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I just remembered another principle that I Believe In. That makes three principles.
Dear Janet,
Now listen, you must stay away from belief statements and politics. And do not write about family. No, it is OK to write about family. Just say that we are all loving and harmonious. And successful. Which is at least partly true. Listen, Janet, this is a blog, millions of people have access to reading this. So don't be stupid, stay away from religion, politics and true confessions. Think about it, it is not like you are an expert on these subjects. Just write about the painting process and your garden. You have plenty of material. Oh, and no sex.
Yours truly,
The Voice of Reason
I just remembered another principle that I Believe In. That makes three principles. The first two are compassion and gratitude.
I believe in praying or meditating. I pray to the Goddess, because the concept of a female deity is much more acceptable to me than a God. He is a god of revenge. Punishment. (John Wayne playing Moses). She is the ideal mother. Unconditional love. Every person's beliefs are just intellectual concepts. Picked up, for better or worse, when we are children. Or, preached by charismatic thumpers who may or may not have our best interest at heart. Or, maybe arrived at through convoluted thinking.
I refer to Wikipedia again:
Many religions may have organized behaviors, clergy, a definition of what constitutes adherence or membership, holy places, and scriptures. The practice of a religion may also include rituals, sermons, commemoration or veneration of a deity, gods or goddesses, sacrifices, festivals, feasts, trance, initiations, funerary services, matrimonial services, meditation, prayer, music, art, dance, public service or other aspects of human culture. Religions may also contain mythology.[2
So, if there are 4,200 religions in the world, and only one is right??; then, what are the odds that I will pick the right one? That I would even hear about the right one?
Formal religions are supported by a collection of words related to concepts. At best they are a weak representation of the unknowable. The words are about the experience of spirit, which is beyond human intellectual comprehension. We can not verbally express the mysterious vastness of being. Given grace, we may experience spirit. If we want to write words about the experience, then, much will be lost in translation.
I asked myself. What beliefs will make me feel better? Contribute to my life in a sustaining manner? What do I personally believe is good? Have you ever asked yourself truly, "What do I believe?" It is a long and winding road to sort out the values of your heart from what you have been told to believe.
I will share with you the prayer that I made up. I thought of my favorite words. I had been saying a Buddhist mantra, in Sanskrit words. I thought that words with meaning for me would work better. I think this prayer repetitiously whenever I can remember to do so. When a stupid song, that I do not want to hear, is playing on my brain radio, then I replace it with this prayer. It calms me down from stress. Psychoneuro research has shown that the recitation of a mantra has physiological effects. The calmness that the meditator feels is a mirror of chemical and electrical changes in the body. I use this mantra whenever I am worried about safety. Sometimes I find it running thru my inner radio automatically, replacing the monkey chatter channel that I usually hear. A simple mantra has many uses.
Prayer Mantra of Favorite Words
I love the Goddess of
light, peace and harmony.
