That Western Mindset is Plaguing Me, Still...

Hello Readers, since the inception of this Blog I have tried to think of Posts, typically for days prior to beginning to write them, but some of the most impulsive Posts tend to be the best written and drives the best point home, at least from your author see it... So lets hope impulsive writing proves to be good once more... ;)

So today I was working with this nagging feeling over me, bring down my mood (I have been smoke free for nearly 3 weeks, I should be happy, right?, not so much) down. I struggled through like normal and just let myself drown in my own random thoughts (typically religious, and grand in nature... not sure why... <snicker>). Well that made me think that maybe I should dive head first into Hinduism just to see what our world's oldest [still practiced] religion is all about. Now keep in mind I know a little more than your Average Joe just because of my subjective religious studies, but not a whole lot more than that.

Sooo that is exactly what I did, went reading online and checked out some of the deeper ideas, beliefs, and belief constructs of Hinduism... Interestingly enough about an hour into reading... it was like I was watching myself {third party style} go in a direction I have went before... Looking for comfortable surroundings of sorts... Looking towards a celestial (of sorts) structure of some type(s) of a God system within a religion. It is this thought that draws me into religion... However, I believe the Buddhist's belief of it not mattering at all... why does it matter... should you act any differently due to that reason... no, you should be a good person no matter what... period!

Sooo, with that in mind, why does it matter? Who cares? People who are scared about afterlife possibilities, that's who!...  assuming that this is the 1 and only round, which I personally do not, but that is your opinion and your have the right to have one (at least for the, moment). However, that is neither here nor there, just do not hate on people for believing in something that has absolutely no affect on you in any way... please?

Got a little off track there, my apologies... The reason why the thought came into my mind to look into Hinduism at that point in time was because of their God structure(s), and there is not much, if any really, mention of a Creator God by Buddha, actually he points out how irrelevant the thought is. So given that I was born in the West (the U.S. especially) I have a mindset that I cannot imagine a world without God. Our capitol has the word God mentioned on monuments and in the public over 200+ times and our originally "founding" of this country has deep religions ties to God (Protestant Reformation), so that is hard to shake the importance of  God within my faith...

Luckily that is an advantage to not following a rigid religious structure, or doing what I did and invent your own (Logical Spiritualism (which I am still defining, and may never be fully defined)). So I can cherry pick to a degree, with Buddhism being its foundation (the only religion that science has yet to disprove any aspect of, at least that I can dig up)... Even with this in mind I still have inner conflict about not worshiping a God in the at the of the day... however, I use Buddha's answer to the question about it... Does it really matter? [sum up of what he said, not verbatim] and that helps the conflict while I "sort things out".

So, do I believe in God? Yes, I do. However, that is the end of my answer to that question... 2 years ago, that would have been a long answer and I would probably try to convert you... but not anymore. What changed? Maybe I achieved a greater degree of semi-enlightenment? That I cannot say for sure but I have a completely different outlook and even personality... and personally I think it was for the better... For me and everyone that comes in contact with me...

Making things less complicated sometimes the correct answer comes to the surface...

Till next time,

-automachi