As many of you know I’ve been a nurse with a MSN and my minor was in psychology. I also have experienced a LOT in my life that has made me always wonder, question, and experiment with that one word RELIGION; that makes people either uncomfortable(people unsure in their religion and belief in God) or too comfortable(those that think they know everything about GOD, the Bible and are usually very JUDGMENTAL); I’m writing this not just to inform you about what I observe but to ask you to reply as to what your perception is of God and Religion or Spirituality.

First of all, let’s get a few things out in the open. I consider myself to be a spiritual person. But that does not mean that I am a perfect person. I have plenty of faults. I can swear like a sailor, I enjoy a good dirty joke, and I’m bipolar which really makes me imperfect in the eyes of society. 
Forgive me if this sounds overly judgmental, but to me terms like “faith” and “spirituality” are just shorthand for an individual’s inability to cope with the concept of oblivion .But that is my sarcasm which is paradoxical because I consider myself SPIRITUAL …see life isn’t just a series of RIGHT OR WRONG or CORRECT OR INCORRECT there are a LOT of in betweens.

But I also believe there is an omnipotent being or spirits *energy if you will; that surrounds us everywhere we are.  Ever really look into a puddle of water and realize where mirrors came from only the puddle is more beautiful?  The trees their colors seem to dictate or infer our sense of the season at hand.  Animals, insects, et al they seem to appear out of nowhere when our thoughts are deep and then out of the blue a butterfly will appear.  Or, we are miserable one day and go outside to smoke a cigarette and a damn bee won’t leave you alone.  I always see these as signs, I don’t believe in coincidences, but I also don’t believe in a God that most portray or envision.  e.g a large old man with a beard just inside a gold iron gate in heaven telling you your accepted or denied (this is an analogy for those of you who don’t know me).  Omnipotence just means EVERYWHERE, and no matter where you are there are things such as;  grass, dirt, trees, sky et al.  These things are omnipotent and influence everything in our daily lives.  E.G. if the sky brings rain then it would ruin a day at the beach……but then again that beach trip might have ended in sadness or death which brings us back to coincidence.  

There are so many ways to define peoples existence and their beliefs of what happens in the afterlife or when we die, I can’t possibly delve into each one.   *** Some of these statements below are copied from some papers that were published regarding this subject

Some of the things that influence how we perceive GOD, RELIGION, FAITH are cognitive, motivational, and societal.                                                           One cognitive factor is analytical thinking style. People who tend to act according to reason rather than intuition are also less likely to believe in God. Perhaps relatedly, we also see a tendency for people who are higher in intelligence to hold agnostic or atheistic beliefs. In contrast, people who are high in what’s commonly called “emotional intelligence”—that is, the ability to easily discern the emotions and motives of others—also tend to be more religious. Of course, it’s exactly this ability to read others’ minds that led to the rise of religious belief in the first place, hundreds of thousands of years ago on the African savanna.

There are also motivational reasons for religious belief. People who are socially isolated tend to have more religious faith, perhaps allowing them to feel they’re not truly alone. Likewise, people facing death are more likely to express faith in God and an afterlife. The old saying that there are no atheists on the battlefield is no doubt true to a large extent. Furthermore, faith in God increases when situations become uncontrollable, as in the case of natural disasters. Believing that God has a plan helps people regain some sense of control, or at least of acceptance.

Another motivational factor is self-enhancement. If you live in a society where religion is prized, it’s in your best interest to say you believe, whether you truly do or not. I’m sure there are plenty of doubters in the pews at Sunday services, though none will admit it.  And it’s not uncommon to hear stories of priests or pastors who’ve lost their faith but continue to preach because it’s the only way they have of making a living.

Finally, there are societal factors that influence the degree of religious belief within societies. As a general rule, religious belief is considerably lower in developed countries compared with the underdeveloped world. For instance, Japan has one of the highest standards of living in the world, but only 4% of its population claims to be religious. Traditionally, Japan was a Buddhist country, and religion played an important role in the daily lives of the Japanese until after World War II. A similar trend has occurred in Western Europe, which many social scientists now characterize as “post-Christian.”

The United States, with its high standard of living and high religiosity, is the glaring exception. However,   Japan and Western Europeans have universal health care and extensive social safety nets, as opposed to the U.S. The Japanese and the Europeans know their governments will come to their aid in their hour of need. But the laissez-faire attitudes of American society make people’s futures less certain and the belief in a benevolent God more attractive.

SYNOPSIS:

My belief is what I stated earlier there are spirits that are omnipotent in everything around us and they influence our lives and possibly afterlives.     I believe that our loved ones who were decent people watch over us until we pass over.  I have many questions about other subjects such as reincarnation e.g. Do people keep getting reincarnated into other people or animals dependent upon how they treated people in their past lives.  If I were a pedophile in my past life would I come back as someone who was tortured and raped like what was did to boys in your past life?  If I were a bad person but not necessarily evil would i keep coming back and bettering my life with each reincarnation until I got it right.  Like I come back as a cat who was abandoned and then I helped other cats get food, and then I come back as a cat who is spoiled rotten by their owner and they continue to be a good cat and are obedient and loving and there for their owner, then they get to graduate to a human reincarnation where they can get their behavior right until they perfect it (*or to the point of perfection which is allowed on this earth) then they get to go to the actual place or platform we call HEAVEN!  Or is it a merry go round?  I’m always thinking and questioning but what is funny is that when I’m in my car I talk to a person (I don’t know who I just have a conversation actually with myself but I usually ask this person questions I’m struggling with like:  is it right to forgive someone that has done you incredible wrongs in your life, if we forgive them on this earth does that give them a free pass into heaven?  I have had many people do me wrong and I’m sure I’ve done wrong to others usually by no INTENTION, so I wonder about this.  I love the people and my SPOILED CATS IN THIS LIFE, but I still would like to know whats waiting OUT THERE FOR ME when I pass.   I don’t think it’s wrong to question our faith and the entity we pray to.  What type of entity would scold you for asking questions if they are a loving understanding persona, entity, enigma (you choose)?  If what we have is an all knowing, all loving God who forgives all then I doubt very much if we question our reasoning and why we do the things or think the things we do.                        

Until I have all the answers (which I never will) I will continue to believe as I do, and I don’t push my beliefs on anyone nor do I judge those for their beliefs.  As long as we live on this earth and treat people with kindness, love and the ability to understand or try to understand both sides of the coin, then I feel like we are going down the right path.  The Bible to me is a book meant to teach people morals and just behavior with parables.  I don’t believe in Noah’s arc but I do believe that we should treat all animals with kindness and keep the need for continued existence of the species.  So many of our beliefs albeit evolution, reincarnation, Heaven, Hell, etal, still have one common factor :   PEOPLE and their FAITH.  As long as we do others no harm or foul and respect one another I think we will have done well in LIFE!  God Bless  

I hope you can make sense of this enough to reply cuz I’d love to hear your comments.