Re: Spirituality and Religion
Very interesting thread...
Having spent a part of my life in both organized religion and out of organized religion, I came to the following conclusions:
Spiritual knowledge I found when I spent time alone, praying, pondering, meditating & treating people in a loving manner. Along life's path I met some very spiritual people - inside religion and outside religion. It truly depended entirely on the person. To me being spiritual is a personal, individual choice.
Religion is often based on fear & manipulation - from very subtle to completely overt, with love laced in, in places. I found that in the religious group, the teaching often consisted of trying to guilt people into behaving as the group thought best, or using fear-based themes to keep people in line. There was a push for everyone to "be the same". Questioning decisions was looked at as out and out rebellion, or blasphemy. Very sad. This to me is religion - the loss of your free will to make personal choices.
I mean no offense to anyone who is involved in any religion. These are only mine personal experiences.
Love & Light
Alloura
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