Faith is not a commodity, we either have or we don't have -- it is an inner quality to that unfolds as we learn to trust our own deepest experience.  -- Sharon Salzberg, Faith

Recently I found my copy of "The Life Organizer: A Woman's Guide to the Mindful Year" by Jennifer Louden.  This it the first quote on the workbook part of the book.  I had to ponder the idea of "faith" for a minute before I realized how to make it work for me.

As a RUUist, I don't have faith in a deity.  I am what you'd consider a mindful, and (trying to be) peaceful atheist.  So, faith is a word I can have a hard time with.  But today, as I sat down to think about it, I really do have faith, it's just not the type that actual religious people have, which is usually to describe it as "belief without proof".  

So, what is faith to a RUUist?  Actually, it's the exact opposite of religious faith.  For one, I have faith in my husband.  I have faith in all he does.  I know he's an amazing writer and will definitely make it both the movie biz and the novel biz (he's a screenwriter with a few movies under his belt and a novelist).  I not only have faith he will make it because he has a work ethic and some amazing talent, but also because he's proven to get both published by a major publishing company (which was later pulled due the entire line of fiction being pulled) and he's got several screenplays that were made into short films.   Two, I have faith in his love for me because he proves it every single day, as I prove mine for him.

I also have faith my children.  If they set their minds to do something, they will achieve it.  They've shown me this time and again.  And I have faith they will keep this up and do great things one day (although they are doing great things just by existing <3).

I have faith in myself.  I know I can do great things if I would just apply myself (hmmm, I sound like every single report card I've ever received).   I know this, because I've proved this in the past, to myself.

But as you can see, for those of us who walked away from actual religion, we tend to put our faith in things that have proven to use that they are possible.  If my husband had never written a word and just started out, would I have faith he'd actually get someone to make movies out of his screen plays?  I'd hope, but that's not the same thing as faith.  Since people have made movies out of his writing already, I have faith there will be more in the future.

But having faith where there is no proof?

I don't even understand that concept.  

When my son wanted to make his own forge, I had no idea if he could do it.  I mean, he's made other things, but a forge is a pretty hefty idea.  I knew could probably do it, but have faith that he 100% could?  To be honest, I just was glad for him to have a project work on and hoped he would not destroy my brand new fire pit! LOL  I put no faith in his outcome, because it didn't matter to me if he actually made one or not (though I hoped he did, because he really, really wanted to).  But then he did.  And it worked.  And it was awesome!  So now, I have faith he can make anything he sets his mind to.  And he has made other things since, always following through until his goal is finished.  His brother has that same tenacity, and they both blow my mind daily with the things they can do.

Proof provides us the faith of another's (or our own) ability(ies). 

My ex-husband once professed his faith that we'd stay together forever.  He 100% believed we'd last (I think he was lying, but whatever LOL).  He put his faith into me where I did not deserve it.  I was not happy.  He knew I wasn't happy.  I told everyone I wasn't happy, including his own family.  But yet, he stuck that misplaced faith on our relationship for no good reason.  We fought like dogs: we yelled, we screamed, we swore, we were horribly mean to one another and yet he thought we'd last forever.  In what world does that show you the proof that you need in order to put your 100% faith into it?  He ended up with me moving out and him living alone for awhile.  If he would had been paying attention, he would have seen it coming and been prepared for it.

Be careful where you put your faith.  If you don't have any proof, then there is nothing to place it in.

Now with my second marriage, I can safely say I have faith we will last forever.  The proof is in the daily pudding: we don't fight, we might get annoyed and complain at each other or get grouchy, but we always talk it out, we always admit to our faults, and we always say we're sorry.  Not only that, we're both always evolving and changing together, which is why so many marriages fail: they evolve and change apart.  Now, what if we didn't last forever and I had put my faith into us?  What if he found a young hot blonde go run off with?  Well, a) that's not in his nature LOL and b) I'd eventually have to accept it.  Would I have been wrong to put my faith in our marriage?  No way.  Faith doesn't mean you're always going to be 100% right.  Nothing is 100%.

Because faith doesn't mean you should be attached to the outcome.  It just means you have applied the scientific method to your situation and come up the most likely answer which is supported by factual data.

The scientific method goes like this:

• A) you have come up with an idea and asked a question (Is he the right guy for me and will we last forever?) 
• B) did your background research (I did google him before we met to make sure he wasn't some crazy stalker or something LOL) 
• C) construct a hypothesis (yes, we get along pretty well, and will hopefully last forever, but let's test this out and see) 
• D) experiment (after 11 years of little ups and downs, we've leveled out and know each other pretty well and are BFF's) 
• E) analyze your data (we get along so well, love doing things together, we communicate instead of fight, we raise our kids on the same page, we support one another through everything, so yeah, I'd bet on us...it's a pretty sure thing) 
• F) communicate your findings ("hey sweetheart, we're staying together until we're old and gray and have walkers!"  "sure but you're 6 years older, so you'll get old first!" he'll say back to me...and he'd be right on that one LOL) and THEN you can put your faith into it.  

So while I can't predict the future, I'd say my marriage is safe bet.  My ex's bet was lost, because he placed all of his money on the wrong horse (neigh!) and didn't even stop to look around to see what his odds were.

Faith is an easy bet.  It's not even a gamble.  If it's a hard bet and you'll probably end up losing?  Don't put your faith into it. Just don't.  Just wait and see.  Do some more testing.  The scientific method applies to every single situation in your life, not just science (well, life is science, so maybe everything is always science??).  Ask a question, gather information, make an educated guess (not a blind guess!), then test the crap out of it.  I don't mean to force human beings to go through silly tests, just pay attention.  If you are sick, is the person there for you?  Or do they force you take your sick butt to go get your own meds while they play video games?  If you need help, are they always there?  Or are they always nowhere to be found or always have an excuse?  That's what I mean.

This doesn't apply only to relationships, but jobs, and life choices, and everything else in your life.  You can test out anything, if it doesn't work, that's fine.  But if it does, and consistently does?  That's when your faith is deserved.

There are no wrong choices, only experiences to be had.  But there are wrong things to put your faith into.  But if you feel comfortable and aren't paying attention, then you might get the rug pulled out from under you.

Why faith?

Because what you can honestly put your faith into you don't have to worry about.  You have to work at it, always, but you don't have to second guess it.  Knowing something doesn't mean you become attached to it.  It just means you don't have to wonder too much about it anymore.  You can just live in the knowing, and work to keep it going (hey, that rhymes!) because you know it's true (for as much as you can say anything is "true").  Because the scientific method told you so!  Ha!

So as RUUists, we put our faith into things that have proven themselves true to us, whether they are people, jobs, life experiences, etc.  We don't sit around and put faith into things that have no proof.  That's what organized religion is for.  And cults.  And that shiz?  That ain't for us.  We're "proofers" (not truthers!).  Show us the pudding, pull out the truth, and maybe we'll put our faith into it......




What have you put your faith into?  Have you ever put your faith into something only to lose it later?  If so, how did that effect you?  Or did you have it work out?  Tell me your stories below!

Spirituality is the way we find our connection to everything around us, and for some, as a way to connect with the source of all life, whatever that is.  But mostly, it's made up the little things around us on a daily basis.  As a RUUist, I am always thinking of how things relate to my own existence and that of those around me.  I ponder different open-ended ideas, such as:

1. Are ghosts really real?  And if so, how could science explain them?  If not, then are we just putting meaning into a part of life that we don't understand and pushing ourselves to the point of hallucination? 
2. What if our universe is a being of it's own and we're just the bacteria or virus inside of it?  If so, then how do we find meaning in our existence?  Would there be any meaning at all?  And if so, does our meaning have anything to do with the universe at all?  Are we even connected?  Or are our existences totally separate?  If so, does that even matter?
3. How come when I think of certain people in my life who have passed away, all of sudden their song will come on the radio?  Is it them sending me that song?  Is it some higher power assuring me they are okay?  Is just just a (very timely and quite often) coincidence? (note: I have "Life Songs" for all people in my life that are deceased).
4. Last summer I was in my backyard and was entertained by an anise swallowtail butterfly for at least an hour.  It was very interested in me and didn't care that I was another (very big) being capable of hurting it.  It just trusted me and loved tickling my toes by landing on them and hanging out on them for minutes at a time.  Was that a sign?  Was it a spirit of a loved one who passed was now embodying this gorgeous butterfly?  Or as it just an insect who wanted to do something different that day?  Does it even matter? 
5. Are spiritual experiences caused by an outside force?  Or are they made by our own brains?
6. How come when I need to know something I can ask a question (to myself?  the universe? etc.) and either throughout the day or in my dreams, my question will be answered?  The bigger the question, the longer it takes to get the answer, but usually the questions are small and are answered the same day.  Is this my own brain unlocking the information?  Like the information is deep in my brain somewhere and needs time to be found, like a computer file, and then I am accessing ideas in the outer world that make sense to me?  Or is there something bigger at play here?
7. Where do dreams come from?  How do our brains sift through the infinite images we have in our heads and patch them together into the experience we ultimately have?  And what am I dreaming about that I don't remember?  Will there be machines one day that can record our dreams so can watch them at a later date?  Would I even want to?
8. Why do we have the need to create things?  Why do some people have it more than others?  And why are some people born with it and others have to work at it?
9. Why is some art healing?  What possible evolutionary purpose explains that? Surely there must be something spiritual attached to it. 
10. Can science be spiritual?  The book "Waking Up" by Sam Harris entertains this idea.  He's an atheist neuroscientist and he proposes the notion that science indeed can be spiritual.
11. What if the Buddha, Jesus, and Mohammad were real dudes?  What if they were just trying to explain something they experienced in a drug-induced hallucination or a mental delusion but the messages got all goofed up.  And then they ended up just like other "gurus" who bent and distorted their original ideas to fit their own agendas?  Just a thought. (note: this is a funny thought, but something I ponder nonetheless)

Those are just 11 random ideas to get you started.  If you think of any more, please share them below.  I'd love to know what types of ideas other people like to ponder in their spare time.

Just because you don't believe, doesn't mean you can't philosophize about spiritual ideas.  Not only is it fun, it can be eye opening and lead to more ideas to ponder at a later date.

So go and ponder something great today and maybe start a "Pondering Notebook".   You can record your thoughts and ideas and maybe even one day, build them into a book to publish.  Or you can just tuck it under your mattress and read it later :) 

So many of us were different people before coming to the idea of atheism or to a place where we stopped believing and started questioning everything we once believed.  And for some of us, we miss out on the things we once thought were fun to think about or participate in.


And then are those of us who want to explore the other side of things without committing ourselves to the belief of that thing. 

Like say, ghost hunting.  Can you still ghost hunt even if you don't believe in ghosts?

Can you entertain the idea of ghosts even if you don't believe in a religion that says there are souls?

I say, why not??! 

I mean, have you ever been on a ghost hunt?  They are actually really, really fun.  And you don't have to believe they are real in order to be afraid of them (for me, the best part of a ghost hunt is the fear factor).  Scary movies have that same effect, yet we know none of it is real.

And the fact is, I met my husband in a ghost hunting group back in 2005 and neither of us were religious at all, back then.  We didn't consider ourselves atheists, but we weren't religious either.  Even with our lack of faith, we both could suspend our non-belief in order to enjoy ourselves with taking pictures of the "paranormal" and trying to catch EVP's (we were actually successful with both--but even so, we still aren't "believers").

What else can you participate in without believing?  

Well, church, for one.   Most sermons are usually filled with common sense and good reminders how to act in civilized society today.  Most atheists would want to run from church but for some open-minded ones, we can gain some clarity and be filled with the happiness that people get from attending church.  Christians will tell you it's god that's filling you up, but I will let you in a secret: it's not.  It's the love that the sermon reached that's inside of you.  It hit your "love spot" (not to be confused with a g-spot...it's soooo not the same thing, though both can bring joy! *wink*).  We all can feel that same feeling church gives believers by taking the same sermons and omitting the religious aspects.  And you can do that yourself, while in a pew (or whatever choice of church/mosque/temple/etc), and listening.  I, myself, enjoy a Joyce Meyer sermon now and then.  Remove the god parts, and they are quite inspiring.

Aliens.  There is no reason you need to be religious in order to entertain the idea of life on other planets.  But, what I am talking about here, is the idea that you may not necessarily believe in aliens and/or them visiting the earth in order to entertain the idea of them.  The good thing to do is to use rational thought when it comes to extraterrestrial life.  And if you want to entertain the idea they are visiting us, do it!  Granted, most UFOS really are explainable, but there might be something else you can stumble onto during your research.  We can't just ignore all the stories and pretend they are only the concoctions of crazy people (though some are)  Because, the idea we are alone in this universe?  Is quite arrogant.  And I really love the show Ancient Aliens.  But yet if you think you're being abducted, you might want to seek professional help.....*wink wink*  (note--most abduction stories are issues with sleep paralysis, if you think this is happening to you, research this phenomena and contact a sleep specialist)

Astrology.  Again, not a religious subject.  I am a Taurus.  Do I believe because I born in a certain area of our planet under a certain set of stars that my life is affected by this?  No way.  As a lover all things scientific, I find this absurd.  But, it doesn't stop me from identifying with the Taurus nature, as I always have my entire life.  That doesn't mean I believe, I just like fitting myself into little boxes and seeing how much I fit and how much I don't.   Today I read an article on ElephantJournal.com about tomorrow's Super Moon which happens to fall on my anniversary--AND it's the sign of Taurus, which I am, so it really intrigued me. Here is the article:

 Super Moon in the sign of Taurus on Elephant Journal

But what intrigued me more was their little note at the top of the article:

*Eleditor’s note: Astrology isn’t a religion. We’re not sure it’s a science, either. It’s magic, maybe. But, as with feng shui, say, things affect things. So as long as we don’t go blaming our problems on the stars, as long as we assume responsibility for our own actions…well, hell, a little auspicious coincidence and applicable wisdom can’t hurt. And so, with that grain of salt…enjoy!Hmmm, I find that very RUUy of them to add that.  You can be entertained by astrology but not believe in it.  Read your horoscope.  Study your rising sign.  Do whatever you like.  Just know at the end of the day, YOU are responsible for your life.  Not god.  Not the stars.  You.


Feng Shui.   Having a clean house makes everyone feel good.  I wish mine was clean more than it is, but meh, it is what it is.  Right now it's pretty clean, as we were going to have company over this past weekend.  And I am enjoying the cleanliness of it all.  It makes me feel....well, less cluttered.  Not only in my house, but also in my brain.  Order is good for our brains, but being ADHD, my house usually not orderly in the least.  Not to mention I have 1,001 hobbies.  But Feng Shui, like astrology, is pretty fun to play with.  But rather than looking up into the sky and dividing the sky into houses, you divide your rooms into baguas.  Then you put items that help those areas of your room so you attract more good stuff into your life.  There are a few practices I have learned from feng shui that I still use today that just feel good and make sense to me: 1) don't block the door.  Like don't put your couch or a chair with it's back to the door.  That just feels icky to me.  2) don't let shit pile up under your bed.  I have dogs that sleep under my bed and were almost crushed once by a broken bed frame, so we no longer use a bedframe, but when I did, I never my items live under there.  I liked my "under the bed" area clean. 3) keep your bathroom sparse (I have no idea if this feng shui or not LOL I just like my bathroom not to be clogged up with crap--literally AND figuratively).

Psychics and fortune-telling devices.  I was a tarot reader for over 25 years.  When I became a straight up atheist I could NOT rationalize the use of them as I've always thought it was my "intuition" that made me such an excellent reader.  I was in demand all over the world for readings (online, not that I travel LOL).  When I finally started really searching for my spirituality (and none of the truly fit) and I was digging deep into atheism, I saw just how absurd my ideas about the tarot were.  Did I help people?  Yes, very much so.  Were my readings accurate?  About 98% of the time.  Was I psychic?  Hell no.  And that's why people trusted me.  They thought I was psychic, because I claimed to be.  I honestly thought I was.  When I realized I wasn't, I couldn't justify reading the tarot anymore.  But now I can clearly see my readings were accurate only because I have a very high understanding of not only the human condition, but also psychology and sociology, too.  And that's what gave me such accurate readings.  And knowing that, I can start fresh and anew, and come at the tarot from a new perspective, rather than from the traditional way.  So I can still read for people, I just have to inform them there are no psychic abilities involved.  And it's all just for fun :) And reading for myself is always something I can do easily, as well.  So go see a psychic, see what she/he says.  Know what they are telling you has no psychic ability involved, but it doesn't mean it won't be any fun!  It's the same as reading your horoscope: take it with a grain of salt. 

Bigfoot, and other creatures.  Who hasn't seen Harry and the Hendersons and wondered if there was a humanoid beast with the heart of a baby living in the woods by their house?  No?  Just me?  Well, anyways....but yeah, there's the mothman (loved that movie!), bigfoot (and a whole show about him!), the Jersey devil (I think that's related to the mothman? maybe?), the chupacabra (no sucking my goats, ya jerks!), the yetti (the snowy big foot), the skunk ape (sounds stinky), loch ness monster (how would that thing still be alive??), and whatever else you think of.  Go on a bigfoot hunt with some other bigfoot hunters!  Have some fun with it.  Watch a show about these creatures and see how much fun these people have chasing them around.  Doesn't mean you have to believe they real in order to have fun with them.  You can even add vampires and werewolves to this.  Go read some Twilight!

Holidays.  Well, I consider holidays a free-for-all, with never a real religious reason behind them in the least.  Even Christmas.  When you get down to the root of all holidays, you have common themes: family togetherness, gratefulness, love, and celebrating with friends.   And that's what you can hold onto.  My family and I have celebrated many o'holiday from different religions around the world.  Other than the regular American ones, Christmas, Thanksgiving, 4th of July...we also celebrate the celtic Samhain (pronounced sow-en--it's like a day of the dead thing), and the turn of the seasons.  Consider inventing your own, no religion included!

Karma.  What goes around comes around.  I've experienced this in my life.  Most likely because when I am bad I feel guilty, so I notice when bad things happen to me.  But still. I've experienced this so many times in my life that it makes me truly wonder it's validity.  Is it real?  Is it just me noticing things because I think it's real?  I have no idea.  Is it that crazy to feel that if you're bad, bad things will happen to you?  But if you really look at it, the least type of person bad things happen to are psychopaths/sociopaths, which are the worst of the worst.  They have no remorse for the bad things they do.  And they seem to cruise along just fine.  I think that's because with no remorse, they aren't looking for consequences to their actions, and the rest of us are.  So any little thing that happens to us, is noticeable.  But it's still nice to think that some asshole will get what they deserve in life, without us having to lift our little fingers, isn't it?  Like some secret plan we aren't a part of but know is going on.  And it can satiate our anger or thirst for revenge, which never ends up being the right thing to do.

Soul-mates and fate.  "Everything happens for a reason" also goes under this title, as well.  I do love to entertain the idea of everything will work out the way it's supposed to.  I think this stems from the fact that life will happen whether or not we take part in it.  We can't change the past, and we have no idea what the future holds, so it's very easy to think that fate is at hand, creating a life we are supposed to have.  Whether or not that's true, you honestly will never know until you build a time machine and test out a different timelines.  So why not?  As long as you don't feel fate will bring you the life you want when you sit in your house and do nothing at all to change your life.  I also like to play the idea that my hubby is my soul-mate <3  Funny, I did a soul-mate tarot reading when I was like 22 or 23 and it said "he's there, but he's too young to be with you right now".  And he seriously was.  He was jailbait when I was that age....I was like 23 and he was 17....hahaha!  So we joke around about that reading and about how my tarot reading knew he was a kid when I was an adult.  And going back to the beginning, when you really think about it, since every choice affects everything that happens in your life, everything DOES happen for reason.  Whether or not that reason is guided by a heavenly hand doesn't matter.  Because you chose to go to a place at a certain time, you met the love of your life.  You going to that place had a reason.  And since you can't change the past, that reason is cemented into your life forever, even if just as a memory.


You can enjoy anything you want, and you don't even have to believe in it!  You can also take anything and secularize it for your own purposes.  These things, and lots more, can still be enjoyed even as an RUUer (as we are the religion of the unknown unexplained--and many of the above are unexplained!).  As everything can be used for fun purposes, and doesn't require belief to enjoy them :)


Do you have anything to add to the list?  If so, let me know below!

I'd like to say neither one, and yet both at the same time.  You can't classify RUU with a title (other than RUU LOL) because that would suggest we either are following a set of beliefs (or non-beliefs) set forth by someone else or we can't believe in anything because it's unknowable.

We are like atheists because we reject doctrine and find all the pomp and circumstance that goes with it quite absurd (at least I do, you can feel the way you want).  We reject man-made ideas of spiritual existence.  We know that man is fallible and there is a difference between "possibility" and "myth."  Notice I don't say "facts" and "myth" because as RUUers we don't believe in "fact" when it comes to spirituality.

And that is how we are like agnostics, because we know we can't KNOW anything at all.  But the one thing that differs between us and them: we entertain ideas, we try on new ideas and see what fits and what doesn't...we don't "believe" in these ideas, but we entertain them.  We allow them into our lives, to dance and play and hang out.  But we never invite them to live with us.

Here is an example:

Karma

Atheist: Karma is stupid and doesn't exist.

Hard Agnostic: If karma is real, we'll never be able to understand it.

Soft Agnostic: Karma could be real, but I will investigate it and find proof to see if it's real.

RUUer: I don't care if it's real or not, but I will entertain the idea and have fun with it!  I may never have proof of it being real or not, and that's okay.  I may stop entertaining this idea tomorrow, but for today, I am letting it hang out in my life :)  OR I don't believe in karma.  Not because I can't prove if it's real or not, but I am just not interested in it.  It's not an idea I want to entertain.

You can apply this process thing to all ideas, such as soulmates, aliens, creation theories, etc.  We all know that those who believe in these things 100% usually are "odd" or, dare I say, "a tad off their rockers".  Believing in anything 100% doesn't leave you any space to entertain anything that may contradict your beliefs.  And that's exactly why we don't have "beliefs".

To the untrained eye, RUU could look like "faith", with saying "I don't care if there is proof or not".  But I assure, there is absolutely no "faith" in this system.  In order to have "faith", you have to have "belief".  And since we don't have any, we can't have "faith" either.  It's impossible.

• If I entertain the idea that Tarot cards can give me messages, I have to take them with a grain of salt, because they could be wrong. 
• If I entertain the idea that there is a God who created us all and put us here, then I must also be prepared to accept that there isn't any specific being who put us here at all.  That we could all be an accident.  And who cares?  If we are an accident or not, it doesn't matter.  We are here, and that's what matters.  
• If I entertain the idea that the Big Bang was conception of some kind of being, and the universe is expanding because that being is growing bigger, as beings we are aware of do, then I have to be prepared to accept I could be totally off base.  But it's a fun idea to entertain nonetheless :)  

We are like agnostics because we know that most things are unexplainable.  We are unlike agnostics because we aren't totally skeptics, because sometimes we don't care if there is proof or not in order to entertain an idea.  We just want to live and have fun with everything...because in the end, it doesn't matter.  As long as we aim to be good and do good, everything else is just inconsequential and up to our own discretion (which is like the Wiccan Rede: "An it harm none, do as ye wilt").

We are like atheists in the fact we ignore religious doctrine and dogma.  We are unlike them because we have not closed our minds to the possibility of unknown things either becoming known, or worth investing our thoughts in, even if there is no proof.  We also entertain the idea of "personal proof" as a reason to invest our thoughts in a particular idea or thought or theory (or hypothesis).  

RUU is for those of us who want to play around with ideas and thoughts and try them all on for size, but only those ideas and thoughts that speak to us.  We don't invest ourselves fully into them, because we realize we are only human and incapable of having such understanding of whether or not something is "real" (meaning in a scientific way).  

So while we are neither atheist or agnostic, we do share many similarities, which will be dug deeper into in a later post.  So if someone asks you "Isn't this agnosticism?" you can now just explain the differences :)

Religions pretend to know the truth.

They never say "possibly this is the right way".  No, instead they say "THIS IS THE ONE AN ONLY TRUTH".

There are no "maybes" or "I don't knows".  There is only "truth" in religion.

But what happens when a religious person is wrong?  Which they always are, when you really boil it down.

Suicides happen.

Wars happen.

Parents disown their children.

People make stupid mistakes and careless choices when they think things are a "one and only" way. 

People get hurt because of these mistakes and choices.

Things get blown up.

People fly airplanes into buildings killing masses of amounts of people.

Children strap explosives to themselves, as do adults, in order to die to please their version of a god.

Other children are shamed for being "kids", all because of "sin".

Other children are denied life-saving treatments such as blood transfusions or chemotherapy.

Religion causes madness and people to do mad things.

All in the name of "God".

If you are ever able to step back and say "I don't know if this is the truth, it might not be", then we are able to separate ourselves from our creator(s) and realize WE aren't the way of "God" or "Jehovah" or "Jah" or "Mohammad" or "Ra" or whatever idea we wish to worship.  And with that separation, we can allow for others to have their own beliefs and ideas, because we don't know the "one true way".

Instead we know of "the many ways".  We know of "the infinite ways"; "the no true way"; "the way of us".  Because spirituality should be personal, and not shared, there is no "one true way".  Not in RUU.

Instead, stop "knowing" things, and start questioning things.  Stop "believing" things, and start NOT believing them.  Instead entertain the ideas, play with them, see what fits, and leave the rest behind. 

Because when we start saying we KNOW things for 100% fact?

That's when it gets dangerous. 

Accept the fact that you do not know, and revel in the glory that life and everything that goes with it is much grander and larger and more complicated than any human could ever even begin to imagine.

Now THAT is something to celebrate and contemplate on.  That nobody really "knows"...anything at all.

Right now I am reading PZ Meyers' book "The Happy Atheist". 

A lot of what he says resonates with me.  Except the current chapters I am reading titled "Soulless" and "Afterlife?  What Afterlife?"

In these two chapters, he declares there is absolutely nothing after we die.  He also says "I'd rather be honest than deluded and dumb" when referring to the idea there is life after death.  Another thing he says is "There is no evidence at all for an afterlife". 

I guess that is all in what you consider "evidence".  For him, it would be scientific proof.  But the problem with using science to explain spirituality, is that he's not looking at the right level of science. 

What if you went beyond quantum physics?  What is the next layer of science?  Could there be all the explanations we need as humans to explain everything we see as ESP or miracles or past lives or anything of the sort?  What if we just haven't discovered it yet? 

Those who have had OBE's and NDE's and miracles and everything else would love to argue with Mr. PZ and say "But there IS proof!  Personal proof".

Can we deny personal proof?  Well, unless it has happened to us, yes we can.  But for those of us who have experienced such things, we have all the proof we need. 

The problem with PZ Meyers and all of his Atheist friends AND Christians and other Abrahamic religions is this: They all pretend to know the "truth". 

And the answer is that there isn't any one truth, not for all of us.  We each have our own truths....YET if you stay in that middle of zone, where Ruuism lies, then you don't even have that.  You have notions, but no truths.  You have ideas, but no facts. 

The difference between me and Atheists and Abrahamic religions and Buddhists and everyone else?

I don't pretend to know the truth.

I am not arrogant to believe that a little 'ol human like myself knows the truth about anything this universe has to offer, or how it's rules work. 

Do I believe in biology?  Psychology?  And anything else our medical science has to offer?  Yes, of course.  But I also know that:

1) these sciences are proven wrong from time to time--people beat the odds and heal themselves with no trace of whatever they had and medical science cannot explain it (yet) and

2) everything is fallible, nothing works 100% of the time. 

But just because we can't explain something, doesn't make it magical.  It just shows we have a LONG way to go before we understand how everything works.  And will we ever get there?  I have no clue.

But that's what I revel in. 

Will I go to heaven after I die?  Is there any type of afterlife at all?  Or will I just shut my eyes and be gone?

My answer is and always will be the same:

I do not know. 

And that thrills me!  And it also leaves everything open for me to say "What if there is nothing when I die?  So I better live life to the damn fullest while I can, because if this all there is, then I better make it FUCKING AMAZING!!"

And if there is an afterlife? It will fucking rock! 

But I won't know until then, so why worry about it?  I can't control what happens to me after I die, but I CAN control (partly) of how I choose to live. 

And that my friends, is all that matters.  I may not know anything at all, but that's okay.  I can dream, I can create, I can do so many things.  Knowing is not necessary. 

So let's do this together--let's not pretend to know things we don't, and just be happy with what have now. 

Because without that, what's the point?

The question isn't why its better for the world (which it indeed is), but why its better for you, as a person.  When you go to church, unless you're a born-again, you most likely do not leave and continue to live a godly life or even remember much about what was preached that day. 

If you're like most church-going Americans, you probably don't even want to go to church and only do so you can see other or be seen by others who regularly attend. 

I am not saying every single person is like this, but a large amount are.

So, why do it at all?  Because that's what you're supposed to do?  Well..............who cares? 

Rather than go to something just because its always been that way and it would just be weird if you didn't and there's no other reason why you go.....why not find your own connection to the divine?  Why not seek out your own ideas?  Church should only be there for people who want to go, not for those who are expected to go.

When the TOOLS page becomes up and running, you can start there for ideas on how to find your own soul-centered ideas to ponder....life after death; life before birth; the meaning of life; etc. 

Personal religion (or spirituality) is deep.  Its real.  Its honest.  Its changeable.  Its bendable.  Its YOU.  Rather than following a set of rules some dude in 200 AD or so came up with (actually I have no idea the year, and I am not interested either), why not find out what YOU want to investigate today? 

Nature?  The cosmos?  Quantum Psychics?  Buddhism?  Taoism? 

Remember: RUU is not about following a set of rules like a blind sheep, its about investigating, pondering, thinking, wondering, entertaining ideas and thoughts of everyone around us and before us.  "This could be the way, or not, it doesn't matter, I just like the way this person thinks!"  Or come up with your own :) 

Become the Philosopher You Wish to See in the World.

Organized religion is about following someone else.  Instead, follow your own heart.  Follow your soul.  Follow your desires.  And then be flexible enough to change when you find something better to follow for a bit. 

Personal religion is like a home-cooked meal, whereas organized is McDonald's. 


Check out Thomas Moore's post on this here: Your Own Personal Religion

and find his amazing book here: A Religion of One's Own

and find him, and other interesting people, on our Holy Moly! Books page here.

Where did we come from??

Again, who knows?  But there are so many different ideas of how life could have began: aliens, big bang, supreme being, evolution, etc.

Here is one I came up with earlier today:

(Well, its an idea I've been thinking about for awhile, but this morning I hashed it out more while laying in bed).

So, at the subatomic level there is more space than matter.  The same thing goes for outer space.  One website says:

"All physical things are made of atoms which are mostly empty space. If the nucleus is the size of a marble, the electrons would be specks of dust a half mile away. Every physical thing has that much empty space in it."

Now, what does it say about our solar system?

"The way our solar system is shown in books does not give you a true perspective of it. It shows the sun and the other planets orbiting it in rings that are not to scale. They could not get it in a book if it was to scale. The actual scale is more like this; if the sun was the size of a basketball, the earth would be about the size of a BB, and it would be 93 feet away from it. Pluto, the outer most planet in our system, would be a grain of sand over a half mile away. The next star outside our solar system would be thousands of miles away."

Huh, right?  I mean, sounds a little familiar?

So, with that....what about the idea of the insides of our bodies, the viruses and bacteria?  Would time move differently for them than it does for us?  Could thousands of "years" go by for them, and be days or weeks for us?  (Think about black holes and how time changes the further you get into the gravity of the black hole---"For example, if you were to station yourself just outside a black hole, while you would find your own watch ticking atthe normal rate, you would see the watch of a friend at great distance from the hole to be ticking at a much faster rate than yours. That friend would see his own watch ticking at a normal rate, but see your watch to be ticking at a much slower rate. Thus if you stayed just outside the black hole for a while, then went back to join your friend, you would find that the friend had aged more than you had during your separation.").  Could they be living out life cycles or procreate and have families and generations in the time it takes us to experience the symptoms of their presence and for use to take medicine to get rid of them?  And think about the awareness of those bacteria or virus.....do you think they are "aware" of us?  Most would say no, they are not capable.  So, could it be possible if were like those bacteria or viruses that we would not be capable of the awareness it would take to comprehend our existence?

Then, go a little further.....could WE be the same thing as a bacteria or virus?  A group of "things" so miniscule and tiny inside of a larger being?  What if stars are what atoms are to us?  Granted, that might make us even smaller than a bacteria, but still.  What if WE are inside of an even HUGER being?  One so mammoth that the "big bang" was that being's conception?



These are the types of ideas and thoughts that I am allowed to have when I am not tied down by dogma.  I am free to think of new ideas, entertain them, keep them if I want, or throw them away if they don't make sense to me.