creating a belief self-inventory

[thalassa]

(Am on the phone, so please excuse wacky typos)

If you were making a (general) list of questions to take a self-inventory of your religious and spiritual beliefs what would they be?

for example....my list goes something like this:

1) What is the basic nature of divinity? (Is it one (monotheistic), many separate and distinctly unique literal entities (hard polytheism), the universe in its entirety (pantheism), male and female dvine forces (duotheism),! etc?)
2) How is divinity expressed in the universe? (do the gods act directly? is there no action by gods? is there a "force" of some sort? etc...)
3) What is the role of mythos in our lives? (is it literal? figurative? inspirational? etc)
4) What is the underlying nature of existence? (is everything alive? does everything have a spirit? a soul? why or why not? which things? )
5) What happens when we die?. What is the religious/spiritual importance of death or after-death?
6) Is there a paricular set of spiritual myths or a particular culture's beliefs and practices that "speak" to you?
7) What is the role of nature in your spiritual and religious beliefs? Of science?
8) What is the role of history in your spiritual and religious beliefs?
9) Is ancestry important (how, why)?
10) What is the goal of a religious or spiritual practice(s) and how should they be achieved/attained?


What else would be useful?' would something like this be useful (of would it have been useful at some oping) in your path (if no to the former but yes to the latter, when)?

(In the interest of full disclosure, I'm working on a blog post)

[B. de Corbin]

Re: creating a belief self-inventory

I would add something like:

What is the relationship between humans and "the divine," and how do other non-human entities (animals, or non-earth intelligences) fit in?

[Threshold]

Re: creating a belief self-inventory

I would include

How/do my actions, prayers, rituals effect change in the cosmos, in what manner, why or why not

What is my understanding of "love"

[LunarHarvest]

Re: creating a belief self-inventory

Similar to the above, I would include something along the lines of;
"How important is ritual in spirituality? How should ritual be preformed?"

Other ideas that I have include things like.
"What is the role of destiny or fate and the divine?"
"What role does sin, or a concept similar to sin, have in relation to the divine?"

Something like this would definitely be good to have had, and still good to have now, if you want to evaluate your beliefs. By doing that it could make it easierto compare and contrast with already existing paths.

[Ophidia]

Re: creating a belief self-inventory

Is there anything that is taboo or forbidden in my belief system? Objects, foods, activities?

If yes, why is the item taboo?

If I have to handle, or accidentally come into contact with the taboo item(s), is there a procedure to follow to become 'clean'? Are there instances where the taboo item is safe (such as certain rites of passage or ceremonies)?

Speaking of which...

Are there any rites of passage in my belief system?

How are rites of passage celebrated?

[Medusa]

Re: creating a belief self-inventory

I would first ask: What is proven true.
Which would probably negate all those questions.
I guess I can't play.:=I:

[thalassa]

Re: creating a belief self-inventory

I would first ask: What is proven true.
Which would probably negate all those questions.
I guess I can't play.:=I:

Sure you can play. Nothing is proven true. Not I, not you, not the blueness of the sky or the wetness of water, not gravity, not evolution, though possibly, maybe the value of 42. Proof only exists in math, and truth is relative to experience.

"... in science there is no 'knowledge', in the sense in which Plato and Aristotle understood the word, in the sense which implies finality; in science, we never have sufficient reason for the belief that we have attained the truth. ... This view means, furthermore, that we have no proofs in science (excepting, of course, pure mathematics and logic). In the empirical sciences, which alone can furnish us with information about the world we live in, proofs do not occur, if we mean by 'proof' an argument which establishes once and for ever the truth of a theory."

Sir Karl Popper, The Problem of Induction, 1953

[Malflick]

Re: creating a belief self-inventory

1. What the the purpose of holding these beliefs?
2. Do these beliefs make me a better or worse person?
3. Do these beliefs line up with the morality I wish to have and what I honestly feel is right?
4. Am I holding onto this belief because I believe it, or because I was told to believe it?
5. What is the historical/textual basis for this belief?
6. If I did not believe this, would I be a worse person for it?
7. Is there a belief that would make me a better person than this one?

[Medusa]

Re: creating a belief self-inventory

The only question I ask. Is this something I can believe in without lying to myself about the bs level of it? I never get a yes to any other belief other than there is no deity.

Now I read the questions everyone else has posted. And they are good if you start off with the idea you have a belief in a deity etc. Makes sense. But if you don't, then you first have to start with that question. And I don't have a belief in a deity so I don't pass go.

[B. de Corbin]

Re: creating a belief self-inventory

The only question I ask. Is this something I can believe in without lying to myself about the bs level of it? I never get a yes to any other belief other than there is no deity.

Now I read the questions everyone else has posted. And they are good if you start off with the idea you have a belief in a deity etc. Makes sense. But if you don't, then you first have to start with that question. And I don't have a belief in a deity so I don't pass go.

Thalassa could do it like a flowchart:

Tittle- Belief Self Inventory
First question - Do you have any beliefs:
Responses - if yes, proceed to question two. If no, the inventory has ended for you.

[Threshold]

Re: creating a belief self-inventory

Thalassa could do it like a flowchart:

Tittle- Belief Self Inventory
First question - Do you have any beliefs:
Responses - if yes, proceed to question two. If no, the inventory has ended for you.

That would be awesome!

- - - Updated - - -

The only question I ask. Is this something I can believe in without lying to myself about the bs level of it? I never get a yes to any other belief other than there is no deity.

Now I read the questions everyone else has posted. And they are good if you start off with the idea you have a belief in a deity etc. Makes sense. But if you don't, then you first have to start with that question. And I don't have a belief in a deity so I don't pass go.

I don't believe in a deity but I'd say still about 80% of the questions apply.

I still have beliefs, as well as ritual, etc. Your mileage may vary

[Medusa]

Re: creating a belief self-inventory

Oh the questions are very valid. For me, I just never got that far. I was like no, no belief. I could come up with question I would ask myself, but ultimately it's a lie. I only asked the same question over and over. So that's it for me. But maybe your questions will spark something for me.

[thalassa]

Re: creating a belief self-inventory

Oh the questions are very valid. For me, I just never got that far. I was like no, no belief. I could come up with question I would ask myself, but ultimately it's a lie. I only asked the same question over and over. So that's it for me. But maybe your questions will spark something for me.

merely

[Medusa]

Re: creating a belief self-inventory

Yeah. But I'm not killing people in the name of Wolverine, now am I?

Fiction belongs in the entertainment. It does not belong in the belief system you are planning to raise you and your kids in. It doesn't belong in the wars you will fight in the name of. It doesn't belong in laws that will allow you to discriminate and make people less then human. Fiction is false. Your deity shouldn't be.


But I might slap a ho for eyeing my mutant man too long.

[MaskedOne]

Re: creating a belief self-inventory

It doesn't belong in the wars you will fight in the name of.

Neither, generally do deities. If an actual divinity really wants smite things then it won't need us to do it. That's what plagues, volcanoes, hurricanes and

WFCya9u.jpg

large rocks are for. For some reason, humans just find it fashionable to kill in the name of a higher power even if the higher power shouldn't actually need any help whatsoever dispensing smitings and should be allowed to do so on its own terms.