The Reiki Cafe 

Otoharo!

I am on a roll this saturday morning! After meditating.

The reason there is no prayer now, except, Thank You, is that God has already given us everything there is to give. It is up to us to receive. And we can do that at our leisure or at any time that our life demands. When Jesus was here, his message really was that we had everything he has and more because when he returned to his kingdom he sent his spirit to dwell with us constantly. The minute he was gone, his deciples were so taken by the magnificense of who he is, that they could not remember his simple message. And the powers of the religion at that time were really up in arms. How dare he tell the simple people that they are sons of god the same as he and thus more than they! So the religion took the power to tell the poor dumb people they had to ........... And religion still does that. All religions. All religions will pass away with the big shift. It is each to his own relationship with the Holy. Isn't that wonderful! No outside authority. No ritual. No money. Building. JUst nature and you and Holy.

finality

Amen!!

finality,

/*\ Namaste :-}}

- for myself?? I doubt the so-called 'back to the noble savage' lifestyle will ever be more than the idiosyncracy of a very few eccentrics

>:-}}

Reiki All Around,

All Blessings,

Firekeeper

Namaste Finality

I agree, fanaticism and over-indulgence of rituals are the pitfalls of following a religion. But, using the core message of a religion as a guideline or learning about different religions gets a person to start thinking about his relationship with the eternal. A religion does not need to define a person though.

Mal

Dear Finality,
I do not believe that it is religion that deceives us, it is we who deceive ourselves. We keep looking for the one great truth to answer all our questions. We can not stand not to know. Mystery confounds us. On one hand we can accept mystery without questioning, riding the waves of that comfort zone and over looking logic and history, weaving myth and legends that support our beliefs. On the other hand we lay waste to every romantic or spiritual notion or mystery in the name of science and reason.
The irony in this, for me, is that the teachings about Adam & Eve center around the desire for knowledge above all else. Acquiring knowledge brought about the loss of wonder and innocence among other things.
Religion, politics, business, law all have their agendas and their methodologies to frame appropriate behaviour. Even when we can not see it,when we are blind to it, there exists a choice. We have a responsibility to question. To abdicate that choice, to let others make our choices for us is a mistake. We generally discover that mistake after havoc has struck. Even then, some are not willing to question but to continue follow blindly.
Eliminate all religion in the world and there will be some other institution sprouting up. The problem is not external, it is internal.
peace & joy,
holobon

There are many relions within the world around us.
Many fight among each other to show there right state in the promised land.

For whom is really right to put that venue on anyone?

I solomely beleive in myself. The rule of life to me is to be one along the side of each other.

There has to be a greater entity than that of all of man kind.

Tapping into the inner source of the unknown and placing it within a conception to self being is what it is all about.

For we are all an energy force, that does take many forms.

The great power among us is what makes us all about.

Otoharo!

I do not remember replying to you before this. Welcome, if I have not done so!

You have said a mouthful. thanks for sharing this.

finality

Otoharo!

Firekeeper, I don't quite follow you. Am I saying that we are savages without religion? I grew up very religious. Had I been a boy, I would have become a preacher, but being baptist, the female was never the preacher in those days. Recalling my feelings in those days, I was always seeking for truth. I thought religion was where truth resided. Now I find truth through meditation. Does that make me a savage?

finality

Otoharo!

Holobon, I grew up very religious. I talked to God all the time. I was taken to sunday school and still remember the women who kept the nursery, and how they insisted that we be kind to each other. "Be kind to one another" I coveted a little metal tea pot that fitted exactly in my little fist, but they would not let me walk out the door with it tightly squeezed in my fist. I am glad they did not let me steal. One of my class mates told me a few years back that I "lost my mind to relgion" in high school (from his perspective, of course.) I attended a Baptist University and ended up with so many electives in relgion that I got my degree in Religion. (This was Southern baptist which were different from today's.) I married a preacher and knew better what we were to do than he did so far as caring for the church members , he only knew how to preach and took his sermons by listening to others. He eccelled in that. He did not last as a preacher, nor as a husband, after I divorced him, nor did he continue his relationship with our three children.

What I mean to show is that I was a religious as a human can get. but it was not IT. I found truth there, yes, but a whole lot of stuff that is not truth also. When I go directly to the Source. I find truth. In my experience, truth is always available for the asking.

finality

Otoharo!

I agree.

finality

Dear Finality,
I understand what you mean. :)
For me, it is important to remember that religion is a creation of Man. Somehow, we tend to forget that when we are following the teachings. Perhaps because we are taught differently.
Thank you for sharing your stories, you seem always to be experiencing a very varied and challenging life. You never cease to surprise me. :)

peace & joy,
holobon

Dear Holobon,

A friend of mine once made the statement that, "religion is Magic made boring"

I do agree with you that the religious forms that we follow are man made creations.

Religion, in years gone by , was very much an instrument used by established Churches to exert control over the masses. It was a product of High culture as opposed to Popular culture. These were the religions on which our current belief systems are based so in my opinion, we should, perhaps, approach them with a critical eye and ask ourselves what exactly is behind the teachings, rather than following them unquestioningly.

Slan go foille agus beannacht leat,

Brian

Hello Cinder,
You know, if people would learn tolerance for one anothers differences and not be intimidated by what someone else had we would go so far. To see other religions as having value and being good would in turn show us the value and goodness within ourselves.
Other religions and cultures and colour of skin should be something we witness with the wonder and awe of a new born babe.
How cool is it that our Father/Mother would allow us to witness & entertain ourselves in so many wonderful ways.

To even visit another country is to be transported into another lifetime, another culture and way of being.
Its so sad to see diversity being touted as bad.

When we realize that to give another free choice is to free ourselves. That to free our minds of what we think we know, we have a higher knowing of ourselves and all life.

Relationships built on trust and communal love for our brothers and sisters no matter where they live and not matter what they believe will bring about change that can change the world in so many ways.

We are all so blessed to be here now in this turbulant time of change. We can bear witnesses to one another in how it used to be before there was a higher awareness that all life is valuable and good.

Blessings,
Jahnavi

Otoharo!

Most of the stress in the world is seated in peoples various religions. Wars and strifes said to be lead by God. I am sure that some pockets of civilization will remain after the big shift, nor do I imply that God is instigating this big shift. It simply is a natural occurance, an astonomical occurance. And many people in mental institutions say they are only doing God's will or following the voice of God. Nothing takes away from us our own integrity and sense of the God in us.

finality

Hello, Brian,
One thought that came to me when you mentioned High versus Popular culture was that, in other times, it was easier to form community based on what arose from "popular culture" . For example, earth based "religion" arose from groups of people living in fairly stable groups. These days, we are such a mobile society and people often complain that it is difficult to form community. They often find solace in organized religion. Roman Catholics find comfort that wherever they go, the Mass is pretty much familiar, and they feel part of a larger community. I see that aspect of organized religion as a very positive thing, yet one that keeps many in churches with which they have a fair amount of disagreement. Having left that type of worship community, I do struggle a bit to find community....it has become a newly defined type of community...one that is more of a spiritual nature. That is, I know who I resonate with, but that resonance does not always translate into physical presence. Being an incarnate being, I do miss that. But I see all of this as a growth process into which I have willingly entered. Not saying it is better than what I did before, but an opportunity for some type of growth.
Just more thoughts......
Blessings,
Feather

Good morning Feather,

Thanks for your thoughts - they are very interesting and I take your points on board.

What you say is very true, in that, in days of yore, "society" was far less mobile than today and that organized religions can offer a form of stability in a fast changing world.

I still feel, however, that there remains a "controlling" aspect to such major Churches which is based on the authority exercised by those Churches in times past, although, obviously, to a much lesser extent than previously.

Beannacht leat,

Brian

You are absolutely right, and that is the reason I could not remain in "the fold." It got to the point that I felt like crying every time I walked into a church....because I could not stand being there. It felt like spiritual prison. A strange development, as I had been an enthusiastic participant, in my own way, for a very long time. I realize that I was somewhat of a rebel, and I got tired of being in the rebel role.
Peace,
Feather