyone with a firm, unwavering belief has really just given up exploring.
Spirituality is just the space between our understanding and reality. While many, even in this thread, advocate for creating an idealistic fantasy in this gap for your own mental “health” or pleasure; personally, I don’t think it’s necessary to avoid hopelessness, and in fact is harmful when these fantasies act as blinders to reality in the one existence we get.
In a very real way, every cell that makes up the people we’ve lost recycles into the world around us. We are made of the universe before us, and will become the universe after us. So while our consciousness as we know it is temporary, our existence is not.
Spirituality is the system you use to create reality. Reality is not a given, it’s something you build for yourself. What you’re describing is also a very specific spiritual and metaphysical system.
Study up on other religions. Keep the parts that make sense to you personally and discard the things that don’t. Think of it as building your own religion from scratch.
Reminds me of the Tech N9ne song Klusterfuk.
I recommend you something like Buddhism or similar things. Its about finding your inner peace in stressful times, regardless of who you are. I feel like buddhism is the non-judging religion that has no god but still some good explanations about the world
