Quote:
Originally Posted by pokilty  I think what bothers me is that there's only one place I see this "believe then see" ideology appear in the world -- and that's religion. Almost every religion operates by letting you know that God doesn't work for you unless you believe in him first. Now, I'm a strong atheist and I've seen many ways in which following organized religion can be disempowering. |
As an "atheist" myself (there we are again with the labels!
) who has faced this same crossroads... "ok so I've been spending years learning why it's so important to think for myself and trust only my observations, now I'm studying something else that says I should go back to the old ways of the religion I left behind. I've gone wack-o"....
.... I'll just point out some differences between LOA and RELIGION, as I see it.
LOA is not something that only works if you believe it. It's always on, always working, for everyone. Just like water makes us all wet "good" and "bad" alike, all people get wet in water. There is no judgement or requirement to experience getting soaked in the rain.
What many of us have experienced, is that as we tend to hold the notion that perhaps our thoughts are influencing reality, is that we get more and more evidence to support that. The stronger the belief, the more things seem to happen. I have a feeling most here would suggest that it was the belief that we DIDN'T create our reality, that caused us to not see any connection, between our thoughts and reality.
These are our own, personal experiences. They mean something to us. No one is telling us what our experiences are, and no one can take away from them. There is nothing to sign up for. No moral position to be taken. No right and wrong, use it as you will. It's your choice.
What you have on this board is many people (like myself) who are just fascinated by life and how the universe works, and have had the experience that the more we study those types of subjects, the more of a connection we can feel between ourselves and the universe "out there". It just sort of happens.
All I can say is there is no shame in opening yourself to a new way of looking at life. You are under no obligation to any previous self belief, or set of standards you may have felt you were supposed to follow. This is your life and you have the RIGHT to change your mind at any point. No one is watching, or judging, or keeping score. There are NO RULES to this game. Only strategies we can share with each other. At the end of the day, the only "way" is the one that makes sense and resonates with YOU.
What I'm saying is, if it happens, you'll know.
Life is an experiment. Enjoy it.