spiritually lost

[dreamer]

I am going to make this as short as possible, because if I don't, it will drag on way to long. after learning what I have, about Christianity ( the religion I used to claim) , and all these other paths of spirituality, which are so many I can't name, where is one to go? I am so lost, I want to believe in something, but what? I want to teach my children to be spiritually fulfilled, but how? I feel like I got duped with Christianity, and I'm on guard towards anything else, like I don't want to choose the wrong one..... I am stumbling in the dark. where do I go?

[Amzer Zo]

Posted by dreamer (here)
[...]
... I want to believe in something, but what?

[...]

... I'm on guard towards anything else, like I don't want to choose the wrong one..... I am stumbling in the dark. where do I go?

There is only one answer to that and that is : YOU!

YOU as a spirit and the many ways to discover yourself as such.

Cheers!

[Wind]

Just follow your heart.

[dreamer]

I'm not looking for an instruction manual to enlightenment, I just...... well, I dunno. I guess that's it, I just don't know.

[we-R-one]

Why do you have to "be" anything? You are beautiful as you are- that is the message you can teach to your children. Classifications, especially in religion, seem to merely divide us IMO. You can still believe in God, just drop the name identification, just "be" you.

[Wind]

Posted by Amzer Zo (here)

There is only one answer to that and that is : YOU!

YOU as a spirit and the many ways to discover yourself as such.

Cheers!

Posted by we-R-one (here)
Why do you have to "be" anything? You are beautiful as you are- that is the message you can teach to your children. Classifications, especially in religion, seem to merely divide us IMO. You can still believe in God, just drop the name identification, just "be" you.

I thought that this song would be fitting.

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-FcdCyEuwU

[GarethBKK]

The fundamental beliefs of all religions are the same. The message is entirely coherent if you ignore the falsifications applied by religious institutions - any of them. We are all connected to the source within ourselves. If you see God not as an interventionist but the creator, with only love and compassion for all created, your Christian knowledge will serve you well. There are many threads on this forum that reject the church but uphold the Bible and Christian values. I have never had a religion, but say the prayer of St Francis daily. I also read the Quran, Bible and Vedas regularly.

[another bob]

Posted by dreamer (here)
I am going to make this as short as possible, because if I don't, it will drag on way to long. after learning what I have, about Christianity ( the religion I used to claim) , and all these other paths of spirituality, which are so many I can't name, where is one to go? I am so lost, I want to believe in something, but what?

Greetings, Friend!

Let's say you take a little vacation from beliefs for awhile. What happens? Well, you still have to get up in the morning, right, and feed yourself, and probably you need to feed your family too, which means you go to work, do your job as best as it can be done, and then you come home and hang out with your family. What you don't need in the midst of this experience called "human life" is greed, envy, hatred, dishonesty, resentment, or arrogance. You can do just fine without them, and in fact, by doing so, you would start to notice that a kind of humble sense of integrity begins to infiltrate your being from the inside out. Just let it. All that means is that you are living with sincerity and honor. This has nothing to do with belief. You don't have to ponder second-hand opinions on what is "spiritual". That's usually a big head trap, and it's best to skip it.
What you'll also notice, if you pay attention, is that the genuine integrity that has come to characterize your life is "spiritual enough", and if the time comes when you need more, whatever that is will naturally appear. That's what happens when you live with integrity -- the universe appreciates the gesture, and responds accordingly. Don't take my word for it -- find out for yourself. It's not at all complicated. What's complicated is spiritual pretense, and games of belief. Who needs them, when you've had the real thing all along?

[we-R-one]

Maybe I can offer additional insight ....like many of us, you're probably experiencing a spiritual awakening. You could be struggling because you have always identified yourself as being "something" as that was a conditioned expectation that many of us were drawn into because it was considered socially acceptable. Seeing the fraud behind what you once thought was a safe haven is the equivalent to having someone rip your clothes off and make you stand in public exposed naked for all to see. Basically you feel a sense of insecurity because the world you thought existed, you are now coming to find out, isn't set up for the reasons you had once believed. As you transform, you'll find that you may shift your set of beliefs as new truths come forward, but until that happens you feel lost and uncomfortable.

Could I possibly interject an idea for you? Could it be that you aren't lost, but rather on the threshold of discovering that really what you are experiencing is freedom and that you just haven't recognized it as such?

Make 'heart-centered' choices from this point forward and I think you will be a-okay no matter what path you choose; and don't be afraid to walk your own path which may stray away from the masses. You can't make a mistake as you are perfect all ready in every means.

I hope I'm not off base- my apologies in advance if I am- just merely trying to share what I have learned.

[delfine]

Posted by dreamer (here)
I am going to make this as short as possible, because if I don't, it will drag on way to long. after learning what I have, about Christianity ( the religion I used to claim) , and all these other paths of spirituality, which are so many I can't name, where is one to go? I am so lost, I want to believe in something, but what? I want to teach my children to be spiritually fulfilled, but how? I feel like I got duped with Christianity, and I'm on guard towards anything else, like I don't want to choose the wrong one..... I am stumbling in the dark. where do I go?

Nobody can tell you which way to choose. Only you can. You only have yourself and your own gut-feeling to rely on in these matters. I can only say keep searching, if you are driven by a desire to know truth/God. Study different paths, listen to different teachers, and pick the one that resonates with you the most.
Btw spirituality is not about "betting on the right horse", or having the right beliefs . It´s about you finding yourself.Religions and paths are ultimately means to an end; leading you from faith to knowledge, from being limited to the limitless. Choose the path, that leads you to greater realization and freedom.
If you want some inspiration, I suggest batgap.com.
Good luck..

[wynderer]

hi Dreamer --

from we-R-one's post:

'Could I possibly interject an idea for you? Could it be that you aren't lost, but rather on the threshold of discovering that really what you are experiencing is freedom and that you just haven't recognized it as such?'

i went thru that time of the bottom falling out of all the belief systems i was standing on -- it's not pleasant, but i think we-R-one describes what is really going on in you

lots of good suggestions from others here for you

[westhill]

Morning Dreamer...
wynderer just said beautifully what what I was going to say.
I just got done reading Herman Hesse's Siddhartha.
Consider yourself lucky that you can question like this.
You haven't lost anything you didn't need to begin with.

[peterpam]

another Bob, I came on this thread to give my 2 cents worth and was moved by your commonsense recipe for a life well lived.....I don't think there is any more that I can say...and certainly I will not say it any better...thankyou

[Karunai]

I don't know if it has to do with this, but I felt it has something related to it lol. Your post reminded me of this thread and this one. I bet there are many more.

You know... you are not really 'lost'. You are already a spiritual being. Perhaps what you need is a catalyst to express your infinite spiritual Nature. What you need to have always present is that you just don't need 'a' catalyst, 'cause all around you and in you, are already expressions of It. You don't need to 'believe' in something, perhaps your mind is the one who needs that clutch, which is ok but it's just your mind who 'forgot' its own nature; be an all time explorer and never get stuck in anything. You just need to feel It. Like Starseed said, "Just follow your heart".

What do you feel when you see your children?. Love. "Just follow your heart".

I want to teach my children to be spiritually fulfilled, but how?

Loving them, and empathy.

Our heart is our compass in this Cosmic Journey.

[pie'n'eal]

Please excuse me for saying this, but I do not think you are spiritually lost, just spiritually obscured...like the rest of us! We all have this conceptual fog in the mind which confuses us.

Our spiritual being (that which is aware of the mind saying, it is spiritually lost) is not lost.
It's just there, noting the confusion of the conceptual mind.

It's like someone riding from village to village asking, “Where is my donkey?”
….a simple old woman, looks up and says, “You are already sitting on it.”

Of course this is easier said than done. It's easy to say, “Just be you”. But what is that?
You are not your thoughts, but that which is aware of those thoughts.
There are many methods to help us, which one we find suitable will depend on our temperament.

We gradually peel away the layers of obscuration to find the 'donkey'.

What we think we know now, and what we will know in 500 years will be more refined.
So anything we think we know now, we needn't be held onto, too tightly!

When you do find the 'donkey'...let it go!

[seeker1972]

Sounds a lot like what I went through. I reached a point where I was convinced that there was more to all of this than traditional Christian teaching can explain. But does that really make you an ex-Christian? Or does it make you a Christian Plus?

What are some of the things you found in your search through the "other paths of sprituality" that broke your mind free from some of your traditional Christian beliefs? Perhaps if we knew a little more about what makes you question, then we can help you by suggesting where you should continue your search. I bet ten bucks the people on Avalon can help balance the things that trouble you by pointing to things that will uplift you.

This is the best advice I can give you: DON'T STOP SEARCHING! It may feel overwhelming, perhaps because we only get so many minutes a day to even try to be curious about life, and the stinking internet makes it easy to get overwhelmed with revelations from every corner of the globe. But always stay curious, and always wonder. If you do that, and follow your thirst, this period of spiritual doldrum won't last long. One good way to put wind back in your sails is to go back to Jesus and say, "You have something to teach me. Please lead me to it." Just because Christianity may not have ALL the answers doesn't mean Jesus or the Holy Spirit can no longer be your guide. Right?

[Rocky_Shorz]

Posted by dreamer (here)
I am going to make this as short as possible, because if I don't, it will drag on way to long. after learning what I have, about Christianity ( the religion I used to claim) , and all these other paths of spirituality, which are so many I can't name, where is one to go? I am so lost, I want to believe in something, but what? I want to teach my children to be spiritually fulfilled, but how? I feel like I got duped with Christianity, and I'm on guard towards anything else, like I don't want to choose the wrong one..... I am stumbling in the dark. where do I go?

remember, religions are gatherings of like minded believers, the message isn't as important as the meeting of spirits...

having a Spirit means you will always have spirituality, it isn't possible for it to be lost...

when 3 gather together in faith, you, your wife and child can change the world...

just believing the sun will rise is faith...

[bogeyman]

When the time in right it will seek you out. Often in our lives there are moments like this. I have had a few of them, feeling lost without direction, it is a time of change, walking in the wilderness, but you may find it in a place or at a time you least expect it.

[4evrneo]

Dreamer,
I just wanted to share a bit about myself, its fitting as you will see.
I used to consider myself "christian", as a young child and adult. Then in my 30's I studied Catholicism and a year later was baptised again as a Catholic. I am now in my 40's and have studied many different cultures as far as religion goes and I have come to understand that "all" religions are very similar in beliefs and values but for me something was missing. I have finally realized that it was me all along that was missing. In my awakening, I have discovered that is doesnt matter, love yourself most of all, love others, accept God in what ever way feels right. We are all connected to each other and the earth. What helped me to discover my truth was to go within, meditate and search the answers in your heart, it will never lead you wrong. The heart to me is the only door for all to find their truth. I teach my kids (now young adults) that its ok to not know, but just be honest, be yourself, love others and be the best they can be. Although my kids still feel lost, this past year they have grown and are slowly searching within and dont ever realize it. I can honestly say that I have worried endlessly about my children and now I have realized they have their own path and all I am supposed to do is accept them for who they are and love them with all my heart. I have now a peaceful feeling deep inside that everything is how its supposed to be. We are all children of God. We are all loved profoundly and we will all be just fine. To me, you are not spiritually lost, you are perfect in every way, love is in your heart so you are on the right path.
All the best dreamer,
Annette

[westhill]

There's a lot of love in this thread.
I thank you all...