Why be religious or spiritual?

[Mohini]

Hare Krishna!

As a woman who has struggled constantly with the juxtaposition of both my transsexualism and my spiritual life, I just wanted to ask:

Why be spiritual, or religious? Why keep a sense of spiritual grounding, when there are so many transsexual and transgender haters out there? The fight is so tiring and hurtful, and I am sure that many of you have had terrible experiences (and/or good experiences) with other fellow religionists along the way.

As a Hindu, I know that Krishna (or God) will never leave me, and that all He wants is sincere love and devotion offered with a pure heart... but still, it can be difficult sometimes. Some are accepting, and others are just terrible association!

[Jess42]

Hello Mohini. Why be spirtual? I would say more or less to give yourself hope that things may get better and so on. Hope that this existance is just temporary stop on a greater journey. Hope that good will always win over evil, even if it doesn't seem that way sometimes. But.. there's always hope.

Why be spiritual and keep a spiritual grounding(Freudian slip)? In my opinion, Spirituality should have nothing to with with being grounded. That is how so many religious groups justify their pejudices and hate. Spirituality should be more about spreading your wings and soaring above all that. More or less an ascension of the Spirit and then the physical mind and your emotions will follow and reflect that ascension. I don't want to be grounded in or by Spirituality, I would rather use it to soar higher.

As for haters? There will always be people that hate just for the sake of hating. It is a negative emotion and a rather strong one at that. No particular group is immune to it.

[Brooke777]

Why be spiritual, or religious?

Why not?

Me being trans has nothing to do with my spiritual life. I am the same person, if not better, than I was prior to transition. I am spiritual for myself and the God I serve, not for anyone else. So, those who do not agree with me don't matter. I know my God loves me, and that is what matters.

[Sarah Louise]

What does transgenderism have to do with your beiief in God?

Nothing.  I am a Christian, I always will be.  I don't particularily care what a local church feels about my being who I am, a woman.  My relationship is with God.

[Beth Andrea]

Why be spiritual, or religious?

Some people are spiritual...some are not. Changes in one's life can change this...but whatever you are, you must be.

My feeling about religious types who hate, is that they (as individuals) are not spiritual, instead they subconciously use "color of authority" as a means of controlling their environment. "We don't want those kind here..." But rather than own up to their own biases, they prefer to use G-d as an unwitting scapegoat.

Imho

[Shantel]

Mohini, this is an interesting question. Throughout the world there is a great number of religions and belief systems. Central to most is the idea that this life is but a hyphen or a whistle stop in eternity and that the life goes on though the body is dead. That concept is comforting to many and in looking at it in that vane I have come to the place where acceptance of others involved in a different religion or spiritual understanding than myself makes me all the more accepting of them because I realize that we are all headed in the same direction via differing approaches.

[Mohini]

Hello Mohini. Why be spirtual? I would say more or less to give yourself hope that things may get better and so on. Hope that this existance is just temporary stop on a greater journey. Hope that good will always win over evil, even if it doesn't seem that way sometimes. But.. there's always hope.

Why be spiritual and keep a spiritual grounding(Freudian slip)? In my opinion, Spirituality should have nothing to with with being grounded. That is how so many religious groups justify their pejudices and hate. Spirituality should be more about spreading your wings and soaring above all that. More or less an ascension of the Spirit and then the physical mind and your emotions will follow and reflect that ascension. I don't want to be grounded in or by Spirituality, I would rather use it to soar higher.

As for haters? There will always be people that hate just for the sake of hating. It is a negative emotion and a rather strong one at that. No particular group is immune to it.

That's true. Thank you for your response!

I suppose that Spirit is transcendent, and thus has no bearing of this material manifestation,  and thus can bring us higher. And yes, all groups will always have people who. not influenced by the Spirit of Love and Unity, continue to harbour negative emotion and thus devolve their spiritual progression.

[Mohini]

Why not?

Me being trans has nothing to do with my spiritual life. I am the same person, if not better, than I was prior to transition. I am spiritual for myself and the God I serve, not for anyone else. So, those who do not agree with me don't matter. I know my God loves me, and that is what matters.

I wish it were like you, as my own history is no one else's business. I really admire your sense of assurance that God is always there, no matter what!

When it comes to attending a church, mosque or temple, it can be hard for people who 'don't pass.' But I suppose that not all spiritual traditions emphasise being in a congregational setting. In my religion, association is supremely important in one's personal spiritual life, and spiritual association with those who are like-minded amps up our devotion to God.

I'm glad that people like you know that God is always there.

[Anatta]

Kia Ora Mohini,

How psychology views spirituality :
"Research shows that even skeptics can't stifle the sense that there is something greater than the material world we see. As the brain processes sensory experiences, we naturally look for patterns, and then seek out meaning in those patterns. And the phenomenon known as "cognitive dissonance" shows that once we believe in something, we will try to explain away anything that conflicts with it!"

I was going to start another thread for this spiritual/religious quiz, but when reading this thread  the quiz seems to complement it: It's "meant" to highlight where one sits on the "spirit level" so to speak...  From highly sceptical to deeply spiritual...

http://www.beliefnet.com/section/quiz/index.asp?surveyID=27

However if you would prefer me to start another thread, I can edit this post...

Metta Zenda

[Mohini]

What does transgenderism have to do with your beiief in God?

Nothing.  I am a Christian, I always will be.  I don't particularily care what a local church feels about my being who I am, a woman.  My relationship is with God.

Good for you! I am glad that you have strength in that Christ that strengthens you.

[Mohini]

Some people are spiritual...some are not. Changes in one's life can change this...but whatever you are, you must be.

My feeling about religious types who hate, is that they (as individuals) are not spiritual, instead they subconciously use "color of authority" as a means of controlling their environment. "We don't want those kind here..." But rather than own up to their own biases, they prefer to use G-d as an unwitting scapegoat.

Imho

Hey there Beth Andrea!

I think that you're right. Many individuals who do not feel comfortable with the unknown will generally use G-d or something else in their tradition to stifle the religiosity of others. It's funny that so many spiritual paths will outline not judging others, or to practice tolerance and respecting others, but those who claim them will somehow forget to embody these very virtues~!

[Mohini]

Mohini, this is an interesting question. Throughout the world there is a great number of religions and belief systems. Central to most is the idea that this life is but a hyphen or a whistle stop in eternity and that the life goes on though the body is dead. That concept is comforting to many and in looking at it in that vane I have come to the place where acceptance of others involved in a different religion or spiritual understanding than myself makes me all the more accepting of them because I realize that we are all headed in the same direction via differing approaches.

Thanks Shantel, for responding!

I love this idea. If we are all heading in the same direction anyways (for example, death for those who do not believe in the afterlife), then why do we need to waste our time in making other people's lives less-than-pleasant, or even miserable?

[Mohini]

Kia Ora Mohini,

How psychology views spirituality :
"Research shows that even skeptics can't stifle the sense that there is something greater than the material world we see. As the brain processes sensory experiences, we naturally look for patterns, and then seek out meaning in those patterns. And the phenomenon known as "cognitive dissonance" shows that once we believe in something, we will try to explain away anything that conflicts with it!"

I was going to start another thread for this spiritual/religious quiz, but when reading this thread  the quiz seems to complement it: It's "meant" to highlight where one sits on the "spirit level" so to speak...  From highly sceptical to deeply spiritual...

http://www.beliefnet.com/section/quiz/index.asp?surveyID=27

However if you would prefer me to start another thread, I can edit this post...

Metta Zenda

Kia ora, Kuan Yin!

Thank you for the quote. I definitely do believe that out of this seemingly meaningless pattern of life and death, human beings naturally try to seek out that pattern. Thinking that we are the only ones aware of this pattern and reaching death, I suppose that spirituality becomes a beacon of comfort in trying to find meaning and purpose in life. When the beliefs become somehow codified and pushed onto others though, that becomes dogmatism.

I am a sceptic (agnostic theist) and see religion and spirituality as culturally derived and utilitarian. However, not all share my views, and that is the beauty of this existence. 

[kelly_aus]

I've always been a spiritual person, but was a drifter, never able to find something that fit me. However, since finding peace within myself I find myself drawn in a particular direction - a direction I'm further exploring.

[Shantel]

Thanks Shantel, for responding!

I love this idea. If we are all heading in the same direction anyways (for example, death for those who do not believe in the afterlife), then why do we need to waste our time in making other people's lives less-than-pleasant, or even miserable?

Because there is light and there is darkness, good and evil, positive and negative and I believe that there are those who choose to be the Darth Vader's of this world and enjoy lording it over the rest of humanity. It most likely is the result of refusing to accept what we all are talking about here.

[Jess42]

I've always been a spiritual person, but was a drifter, never able to find something that fit me. However, since finding peace within myself I find myself drawn in a particular direction - a direction I'm further exploring.

I am the same way. I don't fit any religious group either and pretty much decided to go my own way unhindered.

[Vicky]

Spirit is that part of us that can escape the limits of our bodies and can seek for and possibly find greater powers than ourselves and can learn from those powers.  I follow at least three paths in my spirit journeys, the Christianity that came from childhood but took on new life in adulthood, the Two Spirit of my genetics and a path that has no name that has called me of its own.  My life is un-manageable without a higher spirit that I can look to.  A sad fact I found some years ago.

When we look at the limits of our bodies we can begin to despair, and that despair is what leads us to battle the world we live in.  The haters really see no further than the limits of their bodies, and while they talk of religion, it is its effect on their bodies that claims them most heavily.

I can let my spirit walk in strange places and and see things in symbols and images that touch other spirits, weaker, greater or the same as my own, and the more I let it walk those ways, the less I fear the greater spirits that it encounters. 

If my spirit can touch the spirit of one who calls themself enemy, the chance of fear for both of us is lessened or well met.  The one I name enemy is the one who cannot send their spirit out to meet my own.  They are the true enemies of all of us.

[Feather]

Hey Sita,

Didn't Krishna steal female clothes? I think that's nice. 

Why be religious/spiritual?

Well as a child I went to a Christian school, back at home we didn't do much with it though. We went to church on the important days but that was it. The good thing about religion is that is had given me a sense of justice and honesty. Jesus' message about prayer in public without heart is a simple but profound message to me. There is honesty and modesty in that message.

I used to be more of an agnostic but a couple of years ago I had some weird but blissful experiences. I could say it's just the brain but that doesn't make sense to me. I have also read NDEs and the things people describe I can somewhat relate to. I believe there is more than what meets the eye. Who or what God is, I don't know, but I believe there is a higher benevolent power. 

[Mohini]

Hey Sita,

Didn't Krishna steal female clothes? I think that's nice. 

Why be religious/spiritual?

Well as a child I went to a Christian school, back at home we didn't do much with it though. We went to church on the important days but that was it. The good thing about religion is that is had given me a sense of justice and honesty. Jesus' message about prayer in public without heart is a simple but profound message to me. There is honesty and modesty in that message.

I used to be more of an agnostic but a couple of years ago I had some weird but blissful experiences. I could say it's just the brain but that doesn't make sense to me. I have also read NDEs and the things people describe I can somewhat relate to. I believe there is more than what meets the eye. Who or what God is, I don't know, but I believe there is a higher benevolent power.

Hah, yes. In Hinduism, all the Pastimes have spiritual meanings, and not necessarily literal ones. God also incarnated as a Goddess named Mohini!

It's the reason why I call myself an agnostic theist... I know and believe that there is a God, but the exact nature of what That is, is still intangible. I totally agree with you in this higher benevolent power, and I think that this benevolence helps us live fuller selves every day.

[Jess42]

What or who is God? That is the question that all religions eventually try to answer. Is God specifically male or female? Me personally I would say the aspects of both genders but not in a physical meaning because God isn't neccisarily physical and can and does exist outside of the physical realm. I am a firm believer that texts are nothing more than man's perceptions of the Devine Creator and more or less a history of Spiritual perceptions. For example, in the old testement God was an angry God and vengeful. In the new testement due to the teachings of Christ our perceptions changed. Sadly though, way too many people read these texts as literal the way it should be and can't be any other way.

Hiduism, Buddhism and Christ's teachings, not specifically what we know of Christianity today, are supposed to be used as building blocks in order to build upon one another to cause a higher perception and understanding. I know it's hard to see unless you look at the big picture but 200 some odd years ago people were being drowned and hanged in Massachusetts because of witchcraft. That doesn't happen today. Throughout history, people were considered heretics if they went against the mainstream ideals and the church. Today you may be verbally persecuted but not killed. Anyway it will eventually get better. Everything that I have studied and looked into shows we are coming to an end one period and about to go into another.