Beliefs…Can Bring Comfort Or Despair .

[Anatta]

Dear "Kia Ora,"

This link gives a more realitc view

http://www.myjewishlearning.com/beliefs/Theology/Afterlife_and_Messiah/Life_After_Death/Heaven_and_Hell.shtml?p=1

Kia Ora Peky,

That's quite interesting...Thanks

Metta Zenda

[Anatta]

We messed it up, why should she clean it up? 

Kia Ora Kkut,

That's what Mothers are for aren't they....Ie clearing up after their children

Metta Zenda

[barbie]

Another example: A Moslem has a Christian friend who dies, according to other Christians this person's soul [if one believes in a soul ] will go to the Christian heaven, but according to the Moslem friend they will go where 'all' the non Muslims go...And visa versa if the Moslem friend dies etc, etc...

What I'm getting at is, when another person dies, they will end up going to a place according to what other people 'believe'  and nobody can prove anything different to counter their belief...

I also have been spiritual, seeking the ultimate meaning of my life. Since childhood, I have learned Judo-christianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, and New Age. Also, as my grandmother on my mother's side was a shaman, my spiritual belief has been based on shamanism. There are still many shamans in S. Korea. Recently I was indulged in Korean traditional religions.

My belief is that, whatever you call, the God is the same. There have been various names to denote the Oneness, depending on culture, religion and time, but it is the one, anyway. It is childish to discriminate other people, simply because the concept and name of their god is a little bit different. It is like 'sun' in English, Sonne in German, '太陽' in Japanese, and soleil in French. They are the same sun, whatever you call it. In the case of Middle East, people tended to believe in a linear progress (e.g., the present world vs. Heaven); whereas people based on agriculture tended to believe in a cyclic world (e.g., reincarnation).

Nowadays, owing to the dazzling development of communication and transportation, people in the world become more connected and unified in their spiritual beliefs. In this changing world, closed mind and dogma will always conflict with other people and other religion, causing more instability and misery around the world.

Love and forgiveness is the universal virtue of our spiritual life, but doing it is not easy. The world is becoming bigger and more complex. I think we may need a new level of religion or teaching to accommodate all cultures and religions in the world.

barbie~~

[Jess42]

Kuan Yin, to answer the original question. I was going to get around to it but wrote all the stuff to kind of give you my background of beliefs instead of just providing the answer.

My beliefs cause me despair because I have no support groups in the way of churches when it comes to Spiritual lows. When life gets hard or a traumatic event happens in one's life, a lot of people have the ability to go to church, talk to their pastor, preist, preacher or other head of their religion for comfort and or reinforcement of their beliefs. I don't have that option. I usually have to meditate longer, think harder or research more for answers.

On the other hand these same lonely beliefs have brought me comfort in that there is something beyond the material world, a somewhat understanding of the words infinity and eternity. It has allowed me to see others as not just walking talking sacks of meat with a skeletal structure but other uniques Spirits on their own paths. It allows me not to be judgemental of others. It allows me to see how life, no matter how insignificant it may seem such as a common housefly, is is an important equation even to ourselves. I won't kill another animal other than for food and self preservation. In either case I am very respectful because I understand that it was a life too. I even take spiders out of the house and put them in bushes instead of just squashing them. Same with mice but take them farther into woodsy areas. I also take comfort in believing that Spirituality is something that can't be comprehended with our limited brains which limits our minds at this time on our evolutionary ladder. I take comfort that , to me anyway, there seems to it than the commonly percepted principles that we have available to us at this time in our history. And provides me hope that eventually mankind will understand Spirituality whether I am here or not.

[Anatta]

Kia Ora,

And thank you all for sharing your interesting beliefs...It's truly amazing how the brain works and what's lurking in the mind's eye...

"There's more to life than what meets the eye !"

And while we are on the subject please feel free to participate in a little poll I set up on "Telephone Telepathy"

https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,142494.msg1160176/topicseen.html#msg1160176

Metta Zenda