historycircus

I posted the following earlier on the "garlic" thread, and perhaps it has its place here too:

If you understand the theoretical origins of religion and organized spirituality - the desire for human beings huddled around in their caves to make some sort of sense out of grandpa Ugh's death - then you know that death is the very thing that we fear the most. Why do you think everyone is pursuing "transcendance"? No matter your belief structure, those who seek "transcendance" are seeking to preserve their identities into the great beyond. Whether you are a fundamentalist Christian hoping to "transcend" after death, or a "third eye" new ager trying to "transcend" in life, you are seeking to mitigate your fear of ceasing to exist. Note the word "SELF" in the phrase "higher self". Accepting that your energy may continue without the sense of identity you have now is scary for a lot of folks, and the reason they drift toward religions and spriritual "systems" that promise the continuation of the "self."

Spirituality is what individuals practice, religion is what groups practice, but they are both means to the same end - to deal with the fear generated by the possibility that the "self" may be abandoned when our energy moves on out into the universe.