Spirituality, Religion, or other means to calm the soul or motivate it. Is it required at all?

Why do people use it? Perhaps insecurities? Perhaps to motivate? Perhaps to live better?

Why do some need it more then others?

What is your output on the matter?

When the world seems dark, and the end is nigh....(again )

Who are you going to blame?

It's so handy to have a default figure.


There's also the 'ingroup' ...'outgroup' mentality that sits amongst almost every human being...and ties in with the herding instinct of the human animal.

Us or them....separation...elevation...pecking order.

it all ties in to the common psyche of humans.

Of course this is a generalisation...and there are the rare few over our history that don't succumb to any of it....or develop a capacity to overcome it.


We will do everything we possibly can to avoid pain...it's a natural instinct....we humans just require this answer for everything...no stone unturned...and will distance ourselves by using a figurehead, or a collective of 'others' to hold accountable.


I don't know if I am making sense to others here..

I know what I am attempting to share..

This makes alot of sense to me and thank you for sharing.

I grew up in the bush, and didnt have a lot of communition with heaps of people.
So as a child i would dissapear for hours with my dog and a motorbike and just daydream,
I guess i still live the same, I can quiet easily escape in my own little worlds..
And yep I do find peace and safety in believing inGod.
Why I am not sure, It is just knowing that he is there. I never doubt that and have never felt alone in my life.
Although I have to say that i feel the same safety when i am in my mans arms,
Knowing that god is there gives me comfort and makes it easy to believe that everything is Ok.
But in my mans arms, I know that everything is Ok as well, and that I am safe , I dont ever worry.

So perhaps I just need the comfort of knowing that someone loves me and is there. That I dont have to do it alone.

Really I have no idea, and I dont really mind what the reason is it works for me

I think religion and spirituality are only as 'necessary' as any other emotion

love, anger, empathy, in theory none (by themself) is an absoltue necessity but they certainly give us the internal resource with which to adapt to and commune with others,,

These are quite interesting questions. I personally don't treat spirituality any differently from how I treat anything else.

For example, for the bulk of my life I was passionately drawn to the studying the sciences, mathematics and philosophical thinking.

Why did I do this? Well let's try your questions out on this concept.

Was it because I was insecure with ignorance?

I don't think so. I think I was just curious and enjoyed learning things and solving puzzles. One thing about science, math and philosophy is that you can build ideas that fit together like the pieces of a puzzle and there's a degree of satisfaction in that. A satisfaction of accomplishment. Having accomplished a better understand of the mysteries of the world I live in.

Because I found it motivating?

That's possibly true. With every problem I solved a new and more interesting problem would emerge and then I'd be motivated to work on that one until I either solve it or understand it. So this quest never became dull or uninteresting it remains forever challenging.

Because I thought it might help me live better?

I don't think that was my reason at all. There were enough scientists and engineers in this world that have already learned how to use science and technology to help me live better. I could just as easily lay back and take a free ride on their accomplishments. In fact, in a technological I do that anyway. For example, even though I understand how a computer works, and how all the complex electronic parts work inside of it, having that knowledge alone would not enable me to actually physically build a computer from scratch using only raw materials in nature. So even though I have the understanding of how it works, I still need to take the free ride of other scientists and laborers if I want to actually use a computer. Same could be said of just about every appliance and tool I own.

So studying science doesn't help me live better. But the fact that someone else had studied science before me certainly does.

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Music

More recently I've become interesting in learning to play music on many different instruments. I could apply the same questions that you ask to that endeavor as well. But the quickest response would be to simply say that I do it because I enjoy doing it. That's really the major driving motivation behind it.

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Spirituality

Now with the insight of how I answer your questions for most things in life, I'm in a better position to answer them concerning spirituality.

Perhaps insecurities?

I don't think so. Even if I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the true nature of reality is nonspiritual and we're just going to cease to exist at death I think I'd still enjoy pretending that spirituality exists. It's just a romantic notion for me, especially considering the spiritual philosophies and paradigms that I use.

Whether spirituality is true or not is basically irrelevant. It's still a romantic dream. And dreaming is FUN. At least for me it is. Dreaming is also a part of my reality I'm actually capable of dreaming. This is something that is possible and it's enjoyable for me, so why throw it away?

What would be the point in tossing away something that I'm capable of doing just because some people say that it's "not real"? Even if the spiritual essence of the world is not real, my dreams are still real.

But I certainly wouldn't demand that anyone else dream "my dreams". They should dream their own dreams.

Perhaps to motivate?

I do obtain motivation from my spiritual practices and rituals. I also believe that I have better health because of it as well. And that could potentially even be explained in purely secular terms if one wishes to do so. So in that sense it's a real and valid form of physical and mental therapy.

In fact, I would even be pleased if other people would accept it on that extremely pragmatic grounds. Just think of my spiritual rituals as someone going to the gym, or becoming a vegetarian, or whatever a person might do to improve their health in general.

Perhaps to live better?

Well, if my spiritual practices improve my health and make me happy then clearly I'm living better than I would be living with poor health and being unhappy.

Could I have found a purely secular way to accomplish the same results? I imagine that's possible. But would it be as romantic and as exciting? Maybe so, and maybe not. I'd have to hear a proposal of a particular secular paradigm or model to follow before I could assess that.

In other words, we're basically talking about "religion" here.

Religion

Think of "religion" simply anything you do with "religious" conviction. (i.e. She's religiously walks her dog every morning at 6:00 am)

It simply means to do something with conviction and repeatedly.

For example, a secular atheist might religiously go to the gym three nights a week to work out, or go religiously go jogging, or religiously avoid eating meat. These are all things a person does with conviction and dedicated consistency. But I personally am not attracted to those particular things. That's a "boring religion" for me.

I'd rather use the ritual, mental affirmations, and dedications to my spiritual dream to accomplish the same physical and mental well-being.

It's just a different means to a similar end.

So for me, spirituality is basically, Romantic, Fun, and Productive in terms of both physical and mental health.

And I confess to being a "Romantic". I don't deny that in the least.

Perhaps to a non-romantic thinker my approach to existence may seem alien to them. But just swap vantage points and their approach to existence appears to be just as alien to me.

So for me spirituality = romance.

And surely no sane human being would ask another human being to reject romance in favor of being mundane?

I guess at heart I'm a poet, an artist, a dreamer, a visionary, and a romantic. And that's what I like to be.

Like I say, we have the ability to DREAM and so dreaming is a very real part of our reality. Why reject it by claiming that it's "not real". How can it not be "real" if it is indeed a part of our reality?

I experience my dreams. That makes them REAL for me.

So even if spirituality is "nothing but a dream", then it's still real because dreams are real.

Well sir you surely dissected this to have very good answers.

Spirituality or religion is for some as real as they come. Some use fear as they say they fear God. I see it on many profiles such as " I am a God fearing woman" seeking the same.

Others use spirituality or religion to improve their lives in a positive way.

Some don't use it at all. I known many like this in the Army.

Whatever the reasons some even use it for they feel insecure if they don't use it at all. It is like that teddy bear animal they use to cuddle with as a child. It is a must for them to talk to God all the time.

and then we have some who use religion or spirituality for it gives a better feeling in nature while we live on this planet. I think you use this to keep you comfortable in life. There surely is nothing wrong with dreaming. I think the most brilliant minds in the world had to use somekind of imagination to achieve what they did. Why not use spirituality or religion....it can open up doors also.

Thank you for sharing your analyzes on the questions sir. It was enlightening.

Thank you , finally someone else who can dream. I thought it was just me

I don't know why some people might need it more than others. Growth perhaps.

Life without hope and purpose seems rather depressing.

One of my first questions when I was a child as I looked up into the sky was: "How high is the sky?"

I wanted to know what was out there, where it came from, where it ended and where it began.

I found spirituality in some of my darkest moments when I felt the presence of a larger and wiser being.

hey, a dream describes it all quite well.

Life is but a dream my friend.