What is my faith called?

I am christened a Roman Catholic but I think that my beliefs and morals could resonate with aspects of other faiths. I'm proud of the religion I grew up with but tend to view my faith/beliefs from a more Spiritualist point of view and I can relate to a lot of the values of Paganism and other faiths, especially on the subject of nature... So basically, I just view my faith as being another part in the big complex jigsaw that makes me, along with my likes, dislikes, interests, hobbies, etc. I don't feel the need to put a label on myself because of any of those so why should I label myself based on my spiritual beliefs?

You are just you - there's no pressure to feel like you belong to any set of beliefs :)

i was raised a baptist and my mother was a big believer of the bible so i repsect that and have an awesome picture of jesus in my home and a few crosses , later in life i learned about dakota traditions and i practic some daily,now my recent path has lead me to learn wiccan healing and protections spells and candle magic.

i'm the same way, i believe in the possibility of god, but also have a deep scientific urning to explain things. im not an athiest, but definately not religious. buddism is very appealing though. maybe im just a hybrid?

Buddha was not a buddhist, Jesus was not a Christian, they probably took the name of the culture they were born to, Jesus probably considered himself a hebrew while buddha may have considered himself a hindu atleast to some extent on both. Christianity was only formed afterwards and was just used to classify a group of people. The truth of the matter is all religions are a spiritual path to enlightenment and that is exactly how i see them, i dont see them by their labels as many would. I beleive that you are who you are, you are a living breathing spiritual and physical being and i believe that's enough. Why do we need to keep dividing ourself? Chrisitan against muslim, muslim against jew and so on and so forth. It's pointless and wastefull. WE are one people, one nation, The human nation, we are of one belief, the path to righteous truth, even if we do not know it nor does our religion show it in the fullness of the truth it matters not. The truth is the truth and God, life, Qi whatever you call it, doesn't demand, it suggests lol (metaphorically speaking of course).

nive reply caretaker, i agree with you and its good to be reminded of what you say about budda and christ..

i was lately also thinking my believe may just be me' (stein).

x

Originally Posted by Wyrdsmith

In my opinion, labels can limit how you grow and develop and see yourself. They help others, perhaps, to understand us, or is that just to pigeon-hole us so we fit into an easily recognisable stereotype. I just think we should be true to who we are, recognise what works for us, and be prepared to change as our understanding grows and develops.

As to my path ... it just is, I combine things that work for me and help me to feel I'm moving forward.

Why do you feel that a label could in any way hamper your spiritual growth?

If growth is gonna happen, it's gonna happen..... So many seem afraid to be seen as a 'this' or a 'that' but maybe that's because they don't know themselves what they are or where they're going?

Their uncertainties which are the problem, not labels....

Our spiritual beliefs need not have a name. Take from any belief what works, & pass on what doesn’t.

Originally Posted by mattie

Our spiritual beliefs need not have a name. Take from any belief what works, & pass on what doesn’t.

They may not need a name but neither can one cause any harm.....

Beliefs I leave to believers. If there isn't the evidence to demonstrate something, then I leave it alone until there is.

That's the promise of Spiritualism, the forum in which you're writing incidentally. Modern Spiritualism provides evidence of all it teaches - and using a label or name makes not the slightest difference.

Originally Posted by mac

They may not need a name but neither can one cause any harm.....
...

I have no issue w/ using whatever labels apply. I’m not label adverse. Labels are not stereotyping or inherently confining (One chooses the confining state.). Labels are just useful names that we give to things that would take many more words to describe. Very handy.

There was an interesting post recently by someone who IDed their beliefs as pantheism & another term (label) that I don't recall but also agreed w/ & so stated. These ‘labels’ can be useful in defining thing that would take many paragraphs w/ a single word. The only issue w/ this is if we use the parameters of this as boundaries that we are not willing to peek (or boldly stride) past. This is a personal growth issue & not a problem w/ the words though.

The point I was making is to have the freedom & flexibility to take what works from any religion or belief system & reject what don’t make sense for us (or resonate). Many are finding that there is no spiritual belief system or religion w/ which they completely agree.

Having this flexibility also means that we can develop ideas that aren’t existent in any of the belief systems. OH MY!!! The havoc that will ensue when we stride boldly into major paradigm change. LOL. Yes, we can even develop ideas that haven’t surfaced anywhere. Many have done this as they’ve contemplated some popular spiritual ideas, both of organized religion & nonorganized spirituality, finding that these just didn’t sit well w/ them & have the ring of authenticity & TRUSTed their own assessment & wisdom.

Originally Posted by mattie

I have no issue w/ using whatever labels apply. I’m not label adverse. Labels are not stereotyping or inherently confining (One chooses the confining state.). Labels are just useful names that we give to things that would take many more words to describe. Very handy.

There was an interesting post recently by someone who IDed their beliefs as pantheism & another term (label) that I don't recall but also agreed w/ & so stated. These ‘labels’ can be useful in defining thing that would take many paragraphs w/ a single word. The only issue w/ this is if we use the parameters of this as boundaries that we are not willing to peek (or boldly stride) past. This is a personal growth issue & not a problem w/ the words though.

The point I was making is to have the freedom & flexibility to take what works from any religion or belief system & reject what don’t make sense for us (or resonate). Many are finding that there is no spiritual belief system or religion w/ which they completely agree.

Having this flexibility also means that we can develop ideas that aren’t existent in any of the belief systems. OH MY!!! The havoc that will ensue when we stride boldly into major paradigm change. LOL. Yes, we can even develop ideas that haven’t surfaced anywhere. Many have done this as they’ve contemplated some popular spiritual ideas, both of organized religion & nonorganized spirituality, finding that these just didn’t sit well w/ them & have the ring of authenticity & TRUSTed their own assessment & wisdom.

fair points

I'm not confident about a "major paradigm change" being on any visible horizon though. I'm not seeing anything more than fanciful thinking and unauthenticated personal beliefs on the forum boards although I accept they may not be representative of the general picture.....

Given, though, the near-insatiable appetite for folks to talk about themselves, I'd have expected to see something substantive if any new spiritual awakening is imminent.

We'll see......