A
female
age
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anonymous
writes:I'm not a religious person , but I wish I would be.I'm suffering a lot in this life,Right now just staring a painful divorce, but there is death and accident, sickness, and all..Years ago , none stop. So ,actually I wish if I could be explain this to myself ,that it was some higher power's plan and eventually, I will be ok, because,things will turn out ok at the end, or I got all this because of my Karma.My husband let me down real bad, and my son is into drugs.Yet I did so many good things , and i live a very honest and healthy life.So, I didn't deserve this.I have hard time to figure out how to deal with pain and hopelessness, without faith?I wish , I could beleieve in something ,but i can't.I always try hard to come out from bad places, it is just harder without hope.Is religion was invented to ease suffering?Please help me if you know how to deal with this.,
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Fancy yourself as an agony aunt? Add your answer to this question! A
reader, anonymous, writes (6 August 2009): Now to answer your question directly...
++I'm suffering a lot in this life++
If you really need to, you can drape a blanket of illusions over yourself and give you the external 'comfort' of a god(s) or goddess(es). Christianity is one of the most comfortable religions on the planet to get into because you are guaranteed a vast network of communities that work towards a common goal, with the help of kind and helpful leaders, pastors and peers. Even if you find one community does not work for you, there is bound to be another that will.
If you find that there are contradictions in any of its scriptures, it can always be re-interpreted and re-justified because unfortunately, scripture is often unclear and do contradict itself from verse to verse, from history to history, from pastor to pastor.
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On the other hand, you can find refuge in Buddhism. However, know there are four major 'sects' of Buddhism. Pureland Buddhism which is structured around gods and deities which extends to folk religion, Zen Buddhism which is much more closely aligned with the original ideal of Siddhartha Gautama of achieving inner peace and becoming one with the universe, Taoism which has a strict series of laws that govern what you should and should not do (much like Catholicism) and then the off-shoots like Shintoism which is similar to Pureland Buddhism with many rituals and events.
The core ideals of Buddhism rests in attaining balance and inner peace, ridding excess and exercising the extension of oneself towards others, creating an unified mind frame without the nuisance of unnecessary social agendas.
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You can also try other even more ancient religions that go beyond Christianity, Judaism, Islam and even Buddhism like Hinduism, Pagan 'religion' like those in the New World or those in Greece and Italy.
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Ultimately, religion isn't always the best answer to your problems. Often, it's just a matter of knowing how to get out of your problems, fixing them and/or making compromises that balance out your happiness and what is reasonable.
Friendship - good, close friendships also plays a large role.
Knowledge - expanding one's mind to incorporate what the world has to offer allows you some mental comfort.
Perception - having the ability to think critically, receive experiences and then filter in the substance allows you to see past the thick blackness that always dull out your senses.
Awareness - acknowledging that you are greater than everything. You are the center of your universe. All that is around you are 'secondary' and under the metaphor of being 'under your creation' through representation and interpretation.
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namaste
A
reader, anonymous, writes (6 August 2009): Religion was 'invented' to redirect people to its own ideals. Whether those ideals were initially meant to control people from behind the curtains or not, we will never truly know, as most core religions were created beyond the technology of mass coverage media - eg: video cameras, internet, international and national newspapers.
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If you cannot find solace in religion, then find it in philosophy and meditation. It is unfortunate, you live so far from me, else, I would help you recognize that you are capable of ascending beyond the problems you have and is facing.
One of the things I realized, growing up, experiencing different facets of life and the world, is that the few people in the world that can connect with you mentally, emotionally and/or spiritually (not religiously) can be quite inspiring and through that inspiration, reinvigorate yourself.
Those that believe in a god or goddess entity will ask/tell you to align yourself to their ideals, then 'look into your heart and soul' for the deity that 'calls out to you'. Unfortunately, whatever and whoever this deity is can simply be just your own explicit desires telling you emotionally and mentally on what you really want, re-interpreted into a 'symbol', which more often than not, is taken very literally - eg: Jesus Christ, Buddha, Dalai Lamas, Guan Yu, etc.
Many religious people take some deities such as Jesus as an immortal being sent down by a creator or is the avatar of the creator itself. Some religious people take that same character, Jesus as a wise empathetic human man and believe the bible as volumes of parables.
The thing with Christianity and its many denominations is that it is a relatively easy religion to get into. The 'problem' however is the vast number of interpretations rather than having one absolute 'truth'.
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Religion like this gives humans the 'comfort' in 'knowing' that there is a caretaker for everything and that everything will be fine at the end of our lives, so long as we follow its basic laws.
However, religion like this does not work for everyone. As we delve into other religions like Buddhism, you will find that the personal definition of spirituality extends beyond just "creation and being taken care of".
For example, in Pureland Buddhism, you have the many different gods and goddesses that represent an aspect of life, existence, death, rebirth, etc. Much like Shintoism, which is an off-shoot of Pureland Buddhism in Japan, each aspect of yourself - sight, eyes, tough, skin, hair, movement, coughing, etc, etc, etc - are all represented by a deity/god/goddess. This sort of religion works better for some people more than religion like Christianity or Islam, as there is something for everything, instead of one thing for everything.
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Then there is spirituality without the labels. The universe is your 'god'. The world is your 'heaven and hell'. All that you do, see and interact with is your 'bible' or your 'mantra'. You transcend religious law. You transcend the words of an invisible being. You transcend your entire being beyond that of society itself. You become aware of everything. You will grow to know yourself. Know every aspect of yourself and how you fit into this world. You will see layers, connections and the infinite gears that drive this environment you live in.
In some ways, it's like achieving nirvana, but the difference being, you're spiritual with yourself and the universe. You are you.
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A
male
reader, anonymous, writes (6 August 2009): The idea that religion is the source of morality and the only escape from pain is a myth. Obviously because of your listed country being an atheist or agnostic is difficult but the only way you can overcome your problems is to take a hold of your life. Things happen and you just have to make the most of them, this is one of them.
In short: Seeking religion will not solve your problems only distract you from them and make you poorer for it.
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