has anyone else noticed how many contradicting views there are on spirituality

[jturk]

i ask questions & almost ever time, i get widely varying opinions. not religious, just spiritual. personally, im a very objective, analytical thinker, but im very curious to search & explore spirituality. i just dont know who exactly to listen to because there are such widely varying opinions out there.

has anyone else had this experience?

[Miss Hepburn]

I just heard Ram Dass say in a Youtube -There are many Paths to the top of the mountain - and funny, they all lead to the top.

And as the joke goes - The Baptists just think there's
the one Path that they took.
:smile:

[Moon Willow]

I totally agree jturk! That lead me to the belief that we all have a different spiritual path and now I just stay open to everyone's comments and only take on board what resonates with me at that time. I think, as long as you always come from a place of love that you can't go too wrong.

Short answer - listen to yourself (you're higher self that is)!

Moony :hug:

[Geometry]

I think the different views about spirituality come partly due to people being on different levels of spiritual development. Fear also causes people to view many spiritual matters incorrectly.

[Shantyaikya]

Also, different religions are made to suite a particular culture. Everything is correct in it's own way, even for the non-religious spiritual paths. Every individual has their own path to follow. Just go with what feels right to you.

[NightSpirit]

i ask questions & almost ever time, i get widely varying opinions. not religious, just spiritual. personally, im a very objective, analytical thinker, but im very curious to search & explore spirituality. i just dont know who exactly to listen to because there are such widely varying opinions out there.

has anyone else had this experience?

This problem not only pertains to spiritual matters...it happens in everything in life!
Personally, I feel its a good thing to observe differing opinions and beliefs...it keeps me from becoming closed-minded and offers me a new challenge to question my own beliefs...to broaden my field. It also gives me opportunity to chat more on any one thing in particular.
In the end, it is ME who decides what I wish to keep and what I throw into the 'spiritual trash bin'. You can only make your own choices jturk....it doesnt require you to take everything as true.

[Greenslade]

i ask questions & almost ever time, i get widely varying opinions. not religious, just spiritual. personally, im a very objective, analytical thinker, but im very curious to search & explore spirituality. i just dont know who exactly to listen to because there are such widely varying opinions out there.

has anyone else had this experience?

The problem is really with 'The Truth'. So many people think it's the Ultimate, the beginning and the end and the answer to Life, the Universe and everything. Actually, Douglas Adams is the only person that ever came up with the actual answer to that, and the answer is - 42. 42???? It's as good an answer as any when you don't really understand the question in the first place.

And therein lies the answer, jturk - so many opinions. Opinions. Everyone has their own story, and if you look behind the mask the stories aren't so different after all. It's just that some people build a house and a high wall around it, some are happier with a tent and their own two feet. The Truth is relative to your own perspective, find your own Truth.

[Sangress]

I've had that experience.

It's just because everyone has different perceptions, different kinds of spiritual awareness and different experiences to go with the perception and awareness.

You'll find certain groups of people naturally know and understand the same things from personal experience. (I'm a personal experience junkie.)

While other people just know things from what they have read or heard or thought or theorized or assumed....etc

It all depends on who you are, what you know (or think you know) and how and why you know it.

As for there being truth...heh. There is no truth.

Lies are just another derivative of truth, and truth is just another derivative of lies. It is all the same thing in the end.

Truth and lies are in the eyes and perceptions of the beholder.

[Xan]

jturk... Genuine spirituality is not about beliefs or opinions or points of view. It's about experiencing your spiritual nature, within yourself.

Meditation is the way.


Xan

[Gem]

i ask questions & almost ever time, i get widely varying opinions. not religious, just spiritual. personally, im a very objective, analytical thinker, but im very curious to search & explore spirituality. i just dont know who exactly to listen to because there are such widely varying opinions out there.

has anyone else had this experience?

I do listen and give consideration to people's point of view... but it isn't to believe them of become convinced by them, it's to understand them, what they mean.

I agree with Xan that practicing meditation is the best way, as it is not an inquiry looking for an answer, it's curiosity and exploration.

I like few spiritual writers but am fond of Jiddu Krisnamurti so I'll post a little something from him.

"So you will see how absurd is the whole structure that you have built, looking for external help, depending on others for your comfort, for your happiness, for your strength. These can only be found within yourselves." J. Krishnamurti

Always a grain of salt.

[eraser]

Don't be afraid to ask questions. Trust your judgement as to whether the answers you get feel right.

I feel as badly for those who try to believe in everything as I do for those who believe in nothing.

[Lostgirl]

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and their own beliefs. No matter where they come from or where they will be led its up to them.

Everyones veiws will differ as we are all "individual", it is how we express our views that counts. If more people accepted the fact that some people believe on thing, others believe something else, and non of those people believe what i do, then the world would be a much easier place to live.

[Perspective]

i ask questions & almost ever time, i get widely varying opinions. not religious, just spiritual. personally, im a very objective, analytical thinker, but im very curious to search & explore spirituality. i just dont know who exactly to listen to because there are such widely varying opinions out there.

has anyone else had this experience? This thread is a case in point! lol :D
A friend helped me see that truth is all perspectives...
so the more perspectives, the more truthful & the more truthful,
the better we can love... which is our purpose.

Still, I realize it can be overwhelming!
But as mentioned, think & feel concepts through - & you'll know, what resonates with you & what you need to apply in your life now.

[Moonglow]

Hello,

Just my take on spirituality.

The spiritual journey, to me, is that of living life. It at times can seem to be a lonely journey. But there is support all around, just pay attention and open to it.

All and all it is what one is seeking or feel is found with in oneself. If it works for you at this moment go with it, but realize it may not be the ultimate answer. It may just be a stepping stone that helps move one along.

If it does not work for one, then do the best to let it go and move on.

Don't worry about it. Everyone has there view point on it and opinion, but listen to what rings true to you (resonates).

There are times when I feel I am not being understood, but it is OK. Put out what you feel needs to be put out there and if one feels it is better to remain silent and step back, that's all right too.

There are no wrong path to take. I will just add the "golden" rule, do no harm to the self or others and I think one will do all right.

Be open to the movements and change that life presents.

Peace be with you.

[harley's mum]

HELLO JTURK AND FORUM...

THE NAME OF THE GAME...

"SELF-REALIZATION"...
I LIKE THE POST ABOUT THE TRIP TO THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN AND THERE IS A CRASS WAY OF ALSO SAYING IT..
"DIFFERENT STROKES FOR DIFFERENT FOLKS"..
THERE IS NO RIGHT WAY THERE IS NO WRONG WAY
THERE IS ONLY THE WAY...

AND TO GET THERE ADD "ENTHUSIASTIC PERSEVERANCE"
JUST KEEP BREATHING AND ENJOY YOUR JOURNEY

[Scibat]

When I say something on these forums, its just an opinion, nothing more. I don't pretend to know much about spiritual things, in fact I am myself searching for something that "fits" me. But I totally understand where the OP is coming from, there seems to be as many differing opinions about how things "Work" as there are people on these forums.

But I consider that a good thing -- It gives me different perspectives and varieties to study and learn from. Someday maybe something someone puts forth here will click with me and cause an epiphany or some sort of enlightenment which will ease all of my spiritual concerns.

Here's hoping. :cool:

[blackraven]

jturk - That's what makes this world great...all the different types of people that resides on it with all their different backgrounds and all their different spiritual beliefs. No 2 people are alike in any other way, so no 2 people will be exactly alike when it comes to spirituality or religious beliefs either. That's what I enjoy about this forum...you can come on here and enter a question and get a wide variety of input from various forum members and often get a good healthy debate going on as well. Even you yourself may have varying spiritual and/or religious beliefs that change over the years depending on your values and exposure to information you gather in your search for increased spiritual awareness and enlightenment. That's my 2 cents worth. :)

Blackraven

[harley's mum]

DIFFERENT IS GOOD...AS SAID BEFORE THERE ARE MANY PATHS IMAGINE HOW BORING THE WORLD WOULD BE IF EVERYBODY WAS ON THE SAME PATH IT WOULD BE LIKE A TRAFFIC JAM IN LOS ANGELES AND SOME OF US ARE ON THE "ACCELERATED LEARNING PATH" AND SOME OF US ARE TAKING THE LONG SLOW TWISTY TURNY SCENIC PATH...AND SOME DON'T EVEN KNOW THERE IS A PATH..!
THE REASON THE NAME OF THE GAME IS SELF-REALIZATION IS YOU HAVE TO FIGURE IT OUT FOR YOUR SELF...
THERE WILL BE NO MAGIC BUTTON NO MAGIC EPIPHANY
IT IS YOU AND YOU ALONE WHO WILL MAKE YOUR OWN MAGIC
FOLLOW YOUR OWN PATH AND FIND YOUR OWN ENLIGHTENMENT
SELF-REALIZATION...!

[Miss Hepburn]

Also, different religions are made to suite a particular culture. Everything is correct in it's own way, even for the non-religious spiritual paths. Every individual has their own path to follow. Just go with what feels right to you.

Yup, and different teachers or pastors serve different purposes.
For some the only thing that will bring them to "God" or living a "good" life - is the fear of hell ---so John Hagee.
Then people will come to God with positive uplifting talk -thus, Joel Osteen.
Then some want a psychedlic type experience - thus Ram Das and Tim Leary.
You get the picture - everyone needs what ever they need... logic from John Locke and Bertrand Russel or the examples of loving acts from Mother Theresa.

So many different flavors to suit all of us, eh?
:smile:

[Uma]

I love the adage, "There is nothing that God is not."

Think of a blade of grass.
An artists sees form, line, colour.
A cow sees food.
A farmer sees weeds.
A environmentalist sees forest degradation.
A microbiologist sees photosynthesis.
A basket weaver sees business opportunity.
A poor Ethiopian, a hut.
And so it goes, each one seeing from their little perspective...
Who is right, who is wrong?
Does it take a great collection of ideas to provide a greater answer - all of them combined, not just one?

But these are all just a cacophony of ideas in the storm cloud we call mind.
Spirituality is an EXPERIENCE! And it doesn't matter who has the experience,
once you drink water, your thirst will be quenched and you won't need to study all the properties of H2O.

[NightSpirit]

I love the adage, "There is nothing that God is not."

Think of a blade of grass.
An artists sees form, line, colour.
A cow sees food.
A farmer sees weeds.
A environmentalist sees forest degradation.
A microbiologist sees photosynthesis.
A basket weaver sees business opportunity.
A poor Ethiopian, a hut.
And so it goes, each one seeing from their little perspective...
Who is right, who is wrong?
Does it take a great collection of ideas to provide a greater answer - all of them combined, not just one?

But these are all just a cacophony of ideas in the storm cloud we call mind.
Spirituality is an EXPERIENCE! And it doesn't matter who has the experience,
once you drink water, your thirst will be quenched and you won't need to study all the properties of H2O.

Well said ........:D

[002 Cents]

i ask questions & almost ever time, i get widely varying opinions. not religious, just spiritual. personally, im a very objective, analytical thinker, but im very curious to search & explore spirituality. i just dont know who exactly to listen to because there are such widely varying opinions out there.

has anyone else had this experience?

I have been there.

Just take it all in. Let you mind chew on it for a while. Eventually you will sort it out.

[psychoslice]

The mind can never sort anything out, spiritual that is.:smile:

[Lovely]

There are many Paths to the top of the mountain - and funny, they all lead to the top.



That pretty much sums up what I was going to say :)

[harley's mum]

HELLO ALL...:hug3:
I HAVE COPIED AND PASTED THIS DEFINITION OF "SPIRITUALITY" FROM WIKEPEDIA
AS PERSONALLY FIND IT A GOOD ONE (definition)...

Whilst the terms spirituality and religion can both refer to the search for the Absolute or God, an increasing number of people have come to see the two as separate entities, religion being just one way in which humans can experience spirituality. Cultural historian and yogi William Irwin Thompson states, "Religion is not identical with spirituality; rather religion is the form spirituality takes in civilization." "Where religion ends, spirituality begins"-Babuji Maharaj.

Those who speak of spirituality outside of religion often define themselves as SBNR or "spiritual but not religious" and generally believe in the existence of many different "spiritual paths" - emphasizing the importance of finding one's own individual path to spirituality. According to one poll, some 24±4% of the United States population identifies itself as spiritual but not religious. One might say then, that a key difference is that religion is a type of formal external search, while spirituality is defined as a search within oneself. Spirituality defined in this sense is perfectly compatible with skepticism about the supernatural. One might also say that spirituality is the path itself, rather than the goal: the attitude and the way a person chooses to live rather than a goal they must reach.

The experience of 'spirituality'; the human emotions of awe, wonder and reverence, are also the province of the secular/scientific, in response to their highest values, or when observing or studying nature, or the universe.