It may appear peculiar that I am quoting an excerpt of a horror novella. However, it caught my attention since it defines so well how I think. Am I a believer? Yes, 100%. Am I religious? Not at all. As I stated in my book, I’m Free, I don’t say religions are all bad. Their teachings can be the entrance to a world in which we get to know that there is more around us than we see, and more to feel than we can touch. Through religion, one gets inspired and has something to hold on to when going through hardships, and a community that shares the same belief, which can be powerfully encouraging and comforting.

However, for me, it can only be an introduction to something we have to explore for ourselves to remember where we come from and who we are. Because at one point, there are too many rules telling you who you have to be and what you have to do to reach heaven. First of all, I am thinking of the catholic church. I don’t want to go into detail with everything they managed to sweep under a “holy rug”. There is too little room for the individual to develop, but a lot of potential to be a sinner. I don’t believe in many things they teach, especially not that we have only one lifetime and then go to heaven, hell, or purgatory – at least not in the way it has been conveyed to me. I don’t believe in a punishing God who plans our lives and decides freely about our destinies. And that is the point: I don’t believe that. Others do, and that’s ok. In contrast, I feel a lot of attraction to Buddhism. I cannot accept everything about that religion either, but I feel so comfortable, free, and accepted for who I am and my journey to awareness.

In earlier times, religions had a completely different status. People were persecuted and killed (or at least despised), and they were put under mental pressure. (Unfortunately, this is still the case with some radical creeds, which, however, no longer have anything to do with the original religion.) I dare say that people today think more, question more, and dare to think “differently” or be more true to themselves – even if it goes against “the creed.”

There are so many aspects of different religions that I can accept completely or partially, and at the same time, there are many things that I cannot identify with at all. I am convinced that I am not the only one who feels this way. And that is precisely why I think religions restrict us at a certain point in our lives. Many different ideas arise from many different destinies and the individual paths that must be taken to reach those individual goals. It is not a sin to hold a different belief. It is not a sin to question what we are told. Not going to church is not a sin.

I don’t think it matters what we believe, but that we believe in something that gives us comfort, strength, inspiration, makes us see our value, and through which we want to be kind and respectful. At least, I think so.

Just one thing is for certain:
God did not invent religions – men did.

In Love and Light