Is Religion merely fact or a state of mind and spirit?

 

If you sit down and analyze all aspects of history and the writings of Kuhn and the others religion is not fact but a state of mind.  Yes a state of mind within us all; is God; within us all is Jesus.  You are thinking why I will explain that to you.  The basic concepts of religion are within every man and woman it has been there since the dawn of free thinking man.  It started when man realized he was more than an ape.  You are wondering I can see. 

You are wondering how I know the answer to the above question I know you are.  The human mind is very similar from race to race we think we question we reason we understand.  The basic blueprint for religion or spirituality is within us all.  The real question is how we interpret religion or spirituality and how we allow it control us.

Religion is a state of mind the ancients knew this however the Christian and Orthodox Church changed this they decided to take myth and turn it in to history.  They took mere stories to explain how a person shall deal with life and made it fact.  The best examples are the exodus from Egypt and the prodigal son both will be explained later in this writing

If one sits back and looks at religion it is no more than away to soothe the mind and put the human spirit at ease.  It is a way for society or other groups to control us.  This will be explained in a later chapter.  Within us all is the same human spirit. 

 

The Spirit within ….

The spirit of the human is the same whether it be Native Americans, Christian, Egyptian or Hindu or whatever you maybe.  The spirit is within us it binds us and controls us; it makes us who we are.  The Spirit is the power and the glory. Yes I know this is from the bible but this goes back to a simple belief of destiny.  Have you ever analyzed the feather in Forest Gump?  The analysis is quit simple and explains the spirit within each of us.  In the movie the feather floats around with no clear path or destination.  The life of a human is the same the spirit within us makes our decisions not some Devine power with a predetermined path.  If you look at it life is what we make the choices in our life not some power telling us. Ok well our parent’s voice might echo in there somewhere as well.  In essence we make choices for our lives just like the wind blows each day.

The truth and the power of the spirit is within us all.  We have the ability to heal and control our bodies.  This concept is quit simple if you give up you will fail or die.  The concept of self healing is quite simple merely try it you will see that it is true.  If you have a cold and give in to it you will feel sick.  If you think you are not sick you will feel better.  The human mind can even allow you to control pain.  In my personal life I have been able to do this on numerous occasions.  If you repeat in your head no pain or something along those lines your pain will subside it takes perseverance.  The myths of Jesus, Horace, Buddha and the others explain this.  The stories of healing the sick is merely away to tell us that the spirit within can heal ourselves as these beings are the spirits within us.  They are not some mystical figure or some Devine person.

Yes I am saying Jesus is a myth is this so hard to believe.  If you look at science and what man has discovered the truth is there the truth is within us all.  It all comes down to this one simple thing within us all we have Jesus and the Devil as well as God it is simple we are our own Gods we control our own faith and by believing in ourselves we are controlling what we do.  We are not controlled by a Devine power.  The simple truth is that it is easier to believe in something outside of our own bodies then to accept that we control our own path.  The ancient Egyptians said it quit nicely by saying that we are like the setting sun we die and are reborn each day as a new person with a new life and new challenges ahead of us.

Our spirits draw power from what is around us our family and friends the weather and our surroundings.  If you have negative influences around you; you will be negative! If you have a positive influence in your life you will grow as a person as they will stimulate the spirit within you.  However if you have a strong negative influence, and strong positive influence, in your life your spirit will be torn.  This is a common problem in most people. I have witnessed this in my own life with relationships.  When you have this in your life you can’t make rational thoughts or decisions, as you don’t believe in yourself.  The simple fact it is easier to be negative than it is to be positive.

Here is an example of a story from the bible that is of a positive nature it is merely a lesson no more.

 The Prodigal son from Luke in the Bible

There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, "Father, give me my share of the estate." So he divided his property between them. Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.
After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. When he came to his senses, he said, "How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men." So he got up and went to his father.  But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. The son said to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son." But the father said to his servants, "Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found." So they began to celebrate.
Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. "Your brother has come," he replied, "and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound." The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, "Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!" "My son," the father said, "you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found." (Luke 15:11-32)

The Version in Buddhism

This version is longer than the Christian version but is in essence the same

A young man left his father and ran away. For long he dwelt in other countries, for ten, or twenty, or fifty years. The older he grew, the more needy he became. Wandering in all directions to seek clothing and food, he unexpectedly approached his native country. The father had searched for his son all those years in vain and meanwhile had settled in a certain city. His home became very rich; his goods and treasures were fabulous.
    At this time, the poor son, wandering through village after village and passing through countries and cities, at last reached the city where his father had settled. The father had always been thinking of his son, yet, although he had been parted from him over fifty years, he had never spoken of the matter to anyone. He only pondered over it within himself and cherished regret in his heart, saying, "Old and worn out I am. Although I own much wealth - gold, silver, and jewels, granaries and treasuries overflowing - I have no son. Some day my end will come and my wealth will be scattered and lost, for I have no heir. If I could only get back my son and commit my wealth to him, how contented and happy would I be, with no further anxiety!"
    Meanwhile the poor son, hired for wages here and there, unexpectedly arrived at his father's house. Standing by the gate, he saw from a distance his father seated on a lion-couch, his feet on a jeweled footstool, and with expensive strings of pearls adorning his body, revered and surrounded by priests, warriors, and citizens, attendants and young slaves waiting upon him right and left. The poor son, seeing his father having such great power, was seized with fear, regretting that he had come to this place. He reflected, "This must be a king, or someone of royal rank, it is impossible for me to be hired here. I had better go to some poor village in search of a job, where food and clothing are easier to get. If I stay here long, I may suffer oppression." Reflecting thus, he rushed away.
    Meanwhile the rich elder on his lion-seat had recognized his son at first glance, and with great joy in his heart reflected, "Now I have someone to whom I may pass on my wealth. I have always been thinking of my son, with no means of seeing him, but suddenly he himself has come and my longing is satisfied. Though worn with years, I yearn for him."
    Instantly he sent off his attendants to pursue the son quickly and fetch him back. Immediately the messengers hasten forth to seize him. The poor son, surprised and scared, loudly cried his complaint, "I have committed no offense against you, why should I be arrested?" The messengers all the more hastened to lay hold of him and brought him back. Following that, the poor son, thought that although he was innocent he would be imprisoned, and that now he would surely die. He became all the more terrified, fainted away and fell on the ground. The father, seeing this from a distance, sent word to the messengers, "I have no need for this man. Do not bring him by force. Sprinkle cold water on his face to restore him to consciousness and do not speak to him any further." Why? The father, knowing that his son's disposition was inferior, knowing that his own lordly position had caused distress to his son, yet convinced that he was his son, tactfully did not say to others, "This is my son."
    A messenger said to the son, "I set you free, go wherever you will." The poor son was delighted, thus obtaining the unexpected release. He arose from the ground and went to a poor village in search of food and clothing. Then the elder, desiring to attract his son, set up a device. Secretly he sent two men, sorrowful and poor in appearance, saying, "Go and visit that place and gently say to the poor man, 'There is a place for you to work here. We will hire you for scavenging, and we both also will work along with you.'" Then the two messengers went in search of the poor son and, having found him, presented him the above proposal. The poor son, having received his wages in advance, joined them in removing a refuse heap.
    His father, beholding the son, was struck with compassion for him. One day he saw at a distance, through the window, his son's figure, haggard and drawn, lean and sorrowful, filthy with dirt and dust. He took off his strings of jewels, his soft attire, and put on a coarse, torn and dirty garment, smeared his body with dust, took a basket in his right hand, and with an appearance fear-inspiring said to the laborers, "Get on with your work, don't be lazy." By such means he got near to his son, to whom he afterwards said, "Ay, my man, you stay and work here, do not leave again. I will increase your wages, give whatever you need, bowls, rice, wheat-flour, salt, vinegar, and so on. Have no hesitation; besides there is an old servant whom you can get if you need him. Be at ease in your mind; I am, as it were, your father; do not be worried again. Why? I am old and advanced in years, but you are young and vigorous; all the time you have been working, you have never been deceitful, lazy, angry or grumbling. I have never seen you, like the other laborers, with such vices as these. From this time forth you will be as my own begotten son."
    The elder gave him a new name and called him a son. But the poor son, although he rejoiced at this happening, still thought of himself as a humble hireling. For this reason, for twenty years he continued to be employed in scavenging. After this period, there grew mutual confidence between the father and the son. He went in and out and at his ease, though his abode was still in a small hut.
    Then the father became ill and, knowing that he would die soon, said to the poor son, "Now I possess an abundance of gold, silver, and precious things, and my granaries and treasuries are full to overflowing. I want you to understand in detail the quantities of these things, and the amounts that should be received and given. This is my wish, and you must agree to it. Why? Because now we are of the same mind. Be increasingly careful so that there be no waste." The poor son accepted his instruction and commands, and became acquainted with all the goods. However, he still had no idea of expecting to inherit anything, his abode was still the original place and he was still unable to abandon his sense of inferiority.
    After a short time had again passed, the father noticed that his son's ideas had gradually been enlarged, his aspirations developed, and that he despised his previous state of mind. Seeing that his own end was approaching, he commanded his son to come, and gathered all his relatives, the kings, priests, warriors, and citizens. When they were all assembled, he addressed them saying, "Now, gentlemen, this is my son, begotten by me. It is over fifty years since, from a certain city, he left me and ran away to endure loneliness and misery. His former name was so-and-so and my name was so-and-so. At that time in that city I sought him sorrowfully. Suddenly I met him in this place and regained him. This is really my son and I am really his father. Now all the wealth which I possess belongs entirely to my son, and all my previous disbursements and receipts are known by this son." When the poor son heard these words of his father, great was his joy at such unexpected news, and thus he thought, "Without any mind for, or effort on my part, these treasures now come to me."
    World-honored One! The very rich elder is the Tathagata, and we are all as the Buddha's sons. The Buddha has always declared that we are his sons. But because of the three sufferings, in the midst of births-and-deaths we have borne all kinds of torments, being deluded and ignorant and enjoying our attachment to things of no value. Today the World-honored One has caused us to ponder over and remove the dirt of all diverting discussions of inferior things. In these we have hitherto been diligent to make progress and have got, as it were, a day's pay for our effort to reach nirvana. Obtaining this, we greatly rejoiced and were contented, saying to ourselves, "For our diligence and progress in the Buddha-law what we have received is ample". The Buddha, knowing that our minds delighted in inferior things, by his tactfulness taught according to our capacity, but still we did not perceive that we are really Buddha's sons. Therefore we say that though we had no mind to hope or expect it, yet now the Great Treasure of the King of the Law has of itself come to us, and such things that Buddha-sons should obtain, we have all obtained. (Saddharmapundarika Sutra 4)

Even though the above stories have different content they are both portraying the same message.  You can also see that at least this part is the same in the 2 religions and yes the truths are fundamentally the same. 

The message is quit simple in both parables.  What is the underlying message well the message is at the basis of human thought and how we should treat our neighbors and not just our family.  No matter what the circumstances are a person should welcome another or help out another in peril. The power to control and celebrate is within us as we tend to get lost in our own lives. There is always another person around to help and guide us to reenergize our inner spirit.  We are a social people we feed of each other and get joy or sorrow out of those around us.  The parable merely reinforces this and is a way of letting us know that we are lost from time to time and need the help of others.

 Have you ever stopped to help a person that has had an accident or helped a friend get through a rough time.  That is not god or even Jesus telling you to do this.  That is your human spirit the Christ within you.

The concept of the Christ within is the basis of what ancient religions were based on and is as old as the first free thinking man.  This has been around before the modern Church culture destroyed our ability to be free thinkers. 

The explanation of Ra from the book of the dead the Ancient Egyptian papyrus placed on tomb walls, coffins or buried on a papyrus.  Note not all the text was placed just parts

A Hymn Of Praise To Ra When He Riseth Upon The Horizon, And When He Setteth In The Land Of Life Osiris the scribe Ani saith: Homage to thee, O Ra, when thou risest as Tem-Heru-Khuti. Thou art to be adored. Thy beauties are before mine eyes, [thy] radiance is upon my body. Thou goest forth to thy setting in the Sektet Boat with [fair] winds, and thy heart is glad; the heart of the Matet Boat rejoiceth. Thou stridest over the heavens in peace, and all thy foes are cast down; the stars which never rest sing hymns of praise unto thee, and the stars which are imperishable glorify thee as thou sinkest to rest in the horizon of Manu, O thou who art beautiful at morn and at eve, O thou lord who livest, and art established, O my Lord! Homage to thee, O thou who art Ra when thou risest, and who art Tem when thou settest in beauty. Thou risest and thou shinest on the back of thy mother [Nut], O thou who art crowned the king of the gods! Nut welcometh thee, and payeth homage unto thee, and Maat, the everlasting and never-changing goddess, embraceth thee at noon and at eve. Thou stridest over the heavens, being glad at heart, and the Lake of Testes is content. The Sebau-fiend hath fallen to the ground, his fore-legs and his hind-legs have been hacked off him, and the knife hath severed the joints of his back. Ra hath a fair wind, and the Sektet Boat setteth out on its journey, and saileth on until it cometh into port. The gods of the South, the gods of the North, the gods of the West, and the gods of the East praise thee, O thou Divine Substance, from whom all living things came into being. Thou didst send forth the word when the earth was submerged with silence, O thou Only One, who didst dwell in heaven before ever the earth and the mountains came into being. Hail, thou Runner, Lord, Only One, thou maker of the things that are, thou hast fashioned the tongue of the Company of the Gods, thou hast produced whatsoever cometh forth from the waters, thou springest up out of them above the submerged land of the Lake of Horus. Let me breathe the air which cometh forth from thy nostrils, and the north wind which cometh forth from thy mother Nut. Make thou my Spirit-soul to be glorious, O Osiris, make thou my Heart-soul to be divine. Thou art worshipped as thou settest, O Lord of the gods, thou art exalted by reason of thy wondrous works. Shine thou with the rays of light upon my body day by day, upon me, Osiris the scribe, the assessor of the divine offerings of all the gods, the overseer of the granary of the Lords of Abydos, the real royal scribe who loveth thee, Ani, whose word is truth, in peace. Praise be unto thee, O Osiris, the Lord of Eternity, Un-Nefer, Heru-Khuti (Harmakhis), whose forms are manifold, whose attributes are majestic [Praise be unto thee], O thou who art Ptah-Seker-Tem in Anu, thou Lord of the hidden shrine, thou Creator of the House of the KA of Ptah (Het-ka-Ptah) and of the gods [therein], thou Guide of the Tuat, who art glorified when thou settest in Nu (the Sky). Isis embraceth thee in peace, and she driveth away the fiends from the entrances of thy paths. Thou turnest thy face towards Amentet, and thou makest the earth to shine as with refined copper. Those who have lain down in death rise up to see thee, they breathe the air, and they look upon thy face when the disk riseth on the horizon. Their hearts are at peace since they behold thee, o thou who art Eternity and Everlastingness.

Know that you have read this think about the story of the resurrection of Jesus can you see the parallels and the ways that Christianity stole from at least one Ancient religion by re-writing things to suit there agenda of a united religion.

The one thing you need to look beyond is the many Gods of Ancient religions, because Christianity has taken pieces from this God or that to create its figures.  Ra and Osiris are God and Osiris and Horus have been combined to be Jesus.  What you say I suggest you read Awakening Osiris and you will see what I mean.  This is the common name of the Book of The Dead the ancient Egyptian Papyrus.

Sure you might argue that the context is different but our lives are full of darkness and so is the night and each day things arise with a new outlook as do we.  The writers of the bible changed the context to be a single event that would change our lives by having one person die it bring us out of the darkness instead of what is true and that is us coming out of the darkness each morning when we rise again as did Ra to watch over us.  For those of you that don’t know much about Ancient Egyptian Ra means Sun or light.  Yes Ra was a God he was the son God or god of the light.  He became part of the basis for the Jesus stories as was Osiris.

Here are an example in the bible that contradict the beliefs that the church instills in us just remember back to the Story of Moses and his destruction of the Golden Cow and that he was made they were making sacrifices of Animals to God.

Micah 6:6 Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?

• The Humiliation of the King (4:14): Some scholars consider this a fragment that is incomplete, though it still serves its purpose to introduce the theme of the royal Messiah.
• The Return of the Great Ruler from Bethlehem (5:1–4): this foretold king is very influential among the book’s Christian interpreters.

The royal blood line the kings of Europe.  On to God they reign on to the god the shall be appointed above the priests in league with god.  The king shall be above man and shall have no equal is this what is meant by the above two versuses.  Was each king of Europe in ancient times the next messiah or ea the legend of Robin of Locksley aka Robin the Hood the true re-incarnation of Jesus.

Was each King or Queen in his or own right the next messiah the true God or is the true God re-born in each child here to mould the future and create passsion on the people of a country; like Sydney Crosby or maybe Mattis my future and who knows the next great leader?