The most important thing

[Näre]

What is the most important thing in your religion? Even if you for some reason had to give up your religious belongings, practices, rituals and so, what would remain? If you are in an environment without any spiritual resources what is your anchor?

I'm getting more and more intrusive with these questions... but this is something that really fascinates me.

[B. de Corbin]

Re: The most important thing

To understand things as they really are - dispelling illusion.

[anunitu]

Re: The most important thing

Yup,as B. De. points out,understanding the meaning of all the energy of the universe. True reality,even if it seems frightening to we humans.

[Sean R. R.]

Re: The most important thing

Me. I am at the center. They cannot take me from myself, and because of that, they will never be able to take my spirituality away from me.

[Medusa]

Re: The most important thing

That in the core of me, I have no doubts of my belief system and how it works.

[Gleb]

Re: The most important thing

That in the core of me, I have no doubts of my belief system and how it works.

Well said. Same here.

[habbalah]

Re: The most important thing

That in the end, it comes down to me. I'm an eclectic pagan, my path put together by me, and will die with me. I often get caught up in "doing it right", but when we get down to it, none of the physical objects matter. Just what I have put into it, and even more so, what I've taken away from it.

[Spiny Norman]

Re: The most important thing

To understand things as they really are - dispelling illusion.

Good answer.

[Spiny Norman]

Re: The most important thing

What is the most important thing in your religion?

From a Buddhist point of view it would be mindfulness, paying close attention to experience, looking closely, being fully in the present. Trying to understand what is happening, the nature of things.

[anubisa]

Re: The most important thing

The most important thing in my religion at this point is my personal deities and my connection to them. They will always be my anchor. I don't need tools as long as I have them.

[Thrudr]

Re: The most important thing

I think nature is an important part of my life and religion. If everything else falls away, there will always be a silent spot in nature where I can go to meditate. If somehow there's no nature either, than I wouldn't want to live on this planet anymore.

[Spiny Norman]

Re: The most important thing

I think nature is an important part of my life and religion.

I feel a deep connection with the natural world, which is why paganism is of interest.

[Briton]

Re: The most important thing

Being able to separate genuine belief from fantasy. Nothing wrong with fantasy and myth if you recognize it as such. To a greater extent, being honest with myself. As many have said, in the end my path is down to me, and it will probably die with me. I hope not, but I accept that it's probable. This means that whilst I take my pursuit seriously, I don't take life too seriously.

[Spiny Norman]

Re: The most important thing

Being able to separate genuine belief from fantasy.

Could you say what you mean by "genuine belief"? You mean beliefs based on some kind of evidence?

[Briton]

Re: The most important thing

Could you say what you mean by "genuine belief"? You mean beliefs based on some kind of evidence?

If evidence includes personal experience, yes. Reason doesn't need empirical evidence to be reason. We're not trying to write a peer reviewed article in Nature, after all. What I mean is not reading the Poetic Edda and telling yourself this is all about what Vikings believed, even if you don't really believe it yourself, but have convinced yourself you need to believe it in order to fit under the label. Likewise, I enjoy my own stories, my cosmogony, that sprout from my beliefs. But I am well aware they are just stories created to both simplify and create wonder.